Fast food doesn't have to come in a packet. A salad and a green curry can be made in minutes, writes Domini Kemp
WE'RE AN impatient bunch, no longer forced to write a letter or browse in a bookstore when we want to say thanks or buy a bestseller. Our lives are so texted, e-mailed and mobile phone court-martialled that it's no wonder we don't have time to peel a carrot. Ironically, time-saving and convenient pre-prepared fruit and veg are also horribly expensive, causing you to fork out more dosh, which you have to spend even more time earning.
Ready-made meals are tempting, for sure, when you fear child-poisoning if the babysitter is left in charge of cooking dinner. It's much easier to say, "Cook this in the microwave," and hand them a pack of a ready-prepared pasta carbonara. But feeding these to your family every day is mega-pricey and just doesn't cut it, nutritionally. I would prefer to eat beans on toast or scrambled eggs (the ultimate fast food) rather than some ready-to-go "Tex-Mex Party Pack" or "Chinese Feast" that is unnaturally hot after a three-minute tango in the microwave.
But I can understand the allure of this hassle-free promise of an exotic dinner, especially when you've found yourself inviting people over for supper, when all you want to do is curl up on the couch with a pizza and a beer. So this version of a Thai green curry is nice and easy-going. I promise you won't have to trek to a specialist spice shop for all those teaspoons of bits and bobs.
The salad is kind of fancy though: a bitter and interesting bunch of flavours, and came about simply because I was in a posh veg shop and got a bunch of things that looked pretty. In fairness, a good-looking partner is never a bad thing when served with green, gloopy curry, which I promise, tastes great.
The basic rule of thumb regarding lettuce is you eat about half a head if you're a woman and as little as possible if you're a bloke. Maybe that's unfair and sexist, but most men I know would rather a good hunk of protein over rabbit food any day. If you can't get red endive or chicory, use whatever lettuce looks good. If you can only get iceberg, so be it. But in which case, one head will do four people. The dressing calls for a splash of orange blossom water - optional, I promise - it just happened to be in the back of my cupboard for the past three years and needed a purpose.
Green, Thai-ish, very lazy curry, not too spicy (Serves 8)
Get your blender or food processor out for this one. If you forget to buy lemongrass, for example, don't worry. Just add more of the other stuff, such as garlic and ginger. Double the recipe and freeze half of it (once it has cooled down to room temperature and then been in the fridge for an hour or so). Then, when you want your own ready-made dinner, defrost and heat it in a saucepan till piping hot. Serve with any rice you fancy.
Green gloop
4 stalks lemongrass, roughly chopped
4 green chillies, remove seeds
6 cloves garlic, peeled
2 giant thumbs worth of ginger, peeled
2 onions, peeled and roughly chopped
2 big bunches coriander, leave the stalks on
Juice and zest of 4 limes
4 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce
Whizz all the ingredients together until they resemble green sludge. If your food processor jams, add a little water to help it along.
Important bits
6-8 skinless chicken breasts
2-3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 onions, peeled
500 g of button mushrooms (2 big handfuls)
4 aubergines
2 tins coconut milk (low fat is fine)
Chop the chicken into bite-sized pieces and chuck into a large bowl. Wash your hands, chopping board and knife carefully. Pour the green gloop on top. Mix well, so the chicken is well coated, and leave for anything between 10 minutes and overnight.
Chop the remaining ingredients into bite-sized pieces. Heat a large saucepan and cook the onions and mushrooms over a high heat until they start to colour. Add the aubergines and watch them suck up all the juice. Season with a little salt or a splash of soy sauce. Don't worry if they start to burn in patches. Add 500ml water, and the marinated chicken. Mix well and add the coconut milk. Bring up to a gentle boil, then leave to simmer gently for about 30-40 minutes. Taste and serve with rice and the garnish below.
Snazzy garnish
2 bunches spring onions, finely chopped
2 handfuls of basil and coriander, roughly torn
Bitter spring salad which looks good (Serves 8)
1 radicchio
4 small red endive
1 head oakleaf lettuce
Bunch of watercress or rocket
300g (approximately two packs) ricotta cheese
200ml olive oil
Juice of 2 blood oranges, or regular ones
Splash balsamic vinegar
Splash soy sauce
Splash orange blossom water (optional)
1 teaspoon honey
Knob grated ginger
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
Black pepper
Mix the dressing together and season it with salt, if necessary. Arrange the leaves on a large platter (if you're posh enough to own one) or chuck into any old bowl and add spoonfuls of ricotta. Pour most of the dressing over the leaves, toss or artfully arrange, and serve.