Asian Inspired sweet potato, pepper, pomegranate and cashew salad with Nam Jim dressing

A lovely little salad to tickle your taste buds. Nam Jim is a classic Thai dressing. Super simple to make and super versatile too, it's a match made in heaven with beef, prawns or keep it veggie like I've done here, great when you've got lots of odds and ends to use up! I've roasted of the vegetables in this recipe but it would be equally as good raw (omitting the sweet potato of course)!

The Recipe

Makes 2 generous portions

1 sweet potato

2 red peppers

3 spring onions

a handful of baby tomatoes

7 radishes

30g of cashews

100g of spinach

1/2 a pomegranate

coriander for garnish

thai basil for garnish

Nam Jim Dressing

2 red chillies

1 small knob of ginger

a small handful of coriander leaves and stems

50g of palm sugar ( or brown sugar if unavailable)

2tbsp of fish sauce

juice of 2 limes

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 190 oc. Cut up your sweet potato and red pepper into 1 inch chunks, dress in a little olive oil, and season with some salt and pepper. Roast until soft and slightly charred

2. On a baking tray, place the cashews with a little salt and roast until golden brown and crunchy.

3. Prep all other ingredients, slice the radishes thinly, quarter the tomatoes, slice the spring onions, deseed the pomegranate. I normally keep this all seperate and mix together when I''m plating up. 

4. Next make the dressing, I normally chop the coriander, chilli, garlic and ginger roughly first of all, then place in a pestle and mortar with all the other ingredients, and bash together. It should be well blended and or poring consisitency. Check for seasoning, it should be sweet, salty and spicy, adjust as you wish. 

5. To plate up layer your spinach on the bottom of your serving dish. Place some of the roast sweet potato and pepper, scatter a little of all the other ingredients, and some of your nam jim dressing. Repeat in layers so you have lots of different flavours in each mouthful. Scatter over some more pomegranate seeds, roast cashews and drizzle over more of the nam jim dressing. Pick some thai basil and coriander leaves for garnish. Bon App!

 

Yellow bean and Tomato stew

A very simple recipe and perfect for light suppers, great if your getting beach and bikini ready...yellow bean and tomato stew. Yellow beans can be used exactly like the green Haricot bean, they can be roast, steamed, boiled and stir fried. Add them to curries , or char them and put them through salads. They love all soft herbs such as chervil, tarragon, parsley, basil, chives and marjoram. This recipe could be bulked out with some roast cherry tomatoes, spaghetti, lashings of olive oil and a good healthy grating of parmesan. Adapt as you please! 

The Recipe....

Serves 2

1  large garlic clove

400g of ripe San Marzano tomatoes

300g yellow beans

1 tbsp of thyme leaves

2 tbsp of olive oil (extra virgin)

1/2 a red chilli, finely diced

A small handful of torn basil leaves ( reserve the stalks to flavour the sauce)

1. First prepare the beans by topping and tailing them. Cut in two and place in a pan of boiling salted water, and cook until tender, normally 6 mins. ( CHECK BY INSERTING A KNIFE)

2. When cooked place in some iced water, or run them under the cold tap.

3. In a saucepan sweat your garlic in olive oil until aromatic.

4. Roughly dice your tomatoes and add to the garlic along with the basil stalks, two tbsp of olive oil, thyme and chilli.

5. Cook over a medium heat for 25 mins until the sauce starts to thicken slightly. 

6. Taste for flavour and add some more sea salt, chilli or olive oil.

7. Add your cooked yellow beans, stir through and re heat for a couple of minutes.

8. Finally add your chopped basil and serve with a nice green salad.