It’s been a quiet week but beautiful weather and everyone seems to be in a better mood now the sun is shining.

So, I thought I’d share some of my favourite warm weather recipes.

Earlier this week Matt and I cooked gluten-free pasta for the first time. I’m off on a girls holiday to Ibiza next week so have been trying to watch what I eat…ish! We have a tendency to go overboard when cooking pasta and usually end up in a carb coma.

We decided to cook the spaghetti with prawns, chilli, onion, garlic, cherry tomatoes and basil. It is a really delicious dish that is the right mix of spiciness and freshness. The gluten-free pasta tasted almost exactly the same as regular pasta but left us feeling less full and nicely satisfied.

Another meal I plan to cook this week which we always love in the summer is ceviche. We first tried it when we travelled around South America in 2007. It’s basically raw fish which has been marinated in lime juice and chilli with some coriander.

We usually use sea bass which needs to be really fresh. Cut the fillets into small pieces and leave them in a bowl with the lime juice and chilli for around half an hour. You will see the fish will have changed from looking raw to a more white, cooked colour. Then add the chopped coriander and you’re ready to go. You can eat it with anything but Peruvians often choose roasted corn pieces or perhaps some avocado.

This is another light dish which could be a starter or a light meal – another one for those working on their bikini body!

Some people might be a bit wary of making a dish with raw fish but if you leave it to marinate for long enough I assure you it will be safe to eat and more than worth it!

I imagine lots of people will be having barbecues this summer too so I wanted to share a little canape we discovered which we love making for our friends and family.

Bruschetta with broad beans, mint and ricotta on toasted sourdough bread. It’s really easy to make and you end up with a lovely colourful plate of food.

Boil some frozen broad beans until they’re cooked. Then peel them and put them in a bowl with shredded mint, lemon zest, olive oil and salt and pepper. Mash up the beans so they are broken but not total mush.

Toast the sourdough pieces and while still hot rub a raw garlic clove which has been cut in half over one side of the bread. Then spread the ricotta over the bread and spoon the mixture on top. Et voila – done!