Greenfeast. Nigel Slater
to give the aubergine time to cook through to the middle, a process you can speed up by covering the aubergines with an upturned metal bowl (or a lid, if your griddle has one). If you prefer, rather than the sour apple dressing, make a dressing of olive oil, lime juice and coriander leaves.
• A twist of noodles, tossed with the merest splash of sesame oil, could be a suitable accompaniment here, as would long-grain rice, steamed and seasoned with black pepper and sesame seeds.
BRUSSELS SPROUTS, BROWN RICE, MISO
The savour of miso. The homeliness of brown rice.
Serves 2–3
brown sushi rice 190g
Brussels sprouts 750g
groundnut oil 2 tablespoons
light miso paste 1 tablespoon
Japanese pickles (tsukemono) 2 tablespoons
Put the rice in a bowl, cover with warm water, then run your fingers through the grains. Drain, repeat, then tip into a saucepan, cover with 5cm of cold water and set aside for half an hour.
Wash and trim the sprouts, then cut each in half. Bring the soaked rice to the boil in its soaking water, add half a teaspoon of salt, cover and lower the heat so the water simmers. Leave for thirty minutes or until the rice is approaching tenderness. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to rest for ten minutes before removing the lid.
Warm the oil in a shallow pan. Toss the sprouts with the miso paste, then transfer to the hot oil, moving them round the pan as they become crisp and pale golden brown.
Remove the lid from the rice, run a fork through the grains to separate them, then divide between two or three bowls. Spoon the miso sprouts into the rice and add some of the Japanese pickles.
• Fried in a little oil, the miso paste forms a fine crust on the outside of the sprouts. Serve them as an accompaniment if you wish, but I like them as the star of the show, tucked into a bowl of sticky rice and scattered with salty Japanese pickles. I serve this as it is, but also as a side dish for slices of cold roast pork and its crackling. This is sticky rice, my favourite, but you don’t want it in lumps, so running the tines of a fork through the cooked grain is a good idea.
Milky snow-white cheese. Toasted beans. Peppery basil.
Serves 2
garlic 3 cloves
olive oil
cannellini beans 1 × 400g can
cherry tomatoes 250g
basil leaves a handful
burrata 2 × 250g balls
Flatten the garlic cloves with the blade of a kitchen knife, then peel away the skins. Warm four tablespoons of olive oil in a shallow pan and add the garlic, letting it cook briefly over a moderate heat. Drain the cannellini beans.
Cut the tomatoes in half, pour a little more oil into the pan, then add the tomatoes and the drained cannellini. Fry briefly, for four or five minutes, until the beans are starting to crisp a little.
Tear the basil leaves and add to the beans, stirring them in gently, until they start to wilt. Divide the beans and tomatoes between two plates, add the burrata and trickle with olive oil.
• The beans will crisp deliciously around the edges if you leave them to fry in the hot oil. Stirring them too often will cause them to break up as they develop their golden shell.
• Cannellini beans are my first choice here, but butter beans are worth considering too. Green flageolet don’t seem to work quite as well, though I am not entirely sure why.
• This is one of the lighter recipes in this volume, yet each time I make it, I am surprised by how satisfying it is.
BUTTERNUT, BREADCRUMBS, CURRY POWDER
Sweet golden squash. Warm, spicy curry. Crisp crumbs.
Serves 2
onions, medium 2
carrots, large 300g
groundnut oil 3 tablespoons
butternut squash 500g
curry powder 2 teaspoons
ground turmeric 1 teaspoon
vegetable stock 500ml
panko breadcrumbs 6 tablespoons
parsley, chopped 4 tablespoons
togarashi 1–2 teaspoons
Peel and roughly chop the onions and carrots, then put them in a large saucepan with the oil and place over a moderate heat. Let the vegetables cook for ten to fifteen minutes until the onions are pale gold.
Slice the butternut into 2cm-thick rounds, deseed and peel it if you wish. When the onions are nicely golden, stir in the curry powder, ground turmeric and a little salt and fry briefly, then pour in the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Tuck in the slices of squash and lower the heat to a simmer. Leave for fifteen minutes, then remove the squash and place half of the sauce in a blender. Process to a smooth purée, then return to the pan and keep at a low bubble for five minutes.
Toast the panko crumbs in a dry pan till golden, then toss with the chopped parsley and togarashi. Slide the squash back into the sauce for a couple of minutes, sprinkle with the parsley crumbs, then serve.
• The sauce is based on a classic katsu, which flatters the sweetness of the butternut. You can turn up the heat if you wish with a little more togarashi seasoning or even a splash of chilli sauce.
• The warmly spiced sauce is also worth trying with baked aubergine or roasted parsnips.
• Togarashi, the Japanese spice mix, can be found in major supermarkets, Japanese food shops and online.
Crisp, light, sweet, salty.
Makes 9 fritters. Serves 3
butternut squash 300g
garlic 2 cloves
groundnut oil
eggs 2
feta cheese 200g
plain flour 4 tablespoons
thyme leaves, chopped 1 tablespoon
parsley, chopped 3 heaped tablespoons