Serves 4Pesto is a bright green sauce from Liguria in northern Italy. Italians usually eat pesto with linguine or trofie pasta, which are little twisted rope shapes, but it’s also delicious with steamed green beans or fresh gnocchi. Traditionally, pesto is made with a pestle and ...

, then place them into a sieve and crush them through using a wooden spoon, making sure to catch the juice underneath in a bowl. Mix in the other ingredients until smooth then pour out your lovely mixture into your ice-cream machine (I used the Gelato Chef 2200

Ready Steady Lunchbox by Lucy Broadhurst (Murdoch Books, £12.99) is packed full of recipes for even the fussiest eaters, this is perfect if you are stuck for school lunch-box ideas or if you’re a budding junior chef wanting to have some fun

The Good Granny Cookbook by Jane Fearnley-Whittingstall (Short Books, £14.99 is written by the famous chef Hugh’s mother and contains the best of British recipes. There are lovely anecdotes from Jane’s childhood and the history behind many

Home Cooking by Rachel Allen (Collins, £25) is packed with comforting treats for each mealtime as well as a section on fabulous baby purées for younger family members. It offers a host of children’s favourites that will inspire your own little chef

In the book Zilli Light (Simon & Schuster, £20) Italian chef Aldo Zilli offers the delicious tastes of his homeland but in lighter bites, working on the premise that we eat five lighter meals per day instead of three. Highlights include roast duck