a small handful of curry leaves
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 unwaxed lemons
1 green chilli
a small bunch of fresh coriander
150g paneer (optional)
4 rotis or chapattis
a small bunch of fresh mint
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together. Put a griddle pan on a high heat.
Finely slice the spring onions, put into a pan with a little coconut oil and fry on a medium heat until just turning golden. Put the peas into a heatproof mixing bowl, pour boiling water over them and leave for 5 minutes.
Chop the cauliflower into small florets and add to the spring onion pan with the curry leaves and spices. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until the cauliflower has lost its rawness and is coated with the spices, then turn the heat up, squeeze over the juice of 1 lemon and allow to evaporate, then take off the heat.
Chop the green chilli and the stalks of the coriander. Put the leaves aside. Drain and mash the peas with the zest of the other lemon and juice of half, the green chilli and coriander stalks and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
If you are using the paneer, transfer the cauliflower into a bowl and put the pan back on the heat. Add a little coconut oil and once it’s really hot, crumble in the paneer; cook on a high heat for a minute or two until the crumbles of cheese crisp up.
Warm the rotis or chapattis in a dry pan or over your gas flame until warm and crisped at the edges. Top with the pea mash, the cauliflower and the crispy paneer, then chop the mint and coriander leaves and scatter over the top.
Soft green herb omelette
15 MINUTES
This is what I make when reserves are low in every sense of the word, and it’s a great way to use up the last bits of a few bunches of herbs.
Omelettes are my ultimate quick dinner and one of my favourite meals – you can put a perfect one on the table in under 15 minutes. For lots more ideas on how to put them together, see here–here. I make my omelettes soft and curdy and just set, and I like them simply spiked with a generous amount of heady soft herbs. Sometimes I skip any filling, as I like the clean simplicity, and I serve mine with a shock of peppery rocket in a punchy vinaigrette.
You can use whatever soft herbs you have to hand – my favourite combination is basil, mint, dill and tarragon. The quality of eggs you use here is absolutely key, there is no hiding, and you want the best you can get your hands on, organic or farm eggs with paint-pot yellow yolks.
SERVES 2
4 free-range or organic eggs
2 small bunches of soft herbs, a mix of any of the following: mint, parsley, dill, chives, tarragon, chervil, basil
a little butter or coconut oil
FILLING
a small handful of goat’s, feta or ricotta cheese
a good grating of lemon zest (unwaxed lemon)
a handful of shredded spinach or greens
TO SERVE
a couple of handfuls of rocket or watercress
Get all your ingredients and equipment together. You need a large non-stick frying pan.
Crack your eggs into a bowl, add a healthy pinch of salt and a good bit of freshly ground black pepper and whisk with a fork. Finely chop all the herbs and add them to the eggs.
Heat your frying pan on a medium heat and once it’s hot add the butter or oil, allow it to bubble, then lift and tilt the pan so the butter covers the surface.
Put it back on the hob, then, with the fork still nearby, pour the eggs into the pan and allow them to sit untouched for 20 seconds or so, until they begin to set. Now use the fork to pull the omelette away from the edge of the pan into the middle, angling the pan so the egg runs back into the bit you have just exposed. Do this another five or six times in different places so you have undulating waves of sunshine-yellow egg. Now leave your omelette to cook until it is almost set, which should take a minute or two.
If you are going to fill your omelette, now is the time. Scatter the fillings on one half of the omlette, then flip the other side over to form a half-moon shape and cook for another 30 seconds.
Your omelette should be just set in the middle, still soft and curdy, just turning golden in patches on the outside. Once it’s perfect, slide the omelette out of the pan on to a warm plate and serve immediately with a shock of dressed salad.
Too hot salad
15 MINUTES
I make this when it feels too hot to eat or I am in need of something a bit refreshing. I first made it on a weighty, humid summer’s day in London, one of those hot city days when the air doesn’t move and all you can think about is swimming pools and ice lollies. Now every time I make this I start singing Kool and the Gang.
The key here is to get everything nice and cold. Search out raw red-skinned peanuts if you can. In the summer I soak a few handfuls in cold water overnight and keep them cool in the fridge for snacking. They are also great in stir-fries and on top of morning fruit. They are fresh and juicy and completely different to a roasted peanut. You can easily find them in health food stores or Indian supermarkets.
For a heartier meal, serve this with cooked and cooled brown basmati rice or some thin rice vermicelli noodles.
SERVES 4
50g raw peanuts (see here)
2 carrots
200g watermelon
a handful of cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 little gem or 1 cos lettuce, or ½ an iceberg
a bunch of fresh coriander
FOR THE DRESSING
½ a red chilli
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
2 limes
a little runny honey
Get all your ingredients and equipment together. Soak the peanuts in iced water and put them into the fridge while you get on with everything else.
Peel the carrots, then use a speed-peeler to peel them into long strips and place them in a bowl with some iced water.
Cut the watermelon into bite-size pieces, removing any very seedy bits and the outer skin. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Pop both into a serving bowl and put into the fridge.
Use the speed-peeler to peel the cucumber into long strips too, stopping when you get to the watery seeded bit, and add to the serving bowl of watermelon and tomatoes in the fridge. Shred the lettuce and pick the coriander leaves from the stalks.
Chop the red chilli for the dressing and put into a small bowl with the soy, the juice of both limes and a small squeeze of honey. Taste and adjust, adding more lime, honey and soy if needed until you have a nice balance of heat, acidity and sweetness.
Take the serving bowl and the peanuts out of the fridge. Drain the peanuts and carrots well, add to the bowl and pour over the dressing. Toss through the lettuce and scatter over the coriander. Eat in a breezy spot, while thinking