VEGETABLES THAT ARE GREEN RECIPES

Steps:

• 1. I think it’s quite nice to have different shapes and sizes in a salad, so cut your medium tomato into wedges, halve the cherry tomatoes and slice the beef tomato into large rounds. Put all the tomatoes into a large salad bowl. Slice the onion very finely so it’s wafer thin and add to the tomatoes. Scratch a fork down the sides of the cucumber so it leaves deep grooves in the skin, then cut it into thick slices. Deseed your pepper, slice it into rings and add them to the salad along with the cucumber.
  2. Roughly chop the dill and most of the mint leaves, reserving the smaller ones for garnish. Add the chopped herbs to the bowl of salad, then squeeze your handful of olives over so they season the vegetables, then drop them in.
  3. Add a pinch of sea salt, the vinegar and the extra virgin olive oil. Quickly toss everything together with your hands. The minute all those flavours start working with the veg is when the magic starts to happen. Have a taste, and adjust the flavours if need be.
  4. To serve, pop the block of feta right on the top of the salad. Sprinkle the oregano over the top along with the reserved mint leaves, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil and take it straight to the table. It’s confident and scruffy with a bit of attitude. Delicious.
  5. PS I’ve been known to pop leftover Greek salad into a liquidizer with a splash of extra virgin olive oil and a few ice cubes, then blitz it up to a smooth consistency so it's basically a Greek gazpacho. It’s not a classic thing to do, but it is very delicious, not to mention a great way of using up leftovers!

Steps:

• 1. Peel, halve and roughly chop the onion. Finely slice the chilli, then peel and finely slice the ginger and garlic. Pick the coriander leaves, finely chopping the stalks. Halve, deseed and roughly chop the peppers.
  2. Click off and discard the green leaves from the cauliflower, then break the cauliflower into florets and roughly chop the stem. Quarter the fresh tomatoes.
  3. Carefully halve the butternut squash, then scoop out the seeds with a spoon and discard. Slice into 2.5cm wedges, leaving the peel on but removing any thick skin, then roughly chop into smaller pieces. Drain the chickpeas.
  4. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil and the butter in a large casserole pan on a medium-high heat, add the onions, chilli, ginger, garlic and coriander stalks and cook for 10 minutes, or until softened and golden.
  5. Add the peppers, butternut squash, chickpeas and jalfrezi curry paste, then stir well to coat.
  6. Add the cauliflower, the fresh and tinned tomatoes, breaking the plum tomatoes up with the back of a spoon. Add the vinegar and 1 tin's worth of water, and stir again.
  7. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and simmer for 45 minutes with the lid on. Check the curry after 30 minutes and, if it still looks too liquidy, remove the lid for the rest of the cooking time.
  8. When the veg is tender, taste and season to perfection with sea salt, black pepper, and a squeeze of lemon juice.
  9. Delicious served with poppadoms or fluffy rice and with a few dollops of natural yoghurt, a sprinkle of coriander leaves and a few lemon wedges for squeezing over.