A traditional maqluba – an upside-down layered treat of rice, veg and meat – with sides of pickled aubergine and a spicy, herby courgette salad

Ramadan in Jerusalem holds a special place in my heart, and evokes a blend of spirituality, community and tradition. A vibrant atmosphere envelops the city, the streets come alive with bustling markets selling festive foods, sweets and decorations, and the aroma of fresh baking fills the air.

Sami Tamimi is a chef and food writer.

Make a jar of this killer lime and pepper sauce, and it will keep for months, on hand and ready to perk up all sorts, including this super-simple mackerel with baked beans

For many in the Caribbean, hot sauce is part of everyday life. While locals in Trinidad and Tobago and Guyana are hardened to the punch of scorpion, wiri wiri or scotch bonnet peppers, I have more than once made the mistake of drizzling chilli-based condiments a little too liberally on my food. The citrus in my lime and pepper sauce offsets the intensity of the chilli, making it more palatable for the hot sauce-averse yet still delicious for existing fans. It goes really well with this Caribbean play on beans on toast.

A delicious way to poach a chicken, bollito-style, with a range of flavours to complement it

Before she moved, Ginia lived in a fifth-floor flat in a 1920s block near Piazza Vittorio. And before she gave up cooking, she used to make a bollito every other Sunday. Once upon a time, that meant an almost full bollito misto alla Piemontese , as her father taught her to make it: beef (muscle, tail and tongue), also a whole chicken and cotechino sausage boiled separately, then served together, sliced and steaming hot, with a selection of sauces. But as the years went on and the house emptied – of children, also of her husband (she threw him out) – her bollito streamlined.

By the time I met Ginia, the bollito was half a chicken, or maybe a boneless beef rib known as scaramella . Not that there was any talk of food when we first met in the international bookshop near Termini station. Browsing side by side, she asked me what I thought of Iris Murdoch, looked appalled when I said I hadn’t read her, then walked over to the desk and ordered me a copy of The Sea, The Sea. Two weeks later she sent me a message in capital letters – “LIBRO ARRIVES, BOOKSHOP WED 10” – and, after picking it up, we went for coffee, the first of many. She also seemed appalled when I told her I wrote about food. “Of all the subjects”. But then later we did talk about food – if the story involved something sinister or salacious, or a pub. Which is how we arrived at the bollito, and her ex-husband’s insistence that for it to be true bollito, the raw meat must be put into boiling water, but how she used to start from cold and he never noticed the difference. And somehow we arrived at Fergus Henderson ’s way of poaching a chicken, which she was quite delighted by, and in return she gave me suggestions for the sauces for boiled meat, whether for a bollito or a single poached bird, which is one of my favourite meals. Ginia suggested two or three condiments, plus mustard, with a poached bird, the sauces, and all ideally served in a compartmentalised dish. Leftover sauces are a gift for future meals and the saviour of leftovers. Ginia now lives in Berlin near her daughter, reads avidly and never cooks.

This beloved Italian-American chicken dish is perfect for a midweek dinner, while the vibrant, garlicky, tangy side makes for a brilliant accompaniment

Chicken piccata is not only a beloved Italian American classic, it’s also easy enough to be a weeknight dinner on the reg. The sauce is typically made with butter, lemon juice and capers – briny, bright and fatty all at once – but my take leans on buttermilk for tang and anchovies, chilli and shallots for brininess and spice. For the marinated zucchini/courgettes to go alongside, you’ll use them in two ways: raw and seared. As they sit in a vibrant, garlicky, tangy, minty marinade, all that flavour is absorbed into the flesh. The fried sunflower seeds on top add a necessary salty crunch.

This is an edited extract from More Is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen by Molly Baz (Murdoch Books, £26).

Take your tastebuds Stateside with these smashed potatoes with ranch dressing, sweet potato pie with whipped cream, and quick biscuits with sausage gravy

From Spain last week to the big old United States this, I think I’m still on some kind of imaginary summer holiday road trip. That’s the power of food, though: it can take you to places that life and logistics prevent you from actually ever getting to. In my mind, then, here are three deliciously dialled-up diner dishes for which I’d turn off any highway.

Spiced pork chops with apricot chutney, a nectarine and cucumber salad with a Korean chilli dressing, and roast beetroot, Georgian-style, in a plum dressing with blue cheese

I love cooking with stone fruit: it’s so versatile, and as happy to keep its shape (brushed with oil and chargrilled, for example) as it is to be taken to the point of collapse in a hot pan. Either way, its natural sweetness is ready to be dialled right up and used in all sorts of chutneys and dressings. Chutneys, especially, being so sweet, tend to keep well, too, so make more than you need to have to hand for a few meals ahead.

A three-course showpiece to prep in advance, so you can spend more time with your better half: burnt aubergine with feta and harissa oil, prawns in vanilla and rum butter, and a chocolatey coffee mousse to finish

This time last year, many of us were looking forward to a special, one-to-one supper with a loved one. The partner we live with, for example, but perhaps forget to go on dates with; a special meal, quality time, stories saved up to be shared. The past year has, of course, brought a whole new meaning to the idea of “quality time”, and I’m not sure anyone has any great stories they’ve saved for this Valentine’s dinner. Be kind and cut yourself some slack: forget about the top new chat and focus instead on a top new meal. Pat yourself on the back for making it this far, and raise a large glass of something you adore.