Joe Trivelli’s recipes for cod and leeks, roasted Jerusalem artichokes and a pear and honey dessert

‘A quick way of preparing the fish and satisfying the most ardent bacalao lover’: cod and leeks with garlic and chilli. Photograph: Romas Foord/The Observer

I have history with salt cod. Some years ago, we were on our way from the south of Italy, where my father is from, to Tuscany, where my parents now live. We had a new baby and a car suspension compromised by a boot packed with wheels of cheese and salami. We took a break on the outskirts of a town not far from Naples, where we planned to order a quick primi and be on our way.

The pastas came and went, and then more cutlery arrived for one member of our party – my father, unable to resist salt cod, sat bashfully awaiting a sneakily ordered secondi for at least another hour.