Don't throw those bloody spears at me.

I'm not sure how at the end of every day the house looks as if we've been running an army field kitchen, the laundry basket has repopulated itself as if the clothes love each other very much. And dust tumbleweeds seem to have blown in from the American Midwest.The children only get home from after school club after five in the evening so that gives them two hours to wreak Armageddon. And that's not even mentioning their ability to remove every single toy, book, pen and loom band from their room in the search for a single piece of Lego or suchlike.And among all this we need to eat. I've been getting back after long days shooting this week, so meals have been as simple as possible. Tuesday was baked potato with cheese and a salad. One evening we had grilled peach, mozzarella and mixed leaves. Another, rare for us, was a horrible Thai takeaway, which was a mistake and reinforced our belief that takeaways are generally disappointing, best avoided and it's much quicker to even just have some spaghetti with butter and cheese. Never again. I'd rather just have ham and egg on toast.The best meal this week was asparagus pasta. Maya and I made fresh tagliatelle on the weekend and there was plenty left over. Obviously, for this to be a quick meal, you need to have the pasta made or bought. Up to you.The asparagus, first blanched then grilled on a skillet, dressed with lemon juice, parsley, good olive oil and toasted almond flakes was tossed through the pasta with shards of Parma ham, cooked until crisp and then shattered. A handful of Parmesan cheese grated over, a twist of pepper, a pinch more of Maldon salt and another drizzle of oil and we eat. As shattered as the ham.Ingredients for twoA bunch of asparagus tipsZest and juice of a lemonAbout 4-6 slices of Parma hamA handful of parsley (flat leaf or curly, up to you)Excellent olive oil (it really does make a difference)A handful of flaked almonds200g fresh tagliatelle (or dry, or other long pasta)MethodBlanch the asparagus for a minute in boiling water then drain and season.Heat the skillet until very hot, dress the asparagus in a little olive oil and char until stripy. Keep warm somewhere.Cook the pasta in boiling, heavily salted water until al dente then drain and dress with more olive oil (It's good for you) in a large bowl. Meanwhile, crisp the ham on the skillet and toast the almonds, perhaps in a dry frying pan if there's no space.Chop the parsley, mix everything together in the bowl, season again to taste and serve.

Infused oils: getting more flavour into your meals

Here’s a quick and easy way to add a little more flavour to your cooking. Depending on what you’re making, using infused oils to cook with can make the difference between a good dish and a great one.I like to use this garlic, rosemary, chilli and tomato vine oil to make tomato sauces for pasta, such as arrabiata or beef ragú.IngredientsThe vine stems from four packs of tomatoes1 sprig of rosemary5/6 cloves of garlic2 chillies (serrano are good for this)400ml olive oil100ml rapeseed oilA splash of cider vinegarMethod

1. Gently heat the oil and add all the ingredients to the pan.
2. Cook on a medium heat for five minutes, until things start to sizzle and change colour.
3. Turn the heat off and leave to cool and infuse for 20 minutes.
4. Add the vinegar and store in sterilised airtight glass jars or bottles.

Other oilsOils are good to experiment with; here are some other ideas for oils that can add in-depth flavour to your cooking:Curry oil: a mix of cumin, coriander and cardamom seeds with peppercorns, cloves, garlic and ginger powder in a 50/50 mix of olive oil and rapeseed oil.Chilli oil: add chilli flakes, a selection of fresh chillies, some garlic and a dash of vinegar.Lobster oil: roast lobster shells in a little oil, then smash them up and add more oil before storing in a jar.Lemon oil: this one is great for South East Asian cooking. Blend lemon grass, lemon zest and lemon juice with some kaffir lime leaves and, if possible, verbena in a 50/50 mix of olive oil and rapeseed oil.

Sea urchin spaghetti with lemon and olive oil

One of the greatest meals I’ve ever had was a sea urchin pasta, eaten overlooking a beach in Paxos. We were at a cookery demonstration by Spiros, owner of Bar Taxidi in Loggos (surely the bar with the best view in the world?). Earlier that morning we had watched a boy diving into the beautiful clear sea by the bar, eventually emerging with a bucket of urchins. Spiros and an Italian-Greek friend of his then prepared this simple, yet absolutely amazing dish using the roe.Sea urchins aren’t that easy to come by, so when I saw some this week in Moxon's, I snapped them up. A good fishmonger should be able to order them in for you though, depending on the time of year. Make sure you use the best quality spaghetti you can get, as this dish is all about simplicity and quality.Serves:                 4Cooking time:   10 minsIngredients4 sea urchins (these keep in the fridge for a couple of days, wrapped in damp paper)Juice of half a lemonOlive oilA handful of chopped parsley400g spaghetti1 clove of garlicSalt to seasonMethod

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil for the spaghetti.
2. Prepare the sea urchins by cutting in through the hole at the bottom and around the ‘equator’. Carefully remove the pink roe with a teaspoon and rinse in cold water.
3. Put the garlic, lemon juice and roe in a blender, leaving some roe for the garnish.
4. On a slow blend, pour in the olive oil until you get a sauce the consistency of double cream. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
5. When the spaghetti is cooked, drain it and pour in the sauce, leave it to stand for a moment or two, then toss through the parsley. Serve and garnish with the remaining roe.

How to food style it

1. I had fun with the urchin shells here. I cleaned and boiled them and scraped the spines off. These gave me little ready-made bowls for them, but if you are serving them as a main course, you’ll either need a lot of shells, or just use a plate.
2. This is a delicate dish, so it’s nice to really carefully wind the spaghetti onto the plate. A few drops of lemon oil around the edge work well, giving it vibrancy and contrast.