Recipe Information:

Pizzas have become a staple of modern cooking and a staple of fast food. The known history of pizzas stretch back over 2000 years, from topped flatbreads depicted in Pompeii to the first 'true' Neapolitan pizzas of the 1890s to the sweet pizzas of the 1980s. Here the recipes for a classic savoury pizza crust and a modern sweet pizza crust are presented. Once you can create a pizza crust to perfection then the remainder of the pizza is easy!

Recipe Information:

Chillies are a South American fruit, unknown to the rest of the world before 1492. Learn about this amazing spice and find two rather unusual chilli-based recipes for a jam and a sorbet

Recipe Information:

The main course is the most important part of any formal meal, with preceding courses leading up to it. Here you will learn a little more about main courses as well as how they developed in Ancient Rome. In additional a recipe for a classic Roman main course is provided.

Recipe Information:

Pastry is one of the most basic components of cooking, needed for pies, tarts and cake bases of many types. It originates in the ancient method of applying a paste of flour and water to baked meats to protect them in the fire. But, in the Middle Ages fats were added and modern pastry was born. Learn a little about the different pastry types and see a recipe for a traditional classic flaky pastry.

Recipe Information:

Chocolate is perhaps the most indulgent ingredient to emerge from the Americas. It was once considered a royal drink and prepared especially for the ruling elite. Chocolate itself is made from the cocoa bean and as such is actually, technically, a spice. It's hardly surprising that this magical substance has inspired a host of memorable quotations...

Recipe Information:

Pot roasts are the preserve of the meat-eater as they need a solid lump of meat to make them work. The difficulty of producing a vegetable pot roast is in replicating the job of the meat in the dish. This recipe does that and allows vegetarians to enjoy the texture and flavour of this classic dish.

Recipe Information:

The Romans were the first peoples to formally add a dessert course at the end of a meal. Here you will learn a little about why we like sweet desserts and why they all, in one way or another, echo the fruit our ancestors used to eat. You will also see two recipes for classic fruit-based desserts.

Recipe Information:

The recipe here for moy-moy with pepper soup gives a vegetarian version of the classic West African 'pepper soup' (chilli-based stew). The moy-moy (or steamed black-eyed bean cakes) represent a Nigerian classic that's typically steamed in banana or plantain leaves. I've adapted the recipe to make them more muffin-like (which is better in terms of providing a substantial vegetarian meal).

Recipe Information:

Hazelnuts are an important part of the Autumn's bounty and humans have been collecting and harvesting them for many thousands of years. Today, however, we tend to use them only as nuts and do not cook with them. To re-dress the balance, here is an introduction to hazelnuts along with some hazelnut-based recipes for you to try at home.

Recipe Information:

If you are from the US or the UK looking at a recipe from the other side of the Atlantic there are probably many unfamiliar terms in the recipes you encounter. This glossary brings together many of the culinary terms that differ between the tow sides of the Atlantic, making it easier for you to understand recipes from the other side of the pond.