The Joyful Home Cook. Rosie Birkett
tbsp semolina flour
½ tsp cumin seeds, ground in a pestle and mortar
pinch of sea salt, plus extra to serve
200g olive oil-packed cooked artichoke hearts
1 Heat the olive oil for the dip in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin and coriander seeds and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes until aromatic, then tip in the cannellini beans and toss everything together over the heat for a minute. Remove from the heat and transfer to the bowl of a food processor with all of the remaining dip ingredients. Blitz to a smooth paste, adding a splash of water to thin until creamy. Taste for seasoning and adjust accordingly with more salt or acid, until it really sings. Leave to infuse in the fridge for a couple of hours to allow for the flavours to develop (if you have time).
2 To make the crispy artichokes, heat the olive oil in a non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat. Put the semolina flour, ground cumin seeds and salt in a bowl and toss to combine. Drain the artichokes from their oil and one by one coat them in the semolina. Once fully coated, slide them into the oil and fry for a couple of minutes until golden and crisp, turning them to make sure they cook evenly. Remove with a slotted spoon to a plate lined with kitchen paper and scatter with a pinch of sea salt.
3 Serve the dip topped with the crispy artichokes, with flatbreads or crispbreads for scooping.
Beetroot, coconut and curry leaf
Serves 4–6
Beetroot and coconut is a flavour combination I discovered in Sri Lanka, where beetroot curry is a staple. This vegan and gluten-free dip takes its lead from this curry (see here) and is a winner served with crisp seeded crackers (see here) or crisps.
500g raw beetroots, scrubbed
olive oil, for drizzling
1 tbsp coconut cream
juice of ½ lime
½ tsp red chilli powder
100g drained tinned chickpeas
1 tbsp extra-virgin coconut oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
handful of fresh curry leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
crushed pink peppercorns, to serve
1 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
2 Toss the beetroots in a roasting tray with a drizzle of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Cover the tray with foil and roast in the oven for 1¼ hours, or until a skewer inserted into a beetroot comes out with no resistance. Remove and leave to cool, then peel the beetroots and roughly chop.
3 Place the beetroot in a blender or food processor with the coconut cream, lime juice, chilli powder, chickpeas and big pinch of salt, and blitz until you have a smooth purée.
4 Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and when they start to pop, add the curry leaves and fry until crispy but not browned.
5 Season the dip with salt and pepper to taste, scoop it into bowls and top with the mustard seed and curry leaf mix. Stir and serve warm or cold, garnished with pink peppercorns.
Ras el hanout roasted chickpea
Serves 4–6
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), 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.
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