Irish people love salmon. We eat more of it than any other fish. I have prepared it here using an interesting combination of spices – a sort of Indian-inspired glaze. This salmon recipe can be prepared up to one day in advance, leaving you very little to do on the day. You could also use salmon darns, sea trout, monkfish or hake. I like salmon served with spinach and lemon rice. This involves cooking the spinach with the rice and it really brings out their flavour.

These mini versions of banoffee pie are divine. You can make the biscuit base and fill it with the caramel well in advance. Alternatively, make one big banoffee pie, using a 20cm fluted, loose-bottomed tart tin. I was recently talking to a coeliac friend who was moaning about not being able to eat banoffee. As it happened, I had recently been filming with Denise O’Callaghan at Denise’s Delicious Gluten Free Bakery in Cork for the next Home Chef series. I was really impressed by her products and she has a book out called Delicious, which will interest people who eat gluten-free food. So banoffee is back on my friend’s list.

The Nation’s Favourite Healthy Food by Neven Maguire is published by Gill & MacMillan.

Spiced roast salmon with spinach & lemon rice

Serves four to six

1 tbsp of lemon Donegal rapeseed oil, plus extra for brushing

1.5kg (3¼lb) side of salmon, pin bones removed and skin scaled

½ tsp of ground ginger

1 tsp of sweet paprika

½ tsp of coarsely ground black pepper

1 tbsp of wholegrain mustard

1 tsp of honey

4 tbsp of garlic Donegal rapeseed oil

500g (1lb 2oz) of baby spinach, chopped

1 onion, chopped

15g (½oz) bunch of fresh dill, chopped

300g (11oz) of long grain rice

600ml (1 pint) of water

1-2 lemons, halved

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 To prepare the salmon, line a large roasting tin with parchment paper or tin foil, to help prevent the fish from sticking to the tin as it cooks. Brush the salmon skin with a little oil and place it, skin side down, on the paper.

2 Mix the ginger with the paprika, pepper, honey, mustard and lemon rapeseed oil. Spread it evenly over the flesh side of the salmon. Cover with clingfilm and chill for up to 24 hours, until it’s ready to cook.

3 Heat the garlic rapeseed oil in a large pan with a tight-fitting lid. Add the onion and cook for about five minutes, until softened but not coloured. Add the spinach and half of the dill. Cook on a high heat, stirring regularly, until the spinach has wilted down and all the liquid has evaporated.

4 Stir in the rice with the water, then increase the heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat right down again to a very gentle simmer, cover and cook for 25-30 minutes, or until the rice has cooked and absorbed all the water. Give it a stir after 15 minutes to ensure even cooking, adding another drop of water if required.

5 When the rice is cooked, stir in the remaining dill and season with salt and pepper. Squeeze over enough lemon juice to taste and transfer to a warmed serving bowl. Using a couple of fish slices, carefully lift the salmon onto a big plate or platter and put it straight on the table with the rice. Slice the salmon into portions and serve with the spinach and lemon rice on warmed plates.

Mini Banoffee Pies

Serves four

125g (4 1/2oz) of butter

225g (8oz) of digestive biscuits

1 x 400g (14oz) can of caramel

300ml (1/2 pint) of cream

3 bananas

1 chocolate flake

1 Melt the butter in a small pan, or in the microwave. Remove from the heat and leave to cool a little. Crumble the biscuits into a food processor and blitz until you get fine crumbs. Add the melted butter and pulse again to combine.

2 Spoon the mixture evenly among 8cm x 9cm (3½in) ramekins, then using a teaspoon press in firmly to make the bases – chill them for at least 30 minutes.

3 Spread the caramel over the base of the tarts, not quite to the edges. These filled tarts will sit happily in the fridge for up to two days.

4 When almost ready to serve, peel the bananas, then thinly slice and arrange them on top of the caramel.

5 Whip the cream until it has reached soft peaks. Dollop onto the tarts to give them a pillowy effect. Crumble the flake and scatter on top when serving.