Food for 'Grazing'

Sometimes it's a terrible affliction to be working from home and a food writer. Research just makes you hungry and the kitchen is only a few steps away. Perhaps this is why so many of these TV chefs are so overweight. However, there is an advantage to being close to a fully stocked kitchen, which is that I am more likely to try and whip up something wholesome, rather than reach for a candy bar, an impossibility in my home anyway - we never buy them.

I like to graze, meaning that I prefer little bits of food often rather than a big meal. This habit is quite good as it keeps a healthy metabolism, provided you graze on the right thing! Here are a couple of dishes to keep in the refrigerator that can be used for a light lunch that is full of flavour, or like I have done in the picture, served in small bowls as a snack.

This is a blue recipe

Chickpea Salad
This is really tabbouleh with chickpeas instead of Bulgar wheat. Here's a couple of things I have learned about salads:
Cold salad straight from the fridge is not very nice, the flavours are muted and for me eating ice cold vegetables just makes me shiver. So take the salad out and leave it to stand for a while before serving, if you have been storing it.
Next thing is that the way you assemble you salad is not crucial but does make a difference. I always dress in the same sequence - oil, acid (lemon juice, lime or vinegar), salt and pepper. I do this so that the liquids don't wash the seasoning to the bottom and the oil is thicker than the acid so goes first.

Ingredients for 3 people as a side or snack
- two cups of cooked chickpeas (canned or cooked yourself)
- One large tomato finely chopped
- 4 inch piece of cucumber unpeeled and chopped
- Tablespoon each of mint and parsley roughly chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
- juice of half a small lemon, yielding a couple of teaspoons
-Kosher salt
-Black pepper

Mix the chickpeas and vegetables
Add the oil and mix
Add the lemon juice and mix
Add the herbs and mix
Add salt and pepper and... mix

This is a blue recipe

Moutabal
I love this dip. Smear onto sandwiches, dip with carrot or celery sticks or scoop with flatbread. If you're worried about bitterness make sure you cook the eggplant/aubergine long enough so the flesh becomes sweet and caramelised.

Ingredients for a large cereal bowlful of dip
- 1 Large eggplant/aubergine
- 2 tablespoons of tahini
- 2 tablespoons of lemon juice
- Extra Virgin Olive oil
- Roughly chopped parsley
- kosher salt

- Quarter the aubergine, salt the flesh and cook in a hot oven (450f at least) until the white flesh is brown and creamy
- Wait for the flesh to cool and scoop it out from the skin
-Dump into a blender with the tahini and lemon juice and blitz until smooth and creamy
- Test for salt, add more if desired
- Pile into a bowl, drizzle with grass green olive oil and sprinkle with parsley

Try not to go weak at the knees ;-)

Chickpeas with mint and chili

I love markets. The energy, the assault on the senses, voices shouting, the colour bursts of the produce, the smells. I was excited then by the prospect of the Tuesday Market here in Lusaka. It is held weekly (I don't need to tell you the day) in a covered area of some church grounds. It was crowded and noisy and had a remarkable variety of produce. I was most excited by the fresh herbs I found – coriander (cilantro), mint and even dill! All priced at less than 10p for a bunch. I bought tomatoes deep red bursting full of juice and tasting sunny, crisp peppers and more. The market was full of buyers of many races all stocking up on everything from fresh peas to the massive spikey jack fruit that taste sweet and fragrant (a little like custard apples) and look like grotesque, overgrown sea urchins. I have never seen them growing in Zambia so assume they were brought down from Tanzania.

The market also sold spices and pulses and I bought a massive bag of chickpeas for very cheap. Along with the mint I made this delicious dish which we ate with rice but you could also eat with chapattis, on baked potatoes or cold in wraps with some salad. It's versatile and healthy as it can be eaten hot or cold. Make a large amount and keep it in the fridge or freeze it. How much chili you use depends on the potency of your chilis and how spicy you like it. Start of one or two (especially if they bigger as they tend to be milder) and add more if you like extra kick. The heat of the chili with the mint and yoghurt is incredibly seductive. If freezing or planning to reheat, add the yoghurt when serving, separately as it doesn't do well when reheated or frozen.

This makes enough for 4 greedy people.

• 350g of chickpeas
  



• 1 tablespoon of cooking oil
  



• A large onion, sliced
  



• 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or minced
  



• 2 large, very ripe tomatoes, finely chopped
  



• 1 large potato cut into 2 cm slices or you can use small new ones. Try to get waxy potatoes as they hold their shape better when they are cooked
  



• Two teaspoons of medium curry powder
  



• 1 -2 large dried chilies
  



• 1 heaped teaspoon of garam masala
  



• 2 teaspoons of vegetable powder or half a stock cube
  



• 2 teaspoons of tomato puree
  



• 2 tablespoons of chopped fresh mint
  



• Several dessertspoons of natural yoghurt to drizzle before serving
  



• Salt
  

First cook the chickpeas in a coverd pan after soaking them overnight.

After they are soft but still hold their shape (about 30 – 40 minutes) drain half of the water away, add a teaspoon of salt , stir well and set to one side.

In a deep frying pan or wide bottomed saucepan, fry the onions on a medium heat until they start to colour and add the garlic.

After a minute or so add the potatoes and fry for about 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, chili (broken into pieces), curry powder and garam masala and a pinch of salt

Cook until the tomatoes start to break down.

Add the chickpeas in the water you saved, and the vegetable powder or stock cube.

Cover and simmer slowly until the potatoes are soft all the way through but still hold their shape (about 20 minutes)

Add the chopped mint and tomato puree and cook for about 5 more minutes.

Check for seasoning.

Before serving spoon some yoghurt on top (1-2 dessertspoons) and remove the chili pieces.