Follow the simple principles of quality meat, cheese and herbs for the perfect patty – and don’t forget a fresh, tangy sauce

I have never seen an Ottolenghi recipe for a burger, be it meaty or vegetarian. How would you construct and garnish your perfect hamburger?
David, Winnipeg, Canada
That’s such a good spot! To be honest, traditional, full-sized burgers are something I tend to seek out from others - passionate people who flip burgers all day, every day – and my must-have condiments for those are proper burger sauce (that is, two parts mustard, one part mayo and one part ketchup), melting American cheese, pickles, raw white onion and iceberg lettuce. And on those rare occasions when I do make a burger at home, I follow similar principles.

Buy the best-quality meat you can afford. I love lamb in my burger patties, but I’ve also been known to use minced turkey thigh. For a lighter, springier patty, breadcrumbs are the obvious choice, but coarsely grated courgette (squeezed to get rid of excess moisture), grated onion and even mashed potato (as in today’s broad bean burger recipe) work really well, too, along with a beaten egg. Cheese such as ricotta, paneer, manouri and feta are also brilliant in a burger, as in the mix for my lamb and oregano meatballs, which can easily be turned into a patty.

The smooth filling hits all the zingy high notes and is a gorgeous contrast to the crunchy base

If you like key lime pie, you’ll like this. It hits the same notes, but is even more fragrant and fruity, thanks to all the passion fruit, lime and the crunchy ginger biscuit base. Condensed milk is one of the best things that comes in a tin and I welcome any opportunity to use it. Incorporating it into the filling helps this tart bake much faster than a traditional custard, and brings a delightfully creamy, silky texture.

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Baking in an air fryer may require a rethinking of tradition, but the result is comforting, gooey sweetness

When it comes to baking, people usually rely on recipes. Many cakes are made on autopilot in this way, but using an air fryer has taken us back to basics. Today’s recipe, which is somewhere between a pudding and a cake, has been a good exercise in getting to grips with our new gadget, checking in regularly as it cooks to understand how the air fryer works as a tool for baking. The result is delicious!

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Some days are best spent baking, just for the fun of it

An early summer afternoon in the kitchen and the sun is beaming through the skylights. An hour to two of gentle cooking without the ticking clock of making dinner. An afternoon in which I put together savoury biscuits as fragile as frost on a windowpane, and rolls of filo pastry so thin you could see their contents of asparagus and feta hiding within. This is cooking just for the joy of it.

The biscuits are mostly cheese and butter, held together with a little flour and egg, their filling lightly beaten cream cheese and soft-leaved herbs. They can carry a little warmth, too, in the form of ground Aleppo pepper or, should you prefer, smoked paprika. If you don’t want to sandwich them, custard-cream style, then the biscuits are good on their own, served with drinks.

Fluffy, moreish, teasingly sharp, crusty brown on top and bubbling at the edges …

Self-saucing puddings are magic, and we should all have a recipe up our sleeve. The transformation from a soggy batter (in which it is hard to see the potential) to a fluffy, moreish pudding is something to behold. I have made many iterations of them in my time – some with dates and ricotta, others with apple and toffee,chocolate fudge and beyond. This one, with elderflower and lemon, is for citrus fans. It is wonderfully sharp, and can be put together at a moment’s notice.

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Whether it’s for breakfast, lunch or afternoon tea, these cake and bake recipes will see you through the whole day

I could bake all day. A cake for tea, a nut-freckled meringue for dessert or something soft and fruit-laden for a mid-morning break. And, if guests are around, even for breakfast. Of course, I don’t need to, but there is something deeply civilised about stopping around 10.30am for coffee and a slice of something sweet; making a big savoury flatbread for lunch, its floury surface under a pile of sweet, golden onions and cheese.

And then there is the old-fashioned – almost forgotten – treat that is afternoon tea. No matter how simple, it always feels like a special occasion. I suppose the whole notion of tea at 4pm feels like something from a slower, less frantic era. Indulgent whatever you have on your plate. In my house it is rarely more than a single slice of cake, but this is also my favourite time to entertain, to pass around plates of classic baking for all-comers. For a birthday or a visit from much loved friends I will make a fancy-schmancy cake, by which I mean something that has taken an hour or two of my time.