Meals like mum used to make

ANY wife or girlfriend will tell you that the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, and with Father's Day this Sunday it's a piece of advice that many offspring could do well to heed.

What is a man's favourite meal likely to be? Most of the world's top chefs tend to be men and I'm willing to bet that if you asked them to plump for their favourite recipe it's likely to be based on something hearty their mother used to cook.

Beef stew with dumplings, steak and chips, roast lamb with mint sauce, fish and egg pie, spaghetti Bolognese . . . these are the dishes you remember tucking into after an afternoon playing football. So just for this Sunday you can be forgiven for ignoring those seasonal salad recipes. If you want to keep dad happy go instead for some solid comfort food with big flavours and lots of substance.

Most carnivorous men enjoy a piece of red meat so if you get some steaks in you can't go too far wrong. Ask your butcher for meat that's been hung for at least ten days and choose a piece that looks firm and moist. A light marbling of fat through the meat will add to the flavour and prevent it from drying out when cooked.

Homemade chips will add a personal touch to a meal. Peel your potatoes and cut them into chip-shapes. If you're deep frying soak them first in cold water to remove the starch, and dry thoroughly before frying them. For a healthier alternative place them on a greased oven tray, brush with sunflower oil and bake for 45 minutes, turning once.

If you're feeling more ambitious you could try your hand at another famously Dad-friendly dish – Beef Wellington. This combination of beef fillet, pate, mushrooms and puff pastry will tick most of the boxes for a hungry male.

Sausages with creamy mashed potato and onion gravy are another blokey favourite, certain to evoke wistful memories of student dinners or boozy pub lunches.

Accompanying vegetables are an area where a little family research might be in order, not so much in picking a favourite as in finding out the least-loved. Every man surely has one particular vegetable that they were made to eat as a child and subsequently swore off for life. You wouldn't want to go to all the effort in preparing Dad's special dinner to ruin it with the addition of his dreaded broccoli, cabbage or peas.

Continuing the comfort food remit, choosing a dessert shouldn't be too much of a stretch. Rhubarb crumble with custard is one of those classic desserts that everyone's mother used to make the best version of. Other favourites include pecan pie, chocolate mousse, carrot cake and sticky toffee pudding.

If he's more of a savoury man you might want to get in a couple of expensive cheeses and some home-made oatcakes. By this stage you may as well go the whole hog and get a nice bottle of port or dessert wine to finish things off. He might as well enjoy himself, after such an indulgent feast Mum is surely going to have him on bread and salad for the rest of the week.

• Andy McGregor is owner and head chef of Blonde Restaurant, 75 St Leonards Street, 0131-668 2917


Recipes

Beef Wellington (serves four)
Ingredients:
800g beef fillet
125g button mushrooms, washed and sliced
30g butter
100g liver pate
200g puff pastry
1 egg, beaten
Coarse salt and ground black pepper
Vegetable oil
Plain flour

Method:
Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Season the beef fillet with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a pan then fry the meat on all sides until sealed. Place in the oven for 10 minutes then remove and allow to cool.

Fry the mushrooms in the butter and allow to cool, then combine with the pate. Flour a work-surface and roll out the pastry into a rectangle. Spread the pate and mushroom mixture down the centre then place the meat on top. Brush the edges of the pasty with the beaten egg then fold over the meat to make a parcel. Turn over onto a greased baking tray and glaze with the rest of the egg. Place in the oven for 15-20 minutes until pastry is golden brown.

Sticky Toffee Pudding (serves 8-10)
Ingredients:
300g pitted dates
200g unsalted butter, softened
600g caster sugar
8 eggs
700g self-raising flour, sifted
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
600ml medium strength tea (optional)
for the butterscotch sauce:
125g unsalted butter
625g caster sugar
400ml double cream
200ml golden syrup

Method:
If using the tea, boil until almost dry then set aside. Pre-heat the oven to 180C. Soak the dates in boiling water until softened then drain thoroughly and dice up.

Whisk the butter and the sugar together until creamed. Add in the eggs one by one then fold in the flour. Add the bicarbonate of soda, the chopped dates and the tea (if using). Mix thoroughly, scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Grease and line a deep oven dish and pour in the mixture. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Test with a knife before turning out on to a rack to cool.

For the butterscotch sauce, melt the butter then add the sugar and syrup until the sugar is dissolved. Boil for 1 minute then add the cream, stirring until completely mixed in. Continue cooking on a medium heat until sauce is smooth.