There is something splendid and generous about a one-pot supper. No matter how humble the ingredients, the moment you put a large pan or pot on the table is always a good one. It says welcome, and whether everyone dips in for themselves or you ladle the steaming contents out for them, there is the happy suggestion this is a meal to be shared.
A meal made in one pot makes good sense for the cook. The economy of ingredients and equipment, the reduction in energy of using just one ring on the hob or cooking everything in the oven appeals more now than ever. And that is without mentioning the economy of washing up. But there is more to it than that.
Ingredients cooked together in one pot have time to get to know one another, the aromatics mingle and merge, the meat and vegetables, spices and herbs work in partnership in the way those cooked separately never could. Roasting a rib of pork on its own and making the accompanying sauce separately will produce a nice enough dish, but cook everything together and you will have a far more pleasing result.
Spring is here, but only just. We have a month to go before the first spring produce truly arrives. Yet there are already bunches of bright green spinach aplenty, and young radishes to slice and scatter among the first salad leaves. There is still a nip in the air, as there so often is in April, the time of year when nothing is better than knowing a family-sized pot is on the hob or tucked up in the oven, quietly getting on with the business of dinner.
Baked tomatoes with chickpeas and curry leaves (pictured above)
Until the first summer-grown tomatoes arrive, it is probably best to serve what we can get baked, letting the heat of the oven intensify their flavour. I cook larger fruits with a spice paste or let them bake slowly with a stuffing of onions and wild garlic. This time, I cut them in half and spread them with a paste of garlic, chilli and cumin, then cooked them with chickpeas and curry leaves.
Serves 4
tomatoes 8 large
groundnut or vegetable oil 3 or 4 tbsp, plus a little extra for frying
chickpeas 2 x 400g tins
hot vegetable stock 250ml
curry leaves a good handful
For the spice paste
garlic 4 cloves, peeled
groundnut or vegetable oil 3 tsp
Lao Gan Ma crispy chilli in oil 2 tsp
ground turmeric 2 tsp
cumin seeds 1 tsp
garam masala 2 tsp
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6.
Cut the tomatoes in half around their circumference.
Make a paste of the garlic, oil, crispy chilli, turmeric, cumin seeds and garam masala, and spread on the cut side of each tomato. Place in a baking dish, trickle with oil and bake for 30 minutes until the tomatoes have started to soften.
Drain the chickpeas and tip them into the baking dish around the tomatoes, then pour over the hot stock, making sure to spoon some over the tomatoes. Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes.
Warm a splash of oil in a shallow pan over a moderate heat, add the curry leaves and cook for a few minutes till they start to darken and crisp. Remove and drain on kitchen paper, then scatter over the cooked tomatoes.
Marsala onion soup with mustard cheese toasts
A deeply sustaining soup, perfect for a brisk spring day.
It is not unusual to introduce some form of beer, wine or cider to a classic onion soup, especially when the days are still on the chilly side. Over the years I have tried them all, but it is dry or sweet marsala that seems to work best for me, adding sweetness and depth.
At this time of year, with wild garlic leaves around, you could saute 2 or 3 per person in a little butter, chop them, then spoon on top of the mustard before you put the cheese on top.
Serves 4-6
onions 1kg
olive oil 3 tbsp
thyme leaves 1 tbsp
bay leaves 3
garlic 4 cloves
marsala 100ml
vegetable stock 1 litre
For the toasts
baguette or ciabatta 1
dijon mustard 6 tsp
gruyere cheese 125g, grated
Peel the onions and slice them into thin rounds. Warm the olive oil in a deep pan, stir in the onions, thyme and bay leaves, and leave over a moderate heat, covered with a lid, giving the onions just an occasional stir.
Peel and thinly slice the garlic, and once the onions have started to soften, stir in. Leave to cook for a good 35 minutes, with the occasional stir, until the onions have softened. Remove the lid and continue cooking for a further 15 minutes or until the onions are golden brown (taking care they don’t burn).
Turn the heat up and add the marsala, letting it bubble for a minute then pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Lower the heat so the soup simmers gently, and leave to cook, with just the occasional stir, for a good 25 minutes. Season with salt and black pepper.
To make the toasts, get an overhead (oven) grill hot. Slice the baguette in half lengthways, then spread the cut sides with mustard. Cut into 4 or 6 lengths. Cover each piece with the grated cheese, then grill until the cheese is bubbling.
Ladle the soup into bowls, then dunk the toasted baguette into the soup and serve.
Salmon and spinach pie
A layered pie, hearty and simple to make. The fish is combined with thinly sliced potatoes and young spinach, spring onions and cream.
Cook the potatoes until they are pale gold. They need to be soft and on the verge of collapse, so don’t worry if they break up a little during cooking. You need nothing more with this, but I do like a soft leaf salad for mopping my plate, perhaps butterhead or little gem – no dressing – and pea shoots.
Serves 4
large, floury potatoes 650g
olive oil 5 tbsp
spring onions 4
parsley about 20 leaves
lemon finely grated zest of 1
spinach 200g
hot-smoked salmon 600g
single cream 250ml
anchovy fillets 4, chopped
Scrub the potatoes, then slice them very thinly into rounds. Warm the olive oil in a deep, oven-proof pan, add half the potatoes and cook over a moderate heat until they have softened. This should take about 7-8 minutes depending on the thickness of your slices.
Lift the potatoes out on to a plate, add the rest to the pan and continue as before. If the potatoes crumble a little as they cook, no matter, you want them to be really soft for this. When they are ready, transfer them to a plate.
Roughly chop the spring onions, then cook them in the same pan, adding a little more oil if necessary, for a couple of minutes till they soften, then roughly chop and stir in the parsley. Stir in the lemon zest, a little salt and a grinding of black pepper. Wash the spinach, shake dry and add to the pan, cover with a lid and let the leaves soften for a minute or two. Lift out and set side.
Preheat the oven to 180C fan/gas mark 6. Put half of the potatoes back into the pan. Spoon the spinach mixture on top. Break the hot-smoked salmon into large pieces, removing the skin as you go (it comes away from the flesh very easily), and put it on top of the spinach and potatoes. Season the cream with the chopped anchovies and black pepper then pour it over the fish.
Put the remaining potatoes on top of the fish, lightly seasoning as you go. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Pork, apple and cider
A good-natured dish for a chilly spring day, one that can be kept warm should you need to and is just as happy reheated. The delicious broth in which the pork cooks is not to be missed. Ladle it around the meat and offer spoons as well as a knife and fork. Should you wish to serve something on the side, my vote goes to a pile of very soft mashed potato to slide into the broth.
Serves 2-4
fennel seeds 1 tsp
olive oil 3 tbsp
pork belly 1kg, thick cut, cut into 4
onions 2 medium
apples 2 medium
hot pork, chicken or vegetable stock 250ml
dry cider 250ml
Crush the fennel seeds with 1 teaspoon of sea salt and several twists of black pepper, then rub into the pork on both sides.
Warm the olive oil in an ovenproof pan over a moderate heat then put the pork into the pan and let it sizzle for 4-5 minutes until it is lightly golden underneath. Turn each piece over and continue cooking until the underside is pale gold.
Preheat the oven to 160C fan/gas mark 4. While the pork is browning, peel and halve the onions. Cut each half into 6 segments. Lift out the pork and set aside. Put the onions into the pan, and let them soften over the heat, their edges colouring lightly, for a good 8-10 minutes.
Halve the apples, remove their cores and cut into thick slices. Put the apples into the pan, stirring them among the onions and let them cook for 5 minutes. Return the pork to the pan, pushing it in among the onions and apples, then pour over the stock and cider and bring to the boil.
Transfer to the oven and bake until the pork is tender, about 40 minutes. Serve in shallow bowls, with bread for soaking up the porky, appley liquor.
Fig upside-down tart
It won’t be long before we see the first outdoor grown strawberries, but until then there are imports of blueberries and raspberries and small black figs to keep us pudding lovers happy. I use the figs under a crumbly, butter-rich pastry, a hot pudding made in one dish. Serve it upturned on a plate like a tarte tatin, or serve it straight from the tin, dipping in with a spoon. Some cream is pretty much essential here.
You will need a 22cm non-stick tart tin for this. Use a tarte tatin tin if you have one – they are heavy based and flame-proof. If your tart tin is not flame-proof, then make your caramel in a saucepan and pour it into the tart tin before adding the figs.
Serves 6
caster sugar 80g
cold butter 50g
figs 12 small
cream to serve
For the crust
cold butter 90g
plain flour 180g
egg yolk 1
water 2-3 tbsp
You will need a tarte-tatin mould or a heavy based tart tin that can go on the hob, the base of which is 22cm in diameter.
For the pastry crust, cut the butter into small cubes, add it to the flour then rub the butter into the flour with your fingertips. (Alternatively, make the pastry in a food processor.) Using a fork, mix in the egg yolk and enough water to bring it to a firm, rollable dough. Bring the dough together into a ball with your hands, pat into a neat shape, then wrap in clingfilm or greaseproof paper and let it rest in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Set the oven at 160C fan/gas mark 4. To prepare the figs, put the sugar into the tin then let it melt over a moderately high heat until it is a nutty brown. Do not stir but shake the dish from time to time. Cut the butter into small pieces and add to the sugar (it will bubble a bit), then continue cooking over the heat for 5 minutes or so, until it starts to turn to caramel. You can stir with a wooden spoon now, watching carefully until the colour is a rich nutty brown, then remove from the heat. (Take care: if you let it darken too much it will turn bitter.)
Cut the figs in half and place them cut-side down, tightly packed cheek by jowl, in the melted butter and sugar.
Roll the pastry into a disc to fit the top of the tin (about 24cm), then place it on top of the figs tucking it carefully down the side of the fruit. Bake for 30 minutes until biscuit coloured, then remove from the oven and leave to settle for 15 minutes.
If you wish, place a plate over the tin, holding the tin in place with oven gloves, then turn upside down and let the tart fall gently on to the plate. Alternatively spoon the tart from its tin. Serve immediately with a jug of pouring cream.