Duck, cabbage and potato stir fry with chilli, garlic + ginger

I saw the duck breasts in the shop and just wanted to see what I could make with them.

And I LOVE experimenting with cooking with what you have, not wasting food.

What I had was about a third of a cabbage and a cooked potato in the fridge - they were the main things that needed using up, so I thought I’d do some kind of stir fry but using potato instead of having it with rice or noodles.

Cabbage is so good stir-fried and I definitely think it should have the chance to be the hero, the star, every now and then, given how it’s so often over-looked or relegated to a bit part.

And of course, if you haven’t got leftover cooked potato, do cook a potato or two before starting to make this - just cut into smaller pieces and boil for ten minutes of so in salted boiling water on quite a fast boil.

Quantities are quite vague, as often, just go with what you’ve got and taste and see if it’s good … but this was a good big dish for one (moi) and I started with the duck breast.

I just patted dry with kitchen paper, then scored the skin with a sharp knife, rubbed in some salt and black pepper and then sprinkled over some soy sauce.

Get a non-stick pan over a medium heat on the hob and when hot add the duck breast, skin side down and cook on a low to medium heat for five minutes. Try not to touch it but obviously if it’s really sticking (it shouldn’t be, it has a lot of fat in that skin), then just ease it away from the bottom of the pan.

When you flip it over it’ll be nice and browned already and then just remove from the heat, pop it skinside UP this time onto a baking tray and put into a medium oven for ten minutes.

This cooked mine perfectly for me, just a little pink still, but you can always check it and cook for a couple of minutes more if you want it well done.

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What you’ll need for the stir fry is:

lots of chopped fresh chilli (amount to your taste!)

lots of chopped fresh garlic (same! I had two cloves)

a good piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

a little oil (you could use the duck fat in the pan, up to you)

a slosh of fish sauce

lime juice 1/2 - 1 depending on how juicy it is

cabbage, sliced and cut into smaller pieces

granulated sugar, just a pinch

cooked potato, cut into small pieces

2 spring onions, sliced

fresh coriander leaves to serve, if liked

Get everything ready and then put that good non-stick pan back over the heat - you can use some of all of that lovely duck fat to cook the stir fry, or get rid of it and use a little fresh oil, up to you.

When it’s hot, add the aromatics (I love saying this, I don’t know why, I just love putting it all together as ‘aromatics’) and stir fry for a few seconds on a medium heat until it smells amazing!

Add a little slosh of water, plus another slosh of fish sauce, squeeze in the lime juice and then throw in the cabbage along with a pinch of sugar.

Stir, reduce heat, put a lid on the pan and let it cook for about five minutes. Stir every now and then and check if it needs a little more water.

Whenever the duck is cooked, take it out of the oven and leave on a chopping board to rest. Take it out a few minutes before it’s exactly cooked to your liking as it will continue to cook while it rests. The skin should be gorgeous and crispy now too!

Take the lid off the pan and add the chopped potato and the spring onions. Taste too and see if you want any more water, any more fish sauce, any more lime juice …

Cook, stirring, for another minute or two, then put into a bowl.

Slice the duck and add to the stir fry - yes I did eat a couple of pieces even as it made its way from chopping board to dish!

Garnish with fresh coriander leaves and a few more slices of red chilli, if liked.

I really liked having potato in the dish itself and not making separate rice or noodles and just LOVED the duck breast - what a treat. And exciting for cabbage to make it into a treat dish too!

Er, confession - I’m wondering looking at this photo if I added a little light soy sauce too along with the fish sauce and it’s very likely but I’m afraid I can’t say for sure. It wouldn’t do any harm though - I’ll try it next time I make it so I can update this recipe if need be …

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Spaghetti aglio, olio e peperoncino (garlic, olive oil and chilli)

I’m just in love with the simplest food right now.

I had the most delicious grilled salmon yesterday at a Thai restaurant that I’ll be recreating at home. It was served just with al dente asparagus and a red curry sauce that you actually wanted MORE of (and not less as is so often the case).

I’m going to be trying that one at home very soon.

Last year I also recreated a sauce similar to the one they serve with their delicious grilled squid - again, another dish defined by both simplicity and flavour.

I’m reminded while cooking right now of Coco Chanel’s edict to ‘take one thing off’ before leaving the house.

It’s so tempting to add more (and more). And more.

We all do it.

And unless that is absolutely your style thing - and I’ve definitely seen and admired those who DO pull it off - most of us would benefit from a little paring down.

In our style, our look, in how we spend our time, in our food. In everything.

This recipe could not be more simple.

Yet could also not be more elegant - not just elegant in a cold way but elegant and also very sexy.

Very sensual.

It has to be when it’s just four ingredients, four perfect ingredients, cooked together to create a perfectly simple, elegant, luscious, sensual dish.

The recipe is from a very good book, Made At Home, by the wonderful Giorgio Locatelli.

He talks a little about the dish before sharing the recipe.

He also talks about ‘the sexiest scene’ in a film called Chef (that I am definitely watching as soon as I’ve posted this).

He talks about how in the film the Jon Favreau character cooks this dish for the Scarlett Johansson character and he says,

‘…. winding it round a big toasting fork and handing it to her in a little bowl, then watching her as she is totally seduced by the flavours. it is a moment of genius. The way she watches him making the spaghetti and then he watches her eat it … ‘

Such sensuality from the making and giving and receiving of the most beautiful, simplest food.

Can we ask for more from food, from anything really?

So go on then …. let’s make this.

The recipe is pretty much exactly from Giorgio Locatelli but the words here are mine.

Just four ingredients and a very different way of cooking to my usual way.

I’m usually stir frying things quickly over a high heat.

I need to use an oil with a high cooking temperature - like rapeseed or grapeseed. I need to hear things sizzle and to move them around quickly.

Not this langourous dish.

It takes its time. Well, it does just here at the start when we’re cooking that garlic to infuse the big fruity oil with the big garlic flavour before we heat them both together to form the base of the sauce.

So those four ingredients include the oil - it needs to be a virgin or extra virgin olive oil.

Usually I’d say these oils are for dressings as they cook and burn at a relatively low temperature.

But here we want that gorgeous rich fruity flavour.

And we want garlic, lots of it.

And chilli, lots of it. Scotch bonnet would be amazing and what’s recommended in the recipe - as it’s so fruity and delicious but I didn’t have any and so used bird eye.

You could also use dried chilli flakes which I have done since and have to admit I kind of prefer it - I use just about 1/2 a teaspoon as mine are really spicy!

So that’s three.

1. Olive oil

2. Garlic

3. Chillies

The fourth is the pasta itself.

Get a big pan on the heat with lots of water and a little salt - give it lots of room to breathe.

When boiling add the spaghetti and cook for ten minutes for it to be that perfect bite between al dente and soft (well, that’s what’s perfect for me).

While it’s cooking put a big non-stick pan over a low heat and add a tablespoon of the oil.

Tip in the garlic, stir for a few seconds, pull the pan away from the heat, stir and add a little more cold oil.

Return to the heat, stir into the warmth.

Just before it sizzles or starts to colour, pull the pan off the heat, stir, cool it down slightly.

Return to heat, stir and allow the oil to start to gently sizzle and the garlic to just just just just just turn colour.

Then add the chilli and cook, stirring, quickly and briefly.

Pull the pan away from the heat and add a ladleful of the pasta cooking water straight from that boiling pan to this - watch out because it might spit.

Return to the heat, turn the heat to the lowest setting and stir - keep it just there on the boil until the spaghetti has finished cooking.

Retain another ladle of the cooking water in case you need it, and drain the pasta then tip into the pan with the oil, garlic and chilli and toss thoroughly so it’s all coated.

Add a little more of the cooking water if needed.

And that is it. That simple.

You could add some lovely fresh parsley and grate in fresh parmesan - both of which would be absolutely delicious - but I had neither of these today so just had the very simplest way of eating this.

And I loved every silky full-flavoured mouthful of it.

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Chicken broccoli rice stir fry

You know when you want something that’s just comforting and easy but also feels like it is so.damn.good.for.you.

Well, broccoli we KNOW is good for us, and rice and chicken kind of the best comfort food.

So this simple little brunch stir fry delivered.

Perfect for any time too, I’d say - brunch, lunch or a quick supper.

Super easy …. so let’s go!

Just change the quantities for however many you’re cooking it for - I made this one just for me.

You’ll need:

rice (a couple of tablespoons of dried rice)

however much broccoli you want - I think I had half a head, cut into bite-size florets

cooking oil / spray cooking oil

1-2 bird eye chillies - to your taste - finely chopped

1-2 garlic cloves - again as per their size and to your taste - peeled, crushed and finely chopped

a nice piece of fresh ginger, peeled and then grated (I don’t really like ginger that much when it’s cut into small bits but I LOVE it grated)

a little water

1/3 chicken Knorr stock cube

1/2 - 1 chicken breast depending on size and how hungry you are

fish sauce

light soy sauce

sugar

oyster sauce

Bring a pan of water with a pinch of salt to the boil, and when boiling add the rice.

Boil on a medium boil for eight minutes, throw in the broccoli, bring back to the boil and boil another minute.

Drain rice and broccoli into a sieve quickly, leaving a little of the cooking water in the bottom of the pan, then put the sieve back over the top of the pan and quickly clamp the lid on top of that. Leave to steam while you make the rest of the dish.

Get a large non-stick pan and put over a medium heat. Add a little slosh of cooking oil or some sprays from your cooking oil spray.

Add the chillies, garlic and ginger and cook, stirring, for maybe 30 seconds until they release those gorgeous flavours and smells. Add a splash of water if it looks like sticking - you’ll definitely need to if using the spray oil.

Then add a good slosh of water ad crumble in the stock cube - bring to a simmer.

Add the chopped chicken and cook for a couple of minutes until sealed.

Then add a slosh each of light soy sauce and fish sauce and stir it all together. Add a pinch of sugar and stir again.

Always add a little more water if needed.

Lid on and simmer for five minutes.

Again, keep an eye on it and add more water if needed - you don’t want this soupy AT ALL but you don’t want it sticking and dry.

Take the lid off and tip in the rice and broccoli, and stir well to combine.

Add a slosh of oyster sauce, stir. Simmer one minute longer.

And that’s it.

I like to serve it packed first into a little bowl and then put the plate on top, tip upside down and remove bowl to leave the cooked rice etc in a lovely shape - it did fall a bit but I kind of liked that.

And it was everything I’d wanted it to be …. will definitely be making this again.

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Thai-style clear soup with pork and tofu

This is a simple soup full of flavour and not spicy - just some heat from the white pepper - I love white pepper, it’s got a warmth that black pepper doesn’t.

If you don’t have ground white pepper, well, please go and buy some!

It’s the most commonly used pepper I believe in Thai cooking (prik Thai, or Thai pepper, refers to white pepper) and just adds a peppery warmth to the dish.

This dish has cooked rice added at the end, so do do make that first - it’s so annoying when you don’t realise a recipe uses something that you need to cook first.

Although if you’re making this soup as part of a meal with more dishes, I’d leave the rice out as you’ll be having rice separately I imagine and don’t need more here too.

Quantities are quite vague, you can’t really go wrong, so use what looks like it’s going to be enough for you.

I made enough for two small-ish bowls but it was so good I ate it all myself.

You’ll need:

cooking oil

a few spring onions, sliced

1-2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped

water - as much as you think makes the amount of soup you want, perhaps 1/2 litre

1 chicken Knorr stock cube

a handful, perhaps 125g or so, pork mince

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground white pepper

a slosh of light soy sauce

extra firm tofu - just a few slices cut into cubes

some cabbage, sliced

fish sauce

cooked rice

a handful of spinach leaves (optional, I just added these because I had a bag in the fridge that needed using)

fresh coriander leaves to serve (if liked)

Get all the ingredients ready so everything’s to hand as the soup doesn’t take long to cook.

Chop and slice everything and scrunch the pork mince with the white pepper and the soy sauce.

Put a big pan over a medium heat with a couple of teaspoons of cooking oil - I use about 20 sprays of a coconut oil spray - and cook the spring onions and garlic for a few seconds until sizzling and smelling amazing.

Add a little water to stop it sticking and stir, then add the remainder of the water, crumble in the stock cube and bring to a simmer.

Then just take little pieces of the pork and drop in - you can just drop in as they are or make into little balls if you prefer. Once all the pork is in the water, put a lid on the pan and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

Next in goes the tofu pieces and simmer again, covered, for another 5 minutes.

Add the cabbage leaves and simmer, uncovered, for another couple of minutes, then add a slosh of fish sauce and a big spoonful of cooked rice.

Stir and add the spinach if using and remove from heat - stirring to wilt in the spinach.

Serve with fresh coriander leaves, if liked.

This is so simple and so much tastier than it looks or sounds

I’ve eaten it for dinner now two days in a row and might have it again today - as I’ve still pork mince and tofu in the fridge, although I’ve just had an idea for a stir fry kind of version that I might play with later instead.

And I did …. and it didn’t really work! I love playing with recipes and food and nope, not everything works. This soup needs the lovely broth to bring it all together.

I hope you love it too.

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Delicious, easy, anti-inflammatory ginger turmeric carrot soup

So first of all, let’s just talk about a ‘self-retreat day’.

Well, it’s like a retreat, but at home, and also just doesn’t need any planning or thinking about. You can choose to do it any time really, although of course a nice clear weekend day without plans will be easiest.

I don’t even know if this is what she was thinking but I was chatting to Jessa on Saturday morning and she said the words ‘self-retreat’ and I just decided there and then that that was what I needed right away, that same day.

Another friend, Leah, asked me what I meant by a ‘self-retreat’ and so I’ll just share the answer I gave her:

“My definition is a day or however long you decide when you only do what feels amazing and nourishing for you. I had an appointment with my osteopath today and so had the most amazing back and neck and hip massage.

Then went and bought vegetables and had a good long walk.

Made soup.

Read and wrote.

Napped.

Had thought I might do yoga and clean the house (or even just wash up!) but nope neither are feeling amazing today so I’m going to take the dog out soon and read in bed.’

THAT was my self-retreat Saturday.

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Sooooooo … anyway ….. onto the aforementioned soup.

It’s easy, really easy, and very delicious and also super healthy and anti-inflammatory and I just felt I needed it for nourishment and extra gut-healing stuff (having only just got better from six weeks of suffering with campylobacter - honestly, you’ll remember that weird name forever should you ever get it. NOTE - don’t be like me, don’t be cavalier with the tap water when abroad).

I made enough soup for a couple of big big bowls so up to you if you think this is a recipe for two people or for one (er, I decided one needed all the health and nourishment for oneself).

To make it, you’ll need:

Lots of garlic - maybe 2-3 cloves - squashed, peeled and minced

One red onion, diced

A good piece of turmeric root, peeled and grated (peel by scraping off the skin with a spoon otherwise you’ll lose loads of the flesh if you use a peeler)

Approx 1 litre boiling water

1 chicken or vegetable stock cube

A good piece of ginger, peeled (with a peeler) and grated

Lots of carrots - I had five good sized ones - peeled and sliced

Some fresh thyme leaves - but only if you have them, otherwise just leave out

A small head of cauliflower, cut into florets

Salt and pepper

Fresh parsley to serve

First, the garlic and red onion sautéed in olive oil.

Then add the boiling water and stock cube and tip in the grated ginger and turmeric and the carrots. I added some fresh thyme too just because I had it.

Simmer for ten minutes then add a small head of cauliflower cut into florets.

Season with Himalayan pink salt (or sea salt) and freshly ground black pepper.

Simmer for around 20-30 minutes - stir occasionally - when it’s done remove from heat and add fresh parsley.

Taste and add more seasoning if needed.

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Cacio e pepe (spaghetti with cheese and pepper)

You know sometimes when you just keep seeing something you hadn’t noticed before and then you do and then you see it everywhere?

That’s been me and cacio e pepe over the last week or so.

I noticed it in two or three recipe books and immediately wanted to eat it, and wanted to make it.

It’s a dish or beautiful simplicity: pasta, pasta water, freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino and freshly grated black pepper. Sometimes butter too.

So I read more - I googled and read many more reviews and recipes online.

And actually it started sounding complicated! It started sounding like one of those things that is SO simple that’s it’s going to be hard to get it perfect.

I read more and more of the advice and tricks and ‘secrets’ … and then amalgamated all the bits of advice that sounded sensible to me and made my first one.

My first realisation is that no-one should have that fear that it has to be ‘perfect’ because really how wrong can you go with spaghetti and cheese and black pepper?!

It was delicious. However I wanted to make more of the cheese sauce as mine was a little thin.

I also wanted to simplify the method as I’d been swept along with these tips and tricks and so had used both olive oil and butter, a little too much pasta water and had taken the advice on board to let that mixture cool slightly before adding the cheese. Totally unnecessary, I now thought.

Second go I just followed the same basic method but omitted the oil, added less pasta water and didn’t wait before stirring in the cheese to make the sauce before adding the pasta.

Attempt number 1

Attempt number 2

Again; delicious!

But this time slightly too much and too cheesy a sauce.

I re-read the original recipe I’d seen from Giorgio Locatelli’s book ‘Made at Home’.

And I found the episode where Anthony Bourdain has it for the first time in Rome - and then it becomes his favourite pasta dish - and watched them make it in the restaurant.

SO much simpler than recipes I’d been reading online.

I discovered the classic version doesn’t even use butter … I haven’t tried that yet as I like the the butter! But I will.

For my third attempt I simplified even further and just went with what I’d now seen and what I feel would work - no more tricks and secrets; just cook the thing and do so with love and anticipation of a good meal.

No more even making the cheese sauce before adding the pasta.

No timing to cool one part before adding another or cooling the pasta slightly.

This is my favourite of the three I’ve made and definitely the simplest (not that any of them could really be called hard but oh goodness do some people like to complicate stuff - I found recipes for this online with PAGES of explanation!).

So, here’s how to make this utterly divine and nourishing and elegant and easy pasta.

If making more than a couple of portions at a time make sure you’ve got a big pan with lots of space for the pasta and the sauce to become one.

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To make a quick lunch or dinner for one, you’ll need:

a small handful of spaghetti (about 100g)

a knob of butter (maybe a couple of heaped teaspoons)

1/2 - 1 teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

a small handful of freshly grated Parmesan or Pecorino cheese

more cheese and more pepper to serve, if liked (personally I didn’t think it needed it)

serve with a big green salad to make it more of a meal

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Usually with pasta we use a big saucepan and lots of water but for this dish use a little less water than normal because we want the pasta cooking water to be good and starchy to make the sauce. So I used a slightly smaller pan than usual and a little less water but a good big pinch of salt.

Bring to the boil, add the spaghetti and when it’s back on the boil cook for eight minutes.

Get everything else ready and a couple of minutes before the pasta’s ready get a good big non-stick pan over a medium heat and add a ladleful of water taken from the spaghetti pan.

Then add the butter and stir until it’s melted and the butter/water mixture simmering. Then heat to low and add the black pepper. Add a little more pasta water if needed - you want want it loose but not too much of it.

The pasta should be done by now but don’t ever worry!

If it’s not then turn the sauce off for a minute.

If it was done before you’d finished putting the pepper in then turn the sauce off for a minute while you drain the pasta. Nothing’s a problem.

If the pasta is going to wait for a minute though I’d run cold water through it after draining so it doesn’t get sticky as it waits patiently in its sieve.

OK so now we have a little simmering sauce and we just add the pasta maybe in two batches so each gets to expand into the sauce. Add the first then stir and combine with the sauce before adding the rest of the spaghetti.

Simmer the pasta in the sauce another minute or so so that it can absorb some more liquid and then add the finely grated cheese, tossing and mixing it all together so the cheese melts and you can’t even really see it any more.

That’s it. That’s it done.

Remove pasta and sauce from pan to dish, taste, add more pepper and cheese if liked.

Eat, wonder how something so simple can be so delicious and start planning when next to make it …

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Thai green (and red) curry sauce

For my recent family birthday lunch I cooked for ten, I was thinking of a kind of Thai twist on a Sunday roast.

We had these Thai-inspired baked chicken pieces, roast beef in a marinade of coriander stalks, green peppercorns, and more good things.

Plus roasted crushed new potatoes with ginger, garlic, chilli and spring onions, as well as a big vegetable stir fry with oyster sauce.

And I wanted, of course, a ‘gravy’, to go with it all so made a Thai green curry sauce - and it was so good, especially over the chicken and potatoes. YUM.

Back home in London I decided I should test it again before sharing the recipe but realised I had left the green curry paste in Norfolk.

AHA! Yep, it’s super-simple because I use a ready-made curry paste.

And I have to say that I always have as when I lived in Thailand, no one made their own pastes, we all just got them freshly made from the market. So just get a good brand and don’t feel any pressure to make your own. Hey, most Thai people (to my knowledge) don’t!

Mae Ploy is my favourite brand and I get it from my local Thai supermarket as it’s on at a better price than Sainsbury’s, who also stock it.

OK, let’s get making this sauce then.

Ah, what I meant to say before I went off on a bit of a tangent was that as I didn’t have any green curry paste, I had to make a red curry sauce.

Now traditionally, green curry is made with seafood or chicken. Red curry with pork, or duck, or maybe even beef.

So when I made my red curry sauce, it was to pour over sliced steak, rice and broccoli - and it was so good.

Honestly this sauce is so quick and easy, and just gives a little twist to your roast, or is beautiful to have with rice and vegetables, or just a big plate of veggies, or really with any meat, fish or vegetables that need a little zhuzh-ing up (is that how you spell it?!).

For my birthday lunch I made double the quantity I’m sharing here, but I think this is enough for about four, so that seems a good amount to start with and of course it’s easy to scale up if you’re cooking for more too.

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You’ll need:

1 tin coconut milk (full fat, don’t get that reduced fat stuff)

1 heaped tablespoon good Thai curry paste

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

a good dash of fish sauce

2 teaspoons demerera sugar

the juice of one juicy lime

Thai sweet basil (horopha) if you can get it

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Pour the coconut milk into a saucepan, add the curry paste, and bring the coconut milk to a simmer, stirring often to combine in the paste.

When it’s simmering, add the soy and fish sauces, the sugar and the lime juice and simmer for six minute or so.

Taste and see if you need to add anything more - perhaps another dash of fish sauce, a squeeze of lime, or a little more sugar.

If you have Thai sweet basil, add a small handful of leaves now, remove from heat and stir to combine in.

And that’s it! So simple and really good.

I hope you try this one - and that you try serving it with EVERYTHING!

Let me know how you go and what you thought.

Send me a message on instagram and I’d also love to see your pictures if you post them so do tag me! @rachelredlaw

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Delicious Thai-inspired baked chicken

This has to be one of the easiest - as well as tastiest - ways to cook up a big platter of chicken pieces. This one’s a winner and I’m just pleased I actually noted down what I was adding when I made it (up) on Saturday so I can share it with you!

Saturday lunch was my family celebration for my birthday and I wanted to cook something special but also easy to share and to eat.

So this pile of chicken was to go alongside beef marinaded in green peppercorns, chopped coriander stalks and other good things served with a spicy dressing. I also made crushed roasted new potatoes with ginger, garlic and sprinkled with chopped chilli and coriander leaves as well as a big vegetable stir fry with oyster sauce.

Plus a sweet chilli sauce and a green curry ‘gravy’ - just another sauce really but I liked thinking of it as gravy!

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I’ll give you the recipe for the amount I made, which I think was about 18 pieces of chicken thigh or drumsticks, and then it’s easy to scale up or down as needed.

So to make the amount I made, you’ll need:

approx 1kg of free-range chicken thighs and drumsticks - they MUST have skin on!

2 long stalks of lemongrass, cut off tough bottom and top, remove tough outer layers and finely chop

4 tablespoons Demerera sugar

6 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped

a good piece of fresh ginger (maybe two thumbs - why is ginger measured in thumbs, btw?), peeled and grated

6 tablespoons fish sauce

6 tablespoons light soy sauce

2 tablespoons dark soy sauce

the juice from 2 juicy limes

1 tablespoon turmeric powder

1 level teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 level teaspoon ground white pepper

1/2 Knorr chicken stock cube

Chopped fresh coriander leaves and lime to garnish

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Put the chicken pieces in a roasting/baking dish.

Mix together all the marinade ingredients (from lemongrass down to white pepper) and when thoroughly combined and the sugar is hopefully at least mostly dissolved, pour over the chicken pieces. Massage into them and ensure all are covered, then cover with foil and leave in the fridge overnight.

When you come to cook the chicken, remove the foil, and crumble in the piece of stock cube and pour over a little boiling water so that it surrounds the chicken but only shallowly.

Put the tray of chicken pieces into a pre-heated oven of 200C / 392F / Gas 6 towards the top of the oven.

Check on it after half an hour - my pieces were getting quite beautifully burnished by that time - and turn them if yours are too.

Put back and check again after another half an hour - you might decide to cover them with foil if they’re getting too well done on the outside, or you might move them to a lower shelf.

They’ll be done after about an hour and a half in total and you could eat immediately or move to a warming oven as I did as I was then cooking the beef.

Don’t forget that if you reduce the quantity you’re cooking, the cooking time will reduce too, so do check on them a few times, see how they look to you, and always skewer at the end with a sharp knife to check they’re cooked right through.

Tip into a serving dish, spoon over the juices from the cooking pan and garnish with chopped fresh coriander leaves, if liked, and some wedges of lime.

Serve with potatoes as I did, or with a big bowl of steamed rice.

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Thai grapefruit salad

I love spicy full-of-flavour salads eaten wrapped in lettuce leaves, from my favourite laarb to a a recent recipe for Thai coconut peanut prawn lettuce wraps.

And this recipe has that same coconut and peanut combination but is really fresh and light and tangy …. it’s a beautiful summery dish.

I saw it on my instagram friend Gena’s feed back in June, made it pretty much instantly but then totally forgot to post it!

So I hope you see this and have a chance to make it before the end of the summer.

I think next time I’ll make it I’ll use little gem lettuce ‘cups’ with the grapefruit salad already spooned in, but for this one I used bigger lettuce leaves to tear off and wrap around the salad.

I chose this pink grapefruit as I like the sweetness of pink grapefruit and of course for how pretty it is! Plus red and pink grapefruit contain more antioxidents than yellow.

This is a great anti-aging dish as everything is fresh and nothing cooked, so you get all the hydrating benefits possible.

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To make a lovely starter for perhaps four, or a light lunch for two, you’ll need:

1 large grapefruit, torn into small chunks

2-3 dessert spoons of dessiccated coconut

2 -3 dessert spoons of peanuts (I used salted ones as that was what was in the shop), crushed or chopped very small

1 small red onion, or half a larger one, sliced very finely

1 handful of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped

1 handful of fresh coriander leaves, finely chopped

1/2 tablespoon demerara sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce (or a light soy sauce to make this vegetarian)

the juice of 1/2 - 1 (depending on how juicy it is and how you like it!)

2 red bird eye chillies

lettuce leaves, to serve

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I like to toast the coconut and peanuts, but you can add them just as they are too - that’s how it was in the original recipe.

To toast, put a non-stick pan over a medium heat, add the coconut and chopped peanuts and toast until a light brown. Stir constantly and watch it closely - it’ll be the one second you look away that it suddenly burns!

Remove from the heat and set aside.

Make the dressing by pounding the chillies in the mortar with the pestle into small pieces, almost into a paste, then add the sugar, fish sauce and lime juice.

Mix together and taste to see if you need more sugar, fish sauce or lime juice so it’s perfect for you - and bear in mind the sweetness or tartness of your grapefruit too.

Tip the dressing into a larger bowl and add all the other ingredients, adding any juice that’s come out of the grapefruit too, and mix to combine.

Serve with the lettuce to make little bite-sized wraps of salad.

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Delhi-style green beans with ginger + green chilli (and noodles)

I’ve been getting so inspired this weekend reading Madhur Jaffrey’s Curry Easy Vegetarian and really wanted to try these green beans.

It’s a side dish really but I couldn’t wait to make it as part of a bigger meal, so cooked it this morning and had with noodles for brunch … and loved it.

I think it works perfectly on it’s own like this with noodles or with rice and it’s really simple too.

I adapted slightly (eg I didn’t have any asofoetida and I was making a much smaller quantity) so if you’re just making a portion for you to have with noodles too, here’s how I made mine.

You’ll need

most of the beans from a packet (mine was 220g and I had all but a few that I want for a salad later

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds

1-2 green chilies, finely chopped

2 teaspoons or so of freshly peeled and grated ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

a tablespoon or two of water

Put a pan of water on to boil whilst you top and tail the beans and cut into smaller pieces. I actually didn’t top and tail mine but just topped because I like how the little curly tails look!

When the water’s boiling drop in the beans and boil rapidly for five minutes, then strain and set aside.

Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil, swirl to cover the pan.

When it’s hot, drop in the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds.

Take the pan off the heat and add the chillies and ginger - this will sizzle! Stir a few times then add the beans, salt, coriander and water.

Put back on the heat and turn it down low. Cook the beans very gently for another five minutes, stirring now and then.

While the beans were cooking gently I made my noodles and then just stirred them in when the beans were done.

So simple and so good.

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Peppery garlic asparagus stir fry

Yep, it’s asparagus season!

And after a visit to the local Farmers’ Market I had enough asparagus to just get creative with - which is really what I love to do with food: get great ingredients and then just have fun, playing around and trying out new ideas.

First I made a Thai soup with coconut milk, a tom kha - I’ve usually had this with chicken or seafood, but I made it with asparagus and really liked it.

Next up this peppery, garlic stir fry.

In my head I’d wanted fresh green peppercorns but I was definitely too lazy to go out and get the bus up to the Thai supermarket to buy some, so I tried a mix of black, and pink peppercorns (that I had whole and ground) and some white pepper (ready ground).

I’ve since made it again with just white pepper to see what it was like, and it was still good.

Quantities are kind of vague (as they often are!) but here’s what I used to make this super simple peppery asparagus stir fry.

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A teaspoon of cooking oil - sunflower, rapeseed or grapeseed will be best

Just over a teaspoon of ground peppercorns - your choice as to what you use but on the first occasion I used a mix of black, pink and white and on the second just white pepper on its own

1 garlic clove, minced

1 red chilli, diced finely (the chilli is optional and when I made this a second time I didn’t put one in and probably preferred it without - instead I had the asparagus as a side dish with a spicy chicken stir fry and rice)

A handful of asparagus spears - I LOVE how when you bed the asparagus it just KNOWS where the right place is to snap off - woody stalk snapped off and sliced

2-3 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons fish sauce

1/2 teaspoon sugar

Fresh coriander leaves, chopped (if liked - if not just leave out)

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Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat, add the oil and swirl to cover the pan.

Add the pepper and garlic (and chilli if using) and cook for 20-30 seconds, stirring all the time, until it smells good. Add a splash of water if it looks like it’s going to stick or burn - it needs to keep moving.

Then tip in the sliced asparagus and stir to cover with the lovely oily peppery garlicky mixture and then add the water, fish sauce and sugar.

Do adjust the amount of water if you’d like more of a sauce or if at any point in the cooking time it looks like it’s run out of water and is going to stick.

Cover and simmer for about four minutes until the asparagus is cooked but still has a crunch - or to your liking of course. If you prefer it softer, cook it a little longer.

Add the coriander leaves if using and stir to mix it all together.

Serve on its own with rice for a delicious light lunch or supper, or have alongside other dishes in a multi-dish meal.

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Tom kha - Thai coconut soup with asparagus

It’s asparagus season so get ready for a GLUT (ok maybe two or three) asparagus recipes from me… starting with this lovely coconut soup.

This is enough for one, or for two if you’re making it as part of a multi-dish meal.

If you’re serving this with rice, make the rice first and leave it to keep warm and fluffy while you make the soup.

Take a good handful of asparagus spears and snap the woody ends off.

I love that you can’t really judge where the right point would be to cut them off but instead just bend them back and where they naturally want to snap is of course is the exact right place for them to snap (I feel there’s a life lesson in here somewhere too).

Slice the asparagus spears into smaller lengths and put into a bowl with about a quarter of a white onion and a few mushrooms, washed and chopped.

So far, our ingredients have been:

8 or so asparagus stalks

1/4 white onion

3-4 mushrooms

And we’ll also need:

1 red birds eye chilli, diced

1 thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled and cut into slices

1 stalk of lemongrass, outer woody layers removed, the bottom and top inch or so cut off and then sliced into rounds

a few kaffir lime leaves, torn from the stalk and then torn again into smaller pieces

half a tin of coconut cream plus half a tin of water (or use coconut milk)

four cherry tomatoes, halved (or a couple of larger tomatoes, cut into chunks)

a pinch of sugar

a dash of fish sauce

a handful of coriander leaves, chopped

half a lime

Get the chilli, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves together so it’s ready to add to the soup and then put the coconut cream and water into a pan and gently bring to a simmer.

I think it’s good to be gentle with the coconut milk mixture so let it breathe and take its time.

When it’s just about simmering, add the aromatics (the chilli, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaves), stir and again just wait until it comes back to that almost-simmer.

Then tip in the vegetables, stir and bring to a proper gentle simmer - and cook for five minutes.

Add the tomatoes, sugar and fish sauce and stir and cook on a gentle simmer for another five minutes.

Taste and check if you want to add any more sugar or fish sauce and if it tastes good add the fresh coriander and squeeze in the juice of half a lime, stir and simmer for another minute.

Ladle into a bowl and serve with some rice.

I’ll leave you with a question …

Do you add your soup to the rice or the rice to your soup?!

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Thai coconut peanut prawn lettuce wraps

Perfect to hand round with drinks, or as a light lunch or even as a starter, these little prawn lettuce wraps are really simple but delicious.

I like cooking my prawns to have them slightly warm in the wrap, but you can always buy ready cooked of course if you prefer.

Quantities are kind of up to you and a bit play-it-by-ear, but to make one plate of these I used:

1 little gem lettuce, stalk removed and a couple of outer leaves removed too that didn’t look very good

2-3 dessert spoons of dessiccated coconut

2 -3 dessert spoons of peanuts (I used salted ones as that was what was in the shop), chopped into small pieces

1 small clove of garlic, peeled and finely minced

a small-ish piece of ginger, enough to peel and grate a teaspoon or so

1/2 teaspoon (more or less of course to your own taste) of dried chilli flakes

1/4 teaspoon sugar

1 spring onion, chopped finely

chopped fresh coriander leaves

some raw prawns, defrotsted if frozen - I think I used 12 or so

2 teaspoons fish sauce

the juice of 1/2-1 lime (and another lime to serve)

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First get all the ingredients out and prepared so it’s all ready to go and put the lettuce leaves onto the serving plate.

Put a non-stick pan over a medium heat, add the coconut and toast until a light brown. Stir constantly and watch it closely - it’ll be the one second you look away that it suddenly burns!

Remove from the heat and set aside.

Into a bowl put about 2/3 of the chopped peanuts and set aside the remainder to add later.

Next into the bowl goes the garlic, ginger, dried chilli flakes, sugar, spring onion and most of the coriander leaves, again keeping some back to add later.

Stir and put the bowl aside for now while you cook the prawns.

Cook the prawns in a non-stick frying pan with just a few sprays of cooking oil and a little splash of water until they turn from grey to pink and are just cooked through (about 2-3 minutes).

Remove the prawns from the pan and allow to cool just a little, then chop into small pieces.

Add the prawns to the bowl, plus the fish sauce and lime juice, and now add most of the toasted coconut too, but leave a little back to garnish.

Stir it all together and check how it tastes - does it need anything else? A little more chilli, lime or fish sauce perhaps?

If not and you’re happy with it, spoon the prawn mixture into the lettuce leaves.

Garnish with the reserved coconut, peanuts and coriander, and add a few lime wedges to the plate in case anyone wants to squeeze more over.

I really hope you try and like this one - it’s going to be my summer party / suppers go-to I think!

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Savoury mince + oats

Oats are so , so good for us.

But I’d never liked them because of porridge being all gluey and / or sweet … so I didn’t eat them.

Until I experimented a few weeks’ ago with savoury oats and I’m now pretty addicted!

First I made a kind of Thai-inspired vegetable congee-type-thing - delicious - and then a South Indian-inspired kinda curried oats thing - also delicious, and now they’re my current favourite weekend brunch dish.

And today I had a piece of beef mince that needed using up, about 100g, so I thought I’d add it to a savoury mince - and it was ALSO delicious.

I mean it’s not going to win presentation awards but it’s a quick and easy, really somehow comforting dish for when you just want to curl up indoors and stay tucked away from EVERYTHING!

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This is definitely not a strict recipe, more an idea to use as a starting point to experiment with. Leave out anything you don’t like, add anything you like and think will work.

I started with a non-stick pan, a few sprays of oil, some garlic and chilli and then after a few seconds added the mince and cooked, stirring, to brown - add a splash of water if needed to stop it sticking.

Add some chopped vegetables of your choice.

Crumble in a piece (perhaps 1/4 - 1/3) a stock cube (I use chicken Knorr) and add a little water and then stir and cook for a few minutes until softened - I put a lid on to keep all the nutrients in when it steams although I have a say a saucepan might have been a better option.

Add some more water, a dash of light soy sauce, one of fish sauce, a tiny pinch of sugar and a couple of dessert-spoonfuls of oats and cook, stirring all the time, at a simmer until the oats are cooked and it’s all a lovely kind of savoury spicy porridge!

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Avocado salad

A couple of weekends ago, when I was last in Cornwall, we visited this beautiful National Trust house and gardens, Trerice. It was one of those ones that’s small enough and so completely gorgeous that always makes me think, ‘I could live here!’.

And within the outbuildings of the house there was not only a very good cafe but also a second-hand bookshop - where I bought this book for 50p.

I mean, South-east Asian salads?! I cannot have enough of them!

And one of the recipes in the book was for this Malaysia avocado salad that I’m making today - with a few little changes, as always, to make it exactly as I’m going to love it.

It’s so so good!

I’ll definitely be making this again (and again).

For a delicious light lunch for one, or as a side for two (I’m going to be having this with steak or grilled chicken soon), you’ll need:

1 nice ripe avocado

half a lime

3 dessert spoons or so of cottage cheese

1 dessert spoon or so of natural yogurt

1 very small - or half - a garlic clove, minced

1 green chilli, diced finely

some chopped chives - of, if you don’t have any but do have coriander leaves, use those (as I did)

1 spring onion, diced finely

some smoked paprika, chopped fresh mint leaves, and chopped lettuce - to serve

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Cut the avocado in half, remove the stone, and dice the flesh. Set aside and squeeze some lime juice into the halves.

Put all the remaining ingredients (except for the garnishes) into a bowl and mix thoroughly and add a little salt and pepper to taste, plus another squeeze of lime juice, and then fold in the avocado cubes.

Put this bowl into the fridge for 10-15 minutes to chill.

When you’re ready to make the final dish, add some of the chopped lettuce into the avocado shells, then fill with the chilled mixture.

Add the rest of the lettuce to your serving dish, and top with the filled avocado shells.

Finish with a little salt and pepper if liked, and a powdering of smoked paprika plus a little chopped fresh mint … and eat!

This is just so fresh and easy and light and delicious, I’ll definitely be having it again soon.

I made it again the other day and instead of scooping it all into the shells, I just put the shredded lettuce on a plate and all the yummy avocado mixture on top!

It might not look that appetising, but it tasted amazing :)

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Spring rack of lamb traybake

The clocks have gone forward, the evenings are immediately lighter and it’s officially SUMMERTIME!

Well,ok, it’s still Spring really, being the last day of March and the streets are lined with blossom-heavy trees shedding pink and white snowflakes of petals in the breeze.

I bought a little rack of lamb from the butcher yesterday so it feels perfect time to cook it.

But … how? Now that is the question.

I unashamedly ADORE rack of lamb, and if I had to one day choose a last supper it’s always going to be on the list (yes there’s a list, and I don’t know how I’d ever choose). Rack of lamb, cooked pink in the middle, with dauphinoise potatoes and a green salad with a mustardy French dressing - definitely on my last supper list.

But I don’t really feel like potatoes, i want something light and Spring-like … so I was kind of thinking Moroccan flavours perhaps, or Middle Eastern, or just a good classic Mediterranean vibe.

Since I didn’t really have any of the ingredients to make it clearly one thing or the other, it just turned into a very lovely round-the-world-in-one-tray-bake rack of lamb.

And very good it was too.

So basically, this isn’t really a recipe as such, just hopefully a Spring-board (ha! pun!) for you to add vegetables to a dish, then a rack of lamb and cook it all together until it’s delicious.

Do not skimp on the garlic cloves though, whatever you do - squishing out that gorgeous soft roasted garlic and spreading it onto the lamb should not be missed.

For what it’s worth, here’s how I made mine for two people.

Preheat the oven to 180 ish / Gas 7 ish (I’m a little vague on temperatures as I have gas and it’s immediately at the right temperature - I just checked and gas 7 is apparently 200 but that sounds a bit high to me, so I’ve suggested 180).

I asked my butcher to cut me a little rack of lamb with four cutlets/chops and he also scored the fat - you’ll need to do that with a sharp knife if yours didn’t come with it already scored - and I seasoned the lamb with a little salt and pepper

I added a little oil to a non-stick frying pan and sealed the meat quickly on the back before turning over and cooking it skin-side down for two or three minutes and the fat was slightly browned.

Into a baking tray / dish I put:

1 courgette, washed and sliced

several cherry tomatoes

some sliced red and yellow peppers

four cloves of garlic (unpeeled, just pop them in whole)

half a red chilli, diced

a couple of spring onions, chopped

some chopped fresh mint leaves (I’d kind of wanted fresh basil initially but didn’t have any)

a twist each of salt and pepper, and a little dusting of some ground cumin

a few sprays of cooking oil

Toss it all together to mix, then arrange the lamb skin-side up on top and pop it all into the over.

Oh and a little grated lime zest on the lamb!

Check it after half an hour and see how it’s doing and if you want the lamb done more - I actually cut my lamb in half at this stage and decided to give it another ten minutes or so.

I also threw in some black olives and a handful of chopped coriander leaves (yup, told you the flavours were all over the place on this one!).

And … it was delicious …

I’m not sure you can really go wrong with roasted vegetables and rack of lamb, no matter what mixture of herbs you might throw in!

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Fried egg spicy salad

Easiest little lunch, just a couple of eggs and salad made that bit more special with a hot and sour dressing.

For one person, you’ll need:

Some lettuce, shredded - I had Little Gem

A tomato, hard core removed then diced

Some thin slices of red onion

The juice of one juicy lime

1 tablespoon fish sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

1-2 birds eye chillies (depending on size of chillies and your preference)

cooking oil

2 eggs

Make the salad by combing the lettuce, tomato and red onion in a bowl.

Mix the dressing ingredients (lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, chilli) together in another little bowl and set aside.

Put a non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and add the oil and then crack in two eggs.

Fry the eggs, once to cook the yolks through (I didn’t quite manage this and my yolks are still a little runny - for this dish they’re better cooked through).

Take the eggs out of the pan when cooked and allow to cool.

Cut the eggs into squares or small pieces then add to the salad.

Top with the dressing and toss carefully to combine.

And that’s it!

Super simple,nutritious, easy, tasty little lunch for one …. done!

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Mango + pineapple red Thai curry

I’ve always had a bit of a thing about not liking fruit in my food … but over the last year or so I’ve been slowly changing my mind.

Last summer, I made - many times - what’s now one of my favourite salads, chicken with watermelon and sweet chilli sauce. It’s so good!

And then I’ve been just experimenting more and more - and now this red curry with chicken, mango and pineapple is another favourite.

It’s so easy to make too, and just feels really special, so a great one to make when you’ve friends round - as I did on Friday for six of us at our book club!

Anything that’s made in one pot is good with me, really.

So, for two, you’ll need:

cooked rice - cook and then leave with a lid on to keep warm so it’s ready to go

a little coconut oil or vegetable oil

a good red curry paste - I get mine from my local Thai supermarket

one chicken breast, cut into small pieces

a tin of coconut milk (I always use the full-fat one, I don’t think the ‘light’ versions work as well)

one big slice of pineapple, core removed and cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4-1/2 mango, depending on size peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces

some vegetables - I had mushrooms, peppers, carrot and cherry tomatoes, all cut into small pieces

fish sauce

two spring onions, chopped, and a handful for baby spinach leaves if liked and you have it

Thai sweet basil or chopped fresh coriander leaves if you can’t get the basil

1/2 lime

Get everything prepared and ready to go, then put a saucepan on a medium heat and add the oil.

Add a tablespoon or walnut-sized amount of red curry paste and stir into the oil for a few seconds until you can just start to smell it release its fragrance.

Then add the chicken and a splash of water if needed and stir to seal the meat.

Tip in the coconut milk, stirring, and bring to the boil.

Add the fruit and vegetables (but not the spring onions, spinach or herbs) and cook on a medium boil for six minutes.

Next add a good dash of fish sauce and add the spring onions and spinach if using and cook for another minute or two.

Throw in the herbs, squeeze in the lime juice, remove from heat and stir to combine everything.

That’s it! Serve with the cooked rice and just enjoy this lovely nurturing, warming curry.

These below are just more photos fro when I made this again as I used broccoli this time and just wanted to show that it’s so easy to adapt to whatever you have.

I also like the photo of the ingredients as I really like that the meat is just another ingredient in this dish - there’s about the same amount of chicken as there is of some of the other additions.

I hope you like this one!

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Bacon + egg carbonara

I mean, the combination of bacon and egg can’t really go wrong, can it?

And combined with delicious, silky pasta …. ?

The secret to all good pasta dishes is not to have them all dried out - just reserve some of that pasta cooking water to add to give it all a little ease, a little slippery glossiness, to make it all just work so much better.

I’ve seen - and tried - my fair share of carbonara recipes …. and find so many so over-complicated.

Some mix the egg with parmesan cheese, seasoning and cream, or even tangy creme fraiche (wrong in this dish in my opinion).

Some use whole eggs, not just the yolk, some use butter.

This is my own favourite go-to quick, easy and delicious - and simple - carbonara recipe.

I made this huge pile of pasta just for me (I don’t eat pasta that often because when I do, I eat GINORMOUS portions of it!) but it would probably feed two - or definitely will do with a little tweaking.

Go with what feels good to you, this is a very instinctive sort of dish, and all the more beautiful for it I think.

You’ll need:

cooked pasta - as much as you want - spaghetti or tagliatelle is traditional, but have whatever you like

a couple of slices of bacon - streaky is good and I believe it’s more authentic to have non-smoked, but I like smoked bacon in this so I have smoked back bacon (and remove as much fat as possible)

a clove of garlic (I know I ‘should’ really squash it and add to the oil and then remove later, but I really love garlic so I crush and mince and leave it all in)

a good slosh of olive oil

a tablespoon or so of finely grated Parmesan cheese, plus more to serve

one egg yolk (and hurrah I now have an egg white to make lemon vodka sour cocktails later!)

a handful of spinach (if liked)

lots of freshly ground black pepper

Get everything ready, cook the pasta, dice the bacon, mince the garlic.

And then just put a slosh of olive oil into a non-stick pan and add the bacon and garlic and cook for four minutes or so, stirring all the time, until done - add a splash of water (some of the pasta cooking water you’ve reserved is ideal) if it looks like it’s going to stick or burn.

Tip in the pasta and a good spoonful or two of the cooking water and most of the grated parmesan and stir to combine until everything’s mixed and hot through.

Add the egg yolk and stir thoroughly to mix it in and combine everything together and then had a handful of baby spinach leaves if liked.

Taste and season with salt and pepper - it probably won’t need salt as bacon is salty but I do love some added freshly ground black pepper.

So simple and so very, very (very) good.

Oh and if you love the bacon and eggs combo too, you might like my ‘island-style bacon and eggs’ or to try a beautiful bacon and egg pie …

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Chucky eggs / eggs in a cup

You don’t really need a recipe as such for this one, but I just wanted to share the most comforting sublime little supper for when you’re poorly.

Chucky eggs.

Just soft boiled, shelled and mashed hot with lots of butter, salt and pepper.

(To cook eggs so they're done but still soft inside - bring a saucepan of water + a pinch of salt to the boil, then carefully lower in the room-temperature eggs and boil for seven minutes precisely, then remove from heat and immediately plunge into cold water to stop them cooking further)

Someone made them for me years and years ago when I was sick - mashed in a cup to eat with a teaspoon, and served with buttered toast and, oh, it just made me feel so looked after.

Today I made them in a little bowl instead of a cup and - only because I didn’t feel well enough to go to the shop for bread - I had them with some oatcakes, which worked beautifully.

When you’re not feeling well or just like you need a bit of extra love … you really need to make chucky eggs!

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