Читать книгу A Modern Way to Cook: Over 150 quick, smart and flavour-packed recipes for every day - Anna Jones, Jamie Oliver - Страница 12
ОглавлениеThese recipes are for the days and nights when time is shortest and hunger is at its highest. We can all spare fifteen minutes to get dinner on the table. These are ready in the time it takes for the table to be set and are packed with flavour. Killer one-pot pastas, quick salads, herb-stuffed omelettes, brightly coloured speedy soups, piled-high sandwiches and super-easy quesadillas.
Kale, tomato and lemon magic one-pot spaghetti
15 MINUTES
This pasta is a complete revelation. The sauce is magically made from the pasta water and tomatoes as the pasta cooks all in one pan. No fuss, one pan and a killer bowl of pasta.
Pasta and gluten sometimes get a bad press. I think there is a time and place for a good bowl of pasta, saying that, I opt for interesting pastas as often as I do the traditional kind. Try corn, chickpea or buckwheat spaghetti – they are gluten-free, all have incredible individual flavours and make a welcome change if pasta is a staple in your house.
The key to this recipe is to measure your water carefully and to use the right pan: you need a large shallow sauté pan or a casserole large enough to fit the pasta lying down. A large deep frying pan or wok would work well too.
SERVES 4 GENEROUSLY
400g spaghetti or linguine
400g cherry tomatoes
the zest of 2 large unwaxed lemons
100ml olive oil
2 heaped teaspoons sea salt (if you are using fine-grain table salt, add a bit less)
1 × 400g bag of kale or spinach
Parmesan cheese (I use a vegetarian one) (optional)
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together. You need a large shallow pan with a lid.
Put the pasta into the pan. Quickly and roughly chop the tomatoes in half and throw them into the pan. Grate in the zest of both lemons and add the oil and salt. Add 1 litre of boiling water, put a lid on the pan and bring to the boil. As soon as it comes to the boil, remove the lid and simmer on a high heat for 6 minutes, using a pair of tongs to turn the pasta every 30 seconds or so as it cooks.
Meanwhile, remove any tough stalks from the kale or spinach and roughly tear the leaves. Once the pasta has had 6 minutes, add the kale and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes.
Once almost all the water has evaporated, take the pan off the heat and tangle into four bowls. If you like, top with a little Parmesan.
Tomato, miso and sesame soup
15 MINUTES
This soup comes together in the time it would take for you to nip down the shops for a tin of cream of tomato, but it is much more satisfying and full of goodness. It is a clean, fresh tomato soup – the quick cooking keeps the flavour perky and bright. I add miso and tahini here, which are two of my favourite partners for tomatoes, the earthy creaminess of the tahini and the deep saltiness of the miso backing up the clean tomato flavour like a dream. In the winter, when fresh tomatoes aren’t at their best, you could use two 400g tins of tomatoes and forget the fresh ones.
I have suggested a quick topping to take this soup to the next level in flavour terms. If you are really pushed for time, some chopped coriander would suffice.
SERVES 4
4 spring onions
coconut or olive oil
500g vine tomatoes
1 × 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons miso paste (I use a dark barley miso)
1 tablespoon tahini
FOR THE TOPPING
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon miso paste
the juice of ½ a lemon
4 tablespoons sesame seeds
a small bunch of fresh coriander
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together. Put a large pan on a low heat.
Working quickly, chop the spring onions and add to the pan with a splash of coconut or olive oil. Turn up the heat to medium and stir from time to time for a couple of minutes until beginning to brown. Chop the fresh tomatoes in half, bigger ones into quarters, and once the spring onions have had a couple of minutes, add them to the pan. Add the tinned tomatoes, fill the can with boiling water and pour this in too, then add the miso paste and bring to the boil.
Meanwhile, make the topping. Mix the honey, tahini, miso and lemon juice in a bowl and put to one side. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until golden and chop the coriander.
Once the soup has come to the boil, it’s done. Take it off the heat, add the tahini and blitz well with a hand-held blender, adding a little more salt if needed. It should be well balanced between the sweetness of tomatoes, the salty depth of miso and the creamy earthiness of tahini. Ladle into four bowls and top with the miso and honey mix, the sesame seeds and some chopped coriander.
Spiced pea and paneer chapattis
15 MINUTES
These are super-quick and flavour-packed and what I make when I want some serious flavours but don’t have much time. Here, sweet lemon-spiked peas are mashed and piled on to warm chapattis, then topped with crispy cauliflower and heady spices. Finish with a little crispy paneer (I show you how to make it here) if that takes your fancy.
MAKES 4 FLATBREADS
a small bunch of spring onions
1 tablespoon coconut oil
250g frozen peas
1 small cauliflower
a small handful of curry leaves
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
2 unwaxed lemons
1 green chilli
a small bunch of fresh coriander
150g paneer (optional)
4 rotis or chapattis
a small bunch of fresh mint
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together. Put a griddle pan on a high heat.
Finely slice the spring onions, put into a pan with a little coconut oil and fry on a medium heat until just turning golden. Put the peas into a heatproof mixing bowl, pour boiling water over them and leave for 5 minutes.
Chop the cauliflower into small florets and add to the spring onion pan with the curry leaves and spices. Cook for 2–3 minutes, until the cauliflower has lost its rawness and is coated with the spices, then turn the heat up, squeeze over the juice of 1 lemon and allow to evaporate, then take off the heat.
Chop the green chilli and the stalks of the coriander. Put the leaves aside. Drain and mash the peas with the zest of the other lemon and juice of half, the green chilli and coriander stalks and a good pinch of salt and pepper.
If you are using the paneer, transfer the cauliflower into a bowl and put the pan back on the heat. Add a little coconut oil and once it’s really hot, crumble in the paneer; cook on a high heat for a minute or two until the crumbles of cheese crisp up.
Warm the rotis or chapattis in a dry pan or over your gas flame until warm and crisped at the edges. Top with the pea mash, the cauliflower and the crispy paneer, then chop the mint and coriander leaves and scatter over the top.
Soft green herb omelette
15 MINUTES
This is what I make when reserves are low in every sense of the word, and it’s a great way to use up the last bits of a few bunches of herbs.
Omelettes are my ultimate quick dinner and one of my favourite meals – you can put a perfect one on the table in under 15 minutes. For lots more ideas on how to put them together, see here–here. I make my omelettes soft and curdy and just set, and I like them simply spiked with a generous amount of heady soft herbs. Sometimes I skip any filling, as I like the clean simplicity, and I serve mine with a shock of peppery rocket in a punchy vinaigrette.
You can use whatever soft herbs you have to hand – my favourite combination is basil, mint, dill and tarragon. The quality of eggs you use here is absolutely key, there is no hiding, and you want the best you can get your hands on, organic or farm eggs with paint-pot yellow yolks.
SERVES 2
4 free-range or organic eggs
2 small bunches of soft herbs, a mix of any of the following: mint, parsley, dill, chives, tarragon, chervil, basil
a little butter or coconut oil
FILLING
a small handful of goat’s, feta or ricotta cheese
a good grating of lemon zest (unwaxed lemon)
a handful of shredded spinach or greens
TO SERVE
a couple of handfuls of rocket or watercress
Get all your ingredients and equipment together. You need a large non-stick frying pan.
Crack your eggs into a bowl, add a healthy pinch of salt and a good bit of freshly ground black pepper and whisk with a fork. Finely chop all the herbs and add them to the eggs.
Heat your frying pan on a medium heat and once it’s hot add the butter or oil, allow it to bubble, then lift and tilt the pan so the butter covers the surface.
Put it back on the hob, then, with the fork still nearby, pour the eggs into the pan and allow them to sit untouched for 20 seconds or so, until they begin to set. Now use the fork to pull the omelette away from the edge of the pan into the middle, angling the pan so the egg runs back into the bit you have just exposed. Do this another five or six times in different places so you have undulating waves of sunshine-yellow egg. Now leave your omelette to cook until it is almost set, which should take a minute or two.
If you are going to fill your omelette, now is the time. Scatter the fillings on one half of the omlette, then flip the other side over to form a half-moon shape and cook for another 30 seconds.
Your omelette should be just set in the middle, still soft and curdy, just turning golden in patches on the outside. Once it’s perfect, slide the omelette out of the pan on to a warm plate and serve immediately with a shock of dressed salad.
Too hot salad
15 MINUTES
I make this when it feels too hot to eat or I am in need of something a bit refreshing. I first made it on a weighty, humid summer’s day in London, one of those hot city days when the air doesn’t move and all you can think about is swimming pools and ice lollies. Now every time I make this I start singing Kool and the Gang.
The key here is to get everything nice and cold. Search out raw red-skinned peanuts if you can. In the summer I soak a few handfuls in cold water overnight and keep them cool in the fridge for snacking. They are also great in stir-fries and on top of morning fruit. They are fresh and juicy and completely different to a roasted peanut. You can easily find them in health food stores or Indian supermarkets.
For a heartier meal, serve this with cooked and cooled brown basmati rice or some thin rice vermicelli noodles.
SERVES 4
50g raw peanuts (see here)
2 carrots
200g watermelon
a handful of cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber
1 little gem or 1 cos lettuce, or ½ an iceberg
a bunch of fresh coriander
FOR THE DRESSING
½ a red chilli
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
2 limes
a little runny honey
Get all your ingredients and equipment together. Soak the peanuts in iced water and put them into the fridge while you get on with everything else.
Peel the carrots, then use a speed-peeler to peel them into long strips and place them in a bowl with some iced water.
Cut the watermelon into bite-size pieces, removing any very seedy bits and the outer skin. Halve the cherry tomatoes. Pop both into a serving bowl and put into the fridge.
Use the speed-peeler to peel the cucumber into long strips too, stopping when you get to the watery seeded bit, and add to the serving bowl of watermelon and tomatoes in the fridge. Shred the lettuce and pick the coriander leaves from the stalks.
Chop the red chilli for the dressing and put into a small bowl with the soy, the juice of both limes and a small squeeze of honey. Taste and adjust, adding more lime, honey and soy if needed until you have a nice balance of heat, acidity and sweetness.
Take the serving bowl and the peanuts out of the fridge. Drain the peanuts and carrots well, add to the bowl and pour over the dressing. Toss through the lettuce and scatter over the coriander. Eat in a breezy spot, while thinking of dipping your feet in the pool.
10 favourite omelette fillings
An omelette is one of the ultimate quick dinners. These are my 10 favourite omelette fillings, but follow this pattern and you can’t go wrong: main veg – back-up veg – accent flavour – back-up flavour – richness.
See here for my favourite way to make an omelette, and remember to buy the best eggs you can.
Gently spiced sweet potato and quinoa bowls
The first time we made this was one of those moments where a few things pulled out of the fridge were thrown together for a quick dinner and the stars aligned to make something brilliant. It is, in fact, John’s recipe. He is amazing at cooking quick nutritious food, and about the only person I know who really truly honestly in his heart of hearts would prefer a bowl of vegetables to just about anything else.
You can have this on your table in about 15 minutes and it uses quinoa in a way I would never have considered, yet it is so good. Here, coconut and turmeric are backed up by minerally greens and a final shock of lemon. Good, quick, tasty eating.
I use chard, but spring greens or even spinach would work just fine. Creamed coconut instead of coconut milk gives a more intense flavour and lends itself well to quick cooking.
SERVES 3
150g quinoa
1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder, or ½ a stock cube
4 spring onions
1 clove of garlic
coconut oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds (I use black)
2 carrots
1 sweet potato
½ × 200g pack of creamed coconut
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
½ × 400g tin of chickpeas, or 250g home-cooked chickpeas (see here–here)
400g bunch of chard or spring greens
1 lemon
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together.
Weigh out the quinoa in a mug or measuring jug, making note of the level it comes up to, quickly rinse it under cold water, then pour it into a large saucepan. Fill the mug to the same level with boiling water and add to the pan, then repeat so you have double the volume of water to quinoa. Add the stock powder or cube, then put the pan on a high heat, put the lid on and cook the quinoa at a steady simmer for 10–12 minutes, until almost all the water has been absorbed and the little curly grain has been released from each quinoa seed.
Meanwhile, chop the spring onions into thin rounds. Peel and finely slice the garlic. Put a saucepan on a medium heat and add a knob of coconut oil. Throw in the spring onions and cook for a couple of minutes, then add the garlic and the mustard seeds and cook until the seeds begin to pop.
Peel the carrots and cut in half lengthways and then into thin slices, then do the same with the sweet potato. It’s important that the slices are thin, so that the vegetables cook quickly. Add them to the pan and cook for a minute before adding the creamed coconut, turmeric, drained chickpeas, 400ml of hot water and a good pinch of salt. Bring to the boil and simmer for 5 minutes, until the sweet potato is soft.
Keep an eye on your quinoa – it should have absorbed all the water by now, and the little curly grain should be visible. If it is, turn off the heat and leave the lid on.
Finally, cut the leaves off the chard or greens and shred them finely, then finely slice the stalks. Heat a tiny bit of coconut oil in a frying pan, add the stalks and fry for a minute, then add the leaves and sauté until wilted – this will take 2–3 minutes.
Once the sweet potato is cooked, stir the quinoa into the coconut and sweet potato. Serve in deep bowls, with the chard on top, and finish with a squeeze of lemon.
Smoky pepper and white bean quesadillas
10 MINUTES
Quesadillas, like a lot of Mexican food, get a bad write-up as being cheese-laden and lazy, but they are a truly quick meal, and by filling them with not just cheese they become more nourishing and much more delicious.
Here I have stepped away from the straight-up Mexican quesadillas and introduced some Spanish flavours. Roasted red peppers, smoky paprika and white beans – it makes me think of summer trips to Barcelona, and that can never be a bad thing.
If you are vegan, leave the cheese out and double the white beans, which hold it all together; you may want to be more generous with the seasoning too. I mostly make these at lunchtime, but they are filling enough for a dinner – you might want some sherry-vinegar-dressed green salad on the side.
If you are making these for a party, which I often do, the filling can be made in bigger batches really easily. The quesadillas can be stacked in the fridge, filled, and ready for frying.
SERVES 2 (MAKES 1 DEEPLY FILLED QUESADILLA)
2 spring onions
olive oil
½ teaspoon smoked paprika
50g cooked white beans
100g jarred, roasted red peppers
1 unwaxed lemon
½ a bunch of fresh parsley
50g Manchego cheese (see note for vegans)
2 wholemeal or seeded tortillas or wraps
a handful of cherry tomatoes
Get all your ingredients together.
Finely slice the spring onions. Put a frying pan on a medium heat, add a little olive oil, the spring onions and smoked paprika, and cook for a couple of minutes, until starting to brown.
Meanwhile, put the white beans into a mixing bowl and mash them with a fork, then roughly chop your red peppers and add half of them to the beans. Grate over the zest of the lemon, then roughly chop the parsley and add half to the bowl. Grate in your Manchego. Once the spring onions are browned, add these too.
Lay a tortilla or wrap on your work surface. Spoon the red pepper mixture all over it, spread it evenly, then top with the other tortilla. Heat a frying pan and toast the quesadilla for a couple of minutes on each side – I do this dry, but you can add a splash of oil if you like your quesadillas crispy. If you find it hard to flip, a plate on top might help.
While the quesadilla is toasting, roughly chop the tomatoes, mix with the remaining peppers and parsley and squeeze in the juice of half the lemon.
Once toasted on both sides, remove the quesadilla from the pan and cut into six pieces. Serve in the middle of the table, with the salsa for spooning over.
Green pea and coconut soup
15 MINUTES
When I am hungry and impatient and I have nothing in the fridge this simple soup is the recipe I turn to.
For a really speedy soup the pan you use is important; a small deep saucepan will mean your soup won’t come to a simmer quickly, so I suggest a deep, wide saucepan. Cast iron is ideal as it conducts the heat evenly, so even though you are cooking quickly it’s less likely that your soup will catch on the bottom. Of course use what you have, but a good deep heavy-bottomed saucepan is a great investment.
If you don’t have spring onions, a normal onion will do fine – you may just need to cook it for a little longer.
SERVES 4–6
a bunch of spring onions
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1kg frozen peas
1 × 400ml tin of coconut milk
1 tablespoon vegetable stock powder, or ½ a stock cube
a bunch of basil or coriander (or a mixture of both)
1 lemon
TO SERVE
extra virgin olive oil
Fill and boil a kettle and get all your ingredients and equipment together. Put a large soup pan, one that has a lid, on a medium heat to warm up.
Chop the spring onions quite finely and put into the pan with the coconut oil. Turn up the heat to its highest and cook for 2 minutes, until softened.
Add the peas to the pan with the coconut milk, the stock powder or cube and 750ml of boiling water, then put a lid on and bring to the boil. Once boiling, simmer, still on a high heat, for 2–3 minutes.
Take off the heat. Add most of the herbs, stalks and all, and the juice of the lemon and use a stick blender to blitz the soup until super-smooth.
Serve ladled into bowls with a little olive oil and the rest of the green herbs.
Pour-over soup
10 MINUTES
This soup is the epitome of quick cooking. Finely sliced vegetables, delicate noodles and flavour-packed aromatics all come together to make a soup that’s ready in the time it takes to boil the kettle. Most of the cooking is done by adding the boiling water from the kettle, so no pans, just a couple of bowls and a bit of chopping.
You can mix and match the veg you use here for variety, but just make sure they are ones that will be edible with very little cooking – greens, finely sliced carrots, grated squash, sliced mushrooms all work well.
This is a great, healthy meal to take to work if that’s your thing; just keep it in the fridge and pour over the hot water at your desk.
SERVES 1
50g thin rice vermicelli (I use brown rice ones)
a small piece of fresh ginger
1 tablespoon creamed coconut
a good spoonful of white miso paste
a splash of sesame oil
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 star anise
1 spring onion
1 fresh red chilli
a small handful of greens
½ a courgette
a small handful of sugar snap peas
TO SERVE
a few sprigs of fresh basil or coriander
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
Fill and boil the kettle and get all your ingredients out. You’ll need two heatproof mixing bowls with a plate that fits on top.
Once the kettle has boiled, put the noodles into one of the mixing bowls and cover with boiling water. Leave to sit, covered with a plate.
Peel the ginger and grate into the other bowl, then add the creamed coconut, white miso, sesame oil, soy or tamari and star anise. Very finely slice the spring onion and the chilli and add most of them to the bowl. Shred the greens, cut the courgette into thin slices and slice the sugar snaps. Add them all to the bowl.
Once the noodles have had 3 minutes, drain them and add them to the bowl of green veg. If you’re making for lunch later, layer everything into a screwtop jar and finish the recipe when you’re ready to eat. Re-boil the kettle. Pour over hot water from the kettle until the noodles and veg are just covered, and mix well.
Garnish with the remaining chopped chilli and spring onion, a little basil or coriander and some toasted sesame seeds.
At your desk salads
Lunch on the run or at your desk can be dull and samey. Use this guide to make your own quick salads. Using a grain or pulse as a base will mean it is filling, and its hardiness means your salad will travel well.
Take one element from each column and stack in a wide jar or Tupperware, making sure you work in layers from the heaviest (grains) to the lightest (leaves).
Make a dressing in a small jam jar, or pour it into a small bowl lined with clingfilm, bring the ends together and twist to make a little dressing wrap. I mix one of the suggested dressing flavours with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and a good squeeze of lemon juice, salt and pepper. The nutrition from salad leaves is actually boosted when we dress them, as the good fat from the oil makes it easier for our bodies to take up the nutrients.
Two favourite sandwiches
10 MINUTES
Sandwiches are unbeatable. They are super-quick, usually pretty cheap, and as long as you get yourself some good bread and stuff them with a bit of veg they can be super-good for you too.
Everyone has their favourite sandwich; these are the two that are made most in my kitchen. Both require 5 minutes’ work but you’ll be glad you took the extra time. These recipes have been written for one sandwich but can easily be scaled up for more. They both work really well on rye bread too.
KALE SMASH, HONEYED CARROT AND HUMMUS
MAKES 1 SANDWICH
a handful of kale
2 sun-dried tomatoes
1 lemon
extra virgin olive oil
1 small carrot
a little squeeze of honey
2 slices of good sourdough bread
1 tablespoon hummus
a handful of lettuce leaves, shredded (I use Little Gem)
Get all your ingredients together.
Put the kale into a food processor with the sun-dried tomatoes, a squeeze of lemon juice, a tablespoon of olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz until you have a paste.
Next, peel and finely slice the carrot, put it into a pan with the honey, a little olive oil, salt and pepper, and cook until just softened and not too crunchy.
Toast your bread, then spread one slice thickly with the kale smash and one with hummus. Put the carrots on top of the hummus, add a little shredded lettuce and sandwich together.
SAGE AND LEMON PESTO, PECORINO AND HONEY
MAKES 1 SANDWICH (AND A SMALL JAR OF PESTO)
2 slices of multi-grain or sourdough bread
50g pecorino cheese (vegetarian)
1 teaspoon thick honey
extra virgin olive oil
FOR THE QUICK SAGE PESTO
100g raw almonds (preferably soaked)
zest of 1 unwaxed lemon and ½ the juice
2 sprigs of sage leaves
a pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Get all your ingredients together.
First make your sage pesto. Blitz all the ingredients until you have a chunky pesto, and season with more salt and pepper to taste.
Heat a frying pan on a medium heat. Slather one slice of bread thickly with the sage pesto, then slice the pecorino thinly and lay it on top. Spread the honey on the other slice and sandwich together. Drizzle the outsides of the sandwich with a little olive oil then put into the pan and toast on both sides until golden, using a spatula to press down as needed.
Once the sandwich is toasted and golden, cut in half and devour.
Avocado, tahini and olive smash flatbreads
10 MINUTES
I try to sneak avocados in anywhere I can. I love their buttery, grassy, rich creaminess. The last five years has seen avocado on toast elbow its way on to every breakfast and lunch menu in the land. Avocado on toast was something I grew up on, and my love of avos has undoubtedly been inherited from my mum.
So I thought it was time to mix things up a bit, still making the most of how instantly delicious an avocado is but adding some more unusual flavours. Here I smash avocados with tahini, olives and lemon to make one of my new favourite lunches.
This is equally good on toast. I often double the recipe and serve it in bowls with home-made tortilla chips, to make an amazing snack for a crowd.
SERVES 2 AS A LUNCH, OR 4 AS A SNACK
2 ripe avocados
½ a lemon
1 clementine, or ½ an orange
2 tablespoons tahini
2 handfuls of Kalamata olives
½ a small clove of garlic
TO SERVE
4 flatbreads or tortillas
chilli flakes
toasted cumin seeds
fresh green herbs (I use dill, basil or parsley)
feta cheese (optional)
Get all your ingredients together.
Halve and de-stone the avocados and scoop the flesh into a bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper. Squeeze over the juice of the lemon and the clementine or orange. Add the tahini and roughly smash and mash until you have a half smooth, half chunky mixture.
De-stone and roughly chop the olives and add them to the bowl. Very finely chop or grate the garlic and add that to the bowl too. Gently mix to combine.
Heat the flatbreads either in a dry frying pan or on an open gas flame, turning them with tongs once they have browned a little. This will take a few seconds on a gas hob and more like 30 seconds to 1 minute in a pan.
Cut the flatbreads into quarters and pile on the avocado mixture. Top with a scattering of chilli flakes, toasted cumin seeds and a few delicate herbs. If you like you can add a crumble of feta.
Avocado, cucumber and fennel soup
10–15 MINUTES
This soup couldn’t be easier and is one of the quickest recipes I’ve ever made. It’s what I eat on hot days or days when I feel like something light, refreshing and cleansing. I don’t think that this kind of super-fresh food should be banished from the winter though. I have been known to eat a bowl of this in front of the fire in January after the Christmas eating enthusiasm.
I mention using avocado oil here; if you don’t have it, a good extra virgin olive oil will be great, but avocado oil has such an amazing buttery taste that it is worth searching out. Use it anywhere you might use good olive oil, to finish soups and in dressings.
SERVES 2 AS A MEAL, OR 4 AS A STARTER
1 ripe avocado
1 cucumber
½ a large bulb of fennel
2 tablespoons Greek or coconut yoghurt
the juice of ½ a lemon
a handful of ice cubes
a few sprigs of fresh dill
a few sprigs of fresh basil
½ a green chilli
a handful of toasted pumpkin seeds
extra virgin olive oil or avocado oil
Get all your ingredients together.
De-stone the avocado and scoop the flesh into the jug of a blender. Chop the cucumber and fennel into large pieces and add these too, along with the yoghurt, lemon juice, ice cubes and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Blitz on high until you have a completely smooth pale green soup. Taste the soup and add more lemon or salt if needed; the flavour should be subtle and refreshing, with a back-note of lemon.
Once the soup is completely smooth, pour into bowls and top with fronds of dill, little basil leaves, chopped green chilli, some pumpkin seeds and a good drizzle of oil. If it’s a really hot day you can add a couple more ice cubes too.
