There’s nothing wrong with a really good strog and no one knew that better than your dad in the ’90s. For such a comforting dish, the stroganoff sure caused a lot of emotional damage with tough beef, Gravox powder and enough sour cream to dull any nuance from the Worcestershire. Level up the best of batch cooking with our best ever stroganoff recipes here.

Apricot chicken may have burst onto the scene in the 1970s first, but when it was time to feed the squabbling ’90s kids, the sticky sweet dish crept back onto our plates. Packets of shelf-stable French onion soup and a healthy glug of apricot nectar made the curious dish a quick and easy go-to for time-poor parents. Please, share with the group over a plate of this very modern version of your childhood apricot chicken.

As chef Tom Walton says, “Tuna mornay is one of those retro childhood dishes that sits on the fence of love/hate, depending on how well it was made.” Inch closer to the love side, with Tom’s own recipe which has a light sauce and punchy, cheesy breadcrumb topping. Check out his seriously refined take on the tuna mornay here.

Clive of India or Keen’s curry powder with a value pack of sausages and mashed potatoes was top tier in the ’90s. Clearly a hangover of a British parent, the curried sausages we were raised on have had a serious glow-up. Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of nostalgia in Matt Moran’s one pan wonder but these curried sausages are very much a 21st century riff.

Bolognese in name only, ’90s spag bol involved every kind of tomato sauce, puree and tin in the house, beef mince bought on special, not-so-finely diced onions and a big old glug of red wine. Simmer for approximately no time and serve with spaghetti and grated tasty cheese. Or, you could luxuriate in these (actually) authentic pasta dishes, just like Nonna used to make.

Don’t worry about pre-heating the pan or ensuring the chops are defrosted, that’s not going to toughen anyone up (except maybe the lamb). Throw some microwaved potatoes into the pan for “chips” and Robert’s your mother’s brother. Please. We beg of you. Take the time to treat your lamb chops with the reverence they deserve – we’ve even pulled our favourite lamb chop recipes together for your next session.

Take a pat on the back, Pataks – you ruined curry for an entire generation. Diced chicken thighs, a few potatoes, peas and the last scrapings of a jar of Rogan Josh constituted as curry night in the ’90s and no, a dollop of Mrs Ball’s chutney isn’t going to fix it. Microwave some extra papadums because we’re not going back for seconds. Quick Thai curries or tender Malay-style Gulay on the other hand… We can’t get enough.

You must understand, in the ’80s and ’90s, there was no such thing as “the breath of the wok” and no one seemed to care that a carrot and a slice of onion had different cooking times. If it was in the veggie crisper, it was going into the frying pan with soy sauce, oyster sauce, hoisin sauce, fish sauce, sweet chilli sauce and whatever else was in the pantry. Flip the script and try one of our speedy stir-fries that will get you through the week.