A trio of speedy suppers

These are busy days at Runcible Spoon HQ (more details soon) and, given our lack of freezer space, quick fresh weekday dinners are just the ticket. Here’s what’s been cooking for the last few days – all from fridge to fork in less than thirty minutes. Plenty of time left over for plotting and scheming!

1. Spud, pud and egg

I love potato cakes so much I’ll happily boil up a batch of spuds for mash to make them. They’re a great way of using up leftovers, too – this batch had chopped spring onion, butter, salt, pepper and a dusting of flour added before they went on the pan. With some of Jack McCarthy’s out-of-this-world chocolate black pudding, a poached egg and some mixed leaves alongside, this made for a tasty brunchy dinner. (By the by, Jack – a veritable Willy Wonka of meat – is up for the Sunday Independent’s Food Hero award. He’s got my vote and he could have yours too if you were to text “Hero E” to 51000.)

2. Socca and smoked haddock

A random Twitter chat with the lovely Caroline of Bibliocook led to her passing on her recipe for socca. I had feasted on this delicious chickpea pancake when himself and myself were in Nice a couple of years back, but hadn’t tasted it since. The basic version with red onion worked well with some poached smoked haddock from Kish Fish and a tomato, parsley and lime salsa. I’ll definitely be giving it a go as a pizza base too, though.

3. Zingy crab spaghetti

Himself also picked up some sweet Irish crab meat while in Kish – just enough for a spaghetti dish for two. I fried off a crushed clove of garlic and a finely chopped chilli, then added a finely chopped tomato, the juice of half a lemon and a splash of white wine. Once the tomato had softened, I stirred through the crab meat and, just before plating with the spaghetti, a handful of chopped coriander. Zing!