A Modern Way to Cook: Over 150 quick, smart and flavour-packed recipes for every day. Anna Jones
leaving the tips intact. Add a little oil to the pan and add all the asparagus. Cook for a couple of minutes to take off the raw edge, then take the pan off the heat.
Place the sugar snaps in a bowl (I like to cut them in half down the middle, but you can leave them whole to save time) with the edamame beans. Cover with boiling water and leave to one side.
Now make the dressing. Scoop half an avocado into a blender (or use a deep bowl and a stick blender). Add the coconut milk, honey, chilli, half the basil and coriander (stalks and all), the soy and vinegar and blitz until smooth and green. Taste, and add more soy, vinegar or honey, if needed.
Put the spinach into a serving bowl. Drain the sugar snaps and edamame well and add them to the spinach with the asparagus. Cut the avocado in half and take out the stone, then use a knife to criss-cross both halves all the way to the skin. Using a spoon, scoop the avocado flesh into the bowl. Finish by topping with the dressing, the rest of the basil and coriander leaves and the sesame seeds.
Butter beans with fennel, lemon and tomato
20 MINUTES
I buy Greek gigantes beans – tomato-and-dill-spiked buttery beans generously coated in olive oil – in jars from my local shop and feast on them with flatbreads when I’m feeling lazy. This is how I make them at home, more of a quick stew, with heady lemon, caramelised fennel and some fennel seeds, which is my nod to the traditional shot of ouzo. I haven’t added as much oil as the Greeks often do, but if you like things richer you can add a generous drizzle at the end. I often serve this with feta, warm flatbreads and some leaves.
SERVES 4
1 large bulb of fennel
olive oil
a small bunch of spring onions
2 cloves of garlic
200g cherry tomatoes
1 lemon
½ teaspoon fennel seeds
1 tablespoon dried oregano, or a small handful of chopped fresh oregano
a pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 × 400g tins of cooked white beans, or 250g home-cooked beans (see here–here)
a small bunch of fresh dill
First prepare the fennel. Remove the bulb’s tough outside layer, then trim and slice along the length of the bulb through the root into 1cm slices.
Heat a large heavy frying pan over a medium-high heat and add a good drizzle of olive oil. When the pan is hot and the oil starts to ripple, add the fennel, spreading it out so one flat side hits the pan. Cook for about 2 minutes, until browned and caramelised, then turn over and cook for another 2 minutes. Meanwhile, chop the spring onions and garlic. Once the fennel is browned, add the spring onions and garlic to the pan and stir for a couple of minutes.
Chop the tomatoes and cut the lemon into wedges, then add both to the pan with the fennel seeds, oregano, chilli flakes, honey and vinegar. Let the liquid heat and reduce for a minute or so before adding the beans and 100ml of water. Cook until the beans are warmed through – about 5 minutes.
Chop the dill and scatter over to finish, along with a drizzle of good olive oil.
Smoky beans and sweet potato hash browns
20 MINUTES
Nothing fancy here. Just a good quick dinner, which doubles as a favourite brunch too. If you like, add a fried egg to top it off.
If you are vegan or don’t eat eggs, you can use 2 tablespoons of chia seeds mixed with 6 tablespoons of water to bind the hash browns instead of
the eggs.
SERVES 2
1 shallot or ½ a red onion
a little olive oil
2 sweet potatoes (about 500g)
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
2 free-range or organic eggs
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
100g cherry tomatoes
1 × 400g tin of cannellini beans
a dash of balsamic vinegar
a few sprigs of fresh thyme
Finely chop the shallot or onion, put it into a hot pan with a little oil, and cook for 4–5 minutes, until browned.
Meanwhile grate your sweet potatoes into a big mixing bowl, add a good pinch of salt and pepper, the cumin seeds and the eggs, and mix together well.
When the onions are beginning to brown, add the smoked paprika and cook for a minute. Roughly chop the tomatoes and add to the pan, then drain the beans and add these too, along with a splash of balsamic and the leaves from the thyme. Add a good pinch of salt and pepper and cook for 5 minutes, until the sauce has thickened and the tomatoes have broken down.
Heat a little oil in a large frying pan. Divide the sweet potato mixture roughly into 4 and use your hands to make a rough patty, then carefully put into the pan to fry. Do this with the rest of the mix, so you have 4 patties. Cook on a low to medium heat for 4–6 minutes, until golden brown, then use a fish slice to carefully flip and cook for another 4–6 minutes. As they cook, use the fish slice to gently push down on them to pack everything together.
Serve the hash with the beans and, if you like, a fried egg or some dressed leaves.
Kale, sumac and crispy rice salad
25 MINUTES
This is an amazing salad based on one I ate at an incredible neighbourhood café in LA. Sqirl is one of those places where you want every single thing on the menu, right down to the drinks. On my last trip to LA I ate there five times. For someone who doesn’t like routine that’s pretty solid. This is a play on what was my favourite thing on the menu. It has inspired flavours with sumac and lime, and textures with kale and crispy rice.
I am going to ask you to cook your rice three times here, which may seem crazy, but it’ll create perfect little pops of crunch against the rest of the salad. This is a great way to use up leftover rice too – just skip the first cooking stage. It’s also really good topped with a softly poached egg or some feta and flatbreads if you are hungry.
Bear in mind that if you use brown rice it will take about 20 minutes to cook.
SERVES 4 AS A LIGHT MEAL, 2 AS A MAIN
100g basmati rice (I use brown)
a bunch of curly kale, green or purple (about 200g)
the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon
3 spring onions
2 tablespoons coconut oil
the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lime
1 tablespoon sumac (optional)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 teaspoon runny honey
6 medjool dates
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and a large frying pan together.
Cook the rice in a small saucepan of boiling salted water until cooked – this will take 10–15 minutes.
Meanwhile, pull the kale from its stems and shred the leaves with a knife or tear into small pieces with your hands. Put the leaves into a bowl, then add the zest and juice of the lemon and a good pinch of salt and scrunch it in your hands for a minute to break it down a little. Chop the spring onions finely and add them to the bowl.
Once the rice