For us singletons, Valentine’s Day comes as a bit of a relief after the weeks of deleting emails flogging heart-shaped chocolates and romantic menus and even, I kid you not, romantic red dog-poo-bag dispensers. How relaxing not to have to shell out to sit in a restaurant with all the other couples and try to guess who’s about to propose and who’s preparing to end it all. Personally, even when I did celebrate, I always preferred to stay in for dinner; it’s much better to drink slightly too much and fall out in private, I think.

This year, I’ll be travelling on Valentine’s night, which means dinner will probably be a slightly squashed jambon beurre (a real dreamboat of a sandwich, as far as I’m concerned). But if I were cooking, I’d go for an Arabian Nights vibe, and an excuse for endless date-night jokes and to break out Meera Sodha’s chocolate and date mousse (though, seeing as it’s February, I might replace the blackberries with frozen berries). Beforehand, I might go for Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s one-pot spiced chicken with dates, or Ivor Peters’ date liquor with lamb, or indeed my own lamb tagine … and, because I’m one to flog a joke to death (I’ve no idea why I’m single), I’d be tempted to kick things off with a crunchy little cucumber date and pistachio number from Shuki Rosenboim and Louisa Allan’s Very Good Salads.

Date gags aside, it can never hurt to put the word fruity in someone’s mind on 14 February, and at this time of year dried ones are likely to be superior to fresh. Yotam Ottolenghi’s pork ribs with fig barbecue sauce would be fun finger food to get messy with – click for the ribs, and stay for the yoghurt cream with honeyed apricot and filo recipe included – perhaps with his and Sami Tamini’s roasted root vegetables with date syrup, tamarind and lemon. Claire Thomson’s slow-cooked pork with prunes, quatre-épices and bay leaves (pictured top), meanwhile, would be rib-sticking in a slightly different way, and who wouldn’t swoon over the Silver Palate’s classic olive and prune-spiked chicken Marbella?

Unlike Yotam, Nigel Slater is emphatically not a fan of dried figs in savoury preparations – “such unrepentant sweetness is not for me” – but he does have a lovely and, dare I say it, rather sexy-sounding dessert of baked figs with red wine and blackcurrant jelly (though, admittedly, my greedy heart would be more likely to be won over by the more substantial-sounding steamed pudding on the same page, served “with cold cream or hot custard”).

In fact, though a classic spotted dick might feel inauspicious, there are any number of dessert options using dried fruit to sweeten the deal, from Nik Sharma’s fudgy date and black pepper brownies to Ravneet Gill’s rum and raisin semifreddo and Tamal Ray’s fluffy Japanese pistachio cheesecake.

Though you’ve definitely still got time for a little kiss, or even a bitter and twisted, sadly neither of us has got our act together sufficiently to make Chris Cavaille’s glorious sounding prune negroni by tomorrow. I’ll let you know how it is in three weeks’ time, though – who knows, by then I might even have found someone to share it. And if not, well, there’s always the dog. Happy Valentine’s Day!

Question of the week | I was lucky enough to spend a few days in the Italian lakes last weekend, and wondered again, while dining on lake char and perch, why we in the UK don’t eat more freshwater fish. Whenever I ask this, people (often people who are perfectly happy to eat trout) inform me that it tastes “muddy”, though this doesn’t seem to bother the famously fussy Italian palate. It seems baffling that I can buy tropical barramundi more easily than char or pike; all tipoffs appreciated.

The best thing I ate this week | Khachapuri, a pillowy, obscenely cheesy bread from Georgia, is always going to be the best thing I’ve eaten in any particular week. I’d love for this glorious cuisine, which makes the most of the bountiful fruit and vegetables of this former Soviet state, to become better known in the UK. I was pleased, then, to be reminded that Tiko Tuskadze, chef-owner at London’s Little Georgia, where I ate said cheese bread with colourful, meze-like salads, has written a cookery book, Supra, should you be interested in learning more.

Unexpected item in the bagging area | Pistachios seem to be having a bit of a moment – I’d estimate at least a quarter of the confectionary in Milan airport’s duty-free featured my second-favourite nut, which was a problem, given that I’d booked hand luggage only. Though I prefer them salted, I did fall quite hard for Babbi’s white chocolate and pistachio wafers at the home of Nicola Lando, founder of the online pantry Sous Chef; they’re not cheap, but each one tastes like a little treasure.

Project of the week | With pistachios on the brain since my return from Italy, I was easy prey for Ravneet Gill’s video tutorial on how to make “the viral crunchy pistachio chocolate bar” – a virus that had so far passed me by. Unfortunately, I’m now infected, and will be forced to make it at the earliest opportunity. Thanks, Rav.