Crispy rice You do want day old rice here as the lack of moisture is what makes it crispy. Sushi rice or white basmati/long grain rice works best. If you don’t have this, you can of course make this with freshly cooked rice, not crisped up. Maybe top with some crispy onions for texture. Otherwise, you could use a packet of microwave rice and crisp that up. It doesn’t quite have the same texture as when you do it with homemade rice but it does turn crispy. With this kind of rice, I like to spread it on a baking tray, drizzle with oil and place in a 200c oven until crispy, around 10-15 minutes. Poaching eggs I know a lot of people swear by adding vinegar but I’ve never found that to be necessary.

Here’s what I do: 1. Heat the water to a simmer - not a boil 2. Simply use a wooden spoon to swirl the water and create a little whirlpool 3. Crack the egg into a small bowl or mug (this is important - don’t be trying to crack the egg straight into the pan…it never ends well) and then lower it into the water 4. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the white feels firm, tender and shiny 5. Lift it out using a slotted spoon onto some kitchen paper - this is probably the most important step! Draining the egg on kitchen paper gets rid of excess water, you can also get rid of any scraggly bits of egg white that might have appeared and you can flip it over when you serve it so it looks pretty. 6. Season well with salt and pepper That’s it! If you really don’t want to poach an egg, a very softly boiled egg - boiled for 6 1/2 minutes on a steady boil creates the perfect jammy yolk center and firm but supple egg white. The jammy soft boiled egg is a hybrid of a poached egg and hard-boiled egg with a soft, custard-like center. Wine Totally optional as I know this is a weeknight recipe but if you do happen to have any wine open already, a slosh of wine here is welcome and it deglazes the pan so well. Tomato sauce I usually would use a plain passata if I had hours but when you’re short of time, finding little ways to add lots of flavour is key. So I like to use a passata that is enhanced with garlic, herbs or whatever elser rather than a plain 100% tomato one. Try to find one with no added sugar, just lots of tomato, garlic and herbs. Makes it so good.

Make this recipe even easier: If my recipes can try to convince you of one thing, it’s to use your blenders and food processors. I can’t tell you how much I love and use mine - I have a NutriBullet for blending and a Magimix as a larger food processor but this KitchenAid mini chopper is so good too for quicker, smaller things. So in this recipe, I just threw the veggies into my food processor and it blitzes them up in 10 seconds vs lots of chopping.

How to double the recipe: very easy, just double it all as above and continue on. I actually like making a batch with 1.5kg beef mince as it freezes SO well and then you have more meals to go when ready with no effort.

What to do with leftovers: if you have leftovers, it reheats beautifully in the microwave or in a pan over medium heat with a splash of water to loosen it. If you have made a huge batch, you can make my pasta bolognese bake.