Super Natural Every Day (12 page)

In a large bowl, toss the yellow split peas and remaining pepitas with two-thirds of the pesto. Keep tossing until everything is coated. Add the salad greens and gently toss again. Taste and add more pesto, if needed. You’ll have a bit of extra pesto, which can be used to refresh any leftovers.

SERVES 4–6

Panzanella

GRILLED TOFU, SUNFLOWER SPROUTS, PEANUT BUTTER,
OVEN-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES

A few hours north of San Francisco, on the Californian coast near Anchor Bay (not far from some of the places you see photographed in this book), I had a sandwich on a modest café patio. The sandwich was a quirky mix of ovenroasted cherry tomatoes, peanut butter dressing, grilled tofu, and sprouts, all pinned between two slices of wholegrain bread. It was odd but completely delicious. I liked it enough to rework it into this twist on panzanella, the much-loved Italian bread salad.

Two thick slices artisan wholegrain or wholemeal bread (about 170 g total)

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for the tofu

Fine sea salt

340 g block extra-firm tofu, sliced into 4 slabs

70 g creamy peanut butter

2 tablespoons brown rice vinegar

1 garlic clove, chopped

¼ teaspoon toasted sesame oil

¼ teaspoon chilli flakes, plus more if needed

80–120 ml hot water

85 g sunflower sprouts or other sprouts

85 g
oven-roasted tomatoes

Brush the bread slices on both sides with the olive oil, sprinkle with salt, and toast in a chargrill pan over medium–high heat until each side is golden, crunchy, and has grill marks. Tear the bread into bite-sized chunks and set aside.

Brush the tofu with olive oil and place in the chargrill pan. Cook until the tofu is golden on the base with nice grill marks, about 7 minutes (rotate the tofu 90 degrees halfway through the grilling of each side to get crisscross marks). Flip, cook the other sides, brush the sides facing up with more olive oil, and cook until the base is golden as well, another 5 minutes or so. Remove from the pan, cut into 1 cm pieces, and place in a large bowl.

Make the peanut dressing by combining the peanut butter, vinegar, garlic, sesame oil, chilli flakes, and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl. Thin with the hot water; the amount you’ll need depends on the consistency of your peanut butter. I like the dressing to be the consistency of melted ice cream. Taste and make any adjustments if needed—more salt, more chilli flakes, and so on.

Just before serving, pour a generous amount of the dressing over the tofu, and toss it gently, but well. It should look quite overdressed at this point. Add the bread and gently toss again. Turn out onto a platter and top with the sprouts and then the tomatoes. Serve at room temperature.

SERVES 4–6

Kale Salad

TOASTED COCONUT, SESAME OIL

I take minimal credit for this unlikely combination of ingredients. One afternoon I asked a farmer at my neighbourhood market what he liked to do with the beautiful looking kale he was selling. He convincingly rattled off something close to this, and I now find myself making it regularly. Here’s what I’ve learned. You can use whatever type of kale you like. To make a more substantial meal of the salad, stir the finished baked kale into a couple cups of cooked farro, wild rice, or quinoa—whatever you have on hand, really. It’s also great alongside a bit of grilled tofu or over a bowl of soba noodles. If you can only find shredded coconut (it’s more common), reduce the amount to 45 g.

80 ml extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil

2 tablespoons shoyu, tamari, or soy sauce

100 g kale, stems trimmed, large ribs removed, and leaves chopped

85 g flaked coconut

255 g cooked farro or other wholegrain (optional)

Preheat the oven to 180°C (Gas Mark 4) with two racks in the top third of the oven.

In a small bowl or jar, whisk or shake together the olive oil, sesame oil, and shoyu. Put the kale and coconut in a large bowl and toss well with about two-thirds of the olive oil mixture.

Spread the kale mixture evenly across two baking trays. Bake for 12–18 minutes, until the coconut is deeply golden brown, tossing once or twice along the way. If the kale mixture on the top baking tray begins to get too browned, move it to the lower rack.

Remove from the oven and transfer the kale mixture to a medium bowl. Taste. If you feel it needs a bit more dressing, add some and toss. Place the farro on a serving platter and top with the tossed kale mixture. Serve warm.

SERVES 4

Mixed Green Salad

STRAWBERRIES, PARMESAN, BLACK PEPPER, BALSAMIC VINEGAR

	Make this simple salad when strawberries are at their peak of sweetness, although keep in mind that strawberries can be deceptive. Some of the most stunning ruby-red berries I’ve tasted have been quite tart.
Sample a berry or two before buying. And when strawberry season is over, it’s worth keeping your eyes open for dried strawberries. A generous handful, chopped, works nicely in place of the fresh berries.
You can run a vegetable peeler along the length of a wedge of parmesan to make nice curls of cheese, or, if you live somewhere where you can get good local goat’s cheese, replace the parmesan with crumbled, soft goat’s cheese. Its tangy, chalky creaminess goes perfectly alongside the berries and balsamic vinegar.

1 shallot (eschalot), finely chopped

¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Scant ½ teaspoon fine sea salt

60 ml balsamic vinegar, preferably aged

60 ml extra-virgin olive oil

5 handfuls mixed salad greens

30 g flaked or slivered almonds, toasted (see
Wholegrain Breadcrumbs
)

12 small–medium perfect strawberries, hulled and sliced pencil-thick

15 g shaved parmesan cheese

Whisk together the shallot, pepper, salt, and balsamic vinegar in a small bowl and set aside for 5–10 minutes. Whisk in the oil, a bit at a time, until the dressing comes together.

Just before serving, combine most of the dressing with the salad greens in a large salad bowl. Toss gently but thoroughly; you want to be sure all the lettuce is coated. Add the almonds, strawberries, and parmesan and gently toss once or twice more, just enough to coat a bit and distribute equally throughout the bowl.

SERVES 4

Black Bean Salad

OVEN-ROASTED CHERRY TOMATOES, ALMONDS, LEMON ZEST, FETA CHEESE

This late-summer bowl of creamy fleshed black beans, crumbled feta cheese, tangy-sweet oven-roasted cherry tomatoes, crunchy seeds, and lemon zest is perfect for picnics. It’s also worth noting that you can prepare all of the components a day or two ahead of time. If you don’t have the time or inclination to oven-roast the tomatoes, you can use oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes. Use about 60 g along with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, and chop them into rough pieces.

Because there aren’t more than a handful of ingredients here, it’s best to cook the black beans from scratch. You can certainly substitute tinned beans, and the results will still be delicious, but if at all possible, source some good dried beans and take it from there. For a real treat, you might also substitute freshly cooked beans when those are in season.

625 g cooked black beans (see
A Simple Pot of Beans
), or 2 x 425 g tins black beans, rinsed and drained

125 g
oven-roasted tomatoes
, with olive-oil sludge

100 g pepitas and/or almonds, toasted (see
Wholegrain Breadcrumbs
)

Fine sea salt Grated zest of

1 small lemon

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more if needed Extra-virgin olive oil, if needed

45 g crumbled feta cheese

In a large bowl, toss the beans with most of the tomatoes (and their olive oil), pepitas, ¼ teaspoon salt, the lemon zest, and lemon juice. Taste. If you think the salad needs a bit more salt, lemon juice, or extravirgin olive oil, go ahead and add some, a little at a time. Finish the beans by sprinkling them with the remaining tomatoes and feta. Serve at room temperature.