What Dad Cooked is a collection of our dad’s recipes, thoughts, tips and cooking hacks that simply need to be shared with all you foodies!

Be Inspired
Seasonal Favourites

Some delicious seasonal summer family recipes to choose from the What Dad Cooked repertoire.

Plum Soba, Prawns and Shiso Salad

This is inspired by a recipe in the book, ‘Salad’ by Amy Nathan (1985).

Goat’s Cheese, Beetroot and Poppy Seed Salad

This is inspired by a recipe in the book, ‘Salad’ by Amy Nathan (1985).

Orzo & Squash Pilaf with Harissa Chicken Wings

‘My kinda’ meal. Bread, chicken, yogurt, peas and pasta – all eaten with the hands. Seriously good food.’

Bun Cha Noodle Salad

Bun cha, along with pho and banh mi is something of a cult at the moment. I made it myself and now know why it’s so popular; It’s a perfect balance of ingredients, texture and taste. A brilliant dish.

Latest recipes

Check out Dad's latest homecooked dishes and recipes below. Or click recipes in the menu to browse through 6+ years of Dad's homecooking recipes for families.

Cassoulet de Toulouse à la Pappa

A perfect winter warmer – Cassoulet!

The Laughing Cow Lightest Loaded Quesadilla

Try Dad’s loaded low-fat salsa quesadillas with The Laughing Cow Lightest x8 cheese.

Melanzane Parmigiana with Dolmio 7 Vegetables Sun Ripened Tomato & Basil Pasta Sauce

An excellent way to turn a popular Italian slow food standard into an easy and quicker family classic.

Pumpkin Pie

My best pumpkin pie yet!

Asaparagus

A seasonal favourite ingredient of Dad's, so much so he made a 30 recipe series about the green spears! Try these recipes whilst asparagus can still be found locally.

Asparagus Pizza

This recipe matches asparagus with a deconstructed puttanesca sauce. Surprisingly, this really works – the asparagus stands up well to the robust pizza flavours.

Asparagus Vignarola Pappardelle

This recipe uses a vignarola recipe but combines with pasta. A very good combination…

Asparagus Bruschetta

Most asparagus bruschetta recipes use goats cheese. I tried this and it’s okay but unremarkable, so I made a artichoke and cannellini bean puree to replace the cheese – it’s much better.

Asparagus and Cheese Pastry Parcels

Three asparagus and pastry recipes. Choose from goats cheese and spinach, Taleggio and mushroom, or Gruyère. All are quite simple and ideal for a light lunch or supper – or make in advance for a party or a picnic.

Dad's Food Journal

Dad loves to write about food. Whether it's discovering a new road local to London or Surrey, where the treasures of foodie stores and independent shops delight—or Dad's macro observations in the world of food. Dad's articles (and foodie stories to his recipes) are a funny and knowledgable journey through the lense of how pops views the world.

Garsons Farm, Esher’s Best Kept Secret

Esher town has something for everybody; but venture off the beaten track and you will find many attractions, including Garsons – a pick-your-own farm, garden centre and farm shop.

Corned Beef & Hash

Love it or loathe it, corned beef has been an essential food for centuries.

Ode to an Omelette Pan

Those of a certain age will remember the post-Elizabeth David halcyon days of home gastronomy…

How Many People will a Salmon Feed?

It’s a Friday and Darren Poulter, the fishmonger is plying his wares: ‘Lovely wild sea bass today, beautiful Cornish mackerel, line caught cod….’



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