Harissa salmon, feta and sumac peas, and crispy parmesan potatoes

A midweek dinner idea with supermarket staples

This time last week my son was amid a hot red rage because I took his raspberry rice cakes away. I usually would have just let it go when he managed to fish the packet out of the cupboard straight after breakfast and started devouring the lot. But I’d just read Bee Wilson’s article about the dangers of processed baby and toddler food. So the guilt at the number of melty sticks, sweetcorn puffs and sickly-sweet baby snack bars he’d already consumed in his short two-and-a-half years on earth overcame me. I decided the rice cake he was guzzling would be his last. My son – having not read the article – didn’t take my side. The mother of all tantrums ensued.

I agree with the points Bee makes in her piece. As she said herself, it’s the unregulated baby food industry, rather than the knackered parents, who should be feeling guilty.

But it doesn’t help, does it? I still feel awful that I can’t remember the last time my son ate a vegetable, and that I bribe him with snacks in brightly coloured packets.

We’re living in a world in which there’s more information than ever available about how to parent, but we’re too time-poor, skint and frazzled to be able to implement a lot of it. It’s not sustainable, is it?

So here’s a recipe my son would never eat. It’s a recipe I love that’s spicy and acidic and lemony and I didn’t adapt it at all, because it’s Mother’s Day, and I’m not in the mood for any more guilt or battles. I hope you like it too.

Harissa salmon, crispy parmesan and black pepper potatoes and feta and sumac peas

Serves 2

400g new potatoes
30g parmesan, grated
2 fillets salmon
1 lemon
2 tbsp rose harissa paste
200g frozen peas
100g frozen broad beans
50g feta
2 tsp sumac
Small handful of fresh mint, finely chopped
Watercress, to serve

Preheat the oven to 190°C fan. Slice the potatoes into chip-sized pieces, arrange on a flat baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Bake for around 25 minutes, turning halfway, until golden brown. Once cooked, toss in lots of black pepper and the grated parmesan.

Meanwhile, slice half the lemon into thin slices. Arrange on two squares of tin foil.

Pat the salmon dry with kitchen towel and rub some salt into each fillet. Place on top of the sliced lemons on the foil squares, skin-side down.

Score 3-4 lines in the top of each salmon fillet. Spread the harissa over each, smoothing it into the crevices.

Scrunch the foil to form two parcels around each of the salmon fillets. Place on a baking tray and bake along with the potatoes for 15 minutes, until the salmon is tender.

When the salmon is almost ready, boil the peas and broad beans in salted water for 3 minutes. Drain, then grate over the zest from the remaining lemon and squeeze over the juice. Crumble over the feta and stir through the sumac and chopped mint along with a drizzle of olive oil.

Serve the salmon and potatoes with a handful of olive oil-dressed watercress, the potatoes and the peas.

One more idea: everything bagel asparagus and broccoli

An easy way to enjoy the first of the British asparagus. Steam 180g asparagus and 150g Tenderstem broccoli in salted water for 3-4 minutes until just tender.

Meanwhile, on a large shallow platter, add 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar, 1 tsp Dijon mustard and the juice of a lemon. Whisk together and season with salt and pepper.

Toss the warm asparagus in the dressing and sprinkle over 2 tsp of everything seasoning.