The original domestic goddess, Elizabeth David, wasn?t wrong when she enthused on this partcular combination:

?? an omelette should not be a busy, important, urban dish, but something gentle and pastoral with the clean scent of the dairy? the kitchen garden? of sorrel, chives, tarragon??

There really is nothing more perfect. But how many people are either too terrified, or just don?t know how, to make one?

So here it is: easy, eggy, comforting and delicious.

A solitary and sublime lunch for 1

3 fresh eggs (the best you can afford)

A selection of fresh herbs, I like a good pinch each of chervil, chives and tarragon

A tablespoon freshly grated parmesan (optional)

Salt and pepper

A good knob of butter

Gently beat the eggs with a fork, just to combine ? do not over beat them. Add your choice of? herbs and, if you?re using it, the parmesan now.

Gently heat the butter in non-stick pan until it is just foaming. Pour in the eggs and immediately start moving the outside layer of egg in by drawing it towards the middle with your spoon, whilst tilting the pan so that any runny egg finds it way into the gaps. Keep doing this until the egg is looking nicely cooked around the edges, but is still a wee bit runny in the middle. What you don?t want is any white that still looks jelly-like or clear.

Tilt your pan again with a slight flick of the wrist and fold the omelette in two. Slide onto a warm plate and eat immediately.

My choice of accompaniment would be a watercress salad, a glass of Sancerre and some soothing jazz.

This gorgeous pot-roast comes from Matthew Fort?s column in The Guardian, and was published a good10 years ago. But, with a few tweaks here and there, it has become one of our regular winter dinners.

The original calls for two guinea fowls and two onions. Frankly, I don?t have a pot big enough, so we?ve always done it with the one, and cut back on the onion. I also like to carve the bird into big chunks to serve, so we can just help ourselves.

Serves 2-4, depending on the size of the guinea fowl and your appetite.

1 guinea fowl, trussed

1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped

200g piece of unsmoked streaky bacon, cut into 6 (chopped up slices are fine)

200g peas (shelled weight) ? I use frozen, and I don?t really measure, I just shove

1 bay leaf

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 small head of green cabbage

100g unsalted butter

50ml peanut oil

sea salt

pepper

a little sugar

Heat a great big cast iron pot. Rub the birds all over with peanut oil and liberally season with salt. Lay the birds in the pot, turning them every 5 minutes or so until they are beautifully browned all over. Reduce the heat, add the butter, and when it has melted, add the chopped onion, garlic, bacon pieces, bay and pepper.

Cut the cabbage into 6 through the root and add to the pot. Seal the pot thoroughly with the lid, and cook over the gentlest flame for about an hour, undisturbed.

Meanwhile, cook the peas for a couple of minutes in slightly sweetened boiling water, then set aside to cook in the water. This way, they will not shrivel and die.

After half an hour, unseal the pot, and add the drained peas with a little of their cooking water. Re-seal the pot, and cook for a further 15 minutes, then check that the birds are cooked through.

Remove the fowl from the pot and let them sit for 20 minutes before serving.

The vegetables and bacon should be beautifully cooked by now, and meltingly soft. If not, simmer for a few minutes more.

Serve on a big plate, with the birds sitting neatly atop.

I LOVE a devilled egg. Yes, I do. So imagine my delight when I find new recipes for said oeufs of this oeuvre (ouch!).

On the general egg theme that'll be running through the next few weeks, herewith a recipe taken from Gulf District Women?s Club of Tehran Cookbook of 1960! The provenance is fantastic ? as is the flavour! Rock it retro-stylee at your next drinks do!

Canap? Eggs by Margaret Stuart

A lot of hard boiled eggs, say 12

1 lb / 450g (net weight) stoned black olives

4 oz / 110g tuna

2-4 oz / 55-110g capers, according to taste

dry mustard

olive oil

4 oz / 110g fillets of anchovy

salt, pepper, mixed spice and brandy

Mash the olives into a pulp with fork. Chop the anchovies, tuna, and capers finely and add to olives; add 1 tsp dry mustard and mix thoroughly. Sieve and add 2 tbs olive oil, spice, pepper, and a wineglass of brandy. Cut eggs in two, removing the yolks. Mash yolks well, removing all lumps and add to first mixture. Stuff the whites with the yolk mixture. A pastry tube may be used effectively.

The texture is important; if too sloppy, although the flavour has not changed, the mixture is unappetizing in appearance. May be kept in a jar in the refrigerator for 2-3 weeks.

This recipe came from the Legation Quarter of Peking from a Chinese butler who had in turn learned it from his brother, who had been a chef to a Russian officers' mess during the siege of Port Arthur in the Russo-Japanese War.

My take on the vibrant, spicy, rich, fisherman?s stew, famous in San Francisco, and devised by immigrant Italian fishermen in the 1800?s who would make this on board their fishing boats.

The word cioppino is derived from the Genoese slang for chopping. It is delicious, and just the thing for these cold, dull wintery evenings ? a huge splash of colour and flavour to brighten up the weariest palate!

If you want to make it extra spicy and smoky, add the optional spoon of chillies in adobo sauce: it's not traditional at all, but it's deelish!

I bought all the ingredients for this in the supermarket last night, so there're no excuses!! You can substitute any of the seafood for any other bits of seafood ? crab, lobster, squid, clams ? I have even had oysters in a cioppino before.

Serve with toasted sourdough bread rubbed with a little garlic and drizzled with some good olive oil.

Serves 4-6

2 tbsp olive oil

1kg mussels, washed and de-bearded

200g salmon, cut into chunks

400g hake or other white fish, cut into chunks

400g prawns (I used some shell on and some shell off)

1 bulb fennel, washed and chopped

1 stalk of celery, washed and chopped

2 onions, peeled and chopped roughly

4 large or 6 small cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp chipotles in adobo sauce, blitzed (OPTIONAL)**

1 tin chopped tomatoes, with juice

500ml white wine

500ml fish stock/water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp dried Mexican oregano

?? tsp dried chilli flakes (add more if you like it HOT)

1 tsp fennel seeds

a small bunch fresh thyme

1 tbs chopped flat leaf parsley

salt and pepper

Sort through the washed and de-bearded mussels and dispose of any that stay open when you tap them. Set the rest aside with the fish and prawns

Heat the olive oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan or deep casserole. Saut? the fennel, onion and celery until softened slightly. Add the garlic, tomato paste, chipotle in adobo (if you're using it), fennel seeds, thyme, oregano, bay leaves and chilli flakes and stir to combine. Add the tinned tomatoes, wine and stock/water. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 30 minutes. Taste and then add salt and pepper. Taste again and adjust the seasoning if needed.

Now add the mussels, bring back to the boil and put the lid on. Let them cook for about 3-5 minutes. Add the prawns and the fish and bring back up to the boil ? the fish and prawns will cook really quickly so don?t over do it! Another 3-5 minutes or so should do it!

Check one last time for seasoning.

Ladle into big warmed bowls, sprinkle with the chopped parsley, and serve with the toasted garlicky sourdough on the side and a glass of rich white wine ? maybe a Chablis or a Meursault.

** I buy tins of La Morena brand in bulk every time I'm in LA. It's heavenly, and so versatile. You can get The Cool Chile Company's version mail-order, and it's delicious.