If ever I want a real hug of a dinner – a soft, hearty bowlful to fall into at the end of a long week – I always turn to polenta. It’s also what I make when what I really want is mash but I can’t muster the patience to peel and mash potatoes. Polenta has that same satisfying smoothness, but all it needs is a pan of water or stock, a bit of stirring and generous seasoning. I make it as a foil for ragus and meatballs on the (vanishingly rare) occasion I don’t fancy pasta, and for spicy prawns and chorizo sausages that leak their smoky oil into the ripples of polenta.

It’s like your most amenable friend – you can take them to any party and they’ll fit in just fine. Cooked like this, polenta is gentle enough to be able to take a thwack of tang and spice on top, but it can handle softer flavours too. It works just as well with meat, fish or veg. I’ll often have it super simply, topped with a few wilted greens, a drizzle of good oil, a lemon wedge and lots of grated Parmesan.

It’s asparagus season, and though my favourite way to eat the delicious spears is grilled or barbecued with lots of oil, flaky salt and lemon, they are delicious quickly blanched or steamed and tossed in butter. Here, just cook your asparagus for a couple of minutes alongside a couple of boiling eggs, then whip them out and turn them over in a little melted butter. Serve them on top of bowls of creamy polenta, along with flakes of sweet, oily smoked mackerel and those jammy seven-minute eggs.

I like a wedge of lemon with this. A few chives would be good too, or some finely chopped shallot that you’ve left to sit in lemon juice for a bit.