What meals can I make in minutes

...asked Poppy

A. Apart from the specific dishes mentioned below, the boring advice is to prepare in advance. Cooking sauces to add to pasta or home-made soups in batches, and freezing different size portions for you, you and a friend, or a dinner party for six, can work wonders as long as you remember to defrost the meal in time.

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Also, you don't want to start a meal by having to wash up, so invest in a dishwasher. You can buy slimline models now that are only 45cm wide or even ones that sit on the worktop, and so can fit into the smallest kitchen.

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Q. What's the most impressive and quickest meal then

A. It has to be pasta. The trick is to use a prepared sauce, either prepared by you in advance and frozen, or one from a jar, but to add a sprinkling of fresh or sun-dried tomatoes with freshly torn Basil leaves and freshly-grated Parmesan on top. It not only looks pretty, but tastes freshly prepared, too.

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Q. What if I want to cook a whole pasta meal from scratch, but quickly

A. Real spaghetti carbonara always goes down well. Put the pasta on to boil and gently dry fry (i.e. no oil required) four rashers of bacon cut into dice. While those two are cooking whisk together two egg yolks, two tablespoons of cream and 25 grams of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, return it to the pan and add the egg mixture stirring just a few times. You don't need to cook the sauce through, but stir just enough to coat the pasta strands. Mix in the bacon bits and serve with a fresh parsley or torn Basil leaf garnish. Dish delish in fifteen minutes, max!

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Q. If speed is your mantra should you avoid meat dishes

A. Not necessarily. You can dice up some chicken breasts and fry them in a litle oil for ten minutes, then add them to a shredded iceberg lettuce with garlic croutons (see below) grated Parmesan cheese and a dressing of a little white wine vinegar mixed into low call mayonnaise to make it runny. It's a pretend Chicken Caesar Salad. For even tastier chicken you can prepare the meat the night before by dicing it and marinating it in a little olive oil, white wine vinegar, soy sauce and a pinch of something hot such as chilli powder or cayenne pepper. Cover with clingfilm and leave in the fridge overnight or up to 24 hours.

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Q. Aren't croutons really fiddly

A. No, and they really do add an important touch to salads or soups which shows effort even though they demand very little. Keep your old, stale, sliced bread�and cut into cubes having removed the crusts. Toss in olive oil and crushed garlic until all the cubes are covered. Cook in the oven at 190C for no more than ten minutes. They will keep in the fridge for over a week, boosting your culinary reputation with a whole variety of meals.

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by Nicola Shepherd

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