One of my favourite things. And, for once, it’s simple.

I don’t really have a favourite food.

I mean, I can eat Olympic amounts of Scampi Fries. I dare you to try to get between me and some decent chips. Or Dim Sum. Or ramen in broth. Or a fresh doughnut.

But, to be honest, most of those things fit into a certain mood, or level of hunger, or time of year, or calibre of company.

Except for maybe the Scampi Fries.

I do, however, have a few favourite meals.

And one of my absolute favourite meals on God’s good earth is really quite simple.

A roast chicken, with plenty of crispy skin. A loaf of fresh white crusty bread. A green salad, preferably containing rocket. And, to put the icing on the cake, some homemade mayonnaise.

I really, really love homemade mayonnaise. There are 5 reasons for this:

1. It is one of those things that is a piece of piss to make, yet makes me look like some kind of domestic goddess.
2. It makes me feel like I’ve made an effort with my dinner, even if I am using it to spruce up a bag of salad leaves and those chicken skewers that always seem like such a good idea when you are actually in the butcher’s, yet are ultimately always a wee bit dry and disappointing.
3. It tastes really, really good. Like so good I am struggling to use up an old jar of shop-bought stuff that is languishing in our fridge.
4. The magic of it all emulsifying in front of my eyes. It makes me wish I had listened in Chemistry and worked in some kind of food lab where I could find out just how the vigorous whisking (fnar fnar) of an egg yolk, some vinegar and some oil can produce such tasty results.
5. My bingo wings get a workout.

I hope at least one of these gives you a reason to try making your own mayonnaise sometime soon.

Get an egg yolk.

And mix it well with a teaspoon of salt…

…and a tablespoon of vinegar…

…so it looks a little like this.

Put 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a measuring jug…

Then top up to 150ml with a flavourless oil.

Groundnut is my absolute favourite, but bog-standard rapeseed, vegetable or sunflower oil are all fine, too.

Add a tiny drop of the oil to the egg, whisking well until it is fully incorporated.

Keep adding in tiny drops until you have used 50ml of the oil.

And then you can add the rest in bigger quantities. I just sort of pour in a steady trickle from here on in, whisking all the way.

If you are whisking by hand (and if you saw my bingo wings, you would probably realise why I always choose to do so), placing the bowl on a damp tea-towel or rubber mat makes it easier.

Keep whisking until all the oil is added.

And voila, one of my favourite foods is born.

Mr. P probably wishes I was this easily pleased all the time, to be honest.

Mayonnaise
Serves 4. Cooking time 5-10 minutes

1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
120ml groundnut, vegetable or sunflower oil

1. Separate the egg, putting the yolk in a large bowl.
2. Add the salt and vinegar, whisking well.
3. Mix together the oils.
4. Add the oil to the egg mix, mixing all the while. For the first 50ml of oil, add in tiny drops, mixing fully after each drop is added. For the rest of the oil, add in a gradual stream, whisking all the while.
5. Serve.

The one where I get way too excited about aubergines.

Every single person I know kind of ‘gets’ the fact I like food.

They put up with the constant Instagram pictures of my dinner.

They marvel at my lunchtime Tupperware boxes.

They know that Mr. P and I have barely been on a date that doesn’t involve a restaurant.

They get that.

And that is good.

What I’m not sure that many people ‘get’ is the level to which I am, well, utterly obsessed with food.

Sometimes I come up with a flavour combination or recipe idea that means I literally cannot get to sleep. I envisage the end result with such intensity I almost start to drool. I make my breakfast smoothie, eyeing up the ingredients that will pull my idea together. I Google the best way to roast an aubergine, whether grinding my own spices will make any discernible difference.

In all honesty, and this is without poetic license, I practically run home from work.

I turn on the radio (Marc Riley on BBC 6music, or Annie Mac on the iPlayer, fact fans) and I cook.

I slice, and chop, and roast, and mix.

And absolutely nothing in that world has the power to make me as happy as when that idea comes together as some delicious on my dinner plate.

This recipe was one of those events.

I hope you enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed creating it.

So you get home from work, or whatever, and you throw an aubergine in the oven.

No oil or anything, just aubergine.

Think of yourself as an aubergine purist or something.

Crack a couple of eggs into a bowl.

This is one egg.

Two looks kind of the same as one egg.

But with a subtle difference.

There are two.

Add some salt…

Some oil…

And some flour.

Combine the whole lot, either by hand or in a mixer, until you have a ball of dough.

Put the dough into the fridge, while you sort out the rest of the filling.

Heat some oil in a pan.

And add to it a finely chopped onion..,

A chilli (you can take out the seeds if you are a pussy a delicate little flower)…

And some garlic.

Cook that over a gentle heat for 5 to 10 minutes…

Then add some cumin…

And some salt…

take the stones out of three dates…

And then finely chop.

Take the aubergine out of the oven..

Then skin and roughly chop.

Then add to the onion mix, along with the dates.

Take a handful of pistachios…

Shell them…

Then chop them, before mixing in to the aubergine mix.

Roll out the pasta. I use number ’4′ on my machine, which is pretty thin, but not see-though or anything.

I’m not dainty enough to handle see-through pasta.

Cut the pasta into small circles…

Re-rolling the dough until you have used it all up.

Put a quarter of a teaspoon of aubergine mix on half the circles…

Before topping with a crumble of goat’s cheese.

Then top with another circle of pasta, pressing the edges.

I could clearly taste the excitement of my recipe idea coming together, and forgot to take a picture.

Sorry about that.

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil…

And drop in the pasta, cooking until it floats to the top.

This literally takes a minute of two.

Drain the pasta…

And serve, with a drizzle of oil and some pepper.

You have just spent quite some time making your own pasta.

If you want a sauce more complicated than good olive oil, you can come up with that one yourself.

Spiced aubergine pasta parcels
Serves 4. Cooking time 1.5 hours.

1 aubergine
2 eggs
2 tbsps olive oil, plus extra to serve
2 tsps salt
300g strong white flour
1 onion
1 red chilli
2 cloves garlic
2 tsps cumin
3 dates
1 handful pistachio nuts
100g goat’s cheese
Freshly ground pepper

1. Put the aubergine in an oven pre-heated to 180 degrees for 30-45 minutes, until soft.
2. While the aubergine is roasting, make the pasta. Crack two eggs into a bowl.
3. Add 2 tbsps of the oil and 1/2 tsp of the salt to the egg.
4. Add the flour in small batches, until a dough forms.
5. Place the dough in the fridge.
6. Finely chop the onion, chilli and garlic.
7. Heat 2 tbsps of the oil over a medium heat, before adding the onion, chilli and garlic.
8. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, until the onion is soft.
9. Add the cumin and 1/2 tsp salt to the onion.
10. De-stone and finely chop the dates, before adding to the onion mix.
11. Remove the aubergine from the oven. peel and roughly chop, then add to the onion.
12. Shell, chop and add the pistachios to the aubergine mix.
13. Roll out your pasta, cutting into small circles.
14. Place 1/4 of a teaspoon aubergine mix on half the circles, followed by a small piece of goat’s cheese.
15. Use another circle of pasta to make these into small ravioli, pressing around the edges well.
16. Bring a large pan of water with 1 tsp salt in to the boil.
17. Cook the pasta of 2-3 minutes, until it floats to the top of the water.
18. Drain and serve, with a drizzle of oil and pepper to taste.