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za’atar 1 teaspoon
a large peach
olive oil 3 tablespoons
a medium onion
mint 10g
parsley 20g
a lemon
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Put the freekeh, thyme and bay on to boil with enough water to cover by a good third. Salt it lightly and simmer for fifteen minutes.
Place a large piece of kitchen foil on a baking sheet, lay the piece of feta in the middle and sprinkle with the za’atar. Halve the peach, discard the stone, then cut each half into four. Tuck the peach around the feta, then pour over two tablespoons of the olive oil. Pull the sides of the foil up around its cargo and scrunch loosely to seal. Bake for twenty minutes.
Peel and finely slice the onion, then fry till crisp in the reserved oil. Set aside on kitchen paper.
Chop the mint and parsley together. Remove the feta from the oven and open the parcel. Pour the baking juices out into a bowl and mix with the juice of the lemon. Drain the freekeh, discarding the herbs, then dress with the lemon and baking juices. Fold in the mint and parsley, then break up the feta into large pieces and add. Lay the peaches amongst the freekeh, top with the crisp onions and serve.
• A substantial salad of warm, chewy grain, salty cheese and sweet, juicy peaches. The parsley and mint are important, but you could use basil too, or even coriander if you prefer.
GREENS, COCONUT CURRY (#ulink_4667d2d6-d64a-52ea-878c-6bd33facef2a)
Vibrant, verdant.
Serves 2–4
For the curry paste:
white peppercorns 1 teaspoon
coriander seeds 1 teaspoon
ground turmeric 1 teaspoon
lemon grass 2 stalks
garlic 2 cloves
ginger a 3cm lump, peeled
hot green chillies 3 small
groundnut oil 3 tablespoons
fresh coriander a handful, with roots
groundnut oil 1 tablespoon
vegetable stock 200ml
coconut milk 250ml
fish sauce 1 tablespoon
lime juice 2 tablespoons
spring vegetables (such as asparagus tips, broad beans, peas) 450g total weight
shredded greens, such as spring cabbage a handful
pinch of sugar and soy sauce
For the paste, put the white peppercorns and coriander seeds in a dry non-stick frying pan and toast lightly for two or three minutes, then tip into the bowl of a food processor and add half a teaspoon of sea salt, the turmeric, lemon grass, peeled garlic cloves, ginger, green chillies, three tablespoons of groundnut oil and a handful of coriander stems and roots. Blitz to a coarse paste. You can keep this paste for a few days in the fridge, its surface covered with groundnut oil to prevent it drying out.
In a deep pan, fry three lightly heaped tablespoons of the curry paste in a tablespoon of oil for thirty seconds till fragrant, stirring as you go. Stir in the vegetable stock and coconut milk, the fish sauce and lime juice.
Add the asparagus tips, broad beans and peas and continue simmering for five to six minutes, then drop in a couple of handfuls of greens, shredded into thick ribbons. Finish the curry with a pinch of sugar, fish sauce, a little soy sauce and more lime.
MELON, PEPPERS, CUCUMBER (#ulink_34402412-8ea3-58e8-99d0-5f2026cd9c86)
Cold fruit soup. Refreshing. A deep scent of summer.
Serves 6
Romano peppers 3
a large yellow pepper
cucumber 250g
cantaloupe melon, ripe 1.25kg (unpeeled weight)
basil 10g
sherry vinegar 1 tablespoon
half a lemon
ice cubes
Halve and seed the peppers, then cut them into large pieces. Coarsely mince or process them to your preferred consistency, then put them in a large bowl. I prefer quite a smooth soup, but others like a more robust texture. Peel the cucumber and cut into rough chunks, then process to the same texture as the peppers and add to the bowl. Prepare the melon, discarding the skin, seeds and fibre, then cutting the flesh into chunks. Process in a similar way to the other ingredients, then mix with the peppers and cucumber.
Roughly chop the basil and stir into the soup together with the sherry vinegar, lemon juice and a little salt and black pepper. Cover and chill thoroughly. Stir in the ice cubes just before serving.
• A light, bright-tasting soup to serve chilled. By which I mean thoroughly cold and with ice cubes. The consistency can be as smooth or rough as you like, but I prefer it to have a coarse texture, so I use the mincer attachment to the food mixer. I have used a food processor too, but a careful eye is required to avoid reducing it to a purée.
MISO, CAULIFLOWER, GINGER (#ulink_66beee59-e8a7-5217-bd0c-ad64c51fd629)
Gentle soup for a spring day. The warmth of toasted garlic and ginger.
Serves 2
cauliflower 150g
garlic 2 cloves
ginger 30g
groundnut oil 2 tablespoons
dark miso paste 2 tablespoons
light miso paste 2 tablespoons
mirin 2 tablespoons
Cut the cauliflower into florets, then slice them thinly. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Peel the ginger and cut into matchsticks.
Warm the groundnut oil in a shallow pan, then fry the garlic and ginger for a couple of minutes until pale and soft. Add the cauliflower, turning it over from time to time, letting it cook for four or five minutes until the slices colour lightly. By the time the cauliflower is cooked, the garlic should be a deep honey gold. Divide the cauliflower, garlic and ginger between four bowls.
Bring 1 litre of water to the boil, then stir in the miso pastes and the mirin. Simmer for two minutes, then ladle into the bowls over the cauliflower.
MISO, MUSHROOMS, PAK CHOI (#ulink_474adc92-b1a0-567d-97e1-859289c0cc06)
Light, savoury, sustaining. A little bowl of calm.
Serves 4
sugar snap peas or shelled peas 150g
vegetable or chicken stock 750ml
white miso paste 4 tablespoons
spring onions 3
pak choi 125g
enoki mushrooms 100g
Thai basil a small bunch
a lime
light soy sauce
Bring a medium-sized pan of water to the boil. Add the sugar snaps or shelled peas and let them boil for two minutes, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and drop them into a bowl of cold water.
Warm the stock in a large pan. When the stock is hot, add the miso, stirring until it has dissolved. The stock should be very hot but not boiling. Finely slice the spring onions and add half to the stock. Halve the pak choi and push the pieces down into the stock. Remove and discard the roots from the enoki mushrooms, then add to the stock too.
Tear up the Thai basil leaves. Squeeze the juice from the lime. Divide the hot broth between four bowls, and add the remaining spring onions, the peas, basil leaves and the lime juice. Pass soy sauce around at the table, leaving everyone to season as they wish.
• Clear, light, gentle. I look upon this as something for those moments when you want a bowl of soup that is quietly sustaining rather than filling. A full-flavoured vegetable stock is essential, as is a generous hand with the seasoning. I tend to use chicken stock for this. I would leave the addition of soy sauce to individual diners. Just a little for me please, as I find soy sauce all too easily dominates everything in its path.
BULGUR, NECTARINES, PARSLEY (#ulink_231d75b4-e6ed-5935-8167-13910e39a714)
The comfort of grains. The sweetness of ripe fruit. The vibrancy of lemon and parsley.
Serves 2–3, as a main dish
vegetable or chicken stock or water 75ml
bulgur wheat 50g
radishes, mixed colours 20
nectarines, ripe 2
parsley 100g
juice of a large lemon
watercress 50g
Bring the stock or water to the boil. Put the bulgur in a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot stock or water, then set aside.
Trim and thinly slice the radishes and put them into a mixing bowl. Halve the nectarines, discard the stones, then finely dice the flesh into (roughly) 1cm cubes. Add to the radishes, then remove the parsley leaves from their stalks, chop finely and fold in.
Season the radishes and nectarines lightly with salt, then add the lemon juice. Drain any excess liquid from the bulgur, run a fork through the grains to separate them, then fold into the salad. Pile the watercress onto a serving dish, then spoon the bulgur on top and serve.
• Tabbouleh, of which this is a version, comes in many guises, but the most interesting are those that have far more parsley than grain. The herbs and fruit lend an essential lushness.
PANEER, AUBERGINE, CASHEWS (#ulink_f3ccb841-0e80-524c-b277-77dd2c947753)
Gentle spice for a summer’s evening.
Serves 2–3 with rice or flatbread
For the spice mix:
garlic 2 cloves, peeled
ginger 20g, after peeling
ground turmeric 2 teaspoons
