A few rules, well, musings really, on the business of choosing, preparing and cooking beetroot. There are so many varieties of beetroot in gorgeous pinks, purples and a gold, a particular variety I love called Flaming Badger. The cook can indulge in all manner of variations with different varieties and colours. I like the small new season’s tender beetroots both steamed and baked in foil, or, if there is time to soak, in a diable. Steaming beetroot results in a delicately cooked vegetable, while roasting beetroot in foil or a diable results in a rich intensity. Ensuring the beetroots are of a similar size and shape and regardless of which method of cooking chosen, beetroots take roughly the same time to cook. Larger beetroots, later in the season, are best boiled until tender. One summer evening in the large echoing dining room of an Oxford college, Jeremy served his outstanding food to hundreds of attendees at the international Oxford Symposium on Food & Cookery launched by Theodore Zeldin and Alan Davidson a generation ago. Deafening applause greeted the entry of Jeremy’s team of young chefs each carrying a huge Steak and Kidney Pie topped with the traditional gleaming suet crust with a centre-piece of an empty oxtail bone acting as pie bird in the middle. The whole magnificent meal was a superb celebration of splendid English cooking. Serves 4-6, depending on what else you are having with it (it’s a good idea to double it and make two) An almond tart is a testament to faites simple – a recipe requiring simple ingredients of superb quality. In this case, almonds, eggs, butter and sugar mixed with care. Over the years I’ve tasted, and made, many almond tarts but the best were made by Mum. She scoured books galore for different pastries, some plain, all made with butter and, on occasion, a scrape of vanilla seeds, a grating or two of lemon zest, ground almonds or walnuts or hazelnuts. You will be so immersed in reading Good Things in England that it will be bedtime before you even think to put the kettle on. Recipes were gleaned from all over Britain and made practical. I like the salmagundi, an amazing salad incorporating fruit, vegetables, meat and fish, and was a favourite in the Renaissance court. Her soups made with spinach and celery are great, too.

Preheat the oven to 190C fan/gas mark 6½. In a medium saucepan, heat 20ml of the olive oil over a medium heat and sauté 2 of the grated garlic cloves for a few seconds before adding the tinned tomatoes and a big pinch of salt plus a smaller pinch of sugar. Cook, stirring often, until it reduces down a bit. Now, either mash it a bit with your wooden spoon or blitz it with a hand-held blender. Spread this sauce over the bottom of a large casserole dish or wide-lidded ovenproof pan. A striking dish with the pale green sauce pooled in the plate, contrasting with the delicate silvered skin of the hake. The book is arranged with a chef’s eye for ingredients, and favourite things to eat throughout the seasons, rather than in courses or meals. A chapter on blood oranges sits between Biscuits and Breadcrumbs, while Impromptu Dinners provides meals (such as a perfect pork chop and pan juices) that can be made for one or scaled up; and there are simple, joyous meals to feed a crowd (little meatballs, or fennel and lemon spaghetti).

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Tumble the salad leaves onto a handsome dish, lay on the beetroot, then cut the eggs in half and place them among the beetroot. Spoon the mustard cream wildly over the salad. Strew with the chives and parsley and grate the horseradish vigorously over the whole salad. Scatter over a few drops of olive oil and serve.

There is one curious result to these leaps and bounds of progress: the potential to move so far ahead that one loses sight of what went before. For sure, some of these books are of their time and of interest to only a few. But it is worth, now and again, just sitting at a table, in a rare quiet moment, looking once more at a book, even without photographs, which might have inspired the mother of a cook to tap-tap-tap at a recipe and set to in the kitchen. Jeremy Lee’s favourite five Are there any ‘dark horse’ or ‘unsung hero’ recipes you’d encourage people not to overlook and would most like people at home to try?Place the eggs in boiling water and cook for 5 minutes. Cool under running water and peel. Store in cool water. Your book is a love song to simple dishes crafted with the finest ingredients – where does this approach to food come from? You are known and adored for being a fabulously exuberant, extravagant, generous host, and throwing spectacular dinner parties – what do you think is the key to giving people a good time around the table? Slice the leeks and wash well. Plunge them into a pan of boiling salted water and cook for a few minutes until tender. Drain the leeks and spread on a fl.at tray to cool.