Saltimbocca is easily one of my favourite Roman-style dishes. The Italian Nonna who taught me to make it served hers with sautéed green beans and tomatoes – I’ve been making it the same way ever since. Traditionally made with veal cutlets, I’ve made mine with pork fillet because they’re easier to buy but you could also use chicken if you wanted to.

To keep this steak recipe strictly one pan, you can source some good quality chimichurri from the supermarket. If you can’t get hold of a good store-bought version of this Argentinian salsa, I’ve provided my go-to chimichurri recipe which can be made and stored in a jar with a slick of olive oil and will keep in the fridge for a week or so.

Harissa is a North African spice past that provides a dark sweet heat to meat or a depth of flavour to the classic dish Shakshuka, eggs poached in a tomato sauce. A jar of it, is a welcome addition to any storecupboard and for quick recipes like this, it distills the best of your spice press into one powerful dollop to be spread over seabass fillets. Salmon or mackerel fillets would also work here.

The salty umami taste of soy sauce is often underrated and masked by other stronger Asian ingredients. In this simple chicken supper it stands to attention with the aromatics of freshly grated ginger and creates a dark and delicious sauce to coat chicken thighs, noodles and vegetables. In this case I have used dark soy sauce a richer and slightly less salty version than light, please do try and seek this out, it’s altogether different from lighter soy sauce in taste and texture.

This recipe, if you can even call it that, is perfect for the days that you want a quick and easy dinner. You need to use the best ingredients you can get your hands on as it really makes all the difference to the finished dish.

Meaty and succulent but with a delicate flavour, sole works beautifully with this nutty golden brown butter spiked with tangy lemon and salty capers. Treat yourself this restaurant-style meal for one – you deserve it!

A jam jar marinade, tender roast chicken with a sweet and savoury coating- what’s not to love? Similarly this method would work with marmalade, tomato or plum jam. Brushing with additional chilli jam at the end of the cooking time is optional but will give the best sticky results. The fried rice in this recipe is one my mother has been making since her travels in Thailand in the early nineties.  It’s simple to make but incredibly fragrant and benefits from using leftover cooked rice.

I urge you to source coriander roots for this recipe (i.e, not just the stems). They have a fresh aromatic taste which will transport you to the streets of Bangkok. To make this veggie-friendly, swap out the fish sauce for soy sauce.

In this recipe I have used a dry rub option on crisp chicken thighs, cooked in the oven until tender and humming with spice. Alongside them- baked feta. The idea of baking feta cheese makes it, as an ingredient, far more appealing to me. Perhaps it has been ruined for me by one too many dodgy Greek salads, but this method reduces it’s acidic bite and leaves you with a warm and creamy cheese which impressively holds it’s shape.  Alongside the transformed chicken and the crunch of some lightly dressed fennel shavings and herbs, this is a supper, which is far greater than the sum of its parts.

A supper using only a few ingredients, of which, the likelihood of you having in your kitchen, is high. The Cajun seasoning isn’t entirely necessary and a simple blend of a teaspoon each of cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, cumin and garlic powder will suffice. I’m quite fond of this particular method of cooking chicken thighs- it was passed on from a food writer friend. If you would prefer a quicker fix here, I would suggest seeking chicken thighs with the bone removed or alternatively remove it yourself- they will cook much faster.

Most Italian Nonnas would insist on simmering a ragu for hours but I think my cheat recipe delivers all that satisfying richness in a fraction of the time. For best results, visit your local butcher and buy the best quality pork sausages you can lay your hands on.

The food of South East Asia and in particular Vietnam continues to excite me. The streets of the capital city Hanoi, are lined with food vendors, each one specialising in their trademark street food snack. For very little money you can experience a dish that has been mastered by repetition and championed by local diners who vote on their favourite dish with their feet. While it may seem like this dish has a lot of ingredients, this simple beef noodle dish can be made in a few minutes and should evoke the taste and smell of Vietnam’s busiest street food alleys.

Traditionally “cacciatore”, an Italian hunters stew is slow cooked, so you will have to excuse this bastardised speedy version. Although not traditional, it’s a comfort food supper that can be cooked in a matter of minutes using mostly inexpensive ingredients. Serve with sour dough bread to soak up the juices.

You can find lots of different noodles in an Asian supermarket which would no doubt be delicious coated in this nutty sauce, but I do love those packets of thick worm-like udon noodles which just need a quick blast in a pot of boiling water.