Best served with vegetable crudités, tortilla chips or potato-skin crisps, they will be devoured in no time by your guests.

Or if you fancy making something more substantial, my naughty nachos are ideal for sharing and always a crowd-pleaser.

Naughty nachos

What you need:

For the salsa:

• 200g jar red or green jalapeños
• 200g cherry tomatoes
• 1 red onion (or 1 bunch of spring onions)
• Small handful of fresh coriander

For the nachos:

• 200g Cheddar cheese
• 400g tin of kidney beans
• 200g bag of tortilla chips
• 200g sour cream

For the guacamole:

• 3 perfectly ripe avocados
• A few drops of Tabasco sauce (optional)
• 1/2 a lime
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Equipment:

• Colander
• 2 small bowls
• 25.5cm-square baking dish at least 6cm deep

Lots of cheese, chips and cream – just what I feel I need on those days when I want that extra bit of comfort on a plate.

There are a few parts to this recipe, but it is really, really quick and I find myself gravitating towards making this at the weekend, as it is a great sharing dish. It’s on the naughty side but really tasty. “Everything in balance” is my mantra.

I found the jars of jalapeños in the supermarket, but if you can’t get them, just use two regular green or red chillies, de-seeded and finely sliced.

First, preheat the oven to 200°C, (400°F, Gas Mark 6). Then prepare the salsa. Drain the jalapeños, quarter the cherry tomatoes and toss both into a small bowl.

Peel and finely chop the red onion – or finely slice the spring onions, if using – reserve a handful and add the remainder to the bowl. Rip leaves from the coriander stalks, roughly chop them, then toss everything together and season to taste.

Finely grate the cheese and drain and rinse the beans. Now to assemble the nachos. Scatter a third of the tortilla chips in the bottom of the baking dish and scatter over a third of the cheese and then all of the beans.

Then follow with a third more tortillas, a third more cheese and some of the salsa.

Finish with the remaining tortillas and cheese. This is actually a freeform dish – my only thing is, I love cheese on the top.

Now pop it into the oven to bake for ten minutes while you make the guacamole.

Halve the avocados, discard the stones and use a spoon to scoop the flesh out into a small bowl. Lightly mash with a fork and stir the reserved chopped onion through with a few drops of Tabasco, if you like.

Season to taste with salt and pepper and squeeze in lime juice. Spoon the sour cream, remaining tomato salsa and guacamole into small serving bowls.

Remove the nachos from the oven. The cheese should be bubbling. Serve in the centre of the table with the accompaniments for everyone to dig in and help themselves. (Serves 6)

Delicious dips … Tuna and creme fraiche, hummus with cumin and paprika and avocado, chilli and chive

Tuna and creme fraiche dip with black pepper

What you need:

• 185g or 200g tin of tuna in spring water
• 75g half or full-fat crème fraîche
• A few fresh chives
• 1/4 lime (or lemon)
• Teeny squidge of honey (optional)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain the tuna well, squeezing out as much of the water as possible. Place in a medium bowl, add the crème fraîche and then snip in the chives using scissors.

Mix together well and season to taste with salt, pepper and a good squeeze of lime (or lemon) juice. Also add a little honey to sweeten, if you like. Spoon into a bowl to serve. (Makes 225g)

Hummus with cumin and paprika

What you need:

• 400g tin of chickpeas
• 100g half or full-fat crème fraîche
• 2tsp cumin powder
• Extra virgin olive oil
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/4 lime (or lemon)
• A pinch of paprika
• A few fresh coriander or flat-leaf parsley leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Drain the chickpeas, rinse well and then tip them into a blender – I find a stick blender works brilliantly.

Add the crème fraîche, cumin and a drizzle of oil, then peel and add the garlic clove.

Season well with salt and pepper and blitz until fairly smooth. Check the seasoning, adjusting if necessary, add a squeeze of lime (or lemon) juice and blitz again briefly.

Spoon into a bowl, sprinkle paprika on top, rip over some coriander or parsley leaves and serve. (Makes 350g)

Avocado, chilli and chive dip

What you need:

• 2 ripe avocados
• 1 small red chilli
• A few fresh chives
• 1 lime (or lemon)
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the avocados in half, discard the stones and then scoop out the flesh into a medium bowl.

De-seed and finely slice the chilli and add. Then, using scissors, snip in the chives.

Mash everything up until fairly smooth, season to taste with a good amount of salt and pepper and squeeze in the lime (or lemon) juice. Spoon into a bowl to serve.

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