For reliable, tasty, vibrantly green vegetarian food with a conscience, Anna Jones is your gal. The columnist and food writer knows how to take a simple ingredient and seriously amp it up, which she does with elegant panache in her latest cookbook, One: Pot, Pan, Planet.

The recipe collection factors in the environment, as well as the needs of time-poor home cooks, providing dishes that nourish and comfort.

On its release, we spoke to Jones about the dishes that shape her life in food…

Your death row meal is… Oh my goodness. I think it would be a South Indian thali. I love South Indian food, that mustard seed, curry leaf, coconut combination is just one of my favourite flavour combinations. And a thali is quite good, because usually it’s got quite a few different curries and pickles and chutneys and breads and rice. So that’s also me being greedy and not having to name one meal.

[For pudding] at my wedding, we had these amazing cooks – it was July so cherries were in their prime – make a brown sugar, cherry, lemon curd and vanilla whipped cream Eton mess type thing and they put meringues on these incredible big towers. It sounds very posh – my wedding wasn’t posh – there was one of these big plates of meringue and cherries and lemon curd for each table and it was the most delicious pudding I’ve ever eaten.

The one dish you still can’t cook is… I always burn nuts and seeds when I’m trying to toast them in the oven. Always. It’s awful because I set timers and my husband laughs at me: ‘You’re a cook, how do you do this every single time?!’ My son very sweetly thinks I can cook anything in the world, because I’m his mum and I’m a chef, but he’s asking me if I can make croissants and I’ve realised I’ve never made croissants, pastries or anything like that. So that’s my challenge to myself.

Your cupboard essential is… I think harissa would be really, really high up there. I use it a lot, with hummus and a bit of olive oil. I use it to go on top of fried or scrambled eggs for breakfast. I use it in shakshuka. I put tablespoons of it in soups and stews and I just feel like it’s got a lovely rounded flavour and heat that I think is it’s one of those things you can have in your fridge for months.

The kitchen utensil you can’t live without is… Speed peeler. Great for peeling, but also for ribboning stuff into salads, grating zest, that kind of thing, and I also think it’s a satisfying action. I enjoy it.

Your favourite late night snack is… Dark chocolate. It’s my Achilles heel. I love it. I love a bit of dark chocolate a couple of hours after my dinner, a couple of squares and a cup of herbal tea.

Your signature dish has to be… I know that, by far, my most popular recipe is a sweet potato and coconut dal from my first book and I think that has been cooked probably 10 times more than any other recipe.

You like your eggs… I like them fried with a crispy edge or scrambled, but not poached. I just find them a bit watery.

The ultimate childhood dinner of your memory is… This is gonna sound very boring, but I think it was our roast dinners. My dad’s got 12 brothers and sisters and we used to go round my nan’s and there’d be all of the brothers and sisters or other cousins; there wouldn’t be enough space for anyone at the table but she made the most brilliant roasts and I remember those so fondly, for the food but also for the togetherness.

What did you eat last night? I actually was testing a restaurant kit from Thai restaurant Som saa. I had a squash Massaman curry and jasmine rice.

Your takeout of choice has to be… [My son] would say pizza. I really crave fresh Thai and Vietnamese flavours.

Your hangover cure is… I remember working on a TV show once with a nutritionist, who said that the best thing to get rid of a hangover is a glass of chocolate milk because it has protein, fat and sugar, and they’re all the things your body needs. So since she told me that, I’ve always had a glass of chocolate milk – that’s the only time I ever drink it.

You just can’t stomach… Obviously meat for me is a hard no. Also, I think walnuts and hazelnuts. For some reason, I think I’m slightly allergic to them. I get a slightly fizzy feeling in my mouth when I eat them.

One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones, photography by Issy Croker, is published by Fourth Estate, priced £26. Available now.