From the age of 13 I used to spend my summers in a village called Châteaubourg, just outside Rennes in northern France. The mother of the family we stayed with, Madame Ronsin, was a fantastic cook and this is a variation on one of the suppers she would make for us.

Curling up on the couch with a big bowl of delicious ragu Bolognese and catching up on the second season of Big Little Lies is my idea of heaven right now, with the weather like it is.

When I lived in northern Italy I made minestrone soup all the time. It’s packed with wholesome vegetables, with aromatic flavours of garlic, oregano and sweet tomatoes.

I sparked up my barbecue again last weekend — somehow cooking outdoors never feels laborious, which is probably why I love it. Charcoal gives food such a gorgeous flavour — I add hickory wood chips to my grill too, for more of those smoky notes. 

This recipe is from my latest cookbook, Clodagh’s Suppers. I love the dish during spring as it’s so light, but during the rest of the year I substitute the wild garlic with other herbs in season, such as basil, mint or flat-leaf parsley.

My fridge is packed with English asparagus at the moment. Its season is short and you have to make the most of it.

This weekend the weather is supposed to be fantastic so I have decided to cook outside. I am butterflying a leg of lamb, as it cooks so fast and well on a barbecue. It is always a good idea to marinate the meat, as this will pack it with flavours and make it tender. 

These two dips are so easy to whip up and both only take about 10 minutes to prepare. Serve them as I have here on a platter with lots of delicious seasonal vegetables. 

Wild garlic is now in season, and I say this with enthusiasm because it’s my favourite wild herb to forage.

I love a baked potato with salted butter and a delicious crispy skin. It’s a great midweek supper as there are so many different toppings you can add and they take very little time to prepare.