Rick Stein’s latest foodie mission, Long Weekends, a food-travelogue on BBC2, is all about enjoying life’s simpler pleasures. Inspired by the series, his latest book is Rick Stein’s Long Weekends, published by BBC Books, priced £25. Here are three of the recipes to try at home...

Meatballs in tomato sauce with cinnamon & cumin (serves 4)

For the meatballs: 500g minced beef 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or grated 1 egg, beaten 1/2tsp ground cumin 1/2tsp dried oregano 2 slices stale white bread (about 100g), soaked in red wine and squeezed dry 1/2tsp salt 12 turns black pepper mill 3tbsp olive oil For the tomato sauce: 1 onion, finely chopped 1 clove garlic, finely chopped 3tbsp olive oil 5cm cinnamon stick 1tsp ground cumin 1tsp sugar 150ml red wine 1tbsp tomato paste 500ml passata 1/2tsp salt 12 turns black pepper mill Mix together all the ingredients for the meatballs except the olive oil and, with wet hands, mould into 20- 24 rugby-ball shapes. Heat the oil in a frying pan over high heat and fry the meatballs until golden on all sides, or grill on a griddle pan if you like grill lines on the patties.

Make the tomato sauce by sweating the onion and garlic in the olive oil with the cinnamon stick, cumin and sugar until soft, about 10 minutes over medium heat. Add the red wine and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to medium again.

Add the tomato paste and passata, season with the salt and pepper and cook until slightly thickened, about 20 minutes.

Add the fried meatballs and simmer for 20-30 minutes with a lid on the pan until cooked through, adding a little water if the sauce is too thick

German apple cake (serves 8)

2 dessert apples, peeled, cored and cut into fine wedges 1tbsp lemon juice 125g unsalted butter, softened 140g golden caster sugar 3 eggs, beaten 225g plain flour 2tsp baking powder 1/2tsp salt 75ml full-fat milk For the topping: 1 1/2tbsp demerara sugar 1/2tsp ground cinnamon Whipped cream, to serve z Heat the oven to 170C/gas 3. Butter and line a 23cm cake tin.

Coat the apples in the lemon juice and set aside. In a large bowl, beat together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy using an electric beater. Add eggs and beat until smooth. Sift in the flour, baking powder and salt. Mix until well incorporated. Slowly add the milk, mixing well after each addition until you have a smooth batter.

Transfer the batter to the cake tin. Arrange the apple wedges in a spiral over the batter. Mix the sugar and cinnamon together and sprinkle on top.

Bake in the middle of the oven for 40-45 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean and the top is golden.

Remove the cake from the oven and cool for 15 minutes in the tin. Run a knife around the edges and turn out on to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temperature with whipped cream.

Sicilian fritella risotto (serves 4)

3 globe artichokes Juice 1 lemon or 1tbsp white wine vinegar 1-1.2 litres vegetable stock (see below) 40g butter 3tbsp olive oil 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, chopped or grated 300g Arborio or carnaroli rice 125ml dry white wine 200g fresh broad beans, double podded if not young (600-700g weight in pods) 200g fresh peas (about 600g weight in pods) Zest and juice 1/2 small lemon 1/2-1tsp salt 8 turns black pepper mill 70g pecorino, freshly grated For the vegetable stock: (Makes about 2l) 1 large onion 2 large carrots 1 head celery 1 bulb fennel 1 bulb garlic Handful thyme sprigs 3 bay leaves 1tsp salt 15g dried porcini mushrooms 3l water z To make the stock: Peel and slice the vegetables; you don’t need to peel the garlic. Put everything in a large pan with the water and bring to the boil. Simmer for an hour, then strain through a fine or muslin-lined sieve. If not using immediately, leave to cool, then refrigerate or freeze.

When ready, prepare the globe artichokes. Remove the stem to within 1cm of the base. Peel off the outer leaves until you reach the pale-coloured centre. Remove the hairy choke with a teaspoon. Pare off any remaining outer leaves with a sharp knife. Cut into six wedges and plunge into a bowl of cold water, to which you’ve added the lemon juice or vinegar to prevent it discolouring.

Heat the stock in a saucepan. Melt the half the butter with the olive oil in a wide pan over medium-low heat and sweat the onion and garlic for five to 10 minutes until soft. Add the rice and stir well to coat the grains.

Add the white wine and stir until it has been absorbed by the rice, then start adding the vegetable stock a ladleful at a time, stirring until it is absorbed, which will take about 20 minutes.

After about 12 minutes, in a separate pan, cook the artichoke wedges in boiling water for five to seven minutes until tender. Remove from the water and set aside. Add the broad beans and peas and boil for about three minutes, then drain. Add the cooked vegetables to the risotto and heat through.

Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon zest and juice, the remaining butter, salt to taste, pepper and half the pecorino cheese. Serve immediately with the rest of the pecorino cheese