Faulkner - From Mother to Mother

****** For every mother, however she came to be. I believe that most of us cook and create by being given nuggets of inspiration. We take recipes and cook from them, then we cook them again, and tweak them and add things, and then we cook them again. It was this idea of passing on favourite dishes to the next generation that inspired my first book, Recipes from my Mother for my Daughter . My grandmothers best friends recipes became my mothers recipes, which in turn became mine and my sisters, and will, I hope, one day become my daughters. That to me is the joy of cooking.

It is sharing a love of food, a memory of why something tasted so good, or simply of wanting to feed your loved ones. For so long, my professional life was defined by acting. But over the last few years, Ive had the chance to add to this, to be thought of as a cook too. This transition has been wonderful and it is a privilege to be able to share and pass on recipes to readers through cooking on television and writing my recipe books. The other major thing that defines me is being a mother. Motherhood, as many of you know, didnt come easily to me, but when it finally did, it brought with it new rollercoasters, dramas and miracles and my life since then has felt complete.

Losing my own precious, wonderful mummy at the age of 16 was the hardest thing that has happened to me. Not a day goes by when I dont think of her and love her and talk about her as if she were still here And before my own beautiful daughter came along and I became a mother myself, it was my mothers death that also defined me. Those 16 years with her shaped me and taught me how to be a mum myself. This got me thinking about mothers and the pride and sense of responsibility and achievement I feel every day and how very important this role is. The chance to nurture and to nourish means the world to me, as it does to almost every mother out there, and I wanted to celebrate that privilege. This book is the result.

It started life as an email that I wrote to my family and friends, and friends of friends who are mothers. I asked them what they liked to cook and eat: what their favourite fallbacks are, their comfort dishes, the meals they make for their families when time is short. The recipes that follow were inspired by their replies. I have tweaked, rewritten, added and played around with their ideas, and added my own familys staples. But without my friends willingness to share their treasured favourites, there would be no book. So to all the mothers who contributed, I am eternally grateful and these recipes are dedicated to you.

I believe this is how all good books come together. I believe this is how all good things come together: by sharing and loving and giving unconditionally. You could also say that is the definition of a mother. In a world that is ever changing and not always a smooth ride, food is a thing that binds us. So here are those treasures, from mother to mother, with all my love and gratitude

****** Auntie Lils Chicken Soup Chicken Fiesta Chicken and Kale Bake Ferns Jubbly Pie Spiced Chicken Bread Bowls Chicken with Tarragon and Peppers Red Chicken Ninas Chicken Parcels Roast Chicken with Creamy Herb Stuffing Chicken Satay Balls Chicken, Pea and Pancetta Bake Dhruvs Mums Easy Chicken Curry Turkey Schnitzel and Chik Chak Salad Clementines Red Duck Curry Cheats Crispy Duck and Pancakes I hate gyms. I like exercise that is disguised, such as a long, brisk walk! My friend Candy is a busy mother of three boys but every week we meet up to walk with my sister and our friend Frances.

We walk and chat, give each other advice and support and, most importantly, swap recipes. Candy likes this recipe because it can all be prepared in advance. It was originally a recipe from her sons home economics class that she has adapted and now its a firm favourite in her household. Serves 4-6 1 tbsp olive oil 150g cooking chorizo, sliced 1 onion, finely chopped 2 celery sticks, finely chopped 1 red pepper, thinly sliced 3 garlic cloves, crushed 500g boneless, skinless chicken thighs, roughly chopped 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes 1 tbsp tomato pure 250g basmati rice 600ml chicken stock small bunch of oregano, chopped handful of chopped flat-leaf parsley salt and pepper Heat the oil in a lidded ovenproof pan or casserole dish and cook the chorizo for 5 minutes over a high heat until it releases its lovely paprika oils. Add the onion, celery and pepper, reduce the heat to medium and cook for a further 10 minutes. Then add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, followed by the chicken, tomatoes and tomato pure.

Season well. Heat the oven to 190C/gas 5. Add the rice, stock and oregano to the pan, stir to combine, then bring to the boil. Cover and cook in the oven for 2530 minutes, stirring once after about 15 minutes. Remove from the oven, stir through the parsley and serve.

In her own words, my Auntie Susan is a lazy cook.

She also claims she isnt a very good cook but I disagree and love all her food. This dish comes from a time when we all had lots of tins in our cupboards in preparation for a catastrophe. I know that making a sauce from a soup might sound a bit outdated or weird, but as a shortcut to flavour, I promise you it works; its super quick and very tasty. Serves 4 1 tbsp olive oil 4 chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 300g kale or cavolo nero 1 x 400g tin Campbells Condensed Cream of Chicken soup 100g crme frache 1 tsp curry powder 1 tsp lemon juice handful of panko or fresh breadcrumbs salt and pepper Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan. Season the chicken then cook over a high heat until coloured all over. Tip into an ovenproof dish, about 25 x 20cm.

Bring a pan of water to the boil and blanch the kale for a couple of minutes, then drain and add to the chicken. Heat the oven to 180C/gas 4. In a bowl, combine the soup, crme frache, curry powder and lemon juice. Pour over the chicken and kale and mix well, then scatter the breadcrumbs over the top. Bake for 1520 minutes until golden brown and bubbling.

During my dark days of trying to become a mum, my lovely friend Fern Britton really helped me.

I was invited to appear on This Morning to talk about a show I was doing and fertility expert Zita West was one of the other guests. Fern knew I was struggling to get pregnant so she had a word with Zita and told me I could have a chat with her after the show Fern has a heart of gold. When her four children were little, Fern would make them her jubbly pie, her clever way of getting them to eat their veg without noticing. Fern would pure all her veg so that they were completely hidden from fussy eaters, but I like the textures they give the pie, and my family are happy to eat them so I just leave them as they are. Serves 4-6 800g floury potatoes, peeled and cubed 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 onion, finely chopped 1 leek, finely chopped 300g minced turkey or chicken 50g frozen peas 1 small carrot, finely chopped 1 celery stick, finely chopped 2 tbsp plain flour 6 tbsp tomato ketchup 150ml chicken stock good knob of unsalted butter, plus extra to dot over splash of milk salt and pepper Put the potatoes into a large pan of cold salted water, bring to the boil and simmer for 1520 minutes until really tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and leek and cook for 5 minutes to soften.