gado gado

This salad is inspired by the street food in Indonesia and this is my take on it. It’s a brilliant combo of crunchy and soft and sweet and sour, in fact I think it tastes pretty mind blowing. But, so it doesn’t end up looking like the contents of the bottom of a dustbin when you plate it up, it’s best to layer it with the sauce at the bottom. You can use other vegetables like cucumber or blanched carrot sticks or blanched cabbage, and fried tofu or tempeh too.
All work well, it’s up to you, it’s really great for using up vegetables in the fridge.

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Georgia O’Keeffe’s potato curry

I went to the Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Tate last year which was great but I am fascinated by her lifestyle more than I am by her paintings. I would love to go to her house Ghost Ranch in Mexico and I pore through the book I have about it. I love her style, aesthetic and of course her kitchen and larder. A few weeks ago some friends took me to an amazing book shop in Piccadilly called Assouline, and there I got a cookbook with her favourite recipes in it called Dinner with Georgia O’Keeffe. It’s a lovely book with great pictures and lots of recipes that she cooked at Ghost Ranch. I feel theres something that brings you closer to people through recipes. You can almost feel them there with you. So I thought I’d share my favourites from that book with you, because it’s evocative of her history and lifestyle. Apparently she kept a stack of cookbooks as bedside reading. A woman after my own heart.

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healthy matchstick fries

Fries are one of the best things in life. And these fries only take about five minutes to fry. They are healthier because they are fried in coconut oil, which doesn’t become toxic at high temperatures. I use mild coconut oil which has no taste or smell, so you get a proper chip flavour. You can use olive oil too and it’s still healthier than damaged fats, it’s really up to you, they will still taste fab. I usually serve mine with Maldon sea salt, but they are also perfect as a snack or with salads and as garnish on top of curries, tartines, in sandwiches or with whatever you fancy. My favourite kind of food.

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the perfect roasted fries

It’s the simple things that are the best and I love fries as much as the next person. No carb free living for me, and I don’t care if I have a muffin top, life’s too short to be eating just ‘clean food’. Food should be delicious, beautiful and sensual and a bit of what you fancy. I eat mostly healthy food which is unprocessed with lots of vegetables, fish and of course cake. I don’t have a microwave and am still mistaken for someone at least fifteen years younger so I must be doing something right.

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gnocchi

Little pillows of gorgeousness, my dad taught us to make these on the kitchen table and these are much nicer than shop bought gnocchi. This recipe is particularly good because you make it with scooped out baked potatoes, so it concentrates the potato flavour. I put them with my sugo recipe with lots of Parmesan and basil and you have a brilliant vegetarian dinner with a salad.

Makes enough for a starter for 6 or a main for 4 people.

recipe

Ingredients:

350g of plain flour (or potato flour which is gluten free)
1kg of large floury potatoes (i.e. Desiree or Maris Piper)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch of nutmeg (optional)
2 small beaten eggs

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baked sea bass

This Rick Stein sea bass recipe has all the great flavours of saffron, peppers with a hint of anchovy. One of my ex boyfriends discovered it and used to cook it for me a lot, because we loved it. So it’s perfect on a date night for a supper for two and even better with a salad. It’s a really easy to make too, so you aren’t too tired for your beloved.

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