Vietnamese veg ginger rice porridge, a cheesy herby frittata & a very quick very green soup

3 recipes for welcoming in Springtime

The sun came through for us in London this weekend and I adored going out for a late roast on the River Thames where everyone seemed to be in much perkier spirits. If you’re south west london / Surrey based, put this spot - Bingham Riverhouse - on your To Visit especially because the produce is all very carefully sourced (the greens were foraged, anyone else never had a Wild Alexander before, it’s a bit like a tastier celery, the beer bread (bierbrot) was made in house by the South African head chef and the meat was organic and regeneratively farmed. It’s also dog friendly and child friendly, super relaxed and has a gorgeous view. 4 v important things in my view these days. And look at all the books too…

Before we get onto the recipes…

Online event, free for everyone! Join my (very first) Substack Live event which is part of Substack’s first food celebration called GRUBSTACK - where I will be logging in from London and my friend, the bestselling food writer

Hetty Lui McKinnon

will be logging in from NYC on Thursday March 13, at 5pm GMT = 1pm EST. We will be talking about The joy of greens: how to build a meal around your favourite vegetables, eat more plants (and save the world). Hope to see some of you there.

A trio of spring-is-almost here inspired recipes

Today’s trio of recipes

Each week, I like to have a gentle plan in my head for at least 3 things that I can fridge raid and be flexible with and that ideally will give me that those ‘cook once, eat twice’ results that us busy bees crave:

One, I need a quick and comforting dinner especially for sofa collapsing nights.

Two, I rely on a delicious frittata for grab & go breakfasts or packed lunches that tick the boxes on both protein and veg power. Oh and portability.

Three, I live for a great creamy soup. This one is a ginormously green soup, inspired by what I found in my Mum’s jam packed freezer.

(On that note, we should be moving out of Mum’s at the end of this week - hmmm lets see - so I look forward to showing you our renovations soon)

Here we go…

Recipe 1 - Really quick, really green soup

15 minute green soup recipe raid your freezer & get it all in there, whiz up til creamy with a squeeze of lemon & olive oil to finish. I like to have soups like this in a mug when I’m working from home.

1 leek or onion, chopped
2 celery sticks, chopped
Pinch dried oregano (rosemary/thyme)
1 big garlic clove
3 handfuls frozen edamame
3 handfuls frozen peas
Big handful brussel sprouts (!) feel free to swap for frozen broccoli
About 800ml stock/ broth

In a medium saucepan let the chopped onions, celery, herbs fry together in olive oil for about 10 minutes until softened (stir every now and then)

Add the chopped garlic to fry for another minute then add all the frozen veg and cover with stock/ broth and a big pinch of salt & pepper. Let simmer for 5 or so minutes until the veg is tender but still kept its lovely colour

Whizz up in batches, adding more stock or water to get it to the consistency you like, season to taste, stir in some lemon & serve up with a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy

Green soup with frozen leeks, frozen peas, edamame and a couple of rogue frozen brussel sprouts from christmas. Tons of lemon & olive oil

Recipe 2 - Vietnamese veg rice porridge

I often crave this week’s guest recipe - CHÁO - Any Veg Rice Porridge - by the incredible chef and photographer Uyen Luu. Right now I’m enjoying it with bits and bobs from the fridge like mushrooms, sweet potatoes, leeks and kale. Next month I hope I’ll be enjoying it with asparagus and peas and maybe radishes.

Uyen and I have been friends for about 15 years now. Our love story started when I first went to one of her famous Vietnamese supper clubs - and then she ended up food styling my first cookbook over a decade ago. These days Summer and I are the very lucky recipients of lots of Uyen’s daughter Olive’s gorgeous hand me downs, from wellies to dresses to books. We’ve even had a whole set of wooden fruit and veg and mini spatulas, bowls and baking trays!

I asked Uyen to share a comforting feel good recipe from one of her 3 fab books and she emailed me this one as she thought you’d love it. Enjoy

Last summer with Uyen at her book launch. I was so busy trying to stop Summer grabbing all the delicious food before anyone else could eat some that I’ve only just now spotted how gorgeous Uyen’s sparkly heels were that night!

ANY VEG RICE PORRIDGE- CHÁO are such a great canvas for seasonal vegetables. Simply simmer rice and water or broth together until the grains have bloomed. Eaten for breakfast or when you’re unwell, the healing component of ginger is especially comforting. This recipe uses uncooked rice, but if you have leftover cooked rice add it to the broth and simmer for less time, although brown or wild rice will take longer to cook. As a cook, I particularly love to add, taste and further create. Raid the refrigerator. Open the larder door. There is no right or wrong, but cook harder vegetables a little longer and softer ones towards the end. Carrot and coriander, pumpkin and ginger, turmeric and asparagus, marrow and Jerusalem artichoke, winter melon and watercress, carrot, peas and courgette, radicchio, courgette and broad beans, red beans and chilli oil, cabbage and dill – the possibilities are endless. You can also top your porridge with leftovers such as Spiced Tofu with Aubergine and Enoki Mushrooms (page 66), Lemongrass Tofu (page 65), Water Spinach with Capers (page 43). Note from Melissa, you can get these recipes from Uyen’s book which is probs my favourite one of her 3 books.