THIS year Father's Day celebrations might be somewhat muted under lockdown. There certainly won't be the chance to take dad to his favourite restaurant for a slap up meal.

Perhaps for most dads just the chance to spend time at home with the family or have a socially distanced get together in the garden will be better than any gift.

But if you still want to give dad a special treat, what better way than getting stuck into the kitchen and making him his favourite restaurant-style dishes at home.

And if you are stuck for inspiration, look no further as this week our resident chef Paul Tamburrini has brought together recipes that will make his day.

For Paul, former head chef of the Macdonald Holyrood Hotel, getting a chance to spend time at home with his daughters, Alix and Eva, has been a bit of a rarity under lockdown. His normal working pattern sees him doing evening shifts and weekends in kitchens, but this year they are planning a family feast.

Paul said: "Having two girls aged 12 and 15, social media is high on their list of priorities – but from a young age they’ve always enjoyed messing around in the kitchen which I love. We’re a real food orientated family and cooking with the girls is always a time I cherish especially now that they are growing older.

"I think the best bit about it is they’re getting their hands dirty so they couldn’t hold their phones to snapchat even if they wanted to! Our favourite meals to cook and eat together are the old Italian classics; beef ragu, risottos, carbonara and fresh pesto’s. We try to make time to sit down and enjoy a meal together as much as we can with no phones at the table.

While Paul has the expertise, everyone in the household is hands on when it comes to cooking.

He added: "We take turns cooking in our house, although I cook the bulk of our meals my wife is always happy to cook while I’m working. As I said, it’s so important to my family to sit down and enjoy meals together. Being a chef, I’m often working odd hours and I’m not home for all dinners, this means when we do get a chance to sit down all together we often make it a bit of an occasion and cook a three course dinner – maybe it’s just an excuse to eat delicious food? We’re all pretty adventurous in the kitchen and my girls will try just about anything, but I think they enjoy eating it more than making it. I doubt they’ll follow in my footsteps when it comes to a career but I think they’ll always enjoy cooking and hope they’ll always be adventurous when it comes to eating."

Courgette fritters with a herb mayonnaise

Serves 4

2 large courgettes

4 baby courgettes

4 courgette flowers

Vegetable oil for frying

10g flour for dusting

A little lemon juice

Beignet recipe

100g plain flour

50g cornflour

25g baking powder

250ml sparkling water

Mayonnaise

2 egg yolks

2g sea salt

5 turns of freshly milled black pepper.

1 tsp white wine vinegar

300ml vegetable oil

A little water if necessary

15g of neatly chopped fresh tarragon

For the mayonnaise

1. Whisk the egg yolks, salt, pepper, and vinegar together until they are emulsified, about 2-3 minutes, then slowly whisk in the oil. If it starts to get to thick, add a little water. Then add all the neatly chopped tarragon to the mayonnaise, taste and add a little lemon juice if needed. Leave in the fridge until ready to serve

2. Slice all the courgettes, large and small, very thinly. Cut the courgette flowers in half

3. Heat the deep-frying oil to 180C/350F

4. Dust the courgette slices with paprika and then flour. Dip them one by one into the batter and then deep fry until slightly golden. Reserve on kitchen paper. Do the same with the courgette flowers – fry the slices and flowers for a second time until golden and crisp, then drain well on kitchen paper

5. Season with salt and a squeeze of lemon juice – divide between individual bowls and dust with paprika. Use the herb mayonnaise as a dip

Beef Burger with fries, spicy ketchup and salad

Serves 4

600g good quality lean beef mince

1 tsp smoked paprika

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Salt and black pepper

Olive oil , to cook and drizzle.

Put the mince beef in a large bowl and add the paprika,

Cayenne, ½ tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper, mix well , then

shape into four neat patties. Place on a plate or tray and

cover in the fridge for 30 minutes.

Heat a non-stick frying pan with a little olive oil.

Brush the burgers with olive oil and cook for 3 ½ to 4

minutes on each side for medium burgers.

Ketchup

90 g tomato ketchup

15 ml red wine vinegar

1tsp Worcestershire sauce

7 drops of Tabasco sauce

In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients

cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

Serve with fries and baby gem salad.

Peach Melba

Serves 4

170g raspberries

200ml white wine

2 tbsp honey

4 peaches, peeled and stoned

4 scoops of vanilla ice cream

Method

1. Gently tear the raspberries and place in a bowl, place to the side

2. Pour the white wine into a saucepan then add the honey and water – bring to the boil, stirring occasionally

3. Add the peaches and bring back to a simmer – lower the heat and gently poach until tender

4. Lift them out carefully with a slotted spoon and peel away the skins, using a small knife – cover and chill keeping the poaching liquor

5. Spoon several tablespoons of the liquor over peaches and raspberries – add a scoop of vanilla ice cream