Craving Thai flavours but out of Thai curry paste? Fret not. If you have most of the below ingredients, you can improvise.

400 g (I like to have leftovers for the day after) fish fillets – for example cod or heilbutt or both, in bite-sized pieces

2 tblsp oil

2 tblsp tomato paste

3 stalks lemon grass, trimmed and chopped

1 knob galangal, chopped

1 whole head of garlic, peeled, trimmed and chopped

5 medium red onions, peeled and quartered

7 small aubergines – the round ones approx 5 cm diam. (could also have been green beans or sugar snap peas), or a mixture of all three.

10 lime leaves

2 tblsp fish sauce

Chili, in whichever form is available. I used a dollop of this: https://www.hellemoller.eu/2020/10/13/chili-sauce-a-made-with-red-and-orange-chilis-from-the-freezer/

1 tin coconut milk

2 tblsp fish sauce

Sautée tomato paste, lemon grass, galangal and garlic in the oil.

Add red onions and aubergines. Stir and mix well.

Add chili, coconut milk and lime leaves

Bring to a simmer and cook till the aubergines are done, 10-15 minutes.

Season with fish sauce, black pepper, perhaps some lime or lemon juice, and half a tablsp sugar.

Add the fish, largest pieces first, and simmer till the fish is done – this does not take long at all.

1 butternut squash

2 cloves garlic

2 red onions

1 tin tomatoes

1 tblsp harissa

1 knob fresh ginger

1 tsp turmeric

2 tblsp olive oil

1 tsp sugar

Salt and pepper

Bayleaves

1 tblsp honey

1 tsp smoked paprika

100 g feta

Herbs to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200 C

Halve the squash and remove the seeds with a spoon or an ice scooper, depending on the size of the cavity.

Place the squash peel up and cut almost through at about 4 mm intervals. Place a pencil on either side to make sure you do not cut it all the way through.

Slice garlic and onions and mix with the tinned tomato and 1 tblsp olive oil, season with turmeric, chili, salt and pepper, and spread this mixture in a small baking tray.

Place the squash peel up on top of this layer. Place a couple of bayleaves in the slits. Drizzle the rest of the olive oil on the squash halves and bake in oven for 20 minutes.

Paint the squash halves with honey, dust with smoked paprika and bake, uncovered, for another 20 minutes.

Scatter feta cheese over the halves for the last ten minutes in the oven, or just before serving.

Again recently, a lot has been written about the health benefits of oats, so my current obsession is to try to incorporate oats into as many meals as possible.

In this case served with one of my favourite aubergine dishes – an old faithful.

2,5 dl oats

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 red onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic and a small knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped

5 dl vegetables, in this case red pepper and zucchini, chopped

1 dl cooked green lentils

1 small tsp turmeric

Salt

Chili to taste, in whichever form you have available

1 tsp garam masala

Dry-roast the oats till they smell good.

Heat the oil and sizzle the cumin seeds. Add onion, garlic and ginger and sauté.

Add the vegetables and the rest of the ingredients except the oats, and sauté till the vegetables soften. If it starts to dry up, add water rather than oil.

Add the oats, stir well, and cook through.

Garnish with (preferably) fresh coriander, or any other herb you have available.

 

8 lamb shanks

14 garlic cloves, chopped

2 large knobs of fresh ginger, chopped

4 tsp mild paprika

2 tsp coriander powder

Grind garlic and ginger to a paste and add the paprika and coriander powder. Smear all over the lamb shanks, put in a tightfitting plastic bag and marinade, turning from time to time, overnight.

 

8 tblsp olive oil (that is what I always use but others prefer a lighter vegetable oil

10 cloves

2 cassia bark (genuine cinnamon) sticks, broken in half

12 cardamom pods, slightly crushed

26 black peppercorns

4 onions, peeled and chopped

4 green chilies, coarsely sliced

1 tsp paprika

2 tsp turmeric powder

4 tsp coriander powder

3 tblsp tomato puree

8 tblsp full-fat yoghurt

Up to a half liter water

Juice of 2-3 limes

 

Heat the oil and sizzle the cloves, cassia bark sticks, black peppercorns and cardamom pods for a minute or two.

Add the onions and cook on medium heat for up to 15 minutes until the onions start to caramellise.

Add the chillies, coriander and turmeric. Add a little bit of water if the mixture gets too dry.

Mix in the tomato puree.

At this point, the mixture can be frozen till the day you are going to serve the lamb shanks.

Or you can proceed to add the lamb shanks, turning them over so they seal evenly. Add yoghurt and water and cook for a couple of hours, turning the shanks occasionally, till the meat is very tender.

Add lemon juice, test for salt, garnish with chopped fresh coriander and/or thin onion slices.

 

1,2 kg chicken pieces, skin removed

250 g cashew nuts

15 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped

4 cm fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

2 large onions

2 tblsp coriander seeds

1 tblsp cumin seeds

5 whole red chillies

10 cloves

2 cassia bark (genuine cinnamon) sticks

100 g grated coconut

1 dl olive oil (or a lighter vegetable oil if you prefer)

 

Blitz 100 g of the cashew nuts with a bit of water to a thick, smooth paste. Set aside.

In a large frying pan, dry-roast the garlic, ginger, onion, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, red chillies, cloves, cinnamon, and 75 g of the cashew nuts over a low heat for five minutes.

Add the coconut and roast, stirring, till the coconut starts to brown. Leave to cool.

Blend this mixture with 2-3 dl water to a very smooth paste.

Heat the oil in a wide cooking pot, add the blended spice mixture and fry for ten minutes over a low heat.

Add the ground cashew nut paste with some salt and fry for another two to three minutes.

At this point, the mixture can be frozen till the day you are serving the chicken.

Or you can proceed to increase the heat, add water to the desired thickness, bring to the boil, add the chicken, turn to medium heat, add the rest of the cashew nuts, and simmer till the chicken meat is done.

250 g black-eyed peas

A good knob of fresh ginger, peeled and chopped

8 garlic cloves, chopped

2 fresh chilies, e.g. jalapeño, deseeded and chopped

6 cl oil (I always use a good olive oil, but others prefer lighter vegetable oils)

3 onions, chopped

2 tblsp ground cumin

1 tblsp ground coriander

1 tsp cayenne pepper

4 dl chopped tomato

Salt

Black pepper

Juice of 1 lime (or 2, if you bought it in Denmark where the quality is most often abysmal and getting juice from a lime is much like drawing water from a stone …..).

2 tblsp chopped fresh coriander leaves and 1 small thinly sliced red onion for garnish

 

Rinse the black-eyed peas and soak them in plenty of water for about 8 hours or overnight. Discard the soaking water. Cook the peas in plenty of water for 45-50 minutes.

Grind the ginger, chili pepper and garlic to a paste.

Heat the oil and sizzle the onions at medium heat for at least ten minutes, till they start to caramellise.

Add the garlic paste and cook, stirring, for a couple of minutes.

Add the cumin, coriander and cayenne, stir and cook for another minute.

Add the tomato and cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes.

This sauce can now be frozen until the day you need to serve it.

Or you can add the black-eyed beans straightaway and cook for another 15 minutes.

Season with salt and black pepper, add the lime juice, and garnish.

 

 

Serves four

60ml olive oil
2-3 banana shallots, peeled and chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and thinly sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
4 whole cardamom pods, crushed to release the seeds, pods discarded
Salt and black pepper
2½ tbsp harissa paste
½ tsp rose water
500ml vegetable stock
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cut into 4cm dice (800g)
400g tinned cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
7 dried apricots, thinly sliced
20g preserved lemon skin, roughly chopped
10g coriander leaves, roughly chopped
150g Greek yoghurt

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. In a large saute pan for which you have a lid, heat two tablespoons of oil on a medium-high flame. Add the shallots and fry for seven to eight minutes, stirring every so often, until soft and caramelised, then stir in the garlic, spices, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, and fry for two minutes longer. Add the harissa, rose water, stock and 200ml water, bring to a boil, then lay in the squash pieces in a single flat layer. Turn down the heat to medium, cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes, until almost cooked through.

Take the pan off the heat and transfer the squash to a medium bowl, using a slotted spoon. Add two tablespoons of oil, a quarter-teaspoon of salt and some pepper to the bowl, mix to coat, then spread out the squash on an oven tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 20 minutes, until golden-brown and cooked through, then leave to cool.

While the squash is roasting, tip the chickpeas, apricots and preserved lemon into the stock left in the pan, bring to a boil on a medium-high heat and cook for about 12 minutes, until the sauce reduces a little and becomes thick and rich. While they’re cooking, crush a few chickpeas with the back of a spoon, to thicken the mix further.

To serve, divide three-quarters of the squash between individual bowls and spoon over the chickpea sauce. Top with the rest of the squash, sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve at once with some yoghurt alongside.