Elly Pear’s Let’s Eat: Simple, Delicious Food for Everyone, Every Day. Elly Curshen

full recipes that incorporate the base recipe as a main element. The idea is that you can make big batches of the base but avoid eating the same thing over and over again. The bases are all ‘wet’ things that freeze well and then defrost and reheat quickly and easily. Some of the ways to use them are casual and perhaps best suited to a weeknight dinner or a speedy lunch when you’re just cooking for yourself. Others are smarter and would certainly be up to scratch if you have guests. They’re all simple, easy and nothing takes very long. You’ve invested the time in batch-cooking the base, so the ‘serving suggestions’ are designed to be quick and stress-free.

      If you’ve got a big enough pot and enough freezer space, you can, of course, double or even triple these recipes. Just don’t forget to alter your cooking times accordingly.

      So, equip yourself with plenty of plastic tubs and a permanent marker to label everything, stick the radio on, grab a drink and let’s cook!

Lentil, tomato and coconut dhal

       As a soup with roasted peppers and toasted cashews

       With a 6-minute egg and toasted breadcrumbs

       With wilted greens, lemon and yoghurt

       With seared tofu, avocado, pickles and seeds

Lentil, tomato and coconut dhal

      Learn how to make a dhal (a lentil-based curry) and you are opening up a whole world of nutritious, delicious, cheap meals. It is quick to make, so you can whip this up from scratch after work even if you’ve not had time to batch-cook in advance. All the warming spices make this ‘spiced’ (think fragrant and aromatic) not ‘spicy’ (think chilli heat). Add extra chilli flakes if you like it hot.

      I’ve used whole tinned plum tomatoes in this one, to add a nice contrast in texture. You can use a ready-made garam masala spice blend or make your own. Either way, make sure your spices are fresh and not from an open packet, shoved in the back of your cupboard, six years out-of-date. Mentioning no names.

      Makes 6 portions (approx. 460g each)

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      4 tbsp oil (vegetable, sunflower, olive or coconut) or ghee

      2 medium onions, peeled and finely diced

      5cm piece of root ginger (approx. 30g), peeled and grated or finely chopped

      3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated or finely chopped

      3 tsp vegetable bouillon powder

      2 tbsp garam masala (make your own, see here, or buy)

      1–2 tsp chilli flakes, to taste

      2 tbsp black mustard seeds

      500g red lentils, rinsed

      2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes

      1 x 400g tin coconut milk

      flaked sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Garam masala

      2 tsp coriander seeds

      2 tsp cumin seeds

      1 cinnamon stick

      4 cloves

      ½ tsp black peppercorns

      4 cardamom pods

      2 star anise

      2 bay leaves

      Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium-low heat, add the onion, ginger, garlic and a big pinch of flaked sea salt and cook for 10 minutes until softened but not coloured, stirring occasionally.

      Meanwhile, if you’re making your own garam masala, toast the ingredients in a dry pan over a low heat for 1–2 minutes until smelling fantastic, keeping the spices moving. Tip into a pestle and mortar or spice grinder and grind to a fine powder.

      Dissolve the bouillon powder in 1 litre of boiling water for the stock. Add the garam masala, chilli flakes and mustard seeds to the onion mixture in the saucepan, stir thoroughly, then add the lentils. Give everything a good mix. Add the tomatoes and the stock and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to low and cook for 20–25 minutes until the lentils are tender and retain no bite, stirring frequently and deeply so the lentils don’t stick and crushing the tomatoes a bit as you go. Add the coconut milk, remove from the heat and season to taste with flaked sea salt and pepper.

      To freeze

      Divide the dhal evenly between 6 sealable containers or freezer bags and leave to cool completely at room temperature. Label each portion with the recipe name and date made, then place in the freezer and use within 3 months. Defrost in the fridge (it will take approximately 8 hours to defrost), then gently reheat in a saucepan over a medium-low heat until piping hot.

      To chill

      The dhal will be fine for 3 days in the fridge. Keep it covered and when you are ready to reheat, gently simmer in a saucepan over a medium-low heat until piping hot. Adding a squeeze of lemon before you plate it up is a nice idea too.

Lentil, tomato and coconut dhal

       As a soup with roasted peppers and toasted cashews

      Two portions of dhal turn into six portions of soup, with the simple addition of a jar of roasted red peppers and some stock. You could swap the cashews for any other toasted nuts or seeds, but I think the creamy cashews work particularly well with the spiced soup.

      Serves 6

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      2 portions of Lentil, Tomato and Coconut Dhal

      1 x 450g jar roasted red peppers, drained and roughly chopped, (350g drained weight)

      1 tsp vegetable bouillon powder

      1 small handful of cashew nuts

      2 naan breads, to serve (optional)

      Tip the dhal into a large saucepan, add the chopped roasted peppers and place over a medium heat. Add the bouillon powder and 400ml boiling water and bring to a simmer.

      Meanwhile, toast the cashews in a dry pan over a medium heat for 1–2 minutes until golden brown, shaking the pan often. Remove from the heat and roughly chop.

      Remove the dhal from the heat and blitz with a hand-held or stand blender until smooth.

      Pour into bowls and top with the toasted cashews. Serve with the naan breads (if using).

Lentil, tomato and coconut dhal

       With a 6-minute egg and toasted breadcrumbs

      The dhal heats up in exactly the same time as the egg takes to cook. It’s like the universe wanted them to be together in the bowl. The silky egg yolk and the creamy dhal are shouting out for some crunchy texture, however, and these toasted breadcrumbs are exactly what you need. I rarely cook with coconut oil but I think it works really well here. The nutty toasted crumbs on top of the egg and dhal is a frugal, simple, delicious and quick supper. Pretty perfect.