ripe 350g
coriander leaves from 12 bushy stems
micro herbs 2 handfuls
Thai basil leaves 15
For the dressing:
palm sugar 3 teaspoons
rice vinegar 2 tablespoons
a juicy lime
lemon grass 2 stalks
fish sauce 3 teaspoons
Make the dressing: crumble the palm sugar into a small mixing bowl and pour in the rice vinegar. Halve the lime – I like to roll it on the work surface, pressing down firmly as I do so before slicing, you get more juice that way – then squeeze the juice into the sugar and vinegar. Season with salt and stir until the sugar has dissolved.
Place the lemon grass on a chopping board and bash firmly with a rolling pin to split and crush the plump end of the stalks. Add them to the dressing with the fish sauce and leave for thirty minutes to infuse.
Halve the radishes and put them into a bowl of iced water. Scrub or peel the carrots, then shave them with a vegetable peeler into long thin shavings. Add them to the radishes.
Shortly before serving, when the radishes and carrots have spent twenty minutes in the iced water and the dressing is well infused, peel the papaya and discard the black seeds and fibres. Slice the fruit into small, thick pieces about the size of a stamp and put them in a large mixing bowl.
Pick the leaves from the coriander and add them to the papaya together with the micro herbs (leaves and stalks) and the whole Thai basil leaves. Dry the carrots in a salad spinner, then toss them and the radishes with the papaya and herbs. Discard the lemon grass stalks and pour the dressing over the papaya before tossing the ingredients gently together, taking care not to crush the fruit.
• I find the large papayas, usually sold in halves, best for salads. They seem to ripen better than the smaller fruit. Their flesh is more luscious. The downside is apparent when you realise that your purchase takes up an entire shelf in the fridge.
PEAS, PARSLEY, VEGETABLE STOCK
A green soup for a sunny day.
Serves 4, generously
butter 30g
spring onions 75g
flat-leaf parsley 300g
a medium potato
peas 200g (shelled weight)
garlic 2 cloves
vegetable or chicken stock 1 litre
Melt the butter in a large, heavy-based pan. Chop the spring onions and stir them into the butter, letting them cook for four to five minutes over a moderate heat.
Chop half the parsley, stalks and all, add it to the spring onions and leave to cook for a minute or two till the colour has darkened. Peel, dice and add the potato. Add the peas and peeled garlic and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and cook for eight to ten minutes.
Put a pan of water on to boil. Discard the stalks from the reserved parsley, add the leaves to the boiling water and leave for two minutes, then drain. Stir the leaves into the soup, then remove from the heat and reduce to a smooth, green purée in a blender or food processor and serve.
• The brilliant vibrancy of this soup appeals here, but you could soften its healthy green edges by stirring in 100ml of double cream at the end. Take care not to overfill the blender in case the hot soup overflows. I only say this because I invariably do.
Earthy and garlicky. A smooth cream for warm flatbread.
Serves 4, as a side dish
red peppers 500g
olive oil
garlic 6 cloves
chickpeas 2 × 400g cans
thyme 4 sprigs
bay leaves 2
paprika a pinch or two
Set the oven at 200°C/Gas 6. Slice the peppers in half lengthways, remove the seeds, then place the halves in a roasting tin. Trickle a little olive oil over the peppers, just enough to wet them, then set the unpeeled garlic cloves inside them. Bake for forty minutes or until they are soft and the skin somewhat blackened. Remove from the oven, then peel away their outer skins. Reserve the garlic and any juices in the roasting tin.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas, pop them from their skins if you wish, then tip them into a saucepan, add the thyme and bay and cover with water. Bring to the boil, lower the heat, then simmer for fifteen minutes.
Drain the cooked chickpeas, reserve the thyme (discard the bay), then tip all but a handful of the chickpeas into the bowl of a food processor with the roasted, skinned peppers. Add the thyme leaves (discard the stalks) then pop the roasted garlic from its skin and add it as well. Process to a smooth cream and season generously with salt and black pepper. Scoop the paste out into a serving dish, making a hollow in the centre with the back of a spoon.
Heat the reserved chickpeas in a little olive oil in a frying pan and cook for a few minutes till they start to turn gold. Pour a little olive oil over the paste, letting it trickle into the hollow, scatter the warm chickpeas over the surface, then dust lightly with the paprika.
• A hummus of sorts. (I am uncomfortable with calling something by that name that contains anything other than chickpeas, garlic, lemon and oil.) I do think it is worth skinning the chickpeas (I know, I know, but once you have done so, you may never look back). You can do it painstakingly, pea by pea, or simply rub them together in your palms, a handful at a time. Either way will result in a smoother mash. Your call.
• I have been known to sit with this and a pile of warm Turkish pitta, but it is also a fine side dish for cold roast meats, grilled aubergines, and my favourite, deep-fried artichokes.
POMEGRANATE, CUCUMBER, PUFFED RICE
Aromatic, crunchy, refreshing.
Serves 4, as a side salad
a small pomegranate
cucumber 400g
coriander seeds 1 teaspoon
cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
groundnut oil 2 tablespoons
garam masala 1 teaspoon
curry powder 1 teaspoon
almonds 50g, whole and skinned
chickpeas 1 × 400g can