Covid-unfriendly fishy dip (much more delicious than you think)

I have an off-putting recipe for you. It sounds, and to an extent looks, like one of those dire Seventies Cookbook nightmares. It's definitely not for distanced picnics where you aren't sharing plates. But it's cousin to the brilliant Italian dish vitello tonnato, it just doesn't require a roasting joint and is viable for 20-minute lunch breaks. (But don't try eating it at your desk. is drippy.)

It was a deep favourite of mine as a tweenager, as made by my lovely friend Zoë's mum Chris. With warm mini-pitas, and carrot batons, it was a world of sophistication in mid-1980s suburbia.

Tuna dip

You need: heinous amounts of mayonnaise, tin of tuna (ideally in brine), a few anchovies (more if you don't have brine), garlic, lemon, and - if troubled by heinous amounts of mayonnaise - low-fat natural yoghurt as well.

I tend to blend the first ingredients, and see how sticky it is; then mix in yoghurt to taste. Today, as it's for several lunches, I went runnier and less rich. But you can go for the more luxurious and less drippy version. Pitted green olives optional, but they do go well - better than fancy ones which are a bit shouty for this. And I had plenty leftover from last night's relish..

Excellent with cold potatoes and baby tomatoes while frantically decricking your back from four hours of Zoom.

Meanwhile, in Sophistication/Dinner Corner, it's Prawns with Feta and Ouzo

I love a prawn with Pernod (which is standing in for ouzo), especially roasted. I have a much more lethal recipe which needs about a quarter of a litre of pernod for two portions, and is one of the most expensive things I have on my fairly regular cooking rota. This is a bit more viable for midweek. It still has the same effect of sweetish anise tomato prawns.

Sweat an onion and some garlic till properly soft (15 mins or so). Add 1/2 tsp paprika, a squooze of tomato paste, plenty of seasoning, and 50ml pernod (or other anise liqueur of your choice). Warning: may flambe your eyebrows, though mine didn't for once. Cook that off for a minute, then add several chopped tomatoes. Cook them down for about 10 mins.

Then take raw prawns (you can probably do this with cooked, but I hate rubbery prawns, and as we will see I had to cook them for longer). Mix them into the sauce, and if you can use your frying pan for a grill/oven then just flatten them out into a single layer. Then take a block of feta and chunk it up over the surface, nice and unevenly.

In theory this is 5-10 minutes under a hot grill, but in my case more like 15-20 in a hot oven, due to the usual crap appliances. But it worked *very* nicely.

Definitely one to have with bread, if you can. Don't waste the juices, they're gorgeous.