These are some fast and easy dishes from the Mediterranean and my other travels. There's a sea bream dish I was taught by a Spanish chef who was working in Israel, strawberries with orange blossom and pine nuts I ate up a mountain in Morocco, and a saffron chicken Persian national dish I've adapted. It was first cooked for me by my Iranian friend's mum when I was about 14. It feels, tastes and looks like magician's food.

Chilli lamb chump, carrot tabouleh

Chumps are a fabulous cut of lamb from round about the same place as rump is on beef, but fattier, which means it's great for grilling. Now is a great time of year to eat lamb - much better than early spring when there's just nothing on the wee newborns.

Supper for 2

1 lamb chump, just under half a kilo
a few stray fresh chillies, if you have them around, for grilling
3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
50g bulgar
2 carrots, peeled, grated on the big holes
a couple of big handfuls of flat leaf parsley, mint or coriander in any combination, roughly chopped
small handful of pumpkin seeds, toasted
small handful of flaked almonds, toasted
small handful of sultanas, plumped in a little boiling water
juice of an orange
salt and pepper

For the sauce:

1 tbs harissa
juice of ½ lemon
1/2 clove of garlic, finely mashed
1 tsp honey
salt and pepper

Heat your griddle to get properly hot. Meanwhile, in a pan, gently heat half the olive oil, then stir in the bulgar and roll and coat. Pour on 100ml or so of hot water, season, cover and simmer for five minutes with a lid, then turn the heat off and leave to sit for 10 minutes for the grain to absorb all the liquid.

Meanwhile, season the lamb well, then lay fat-side down on the heat. Ideally you'll have a metal bowl or failing that some foil to closely cover it with. After five minutes turn it over onto a new side, and keep turning it every five minutes so that all sides get a good grilling for about 20-25 minutes in total. If you have any spare chillies then chuck a couple of these on to grill, too, for any fire-eaters that happen to be passing.

In a bowl mix together the carrot, herbs, seeds, nuts, sultanas and bulgar. Douse with orange juice and a splash of olive oil, then add some salt and stir well.

Leave the salad to sit for a minute, and as the lamb finishes cooking/resting (it'll need a good few minutes once it's had its time) knock up the kicker sauce to finish it off. Just whisk all the ingredients in that section together lightly with the last of the olive oil.

There's enough meat there for two, backed up by a salad that's very easy munching and finished off with a good bit of Berber fire.

Grilled sea bream, fattoush tomatoes and thin roasties

I was taught this by a chef in one of those lucky-find restaurants on a beach in Israel. He was actually from the Balearics, so it could be more of a Spanish thing.

Serves 2

2 portion-sized sea bream, gutted but not filleted
2 tbs sunflower oil
450g desiree potatoes, washed, halved lengthways then sliced 1cm thick
a glass of white wine, about 180ml
50g butter
juice of 1/2 lemon
few sprigs of rosemary
1 tbs caster sugar
5 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic
200g vine-ripened cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/gas 7. Put a non-stick, ovenproof pan on the hob with the sunflower oil in it to get very hot, then toss in the spuds and spend a minute of two shuffling them around before putting a lid on (there'll be a whole lot of spitting and sizzling going on under there, but just ignore it for a few minutes).

Get your griddle pan good and hot too, before seasoning your fish well on both sides and laying them on the scorching grill.

Give the spuds a good shuffle so that new surfaces are in contact with the pan, then throw them onto the top shelf of the oven (they should need about 10 minutes).

Meanwhile, after about four minutes gently turn the fish over - don't force them as the skin will unstick from the grill when it's ready - and then turn the heat off. Pour on the wine (big sizzles), then as it reduces, drop the butter on in knobs along with a squeeze of lemon and a couple of rosemary sprigs. Now chuck the whole thing in the oven below the spuds (and while you're there give the spuds a bit of movement, too).

Lastly, in a small thick-bottomed pan melt the sugar in 2 tablespoons of water. Pour in a couple of tablespoons of oil, the garlic (whole cloves) and the rest of the rosemary. Keep on a medium heat to really infuse, giving the pan the odd swirl for a couple of minutes, then once the garlic and rosemary have begun to caramelise a little bit, lay in the tomatoes (washed, and still on the vine), and gently roll them around in the oil before covering with a lid.

After a few minutes the tomatoes will have started to explode, so turn the heat off now. Check the spuds are ready - take your lead from them about when to serve up - they shouldn't be longer than a couple more minutes, enough for the tomatoes and fish to have a mini-rest, and to adjust the seasoning on the fish sauce in the bottom of the griddle. The tomato juice is yummy and can be added to the rudimentary fish sauce or kept separate.

Sautéed chicken liver and radish salad; pickled cucumber and onion

There's something about chicken livers and radishes, all given a quick toss in a hot pan together, that gets me quite excited. With the added sweet-sour of the pickled bits, this wins for me. Makes a light supper or a lunch.

Serves 2

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/3 cucumber, peeled, halved lengthways, seeded and 1cm sliced
1/4 tsp fennel seeds
140ml fructose (or 1 1/2 tbs sugar)
1 tbs white wine vinegar
1 head baby gem lettuce, chopped and washed
handful of flat leaf parsley leaves
handful of mint leaves
couple of splashes of sherry vinegar
2 tbs olive oil
salt and pepper
80g fatty back bacon, thick sliced
200g prepped chicken livers, separated into lobes
10 radishes plus leaves, trimmed, halved lengthways and washed

In a little pan put the sliced onion and cucumber, fennel seeds and white wine vinegar, then stir in the sugar (fructose still counts as a sugar). Bring to a quick simmer with a lid, then take the lid off, turn the heat down a touch and let all the liquid boil away giving it the odd stir on the way: it should take about 10 minutes until you have no liquid left.

Toss your leaves in a bowl: baby gem, parsley and mint, then dress with half the olive oil, a splash of sherry vinegar and some seasoning.

Meanwhile heat a non-stick frying pan with the rest of the oil in it. Fry the bacon for a few minutes (depending exactly how crispy you like your bacon) then spoon the bacon out while leaving the pan on the hob.

Season the chicken livers well and once the oil is back up to hot lay them down in it.

After a couple of minutes turn them over, splash in a touch of vinegar, then lay the radishes on top of the livers, with their leaves and cover with a lid on so the radishes lightly steam as their leaves wilt - no more than a couple of minutes - then turn off the heat.

Build your plate to look good: dressed leaves on the bottom, a scattering of both meaty bits and radishes, then top it all off with the pickled crunch of the cucumber and onion. Spoon any pan juice over the top and don't hang around before eating.

Strawberries with orange blossom, pine nuts and honey

I had this up a mountain in Morocco years ago and was instantly impressed by the use of couscous in a pudding, especially with the orange blossom. Just in case you can, doing this with wild strawberries is a whole different stratosphere of pleasure. When I had this in Morocco it was served in one big dish and we all picked and shared it.

Serves 4

3 tbs sugar
100g couscous
1 heaped tsp green tea or 1 bag
a few sprigs of mint
50g pine nuts, lightly toasted
splash of orange blossom water
1 large punnet strawberries, halved
2-3 tbs runny honey

Mix the sugar with the couscous in a small saucepan, add the tea and mint, then pour on boiling water until just covered.

Now cover the saucepan with a tight fitting lid, or with cling film, and sit in a warm place for five minutes until all the liquid is absorbed. Leave to cool, then take out the teabag.

Mix the pine nuts, orange blossom water and couscous together, and then stir in the halved strawberries.

Bind with honey, spoon onto a large plate, and drape the mint around the dish for decoration.

Saffron chicken kebabs with Persian jewelled rice

I have a feeling that there are quite a lot of Persians out there who might not be too impressed with me concertina-ing one of their national dishes into a 40-minute quick supper (the meat is supposed to marinade for at least 24 hours), but even this brief version is pretty spectacular.

A good supper for 4

300g basmati rice
1 tsp saffron
600g free-range chicken thighs, boned and quartered
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
juice of 1 lime
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 pepper, or a mix or two colours if you have them, cut into large pieces
1 small red onion, cut into sixths
kebab sticks
1 tbs plain oil, like rapeseed or sunflower
1 small white onion, chopped
2 cardamom pods
a healthy pinch of allspice
big pinch turmeric (optional)
couple of nice tomatoes, halved
a few dollops of Greek yoghurt with chopped mint in a bowl on the side
1 pomegranate, seeded
30g pistachio kernels
pickles and pickled chillies for the side of the dish

Soak the rice in cold water for 5-10 minutes. Sprinkle the saffron into 2 tablespoons of warm water and leave for a couple of minutes as you mix the chicken pieces in a bowl with the garlic, lime juice, olive oil, some sea salt and then lastly the cooled saffron water.

Get your grill/griddle hot hot hot. Thread the kebabs with bits of chicken and peppers.

Drain the rice and heat up the rapeseed oil in a heavy-bottomed pan. Sweat the onions and cardamom and allspice in it for just a couple of minutes over a high heat with a lid on, then tip in the drained rice with just under twice as much volume of water to rice (just to be super-colourful I split mine and did half with turmeric for fun, but it depends how much of a hurry you're in and how important colour is to you). Once the rice has come to a fast boil, turn the heat down a bit and let all the liquid steam away - about 12-15 minutes.

As the rice is simmering, give the kebabs a last seasoning then lay on the scorching griddle along with the halved tomatoes, also seasoned and brushed lightly with oil - they'll take about four minutes a side. While the chicken and rice are doing their thing, quarter the pomegranate and knock the back of each quarter over a bowl to get the seeds out.

Throw together the minty yoghurt dish, and once the rice is cooked, stir in the pomegranate seeds and pistachio kernels to bejewel it. I always think this one looks more fun and majestic served with the pickles on a rather splendid-looking platter - white plates are so drab sometimes.

Grilled courgette, feta, pea and mint flatbreads

More of a lunch, or even a packed lunch, than a supper. Very easy cooking and even easier eating. All these flavours have been tried and tested for centuries, and even after all these years they never get bored of being together.

makes 2 filling wraps

1 courgette
4 tbs extra virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
130g fresh peas (shelled weight) - but frozen are fine
80g feta cheese
80g Greek yoghurt
very finely grated zest of 1 lemon
1 spring onion, sliced
2 flatbreads, the smaller size, white or wholemeal
1 big cos lettuce leaf, or a couple of baby gem leaves
handful of mint leaves, washed
squeeze of lemon
some chopped red chilli - quantity is a personal matter

Get your griddle pan good and hot (or you can do it under the grill - timings should be just a little bit longer though).

Top and tail the courgette, slice it in half lengthways then cut each half into three very long triangular shaped batons (elongated Toblerones ... or something like that). Gently give them a roll in half the olive oil, seasoning and the chopped garlic.

Lay them on the griddle, loosely cover with a piece of foil and cook for four minutes before turning them over and doing the same on the other side (you only need to cook them on the two cut sides - no need to griddle the skin side, which tends to burn more easily).

If you have fresh peas, fill a small pan - the one you normally boil your eggs in - with salted water and bring to a rolling boil - four minutes is plenty - then drain. Now, whether using fresh or frozen, run a masher over the peas a few times to break them up a bit. Stir in the rest of the oil with some seasoning.

In a bowl mush the feta into the yoghurt. Stir in the peas, lemon zest, spring onion and some seasoning. If your flatbread is not the freshest, soften it in the oven for a minute or two, then lay on the lettuce, then the feta mix, grilled courgette, mint leaves, lemon juice and a bit of chopped chilli if you are using it. Try to roll it up good and tight - it makes a difference to the pleasure of the eating.

· Allegra McEvedy is a co-founder and development chef at Leon, a small chain of restaurants that aims to sell healthy fast food