Lorraine Pascale’s Fast, Fresh and Easy Food

100g hummus

100g feta cheese

½ small courgette

6 cherry tomatoes

Drizzle of balsamic glaze (found in the supermarket)

Extra virgin olive oil

Small handful of fresh mint leaves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Feta, hummus & courgette pizza with balsamic drizzle & mint

+ Spread the hummus over the base of the pizza and crumble the feta on top. Use a vegetable peeler to slice the courgette into long, thin strips. Keep going until all is used up and arrange these also. Halve the tomatoes, scatter them over and season with salt and pepper.

+ When you have topped the pizzas, bake each one in the oven for 8–10 minutes or until crispy and the sausage on the harissa, chilli & sausage pizza is cooked. Once cooked, scatter the rocket over. Scatter the basil leaves over the cooked goat’s cheese pizza and drizzle with a little oil. Drizzle the balsamic glaze over the feta pizza with a good drizzle of olive oil, then scatter over the mint leaves. Serve the pizzas immediately.

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Aussie sweetcorn breakfast fritters with avocado & rocket salad & sweet chilli jam (#ulink_be5b3ae7-7a0d-5937-add7-ae3e06a56c94)

Peppadew peppers, which are used in this dish, are generally found in a jar near the capers in the supermarket. However, if you can’t find them, just use 100g of cherry tomatoes in their place (in addition to the cherry tomatoes already in the recipe), along with a bit of Tabasco.

Time from start to finish: 20 minutes

Serves: 2

Equipment: Colander, blender or food processor, medium pan, large frying pan, medium bowl or jug

Chilli jam

375g jar of mild or hot Peppadew peppers

125g cherry tomatoes

½ bag of fresh basil

6 tbsp caster sugar

Fritters

Sunflower oil

50g self-raising flour

50ml whole milk

1 egg

425g tin of sweetcorn

50g half- or full-fat crème fraîche, to serve

Avocado & rocket salad

1 ripe avocado

½ bag of rocket

Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil

Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

+ First, prepare the chilli jam. Drain the Peppadew peppers well and put them in a blender or food processor with the cherry tomatoes. Rip the leaves from the basil stalks, add them too and blitz until smooth. Then tip into a medium pan over a medium heat. Add the caster sugar and bring to the boil.

+ Meanwhile, start on the fritters. Put a big drizzle of oil into a large frying pan over a medium to high heat. Put the flour, milk and egg in a medium bowl or jug with a big pinch of salt and some pepper. Beat the mixture hard with a wooden spoon to get rid of any lumps. Drain the sweetcorn well, stir into the batter and set aside for a moment.

+ Once the chilli jam is boiling, turn down the heat and leave it to simmer away for 8 minutes, stirring it from time to time so that it does not catch on the bottom.

+ Once the oil in the frying pan is nice and hot, put four dollops of the fritter mix into the pan. Each one should be about 10cm in diameter and this uses all of the mixture up. Cook for about 3 minutes.

+ Meanwhile, cut the avocado in half and remove the stone. The easiest way to get the stone out is to put the blade of a sharp knife into the stone as if you were going to cut it in half. Then twist the knife a bit and the stone should just pop out. Peel off the skin and slice the flesh into long, thin strips. Arrange to one side of two serving plates and set aside for a moment.

+ The underside of the fritters should now be crisp and golden brown, so flip them over and leave to cook for another 3 minutes.

+ Pile the rocket into the centre of each plate, drizzle with a little oil and balsamic vinegar. Once the fritters are crisp and golden on the bottom, remove them from the heat and arrange two of them on each plate opposite the avocado. Dollop the crème fraîche beside them. Remove the now-reduced chilli jam from the heat and spoon a little onto each plate. Give a little twist of black pepper over everything and serve.

+ Any remaining chilli jam can be stored in a sterilised jar in the fridge for up to one month. See the limoncello (#u9d6f52e0-752e-54c9-989b-411db795dac1) recipe for how to sterilise jars. It is also delicious served with meats and cheeses.

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Simple salmon ceviche with tortilla chips (#ulink_d7efcc44-e16b-5f41-9f24-7cea18310636)

Use the freshest, freshest fish that you can find for this dish. Even go to the fishmonger if you have one near you and ask him for his finest catch. This is a wonderfully summery South American-style dish with lots of tang and spice. Sea bass, tuna, salmon, even scallops, can all be used here. You can either just buy a big bag of tortilla chips or, if you fancy making your own, they are very, very easy and I have included the recipe below.

Time from start to finish: 30 minutes if making your own tortilla chips (you actually only save 2–3 minutes if using shop-bought!)

Serves: 4

Equipment: 1–2 large baking sheets

Ceviche