Recipes

This is a fabulously delicious 10-minute way to cook squid. Equally wonderful for a supper when you don't feel like cooking or a dinner party for your foodiest friends.

A fantastic and very easy way to add a blast of flavour to many things – meat, fish, pulses. Traditionally it uses a lot of olive oil, but this recipe uses a lot less but is still delicious.

The Diva did not approve of the Coronation Quiche – was outraged by the broad beans – and is a great fan of Princess Anne, so she created a dish in her honour. And she did her proud: Crownless Quiche Royale is sensationally delicious – caramelised onions, parmesan, a great deal of cream; no pastry. And no broad beans. I think the King will feel very hard done by. Not entirely downsizing, but it has no pastry, and you could share it.

This is one of the stalwarts underpinning my life: I often have some in the fridge – it’s incredibly simple, delicious and very filling, and more to the point, ready to eat whenever I am starving, have no time to cook, and doughnuts are grinning at me enticingly through the letterbox.

You can easily buy pitta bread but making them fresh is very delicious, so if you have the time it’s really worth it - and fun to do with children.

Hard boiled eggs are very useful when downsizing: endlessly versatile – quick lunch, picnics, meze, sabbich – filling, and low-calorie-dense. And they are also delicious when they are not quite hard. Here's how to make them perfect.

All over the Middle East, versions of this salad appear as a vital – almost national – part of their food. It is delicious, and not surprisingly, eaten at almost every meal. Wherever it comes from, I love it, and to avoid diplomatic incident, this is my South-East London version.

Hummus is an essential part of life, and there is plenty of the stuff to buy. But if you make it yourself, you can decide how much oil and tahini you want to use without the risk of emulsifiers and all the other things that get used by the food-tech wizards when they want to produce a low-fat version of something. And you can make it in less time than it takes to find your car keys to drive to the supermarket.

I love roast chicken, but it is not ideal downsizing fodder, especially if slathered in butter or olive oil. But the legendary Marcella Hazan not only came up with a genius way of producing a moist, perfectly cooked bird with crispy skin, but as it is self-basted and therefore needs no extra fat, it is the most downsizing way to do it – but without losing any of the things that make roast chicken the thing we most want to eat.

This is one of my favourite salads. The whole spices give little taste bombs in the lentils, which combine perfectly with the bursts of sweet juice from the pomegranate seeds. This is a good distraction for a mouth that would rather be eating chocolate.

Frittata is a fantastic brunch, lunch or supper option: it is very easy to make, keeps well, and is delicious hot or cold – and unlike quiche, doesn’t involve either pastry or cream, but is still creamily delicious. When in doubt, I reach for the caramelised onions – and frittata is no exception.

A glorious addition to any brunch… or breakfast… or any other meal. This gin-cured version is outrageously delicious, extremely easy to do, and much cheaper than buying it. I usually keep some in the fridge and eat it for breakfast as it is a much better downsizing option.