Gino’s mix of Italian flavours and my need-for-speed most days has got me going back to his latest book, Pronto, time and time again, here’s one of my favourites – a quick and tasty salad that’s perfect for lunch or a light supper.

Serves 4

100g cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
100g borlotti beans, drained and rinsed
20 cherry tomatoes quartered
1 medium hot red chilli, deseeded and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely
2tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
8tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 medium skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into 1cm strips
100g hot chorizo sausage cut into thin round slices
60g rocket leaves

1 Put all the beans in a large bowl with the tomatoes, chilli and garlic. Pour over the lemon juice with half the olive oil, season with salt, toss altogether and set aside.

2 Place a large frying pan over a high heat and pour in the remaining oil, Add the chicken strips and fry for 5 mins, stirring occasionally.

3 Season with salt, add the chorizo and continue to fry for a further 2 mins over a high heat.

4 Toss the rocket leaves through the bean salad and transfer to a large serving plate. Top with crispy chicken and chorizo and serve immediately (or mix everything together, as I did-even speedier, and serve).

Sign of a great dish. Circular fork motions from an Italian.

Britalian Tip

This is great for a sophisticated summer picnic, toss everything together except the rocket (take it in a separate container), then toss it through just before serving. Take some crusty bread for the chorizo juices – perfect for ‘scarpetta’ (or ‘mopping up’ – think I’ll stick to ‘scarpetta’).