Despite us having a small garden at home, we pride ourselves on the large selection of herbs we have growing there. One of the most prevelant during spring and summer has to be wild rocket; it seems to grow as fast as it can be picked and eaten, and has a fantastic strong and peppery taste that bought rocket just can’t match.

Always on the lookout for something new, our local supermarket suprised us when we were out shopping by presenting us with ox heart, at a ridiculous price of 42p (English money). Never ones to pass up a bargain, we snapped it up, then went home to figure out how to cook heart; we ended up settling with the most simple method we could dream up, which turned out to be just perfect.

Kopytka is a kind of Polish unfilled dumpling, generally served with home made sauerkraut, bbq ribs, and sauce. The name translates literally as ‘little hoofs’, and they are loved by children when served with sugar and sour cream.

Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall always ranks as one of RealEpicurean.com’s favourite foodies, whether as an author, or on his television programs. His ‘back to nature’ approach is something that we’re in tune with, and all his previous books are among our top reads. In this book he takes this style one step further, by creating simple (yet exciting) ‘back to basics recipes’, which are suitable for the whole family to be involved with.

You either love or hate sauerkraut (popular in Germany and Poland - ours is a Polish recipe), which is made from fermented cabbage, and traditionally squashed by peoples feet (but not in this recipe)!. For those who love it, here’s the perfect method for how to make it at home. One word of warning though - you better hope your family like it to, because the house will smell like it for weeks!