SERVES 4
olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and finely sliced
2 carrots, peeled and finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, peeled and sliced
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1 × 400g tin of chickpeas, drained
½ a veg stock cube, or 1 teaspoon veg stock powder
1 stick of cinnamon
1 preserved lemon, halved, seeds removed
a handful of raisins
100g Israeli couscous
a small bunch of fresh parsley, leaves picked and chopped
TO SERVE
a good pinch of saffron strands
4 tablespoons natural yoghurt of your choice
½ a clove of garlic, peeled and chopped super-fine
4 handfuls of rocket
a small handful of toasted pine nuts
Heat a little olive oil in a pan over a medium heat, then add the onion, carrot, garlic and a good pinch of sea salt and cook for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft and sweet.
Next, add the tomatoes and chickpeas. Fill both cans with water and add to the pan too. Add the stock cube, cinnamon stick, preserved lemon halves and raisins. Season with salt and pepper and simmer on a medium heat for 15–20 minutes, until the tomato broth has thickened slightly and tastes wonderfully full and fragrant.
Add the couscous and cook for another 10 minutes, making sure you top up with a little extra water here if necessary. I like more of a soup than a stew, so I usually add another can of water.
Meanwhile, put the saffron into a bowl with a small splash of boiling water and allow it to sit for 5 minutes. Then add the yoghurt, garlic and a pinch of salt and mix well.
After 10 minutes the couscous should be cooked, while still keeping a little chewy bite. Check the seasoning and add more salt and pepper if needed, stir through the parsley then scoop out the preserved lemon halves and ladle your stew into bowls. Top with a crown of rocket, a good spoonful of saffron yoghurt and a pile of toasted pine nuts.
Seeded bread and roast tomato soup
A few years ago I spent a glorious six months living and working among the Chianti vines in the deep green heart of Tuscany. I was an hour’s walk from the nearest bus and cooking was all there was to do. We worked hand in hand with what was going on around us and it was glorious. We made this traditional Tuscan favourite, pappa pomodoro, for our staff lunch at least twice a week – comfort eating at its best.
The flame-red tomatoes turn scarlet pink when slowly roasted, and the bread softens and soaks up the tomato juices to become almost soft and milky. The seeded bread is my way of doing things – I love the pops of texture it adds. I still make this in deepest winter with four tins of really good cherry tomatoes and rosemary or thyme – it’s a different soup but still killer.
SERVES 4
500g ripe vine tomatoes, halved
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
a large bunch of fresh basil, leaves picked
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive oil
2 × 400g tins of good-quality plum tomatoes
4 slices of good-quality seeded bread
Preheat the oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.
Pop the vine tomatoes into a large deep ovenproof casserole dish with the garlic, half the basil and a good pinch of salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Place in the oven for 20 minutes to roast and intensify. Once your tomatoes are roasted, take the pan out of the oven and pop it on the heat, remembering to be careful, as your pan will be very hot.
Add the tinned tomatoes and a tin of water and break up the tomatoes a little with the back of a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer, then cook for 20 minutes.
Once the soup is thick and sweet, tear the slices of bread and most of the rest of the basil over the top, cover with a lid and leave to sit for 10 minutes. Then give it a stir so it all comes together. Ladle into bowls, drizzle generously with very good olive oil, scatter with the remaining basil and eat with enthusiasm and a fine Chianti.
ONE SOUP: 1000 VARIATIONS
Walnut miso broth with udon noodles
One of my favourite meals to go out and eat is this one, sitting on my own at the noodle bar in Koya in Soho. Their udon noodles are from the gods, just the right side of chewy. But it’s the walnut miso paste that comes next to them in a little bowl, that really crowns it. I am sure they make it in a far more sophisticated way – I’ve never asked. This is my version.
This is a soup that has everything. Deep umami flavour, cleansing sharpness and a delicious bundle of veg. Both udon and soba noodles work here. The broth is a very simple and clean one and you’ll need to stir in the walnut and miso for the flavours to really work. At Koya they add one of those amazing Japanese eggs, poached in their shell. I sometimes add a poached egg too, but it divides opinion, so I have left it out here.
Walnuts and I have a curious relationship. After a year working at a posh restaurant in Knightsbridge where I had to individually peel each walnut without breaking it, weaving delicately in and out of those dainty, frilly edges, I fell out of love with them. But I have ditched the peeling and have since fallen back into their arms. They are a delicious vegetarian source of omega 3, which is key for brain health – a handful will provide you with almost all you need in a day, so get snacking on some walnuts.
Most veg would work well in this broth – chard, asparagus, sugar snaps, spinach. Don’t be tied to what I have suggested here.
SERVES 2
FOR THE WALNUT MISO PASTE
100g walnuts, lightly toasted
2 tablespoons dark miso paste (I use brown rice miso)
2 tablespoons honey or agave syrup
1 tablespoon sweet soy sauce or tamari
a splash of white wine vinegar
FOR THE BROTH
2 spring onions, trimmed and finely sliced
a thumb-size piece of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped into matchsticks
1 veg stock cube, or 1 tablespoon veg stock powder
1 head of spring greens, destalked and shredded
a handful of shimeji mushrooms (about 150g)
a handful of enoki mushrooms (about 150g)
250g dried udon noodles
Preheat your oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.
Put the walnuts on a baking tray and toast them in the oven for 5–10 minutes, until just browned and smelling great.