Diana Henry

As with the novel, the demise of the potato is much discussed but never actually materializes, at least not in my house. This is not an exhaustive list, but it should help you cook potatoes that will go with Mediterranean dishes, Eastern European food, Indian, Greek, or sort-of-French recipes. You can stick them in the oven on the shelf below (or alongside) whatever starch-less main course you’re cooking. The first recipe is the most basic and can take endless simple variations. You do have to make sure your potatoes are cut to the correct (and roughly the same) size, though these are forgiving rather than exacting dishes. Cooked potatoes are tender and the tip of a knife will tell you whether they’re ready or not.

All the dishes in this chapter are made with chicken thighs, because I unashamedly love them. They’re succulent—so much better than breasts, which can dry out, in fact it’s hard to overcook chicken thighs—they all cook at the same time (and quickly), and there’s no carving. If you like a mixture of thighs and drumsticks, the recipes will will work with those, too, just replace half the thighs in any dish with drumsticks.

The flavors of a tagine without the fuss. This dish is quite sweet, because of the prunes, so it does need the preserved lemon to cut through that. If you don’t like prunes (I know they divide people), use dried apricots or pitted dates instead.

It might seem a hassle to roast the fennel and tomatoes separately, but it does make things easier when you come to assemble this, as each element stays intact and keeps its shape.

In the summer you can use fresh cherries, pitted, instead of dried ones.

A unique, yet simple, dish -- it’s just spiced roast chicken with dressed potatoes. But it is satisfying on every level.

You can put whatever you like in this as long as it’s green—kale, Chinese leaf, small zucchini, raw young peas, fava beans, whatever. You can reduce the range, too, so you don’t have to use all the herbs. Take care with the dressing. It needs a good sweet-sour-salty-hot balance, so taste and adjust it as you go before tossing with the vegetables.

It packs a punch, it includes my beloved cilantro, and is so hot it makes you reach for a beer. I make it a lot to go with lamb as well as chicken.

This is incredibly easy, somewhere between a stir-fry and a sauté, with just enough sauce to coat the pieces of chicken.