I’ve two quick and easy suppers for you this week. Oven-baked fish and chips are much healthier than the deep-fried variety. Haddock and the Pollack are both good value. And I like to try hake as well. Instead of breadcrumbs, you could use wholemeal for roughage.

There will be a version of this recipe in my next book, which is due out in the autumn. It will be called The Nation’s Favourite and will feature 100 of my favourite recipes. They are all ones that have been tried and tested and chopped and changed over the years until i have found the way I like them best. I hope you will like it.

My second offering this week is a tomato soup with pesto. This can be reduced to give you a great pasta sauce. Add some chopped vegetables and cook slowly and it becomes a one-pot wonder. I like to add red peppers that have been roasted. They are nice added to the soup also.

Instead of sour creram, you can use crème fraiche. The basil leaves are a nice touch to garnish this soup. It looks very well. These days i am meeting people at demos who have got into the habit of making their own pesto. It is great to hear.

Happy cooking!

THIS WEEK’S RECIPES

OVEN BAKED FISH & CHIPS

Serves four

750g floury potatoes, peeled and cut into

1cm thick chips

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

50g fresh breadcrumbs (about three slices of bread with crusts removed)

Zest of 1 lemon

2 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley

4 x 140g thick white fish fillets (cod, haddock, pollack)

2 long vines of ripe cherry tomatoes

1 egg yolk

1 lemon, cut into wedges, to serve

Salt and pepper

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan). Pat the chips dry on kitchen paper and tip them onto a large baking tray. Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the rapeseed oil over, season with salt and pepper, toss them about to evenly coat and then lay them in a single layer. Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, tossing halfway through, until crisp golden and cooked through.

2 Meanwhile, toss the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, parsley and seasoning in a small bowl.

3 Lay the fish fillets out, skin side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and brush the tops with egg yolk. Top the fish evenly with the breadcrumbs. Then drizzle the remaining tablespoon of oil over them.

4 Arrange the cherry tomato vines around the fish and cook in the oven for the last 15 minutes of chip cooking time.

5 Serve everything at once with lemon wedges.

TOMATO SOUP WITH PESTO

Serves four

1 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 garlic cloves, crushed

5 semi-dried tomatoes, chopped

3 x 400g canned plum tomatoes

500ml vegetable stock

1 tsp sugar

140g pot of sour cream

Basil pesto, to serve

Basil leaves, to garnish

1 Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the garlic and soften for a few minutes over a low heat. Add the sun-dried tomatoes, canned tomatoes, stock, sugar and season. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

2 Whip the soup with a hand blender. Add half the sour cream. Taste and add more sugar if needed.

3 Serve in bowl with some pesto swirled on top, some more sour cream and basil leaves to garnish.