From kitchen essentials to using up leftovers – what are your burning culinary dilemmas?

I’ve never been a fan of tapioca – something about its texture has never sat well with me – but Milli Taylor, head of the Ottolenghi test kitchen, loves the stuff. Apparently, sago pudding, made with tapioca, coconut milk and palm sugar, is one of her all-time favourites. That’s the beauty of a test kitchen: diverse opinions, lively debates, endless tastings so we can appease everyone – which, I’ve realised over the years, is practically impossible.

I’ve been writing a column for the Guardian for 17 years. Once, it was a one-man show; now, it’s a chorus of culinary voices. Two kids and a global pandemic later, change is the only constant. So, to keep things fresh, we’re shaking things up: there will be one or two new recipes a week, plus we’re breathing new life into a forgotten favourite with revamped photography and turning the spotlight on you, our readers. Stuck with a leftover leek? Curious about essential kitchen tools versus those that are just clutter? Now’s your chance to ask: send in your questions, and each week we’ll answer one. (The first one is out this weekend.)

Some things have really changed over the last 17 years. In the early 2000s, the local supermarket definitely didn’t stock ras el hanout in its spice section, black garlic was unheard of, and even aubergines could be elusive. Now, though, you’ll often find, say, preserved lemon, rayu and ancho chillies in many supermarkets. Meanwhile, the biggest change, for us at least, are the new voices in our kitchen of development chefs: Chaya Maya’s Mauritian influence, Jake Norman’s nifty tricks, Verena Lochmuller’s fabulous baking and Katja Tausig’s pared-down flavours. While satisfying everyone’s palate has become an increasingly challenging feat, it has undeniably improved our cooking.

Some things stay put, though. Hot, blistered tomatoes on cold, creamy labneh, slurping a big bowl of ramen, tahini everywhere … Revisiting old favourites is our way of giving props to those recipes that have weathered the storm – a nod to perfectly delicious aubergine dips and tabbouleh that are often left behind. Some things you just can’t improve. Looking back also means having to own up to our culinary missteps. New questions, more tastings. Can we use fewer ingredients? Can we simplify a 10-step method to just eight? Shall we consider the miles ingredients have travelled?

Since 2006, we’ve produced more than 2,000 recipes and countless words. Yet my distaste for tapioca remains the same. Some things, it seems, truly never change.

• Please send in your questions! If you’re over 18, you can share your kitchen dilemmas through this form.

Midweek soup | I whipped up a super-quick chickpea and preserved lemon soup this week (which would also be great even without the preserved lemons, if you don’t have any). Saute shallots, carrots and celery, then add the last drops of any wine you have hanging about. Toss in some rosemary or thyme leaves, a can each of tomatoes and chickpeas, plus some chopped preserved lemon, then simmer. Finally, stir in baby spinach or chard to wilt, season and add lemon juice to taste.

To distract you from early sunsets | The baby aubergines with amba and tahini from our slow cook column last month have been keeping me warm this winter. Pile into a pitta with as many herbs as you can possibly fit in.

New nook | A lunch at Clipstone in London’s Fitzrovia never goes amiss, with a nod to classic French flavours, Asian ingredients and southern European spices.

On my radar | Donia, a new spot in Kingly Court off Carnaby Street in London – I’ve heard a lot about the pared-down Filipino flavours, and the chicken offal skewer. Sounds like my kind of skewer.