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This three-course menu is quick and easy to make – and includes my credit-crunch ice cream

I don’t like to over-complicate food, says Mark Hix - Matt Austin
I don’t like to over-complicate food, says Mark Hix - Matt Austin

Whipping up a quick and easy menu doesn’t mean you have to compromise on quality. Cooking is all about confidence – cooking one good ingredient well, without messing about with it too much, says an awful lot.

It’s all too easy to buy a prime cut then lose it among other ingredients. I don’t like to over-complicate food anyway, preferring not to put too many elements on the plate.

This week, I’m sharing a three-course meal for two that takes little more than 30 minutes to make yet tastes phenomenal. Keeping prep and cooking time to a minimum means you can spend more time at the table.

Freshly cooked leeks doused in a punchy vinaigrette is a good example of seasonal simplicity. The British leek season runs until about April and this humble allium rarely gets celebrated as a standalone ingredient on the plate; it often disappears into soups and stocks. A dish like this is certainly the best-value and tastiest way to serve a leek.

The lamb rump steaks, meanwhile, can be served with seasonal roast vegetables, which can be blanched and seasoned in advance and then put in the oven to roast when you begin the leek starter.

My credit-crunch ice cream was invented during the 2008 recession but is still a favourite: quick, incredibly easy, and starring vanilla ice cream with melted dark chocolate and chunks of chocolate-coated honeycomb. Enjoy!