The Food Diaries

Cauliflower couscous with grilled asparagus and roasted hazelnuts

Coarsely chop a small cauliflower, place in a food processor and pulse till the cauliflower resembles couscous. Place in a bowl.

Meanwhile, chop 12 asparagus spears into bite-sized pieces and fry in a grill pan with a little olive oil till nicely golden.

Toast a handful of skinned hazelnuts in the oven till golden and chop. 

Season the cauliflower with the juice of 1 lemon, a good drizzle of olive oil and sea salt. Add some finely chopped mint and chives, the asparagus and hazelnut and toss.

Optional: Serve with shavings of parmesan.

Thai beef salad

A bright and sharp salad, balancing the fresh and rich flavours nicely.

In a jar place the following ingredients: the juice of 1 lime, 1tbs granulated palm sugar (or substitute brown sugar), 1tbs fish sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, 2 tsp soy sauce, 1tbs grated fresh ginger, 1 garlic clove, crushed, 1tbs finely chopped kaffir lime leaf and 2tbs finely chopped red chilli. Close the lid tightly and shake vigorously.

On a hot griddle pan sear a 350-400g rib eye steak (seasoned with sea salt), 2 minutes on each side (or till desired doneness). Remove to a large plate, cover with foil, and let rest 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile quarter 100g cherry tomatoes, cut a half cucumber into batons, very thinly slice a small red onion or large shallot, remove the stems of a small bunch of fresh mint (or mix in with coriander and/or Thai basil). Toss with half the dressing and distribute between two plates. 

Thinly slice the steak across the grain and place on top of the vegetables. Drizzle the meat with a bit more of the sauce and top with a small handful of watercress.

Sprinkle with chopped roasted peanuts.

Serves 2.

Rainbow salad of beets, carrots and chicory with soft goat’s cheese and honey walnuts

A fresh and crunchy salad that is seriously moorish.

Using a food processor, thinly grate the following peeled raw vegetables: 1 large golden beet, 1 large candy-striped beet, and 1 large carrot. Place in a bowl and dress with olive or rapeseed oil, lemon juice, pomegranate molasses, Dijon mustard and sea salt. This can be refrigerated for a few hours as required.

Coat a handful of walnut pieces in runny honey and grill in the oven till nicely toasted.

Assemble the salad by first placing a bed of sliced red and yellow chicory slices on each plate. Place a mound of the grated vegetables in the middle. Top with soft goat’s cheese, such as the Italian Caprino. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cheese and chicory. Sprinkle the walnut pieces around and garnish the top of the cheese with nigella seeds.

Scandinavian coleslaw

Finely shred a pointed cabbage and place in a mixing bowl, along with a large shallot, finely sliced. Sprinkle with a little salt and 3tbs cider vinegar, mix well and let stand for an hour.

Add 1tbs sugar, 1tbs dijon mustard, 3tbs soured cream, 1tbs olive oil, and 2tbs finely chopped dill. Mix well. Season with pepper and scatter some extra dill overtop.

Chinese-style broccoli stem salad

Cut a small bunch of tenderstem broccoli stems into bite-sized rounds (around 2 cups). Bring a pot to a boil, drop in the broccoli with a 1/2 tsp baking soda (to keep the stems a vivid green). Drain after 1 minute and rinse under cold water. Drain well and place in a serving dish.

Mix together 4 tsp soy sauce, 3 tsp sesame oil and 1/2 tsp brown sugar. Stir till well combined and add to the broccoli.

Serve at room temperature.

Panzanella salad

(AKA what to do with a stale loaf of bread)

Tear up some leftover, stale ciabatta bread (1/2 loaf) into bite-sized pieces and place in a large, shallow salad bowl. Add 4 medium-sized tomatoes cut into wedges, 1/2 cucumber peeled and cut into chunks, and 1 small red onion, sliced thinly. Mix all together with your hands.

Whisk together 3tb olive oil with 1tb red wine vinegar and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the salad, cover and refrigerate (at least 1 hour but even overnight will work).

Stir again before serving. Drizzle a little more olive oil over top and sprinkle with 12 basil leaves, torn into pieces.

BLT salad

Slice up a head of romain lettuce and place in a shallow dish. Cut up 3-4 small tomatoes into small wedges and dot around the lettuce. Fry up five slices of streaky bacon, cut in half till crisp and golden. Drain on kitchen towel. To make the dressing mix together 2 heaping tablespoons good-quality mayonnaise with 1 tsp creamy dijon mustard and whisk in 2 tsp sherry vinegar. Drizzle over the vegetables and season with sea salt and pepper. Distribute the bacon slices evenly overtop and serve.

Serves 3-4.

Lentil salad with feta, peppers & mint

In a medium pot place 250g Puy lentils (try to source these as they really hold their shape nicely and have a lovely nutty taste to them). Cover with water and add 3 garlic cloves, peeled, 1 small onion, peeled and halved, and 1 bay leaf. Bring to a boil, and then simmer for about 20-25 minutes till tender. Drain and immediately stir in a good glug of olive oil. Season with sea salt and pepper.

While the lentils are cooking, crumble 150g feta cheese into a small bowl and add the zest and juice of 1 lemon. Set aside to marinate.

While the lentils are still warm add 1 small jar of sweet roasted peppers (coarsely chopped, or crushed with your hands), 1 stick of celery, very finely diced, the feta cheese and a small handful of mint, chopped.

Serve at room temperature.

You can easily adapt this recipe by (for instance) swapping goat’s cheese for the feta, finely diced tomatoes for the peppers, and parsley or coriander for the mint.

Warm new potato salad with smoked eel and creamed horseradish

This salad presents a perfect pairing of buttery yellow new potatoes and rich and delicate smoked eel, bound together by a creamy yet bright and sharp dressing.

Bring some new potatoes (300g) to a boil and cook till done (once they are easily pierced with a fork). Keep warm till you are ready to assemble the salad. In the meantime, in a small bowl mix together 1 tbs creamed horseradish, 1 tbs light creme fraiche, 2 tsp white vinegar, 1 tbs olive oil, 1tbs each finely chopped chives and parsley, and some sea salt and pepper. Slice up the new potatoes and place in a serving bowl. Fold in the salad dressing. Drape the potatoes with bite-sized pieces of smoked eel (130g) and then sprinkle generously with salad cress.

Serves 3 as a starter or 2 as light lunch.

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English Asparagus with Jersey Royals and Crab - a crisp Spring recipe

The month of May is the height of the English asparagus season. Take advantage now while you can (I recommend a daily serving), because once they’re gone all you’ll be left with on the supermarket shelves are the imitation variety, flown in from halfway across the world.

Put to a boil 250g of Jersey royals (or another new potato variety). Meanwhile, in a mortar and pestle crush together 1 clove of garlic, 1 tsp coarse sea salt, and a small handful of basil leaves. Stir in 1/3 cup Greek yogurt. Set aside. Boil or steam 500g green asparagus spears till just tender. Drain immediately and cut into chunk-sized pieces (discarding the woody ends). Once the potatoes are done (easily pierced with a fork) then drain them and place into a serving bowl. Cut up the bigger potatoes into small chunks and then stir in 1tbs sherry vinegar, the basil sauce, 1 tbs creamed horseradish and 120g crab meat (canned will do fine). Add a squeeze of lime or lemon. Gently stir in the asparagus pieces and a couple large handfuls of lamb’s lettuce (or rocket will do). Drizzle with olive oil and season with crushed sea salt and pepper.

Simply omit the crab for a vegetarian version. Soy cream or yogurt would work quite well as a replacement for the Greek yogurt for a vegan version.

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