Butternut heaven - vegan supper

green salad, roasted butternut squash with sesame seeds, pimped houmous, tomatoes, so good I photographed it... four more times

best asian coleslaw

If you like a fresh tasting salad, to eat on its own, or with a bbq, this straightforward recipe is for you. Quick to make, it has zing, freshness and a wonderful kick. And no fat. It is an asian coleslaw, and I've just eaten a bowl that was still delicious after four days.

There's nothing more to say, apart from that everyone who tastes it loves it, and somehow there is never enough.

I like to add corn from a freshly cooked ear of corn, hot, to some salad that has been sitting for at least half an hour, letting the juices flow. The hot sweet crunch of the corn is a lovely clincher to the salad, and once it cools it is still a terrific addition.

Recipe - enough for four

Ingredients

SALAD

• 1/2 small white cabbage
• 2 large carrots
• 1/2 onion
• 1 fresh red chilli
• big handful fresh coriander
• small handful fresh mint
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 tbsp thai fish sauce (replace with soy if vegan)
• juice of 1 lime (enough for at least 5 tbsp)
• 1 tsp sugar

METHOD

• finely shred the cabbage
• peel and grate the carrots
• finely dice the onion
• crush and peel the garlic and chop finely
• deseed the chilli and chop finely
• finely chop the stems of the washed coriander and shred the leaves
• take the mint leaves off the stems and shred finely
• put everything in a bowl and add the fish sauce, lime juice and tsp of sugar
• stir, mixing thoroughly

Cook the ear of corn, in boiling water for 10m, (3 minutes in the microwave within its husk or under a damp cloth) then slice off the corn and add to the salad.

Delicious. If I say so myself.

Little tasty turnovers

Inspired by a visit to an Afghan restaurant, these little turnovers are deliciously fresh. If I say so myself. I'm not a great fan of fiddly cooking, still, I reserve the right to say this isn't fiddly. It just involves lots of chopping. And a bit of boiling. And rolling out pastry (shop bought in my case). OK, it's fiddly, and the pay-off makes it worth it. Little parcels of loveliness. I served these up with a tarator, a bit lumpy, because it was my first time making it. Tarator is a nut sauce, a bit like maionnaise (apart from my first attempt). The combination is perfect for vegetarians, vegans and anyone with tastebuds. If you are wheat intolerant the whole thing would work with rice pastry. 

Oh, what's in it? Leeks, carrots, potato, coriander, teeny bit of dill, pepper and salt. The shop bought pastry is made just with oil. 

RECIPE

Two large leeks (or a bunch of spring onions)

Two potatoes (cooked in their skins, peeled when cool enough)

Generous handful of finely chopped coriander (cilantro to some) including stems

Pinch of dill

One large carrot, cooked

Ground black pepper

Salt

Tablespoonful of oil

½ block of ready-made puff pastry

Set the oven to Gas Mark 7/425F/220C

• Cut the leeks (or spring onions) into fine slices
• Cook gently over low heat in the oil – careful not to burn, you don’t want that caramel taste
• Peel the cooked potatoes and cut into very small cubes, chop up the carrots in the same way
• Take the softened leeks off the heat, season with pepper and salt and stir through all the other ingredients

You can make this mixture the day before if you want to

Roll the pastry out very thin, keeping the rectangular shape

Cut into nine square of approximately equal size

Put two heaped teaspoons of the mixture in each, moisten the edges of the pastry, fold over, and crimp together with a fork

Snick a little hole into the top of the turnover (pasty)

Brush with egg if you like, to give golden colour

Cook in oven for 20 minutes or until golden.

a light supper of chicken and coleslaw for two

ingredients

• one large chicken breast or a leg of chicken - you can use cold roast chicken
• if preparing raw chicken plunge into boiling water or light stock for 15m and set aside to cool, covered
• make light stock by adding sprigs of fresh coriander, peppercorns and garlic
• reserve the water in which chicken was cooked - you can use it for soup

 for asian coleslaw

• small white cabbage or 1/4 large white cabbage
• 1/2 bunch of fresh coriander
• 1 capsicum pepper or 1 carrot
• small onion

 dressing

• 1 lime
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 large tbsp sweet chilli sauce

 cook chicken if necessary

prepare dressing:

• finely chop garlic
• squeeze lime
• mix lime juice with all other ingredients in a bowl and set aside

 preparing coleslaw:

• finely slice the onion, cabbage, carrot (you can use a peeler to make peelings of carrot to put into the salad)
• rinse bunch of coriander and mint and chop roughly
• put all ingredients in a large bowl and add the dressing
• mix thoroughly 
• set aside for 15m

 slice the chicken

serve

place sliced chicken on bed of coleslaw

bon appetit

hints:

• some limes are a bit dry, you can add water or more lime
• if it's too sharp add a little sugar
• use fish sauce instead of soy sauce
• supermarket coriander is sold in small bunches, if you get a large bunch use about a third of the bunch 
• don't add salt or pepper - there is seasoning and salt in the soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce

variations

make large amount of coleslaw, it keeps for several days, increase other ingredients accordingly

for a more substantial meal serve with boiled rice

the coleslaw is delicious as an accompaniment to curries or roasts