When you are choosing potatoes for a recipe, remember that waxy potatoes and baby new potatoes are excellent for salads; large Kerr's Pinks or Golden Wonders are good for baking and Maris Pipers are the potato of choice by chefs for the best mashed potatoes.
Butternut Squash, Aubergine and Cep soup This is the kind of soup you find in the best restaurants – and it is so easy to make. We first found a similar soup in the restaurant in Dublin's RDS, and this is our version. An ideal Christmas starter.
Aubergine Aubergines can be mild-flavoured in a soup or spicy in a pakora – they soak up flavour and they're reputed to reduce cholesterol and high blood pressure!
Grilled aubergine with feta and herbs A recipe that marries soft silky aubergines with salty crumbly feta cheese. Add mint and coriander for a middle-eastern feel and a dressing made of lemon and garlic and you have an easy light meal or starter.
Aubergine Stacks with Goats Cheese Who would have thought that aubergine and goat's cheese would marry so well together? Yet the smokiness and silky texture of the aubergine cushions the quirkier more assertive taste of goat's cheese. Add tomato to unite the two sets of flavours and you have an elegant plate of food.
Aubergines with Goat's CheeseAubergines can replace meat in a meal, they are very filling and when paired with goat's cheese offer a balanced meal. You can make this the day before.
Penne with Aubergine, Sundried Tomatoes and Ricotta Cream ricotta goes so well with soft melting aubergine and salty sundried tomatoes. You can make the sauce ahead of time and eat it as a cold salad if you wish.
Griddled aubergine with thyme and chilli Aubergines, also called eggplants, are tidy little packages that last a good while in the kitchen while you are deciding what to do with them. Luckily they lend themselves to griddling and they soak up flavour from herbs and good olive oil.
