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Once the eggs are ready, pile them on to a plate with a decent helping of the spicy tomatoes and some mashed avocado, and scoop up with the charred tortillas.
Lemon ricotta cloud pancakes
Whenever I go out for breakfast I order pancakes. This is my version of the pancakes I had at Gjelina in LA, which were quite simply the best pancakes I have ever eaten.
Chestnut flour makes an appearance here – you can get it in most wholefood shops. It adds a depth and warmth to the flavour and is naturally gluten-free; however, the pancakes would work with just plain flour. Any leftover chestnut flour can be used in cakes and baking (I use a 50/50 mix of chestnut and plain flour) and works wonderfully in place of ground almonds for a deeper, almost caramelly taste. Try it in the chocolate cake here and see here for more information on it.
SERVES 4 (MAKES 8–10 PANCAKES)
250g ricotta cheese
75g plain white or light spelt flour
50g chestnut flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
a good pinch of salt
2 organic or free-range eggs, separated
2 tablespoons golden caster sugar
200ml milk (I use almond milk but normal milk works fine too)
grated zest of 2 unwaxed lemons
grated zest of ½ an unwaxed orange
butter or coconut oil, for frying
optional: lemon juice
SERVE WITH SEASONAL FRUIT
Spring • quick stewed rhubarb
Summer • raspberries mashed with lemon juice
Autumn • blueberries smashed up with a little maple syrup
Winter • quick sautéed apples and honey
First put the ricotta into a sieve and leave it over a bowl for 10 minutes or so to allow the liquid to drain off.
Meanwhile, mix the flours, baking powder and salt in a large bowl. In another bowl, whisk the egg whites until frothy, then add the sugar and whisk until you have stiff meringue-like peaks. In a jug, whisk the egg yolks with the milk. Add to the flour mixture bit by bit and beat until smooth, then add the lemon and orange zest.
Using a spatula or metal spoon, gently fold half the egg whites into the flour and egg mixture. Now fold in the ricotta, then the rest of the egg whites – you should have a light and fluffy batter.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan on a low heat and add a tiny bit of butter or oil. Working in batches, and using about half a ladleful for each pancake, cook until the bottom is golden and the edges are cooked. Once bubbles have risen to the top, flip and cook on the other side for a minute – then keep warm while you cook the rest. Stack the pancakes high on your plate, with seasonal fruit spooned over and a squeeze of lemon juice, if you like.
Banana, blueberry and pecan pancakes
The reason I became an expert on banana pancakes is a bleak but ultimately happy story. During an enthusiastic surfing lesson on the first day of a holiday in Bali I got burnt to a crisp, and in order to stay out of the sun I spent the rest of the holiday swathed in sarongs perfecting banana pancakes.
This is the result, though they are some way from the honey-drenched Indonesian ones that we ate on holiday. These have something of a banana bread feel to them, and are vegan and gluten free, thanks to using pecans and oats instead of flour and mashed bananas in place of butter.
A note on coconut milk: most supermarkets sell a ready-to-drink coconut milk, which comes in a carton and lives next to the soya and rice milk. Look out for the KoKo brand. It works in most recipes instead of milk and lies somewhere between thick tinned coconut milk and cloudy coconut water. I have it on my morning cereal and in tea. This is the coconut milk I use in most of my cooking, as it is lighter in fat and calories than the heavier tinned version. If you can’t get your hands on it, dilute tinned coconut milk 50/50 with water or just use your normal milk.
MAKES 8 LITTLE PANCAKES
FOR THE BATTER
100g oats
a good handful of pecan nuts (about 50g), roughly chopped
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of sea salt
1 ripe banana, peeled and mashed
150ml coconut milk or almond milk (see note above)
a 200g punnet of blueberries
TO SERVE
2 bananas, peeled and cut into thin slices
a little coconut oil or butter
a few pecan nuts, crumbled
lime wedges
honey or agave syrup
First turn the oven to 120°C/fan 100°C/gas ½ to keep everything warm.
Blitz the oats until you have a scruffy oat flour. Add to a bowl with the pecans and throw in the baking powder and salt.
Mix the mashed banana with the milk (you can do this by blitzing them together in the food processor, if you like). Beat the banana mixture into the flour and leave the batter to sit for a few minutes.
Heat a non-stick pan on a medium heat, then add the banana slices and fry on both sides in the dry pan until brown and caramelised. Keep warm in the oven.
Put the pan back on a medium heat and add a little coconut oil or butter. Drop in a healthy tablespoonful of batter for each pancake. Once the sides are cooked and bubbles have risen to the top, scatter over a handful of blueberries and flip the pancake over. Cook for another couple of minutes on the other side. The pancakes will stay a little moist in the middle because of the banana, so don’t worry. Keep them warm in the oven while you cook the rest.
Serve the pancakes piled with the banana slices. Add some crumbled pecans and a squeeze of lime, and, if you like, a little touch of honey, agave or maple syrup.
A scoop of coconut and banana ice cream turns these into a feel-good pudding too (see here).
Cherry poppy seed waffles
Like bottomless coffee and inch-deep maple syrup and waitresses with name badges, waffles are very American territory to me. I started making them at home last year – I bought a £20 waffle iron and I haven’t looked back, as there is something so good about their crispy chequered exterior. They are quick and easy to make and more consistent than pancakes, and the waffle iron stays squeaky clean, so no washing up. This is my poppy seed-flecked version. I make these waffles with a mixture of oats or quinoa, whizzed to a floury dust in the food processor, but straight up wholemeal flour works well too.
Cherries are hands down my favourite fruit. When British cherries start filling my basket they are all I eat for breakfast until they are gone again. They’re high in iron, so they are useful for people cutting back on iron-rich meats. I keep pitted cherries in the freezer to use all year round, and you can buy good frozen ones from most supermarkets too. These are equally good with raspberries mashed with a little rosewater in place of the cherries.
Instead of using eggs here you can make these pancakes using the incredibly clever natural binding qualities of chia seeds. What I like best about chia seeds is how they work in baking and sweet things. You can use them in place of eggs in almost all baking, just mix 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water for each egg and leave to soak for a few minutes until you have a gloopy mix. I like the crunch of the chia seeds in my cake but if you want to you could grind them to a powder in your food processor before mixing with the water. This mixture works in all the baking in this book, just don’t try scrambling them!
MAKES 8 WAFFLES
FOR THE CHERRIES
500g pitted cherries, fresh or frozen
2 tablespoons honey
FOR THE BATTER
200g oats
4 tablespoons light brown sugar or coconut sugar (see here)
1 tablespoon baking powder
a pinch of sea salt
2 tablespoons poppy seeds, plus extra to serve
200ml natural yoghurt or coconut milk yoghurt
150ml milk of your choice
3 organic or free-range eggs (or see note on chia)
grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
butter or coconut oil, for cooking
TO SERVE
honey
Put the cherries and honey into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 10 minutes, until just softened, slightly sticky and deep crimson.
Put your waffle iron on a very low heat to warm up. I cook using a gas hob, which heats the waffle iron quite quickly, but you may need to wait a little longer if you have an electric or induction hob. You could use an electric waffle maker set to medium too.
Whiz the oats in a food processor until you have a fine powder, then put into a bowl with the sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. In a jug, whisk the yoghurt, milk, eggs and lemon zest. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat until you have a smooth, thick batter, then pour into a jug to make it easier to fill your waffle iron.
Turn the heat up a little on your waffle iron. Drop a knob of butter or coconut oil on to the base of it and use a brush to persuade it around the iron squares. Flip the iron and do the same for the other side.
Spoon one ladleful of mixture into one side of your hot iron and close the lid. Leave for 2 minutes to crisp up, then flip for another 3 minutes. The waffles are ready once they’re an even golden brown and come away from the sides easily.
Serve with the warm cherries, a sprinkling of poppy seeds and a spoonful of yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.
Dosa-spiced potato cakes with quick cucumber pickle
The best breakfast I have ever eaten was a masala dosa in Fort Cochin, Kerala. This is how I like to work the deep, fragrant, southern Indian flavours into my day. It’s an anytime dish with big flavour hitters in the shape of curry leaves and black mustard seeds, which give the potato the warm subtle punch that is the deeply clever balance of southern Indian food. This is how I almost always use up my leftover mashed potato. Any root veg mash works well here but I find potato takes on the flavours best.
Mashing avocado with these spices is a revelation – I eat this on toast at least once a week.
If curry leaves aren’t easy to get, you can just leave them out. However, curry leaves are wonderful, and if you haven’t come across them before, try to get your hands on some. They have a curious but delicious flavour, and add depth in a way that is difficult to explain, much like a truffle does. I buy a few packets whenever I see them – a lot of supermarkets stock them these days. Store them in a sandwich bag in the freezer and tumble a few out as you need them. They are addictive and also very good for you. They can be mixed with lime and a pinch of sugar in hot water to aid digestion.
SERVES 4
FOR THE POTATO CAKES
olive or coconut oil
1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 tablespoon black mustard seeds
½ teaspoon ground turmeric
10 curry leaves
4 large potatoes, boiled, drained and coarsely mashed, or 4 big spoons of leftover mash
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
FOR THE AVOCADO
2 ripe avocados, halved and destoned
juice of ½ a lemon
FOR THE QUICK CUCUMBER PICKLE
½ a cucumber, halved and thinly sliced
1 teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed in a pestle and mortar
a pinch of sugar or a squeeze of agave syrup
grated zest and juice of ½ an unwaxed lemon
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for about 5 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the mustard seeds and stand back while they pop. Scoop out a heaped tablespoon of the onion mixture and put to one side to cool.
With the pan still on the heat, add the turmeric and curry leaves and fry for another minute or so, then put the whole lot into a bowl to cool slightly.
Add the mashed potato to the onions, then season and mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape them into 4 potato cakes. Put them into the fridge to chill while you do a couple of other little jobs.
In another bowl, mash the avocados with the lemon juice (you can use a potato masher here), then stir in the tablespoon of the onion you set aside. Mix, then season well.
To make your pickle, put the sliced cucumber into a bowl and add all the other pickle ingredients. Using your hands, scrunch the cucumber slices to get the flavours going.
Now put your frying pan back on the heat. Take the potato cakes out of the fridge and fry them gently and carefully in a little oil for about 2–3 minutes on each side, until warmed through and crispy brown.
Serve each dosa cake piled with the mustard seed, onion and mashed avocado and with a sprightly spoonful of pickle on the side.
Other ways to use your cucumber pickle:
· Sandwiched inside a veggie burger.
· Next to a bowl of dhal and rice.
· In a bagel with some cream cheese and grated lemon zest.
· In a cheese sandwich.
· Next to any curry.
· To make the best ever cucumber sandwiches.
Wholegrain Sunday brunch
Sometimes a fortifying breakfast or brunch is needed but I have never been on board with heavy, greasy food to start off the day. For me breakfast is the mark of how I want my day to be. I eat this breakfast after a night out or before a day of the same – I guess you could say this is my full English. In autumn and winter, when tomatoes are not at their best, use a few sun-dried tomatoes added at the end instead.
You can make this in the time it takes someone else to go and buy the paper and to brew a decent cup of coffee. I encourage you to try grains rather than toast for breakfast. I find them so much more sustaining than bread and they work perfectly here. If you like, though, a good slice of bread works wonderfully in place of the farro. Sometimes for a really filling brunch I sizzle up a couple of the chestnut bangers here too, or pan-fry a couple of slices of tofu, in place of the egg.
Sage is not perhaps the most obvious choice for a breakfast herb but it works brilliantly here. I love sage – the word, the taste, the bolstering flavour it brings – there is something ancient about it that I adore. In fact it’s a member of the mint family and you can taste the relationship. I love to fry sage leaves in hot oil till perfectly crisp and sprinkle them on fried eggs or roasted squash.
SERVES 2, THOUGH THIS CAN BE EASILY SCALED UP FOR A BIG FRIENDLY BRUNCH
¼ of a butternut squash or similar, deseeded and cut into 1cm slices
2 big field mushrooms
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
olive or rapeseed oil
100g farro or quinoa
2 healthy vines of cherry tomatoes
a small handful (50g) of almonds
a few sprigs of fresh sage (about 20 leaves)
1 lemon
2 organic or free-range eggs, for poaching (more if you are hungry)
Preheat your oven to 220°C/fan 200°C/gas 7.
Place the squash and mushrooms on a tray, season, and drizzle with a little oil. Pop it into the oven for 15 minutes.
Next, get your grain on the go. Rinse it under cold water, then put it into a pan of boiling, salted water and cook the farro for 20–25 minutes, until tender, or the quinoa for 10 minutes, making sure to top up with more water as needed.
Once the squash has had 20 minutes, take the tray out of the oven and add the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper, drizzle with oil and put back into the oven for another 20 minutes.
To make the sage and almond pesto, toast the almonds in a pan until fragrant and just browning, then remove from the heat. In a pestle and mortar, bash the sage leaves with a pinch of salt. Add the almonds and bash until you have a chunky paste, then pour in 4 tablespoons of oil, squeeze in the juice of a quarter of the lemon and bash again until it’s smoothish. Season with salt and pepper, tasting and balancing to your liking. This can be done in a food processor too.
Finally, get a pan of boiling water on to poach your eggs (I use a frying pan). Turn the heat down until the water is barely blipping, then crack in the eggs and leave to cook for 3–4 minutes. Scoop out with a slotted spoon on to some kitchen paper.
Spoon the grain on to plates, pile on the sticky roasted veg, top with an egg, then drizzle generously with the pesto and enjoy at a slow pace.
food for filling a gap
If you’re going to snack, you might as well do it properly in every sense. Topping up between meals with something that is delicious, thought out and healthy stops me reaching for a chocolate biscuit. Whether it’s a simple slick of almond butter on a rice cake, or a handful of kale chips, or some homemade spicy caramel popcorn, a considered snack keeps me happy, fulfilled and full of energy. All these recipes are perfect for a crowd too – just double them up as needed to fuel a party.
Charred sweet potato quesadillas · sweet and salty crispy kale chips · the best egg sandwich you’ll ever eat · deep smoky salsa · miso-spiked hummus · jewel-coloured Middle Eastern dip · doorstep sandwiches · spiced salted caramel popcorn · maple peanut California wraps
Speedy sweet potato quesadillas
Quesadillas are an anytime meal. They take just 5 minutes to make, and everyone adores them. You can snack on them at a party, they make a late-home-from-work dinner, and they even work at breakfast with an egg inside.
These quesadillas are a bit different – the regular, white flour, cheese-loaded version doesn’t do it for me. So instead these are filled with a super-quick sweet potato and white bean mash. You will never look back.
Two types of chilli feature here, though don’t fret – they are not super-hot. I don’t like that intense chilli burn feeling. To me any food that sends your body into panic or out of balance can’t be good. But I do crave chilli, and this blend of the deep smokiness of the chipotle and the sweet raw heat of the fresh chilli packs a well-rounded punch.
Most places have started to stock chipotle paste these days, which has made its sweet smokiness more easy to come by. If you can’t get your hands on chipotle, ½ a teaspoon of hot smoked paprika will do. The Cool Chile Co (www.coolchile.co.uk) sell a range of great chillies, including chipotle paste.
It’s worth making a mention of what chillies have hidden in their colourful little packages. They are super-high in antioxidants and vitamins, and they boost the immune system and help spike up your metabolism. Chilli magic.
SERVES 2 AS A DINNER, OR 4 AS A SNACK
olive oil
1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
1 tablespoon maple syrup
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon chipotle paste
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 × 400g tin of white beans, drained (I use haricots)
1 avocado
½ a lime
a few sprigs of fresh mint or coriander, leaves picked and chopped
4 corn tortillas (see note here)
Heat a touch of olive oil in a pan, add the sweet potato and the maple syrup and season with salt and pepper. Add the chipotle paste and the chopped chilli and cook for a few minutes, until the potato has softened and lost its rawness.
Transfer to a bowl and add the beans, then use a potato masher to mash the whole lot up a little – you will still have some flecks of unmashed sweet potato. Season if needed.
Mash the avocado with a little lime juice and stir in the herbs. I use the potato masher again here.
Now heat a frying pan big enough for your tortillas. Lay a tortilla flat in the pan, spoon a quarter of the mixture on to one half of it, then fold over the other half. Dry fry on one side until it’s blistered and golden brown, then flip over and do the same on the other side. Keep the quesadilla warm while you do this with the rest of the tortillas.
Serve straight from the pan with the mashed avocado.
As part of a bigger meal:
· Serve with a couple of handfuls of lemon-dressed salad leaves.
· Serve with a crunchy salad of radishes, leaves, shaved fennel and coriander, and a quick tomato salsa.
Oven-baked kale chips
Kale chips have found their way over the sea from our health-conscious friends in America. They are delicious. Moreish, salty, sweet, crisp and all-round good – a super-healthy alternative to a packet of crisps. The only downside is the price tag. My top count is £8.50 for a little pot, which would last half an hour in my house.
I’ve got some raw-cook friends who make them using their dehydrator, which slowly dries out and preserves food, but don’t worry, I’m not about to tell you to go out and buy a £300 piece of kit either.
The answer is a £1 bunch of kale and the trusty oven. By cooking the chips in the oven they don’t have quite the same ‘raw’ credentials as their dehydrated brothers, but I like compromise and this is a good one – oven-baked kale for deep-fried potato.
I couldn’t decide which flavour was best, so here’s both. The miso and sesame seed version has all the sweet savouriness of a killer sushi roll. The tarragon mustard chips are sweet and fragrant. Give both a go and then try your own – stick to the formula of salt/acid/sweet and you can’t go wrong.
These are a great way to get greens haters on to the good stuff. Disguised as little flavour pop crisps, these could persuade anyone to like kale.
MAKES ENOUGH FOR A FEW FRIENDS TO NIBBLE, OR A FEW DAYS’ SNACKING FOR 1
200g curly kale, washed and spun dry (I use a mix of white, green and purple)
FOR THE TARRAGON AND MUSTARD DRESSING
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey or agave syrup
½ a bunch of fresh tarragon, leaves picked and chopped
juice of 1 lemon
a good pinch of sea salt
FOR THE SESAME MISO DRESSING
1 teaspoon miso paste
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
juice of 1 lime
3 tablespoons sesame seeds
Preheat your oven to 120°C/fan 100°C/gas ½ and line two baking trays with baking paper.
Tear the kale off its stalks into crisp-sized pieces (remember they will shrink a bit). Little stalks are fine, you just don’t want any of the big ones. Lay them well spaced out on the baking trays.
Make whichever dressing you choose, mixing the ingredients in a jug. Drizzle the dressings evenly over the trays of kale. Now get your hands in and toss and turn the kale in the dressing until everything feels coated.
Put your kale into the oven for 30 minutes. Then take both trays out and loosen the kale from the baking paper with a spatula. Pop the trays back in, turn the oven off, and leave them until they have crisped right up, which will take about another 30 minutes.
Lift the kale chips from the tray and store them in a jar or airtight container. They will keep for up to a week, but they will be gone long before that.
Smoky walnut and cumin muhammara
If there is someone in your life who thinks vegetarian food is bland, hand them a bowl of this and some charred flatbreads and give them 5 minutes. It’s a riot of flavours: musky sweetness from the peppers, earthy spice from the cumin and buttery depth from the walnuts. And it’s so versatile. I keep a jar of it in the fridge for spicing up pretty much any meal.
