We had dab fillets tonight. I'm not all that confident with fish but I've learned not to overcook, the killer secret. We had four fillets each (they are small) which cost just over three quid. Dead cheap. I seasoned some flour and I dredged the fillets in it, then pan-fried them quite gently in half olive oil, half butter. Three minutes skin down, one minute flipped. We had the fish with Morrisons mushy peas (the ones that come frozen in 1kg bags) and my home-made oven chips (I will not buy oven chips, which are an abomination). My God, it was the meal of the week.

My oven chips: the spuds are paramount. They have to be the salad waxy types such as Charlotte or Nicola. Starchy collapsibles won't cut it here. Scrub the spuds and cut off bad bits but don't peel them. Cut them into thick chips or wedges, whatever you like. Parboil for eight minutes in well-salted water then drain. Put the drained spuds back in the pan and shake vigorously to rough up the outsides. Don't omit this crucial step. Put the spuds into a baking tray, tossed with a few good glugs of groundnut oil. Put the tray into a very hot oven (250C) for about 20 minutes. I'm telling you, you can't buy chips as good as that.