Anna Jones - A Modern Way to Eat

Eat these with anything you can dip them into. In my house most often it’s this smoky salsa but mashed avocado, hummus and spice-spiked yoghurt are also really good. Try the Indian mashed avo herewith chips made from chapattis and spiced with coriander and some lemon zest, for another brilliant combination.

MAKES A BIG BOWLFUL

8 tortillas, wraps, flatbreads or chapattis

olive oil

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

sea salt

FOR THE SALSA

4 spring onions

1 red chilli, pricked with a knife

20 cherry tomatoes or 8 big tomatoes

a small bunch of fresh coriander

olive oil

juice of 1 lime

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C/gas 6.

Get a griddle pan on a very hot heat. Once it’s smoking hot, put the spring onions, chilli and tomatoes on the griddle and leave to char on each side. Remove the onions once they are black, then the chilli and finally the tomatoes. This will take 5 minutes or so. Transfer to a bowl to cool.

Once cool enough to handle, tip the whole lot on to a board. Use a big knife to chop everything together until you have a chunky salsa consistency, discarding the green top of the chilli as you go. When the salsa is nearly there, add the coriander and chop it into the mixture.

Put the mixture into a bowl with a good glug of olive oil, the lime juice and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Taste, balancing the flavours with more lime, salt or oil if needed.

Cut each tortilla, wrap, flatbread or chapatti into 8 triangles and scatter them over a couple of baking trays. You don’t want them to be too crowded or they won’t crisp up.

Drizzle them with oil and sprinkle over the smoked paprika and a good pinch of sea salt.

Bake for 10 minutes, until crisped and delicious. Serve piled high in bowls with the salsa.

Other ways to use your salsa:

· To top quesadillas (see here).

· To sandwich in a cheese toastie.

· To top a baked sweet potato.

· To dip potato wedges into.

· Next to a poached or fried egg for breakfast.

· To top some avocado on toast.

Spiced salt caramel popcorn

Salt-sweet caramel-coated popcorn – serve it in big bowls or in cinema-style paper containers for a proper movie night. And make lots – it goes quickly.

I love cinnamon – it’s such a comforting spice. Half a teaspoon of powdered cinnamon a day mixed into tea or hot water can help with digestion problems. Be careful to buy real or Ceylon cinnamon and not cassia. Cassia is the outer bark of the cinnamon tree – it’s darker and comes in a stick-like curl of bark. It has a punchy medicinal aroma and is used widely in America. Real cinnamon is sweeter and more calming – the sticks are lighter in colour and crumble very easily. If you buy from a good wholefood store or spice shop you should know what you are getting.

SERVES 10

a splash of vegetable oil

400g popping corn

200g unrefined light brown sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

a pinch of sea salt

½ a nutmeg, freshly grated

grated zest of 1 unwaxed orange

First get your popcorn popping. Heat a very large pan (make sure it’s one with a lid) on a medium heat and add a splash of oil. If you don’t have a very large pan, two smaller ones will do. Once it’s hot, add the popcorn kernels, put on the lid and turn the heat down to low. Give it a good shake every 30 seconds or so to move the kernels around and stop them burning. It will be a while before the popping starts. But when it does, it will come thick and fast, so don’t be tempted to lift the lid.

While your corn is popping you can get on with your caramel. Put the sugar into a pan with 100ml of water, place on a medium heat and bring to a simmer, being careful not to touch it. Keep it bubbling until the water has reduced and you have a deep caramel. Don’t be tempted to stir or you will end up with a crystallised caramel.

Once your popcorn has finished popping, remove it from the heat and pour it into a deep baking tray. Very carefully pour over your caramel, using a metal spoon to mix it through the popcorn – do not touch the popcorn with your hands, as the caramel will be very hot. Sprinkle over the cinnamon and salt, grate over the nutmeg and orange zest, and mix again with a spoon. Allow the caramel to cool completely before eating.

Caper, herb and soft-boiled egg sandwich

I never used to like egg sandwiches – I always veered away from them. My boyfriend John loves them, so one day I set out to make the best one he’d ever eaten. The kickback was I liked it too. Soft, just-set yolks, plenty of character from an almost tartare-style dressing and a bit of zip from some snipped green herbs. This is quick fresh food at its best. Freshly made straight on to the plate, the only way to eat egg sandwiches to my mind.

I find yoghurt really useful in the kitchen – it makes its way into baking cakes, batters, breads. I use good organic Greek yoghurt in place of mayonnaise and in more indulgent desserts, and a natural one for breakfasts and toppings. For me it’s important to vary my diet so as not to become reliant on one thing too much, so I also keep coconut milk yoghurt on hand for days when I’m feeling like changing things up a little.

MAKES 4 SANDWICHES

6 organic or free-range eggs

6 cornichons or 2 large gherkins, chopped up small

2 tablespoons little capers in brine, or big ones chopped up

2 tablespoons Greek yoghurt

1 teaspoon good Dijon mustard

grated zest and juice of ½ an unwaxed lemon

a few sprigs of fresh dill, chopped

a few sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped

optional: 1 stick of celery, chopped up small

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

8 slices of good bread (I like seeded stuff)

First put the eggs into a pan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Once the water is boiling, set the timer for 6 minutes (you may need a touch longer for large eggs).

Once the eggs have had 6 minutes, drain them and put them under running cold water until they have cooled a little. Then leave them in a bowl of cold water until they are cool enough to peel.

Put the rest of the ingredients apart from the bread into a bowl and mix together. Once the eggs are cool, peel and roughly chop them and add them to the bowl. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding more salt, pepper or lemon as needed. If your bread is super-fresh there’s no need to toast it, but if it’s a little firm, pop it into the toaster. Pile the eggs on to 4 of the pieces of toast and top with the other 4 pieces.

I sometimes add a handful of seasonal salad leaves too – pea shoots, watercress and rocket all work well.

Killer smoked tofu club sandwich

John thinks this might be the best thing I have ever made. It’s basically an assembly job, putting a few good things between two slices of bread, as a sandwich should be.

MAKES 2 HEALTHY SANDWICHES

100g smoked tofu, cut into 6 slices

1 tablespoon chipotle paste

1 tablespoon mayonnaise or vegan mayonnaise

juice of ½ a lime

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

4 slices of good bread (I use sourdough or a seeded bread)

½ an avocado, roughly mashed

1 little gem lettuce, shredded

8 sun-blushed tomatoes

Heat a non-stick frying pan on a medium heat, then add the tofu slices and warm them on both sides.

Put the chipotle paste, mayonnaise and lime juice into a bowl, season with a little salt and pepper if needed, and mix well.

Toast your bread, and get everything on your board ready to assemble your sandwich.