FORGET socks and slippers and instead treat your dad to some tasty grub this Father’s Day.

Simon Cave, author of new cookery book Manly Food, gives a taste of what men want on their plate.

“My tastes are incredibly varied and I would have lots of food that wouldn’t fit the book or the stereotype [of manly food], but there was something going on where some people’s tastes are a bit different.”

Researching what to include in the book involved quizzing people on what they’d expect to see in it, and Cave wasn’t surprised to discover that the same responses cropped up time and time again.

“They all said the same: Meaty things. Spicy things. Things that are hearty. Sour or bitter drinks,” he explains.

“The book is quite tongue in cheek, but there is an approach there – which isn’t gender specific – but is just a different way of cooking.”

That’s a ‘manly’ way of cooking. And what Cave’s trying to say is, you don’t have to actually be a man to enjoy ‘manly’ food.

Cave says Father’s Day is all about family and informality, and he prefers a nice meal with his family to presents.

“As far as I can tell Father’s Day is about having a lie-in in the morning and an Old Fashioned cocktail or two in the evening, and maybe not mentioning the thing I haven’t done which I promised to do 10 years ago!”

If you like the cut of Cave’s jib, here are some simple Manly Food recipes that the kids can help with while dad relaxes on the sofa this Father’s Day.

Manly Food by Simon Cave is published by Quadrille Publishing, priced £25. Available June 6.

Ploughman’s Lunch

(Serves 4)

500g good quality cooked ham, cut in very thick slices

1-2 large pieces of hard cheese, such as mature Cheddar and Stilton

1 loaf farmhouse bread, sliced

2 apples, cut into pieces

Chutney, to serve

Pickled onions to serve

Mustard, to serve

For the piccalilli:

100g sugar 1l cider vinegar 1 cauliflower head, broken into small florets 500g French beans, trimmed and cut into large pieces 1 cucumber, peeled and thickly diced 2tsp mustard powder 2tsp turmeric 1tsp honey 2 garlic cloves, crushed 3tbsp white wine vinegar 9tbsp sunflower oil 1 red onion, sliced salt and black pepper For the beetroot salad: ½tsp caraway seeds, toasted 4tbsp vegetable oil 2 shallots, finely shopped 4tbsp red wine vinegar 4 beetroots, boiled, skinned and roughly chopped Salt and black pepper For the piccalilli, bring the sugar and cider vinegar to the boil in a pan.

Add the cauliflower, the beans and cucumber. Cook for three minutes, then remove and drain. In a small mixing bowl, combine the mustard powder, turmeric, honey, garlic with the white wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper. Stir well before adding the sunflower oil. Put the onion in a bowl, add the vegetables and the dressing, and toss. Keep refrigerated and use within two days.

For the beetroot salad

toast the caraway seeds in a little vegetable oil in a hot frying pan. Mix together the shallots, caraway seeds and vinegar in a bowl and add the oil. Add the beetroot and stir gently.

To serve, simply assemble all the ploughman’s components, preferably on a wooden board. Serve with beer.

Chocolate Brownies

(Serves 6)

Butter, for greasing

200g good quality dark chocolate (70% cocoa)

200g icing sugar

3 eggs, at room temperature

40g sifted flour

Preheat oven to 170C/325F/Gas mark 3. Grease a 20 x 20cm baking tin and line it with baking parchment, leaving a little overhanging on every side.

Break chocolate into pieces and melt it in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of barely simmering water. Once the chocolate has melted, remove from the heat and beat in 40ml of lukewarm water, followed by the icing sugar. Add the eggs one by one, stirring vigorously to ensure a smooth consistency. Stir in the flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, or until small cracks appear on surface. Serve warm with ice cream, or cold alone.