Tana savours the flavour of food for all the family

Tana believes that nothing beats the taste of and comfort of real, home-made food. In her latest book Home Made she has devised a range of recipes that take you back to the heart of home-cooking.

For the wife of celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay, home cooking is all about bringing people together, making time for each other and rediscovering the simple pleasure of good, honest food.

With four young children, Tana is no stranger to the challenges of feeding a family.

"Home has always been the most important place in my life," she says, "from my earliest childhood memories when home was the farm I lived on with my parents, brothers and sister, right up to today when home is where Gordon, the kids and I retreat to from the chaos of our busy lives."

Spicy fish soup

serves 6-8

3 tbsp olive oil

4 large onions, peeled and roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

2 red chillies, deseeded and fine chopped

3 each red and green peppers, deseeded and chopped

400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1.5 litres/2 pints good quality fish stock

2 tsp fresh or dried marjoram

-1 tsp cayenne pepper

700g/1lb fresh cod or pollack, skinned and cut into 4cm/1in chunks

100g/3oz peeled raw prawns

2 tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

salt and black pepper

Tabasco sauce to serve

Choose a large saucepan with a lid. Heat the oil in the pan on a low-medium heat and add the onions along with the garlic and chillies. Cover and cook for eight to10 minutes, until softened. Add the red and green peppers and sweat until softened slightly.

Pour the contents of the pan into a food processor along with the tomatoes and blend until smooth.

Return the mixture to the saucepan and add the stock, marjoram and cayenne pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes. Add salt to taste, then stir in the fish and prawns and cook gently for no more than 10 minutes – be careful not to overcook.

Add the parsley and serve in warm bowls. The Tabasco and a grinding of black pepper should be added to taste once the soup is served.

Sticky hoisin lamb

serves 2

3 tbsp hoisin sauce (either

home-made or shop bought)

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine

tsp five-spice powder

400g/14oz boneless loin of lamb

250g/9oz green beans, trimmed

1 red chilli, deseeded and cut into thin strips

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander

cucumber, cut into dice

4 spring onions, cut into thin strips

2 tsp olive oil

juice of lime

2 tsp sesame seeds, lightly toasted in a dry frying pan

salt and black pepper

Spoon the hoisin sauce into a flat dish along with the soy sauce, sesame oil, rice wine and five-spice and stir to combine. Put in the lamb and turn to coat evenly in the mixture. Leave to marinate for an hour or so, turning regularly. Meanwhile, heat a pan of water with 1 teaspoon of salt until simmering. Add the green beans and cook until they are tender but still with a little crunch – four to five minutes. Tip them into a sieve and put to one side.

Put a griddle pan on the hob and heat until hot. Take the lamb out of the marinade and grill for about five minutes, turning once, until nicely seared on both sides. Reduce the heat and continue cooking for five minutes, until the lamb is pink on the inside and slightly scorched outside, but not burnt, just a really nice colour. Transfer to a plate and leave to rest for five minutes while you prepare the salad.

Place the green beans along with the chilli, coriander, cucumber and spring onions in a mixing bowl and add the olive oil, lime juice, salt and pepper. Carefully toss through so the dressing coats everything evenly. Arrange the salad in a serving dish.

Transfer the lamb to a board, then carefully slice and arrange on top of the salad. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve.

White chocolate cake with dark chocolate topping

75g/3oz unsalted butter plus extra for greasing

300g/11oz digestive biscuits

300g/11oz white chocolate, broken into pieces

420ml carton of whipping cream, at room temperature

For the Sauce

100g/3oz dark chocolate,

broken into pieces

125ml/4fl oz double cream

Grease an 18cm/seven inch loose-based round cake tin really well. Put the biscuits into a food processor and whiz until they are smooth crumbs. Transfer to a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter in a pan, then pour over the biscuit crumbs and stir to ensure all is covered. Press the biscuit mix well into the base of the tin with the back of a spoon. Put into the fridge for 30 minutes until firm.

Meanwhile, put the white chocolate into a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water, making sure the water doesn't touch the base of the bowl. Leave until melted, then leave to cool.

Lightly whisk the whipping cream until it is forming very soft peaks. It's very important not to over-whip the cream or, if you're making it on a hot day, to allow it to become too warm, otherwise it will split when you fold it into the chocolate. Gradually fold the cream into the cooled white chocolate. Pour the white chocolate mix on to the biscuit base and place in the fridge for an hour or so until it is firm.

To make the sauce, melt the dark chocolate over a pan of simmering water as you did the white chocolate. Add the double cream and stir together until smooth and glossy. Leave to cool until slightly stiff.

Decorate the top of the cake and leave to set or then serve with the remaining sauce.

Home Made by Tana Ramsay (14.99) is published by Harper Collins. To order a copy from the Yorkshire Post Bookshop call free on 0800 0153232 or go online at www.yorkshirepostbookshop.co.uk. Postage and packing

is 2.75.