Nigella Lawson

I’m not, as a rule, one for flavouring mashed potatoes, but this version is a worthy exception. Because the garlic cloves are boiled with the potatoes, they make their presence felt sweetly rather than shoutily, and the Parmesan provides a gentle tang.

Rich, sumptuous, and celebratory, this is a real feast of a stew. The dark, molasses-like dates melt into what becomes a deep, intense gravy, but they don’t overwhelm it with sweetness; the heady sourness of pomegranate molasses keeps it all in fragrant check. But if, when you taste it at the end of its cooking time, you feel you want a bit more acerbity, just squeeze in a little lime juice.

There is not a way I don’t like a chickpea or, indeed, a time when I couldn’t eat mashed potatoes, and this is a very happy combination of both, while being very gratifyingly its own thing. It offers comfort, uplift, aromatic zing, and ease – just what you want when lacking time or energy or both. While I eat this all the year round, I do think of it as the perfect summer version of a bowl of wintry mashed potatoes. And cold, this bumpy chickpea mash is wonderful as a kind of tahini-free hummus.

First up: The one type of pasta Nigella says you should always have on hand.

This is Cooking the News, a daily column that pairs food with the news.