The 20 best Sunday lunch and dinner recipes

Joe Woodhouse’s flatbread with potatoes and onion sauce, slow-cooked pork shoulder by Georgina Hayden, Helen Graham’s butternut squash and saffron orzo. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Whether you feast with friends or finish the week with a bowl of comfort, Sunday cooking – and eating – is pure pleasure. We’ve come a long way since our parents’ roasts. Debora Robertson serves whole sea bass, Melissa Thompson anoints lamb with tamarind, and Georgina Hayden’s pork shoulder has the crispiest crackling I’ve ever seen. Georgia Levy’s salade niçoise is a brighter, lighter lunch, while Nigella Lawson’s chicken noodles should ease any Sunday-night blues. To end the week on a sweet note, try Nigel Slater’s steamed chocolate pudding, or Catherine Phipps’s blood orange and rhubarb meringue pie.

Recipe for punched potatoes and a roast chicken by Olia Hercules

Recipe for punched potatoes and a roast chicken by Olia Hercules. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Squash potatoes into a flat pancake to give a buttery Sunday lunch of dreams

Joe Woodhouse’s recipe for flatbread with potatoes and onion sauce

Joe Woodhouse’s recipe for flatbread with potatoes and onion sauce. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Pair this versatile onion sauce with roasts or pizzas, and add rosemary or sage to the flatbread

Debora Robertson’s updated Sunday lunch: whole roast sea bass recipe

Debora Robertson’s updated Sunday lunch: whole roast sea bass recipe. Photograph: Laura Edwards

This zingy, herby dish looks wonderful when it’s brought to the table

Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Sunday night chicken noodle

Nigella Lawson’s recipe for Sunday night chicken noodle. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Marinated wok-bronzed chicken completes this noodle soup

Brown shrimps with whisky recipe by Rosie Sykes

Brown shrimps with whisky recipe by Rosie Sykes. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Simple and pretty heavenly – the perfect antidote to the Sunday-night blues

Tamarind and ginger roast lamb recipe by Melissa Thompson

Tamarind and ginger roast lamb recipe by Melissa Thompson. Photograph: Patricia Niven

Here, tamarind’s tanginess excites the lamb to make a deliciously sticky dish

Salade niçoise with tonnato sauce recipe by Georgia Levy

Salade niçoise with tonnato sauce recipe by Georgia Levy. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Inject some extra flashiness into this traditional dish with a preposterously delicious anchovy-laced sauce

Lentil soup and kashar toastie recipe by Sertaç Dirik

Lentil soup and kashar toastie recipe by Sertaç Dirik, Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

Combine a spicy soup with a sandwich that features the best-ever toastie cheese

Courgette, creme fraiche and pecorino lasagne recipe by Mattie Taiano

Courgette, creme fraiche and pecorino lasagne recipe by Mattie Taiano. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

The perfect Sunday lasagne that’s quick and healthy too

Mum’s fish pie recipe by Gill Meller

Mum’s fish pie recipe by Gill Meller. Prop styling: Pene Parker. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

Smoked fish, mussels and potato combine to create a memory-laden dish

Slow-cooked pork shoulder, greens and butter beans recipe by Georgina Hayden

Slow-cooked pork shoulder, greens and butter beans recipe by Georgina Hayden. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

A low-maintenance roast that’s brilliantly versatile

Nigel Slater’s cauliflower cheese pie recipe

Nigel Slater’s cauliflower cheese pie recipe. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

Richly flavoured, this savoury pie is warming and comforting

Baked mushrooms and eggs recipe by Rosie Sykes

Baked mushrooms and eggs recipe by Rosie Sykes. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

A flavoursome Sunday-night supper – vary the mushrooms according to the season

Recipe for biryani with stuffed morels by Sri Owen

Recipe for biryani with stuffed morels by Sri Owen. Prop and food styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

An extravagant starter or main course for a special occasion

Butternut squash and saffron orzo, chilli-fried leeks recipe by Helen Graham

Butternut squash and saffron orzo, chilli-fried leeks recipe by Helen Graham. Food and prop styling: Polly Webb-Wilson. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

A brightening dish that has the added tang of preserved lemon and lime

Suya-roasted cauliflower recipe by Lerato Umah-Shaylor

Suya-roasted cauliflower recipe by Lerato Umah-Shaylor. Photograph: Tara Fisher

Make the humble cauliflower the star with a luxuriously spiced peanut puree

Spiced bread and butter pudding with saffron and dates recipe by Benjamina Ebuehi

Spiced bread and butter pudding with saffron and dates recipe by Benjamina Ebuehi. Photograph: Laura Edwards

A pudding where crunchy-topped croissants soak up warm, saffron-infused custard

Blood orange and rhubarb meringue pie recipe by Catherine Phipps

Blood orange and rhubarb meringue pie recipe by Catherine Phipps. Photograph: Mowie Kay

Buttery shortcrust pastry combines with a curd-like filling

Blueberry, ginger and lime cobbler recipe by Nik Sharma

Blueberry, ginger and lime cobbler recipe by Nik Sharma. Prop styling: Pene Parker Food styling: Mary-Ange Lapierre. Photograph: Jean Cazals/The Observer

Amplify the flavour of blueberries with tangy lime and warming ginger

Nigel Slater’s steamed chocolate pudding, praline and spiced cream recipe

Nigel Slater’s steamed chocolate pudding, praline and spiced cream recipe. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

The crunchy, sweet, nut brittle makes an irresistible combination with chocolate and a warmly spiced cream