HELP WITH VEGANUARY

Green Rocket recipes

Looking for a clean and fresh start to 2022? The Bath Magazine delves into the pages of The Green Rocket Cookbook by Philip Pearce, chef owner of the Green Rocket café and restaurant in Bath, for inspirational and great tasting vegetarian and vegan dishes. Here’s a starter and a main...

Asparagus and Green Pea Farinata

Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: 10 minutes Serves 2

125g chickpea flour 200ml water 50ml olive oil 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt A few sprigs of rosemary, finely chopped 1 bunch of asparagus, finely sliced Handful of frozen peas Cherry tomatoes (optional) Olives (optional)

Method

• Whisk the chickpea flour, water, olive oil and salt together until there are no lumps, then stir in the rosemary. This is your batter. • Heat a non-stick frying with a small amount of olive oil in it. Fry the sliced asparagus and peas for a couple of minutes before pouring in the batter. Fry until sealed and then flip over and cook on the other side for a minute. • You could serve the farinata with some gently pan-fried cherry tomatoes and olives.

Korma

Preparation time: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes soaking Cooking time: 40 minutes; serves 4-6

50g cashews 25g oil 4 cardamom pods 1 cinnamon stick 8 curry leaves 100g garlic and ginger paste 3 tablespoons white sugar 50g ground almonds 800ml masala gravy 300ml coconut milk 20g coconut flour 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon garam masala 1 teaspoon rosewater (optional)

To serve: Cooked vegetables or pulses of your choice, steamed basmati rice, poppadoms and chutney

Method

• Soak the cashews in a bowl of water for 30 minutes. Drain and rinse, then blend in a food processor with a little fresh water to make a cashew paste. Set aside. • Heat the oil over a medium-high heat.

When visibly hot, add the cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Sizzle for 30 seconds

and then add the curry leaves. Stir in the garlic and ginger paste and then the sugar, ground almonds and raw cashew paste. • The pan will be quite hot at this point, so add roughly half of your masala gravy to cool it down and cook until it forms a

thick paste. Add the rest of the masala gravy and the coconut milk, then let the sauce simmer gently for 30 minutes. If you would the korma to be less coconutty, leave out some of the coconut milk and add the same amount of plant-based cream once the sauce has simmered. • Meanwhile, boil any vegetables you are using in a pan of salted water with half a teaspoon of turmeric. Drain them in a colander when they are tender. • Just before the sauce has finished simmering, stir in the coconut flour, salt, garam masala and rosewater if using. If you are using plant-based cream, swirl it through the sauce now.

To serve: Fry the cooked vegetables or pulses (such as chickpeas) of your choice (cauliflower and potatoes are a good start with korma) in a little oil for a couple of minutes, then pour the desired amount of sauce into the pan with them. Simmer for a couple of minutes before serving your korma with rice, poppadoms and chutney. n

The Green Rocket Cookbook by Philip Pearce, published by Meze Publishing, is priced at £20. Philip is appearing at Topping & Co. Bookshop in York Street on 20 January at 7.30pm to discuss food and demonstrate some of his best recipes. toppingbooks.co.uk