Foodie files

AMAZING ANTONIO I went mushroom hunting the other day and felt the late, great Antonio Carluccio looking down on me. I took one of the walking sticks he gave me – he used to carve amazing patterns into them, and every time I saw him he’d bring one. He was on my very first Saturday Kitchen show, and he cooked panfried lamb cutlets (right), stuffed with provolone cheese and basil in breadcrumbs.

BETTER BRUSSELS If you want to try and convert everyone to eating Brussels sprouts, I wouldn’t boil them. Instead, fry some good quality chopped-up bacon, then finely slice the sprouts and add them to the pan with a little butter, a touch of water and some black pepper and quickly cook them.

TASTY GIFTS If you’re looking for cookery books as presents, Galton Blackiston has a great one out on fish called Hook Line Sinker: A Seafood Cookbook (£25, Face). He runs the magical Michelin-starred restaurant and hotel Morston Hall in Norfolk as well as a fish and chip restaurant on the beach called No1 Cromer. José Pizarro, one of the best Spanish cooks in the UK, also has a really good book out called Catalonia (£25, Hardie Grant Books). One thing these guys have in common is a passion for delicious food.

I LOVE OIL I’m going to upset the Italians now but I prefer olive oil from Spain or Crete, especially Crete, which makes some absolutely fabulous stuff. Over there they produce such a huge amount that they even use it for deep frying. Proper olive oil’s like a fine wine, you’ve got to find one you like and go with it. For me at the moment it’s the oil from Crete, which generally has a darker green colour.