The Joyful Home Cook. Rosie Birkett

to tear into, it’s an all-star line up of spice, sweetness and umami. If you’re making it for veggies, sub the anchovies for capers or black olives.

      150g puy lentils

      200g fregola or giant couscous

      2 large beetroots, scrubbed

      olive oil, for drizzling

      300g organic carrots, scrubbed and halved lengthways

      100g parsnips, scrubbed and halved lengthways

      4 banana shallots, peeled and halved lengthways

      4 slices of Preserved Orange (see here) or zest of 1 orange

      1 tsp cumin seeds

      1 tsp coriander seeds

      pinch of dried chilli flakes

      1 tbsp honey or maple syrup

      leaves of 3 heads of chicory

      2 large burrata

      handful of parsley and coriander

      sea salt and black pepper

       For the pickled beetroot

      100ml cider vinegar

      5g sea salt

      30g caster sugar

      ½ tsp each fennel seeds, mustard seeds and coriander seeds

      ½ cinnamon stick

      2 candy-striped beetroots, peeled and thinly sliced

      ½ red chilli, thinly sliced (optional)

       For the walnut salsa

      50g walnuts

      40g tinned anchovy fillets

      1 tbsp rose harissa (I love the Belazu one)

      1 tbsp flat-leaf parsley leaves

      1 tbsp coriander leaves

      1 tbsp orange juice

      1 tbsp lemon juice

      100ml olive oil

      1 Cook the lentils in salted water, according to packet instructions, and the fregola separately (also in salted water) until al dente, drain both and transfer to a bowl. Pour in 1 teaspoon of olive oil and fork it through so that they don’t stick together.

      2 Now pickle the beetroot. Combine the vinegar, 100ml water, salt, sugar and spices (except the chilli) in a non-reactive pan and bring to the boil. Place the beetroot slices and chilli (if using) in a clean heatproof jar or jug and pour over the pickling liquor. Leave to steep.

      3 Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. Take a piece of foil big enough to wrap the beetroots and place the whole beetroots on it. Drizzle with a little olive oil and season. Wrap the beetroot in the foil, leaving a little air between them, and place on a baking tray. In a roasting tray, combine the carrots, parsnips, shallots and preserved orange or zest, pour over a little olive oil to coat, then scatter over the spices and drizzle over the honey or maple syrup. Season well with salt, give everything a good toss, then put that tray and the foiled beetroot tray in the oven, with the beetroot tray on the top rack.

      4 Check the parsnips and carrots after 35 minutes. They should be browned and tender with crispy edges, but not dry, while the shallots should be nicely caramelised and sticky. When done, remove the tray from the oven. Roast the beetroots for 1 hour in total, until they are tender all the way through (use a skewer to check). Remove from the oven and leave until cool enough to handle, then use some kitchen paper or the back of a spoon to peel away the skin, and slice them into wedges.

      5 To make the salsa, blitz the walnuts in a food processor briefly until coarsely chopped, then add the anchovies, harissa and herbs and blitz again to combine. Add the the orange juice, lemon juice and the olive oil. Blitz again, then taste and season with salt to taste.

      6 To assemble the salad, add the chicory and herbs to the bowl of lentils and fregola, season with salt and pepper and add a splash of the beetroot pickling liquor and a little olive oil. Toss to coat, then arrange on a sharing platter. Top with the roast beetroots, carrots, shallots, parsnips and burrata, then dress with the salsa. Drain the beetroot from the pickling juice (reserving the juice for another use, see Rhubarb Poaching Liquor Roast Parsnips here). Scatter over the pickled beetroot and serve with extra salsa on the side.

Sourdough pizza

      Makes 2 large or 4 small pizzas

       The process below may seem lengthy, but slow fermentation is great for developing flavour and it also changes the structure of the proteins, making them more digestible, thanks to the organic acids produced. It makes the nutrients more readily available, too, so this sourdough pizza is more nourishing than usual pizza, and – crucially – more delish!

      200g ‘00’ flour, plus extra for dusting

      150g organic strong white bread flour

      6g fine sea salt

      45g lively or refreshed Sourdough Starter (see here) (or 7g fast-action dry yeast)

      245ml lukewarm water

      1 tsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing

      1 Put the flours and salt in a large bowl and stir to combine. Make a well in the middle and add in your starter and the water. Use a butter knife or wooden spoon to stir until you have a combined, scraggy dough. Leave to rest for 30–40 minutes. This process is known as autolyse. Don’t be tempted to knead before you’ve let the dough rest; you will be rewarded for your hands-off approach with a more manageable dough.

      2 Once rested, it’s time to work the dough. It’s going to be sticky, so I like to keep it all in the bowl I mixed it in. Using moistened or oiled fingers or a moistened silicone spatula, dig under the dough and stretch and pull the edge up over the ball. Turn the bowl clockwise and repeat the lifting, stretching and pulling about 15–20 times. Keep going until you have a ball, then coat with a little oil, cover the bowl with cling film and chill in the fridge for 12–20 hours.

      3 A couple of hours before you want to bake your pizza dust your surface with plenty of flour, scrape your dough onto the surface and leave it to come up to room temperature for 15 minutes. Using a sharp knife (or dough scraper, if you have one), divide the dough into two or four, depending on whether you prefer two medium pizzas or four small – it will be super-stretchy and sticky but this is good! Line a tray with some baking parchment and brush with a little oil, then scatter over some flour, ready to prove your dough on.