Melanie Johnson

Recipe: Asparagus with watercress mayonnaise, a fresh and simple seasonal treat

Watercress is delightfully fragrant and offers a simple way to add colour and peppery notes to spring dishes.

The perfect spring pizza, with asparagus, prosciutto and delicious burrata

Spikes of asparagus in the kitchen garden are a sure 
sign that the British spring has truly arrived. Melanie Johnson has created a wonderful spring dish using these tender stems perfect for a light dinner.

The ultimate 'posh' rhubarb and custard? How to make rhubarb, raspberry and thyme mille-feuille

Here's how to elevate simple rhubarb and custard to something rather smart.

How to make pan-fried haddock with wild garlic mayonnaise

Four recipes to make the humble cucumber rather more interesting

Cucumber is fresh and delicious, but it's difficult to use it in a dish that really zips off the plate.

How to make three-cheese sourdough bread and a perfect winter-warmer soup to go with it

We'll leave it up to you to decide whether the soup or the sourdough is the star of the show in this pair of recipes...

Recipe: Roast chicken with blood oranges, sweet potato and avocado salsa

The short but sweet season for blood oranges is upon us – and our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson has a recipe to make the most of it.

How to make sticky pomegranate chicken with giant couscous and tenderstem broccoli

Pomegranates are like little winter jewels that can brighten any dish, adding both flavour and colour – our Kitchen Garden Cook Melanie Johnson provides a delicious recipe to demonstrate.

Recipe: Banana, walnut and salted maple-syrup loaf, served with maple mascarpone

This recipe for Banana, walnut and salted maple-syrup loaf, served with maple mascarpone was originally dreamed up to make use of left-over walnuts. It's so good, we'd suggest that even if you've run out, it merits a trip to the supermarket.

How to make cranberry scones for a cream tea with a Christmas twist

You might think of scones as something for sunny summer afternoons – this recipe will change that.

Recipe: Quince, walnut and honey cake, perfect for afternoon tea

Knobbly quince is a delicately fragrant fruit that fills the kitchen with the most incredible aroma, says Melanie Johnson.

How to make butternut squash gnocchi with scallops and mascarpone

Our kitchen garden cook Melanie Johnson shares a lovely recipe using this most delicious of seasonal ingredients.

Recipe: Dulce-de-leche tart with pear, almonds and ice cream

Recipe: Blackberry-and-apple tea cake with blackberry sorbet

A surprisingly simple tea cake recipe, served with a refreshing blackberry sorbet. Perfect for an afternoon treat.

Recipe: Italian apple tart, perfect for the weekend

Melanie Johnson delights us with this zesty Florentine torte.

Recipe: Crab-and-sweetcorn dauphinoise with corn on the cob and lobster

Melanie Johnson brings us this innovative take on a french classic, along with a bonus easy corn chowder recipe.

How to make a classic old-fashioned cherry pie

Cherries are at the height of the their season right now, so make the most of Melanie Johnson's recipe for cherry pie.

Recipe: Peach and strawberry galette with home-made peach sorbet

Melanie Johnson's kitchen garden doesn’t provide an abundance of peaches, but enough to make this simple, flavoursome galette – with a superb sorbet to accompany it.

Pan-fried sea bass with caper-and-anchovy potato cakes, samphire and cream

Our kitchen garden cook reveals a delicious recipe that makes good use of seasonal samphire.

Recipe: Roast-chicken with fennel and lemon, served with red Camargue rice

A delicious summer supper dish from our kitchen garden cook.