Father's Day

Searching for the perfect Father’s Day recipes to impress?

We’ve got a small collection of ideas to make his day extra special.

Treat him to something indulgent like our rich Chocolate Beer Cake, classic Coffee and Walnut Sponge Cake, or get creative with Winners' Cup Cakes decorated in his favorite team colours. From meat lovers to vegetarians, there’s something for every kind of dad. Pair your mains with a side of Perfect Mash for that ultimate comfort meal. For vegetarian dads, try Delia’s Luxuriant Vegetable Pie packed with fennel, leeks, broad beans, and broccoli, or go for something stunning like our Charred Onion and Swiss Cheese Tart or Italian Stuffed Aubergines, easy to make and seriously impressive.

Seafood fans aren’t forgotten. Fire up the grill for Char-grilled Squid, or go elegant with Salmon in Champagne Sauce, Monkfish with Romesco Sauce, and the ever-reliable Salmon Fishcakes.

Whether you're planning a relaxed family lunch or a full-on feast, these Father’s Day meal ideas are designed to help you celebrate with great food.

A Luxuriant Vegetable Pie

The challenge here was to find a celebration recipe for vegetarians without any cheese. After several at...

The challenge here was to find a celebration recipe for vegetarians without any cheese. After several attempts, this one emerged as the clear winner. The Delia O...

40 minutes

Vegetarian

American Half-pounders

All-American Half-pounders: On the plate at the front There are several kinds of hamburgers, rangi...

All-American Half-pounders: On the plate at the front There are several kinds of hamburgers, ranging from those that come frozen or served up in fast-food cha...

8 minutes - 12 minutes

A layered cake with frosting and walnuts on top, displayed under a glass dome.

Austrian Coffee and Walnut Cake

This is unashamedly rich and luscious. Firstly, coffee and walnuts have a great affinity; secondly, so d...

This is unashamedly rich and luscious. Firstly, coffee and walnuts have a great affinity; secondly, so do coffee and creaminess; and thirdly, because the cake is so...

Vegetarian

Braised sausages braised in cider served in a casserole dish

Bangers Braised in Cider

This is an early recipe of mine circa 1973, but so popular has it been over the years. I wouldn’t change...

This is an early recipe of mine circa 1973, but so popular has it been over the years. I wouldn’t change it in any way, except of course we didn’t get free-range po...

50 minutes - 1 hour

Beef in Barolo

This is a classic from Piedmont but because Barolo is such a very fine and quite expensive wine, I tend to ...

This is a classic from Piedmont but because Barolo is such a very fine and quite expensive wine, I tend to make this with something less costly but from the same regio...

3 hours

Char-grilled Squid with Chilli Jam

We have a tradition with some close friends that involves always having Easter Sunday lunch at Yetman's res...

We have a tradition with some close friends that involves always having Easter Sunday lunch at Yetman's restaurant, in Holt in Norfolk, where Alison and Peter Yetman c...

1 minute - 2 minutes

Charred Onion and Swiss Cheese Tart

The sight of a bumper crop of shallots inspired me to make up a variation on my traditional onion tart, usi...

The sight of a bumper crop of shallots inspired me to make up a variation on my traditional onion tart, using Swiss cheese (Gruyere in this instance). We served it ...

30 minutes - 40 minutes

Vegetarian

Chocolate 'Surprise' Cup Cakes

It’s the hidden ingredient that’s the surprise. Mashed potato, often used in potato scones but even bett...

It’s the hidden ingredient that’s the surprise. Mashed potato, often used in potato scones but even better in these small cakes – giving them a soft moist texture. ...

15 minutes

Chocolate Beer Cake

The beer – dark stout (Guinness, Murphy’s or similar) – gives this cake an extra dimension, and the icing i...

The beer – dark stout (Guinness, Murphy’s or similar) – gives this cake an extra dimension, and the icing is so good it can be used on other chocolate cakes. The De...

30 minutes - 35 minutes

Coffee and Walnut Sponge Cake

This is a revised, more contemporary, version of one of the original sponge cakes in the earlier book. I...

This is a revised, more contemporary, version of one of the original sponge cakes in the earlier book. I am still very fond of it and have continued to make it regu...

25 minutes

Dark Jamaican Gingerbread

This cake, originally from the sugar-and-spice island of Jamaica, has sadly become a factory-made clone, bu...

This cake, originally from the sugar-and-spice island of Jamaica, has sadly become a factory-made clone, but made at home it’s dark, sticky, fragrant with ginger – the...

1 hour 15 minutes - 1 hour 30 minutes

Squid with Lemon, Garlic and Olive Oil

Close your eyes when you eat your first mouthful of this one and in your mind you'll be right there on some...

Close your eyes when you eat your first mouthful of this one and in your mind you'll be right there on some lovely Greek island – it's one of those very simple things ...

15 minutes

Italian Stuffed Aubergines

Apart from tasting superb this is particularly pretty to look at. I like to serve it as a first course, ...

Apart from tasting superb this is particularly pretty to look at. I like to serve it as a first course, but with a salad and some good bread it would make a lovely ...

20 minutes

Vegetarian

Three chocolate-topped cake squares on a white serving spatula, each decorated with small speckled mini eggs. A bowl of additional eggs is in the foreground on a white surface.

Chocolate and Rum Squares Flourless

If there is an ultimate chocolate cake this one could be high on the list of contenders. No flour, just ...

If there is an ultimate chocolate cake this one could be high on the list of contenders. No flour, just chocolate, ground almonds and whipped egg whites which make ...

55 minutes - 1 hour

Mum's Steak and Kidney Plate Pie

First it's important to note that both the pastry and the filling can be made in advance – but don't forget...

First it's important to note that both the pastry and the filling can be made in advance – but don't forget to allow about 1 hour for the pastry to return to room temp...

Perfect Mash

This is now my standard all-time mashed potato recipe. To make a low-fat version, replace the butter, mi...

This is now my standard all-time mashed potato recipe. To make a low-fat version, replace the butter, milk and crème fraîche with 5 oz (150 g) of Quark (skimmed-mil...

20 minutes - 25 minutes

Monkfish with Romesco Sauce

This recipe was given to me by Clare Hunter, a very talented person who used to cook for private dinner par...

This recipe was given to me by Clare Hunter, a very talented person who used to cook for private dinner parties on an old Thames sailing barge. The pungent, nutty r...

10 minutes - 15 minutes

Salmon Fishcakes

The thing to remember here is that good-quality tinned salmon makes better fishcakes than fresh, so don't b...

The thing to remember here is that good-quality tinned salmon makes better fishcakes than fresh, so don't be tempted to cook some salmon just for this. The Delia On...

16 minutes

Salmon in Champagne Sauce

I was served this memorable dish at the house of a Champagne producer in Rheims, and this is my version. ...

I was served this memorable dish at the house of a Champagne producer in Rheims, and this is my version. The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch our video of De...

8 minutes - 10 minutes

a pan of cooked sausages and puy lentils on a wooden board

Sausages with Puy Lentils

Lentils have a great affinity with pork and sausages as they have the capacity to absorb the richness. T...

Lentils have a great affinity with pork and sausages as they have the capacity to absorb the richness. The Delia Online Cookery School: Watch how to make Perfect Ma...

42 minutes - 47 minutes

Steak and Onions in Guinness

If you long for a thick, juicy grilled steak and can’t afford it, try this recipe with braising steak – it’...

If you long for a thick, juicy grilled steak and can’t afford it, try this recipe with braising steak – it’s every bit as good. The Delia Online Cookery School: Wat...

2 hours 30 minutes - 3 hours

a cooked parkin cake in a pleated case sitting on a wire cooling tray

Traditional Oatmeal Parkin

But which tradition is it? My grandparents claimed Yorkshire emphatically, while my Lancashire friends a...

But which tradition is it? My grandparents claimed Yorkshire emphatically, while my Lancashire friends are just as emphatic. Either way I just love it, and because ...

1 hour 30 minutes

Winners' Cup Cakes

We make birthday cakes for children’s parties at the football club that look like football pitches, shirts ...

We make birthday cakes for children’s parties at the football club that look like football pitches, shirts etc. But for us at home these little cakes, made in footb...

20 minutes - 25 minutes