A spring soup-stew known as scafata and typical of Lazio, featuring chard, potatoes, artichokes and new-season broad beans

Broad beans are back – long, green fingers with the odd black nail. And so are the warning signs, for those who suffer favism (a rare but acute haemolytic syndrome), as well as for those, such as my neighbour, who think that fave are an abomination. For fans, the first young beans are good raw, with pecorino or cheddar. In Lazio and central Italy, scafa is dialect for a broad bean pod, and scafare the verb for removing the beans from their pods; therefore, scafata is a dish involving podded beans. As you might expect from a dish shared by different regions, scafata has as many variations as cooks that make it, but, broadly speaking, it can be described as somewhere between a brothy stew and a dense soup involving broad beans and other spring vegetables, such as chard, onions, potatoes and artichokes.

The cooking method is what I think of as a steamy braise, which is also a possible chapter title for an as-yet-unwritten detective story. One steamy braise might start with a letter containing a feather and a ring. The other – this one – starts by cooking vegetables in a generous amount of olive oil. Once they are just starting to soften, liquid is added and the pan half covered, allowing the vegetables to soften further in both the liquid and steam, which (having done its job) evaporates, leaving behind a vegetable liquor and an olive oil broth.

Welcome to a win-win vegetarian Italian classic: it’s simple, delicious and makes clever use of old bread

Today’s easy recipe for Italian vegetarian “meatballs” is a great way to use up stale bread in a tasty yet economical way. I like them gently fried, then mixed with tomato sauce and spaghetti, but they’re also great coated in breadcrumbs and deep-fried or baked until crisp and delicious. They’re good with steamed seasonal greens, too. Other variations on the theme include placing a cube of mozzarella in the middle of each ball and taking this dish to the next level. Unless I’m feeling flush, though, I prefer to keep things simple with just breadcrumbs flavoured with parmesan or a vegetarian alternative (or whatever cheese I have to hand).

Scoop something cold and sweet into something soft and bready for a scrumptious sandwich treat

The Amalfi coast, summer 2005: I’m 14 years old and on a family holiday. I keep seeing people eating these brioche rolls stuffed with ice-cream and, naturally, they’re all I can think about. When I finally get one, it’s not at all how I’d imagined – the brioche is a bit stale, and the sun melts the ice-cream inside and it runs down my elbow. I still love the idea of it, though, and I like to think this version is an improvement on that first one I ate in Italy.

This week, Marina Hyde discusses the Thames Water crisis after a sewage-plagued boat race (01:27); Simon Hattenstone interviews Nick Cave, who is about to exhibit his ceramic figurines at the Xavier Hufkens gallery, about art, love, politics and the death of his two sons (08:59); and Rachel Dixon investigates bread in Britain and what it tells us about health, wealth and class (28:52)

Buttery and soft leeks with a cheesy crusty topping – a relatively faff-free Easter meal

Parsley sauce is making a comeback – you heard it here first. I eat it a lot, in various iterations, but in today’s dish it is one of three things that are very simple to make and work beautifully in harmony. The other two are soft, buttery leeks and cheesy breadcrumbs. Together, these three building blocks make a perfect Easter lunch, either alongside potatoes and greens, or as a side for ham or roast chicken. I urge you to make extra breadcrumbs – they are addictive and go with everything. Thank me later.

Kitty Coles’ book, Make More with Less: Foolproof Recipes to Make Your Food go Further, is published by Hardie Grant at £22. To order a copy for £19.36, go to guardianbookshop.com

A fresh take on seasonal favourites adds Middle Eastern spice and cleverly accommodates leftover hot cross buns for afters

The daffodils are out, parading their annual magnificence, and I can’t help but be enchanted by the beauty of spring. While I’m not religious, I also can’t help but revel in the festivities of Easter. Eggs, lamb and hot cross buns are all traditional, but these fuss-free recipes give them a new lease of life. Buy in some flatbreads and pickles to serve alongside the meat, so you aren’t stuck in the kitchen for the whole day. After all, there are more important things to do – such as hunting for chocolate eggs!

An Easter brunch of eggs in creamed spinach with spiced butter seeds, and a Korean-inspired take on spicy fried eggs

Eggs are for life, not just for Easter. Of course I think that, as someone who has just written a book focused on eggs. But this long weekend provides a particularly ovoid prompt. The baked-egg dish does what it says on the tin: lightly spiced seeds add bite and verve to a luscious, creamed spinach base. And the piquant, Korean-inspired skillet eggs are a winning brunch or lunch for one, and equally easy to scale up to feed a group.

These recipes are edited extracts from Good Eggs: Over 100 Cracking Ways to Cook and Elevate Eggs, by Ed Smith, published by Quadrille at £22. To order a copy for £19.36, go to guardianbookshop.com

Catherine Hunt says making her own is a habit and a way of life, while John Boaler is a fan of electric breadmakers. Plus letters from Helen Clutton and Lesley Noblett

Re your article on breadmaking ( Britain’s bitter bread battle: what a £5 sourdough loaf tells us about health, wealth and class, 20 March ), I am a very ordinary person living a very ordinary life in a semi-detached house, caring for my grandchildren while their parents work. I make a loaf of organic sourdough bread every day for less than £1. The flour comes from Shipton Mill and is delivered to my door for free.

Sourdough is the most well‑behaved bread. It is not demanding and does not need exact timings. The slowness of the rise means you can forget it and it does not sink: a grace-filled bread.

Craft yourself some Glamorgan sausages out of stale bread, dark green leek tops and bean water

Last year, I helped the Welsh government set up a food sustainability toolkit for home cooks and food industry professionals alike. You can access it for free , and it’s full of tips to help reduce food waste, packaging and energy use in the kitchen. The website is also a great resource for sustainable Welsh-inspired recipes, including fish-scrap croquettes and today’s Glamorgan sausages, which are a great way to use up stale bread. However, I’ve adapted the traditional recipe to use up not only stale bread but also dark-green leek tops and aquafaba, which acts as a binding agent instead of the usual eggs and milk, so cutting costs and saving waste. Glamorgan sausages are very simple to make and are a great vegetarian option for breakfast or supper; I tend always to make a few extra for the next day.