The Joyful Home Cook

A spoonful of ras el hanout transports you straight to the spice souk. A heady, fragrant North African spice blend composed of more than 30 ingredients, it translates from the Arabic to mean ‘top of the shop’.

Serve it with warm pitta bread or yoghurt flatbreads (see here), or as part of a meze plate with Labneh (see here), roasted veg and freekeh.

2 × 400g tins chickpeas, rinsed

1½ tbsp rapeseed oil

2 garlic cloves (skin on)

3 tsp ras el hanout

5 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling

2 tbsp tahini

140ml cold water

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp orange juice

1 slice of Preserved Orange (see here (#litres_trial_promo)), chopped, or grated zest of ½ orange

2 tbsp coriander leaves, finely chopped, plus a few whole leaves, to garnish

1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.

2 Dry the chickpeas with a clean tea towel and put them in a large roasting tray. Add the rapeseed oil, garlic cloves, ras el hanout and a pinch of salt and toss to coat. Roast in the oven for 25 minutes.

3 Leave to cool for a few minutes after roasting, then transfer to a food processor (squeezing the garlic out of the skins first), reserving a handful of chickpeas for garnishing. Add all the other ingredients and pulse until creamy, but still slightly chunky. Transfer to a bowl, top with the remaining chickpeas and drizzle over more olive oil for good measure. Scatter over the coriander leaves and serve.

Memorable Mains (#ulink_b7f3b874-bc24-5388-82ac-8542cf186a3d)

This is the place for golden-crusted pork chops rubbed with fennel, thyme and cayenne (see here), and squishy fried aubergine with crispy roasted chickpeas and labneh (see here); things you can rustle up without too much trouble. Giving care and attention to those important details, however – like frying those aubergines to a silken splendour – elevates the ordinary to the extraordinary, making these meals, well, you guessed it: memorable.

As well as making the most of seasonal veg in the Burrata and Roast Root Rave Salad (see here) and Allotment Greens Orecchiette (see here), this chapter is alive with some of my favourite international influences, and will bring some revelations, like how off-the-charts salmon tastes when cooked gently in a marinade of tahini and preserved lemon; what fresh curry leaves can bring to your kedgeree; and how an anchovy-laced béchamel can transform our old pal broccoli. You’ll put your sourdough starter to good use again to make the Sourdough Pizzas (see here) – perfect for a pizza night with pals – and your vegan mates will love you for the delicious Sri Lankan-inspired vegan curry feast you cook up for them (see here).

Pork chops rubbed with fennel, thyme and cayenne

Serves 2–4

You can’t beat a succulent pork chop for a simple, satisfying meal thrown together in a matter of minutes. This effortless fennel, thyme and cayenne rub flavours the meat beautifully, and is also good as a seasoning for homemade pork burgers, or a rub for chicken. Find chunky, best-end pork loin chops with a nice layer of fat for crisping up. Serve with a bright, sharp shaved salad such as the Shaved Fennel, Radish and Pickled Peach Salad (see here and pictured here).

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp sea salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp caster sugar

grated zest of ½ unwaxed lemon

leaves from 2 sprigs of thyme

4 skinless pork best-end loin chops (about 250g each)

1 Toast the fennel seeds in a dry frying pan over a medium-high heat for a minute or two, until fragrant and golden. Transfer to the bowl of a food processor, or a pestle and mortar, add the salt, cayenne pepper, sugar, lemon zest and thyme and blitz or pound in the mortar until finely ground.

2 Season the flesh of the pork chops with the salt mixture, rubbing it into the meat but avoiding the fat (you’ll only need about half of the salt mixture – store the rest in an airtight container and use it for other meats, or chicken). Leave the pork chops to sit in the rub at room temperature for 1 hour (if you’re leaving them for any longer than that, keep them in the fridge), then gently rinse them and pat dry with kitchen paper.

3 Heat a griddle or skillet over a medium-high heat, or prepare a barbecue.

4 Grill the pork for 5 minutes on each side (or a little longer if the chops are really thick), pressing the fat against the pan or barbecue grate to render some of it out and crisp it up. If you’re cooking the pork in a pan, baste it in its own fat. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for 10 minutes, then serve with a salad.

Chilli, broccoli and anchovy gratin

with pan-fried red mullet

Serves 4

Red mullet is one of my absolute favourite fish. Aside from being crazy beautiful, its iridescent rose-red skin has a wonderful nuttiness, and its flesh a special sweetness that requires very little from the home cook, other than a quick pan-fry. This leaves you free to lavish the broccoli with a bit of attention, and really, it’s never felt sexier than it does here, cloaked in this creamy, yet deeply umami béchamel made with anchovies, garlic and chilli. Rosemary adds an aromatic edge, while sourdough breadcrumbs and pumpkin seeds provide an irresistible crunch and tang. Once you’ve made and tasted this gratin, I’m convinced you’ll want to use it as a side dish for all manner of things, as it’s also superb with meat such as rare roast beef, or salt marsh lamb, and you could even make it into a meal in itself served with a little pasta or warmed white beans.

2 small-medium red mullet, cleaned, scaled and gutted

2 tbsp olive oil

thumb-sized strip of lemon zest, pith removed

leaves from 1 sprig of thyme

For the gratin

1 large head of broccoli, broken into florets, leaves set to one side, stalk trimmed and thinly sliced

2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

grated zest and juice of ½ unwaxed lemon

1 red jalapeño chilli, deseeded and half sliced, half diced

5 good-quality anchovy fillets in oil, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 sprigs of rosemary, leaves picked and roughly chopped

2 tbsp plain flour