Chinese Shrimp Fried Rice

The secret to this dish is it's simplicity; although most associated with Chinese cuisine, fried rice is now a favourite of many cuisines around the world, and is a great way of using leftover ingredients. The essential aspect of good fried rice is that the rice should be cold when it is added to the wok/frying pan. If you use freshly boiled rice, this will end up steaming instead of frying and you will be left with a soggy, lumpy fried rice. The rice should be cooked several hours in advance and then refrigerated, or ideally the night before. As I mentioned before, this is a perfect opportunity to use up any rice that you have over from the previous day.

As for the type of rice, I would recommend long grain rice. You want your rice to be easy to separate into individual grains. Starchy shorter grain rices have a tendency to clump together, and are more difficult to separate.

Risotto con Funghi e Castagne (Mushroom and Chestnut Risotto)

Risotto is very popular as a primo (first course) in Italy, as an alternative to pasta, especially in Northern Italy. A dish made from rice and broth, risotto is a hearty carbohydrate source, which lends itself perfectly for a range of other ingredients. This rich, creamy risotto features 2 staple Autumn ingredients, mushrooms and sweet chestnuts. Most mushroom varieties can be found all year round in good supermarkets, although risotto recipes often call for dried porcini (piglet) mushrooms, which are able to retain their flavour while dry. If you can't find porcini mushrooms, most other mushroom varieties will do. For a nice symmetry use chestnut mushrooms!

Saoto Soup (Indonesian Chicken Soup)

This delicious and filling soup originates in Indonesia, and was popularised in Suriname through the contracted workers from Java who came to work the sugar plantations after the abolition of slavery in Suriname in 1863. It is a firm favourite with my kids, who ask for it almost every week!

The secret of this soup is as much in the garnishes that accompany it as in the soup itself. Rice noodles, shredded cabbage, potato sticks, fried onions, boiled egg, chopped celery leaves, bean sprouts, boiled rice - the list of possible additions to the relatively simple soup are what give it such a flavour explosion and "moreishness".