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Pushed for time but still want freshly made family dinners? Clodagh Mckenna’s stunning dishes can be made in as little as 10 minutes (yes, really)

by Clodagh Mckenna

As a chef I talk to people about food every day – in person, on Instagram and even in the street. They give me recipes, tell me their food preferences and where to buy the greatest ingredients. But the number-one topic is time – more specifically, how little they have, and how that affects what they cook and when they cook it.

I feel so passionate about helping all of us to cook more regularly. It improves everything in our lives – physical and mental wellbeing. No matter how hard my day is, I give myself a little gift of a home-cooked meal at the end, because it will always make me feel better.

So I decided to write a book which is focused on time. In Minutes is packed with 80 flavourful, speedy recipes that you can cook from start to finish in 10, 20 or 30 minutes, from creamy forest pasta to nutty chicken or Singaporean pepper prawns. Soon they’ll be your weekly staples.

I hope you enjoy the recipes and that they make your daily cooking more delicious, fun and easy. Just make sure to pop on your favourite disco tunes and have fun while you’re cooking!

★ Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan or ovenproof casserole dish over a high heat. Add the bacon lardons and fry for 3-4 minutes until they start to look crispy. Add the onion and fry for a further 3-4 minutes until the onion is beginning to soften.

★ Sprinkle over the flour and mix well to coat the bacon and onion. Pour in the stock and milk and add the potatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes until the potatoes are cooked but have not started to fall apart.

★ While the soup is simmering, heat the olive oil in a nonstick frying pan and add the streaky bacon. Fry until very crispy and blot dry on kitchen paper. Set aside.

★ Once the potato is cooked, add the spring onions and sweetcorn to the soup. Bring back to a simmer to heat the corn through. Season to taste.

★ Ladle the soup into bowls. Break the crispy rashers of bacon into shards and scatter over the soup along with the chopped chives. Garnish with lots of black pepper to serve.