Once you try these two recipes, I’m sure you will go back to them again and again. It is always handy to have a few favourite, easy-to-cook meals that are a guaranteed success with the family. To my mind, these chicken kebabs and beef burgers do just that.

People often ask me where you can buy good, flavoursome chicken. The one I use all the time at home is Dunnes Simply Better cornfed chicken and I do think it is the best chicken I have ever tasted. It has won numerous awards and, as it happens, comes from Cavan.

Homemade burgers are hard to beat and these are also a favourite in my home. They will work on the barbecue also – while it is still only March, I am writing this on a warm day with blue skies and for the first time this year I’m feeling the temptation to eat outside. This recipe is flavoursome, the texture is good and the burgers are moist and succulent. You can vary the spices. Curry powder or sundried tomatoes are good. Again, for variety, you could try this recipe with pork mince or with turkey mince.

Happy cooking

Herby chicken kebabs with lemon rice & peas

Serves four

Chicken

4 good-sized skinless, boneless chicken breasts

2 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed oil

4 garlic cloves, grated

small handful fresh oregano or thyme

1 lemon

Lemon rice & peas

300g (10 1/2oz) basmati rice, well rinsed

1 lemon

2 tsp paprika

100g (4oz) frozen peas

Tzatziki

¼ cucumber

1 garlic clove, grated

small handful fresh mint (optional)

200g (7oz) Greek-style yoghurt

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Wraps or pitta bread, to serve

1. Put a griddle pan on a medium heat. Cut the chicken into bite-sized chunks and put in a bowl with the oil, garlic and herbs. Finely grate the zest from the lemon, cut in half and add with a squeeze of the juice (cutting the rest of the lemon into wedges to use as a garnish).

2. Mix everything together and season with salt and pepper, then thread the chicken pieces on to 8x20cm bamboo skewers. Add to the heated pan and cook for eight to 10 minutes until cooked through and lightly charred, turning once or twice. Remove from the heat and rest for a couple of minutes.

3. For the lemon rice, finely grate the zest from the lemon, then cut in half. Put the rice, into a medium pan with the paprika, lemon zest and a little salt and pour over enough water so it comes about 2cm above the top of the rice (this is approximately 500ml). Cover with a lid and bring to the boil. Then reduce the heat to really low and cook for as long as it says on the packet. Five minutes before the end of cooking, scatter the peas on top and add a good squeeze of the lemon juice, without stirring anything in, and continue to cook with the lid on.

4. Meanwhile, make the tzatziki. Grate the cucumber and squeeze out excess water. Place in a bowl with the garlic and mint, if using, and then mix in the yoghurt and season with salt and pepper. Arrange the kebabs on plates with the wraps or pittta breads and add a good dollop of the tzatziki to each one. Add some of the lemon rice and peas and garnish with the lemon wedges.

Beef burgers with caramelised onions and paprika potato wedges

Serves four

Donegal Rapeseed oil

2 red onions, finely sliced

4 tsp balsamic vinegar

2 tsp caster sugar

4 burger buns with sesame seeds

1 heaped tbsp mayonnaise

2 good handfuls fresh rocket

225 (8oz) blue cheese, crumbled

Potato wedges

4 large floury baking potatoes, scrubbed

8 garlic cloves, slightly crushed (unpeeled)

2 tbsp Donegal Rapeseed oil

Burgers

500g lean minced beef

25g dried natural breadcrumbs

1 tbsp mild mustard (American or Dijon)

1 medium egg

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 220oC (425oF/ gas mark seven). Cut each potato into wedges and toss on a large baking tray with the garlic and about two tablespoons of oil. Spread them into a single layer and roast for 30 minutes or until cooked through and golden.

2. Put a medium sauté pan with a good drizzle of oil on a medium heat. Add the red onions with the balsamic vinegar, sugar and some salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring from time to time. The onions should be lovely and soft. Remove from the heat and leave to cool.

3. Heat a large frying pan on a high heat. Tip the minced beef into a medium bowl and add the breadcrumbs and mustard, then crack in the egg and season with salt and pepper. Mix everything together with your hands. Divide into four equal-sized pieces and shape into 2.5cm thick patties.

4. Add a drizzle of oil to the frying pan and add the burgers. Then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10-12 minutes, depending on how well you like them cooked, turning once.

5. Lightly toast the burger buns and put the bottom of each one on a plate. Add a smear of the mayonnaise and some rocket. Top with a burger and a nice mound of the caramelised onions. Add the blue cheese and finish each one with a burger top. Serve with the potato wedges straight from the oven. CL