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.

A Simple Sharer of Asparagus with Butter and Lemon

Most cooks agree that when you have an amazing ingredient it is best to prepare it as simply as possible. And they are not wrong: this must be the very best way to eat asparagus. Steamed and presented in a big stack to share. Butter, salt and lemon are optional extras…

Porchetta: A Traditional Italian Stuffed Roast Pork Joint

A traditional Italian roast pork joint for a special occasion.

Succulent Chicken Katsu Curry

‘Wagamama’s succulent Katsu Curry is actually super easy to make, and the beauty is, you can have as much curry sauce as you like!’

Asparagus Niçoise Salad

The exact constituent parts of an authentic Niçoise salad is a matter of contentious debate. There must be as many points of view as there are cooks. So I am throwing my hat into the ring and offer up Niçoise with asparagus!!

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.

Grilled Asparagus

This is not really a recipe, more a method for grilling or griddling your asparagus.

Asparagus and Tuna Sesame

It’s a Japanese way to mix sesame sauces in with food – I suspect the reason is because the sauce is so good it can’t help being slipped into all sorts of dishes…

Asparagus Fondue

Asparagus goes well with Parmesan cheese. Asparagus also goes well with Taleggio and Gruyèr. It seems we can assume that asparagus works with cheese generally – so why not a fondue?

Asparagus Vignarola

This is an Italian stew made from spring vegetables including artichokes, broad beans, peas.

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.

Making Cheese in a Bottle

I was aware of the basic principles of cheese making as a child. The micro cultures and chemical reactions did not exist in petri dishes or test tubes, but right inside our daily pints of milk.

Notes on Quick and Easy Cooking

I’ve recently posted a series of ‘quick and easy’ 30 minute recipes which have unexpectedly made me think again about the hyped-up online food industry – and my own cooking.

How to Cook a Turkey for Thanksgiving—10 Different Ways

‘A guide through all the options we know… One these should be just the trick you need this Christmas’

British Pie Banquet at The Thomas Cubitt

In case you didn’t know, this week is ‘British Pie Week’ – a fact that might have inspired The Tomas Cubitt gastro-pub to celebrate by hosting a British ‘Pie Banquet’ earlier in the week.



ADVERTISEMENT

GET THE LATEST STUFF!

Sign up to the WDC newsletter for the latest recipes, foodie stories and ingredient specials!

© What Dad Cooked, 2026. Privacy Policy. Terms and Conditions. Twitter Instagram