2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt
1 teaspoon good Dijon mustard
grated zest and juice of ½ an unwaxed lemon
a few sprigs of fresh dill, chopped
a few sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
optional: 1 stick of celery, chopped up small
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
8 slices of good bread (I like seeded stuff)
First put the eggs into a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, set the timer for 6 minutes (you may need a touch longer for large eggs).
Once the eggs have had 6 minutes, drain them and put them under running cold water until they have cooled a little. Then leave them in a bowl of cold water until they are cool enough to peel.
Put the rest of the ingredients apart from the bread into a bowl and mix together. Once the eggs are cool, peel and roughly chop them and add them to the bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or lemon as needed. If your bread is super-fresh there’s no need to toast it, but if it’s a little firm, pop it into the toaster. Pile the eggs on to 4 of the pieces of toast and top with the other 4 pieces.
I sometimes add a handful of seasonal salad leaves too – pea shoots, watercress and rocket all work well.
Killer smoked tofu club sandwich
John thinks this might be the best thing I have ever made. It’s basically an assembly job, putting a few good things between two slices of bread, as a sandwich should be.
MAKES 2 HEALTHY SANDWICHES
100g smoked tofu, cut into 6 slices
1 tablespoon chipotle paste
1 tablespoon mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise
juice of ½ a lime
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 slices of good bread (I use sourdough or a seeded bread)
½ an avocado, roughly mashed
1 little gem lettuce, shredded
8 sun-blushed tomatoes
Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then add the tofu slices and warm them on both sides.
Put the chipotle paste, mayonnaise and lime juice into a bowl, season with a little salt and pepper if needed, and mix well.
Toast your bread, and get everything on your board ready to assemble your sandwich.
Spread 2 slices of the toast with the chipotle sauce and the other 2 slices with the mashed avocado. Top the avocado with the tofu, lettuce and tomatoes. Pop the chipotle-laden slices on top, cut in half and eat immediately.
QUICK SANDWICH IDEAS
Sandwiches are one of my favourite things. Something great happens when the right combination of fillings is sandwiched between 2 slices of bread. These are modern, veg-packed sandwiches. I use good bread – sourdough, rye, seeded or even millet.
HUMMUS
SLICED TOMATO
SUN-DRIED TOMATOES
HUMMUS
BLACK OLIVES
HARISSA
TOASTED SEEDS
VEG FULL
SPROUTS
GRATED CARROT
SPINACH
MASHED AVOCADO
CHERRY TOMATOES
PESTO
FALAFEL
FALAFEL
CAPERBERRIES
TOMATOES
HUMMUS
PICKLED BEETS
SPINACH
LEMON JUICE
ASPARAGUS
BLANCHED ASPARAGUS
PARMESAN
AVOCADO
PUMPKIN SEEDS
ROCKET
LEMON JUICE
VEG CLUB
SMOKED TOFU
SLICED CHEDDAR
GHERKINS
LETTUCE
CHERRY TOMATOES
MUSTARD
MAYONNAISE
AVOCADO
MASHED AVOCADO
FETA
CORIANDER
LIME
CHERRY TOMATOES
LETTUCE
CHILLI/CHIPOTLE
BEETROOT
COOKED BEETS
GOAT’S CHEESE
PUMPKIN SEEDS
ROCKET
LEMON ZEST
SAN FRAN
PESTO
ALMONDS
PECORINO
ROCKET
HONEY
LEMON JUICE
There is something about one-pot cooking that feels properly nourishing. All the goodness of every ingredient is released into the soupy liquor. Most of these soups and stews come together in under 30 minutes and require only a little bit of upfront chopping. In the colder months, I tend to make a pot of soup on a Monday night, usually a double recipe in my biggest cast-iron pot. We then dip into it for lunches and dinners for the rest of the week, varying the toppings so that boredom doesn’t creep in. We start with a chunky soup and after a couple of bowls, I whiz it up and it feels brand new.
Warming winter roots · spicy tomato broth · cleansing miso · Tuscan heartiness · just-chewy udon noodles · cleansing coconut · fragrant lemongrass · smoky chilli spice · toasted nuts · crispy fried sage · crunchy tortilla crisps
Chickpea and preserved lemon stew
This was a quick evening creation. One of those moments when the stars align, even though you haven’t been to the shops, a few ingredients jump out of the fridge and effortlessly come together in the pan to make something special.
I make this when I want the warmth of a soup but need something a little heartier. The depth of flavour from the cinnamon, preserved lemon and tomato tastes like something cooked slowly for hours, but in fact this is a really quick recipe to make, and the warming flavours of Arabic spices are all the more heartening on a cold evening.
I use Israeli (sometimes called giant) couscous here, as it’s bigger, heartier and more substantial than the finer couscous and I think stands up very well to being cooked in a stew. It is available in most delis and supermarkets, though you could swap it for bulgur wheat if you like, or quinoa if you are avoiding gluten.
A note on preserving lemons: the unique salty-but-scented zippiness of preserved