Make your healthy eating goals easier to stick to with these deliciously simple plant-based recipes from the king of flavour, Nigel Slater.
Crisp & crunchy cabbage salad
SERVES 4
The perfect salad for a winter’s day.
A red onion
50ml of malt vinegar
75ml of cider vinegar
1tbsp yellow mustard seeds
450g red cabbage
250g carrots
A pear
A handful or two of smoked almonds
150ml soured cream
4tbsp pickling liquor from the onion
1tbsp Dijon mustard
1tbsp grain mustard
1tbsp poppy seeds
- Peel the onion and finely slice into rings.
- Warm the vinegars, 120ml of water and the mustard seeds in a small saucepan, add half a teaspoon of salt and the onion.
- Bring to the boil, then remove from the heat, cover and leave for 25 minutes.
- Finely shred the red cabbage.
- Peel the carrots, then slice them into long shavings with a vegetable peeler.
- Halve, core and slice the pear. Toss the cabbage, carrots and pear with a little of the onion pickling liquid.
- Make the dressing: lightly beat the soured cream, onion pickling liquor, mustard and poppy seeds.
- Fold the dressing into the shredded cabbage, carrots and pear.
- Finally, add the smoked almonds and the pickled onions, drained of their remaining pickling liquor.
Spicy frittata with greens
SERVES 2
A soft pillow of egg. A tangle of vegetables.
200g edamame beans, podded
8 spring onions
200g pak choi
3 cloves of garlic
2 large green chillies
4tbsp groundnut oil
200g bean sprouts
6 eggs
2tbsp nigella seeds
A handful of coriander
- Bring a pan of water to the boil, add the edamame and boil until tender — about eight minutes. Drain and refresh in a bowl of iced water.
- Finely chop the spring onions, discarding the roots and any tough dark green leaves. Shred the pak choi.
- Peel and thinly slice the garlic. Finely slice the chillies.
- Warm half the groundnut oil in a large, shallow pan, fry the spring onions, garlic and chillies until soft, then add the shredded pak choi and lastly the bean sprouts, tossing them in the hot oil and cooking for three or four minutes until softened.
- Break the eggs into a bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Add the cooked and drained edamame, the fried vegetables and aromatics.
- Season with a little sea salt and black pepper and fold in the nigella seeds and coriander.
- Warm the remaining oil in the large metal-handled frying pan, pour in the omelette mixture and fry over a moderate heat for about eight minutes, until the edges have set and the middle is still almost liquid.
- Heat the oven grill. Place the frying pan under the grill and continue cooking for two or three minutes until the centre of the omelette is lightly set. (Ideally, it should be a little baveuse, verging on the point of setting.) Cut in half and serve.
- To the basic mixture you can add pretty much any vegetable you have to hand, from fried mushrooms to steamed shredded cabbage. The cooking time is brief, so most vegetables will have to be lightly cooked first.
- Brassicas such as long-stemmed sprouting broccoli work very well, as do any late autumn beans. I especially like steamed mustard greens.
Damson and almond crumble
SERVES 4-6
A deliciously crumbly and fruity dessert that the whole family will love.
750g damsons
2tbsp caster sugar
90g butter
75g plain flour
75g ground almonds
40g caster sugar
Sunflower seeds
3tbsp cream, to serve
- Set the oven at 180°C/Gas 4. Wash the damsons, then put them, still wet, into a baking dish approximately 20 x 22cm.
- Sprinkle them lightly with the two tablespoons of sugar.
- Cut the butter into small cubes, then rub into the flour and ground almonds with your fingertips, until it resembles fine crumbs.
- Alternatively, do this using the food processor, in which case it will be done in seconds.
- Stir in the 40g of caster sugar and the sunflower seeds.
- Shake a few drops of water over the crumble, then shake the bowl so some of the crumbs stick together in larger pieces. You get a more interesting crust that way.
- Pile the crust on top of the damsons and bake for about 30 minutes until the fruit is bubbling around the edge of the crust. Serve with cream.
Find all of our festive and plant-based recipes in the Platinum food & drink pages – from delicious desserts and savoury meals, to kids’ treats and unique bakes, we have it all.
