Jamie Oliver - A Modern Way to Eat - Over 200 satisfying, everyday vegetarian recipes

Instead of using eggs here you can make these pancakes using the incredibly clever natural binding qualities of chia seeds. What I like best about chia seeds is how they work in baking and sweet things. You can use them in place of eggs in almost all baking, just mix 1 tablespoon of chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water for each egg and leave to soak for a few minutes until you have a gloopy mix. I like the crunch of the chia seeds in my cake but if you want to you could grind them to a powder in your food processor before mixing with the water. This mixture works in all the baking in this book, just don’t try scrambling them!

MAKES 8 WAFFLES

FOR THE CHERRIES

500g pitted cherries, fresh or frozen

2 tablespoons honey

FOR THE BATTER

200g oats

4 tablespoons light brown sugar or coconut sugar (see here)

1 tablespoon baking powder

a pinch of sea salt

2 tablespoons poppy seeds, plus extra to serve

200ml natural yoghurt or coconut milk yoghurt

150ml milk of your choice

3 organic or free-range eggs (or see note on chia)

grated zest of 1 unwaxed lemon

butter or coconut oil, for cooking

TO SERVE

honey

Put the cherries and honey into a saucepan and bring to a gentle simmer, then cook for 10 minutes, until just softened, slightly sticky and deep crimson.

Put your waffle iron on a very low heat to warm up. I cook using a gas hob, which heats the waffle iron quite quickly, but you may need to wait a little longer if you have an electric or induction hob. You could use an electric waffle maker set to medium too.

Whiz the oats in a food processor until you have a fine powder, then put into a bowl with the sugar, baking powder, salt and poppy seeds. In a jug, whisk the yoghurt, milk, eggs and lemon zest. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and beat until you have a smooth, thick batter, then pour into a jug to make it easier to fill your waffle iron.

Turn the heat up a little on your waffle iron. Drop a knob of butter or coconut oil on to the base of it and use a brush to persuade it around the iron squares. Flip the iron and do the same for the other side.

Spoon one ladleful of mixture into one side of your hot iron and close the lid. Leave for 2 minutes to crisp up, then flip for another 3 minutes. The waffles are ready once they’re an even golden brown and come away from the sides easily.

Serve with the warm cherries, a sprinkling of poppy seeds and a spoonful of yoghurt and a drizzle of honey.

Dosa-spiced potato cakes with quick cucumber pickle

The best breakfast I have ever eaten was a masala dosa in Fort Cochin, Kerala. This is how I like to work the deep, fragrant, southern Indian flavours into my day. It’s an anytime dish with big flavour hitters in the shape of curry leaves and black mustard seeds, which give the potato the warm subtle punch that is the deeply clever balance of southern Indian food. This is how I almost always use up my leftover mashed potato. Any root veg mash works well here but I find potato takes on the flavours best.

Mashing avocado with these spices is a revelation – I eat this on toast at least once a week.

If curry leaves aren’t easy to get, you can just leave them out. However, curry leaves are wonderful, and if you haven’t come across them before, try to get your hands on some. They have a curious but delicious flavour, and add depth in a way that is difficult to explain, much like a truffle does. I buy a few packets whenever I see them – a lot of supermarkets stock them these days. Store them in a sandwich bag in the freezer and tumble a few out as you need them. They are addictive and also very good for you. They can be mixed with lime and a pinch of sugar in hot water to aid digestion.

SERVES 4

FOR THE POTATO CAKES

olive or coconut oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

½ teaspoon ground turmeric

10 curry leaves

4 large potatoes, boiled, drained and coarsely mashed, or 4 big spoons of leftover mash

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE AVOCADO

2 ripe avocados, halved and destoned

juice of ½ a lemon

FOR THE QUICK CUCUMBER PICKLE

½ a cucumber, halved and thinly sliced

1 teaspoon coriander seeds, bashed in a pestle and mortar

a pinch of sugar or a squeeze of agave syrup

grated zest and juice of ½ an unwaxed lemon

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

Heat a splash of oil in a frying pan on a medium heat and fry the onion for about 5 minutes, until soft and sweet. Add the mustard seeds and stand back while they pop. Scoop out a heaped tablespoon of the onion mixture and put to one side to cool.

With the pan still on the heat, add the turmeric and curry leaves and fry for another minute or so, then put the whole lot into a bowl to cool slightly.

Add the mashed potato to the onions, then season and mix well. Divide the mixture into 4 portions and shape them into 4 potato cakes. Put them into the fridge to chill while you do a couple of other little jobs.

In another bowl, mash the avocados with the lemon juice (you can use a potato masher here), then stir in the tablespoon of the onion you set aside. Mix, then season well.

To make your pickle, put the sliced cucumber into a bowl and add all the other pickle ingredients. Using your hands, scrunch the cucumber slices to get the flavours going.

Now put your frying pan back on the heat. Take the potato cakes out of the fridge and fry them gently and carefully in a little oil for about 2–3 minutes on each side, until warmed through and crispy brown.

Serve each dosa cake piled with the mustard seed, onion and mashed avocado and with a sprightly spoonful of pickle on the side.

Other ways to use your cucumber pickle:

· Sandwiched inside a veggie burger.

· Next to a bowl of dhal and rice.

· In a bagel with some cream cheese and grated lemon zest.

· In a cheese sandwich.

· Next to any curry.

· To make the best ever cucumber sandwiches.

Wholegrain Sunday brunch

Sometimes a fortifying breakfast or brunch is needed but I have never been on board with heavy, greasy food to start off the day. For me breakfast is the mark of how I want my day to be. I eat this breakfast after a night out or before a day of the same – I guess you could say this is my full English. In autumn and winter, when tomatoes are not at their best, use a few sun-dried tomatoes added at the end instead.

You can make this in the time it takes someone else to go and buy the paper and to brew a decent cup of coffee. I encourage you to try grains rather than toast for breakfast. I find them so much more sustaining than bread and they work perfectly here. If you like, though, a good slice of bread works wonderfully in place of the farro. Sometimes for a really filling brunch I sizzle up a couple of the chestnut bangers heretoo, or pan-fry a couple of slices of tofu, in place of the egg.

Sage is not perhaps the most obvious choice for a breakfast herb but it works brilliantly here. I love sage – the word, the taste, the bolstering flavour it brings – there is something ancient about it that I adore. In fact it’s a member of the mint family and you can taste the relationship. I love to fry sage leaves in hot oil till perfectly crisp and sprinkle them on fried eggs or roasted squash.

SERVES 2, THOUGH THIS CAN BE EASILY SCALED UP FOR A BIG FRIENDLY BRUNCH

¼ of a butternut squash or similar, deseeded and cut into 1cm slices

2 big field mushrooms

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper