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THAI VEGETABLE CURRY
This is my take on classic Friday night comfort food. Making your own curry paste really enhances the flavour of any curry, so I really recommend giving it a go. Using two chillies does create a spicy sauce, so if you prefer less heat then stick to just the one. You can find coriander with its roots intact at Indian grocers or specialist grocers, though if you can’t find it, regular coriander (just the leaves and stems) will do just fine.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: around 50 minutes
2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 tbsp fish sauce
15g palm sugar
400ml coconut milk
400ml Vegetable Stock
2 sweet potatoes (around 600g), peeled and diced into approx. 1.5cm cubes
12 button mushrooms, quartered
8 stalks Tenderstem broccoli
100g fresh or frozen peas
1 × 220g tin sliced water chestnuts, drained
FOR THE GREEN CURRY PASTE
2 green chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
3 shallots, peeled
4cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 lemongrass stalks
1 bunch of coriander (stalks and roots if possible)
2 garlic cloves, peeled
½ tsp table salt
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
To make the curry paste, put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blitz until smooth.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. When hot, add the curry paste and fry for 4–5 minutes, stirring, until very fragrant.
Add the fish sauce and palm sugar and cook for 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock and simmer gently for 20 minutes. Strain the sauce through a fine sieve into a clean saucepan, discarding the remnants in the sieve.
Bring the curry sauce to a simmer and season to taste with salt (if needed). Add the sweet potato and cook for 10 minutes, then add the mushrooms and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Cook the broccoli in a separate pan of boiling water for 6 minutes, until tender.
Add the broccoli, peas and water chestnuts to the curry, heat through and serve with fluffy rice.
AUBERGINE, FREEKEH AND CASHEW TAGINE
Freekeh is a roasted green wheat that that brings out nuttiness and earthiness in this tagine. It is similar in texture to bulgur wheat but is a little softer. It is readily available in most supermarkets. This is a great midweek meal as it is quick to prepare, but also very satisfying.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 30 minutes
100g cashew nuts
200g freekeh
6 tbsp vegetable oil
2 large onions, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
2 tbsp tomato purée
400ml tomato passata or 1 × 400g tin chopped tomatoes
250ml Vegetable Stock
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1 tsp black treacle
50g dried currants
2 tsp saffron stands, soaked in 1 tbsp warm water for 10 minutes
2 aubergines, cut into 2cm dice
1 bunch of coriander, leaves chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE SPICE MIX
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp fennel seeds
1 tbsp yellow mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp sweet smoked paprika
2 tbsp plain flour
½ tsp table salt
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Put the cashew nuts on a roasting tray and bake for 6–10 minutes until golden. Remove, leave to cool, then chop roughly. Reduce the oven temperature to 160°C/140°C fan/gas 3.
Cook the freekeh for half of the time on the packet instructions, then drain.
Heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over medium heat. Add the onions, season with sea salt and pepper and sauté for about 10 minutes until they are soft but not coloured. Add the garlic and ginger for the last 3–4 minutes. Add the tomato purée, the passata or chopped tomatoes, stock, vinegar, treacle, currants and saffron to the casserole and remove from the heat.
Heat a dry large frying pan over high heat and, when hot, add the spices from the spice mix ingredients and stir them for 3–4 minutes until fragrant. Transfer the spices to a mortar and crush with the pestle. Mix with the flour and table salt in a bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil to the frying pan and place back on the heat. Season the diced aubergine generously with the spiced flour and fry it in the oil, in batches, until golden, adding more oil with each batch as necessary.
Add half of the chopped coriander to the casserole and mix well. Add the part-cooked freekeh and the spiced aubergine. Sprinkle with three-quarters of the cashew nuts.
Bring to the boil, cover with a lid and transfer to the oven for around 1 hour until the freekeh is tender and the sauce thickened. Serve sprinkled with the remaining coriander and cashew nuts.
CARAMELISED CELERIAC, THYME AND HAZELNUT RISOTTO
A well-made risotto is something that takes time and cannot be rushed, but the end result is well worth it. Ensure you use a decent stock – it will really enhance the flavour and texture of the finished dish. This is the perfect opportunity to make your own stock, which will add a whole other dimension to your risotto. Always use carnaroli or Vialone Nano rice: the short, plump grains cook slowly with the centre remaining al dente.
Serves: 4–6
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: around 40 minutes
60g blanched hazelnuts
3 tbsp vegetable oil
50g butter
1 celeriac (around 500g), peeled and cut into 1cm dice
100ml milk
approx. 1.3 litres Chicken or Vegetable Stock
½ bunch of thyme, with 1 tbsp picked leaves, the remainder tied together with string
2 shallots, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely grated
500g carnaroli or Vialone Nano risotto rice
125ml dry white wine
75g grated Parmesan cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra virgin olive oil, or hazelnut oil, to serve
Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/gas 4.
Place the hazelnuts on a baking tray and drizzle with 1 tablespoon of the vegetable oil. Season well with sea salt and pepper and bake for 6–8 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool, then finely chop and set aside.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add the celeriac and season with sea salt. Cook for 10–15 minutes, stirring, until the celeriac is soft and deep golden brown. Remove half of the celeriac and set aside. Add the milk to the saucepan and bring to a simmer for a few minutes. Scrape the bottom of the pan well then transfer everything to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Wipe out the pan.
Put the stock in a separate saucepan with the string-tied thyme sprigs and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently. Note: the thyme sprigs are to flavour the stock, not to use in the risotto, so discard them when you are getting down to the last few ladlefuls.
Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil over medium heat in the saucepan you cooked the celeriac in. Add the shallots and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the shallots have softened but not coloured. Add the rice and stir for a few minutes until it becomes shiny and translucent. When it starts to make a faint popping sound, add the wine and let it bubble away and reduce, stirring continuously. Add a ladleful of the hot stock and some sea salt and pepper and stir. Simmer and continue stirring until the stock has been absorbed by the rice. Cook the rice for 15–20 minutes, adding the remaining stock a ladleful at a time, stirring continuously until each ladleful has been absorbed before adding the next. The risotto is cooked when the rice grains are a little firm but don’t have any chalky crunch on the outside when bitten into.
Stir in the caramelised celeriac purée and allow the risotto to come to a simmer. Stir in most of the Parmesan, adding any extra stock if required. Finally, add the diced caramelised celeriac and most of the thyme leaves.
Taste, add a little more salt and pepper if you like and serve straight away, sprinkled with the chopped hazelnuts, the remaining Parmesan, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or hazelnut oil and the remaining thyme leaves.
VEGETABLE STOCK
Makes: approx. 1.5 litres
Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 24 hours chilling
Cooking time: 10 minutes
2 leeks, chopped
6 carrots, chopped
3 onions, chopped
3 celery sticks, chopped
4 garlic cloves
1 star anise
1 tsp coriander seeds
½ tsp white peppercorns
2 bay leaves
¼ bunch of thyme
Put the leeks, carrots, onions, celery and garlic in a large stock pot and cover with 2 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat. Skim off any scum, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 8 minutes.
Lightly crush the star anise, coriander seeds and white peppercorns in a pestle and mortar or on a hard surface with the bottom of a heavy pan.
As soon as the 8 minutes are up, add the crushed spices to the stock pot along with the fresh herbs. Simmer for a further 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Leave to cool, then cover and transfer to the fridge for 24 hours.
Strain the vegetable stock through a fine sieve and discard the vegetables. Keep covered in the fridge and use within 3–4 days. Alternatively, freeze and use within 4 months.
AUBERGINE PARMIGIANA
This is such a classic Italian dish. I have lovely memories of eating a great version of this in Italy, at a small, family-run trattoria. The seasoning, texture and flavour were perfect, so this is my attempt at recreating it, outside of Italy!
Serves: 4–6
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour of salting of aubergines
Cooking time: around 2 hours
4 aubergines, cut widthways into 1cm-thick slices
table salt
vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
plain flour, for dusting
3 × 125g balls mozzarella, sliced as thinly as possible
100g grated Parmesan cheese
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE
50g butter
2 onions, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely grated
200ml red wine
800g tomato passata or 2 × 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
½ bunch of sage, leaves finely chopped
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE CRUMB
40g panko breadcrumbs
1 tbsp soft butter
50g grated Parmesan cheese
½ bunch of basil, leaves finely sliced
20g pine nuts, toasted and finely chopped
Sprinkle the aubergine slices, on both sides, with table salt and pack them in a colander. Set the colander over a bowl for 1 hour while the moisture is extracted from the aubergine.
Meanwhile, make the tomato sauce. Heat the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the onion and garlic. Cook for 10 minutes until golden, then add the red wine and cook until it has reduced to a syrup. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, season with sea salt and pepper, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a blender or use a stick blender to blitz the sauce to a smooth consistency.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6, rinse the aubergine slices under cold running water and pat them dry with kitchen paper.
Pour enough vegetable oil into a large, deep frying pan to come up to approximately 1cm and place over high heat. When hot, dust the aubergine slices with flour then fry them, in batches, until golden, crispy on the outside and slightly soft. Add more oil to the pan as needed. Remove and transfer to sheets of kitchen paper to soak up the excess oil.
Place a layer of half the fried aubergine slices on the base of a deep, large ovenproof dish (approximately 20 × 30cm). Top with a layer of half the tomato sauce, then add a layer of half the mozzarella slices and sprinkle over some of the Parmesan. Repeat the layering again to use up all the aubergine, tomato sauce and cheese.
To make the crumb, mix the breadcrumbs with the soft butter then add the other ingredients. Mix well then season with sea salt and pepper. Cover the aubergines in the breadcrumb mix and bake the Parmigiana in the oven for 40–50 minutes until the top is golden brown.
SUMMER VEGETABLE LASAGNE
Vegetable lasagne is a great way to get kids to enjoy eating greens. Change the vegetables you use according to what you have in the fridge, or if you have anything that needs using up. We love lasagne at the weekends in our house. This is great for vegetarians but you won’t find your meat-eating friends complaining as it’s completely delicious.
Serves: 4–6
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: around 1 hour 40 minutes
2 courgettes, sliced diagonally into 1cm-thick rounds
150g purple sprouting broccoli
100g fresh podded peas or petits pois
6 wild garlic leaves, finely sliced (optional)
12–14 sheets dried egg lasagne
250g buffalo mozzarella, thinly sliced
100g grated Cheddar cheese
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE TOMATO SAUCE
4 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
800g tomato passata or 2 × 400g tins chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato purée
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
100ml Vegetable Stock
FOR THE WHITE SAUCE
600ml whole milk
1 small onion, peeled but left whole
10 cloves
1 bay leaf
50g butter
50g plain flour
To make the tomato sauce, heat 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic and a generous pinch each of sea salt and pepper and cook over medium-low heat for 10 minutes until golden. Add the remaining sauce ingredients, bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer to a blender or use a stick blender to blitz the sauce to a smooth consistency. Season to taste and leave to cool.
To make the white sauce, put the milk in a small saucepan. Stud the onion with the cloves and add it to the milk along with the bay leaf. Gently bring to the boil over low heat. Remove from the heat and leave to infuse for a few minutes before removing the bay leaf and onion.
Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour, and a good pinch of sea salt and pepper. Cook over low heat for about 1 minute, stirring, to get rid of the floury taste, but avoid letting it brown. Add a ladleful of the infused milk and whisk to combine. Continue adding the milk, a little at a time, bring to the boil, then simmer gently for a few minutes, until you have a thick pouring sauce. Keep warm over low heat.
Heat a griddle pan over high heat and, when it’s smoking, drizzle the courgette slices with the remaining 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, season with sea salt, and chargrill on each side until cooked, for a total of 7 minutes.
Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and blanch the broccoli for 2 minutes. Remove from the water with a slotted spoon and refresh in iced water, then drain well and roughly chop. Using the same water, blanch the peas for 1 minute then refresh them in iced water and drain. Lightly crush the peas in a bowl with a fork.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6. To assemble the lasagne, put a layer of vegetables in the base of a large ovenproof dish (approximately 20 × 30cm), add the wild garlic leaves (if using) and cover with tomato sauce. Sit a layer of pasta sheets on top, pour over a layer of white sauce and add a few slices of mozzarella. Continue with the same process, adding three layers of pasta and finishing with a layer of white sauce and mozzarella. Finally, scatter with the Cheddar, sit the dish on a baking tray and bake for about 40 minutes, until the top is golden brown.
ROASTED RED PEPPER, ROCKET, CASHEW AND FETA FLATBREADS
This new twist on pizza is a great dish for a summer lunch or early evening supper. Making the flatbreads from scratch is well worth it. Try different toppings, too, depending on the season and what you have in your fridge. You can also make up a load of bases and freeze them between baking parchment (pre-proving).
Makes: 4 flatbreads
Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 1 hour rising and 20 minutes proving
Cooking time: around 30 minutes
160g roasted red peppers, deseeded and skin removed, or piquillo peppers (jarred or tinned), drained and roughly chopped
50g cashew nuts, toasted and roughly chopped
100g feta cheese, crumbled
40g rocket
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE FLATBREAD DOUGH
250g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
½ 7g sachet fast-action dried yeast or easy-bake yeast
½ tsp caster sugar
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for greasing and drizzling
½ tsp table salt
FOR THE DRESSING
2 tbsp tahini
3 tbsp Greek yoghurt
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp sriracha sauce (hot chilli sauce)
1 tbsp chopped coriander
grated zest and juice of 1 lime
To make the flatbread dough, put the flour in a large bowl, stir in the yeast, sugar, olive oil and 130–150ml of warm water and mix together to form a soft, smooth dough that leaves the sides of the bowl. Turn it out of the bowl and knead it for 7–10 minutes. Alternatively, make the dough in a standmixer fitted with a dough hook.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover with oiled clingfilm and leave in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until the dough has doubled in size.
Tip the risen dough out onto a floured work surface. Cut it into 4 equal pieces and roll each piece out to an oval approximately 25cm in length. Place each dough circle on a piece of floured baking parchment and stack them on top of each other on a baking tray. Cover lightly with clingfilm and leave in a warm place to prove for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
To make the dressing, whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl, adding a little water if necessary to give the dressing a drizzling consistency. Season to taste.
Heat a large, non-stick frying pan over medium heat. When hot, add one of the flatbreads and dry-fry it for 2 ½–3½ minutes on each side until they are lightly golden and puffed up. Remove from the pan and place on a baking tray and repeat with the remaining three flatbreads.
Sprinkle the flatbreads with the chopped red pepper, cashew nuts and feta. Bake for around 10 minutes then remove from the oven and drizzle the hot flatbreads liberally with the dressing. Scatter over the rocket to serve.
ROAST CHICKEN, SEMI-DRIED TOMATO, GRILLED GEM LETTUCE AND BASIL SALAD
This is a great ‘go to’ modern version of chicken salad that works well for lunch or a light summer supper. Grilled gem lettuce is a perfect accompaniment – the smoky sweetness adds even more flavour to the salad.
Serves: 2–4
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
2 boneless chicken breasts, skin on (about 220g each)
100g semi-dried tomatoes (from a jar or supermarket deli section), sliced, and 1 tbsp of the oil
2 baby gem lettuces, quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
½ bunch of basil, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE VINAIGRETTE
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp runny honey
100ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/gas 6.
Lay the chicken breasts on a roasting tray, skin side up. Drizzle with the semi-dried tomato oil and season with sea salt and pepper. Bake for 20 minutes, or until the chicken juices run clear and the skin is crisp. Remove from the oven, covered loosely in foil, and set aside to rest.
To make the vinaigrette, whisk all of the ingredients together in a bowl and season to taste with sea salt and pepper.
Heat a large griddle pan until almost smoking. Brush the gem wedges with the olive oil and season them with sea salt and pepper. Grill the gem wedges, in batches, on each cut side, for about 2 minutes, until they begin to wilt slightly. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Assemble the grilled gem lettuce wedges on a serving platter, slice the chicken then place it on top, along with the semi-dried tomatoes and basil leaves. Drizzle with the vinaigrette and serve.
GREEN BEAN, CRISPY BACON, SHALLOT AND ONION SEED SALAD
This recipe is great all year round. It goes really well with any meat, and also more robust fish dishes. Try it with lamb chops or grilled chicken breasts for a simple, tasty dinner. Onion seeds add a lovely savouriness to any dish, so do keep a packet in your cupboard.
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
25g butter
8 shallots, thinly sliced
300g green beans, stalks removed
1 tbsp onion seeds
8 streaky bacon rashers, cut into 1cm dice
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
sea salt
Put the butter in a deep frying pan and melt over medium-high heat. When hot, add the sliced shallots, season with sea salt, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook gently for 15–20 minutes, stirring frequently, until the shallots begin to turn a golden brown.
Meanwhile, bring a large pan of salted water to the boil, add the green beans and blanch them for 3–4 minutes. Drain and rinse under cold running water, until cool. Set aside.
Add the onion seeds and bacon to the shallots and cook gently for a further 10 minutes, until the bacon is slightly golden. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook for a further 5 minutes.
Add the beans to the pan along with the olive oil. Mix well, then remove from the heat. Taste and season with more sea salt if required, then serve.
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