Tabbouleh

Proper tabbouleh is more a salad than a starchy dish. I did not use any onion, but added some tender celery stalks – decidedly inauthentic, but it made for a nice crunch. The recipe by Yotam Ottolenghi I found in the Guardian did not mention soaking the grains, which was new to me. I actually wasn’t sure whether the omission was deliberate or an oversight, but I made my salad the night before, and the bulgur was just right without soaking. No guarantees that it will work for immediate serving as well, though. Serves 1, or 2 as a side.

a very big bunch of fresh parsley

a bunch of fresh mint

a small handful of bulgur

a large juicy tomato

either half an onion or some tender celery stalks, finely chopped

a squeeze of lemon juice

pinch of sumac (or allspice)

half a finely diced fresh chilli (optional)

Run the bulgur under a cold tap, till the water runs clear. Chop the parsley, including the stalks, very finely, and add to the bulgur. Repeat for the mint, leaves only. Add the tomato, cut in small pieces, and the onion or celery and chilli. Stir until well-combined, and season with olive oil, lemon juice, sumac, sea salt and pepper.

Pesto (with spaghetti, runner beans, and courgettes)

Going home was the perfect excuse to turn my Greek basil plant into a big batch of fresh pesto. Delicious with spaghetti and the rest of the runner beans and courgettes, although the courgette had gone soft and very bitter. Any remedies for that (except eating it earlier)?

a big basil plant

some lightly toasted pine nuts

a handful of freshly grated parmesan or pecorino

a small clove of garlic

olive oil, not too strong

Pick the leaves off the basil, and blend all the ingredients either by hand in a pestle and mortar, or with a food processor or handheld blender. Season with a small pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Taste and adjust until the flavour and consistency are as you like them.

Watercress pesto

I’d been wanting to have this pesto ever since seeing Nigel Slater make it on his BBC show. I’ll just say: it didn’t disappoint. The original is made by hand in the most gorgeous pestle and mortar (you can watch it here), but I used an immersion blender, which worked fine too. The quantities are rough – this one needs to be done on taste. I got three generous portions out of mine.

a bunch of watercress

two large handfuls of rocket

a handful of basil leaves

three cloves of garlic

a small handful of pine nuts

sea salt

a handful of freshly grated parmesan

olive oil

Toast the pine nuts in a dry frying pan. They burn easily, so occasionally shake the pan and don’t abandon them. Pick the watercress, disposing of all but the most tender stalks. Crush the garlic under a knife or in a pestle and mortar with a pinch of sea salt (you don’t need much). Combine all ingredients except for the olive oil, blend, and slowly add some oil until it has the consistency you want. Serve with spaghetti or linguine and some extra parmesan and pine nuts.

Vietnamese noodle salad with red pepper and coriander

I have this kind of salad all the time. It’s fresh and zingy and easy to make, and altogether a great summer meal. I usually have a slightly different dressing each time, but in the early noodle salad days, this one was a standard reference. Great on its own, or topped with grilled prawns, beef or tuna steak. The dressing is enough for two or three portions.

glass noodles

red pepper / sugar snaps / mangetout / bean sprouts / cucumber

big bunch of fresh coriander

a generous amount of Thai basil (if you can get it)

some fresh mint

2 cloves garlic, finely minced 


2 fresh red chillies, chopped
(less hot without the seeds and the strips they’re attached to)

2 cm fresh ginger, finely grated

4 tbsp fish sauce


juice and zest of 1 lime

1 tbsp honey or sugar

2 tsp vegetable oil


1 tsp sesame oil

(and a few tbsp water, if the dressing is too strong)

Cook or soak the glass noodles, in whatever way the pack tells you to. Finely slice the pepper, and/or steam the sugar snaps or mangetout (very briefly – you still want them bright green and snappy). If you use cucumber, shave into long strips. Combine the garlic, chillies, ginger, lime zest and liquids to form a dressing. Put the drained noodles in a bowl, dress with the dressing, add the vegetables and (torn) herbs, mix again, and if applicable, top with prawns or thinly sliced beef or tuna steak. 

Swings and roundabouts

Really, food blogging is a kind of matchmaking. Enticing people to flirt with techniques, ingredients and combinations they wouldn’t have picked for themselves. Introducing a new best companion for summer evenings or cold winter nights. Prompting a discovery that may be the beginning of a long-term bond.

For me, this certainly is what I love about talking to people about food. For a large part, it’s even what I love about cooking. And it very much is what I hope writing here can be.

One part of this, of course, is the adventurous part. Seducing you to try new things that might remain new for a long time, because they’re not the kind of thing you would eat every day. Unfamiliar flavours to get to know slowly. Surprises. Those are great. But I think I’m even more excited about the other part – the food friendships, if you like. The kinds of dishes you find yourself returning to again and again. Things to add to your stack of go-to recipes, to replace the curry-from-a-jar that’s more for convenience than because you really like it, or the pasta with tomato sauce because you can’t think of anything else, or the fried egg because the fridge is empty. Some new recipes with the potential of becoming weekday favourites. Or rather, a stack of go-to ideas that can form the basis of meal after meal without getting old. Something like this plus something like that, in this kind of way. That’s one thing I’m excited about: introducing you to my own favourite ideas to build on, hoping that each of them might win just a few hearts and find its way into a few repertoires.

So here’s a current favourite, a typical case of more-an-idea-than-a-recipe, from Heidi at 101cookbooks, who may well be the queen of the genre. A senator of the genre, at the very least. (Not to mention exceptional at photo-powered temptation… you’ve been warned!) This particular idea is for a tortilla stuck to a fried egg base, then filled with a dollop of yoghurt and a bunch of fresh herbs. It’s as simple and quick as any recipe you may resort to when short on time or energy, but at the same time filling and fresh. It is a very versatile starting point – the tortilla can be a soft taco or a wholewheat Indian chapati (both freeze very well, so you can have them at hand any time), the dairy can be yoghurt, sour cream or crème fraîche, and any kind of fresh herb is great. I like coriander or basil, or large quantities of flat leaf parsley. Even some baby leaf greens would go well.

The original recipe leaves the tortilla fairly soft, but I prefer to fold it early and cook both sides till they’re crispy. I really like the different textures this method produces, though you do end up with a firmer egg. You win some, you lose some. (Or, as I heard a mother teach her four-year-old at the bus stop the other day, ‘swings and roundabouts’. I love that expression.) Plus, it’s easy to make up for the loss of moisture and general runniness by adding a good spoonful of yoghurt inside the tortilla, instead of on top. Great with a green salad, or chopped cucumber and tomatoes.

Quesadilla with egg, yoghurt and herbs

It’s easiest to fry the egg in a pan not much larger than the tortilla. Otherwise, some good spatula skills come in handy. Nothing difficult here, but timing is important, so make sure you have everything ready before you start. Serves 1.

2 corn tortillas

2 large eggs

feta or parmesan

yoghurt or sour cream (nice with some garlic or lemon zest)

fresh herbs

Beat the eggs with some pepper and salt. Heat up just a little bit of oil in a non-stick frying pan, and pour in half the egg. It should spread out thin, to roughly the same size as the tortilla. A larger pan may allow for two eggs at a time, but pour each egg separately, and leave enough space in between them. Let the egg set for 20–30 seconds. (Since this is a great recipe for when you’re too busy or distracted to do much cooking, and since eggs sitting next to a frying pan just ask to be broken into it, you will at some point accidentally put the egg in the pan without having beaten it first. If this happens, just break the yolk and distribute over the top of the egg right away, but make sure the bottom layer remains intact – you don’t want it scrambled.) While the top of the egg is still uncooked, lay the tortilla on top and press gently, so that it sticks to the egg as it sets. When the tortilla no longer comes off with some gentle pulling, flip over. Sprinkle with some crumbled feta or grated parmesan. Fold the quesadilla in half, and cook for another minute on both sides, so that the tortilla is crispy. Take off the heat, open up, add a spoonful of yoghurt and plenty of herbs, close, eat.

- Naomi