ROSIE REYNOLDS,

WHO wants to be spending hours in the kitchen or faffing with tricky instructions? Let’s face it – we all want a shortcut to delicious dishes. And now chef and food stylist inset, has come to the rescue with her new cookbook. Shortcut Cook uses tricks and creative solutions to help you whip up the best food in the quickest and easiest ways. Here are four recipes for you to try.

Serves 4

Prep: 20 minutes Cook: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

150g salted tortilla chips 1tsp paprika

5tbsp plain flour 500g firm white fish, defrosted if frozen, cut into 5cm pieces Light-flavoured oil, for frying

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the cabbage salad:

1⁄4 red cabbage, shredded

1⁄2 red onion, finely sliced 1⁄2tsp dried oregano

1tbsp cider vinegar

Drizzle of light-flavoured oil Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

To serve: 12 small tortillas Handful of coriander Sour cream

Hot sauce

Method: Make the cabbage salad. In a bowl, mix together the cabbage, onion, oregano and vinegar with a drizzle of oil and plenty of seasoning. Set aside while you make the rest of the dish.

Put the tortilla chips in a strong, sealable sandwich bag along with the paprika and bash to fine crumbs. b Leave the crumbs in the bag.

Put the flour on a plate and add some seasoning. Flick a little water over the fish so the surface is just glistening but not really wet, then dip the fish pieces into the flour to coat them. The water and flour should have made a light batter-like texture on the outside of the fish.

Drop the fish into the tortilla crumbs and gently toss to coat all over.

Pour oil into a large non-stick frying pan to a depth of 5mm.

Heat over a medium high heat until the oil is hot – the surface of the oil should be shimmering. Carefully place the coated fish into the hot oil (in separate batches if necessary) and cook for two minutes, then flip over with a spatula and cook for one minute, or until the crumbs are crisp and golden.

Remove to a plate and keep warm while you fry the rest.

Wrap the tortillas in foil and warm through in a hot oven for a few minutes. Alternatively, place them (unwrapped) on a microwave-safe plate and heat in the microwave.

Serve the crunchy fish pieces on the tortillas with some cabbage salad, a few coriander leaves and some sour cream and hot sauce, if you like.

Make ahead: The crushed tortilla chips will keep well for a couple of weeks in an airtight bag, but the rest is really a last-minute assembly job.

The shortcut: No breadcrumb blitzing, no deep-frying, but the same amount of crunch – winning.