Eat – The Little Book of Fast Food. Nigel Slater

or so, till the ham is cooked through to the bone.

      Remove the ham from the cooking liquor, add 200g fresh or frozen peas and a large clove of garlic, and cook for 5 minutes or so, till the peas are tender. Add a handful of parsley, a handful of chives and a handful of basil leaves to the peas, cook a minute or so longer, then blitz in a blender to give a thick, green sauce. Add pepper if necessary.

      Tear the ham from its bone in large pieces. Roughly chop a few more of the herbs, then roll the pieces of ham in them. Spoon the sauce into bowls and add the pieces of ham.

      For 2. The nannying quality of peas and ham, the vitality of fresh herbs.

      Quiet, old-fashioned flavours for leftover ham hock

      Make a crisp, light salad using chicory and inner lettuce leaves tossed with generous handfuls of roughly chopped mint, parsley and basil. Dress with a finely chopped shallot, lemon juice, salt and olive oil. Tear rough chunks of ham from the bone and toss with the dressed leaves. Serve with halved hard-boiled eggs, still quite soft in the middle.

      Prawns, Lemongrass and Coconut

      prawns, lemongrass, coconut milk, coriander, turmeric, garlic, bird’s eye chillies, galangal or ginger, pak choi, mirin, fish sauce, lime, mint

      Put 6 coriander stalks and roots, 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric, 2 large garlic cloves, 2 lemongrass stalks, 2 bird’s eye chillies, 2 tablespoons of groundnut oil and a thumb-sized knob of peeled galangal or ginger in a food processor and reduce to a rough, loose paste. (This will make twice as much as you need.)

      Put half the paste in a pan, fry for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly, then add a 400ml can of coconut milk, a head of pak choi, cut into large bite-sized pieces, and 8–10 shelled large, raw prawns. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes, till the prawns turn opaque. Finish with 2 teaspoons of mirin, a tablespoon of fish sauce and the juice of a lime, or to taste. Stir in the leaves from the coriander and top with a few mint leaves.

      For 2. Vivid flavours, a little heat. Uplifting and energising.

       A few thoughts

      You could add some cooked noodles if you feel like it, or small pea aubergines that have been halved and lightly fried, or some Thai basil leaves, or other fish instead of the prawns.

      Greens and beanshoots. The warmth of coconut and noodles

      Put the spice paste opposite into a deep pan, sizzle briefly, then stir in 250ml coconut milk and a litre of chicken stock and bring to the boil. Soak 200g rice noodles in boiling water, drain and divide between 4 bowls. Add a handful of Chinese broccoli or pak choi to the stock. Once it softens, add a handful of beansprouts and a sliced spring onion, then divide between the bowls, ladling it over the noodles. For 4.

      Prawns, crisp lettuce and miso. Light, fresh, satisfying

      Whisk together 3 tablespoons of white miso paste and 750ml vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer and stir in 2 teaspoons each of soy sauce and hot chilli sauce. Shred a couple of crisp white lettuce leaves and their stems and put them in 2 deep soup bowls. Add a finely sliced spring onion and a large handful of cooked prawns to each bowl, then a handful of coriander leaves. Ladle the hot soup over the lettuce and prawns.

      Rib and Rhubarb Broth

      small pork ribs, rhubarb, chicken stock, star anise, peppercorns, bay leaves, spring onions

      In a large, deep pan, brown 500g small pork ribs on both sides in a little oil. When they are nicely coloured, pour a litre of chicken stock over them, add 2 star anise, 8 peppercorns and a couple of bay leaves and bring to the boil. Lower the heat so the liquor continues cooking at a low simmer and leave for a good 50 minutes to an hour, keeping an eye on the liquid so it doesn’t boil away; you want to end up with a rich, quite concentrated broth. Check the seasoning.

      Remove the ribs from the liquid, pull the meat from the bones and cut it into chunks (sometimes I leave them whole). Roughly chop 2 spring onions and drop them, together with the meat, into the hot broth. Pour into bowls. Thinly slice a small stick of rhubarb (you may not need all of it) into long matchsticks and add a few pieces to each bowl of broth. Serve immediately, just as the rhubarb starts to soften.

      For 4. Savoury depth, sharp fruit.

      Chicken, Asparagus and Noodle Broth

      chicken thighs, asparagus, noodles, mushrooms, garlic, chicken stock

      Brown 4 chicken thighs in a little oil in a deep pan. Slice 150g mushrooms, such as large field, portobello or porcini, and peel and slice 2 garlic cloves. Add the mushrooms and garlic to the pan and continue browning, adding more oil if necessary. Pour in a litre of chicken stock, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes. Lift out the thighs and take the meat off the bones, returning it to the simmering stock. Shave 4 asparagus spears into ribbons with a vegetable peeler, then add them to the soup with 200g noodles. Cook for a minute or two, then divide between deep bowls.

      For 2–3. Big, generous bowls of noodles. Rich chicken broth. The sweetness of asparagus.

       A few thoughts

      I often make a chicken broth with the bones from the Sunday roast. The trick is to remember to add all the jelly and bits of savoury goodness that lie under the roasted bird. A 20-minute simmer with a small, halved onion, a few black peppercorns, a tomato and a few parsley stalks will produce a golden-brown broth with deep flavour. The other thing worth considering is the ready-made stocks in the chiller cabinet at the supermarket or butcher’s shop. Expensive but often very good indeed.

      Chicken wing onion broth

      Slice 2 large spring onions and cut lengthways through the bulbs (chop the green shoot). Brown them in a little oil in a wide pan. Add 12 small shallots, peeled but left whole, brown them gently, then remove the spring onions and shallots from the pan. Add 6 seasoned chicken wings and brown on all sides. Add a litre of chicken stock, return the spring onions and shallots to the pan and simmer for 5–10 minutes. Add 100g green noodles and simmer for a few minutes. Season thoughtfully with salt and pepper. Makes 2 deep bowls.

      Grilled chicken miso broth

      Mix together a teaspoon of fish sauce, a teaspoon of mirin and a tablespoon of hoisin sauce. Brush this over 2 chicken breasts, then cook under an overhead grill till the chicken is cooked through to the centre. Steam or boil 6 stalks of thin-stemmed broccoli, then refresh under cold running water to keep them green. Heat 750ml good chicken stock in a saucepan, then whisk in a tablespoon of white miso paste and a small lump of ginger, peeled and shredded. Slice each chicken breast into 6 and place in 2 large, shallow bowls. Add a little chopped mint and coriander