Harissa chicken legs with quinoa and avocado (serves four)

95g rose harissa

Olive oil

Sea salt and black pepper

1 red onion, quartered

4 skin-on chicken legs

300g quinoa

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 avocados

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (fan 180C/gas mark 6).

2. In a bowl combine the harissa, a glug of olive oil and salt. Add the red onion to the bowl, then add the chicken and mix together, making sure everything is evenly coated. Lay it all out on a roasting tray and roast in the oven for 35-40 minutes until the chicken is cooked through.

3. Heat a medium saucepan and add the dry quinoa. Toast for one minute, then add the garlic and 800ml cold water. Cover with a lid and bring up to the boil, adding a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for about 15 minutes until nearly all the liquid has gone.

4. Meanwhile peel and de-stone the avocados. Dice them roughly and squeeze over the lemon juice. Sprinkle with another pinch of salt.

5. Divide the quinoa and chicken between four plates and serve with the avocado.

Crab linguine (serves four)

Sea salt

Olive oil

1 shallot, finely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/2 medium red chilli, sliced (see tip)

1 sprig of thyme, leaves only

100ml white wine

1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

360g linguine

100g white crab meat

1tbsp mascarpone

Juice of 1/2 lemon

A few chives, finely chopped, to serve

1. Whack a saucepan of salted water on to boil. In the meantime, heat a medium frying pan over a low to medium heat, add a little olive oil and saute the shallot and garlic until sweet and tender.

2. Add the chilli to the pan, along with the thyme leaves and cook for a few minutes. Next add the white wine and cook over a medium heat for another minute or two until the sauce is reduced. Finally add the chopped tomatoes and simmer for five minutes.

3. Chuck the linguine in the salted boiling water and cook until al dente. Retaining one to one-and-a-half ladles of the pasta water, strain the pasta and set aside.

4. Add the crab meat and mascarpone to the sauce, then fold the sauce through the pasta, adding the reserved water. This will give extra gloss to the dish and a deeper taste. Finish with a little drizzle of olive oil, the lemon juice and a sprinkling of chives.

Sticky toffee loaf with rum (serves four)

200g medjool dates, de-stoned and chopped

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

150g brown sugar

150g butter, softened

2 large eggs

150g self-raising flour

1/2tsp cinnamon

1/2tsp mixed spice

1tbsp baking powder

For the toffee sauce:

50g butter

250g Muscovado sugar

125ml double cream

1 double shot of rum

Vanilla ice cream to serve

Equipment needed:

900g loaf tin or 23cm round baking tin

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C/gas mark 4). Pop the dates in a bowl and cover with 400ml boiling water. Add the bicarbonate of soda and leave to soak and cool.

2. In a bowl or stand mixer, mix the brown sugar and butter together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and whisk together. Next add the cooled dates and most of the liquid and whisk until combined. Finally, add the flour, cinnamon, mixed spice and baking powder. Mix until fully incorporated.

3. Next, line and butter the loaf tin or baking tin. I prefer to use a loaf tin for this recipe. Add the cake mixture and pop in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the knife comes out clean.

4. While the sponge is baking, start making the toffee sauce. In a pan, heat the butter and sugar together until melted, then add the double cream. Bring up to the boil then add the rum.

5. When the sponge is ready, dot with a few holes here and there. Pour half the sauce over the sponge while it's still in the tin and allow it to soak in for 15-20 minutes. Remove from the tin, slice thickly, and serve with vanilla ice cream and the remaining sauce.

The Dirty Dishes: 100 Fast And Delicious Recipes by Isaac Carew, photography by Susan Bell, is published by Bluebird, £20.