Bolstering Saturday Lunch for 6

• Golden root-vegetable couscous with chorizo, or chicken stew with couscous Coconut crème caramel

You do need to do a couple of things in advance: put the chick peas in to soak and make the crème caramel. Neither of these activities should be too demanding even on a Friday (morning for the chick peas, evening for the crème caramel) after a long week at work. If you hate coconut (although the taste of it is subtle rather than pronounced here) then substitute the same quantity of full-fat milk. But after the warm spiciness of the stew, the lightly aromatic coconut custard is just right: it offers a gentle but resolute ending to the meal.