Place the chipotle chilli in a small bowl and pour in just enough boiling water to cover. After a few minutes, it should have softened; carefully remove from the bowl and finely chop.
Peel and finely chop the garlic and chop the tomatoes. Place a medium-size pan over a medium heat and pour in a glug of olive oil. Add the garlic and chipotle chilli and fry for 1 minute, then add the peppers and paprika. Fry for a few more minutes, then add the tomatoes. Season well and gradually bring everything to a simmer, then leave to bubble away gently for 10 minutes, until you have a thick and rich tomato sauce, adding a splash of water if it gets too thick. Add the splash of red wine vinegar and set aside. When it’s cooled down a bit, chop the coriander leaves, then stir through.
While the salsa is ticking away, place a large frying pan on a medium heat and add a drizzle of olive oil. Squeeze the sausage meat out of its skins and break it up into the frying pan. Fry for 5–10 minutes, until cooked through and crisp all over.
When your lentils are cooked, roughly purée them with a stick blender. Spoon the lentils into the pan with the sausage meat and fry for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, so you end up with crispy fried lentils.
While they are frying, peel, destone and slice the avocados, and roughly chop the rocket and dress with the juice of 1 lime. Cut the remaining lime into quarters.
Serve the refried lentils with a dollop of the red pepper salsa, the dressed avocado and rocket and a wedge of lime on the side.
ROAST SWEET POTATO, PANCETTA AND MAPLE LOAF
This recipe started life as part of a sugar-free feature I wrote. It won everyone over and has been a firm favourite ever since. I have now tweaked it slightly and I do use maple syrup in it – however, if you are avoiding sugar you can absolutely leave it out. I guarantee you it will still be delicious. Once the loaf has cooled it freezes really well, so make it, eat what you like and freeze the rest for a rainy day. Very virtuous.
SERVES 10
500g sweet potatoes
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mixed spice
½ teaspoon sea salt
125ml olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
1 orange
6 rashers of pancetta (if you are veggie, the loaf is just as delicious without)
2 large eggs
50g natural yoghurt
50g pecans
3 tablespoons maple syrup
200g wholemeal or plain flour
2 teaspoons bicarbonate of soda
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Grease a 1 litre loaf tin and line with greaseproof paper.
Peel and chop the sweet potatoes into 2–3cm chunks and pop them into a large roasting tray. Sprinkle over the cinnamon, mixed spice, sea salt and a good glug of olive oil. Finely grate over the orange zest, halve the orange and squeeze over the juice. Toss everything together and put into the oven for 25 minutes. Then drape the pancetta slices over the sweet potato and pop back into the oven for a further 10 minutes, until the sweet potato is golden and cooked through and the pancetta is crisp. Remove from the oven (but leave the oven on) and set aside to cool a little.
Push the cooked pancetta to one side of the tray, then spoon the sweet potato into a food processor and blitz to a purée. Add the eggs, yoghurt, most of the pecans, the maple syrup, flour, bicarbonate of soda and the 125ml olive oil, and blitz again until just combined. Crumble in the pancetta and fold through. Using a spatula, scrape the mixture into the lined loaf tin and then chop and sprinkle over the remaining pecans. Pop the tin into the preheated oven for 1 hour, then check with a skewer. It should come out clean. If not, return the loaf to the oven for a further 10 minutes, until golden and cooked through.
Leave to cool in the tin for 5 minutes before cooling completely on a rack. Serve straight up or toasted. It is delicious with butter beaten with a little maple syrup.
Roast Sweet Potato, Pancetta and Maple Loaf
COURGETTE, COCONUT AND CARDAMOM LOAF WITH HONEY BUTTER
There is something terribly Mediterranean about a slice of chocolate marble cake and a glass of milk for breakfast, which was our morning meal of choice growing up! However, we’ve come a long way since then, and I genuinely want something better for myself most mornings. So this is my twist on our teenage years; instead of chocolate cake it’s a dense and delicious courgette and coconut loaf, laced with crushed cardamom and served with honey-sweetened butter. Delicious.
SERVES 8–10
125g unsalted butter, plus extra for greasing
8 green cardamom pods
2 small courgettes (about 250g)
175ml olive oil
125g golden caster sugar
2 large eggs
1 lime
a pinch of salt
60g unsweetened desiccated coconut
325g wholemeal or normal self-raising flour
¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
3 tablespoons honey
NB If you can’t get unsweetened desiccated coconut, buy the sweetened stuff and soak it in boiling water for a couple of minutes, then drain.
Preheat the oven to 170°C/gas 3. Grease a 1 litre loaf tin with a little butter, then line with greaseproof paper.
Gently crush the cardamom pods in a pestle and mortar, then discard the outsides and finely grind the black seeds, Coarsely grate the courgettes and leave to one side.
In a large mixing bowl whisk together the oil and sugar, then beat in the eggs. Fold in the ground cardamom seeds, grated courgette and finely grate in the lime zest. Add a pinch of salt and stir in the coconut. Add the flour and bicarbonate of soda and fold everything together until just combined. Pour the mixture into the lined tin and bake in the middle of the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes. When the time is up, check the loaf – it may need up to 10–15 minutes longer. It’s ready when a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before transferring to a cooling rack.
While the loaf is baking make the honey butter. Beat the butter and honey together in a mixing bowl with a wooden spoon, or in a free standing mixer, until pale and creamy. Mix in a good pinch of salt and spoon into a serving bowl, if using straight away, or roll it into a log in greaseproof and pop it in the fridge until needed.
Serve the courgette loaf cut in slices, either fresh or lightly grilled, with the honey butter on the side.
Courgette, Coconut and Cardamom Loaf with Honey Butter
BREAKFAST ON THE RUN
Sometimes, despite all our best efforts and intentions, there just really isn’t time for a sit-down breakfast. Here are three of my ‘go-to’ smoothies – they taste delicious and will keep you going when you’re on the run.
THE CLASSIC
1 medjool date
1 heaped tablespoon rolled oats
a good pinch of ground cinnamon
1 small banana, chopped and frozen
1 tablespoon bran
250ml full-fat cow’s milk or almond milk (or any milk of your choice – hazelnut or coconut milk work well too)
a drizzle of honey (I only use honey if I am using cow’s milk, as the nut milks tend to have a natural sweetness to them already)
Remove the stone from the date and discard. Place all the ingredients in a blender and leave to sit for a couple of minutes. Blitz for a minute, until you have a smooth and creamy texture, adding a splash more milk if it’s a little on the thick side. Serve immediately.
RASPBERRY MILKSHAKE
1 small banana, chopped and frozen
1 heaped tablespoon rolled oats
a handful of raspberries
8 grapes (or just a few more raspberries)
1 large tablespoon organic black cherry yoghurt (also delicious with dairy-free coconut yoghurt)
250ml freshly pressed apple juice
Place all the ingredients in a blender and leave to sit for a couple of minutes. Blitz until you have a smooth and creamy smoothie, adding a splash more apple juice if it is a li
ttle thick. Blitz again, then serve.
THE POPEYE
a sprig of mint
1 small banana, chopped and frozen
a handful of blueberries
a large handful of baby leaf spinach
a squeeze of lime juice
1 tablespoon milled flax seed
250ml freshly pressed apple juice
Pick the mint leaves and discard the stalk. Pop everything into a blender and leave to sit for a couple of minutes. Blitz for a minute, until you have a super-smooth texture. Add a splash more apple juice if it’s a little thick, then blitz again and serve straight away.
Breakfast on the Run
2
BOWL FOOD
I was once asked what my favourite comfort food was and I knew the answer straight away: anything I can eat from a bowl with a spoon. If I can eat it from my favourite bowl, with only one piece of cutlery, the chances are I will find it comforting. Soup is the most obvious contender, and although there really are many others (curry, noodles, pasta and mashed potato all spring to mind), soup is a firm favourite for many reasons. It’s warming, literally, and it reminds me of being young and being looked after. Even now, if I know someone is poorly or needs comforting I make them soup; it’s the ultimate uncomplicated meal. So this chapter is a big up to all soups – my perfect ‘meal in a bowl’.
RECIPE LIST
ZUPPA DI FARRO WITH ROSEMARY AND PINE NUT OIL
CHILLED AVOCADO SOUP WITH GINGER SESAME RADISHES
PARSNIP, MUSTARD AND COMTÉ SOUP
PETE’S BROCCOLI SOUP WITH STILTON SOLDIERS
ROAST SWEET POTATO, SPINACH AND CHICKPEA SOUP
ROASTED CAULIFLOWER AND COCONUT SOUP
SALMOREJO
BREAD, LEEK AND CABBAGE LAYER SOUP
CRAB AND PRAWN WONTON BROTH WITH CHARRED CORN
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL
PORK AND BLACK BEAN SOUP WITH GREEN GODDESS DRESSING
PHO FOR ONE
FENNEL AND SAUSAGE MUFFINS
ROASTED SEED SPRINKLE
QUICK GRIDDLED MULTIGRAIN FLATBREADS
ZUPPA DI FARRO WITH ROSEMARY AND PINE NUT OIL
This soup was my food highlight when filming in Tuscany many years ago; I stopped for lunch at a small workman’s-style café and just copied what the locals ate. It looked unassuming but I knew it had to be good, and I wasn’t disappointed. This is my homage to that heavenly bowl.
SERVES 6
200g dried borlotti beans
2 onions
4 garlic cloves
2 carrots
2 sticks of celery
½ a bunch of rosemary
150g guanciale or pancetta
olive oil
2 ripe tomatoes
a few sprigs of thyme and parsley
175g farro
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g pine nuts
Rinse the beans and discard any old-looking ones. Place in a large bowl with plenty of cold water, so they’re covered by at least 5cm. Leave to soak for 12 hours or overnight.
When you are ready to make your soup, start by preparing the base. Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic and carrots. Trim and finely chop the celery. Pick the rosemary leaves and finely chop. Cut the guanciale or pancetta into small cubes.
Place a large saucepan on a medium-low heat and pour in a good few glugs of olive oil. Add all the chopped veg, the guanciale and half the rosemary and sauté for 12–15 minutes, until soft and sticky. Finely chop the tomatoes and add to the pan, along with the drained beans and 2.5 litres of water. Tie the thyme and parsley together with butcher’s string and add to the pot. Gently bring to the boil, skim off any scum that comes to the surface, then reduce the heat to the lowest setting. Cover with a lid, leaving it just ajar, and leave to tick away for 3 hours, until the beans are soft and tender. Check the water occasionally and add more if it reduces too much.
After 3 hours, gently mash the cooked beans with a potato masher, breaking some of them down, then add the farro to the pot. Season generously and bring back to the boil. Reduce to simmer again, and cook for a further hour.
While the farro is cooking, make the rosemary and pine nut oil. Place a small frying pan on a medium-low heat and scatter in the pine nuts. Toast until golden, then add the rest of the chopped rosemary and 6 tablespoons of olive oil. Heat for 4–5 minutes, or until the rosemary starts to sizzle. Remove from the heat and leave to one side. When the soup is ready, discard the herb bunch, check the seasoning, and ladle into your bowls. Finish with the crispy rosemary and pine nut oil. Absolutely delicious.
Zuppa Di Farro with Rosemary and Pine Nut Oil
CHILLED AVOCADO SOUP WITH GINGER SESAME RADISHES
A quick and easy soup that is full of goodness. Avocado is a top source of unsaturated fat, which is great for your heart, reducing the risk of heart disease – and you won’t feel like you’re being short-changed on flavour.
SERVES 4
½ red chilli
½ a garlic clove
a 2cm piece of ginger
½ tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon low-salt soy sauce
¼ of a cucumber
4 radishes
2 limes
2 ripe avocados
½ a bunch of coriander
600ml ice-cold water
12 ice cubes
a few pinches of basil cress, optional
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Start by preparing the garnish. Deseed and finely slice the chilli, peel and finely grate the garlic and the ginger. Place in a bowl with the sesame seeds, sesame oil and soy sauce. Cut the cucumber in half lengthways and scoop out the seeds. Finely slice into half-moons and add to the bowl. Trim and roughly chop the radishes and bash lightly in a mortar and pestle to break them up a little, then add to the bowl and toss everything together. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime, stir through and leave to one side.
Halve the avocados, remove the stones and scoop the flesh into a liquidiser. Pick the coriander leaves and add most of them to the liquidiser with the remaining lime juice, and pour in the ice-cold water. Season generously and blitz until you have a creamy smooth soup, adding a splash more water if it is very thick.
Pour the avocado soup into 4 bowls and stir 3 ice cubes into each (don’t worry if the soup is a little thick, you want the ice cubes to melt slightly to thin it out and chill it at the same time). After a couple of minutes, garnish with the dressed veg, and finish with the cress and remaining coriander leaves. Serve straight away.
Chilled Avocado Soup with Ginger Sesame Radishes
PARSNIP, MUSTARD AND COMTÉ SOUP
When we were growing up, my poor yiayia would slave away for hours over a traditional Cypriot soup that contained little cubes of halloumi, only to find that we’d sit there and just pick out the cheese. I used to love finding little pools of treasure in my soup! (I wasn’t a fan of the soup itself, I’m afraid.) And I still do – it suddenly makes a simple week-night meal feel a little more substantial and special. This one is a particular favourite – the combination of flavours works perfectly and I just can’t get enough of the slightly molten Comté.
SERVES 4
1 onion
1 apple
1 stick of celery
olive oil
750g parsnips
100g Comté or Gruyère
½ a bunch of sage
1 tablespoon English mustard
1 litre vegetable stock
300ml full-fat milk
1 tablespoon English mustard
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
a large knob of butter
Trim and peel the onion, and finely chop. Halve the apple, remove the core, and chop. Trim and finely chop the celery. Place a large saucepan on a medium-low heat and drizzle in a little olive oil. Add the chopped veg (including the apple) and sauté gently for 12–15 minutes, until soft and sti
cky but not coloured.
Meanwhile peel the parsnips and cut into 2-3cm pieces. Cut the cheese into 1cm cubes, and pick the sage leaves.
When the veg in the pan are ready, stir in the mustard and fry for a minute, then add the chopped parsnips and the vegetable stock and gently bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and leave to gently bubble away for 15 minutes, or until the parsnips are cooked through and tender. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the milk. Using a stick blender, blitz the soup until smooth, then season to taste. If it is a little thick, just add a splash more milk. Return the pan to a low heat to keep warm.
When the soup is ready, place a small frying pan on a medium-low heat and add the butter with just a drizzle of olive oil. When the butter has melted, add the picked sage leaves and fry just until they are crisp.
Divide the cheese between the bowls and ladle the hot soup on top. Garnish with a few crispy sage leaves and a drizzle of the flavoured butter.
Parsnip, Mustard and Comté Soup
PETE’S BROCCOLI SOUP WITH STILTON SOLDIERS
If I had to pick one soup to eat for the rest of my life it would be this one. It’s not mind-alteringly unique, but it is familiar, homely and just a beautiful celebration of my favourite vegetable. Also, it’s the first thing Pete ever made me, years before we got together. Followed by a fish-finger sarnie and jelly and ice cream. All my favourite things. He even saved a cube of undiluted jelly for me, just like my mum used to. I should’ve known then really that I was going to marry him. (Although the Stilton soldiers are all me; Pete hates blue cheese – it’s upsetting.)
SERVES 6
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
2 leeks
50g butter
olive oil
10 sprigs of thyme
Stirring Slowly Page 4
