[dropcap style=”font-size: 60px; color: #9b9b9b;”] I[/dropcap]f you’ve been reading Stonesoup for any length of time, you’ll know that I’m a big believer in the power of simplicity in all areas of life. But especially in the kitchen.
And over Christmas I was reminded of just how complicated most published recipes are.
For our Christmas feast I decided to make a couple of salads from Yotam Ottolenghi‘s latest book, Plenty More.
I’m a huge fan of his books and if you’re looking for new ways to cook vegetables, I recommend having a look at Plenty More.
As with many chefs, the recipes I chose were super delicious. But when I was buying and preparing all the ingredients, I couldn’t help thinking that a bit of simplifying would make my life so much easier and I’m sure still totally tasty.
Anyway it got me thinking that while I did write recently about how simplifying my life has had such a positive impact, it’s been a while since we had a post focusing on simplicity in the kitchen. So at the risk of giving away all my secrets, here goes…
What is the easiest way to simplify recipes?
Easy. Remove any duplicate ingredients.
What do I mean by that?
I look at the ingredients which have similar form or function and then choose just one of each and replace the others with extra of my chosen ingredient.
It’s a bit tricky to explain in abstract terms so I have a real example of an Ottolenghi recipe I simplified for a lovely lunch over the holidays…
An example – Japanese Broccoli
Ottolenghi Ingredients List – 11 items
300g purple sprouting broccoli, broccolini or broccoli
120g French beans
180g mange tout (snow peas)
1 tablespoon ground nut oil
20g coriander (cilantro) leaves
2.5 tablespoons black and white sesame seeds, toasted
50g tahini
1 small clove garlic
1/2 teaspoon tamari soy sauce
1/2 tablespoon honey
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
Stonesoup Ingredients List – 5 items
2 bunches broccolini or 2 small heads broccoli
3 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons honey
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
So what have I done?
1. The green veg are pretty much performing the same role, providing the bulk of the meal. So it’s easy to just increase the broccoli to replace the others.
2. The groundnut oil is tossed onto the cooked veg as an extra dressing. I just skipped this whole step. One dressing is enough for me.
3. The sesame seeds and coriander are acting as a garnish to make the dish look pretty and to add different flavours and textures. I chose to use just sesame seeds but could have easily gone the other way if I had coriander in the house.
4. Skipped the garlic in the dressing because I think there’s enough interesting flavours with the tahini, honey and vinegar.
From 11 ingredients down to 5. Easy.
(see below for the complete (simplified) recipe.)
Want to learn more?
If you’re interested in learning how to simplify not just recipes, but the whole of your life, then I recommend checking out A Simple Year.
It’s a 12 month program which focuses on simplifying different areas of your life each month. If you join us I’ll show you even more ways to simplify not only recipes but your kitchen and your approach to healthy eating.
For more details, go to:
www.simpleyear.co
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Super Yum Japanese Broccoli
The Ottolenghi version of this recipe is titled Broccoli with Sweet Tahini, but I think that name doesn’t do it justice. If you can get your hands on purple sprouting broccoli, by all means go for it!
enough for 2
2 bunches broccolini or 2 small heads broccoli, trimmed to bite sized pieces
3 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons honey
1-2 tablespoons sesame seeds
1. Bring 2cm (1in) salted water to the boil in a medium pot. Add broccoli and cook with lid on for 4 minutes or until no longer really crunchy.
2. Combine tahini, vinegar, honey & 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl. season with salt.
3. When the broccoli is cooked, drain and allow to cool down in your strainer for a few minutes.
4. To serve divide broccoli between two plates and drizzle over dressing. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using).
Variations
more veg – feel free to add in snow peas and green beans. Ottolenghi boils them separately but I’d add the beans at the same time as the broccoli and pop the snow peas in at the last minute. Frozen peas, spinach or sugar snap peas would also be lovely. I’m also thinking the sauce would be lovely with kale in the winter.
no tahini – use other nut butter such as almond, cashew or peanut butter. Or try sun butter (from sunflower seeds). Or grind your own nuts in a high powered blender. Commercial hummus could be substituted as the whole dressing.
sugar-free – just skip the honey and go for a more savoury sauce. I’ve recently got back into using a little honey after being pleasantly surprised when researching this article for The Yellow Bench.
carnivore – serve as a side to roast or grilled fish or chicken.
more substantial – serve with steamed white or brown rice or cooked quinoa.
different vinegar – sherry vinegar would be my next choice or white wine vinegar. Or use lemon juice.
herby – serve with coriander or mint leaves.
summery – Ottolenghi cools his veg and serves the salad cold, I prefer it at room temp but it’s up to you!
Have fun in the kitchen!
With love,
Jules x
ps. This is the 6th and final year we’ll be running ‘A Simple Year’.
It’s something I’m really proud to be a part of not only sharing my expertise but also learning from the other contributors.
I love how there’s a different focus each month to keep me on track without feeling overwhelmed.
To find out more:
Click Here
NOTE: The ‘early bird’ discount (Save $100) ends November 14th 2018.
Tags: simplicity
