as you’ll probably know, if you’re a regular reader of this blog, i use lemons a lot in my cooking. in fact, if asked what my most-used, favourite and flexible ingredient is, the lemon would probably win.

lemon juice is a standard part of my salad dressings and is my default choice over vinegar. lemon juice and zest are used to flavour couscous, pilafs and, with an eye on the sweeter things in life, cakes and puddings often have a lemony flavour if i’m not cooking with someone else’s preferences in mind. i also add it to marinades, especially where chicken is involved, and cocktails (raspberry collins was the drink of choice this weekend).

the thin slices of lemon in this broccoli salad were my favourite thing about it, not least as they reminded me of my favourite chicken, lemon and peppadew pasta which i have recently been craving.

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last week david and i had a truly indulgent lunch, we went to hélène darroze at the connaught. darroze, a two-michelin-starred french chef, was announced as the new cuisiniere (replacing angela hartnett) at the connaught back in march and there has been extensive media coverage of her arrival and the restaurant since.

first impressions? i loved the setting – the wood-panelled room is gorgeously decorated, with the obligatory muted tones jazzed up with lime and bright pink roses on each table. glassware, crockery and cutlery is very bling and adds to the luxurious feeling. inevitably this is not a cheap place to eat but, as a special treat, we decided to indulge ourselves and chose the tasting menu (£95pp).

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belly pork is a favourite of mine, and so easy to cook. an initial burst of heat to get some decent crackling underway followed by a long cook at a low temperatures is guaranteed to result in moist, meltingly tender meat with the fat having slowly rendered away.

i vary the flavours i use, with chinese spices being an old favourite, but this rub will definitely be repeated – crushed fennel seeds, finely chopped garlic, lemon zest, black pepper and finely chopped rosemary.

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 manouri is a greek semi-soft fresh cheese produced from the drained whey that is left over after making feta. i have been trying to track it down since i made the ottolenghi chargrilled asparagus, courgette and manouri salad but had to use halloumi in its place.

as ever, i was rescued by the wonderful green valley on upper berkeley street, w1h 5qe. manouri is very different from halloumi – it doesn’t have same rubbery, squeaky characteristics, being softer and reminding me more of paneer in terms of (lack of) taste and texture. like halloumi it fries and grills very well and is very long-lasting. it was a nice change to halloumi and i will definitely use it again and next time will try marinating or coating it with spices before frying

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