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!

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Seasonal Favourites

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

Biscotti Eight Ways

I made eight flavours of biscotti as Christmas gifts. A bit mad, but lots of fun. The photo shows the hazelnut, orange and chocolate, and chocolate and chocolate flavour – the rest were eaten!

Cassoulet de Toulouse à la Pappa

A perfect winter warmer – Cassoulet!

Polenta with Ragu of Braised Beef

‘Ah polenta, a traditional Italian dish our family eat on special occasions. The sauce Dad made requires you to lick your plate clean.’

Marisa’s Pasta

Well, hers, mine – and Norma’s too…

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.

Parma Ham and Asparagus

A great flavour combination and presented here as a main meal salad or antipasto.

White Asparagus, Butter Sauce, and Prawns

This is a spring asparagus dish – but not as we know it…

Parma Ham and Asparagus

A great flavour combination and presented here as a main meal salad or antipasto.

Asparagus, Tofu, Avocado, Sesame

Asparagus and nuts have an affinity – I’ve used hazelnuts and seen recipes with pistachios, so sesame should – and does – marry well. Avocado and tofu work well together, and asparagus eats well with avocado. This recipe brings all these flavour combination together in a Japanese style dish.

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.

Why a Foodie Must Walk Down: Seven Dials

Seven Dials is a charmed oasis that’s not just about shopping – it’s home to merchants, artisans and cooks from all over the world.

Seven Places Where You Can Buy Traditional Panettone In London

There was a time when few would have recognised the panettones stacked in London’s Italian delicatessens. But now it’s impossible to do a Christmas shop without tripping over the lovely things.

Wagamama and the Rise of Katsu Curry

The Wagamama in Wigmore Street opened in 1998 and was the chain’s third London restaurant.

Shanks, Hocks, Knuckles, Shins and Legs

We all know about lamb shanks – they’ve been mandatory dishes on gastropub menus for years. But what about the same joint in pork and beef?



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