Ham sandwich with herb relish
Ingredients
Sliced cooked ham, wholegrain bread, butter and salad leaves.
Herb relish: 20g each of mint, tarragon and basil; 40g flat leaf parsley; two cloves of garlic, roughly chopped; four scallions, chopped; four to six tablespoons of olive oil; one tablespoon of wholegrain mustard; a squeeze of lemon juice and salt and freshly-ground black pepper.
Method
First make the dressing. Whiz the herbs, garlic and scallions in a food processor. Add the oil in a stream until you have a thick green sauce. Pour into a bowl and stir in the mustard and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
Spread slices of freshly cut bread with a little butter and add a small pile of salad leaves to the bottom half. Drizzle over a little of the dressing and arrange plenty of ham on top. Add another good drizzle of the dressing then cover the sandwich with the top half of the bread.
Meatballs in tomato and ginger sauce
Ingredients
450g minced beef or lamb; one large onion, finely chopped, sautéed in oil till golden and cooled; one tablespoon of scallions, chopped; one tablespoon of chilli oil, optional but nice (see recipe below ); salt and black pepper.
Tomato and ginger sauce: two to three cloves of garlic; piece of ginger, the size of your thumb, chopped; two tablespoons of cider vinegar; one tablespoon of brown sugar; one can of chopped tomatoes; salt and black pepper and a handful of chopped coriander.
Method
Mix the mince, onion, scallions, chilli oil (if using ) and seasoning well together. With wet hands shape into small meatballs the size of a walnut. Fry the meatballs in a large pan with a little oil until nicely browned. Set aside while you make the tomato and ginger sauce. If time does not permit, there are many varieties of sauces and salsas in store.
Put the garlic, ginger, cider vinegar and brown sugar into the processor and whiz for a minute. Pour the mixture and the tin of tomatoes into a saucepan and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the meatballs and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Season and add coriander just before serving. Serve with rice or potatoes and a green salad.
Chilli oil: this is a really useful dressing to have on hand, it will spice up lots of meals – lamb cutlers, steaks, pasta sauces, etc.
Whiz two to three chillies, chopped, including seeds; one red pepper, chopped; two to three cloves of garlic chopped; handful coriander; 250ml oil and seasoning in the processor. Store in the fridge for up to a week.
