Greenfeast

SHIITAKE, COCONUT, SOBA NOODLES

Deeply aromatic. Vibrant. Heart-warming.

Serves 2

For the spice paste:

red chillies, small, hot 3

garlic 3 cloves

ginger a 30g lump

lemon grass 3 stalks

coriander seeds 1 teaspoon

coriander leaves a handful

ground turmeric 1 teaspoon

vegetable oil a little

shallots, medium 6

shiitake mushrooms 150g

vegetable stock 500ml

spinach 150g

soba noodles 200g

coconut milk 400ml

coriander leaves, to finish a handful

Blend the chillies, garlic, peeled ginger, lemon grass, coriander seeds and leaves, turmeric and a little vegetable oil to a paste in a food processor.

Peel and halve the shallots and halve the shiitake. Warm the spice paste in a wok or frying pan over a moderate heat, then add the shallots and mushrooms. Let everything sizzle for a minute or two, then pour in the stock, bring to the boil, lower the heat and simmer for fifteen minutes.

Wash the spinach and whilst the leaves are wet, cook lightly in a pan with a lid. When they have relaxed, remove to a bowl of iced water to stop them cooking any further. Squeeze almost dry and roughly chop.

Put the noodles into a heatproof bowl, pour over boiling water from the kettle and push the noodles down into the water. Leave for five minutes, then drain. Add the coconut milk to the mushrooms, simmer for five minutes, then add the spinach and noodles. Finish with a little fresh coriander.

RICE, COURGETTES, PICKLED VEGETABLES

Quietly pleasing. Frugal.

Serves 2

sushi rice 180g

small courgettes 150g

sesame oil 1 tablespoon

Japanese pickled radish, pumpkin, etc. 75g

pickled ginger 20g

basil leaves a handful

coriander leaves a handful

dried seaweed flakes 2 tablespoons

rice vinegar 1 tablespoon

Wash the sushi rice in a bowl of warm water, pour off the water and repeat. Tip the rice into a medium-sized saucepan, pour in 300ml of water and bring to the boil. Lower the heat so the water is simmering, add half a teaspoon of salt, then cover with a lid and leave to cook for fifteen minutes.

Trim the courgettes, then, using a vegetable peeler, remove slices in long, thin shavings. Toss the slices in the sesame oil and season lightly with salt. Roughly chop the Japanese pickled vegetables. Shred the pickled ginger. Roughly chop the basil and coriander leaves.

When the rice is cooked, remove the pan from the heat and leave to rest for five minutes, still covered by its lid. Remove the lid and fold the raw courgettes, chopped pickles and ginger, basil and coriander into the rice with a fork. Stir in the dried seaweed flakes and rice vinegar and season to taste.

• If some rice has stuck to the bottom of the pan during cooking, empty out the rest of the rice, then pour a little water into the pan, bring to the boil and leave it for a minute or two. The rice will be easy to remove.

• The shavings of courgettes soften in the residual heat of the cooked rice. You could stir in a few other good ingredients instead. Chopped tomatoes that you have marinated briefly in olive oil and basil. French beans, lightly cooked and cut into short lengths or, better still, thin batons of cucumber tossed with a little rice wine vinegar and a few nigella seeds.

RICE, PICKLES, NORI

A bowl of steaming rice. The snap of crisp pickles.

Serves 2

carrots 2, large

a banana shallot, medium-sized

mirin 2 tablespoons

rice vinegar 6 tablespoons

tamari soy sauce 1 tablespoon

sushi rice 190g

dried nori flakes 2 teaspoons

tsukemono (pickled vegetables) 6 teaspoons

Scrub the carrots and slice them into rounds no thicker than a pound coin. Put them into a sealable freezer bag. Peel the shallot, slice thinly, then add to the carrots. Pour the mirin, rice vinegar and soy into the bag and seal it tightly, then refrigerate for at least thirty minutes, though it will keep in good condition for several days.

Wash the rice in warm water, drain, then put it in a small, deep pan, cover with 300ml of cold water and soak for thirty minutes. Bring to the boil, lightly salt, then cover the pot tightly with a lid and simmer for ten minutes. Remove from the heat and leave to rest for another ten minutes, then lift the lid and run a fork through the grains. It will be fluffy and sticky.

Divide the rice between two deep bowls, then sprinkle with the nori flakes and spoon over some of the crisp pickles, the tsukemono and their juice.

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