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An effortless three-course lunch for a sunny weekend get-together, fun and inventive vegan dishes that will appeal to everyone, and easy, nourishing midweek dinners with a spicy kick

On the menu

Fried stuffed vine leaves with dill cream

Flatbread meze pizzas

Tinto de verano granita

Easy on the eye and simple to make, thanks to shop-bought ingredients and no fiddly techniques. These recipes can be made ahead or require 30 minutes or fewer of prep – they’re go-to ideas for entertaining special guests

Fried stuffed vine leaves with dill cream

SERVES 4 | PREP 5 MINS | COOK 5-10 MINS | EASY | V GF

Mix 75g of mascarpone, 4 tbsp of double cream and 1 tsp of finely chopped dill or Seggiano semi-fresh dill. Drain a jar or tin of stuffed vine leaves – you will need 8-10. Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a heavy pan over a medium heat. Squash each stuffed vine leaf to flatten it and make it burst a little, add to the hot oil and fry for a couple of minutes or until a little crisp, then turn over and fry the other side. Leave in the pan until ready to eat, then warm gently, add some spoonfuls of the dill cream, scatter with chopped flat-leaf parsley and 2 tbsp of toasted pine nuts. Serve with some bread for mopping up and the remaining dill cream.

PER SERVING 414 kcals | fat 37.1G saturates 16.7G | carbs 12.9G | sugars 3G fibre 3.5G | protein 5.3G | salt 1.1G s

Visit the O shop and discover lots of goodies that make entertaining easier, including Cooks & Co vine leaves stuffed with rice – an easy, fuss-free snack for guests, or perfect used in the recipe above. shop.Omagazine.com

Tinto de verano granita

Tinto de verano means ‘summer red wine’ – sangria-like but much easier to make. Here it’s frozen into a granita or slushie and doubles as a post-lunch drink.

SERVES 4 | PREP 5 MINS PLUS FREEZING | EASY | GF

Mix 500ml of red wine (chose one lower in tannins with a softer mouthfeel), 375ml of lemonade, 125ml of soda water and a good squeeze of lime juice

If you have a high-powered blender, freeze the mixture in ice cubes and then throw the lot in the blender just before serving. Alternatively, pour into a freezer box, freeze for 2 hrs, then use a fork to stir through the ice crystals and freeze again for 2 hrs, stirring again as before. Repeat until you have a slushy mixture of ice grains, then freeze until needed. When ready to serve, scrape up the ice crystals with a fork and stir. To serve, load the icy mixture into four chilled glasses. Serve with a wheel of lemon or lime to garnish.

PER SERVING 116 kcals | fat 0G saturates 0G | carbs 5.4G | sugars 5.4G fibre 0G | protein 0.2G | salt 0.1G

Tip

If you have an ice cream machine you can churn the mixture until slushy and scoop it straight into the glasses.

Flatbread meze pizzas

We don’t really need an excuse to eat mortadella but, if you need one, then this is it.

SERVES 4 | PREP 5 MINS | COOK

15 MINS | EASY

Lay 4 thick flatbreads (choose ones that look like a big round naan rather than wraps) and spread each with 1-2 tbsp of green olive paste or something similar from a meze range – red or green pesto would also work. Divide 300g of firm-ish ricotta cheese (if your ricotta is wet then drain it first in a fine-mesh sieve) between the flatbreads, crumbling it all over the tops. Drizzle with good olive oil and season well. Bake for 10 mins in an oven heated to 200C/180C fan/gas 6. Lay two whole slices of mortadella onto each flatbread, scrunching the pieces gently to fit them side by side. Return to the oven for 5 mins. Halve and fold to eat.

PER SERVING 483 kcals | fat 27.3G saturates 10.2G | carbs 39.5G | sugars 3.4G fibre 3.2G | protein 18.3G | salt 1.2G

Tip

You can use slices of parma (or other) ham for this if you prefer. Mortadella is more luscious, so if you swap the meat you might want to add a drizzle of olive oil.