The Modern Cook’s Year. Anna Jones

green chilli

      2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

      1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

      1 tablespoon maple syrup

      2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

      1 shallot, peeled and roughly chopped

      Bring a large pot of well-salted water to a boil and cook the noodles according to the packet instructions. When the noodles are nearly cooked, add the edamame to the pot for a quick swim. Remove from the heat, drain, rinse with cold water to stop the cooking and shake off as much water as possible.

      Meanwhile, make your dressing. Put the coconut milk, turmeric, ginger, carrot, chilli, olive oil, sesame oil, maple syrup, brown rice vinegar, shallot and some salt into a blender and blend until very smooth. Taste and adjust, if needed, with more salt or vinegar, or any other ingredient you think might need a little boost.

      Cut the peel from the pomelo and use your knife to slice between the membrane to cut it into segments, removing as much of the pith as you can.

      Transfer the noodles and edamame to a large serving bowl, add a few tablespoons of the dressing and toss well. The noodles really absorb the sauce, so start by adding a couple of tablespoons at a time, then mix and add more if needed as you don’t want to drown them. Finish with the watercress, peanuts, pomelo and coriander and toss everything together gently.

      How to use your dressing

      • Add to grated winter roots with rounds of citrus and some toasted seeds

      • Use it to finish a bowl of simple steamed rice and green veg and top with a few toasted nuts

      • Use it to finish some flash-fried tofu and serve with rice noodles and some greens

      • Toss a packet of feta cheese in a little of the dressing, then roast for 25 minutes until golden and toss through a salad of leaves or grains

      Winter tomatoes with whipped feta

      In the last few years I have been buying my favourite tomatoes of the year in the winter. January, February and March see a few winter tomato varieties make their way to UK shores from Spain and Italy: the salty Ibérico tomato; the pert and pleasingly green-flavoured Marinda and the deeply red, sometimes almost black Camone. They are an entirely different affair from the ripe summer fruits we think of when we talk about tomatoes. For me these have more interesting and individual flavours; you can taste the saltiness of the sea where some of them grow and the green scent of their vines comes through.

      SERVES 2

      50g stale sourdough bread

      800g winter tomatoes (I like the Camone, Marinda and Ibérico varieties)

      1 tablespoon of the best quality extra virgin olive oil you can find, plus a little extra

      ½ tablespoon sherry vinegar

      the zest and juice of 1 unwaxed lemon

      200g feta cheese

      2 tablespoons thick Greek yoghurt

      1 teaspoon nigella seeds

      4 sprigs of marjoram or oregano, leaves picked

      Preheat your oven to 220ºC/200ºC fan/gas 7. Roughly tear the sourdough into pieces and pulse in a food processor until you have rough breadcrumbs. A bit of texture is good here, so try not to go too far, otherwise your crumb will be too fine and sandy.

      Toss the breadcrumbs in a roasting tray with a drizzle of olive oil, a pinch of salt and some black pepper. Place in the centre of the warmed oven for 4–5 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs have turned toasty and golden.

      Meanwhile, cut the tomatoes into slices and wedges, keeping them quite irregular and making the most of the shape of each tomato. Place the lot in a bowl with the tablespoon of olive oil, sherry vinegar, lemon zest and a couple of generous pinches of salt and some black pepper. Leave to one side while you get on with the feta.

      In a food processor, whip the feta and yoghurt together until the cheese is completely smooth and creamy. Taste and add salt if necessary, pepper and some of the lemon juice. Scoop into a bowl and top with the nigella seeds.

      Spoon the tomatoes with their olive oil and vinegar on to plates and dot the whipped feta around the tomatoes to fill in any empty spaces. Sprinkle over the breadcrumbs, scatter over the marjoram and drizzle with a little more oil.

      Cauliflower rice with eggs and green chutney

      I make this because I love it. It’s quick and can be eaten from the bowl. Our weeknight dinners, and even dishes on restaurant menus, have more and more become a collection of elements eaten from a bowl. Often though, when I eat them outside of my kitchen I find they lack a cohesiveness – they need something to bring them together as a whole. That’s where a chutney or pesto comes in.

      Here I use a quick, zippy chutney of green chilli, coriander and mint, with coconut backing them all up. This is my guess at a chutney made by a friend’s mum, a great Gujarati cook, that we enthusiastically pile on everything we eat when we are at their house. I haven’t had the nerve to ask for the recipe, as it seems a proud inherited family one; I hope this does it justice.

      SERVES 4

      FOR THE CHUTNEY

      a large bunch of coriander

      2 green chillies

      a few sprigs of mint

      juice of 1 lime

      50g coconut cream

      ½ teaspoon runny honey

      1 tablespoon groundnut or mild olive oil

      800g–1kg cauliflower

      coconut oil

      6 spring onions, peeled and finely sliced

      a thumb-sized piece of ginger, peeled

      1 teaspoon ground turmeric

      1 head of chard or other winter greens, stalks finely sliced, leaves roughly shredded

      1 lemon

      50g coconut cream

      4 organic eggs

      1 tablespoon nigella seeds

      100g roasted unsalted peanuts, roughly chopped

      First, make your chutney. Put half the coriander (reserving the rest for later) into a food processor with all the other ingredients and blitz until grassy green and smooth, adding a little water as you go if it looks too dry. You are looking for a spoonable consistency, a little thinner than a pesto.

      Take the leaves and gnarly root off your cauliflower and chop it into big pieces, using the stalks too. Put them into the food processor and pulse until you have a rice-like texture. You could also use the coarse side of a box grater.

      Put your largest frying pan on a high heat (if you don’t have a nice big one, two smaller ones will work). Add a large knob of coconut oil along with the spring onions. Cook for 5 minutes, until soft, stirring from time to time.

      Meanwhile, grate the ginger and finely chop the stalks of the remaining coriander, keeping the leaves for later. Once the spring onion is soft, add the ginger and turmeric and cook for a couple of minutes, then season well with salt.

      Turn the heat right up. Add the cauliflower rice and cook, stirring every couple of minutes to make sure all the rice gets a little browned on the bottom of the pan; this will take about 10 minutes.

      Meanwhile, heat another pan on a medium heat and add a teaspoon of coconut oil. Add the shredded greens, a little splash of water, a tiny squeeze of lemon juice and a good pinch of salt. Once the water has evaporated and the greens are wilted, take