I’d like to use this blog to shout out some of the products I love using in the kitchen, from delicious ingredients to useful kit. First up, my salad spinner.
When I was 21, I spent a year living in the south of France (oo la la, I know). One evening I found myself making dinner with a French guy and, as we made salad to accompany our meal, he used a salad spinner to dry his washed salad leaves. And it was honestly a revelation.
Something I really love to make, especially when friends come round for dinner, is a Middle-Eastern style feast made up of lots of different, complementary dishes. It’s great because there’s a few flavour-packed dishes which look and taste impressive together but are really easy to make. Plus, the salady things can be made ahead of time.
I usually make this warm, roasted cauli salad alongside a cold, fattoush-style salad with a zingy dressing, then something hot which provides protein, like spiced lamb koftas or harissa halloumi. I serve everything with warm flatbreads and various pickley things and, if I have more time, I’ll make homemade hummus or another dip or salad.
If you want to eat this on its own rather than as part of a spread, I’d personally amp it up a bit by adding some chopped spring onions and crumbling over som feta.
This recipe was inspired by my good friend Ellie who is a chef, food writer and all-round inspiration. She created an easy noodle recipe for BBC Good Food which uses sausage-meat instead of pork mince and I loved how simple but effective it was. I made a couple of tweaks/additions to her original recipe and now it’s one of the meals I make all the time – it’s really easy, full of flavour and any leftovers are great heated up the next day too.
Anna Lawson eats... 