Delia's Vegetarian Collection

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Start by roasting cut up peppers ,courgettes ,whole mushrooms and tomatoes in a covered pan at 180 for about 45 minutes . I find that tomato based pasta, either using sauce from a jar or made from scratch using tinned tomatoes to be a bit too tart for my liking. The first, represented here by Christmas queen Delia Smith, though also favoured by the likes of Gary Rhodes and Prue and Peta Leith, relies on cheese. Delia shares quick recipes for cooking when time is of the essence as well as inspirational recipes for entertaining including soups, starters, egg recipes, recipes with and without cheese, breads, pizzas, baking and puddings. I assume I don’t have to mention to take the rolls out of the bin bag and remove the cling film first.

Divide the mixture into two balls and roll each ball out into a long sausage shape about 1 1/2 – 2cm in diameter. There are some great above and beyond tips here, such as with the Thai Curry, chopping the lemon grass and soaking it in lime juice for some time before blending it, this made such a difference to the taste, I feel that lemon grass bought in the UK is so dried up, soaking it first helps to rehydrate and release some flavour. Delia Smith has tossed the odd crumb to non-meat eaters in previous books: in Delia's Vegetarian Collection, finger on the pulse as always, she pulls the best of those together, tops them up with a selection of new ones, and presumably has herself and the BBC another bestseller.

Your final sentence reminded me of something my youngest brother said when Mum told him he was too fussy an eater. I also learnt that you don’t need to add lots of things like cream and cheese to make an indulgent risotto, although those ingredients give it a more silky texture, you can still create something special but without all the calories! While Vegetarian Sausage Rolls , "Not Pork" Pie and a variety of hefty vegetable gratins, such as Roasted Vegetable and Brown Rice, evoke a time of wholefood earnestness, before vegetarian food lightened up, most of the recipes belong to a more modern era, characterised by the flavours of the Mediterranean and the Pacific Rim, where vegetables play a more central role in the cuisines.

The problem is that plant-based meats are incredibly low in fat, and cook to a crisp, leaving the filling sadly dry and, in this case, bland – I can’t detect much in the way of flavour from the “mince”. One of the pleasures of this book is the presence of many classic recipes, included simply because of their deliciousness. The breakfast muffins are not only easy to make, but can go into a packed lunch, if you’re out and about. The book was listed in "good" condition, when actually, it was in "very-good to pristine" condition.

Delia Smith CBE is an English cook and television presenter, known for teaching basic cookery skills in a no-nonsense style.