Simple Food
Jia jennifer Rong
Introduction
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imple Food is a cookbook for our times. Here is a collection of delicious, desirable, workable recipes based on natural ingredients, clever avor combinations, and a working knowledge of the world’s most exciting cuisines. Simple Food is a common sense cookbook with a lot of great ideas to give the world. There are no lengthy ingredients lists or time-consuming methods, and no expensive tools required. Instead, quick marinades, clever dressings and simple techniques do the work for you. Chapter by chapter, Simple Food provides innovative, appealing ideas for all meal occasions
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from brunches, through lunches, to easy suppers and dinners. There are bright starters, fresh salads, delectable desserts and inspiring ideas for easy entertaining. The recipes are presented in a bold, clear style, making them easy to follow. Original ideas for versatile ingredients–herbs, tomatoes, onions, spices–also feature, packed with fresh ways to highlight flavor, and brilliant new serving suggestions. Simple Food is the essential cookbook for the no-time-to-cook cook who loves fresh, honest food. It’s as simple as that.
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Contents
Si m Starters
4
8
Brunches
26
Lunches
48
Salads
66
Dinners
88
p le Entertaining
112
Suppers
132
Sweets
154
Treats
172
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Simple Sweets
LITTLE CHOCOLATE CAKES
If you can melt butter, you can make these cakes. Be brave and pull them out of the oven while they’re still soft in the middle, for a dense, fudgy, heavenly treat.
METHOD Heat the oven to 350oF. Roughly chop the chocolate. Fit a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and combine the chocolate, sugar, and butter in the bowl. Stir as it melts into a smooth, glossy sauce. Remove from heat and cool for 5 minutes. Add the ground almonds and stir well. Beat in the egg yolks, one by one, until well mixed.
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Ingredients
Place the egg whites in a large, dry bowl and beat until stiff and peaky. Stir a large spoonful of egg white into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in the remaining egg white. Spoon the mixture into lightly buttered large muffin pans, or a 12-hole muffin pan lined with doubled muffin paper liners, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Leave to cool for 10 minutes before removing from the molds. Serve at room temperature, dusted with confectioners’ sugar, or store in an airtight tin for up to 3 days.
INGREDIENTS
MAKES 12
7 oz dark, bittersweet chocolate ½ cup sugar ½ cup butter 1 cup ground almonds 4 eggs, separated confectioners’ sugar for dusting
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Simple Lunches
MEDITERRANEAN VEGETABLES
A meal in itself for vegetable lovers, or a simple, colorful accompaniment to ďŹ sh, sausages, lamb, or chicken.
METHOD Heat the oven to 350oF. Cut the onion in half and slice ďŹ nely. Cut the red and yellow bell peppers into long strips, discarding the core and seeds. Heat the 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, and fry the onion and peppers for 10 minutes until they
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INGREDIENTS
start to soften. Slice the zucchini and tomatoes into rings. Arrange the onion and peppers in the bottom of a lightly oiled baking pan or gratin dish, and layer the sliced zucchini and tomatoes on top, in any order you like. Mix the extra virgin olive oil with lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, thyme, sea salt, and pepper. Drizzle over the vegetables and bake for about 1 hour until tender. Serve hot or warm. SERVES 4
1 onion, peeled 1 red bell pepper 1 yellow bell pepper 1 tbsp olive oil 4 medium zucchini 4 Roma tomatoes 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tbsp lemon juice 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed 4 rosemary sprigs 6 thyme sprigs sea salt freshly ground black pepper
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