Nigel Slater - Greenfeast

dill 15g

parsley 10g

king oyster mushrooms 400g

olive oil 4 tablespoons

butter 30g

garlic 4 cloves

Warm the cream and drained chickpeas in a medium-sized saucepan for five minutes over a moderate heat. Tip them into a blender or food processor with the coriander, dill and parsley and process to a thick cream. Transfer back to the saucepan and season.

Slice the mushrooms into 1cm-thick pieces. Warm the olive oil and butter in a shallow pan, add the slices of mushroom and cook till golden on both sides. You may need to add a little more oil. As each mushroom browns, remove to a plate or piece of kitchen paper.

Peel and thinly slice the garlic, cook briefly in the pan until it turns gold, then return all the mushrooms to the pan. Warm the hummus, spoon onto plates, then add the sizzling mushrooms and garlic.

• Mushrooms, fried with butter and garlic, are just one possibility here; the soft, herb-speckled purée lends itself to sitting under deep-fried artichokes or roast parsnips, baked tomatoes or wedges of baked cabbage.

• Such purées can be made and kept in a small bowl overnight in the fridge, their surface splashed with olive oil and tightly covered. Stored like this, their texture will thicken and they can be spread on slices of hot toast for a quick bite to eat when you arrive home, hungry.

Warm, soft, parsley-freckled drop scones. (Picture overleaf.)

parsley leaves 15g

self-raising flour 180g

baking powder 1 teaspoon

a large egg

milk 220ml

Parmesan, grated 5 heaped tablespoons

butter a little

Roughly chop the parsley leaves. Put the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the baking powder and combine. (You can sieve the two together if you wish.) Break the egg into a bowl and beat lightly with a fork to combine white and yolk, mix in the milk, then stir into the flour.

Add the grated Parmesan and chopped parsley to the batter. Melt the butter in a small saucepan, then remove from the heat. In a medium, non-stick or well-used frying pan, pour a couple of tablespoons of the melted butter and let it warm over a moderate heat. Pour in a sixth of the batter, making a round approximately the size of a digestive biscuit. Repeat with two more, then let them cook for four or five minutes, checking the underside regularly for colour.

When they are puffed and golden, use a palette knife to carefully turn each one over. Leave for a further three or four minutes, then lift out and keep warm. A sound test for doneness is to touch the centre of each scone with your finger. It should feel lightly springy. Continue with the remaining batter. Serve with the pumpkin hash overleaf.

• The drop scones can be flavoured with chopped thyme or rosemary, basil or tarragon. In which case I would serve them with grilled tomatoes, lightly crushed with a fork, or chopped spinach softened with a little cream.

Sweet and sticky squash.

pumpkin or butternut squash 700g

onions, medium 2

butter 30g

olive oil 2 tablespoons

rosemary 3 sprigs

Peel the pumpkin and cut the flesh into cubes roughly 3 x 3cm. Peel and roughly chop the onions. Warm the butter and olive oil in a large, shallow pan, add the pumpkin and onions and let them cook, with a regular stir, for about ten minutes. Finely chop the rosemary leaves, discarding the stalks, add to the pan with a little sea salt and coarsely ground black pepper, then cover with a lid and leave to cook over a low to moderate heat for about fifteen minutes.

Check the onion and pumpkin occasionally to make sure they aren’t browning too much. They are done when soft and easily crushed between your fingers. Serve with the drop scones on the previous page.

• As well as a side dish for the drop scones this can be used as the stuffing for an omelette or frittata, or served as a vegetable dish piled onto steamed rice.

• Use the recipe above with courgettes instead of pumpkin.

A joyful tangle of noodles and greens.

a red chilli, medium

a green chilli, medium

a bunch of coriander 25g

garlic 1 clove

ginger a 15g piece

rainbow chard 100g

eggs 3

groundnut oil 5 tablespoons

fresh udon noodles

soy sauce to taste

sesame oil a dash

Thinly slice the chillies. Cut the coriander stems into small pieces the length of a matchstick and reserve the leaves. Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Peel the ginger, then cut into skinny matchsticks. Remove the leaves from the chard and roughly shred them, then chop the stems into short pieces.

Break the eggs into a small bowl and beat them. Warm half the oil in a large, shallow pan over a moderate heat, pour in the beaten egg and leave to set, checking the underside after a minute or two. When the omelette is golden, flip over and let the other side cook for a minute or two, then remove from the pan and tear the omelette into small pieces.

Wipe the pan clean with kitchen paper, add the remaining oil and let it sizzle. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies to the pan and fry till golden and fragrant. Add the coriander and chard stems and continue cooking for two minutes, then add the soft noodles and toss everything together.

Add in the soy sauce and a little sesame oil, add the chard and coriander leaves and the torn omelette, and continue cooking for a minute till all is hot and sizzling.

A gossamer-thin, crisp crust. Trembling tofu. A salty citrus dressing.

soft tofu 340g

ponzu sauce 4 tablespoons

sesame oil 3 teaspoons

rice vinegar 3 tablespoons

spring onion 1

radishes 4

coriander leaves a handful

cornflour or potato flour 6 tablespoons

ginger a thumb-sized lump

oil, for deep frying

Drain the tofu on kitchen paper. Mix together the ponzu, sesame oil and rice vinegar. Trim and finely chop the spring onion, then thinly slice the radish and add both to the dressing together with the coriander leaves.

Put the cornflour or potato flour into a shallow bowl or deep plate. Cut the tofu into six large cubes. Finely grate the ginger to a purée.

Warm the oil to 180°C in a deep pan. Gently toss the cubes of tofu in the flour, then lower into the oil and fry for three or four minutes till light gold in colour. Divide the dressing between two deep bowls, lift the tofu from the oil with a draining spoon, then lower three pieces into each bowl, top with the puréed ginger and eat while the tofu is still hot and crisp.

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