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garam masala 2 teaspoons
ground coriander 2 teaspoons
ground cumin 2 teaspoons
cardamom pods 6
ground chilli 1 teaspoon
groundnut or olive oil 4 tablespoons
double cream 250ml
aubergine, medium 1
vegetable oil 3 tablespoons
paneer 200g
cashew nuts 100g
natural yoghurt 150ml
coriander leaves a small handful
Make the spice mix by grinding the garlic, ginger, turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander, cumin and the black seeds from inside the cardamom pods to a paste in a food processor or blender. Add the chilli and groundnut oil. Cook the paste over a low heat for four or five minutes, then stir in the double cream and a little salt. Set aside.
Cut the aubergine into 3cm cubes, then fry in the vegetable oil till soft and golden. Tear the paneer into rough pieces and add to the aubergine with the cashews, letting the nuts and paneer colour lightly. Add the warm spiced cream to the mixture, get it hot, then remove from the heat and stir in the yoghurt and the coriander leaves. Serve with warm flatbread.
• I sometimes add a pinch of sugar to the spice paste, softening the spices and producing a more mellow flavour.
• Rather than aubergine, I often use brown chestnut mushrooms instead, slicing them thickly and frying them in the oil before adding the paneer.
PAPAYA, CARROT, RADISH (#ulink_38cd60d6-0e38-5016-bd5a-33be3343ddb8)
The crunch of carrots. The warmth of radish and the honey-sweetness of ripe papaya.
Serves 4
radishes 12
carrots, medium 3
papaya, ripe 350g
coriander leaves from 12 bushy stems
micro herbs 2 handfuls
Thai basil leaves 15
For the dressing:
palm sugar 3 teaspoons
rice vinegar 2 tablespoons
a juicy lime
lemon grass 2 stalks
fish sauce 3 teaspoons
Make the dressing: crumble the palm sugar into a small mixing bowl and pour in the rice vinegar. Halve the lime – I like to roll it on the work surface, pressing down firmly as I do so before slicing, you get more juice that way – then squeeze the juice into the sugar and vinegar. Season with salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the lemon grass on a chopping board and bash firmly with a rolling pin to split and crush the plump end of the stalks. Add them to the dressing with the fish sauce and leave for thirty minutes to infuse.
Halve the radishes and put them into a bowl of iced water. Scrub or peel the carrots, then shave them with a vegetable peeler into long thin shavings. Add them to the radishes.
Shortly before serving, when the radishes and carrots have spent twenty minutes in the iced water and the dressing is well infused, peel the papaya and discard the black seeds and fibres. Slice the fruit into small, thick pieces about the size of a stamp and put them in a large mixing bowl.
Pick the leaves from the coriander and add them to the papaya together with the micro herbs (leaves and stalks) and the whole Thai basil leaves. Dry the carrots in a salad spinner, then toss them and the radishes with the papaya and herbs. Discard the lemon grass stalks and pour the dressing over the papaya before tossing the ingredients gently together, taking care not to crush the fruit.
• I find the large papayas, usually sold in halves, best for salads. They seem to ripen better than the smaller fruit. Their flesh is more luscious. The downside is apparent when you realise that your purchase takes up an entire shelf in the fridge.
PEAS, PARSLEY, VEGETABLE STOCK (#ulink_83ca16ee-4c04-538e-bc34-10897dc973ad)
A green soup for a sunny day.
Serves 4, generously
butter 30g
spring onions 75g
flat-leaf parsley 300g
a medium potato
peas 200g (shelled weight)
garlic 2 cloves
vegetable or chicken stock 1 litre
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pan. Chop the spring onions and stir them into the butter, letting them cook for four to five minutes over a moderate heat.
Chop half the parsley, stalks and all, add it to the spring onions and leave to cook for a minute or two till the colour has darkened. Peel, dice and add the potato. Add the peas and peeled garlic and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for eight to ten minutes.
Put a pan of water on to boil. Discard the stalks from the reserved parsley, add the leaves to the boiling water and leave for two minutes, then drain. Stir the leaves into the soup, then remove from the heat and reduce to a smooth, green purée in a blender or food processor and serve.
• The brilliant vibrancy of this soup appeals here, but you could soften its healthy green edges by stirring in 100ml of double cream at the end. Take care not to overfill the blender in case the hot soup overflows. I only say this because I invariably do.
PEPPERS, CHICKPEAS, GARLIC (#ulink_eef976fb-be1a-5414-92b6-da5314475a2b)
Earthy and garlicky. A smooth cream for warm flatbread.
Serves 4, as a side dish
red peppers 500g
olive oil
garlic 6 cloves
chickpeas 2 × 400g cans
thyme 4 sprigs
bay leaves 2
paprika a pinch or two
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Slice the peppers in half lengthways, remove the seeds, then place the halves in a roasting tin. Trickle a little olive oil over the peppers, just enough to wet them, then set the unpeeled garlic cloves inside them. Bake for forty minutes or until they are soft and the skin somewhat blackened. Remove from the oven, then peel away their outer skins. Reserve the garlic and any juices in the roasting tin.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, pop them from their skins if you wish, then tip them into a saucepan, add the thyme and bay and cover with water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, then simmer for fifteen minutes.
Drain the cooked chickpeas, reserve the thyme (discard the bay), then tip all but a handful of the chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor with the roasted, skinned peppers. Add the thyme leaves (discard the stalks) then pop the roasted garlic from its skin and add it as well. Process to a smooth cream and season generously with salt and black pepper. Scoop the paste out into a serving dish, making a hollow in the centre with the back of a spoon.
Heat the reserved chickpeas in a little olive oil in a frying pan and cook for a few minutes till they start to turn gold. Pour a little olive oil over the paste, letting it trickle into the hollow, scatter the warm chickpeas over the surface, then dust lightly with the paprika.
• A hummus of sorts. (I am uncomfortable with calling something by that name that contains anything other than chickpeas, garlic, lemon and oil.) I do think it is worth skinning the chickpeas (I know, I know, but once you have done so, you may never look back). You can do it painstakingly, pea by pea, or simply rub them together in your palms, a handful at a time. Either way will result in a smoother mash. Your call.
• I have been known to sit with this and a pile of warm Turkish pitta, but it is also a fine side dish for cold roast meats, grilled aubergines, and my favourite, deep-fried artichokes.
POMEGRANATE, CUCUMBER, PUFFED RICE (#ulink_8a784776-6452-5151-8675-6216a21826a0)
Aromatic, crunchy, refreshing.
Serves 4, as a side salad
a small pomegranate
cucumber 400g
coriander seeds 1 teaspoon
cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
groundnut oil 2 tablespoons
garam masala 1 teaspoon
curry powder 1 teaspoon
almonds 50g, whole and skinned
chickpeas 1 × 400g can
hemp seeds 30g
sunflower seeds 30g
puffed rice, unsweetened 30g
parsley a handful
olive oil
Crack open the pomegranate and remove the seeds, putting them into a mixing bowl and discarding any white pith as you go. Peel the cucumber, lightly, leaving as much colour as you can, then cut in half lengthways. Scrape out the seeds and pith with a teaspoon and discard, then cut the flesh into small dice. Toss the cucumber and pomegranate together.
Put the coriander and cumin seeds in a shallow pan and warm them over a gentle heat. Let them cook, moving them around the pan, until crisp and fragrant. Remove the pan from the heat and tip the toasted seeds into a mortar. Crush them to a fine powder.
Warm the groundnut oil in the shallow pan, then, keeping the heat low, add the coriander and cumin, garam masala and curry powder, then the almonds. Warm the nuts and spices, moving everything round the pan so it doesn’t burn. Drain and rinse the chickpeas and stir them into the spices and almonds, together with the hemp and sunflower seeds and the puffed rice. Tear the parsley leaves from their stalks and add to the bowl. Tip the warm chickpea mixture into the pomegranate and cucumber, add a trickle of olive oil, then toss gently together and serve.
QUINOA, PEAS, SPROUTED SEEDS (#ulink_0932ebbe-5a7d-5bde-ae50-0f51ed1fbfd5)
Soft leaves, crunchy, lightly cooked peas. The knubby quality of quinoa.
Serves 6
quinoa 100g
peas 400g (weight with pods)
sprouted mung, sunflower and radish seeds 100g
cress a small punnet
micro leaves and marigold petals a large handful
For the dressing:
pomegranate molasses 2 tablespoons
lemon juice 2 tablespoons
olive oil 2 tablespoons
