A hefty flavour burst of preserved lemon, artichokes, olives, garlic, ginger, turmeric and fresh coriander, all vibrant and zesty.
Gluten-free | Vegan
As always, perfect writing food is quick (either to make or to double up another day's cooking) so it doesn't steal your writing time, low-carb so your writing time isn't sabotaged by sleepiness, and as much a treat as writing itself.
This spring's dish is all of those plus some: super quick to make and to double up, with a smack of flavours like the sunshine bursting out after a week of grey. Plus it's all that lovely freshness and can be served hot or cold, for when the spring sunshine still has a sharp nip of chill.
It also uses almost entirely "store cupboard" ingredients: quote-marks because they're not necessarily things you have lying about in the cupboard, but they're all things that keep pretty much indefininitely. So if you want an option in stock for future writing time, add these to your grocery list:
- a tin of artichoke hearts
- a jar of olives
- a jar of preserved lemons (which keep apparently indefinitely in the fridge once opened)
- a packet of frozen peas
- fresh ginger to chop into inches, pop in a freezer bag, and freeze
That's everything you need, alongside some garlic, powdered turmeric, and olive oil. And optional fresh coriander, but I often make it without, as there are plenty of other flavours loudly bellowing.
It freezes well, too. The peas do fade a bit when they're frozen, so if you feel strongly about peas being the brightest green, then freeze some of it without the peas and add them when you reheat it. On a non-writing day, or for feeding non-writing gannets in the household, you can bulk it out with pitta or ciabatta; for writing, just have it as-is. Maybe with some extra peas if the flavours are blowing your head off!
Moroccan peas, artichoke, & preserved lemon
Serving and times
Prep: 15–20 mins
Cooking: 5 mins
Serves: 4
Ingredients
- 6 Tablespoons olive oil
- 4 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
- 3 small preserved lemons, flesh and rind finely chopped (fish out the pips)
- 1 tsp ground turmeric or 1 inch fresh, minced
- 1 tsp ground ginger or 1 inch fresh, minced / grated
- 400g frozen green peas
- 30g fresh coriander (in an ideal world), finely chopped
- Salt
- 2 generous pinches ground black pepper
- 400g tin drained precooked artichokes roughly chopped
- 120g pitted kalamata olives, roughly chopped
- Optional: pitta bread or ciabatta to serve it with (for a non-writing meal)
Note: This really does need to use preserved lemons; normal lemons
won’t do at all. Both Tescos and Sainsbury’s sell the Beldi Belazu
jars, 320g, which contain about 6 preserved lemons each.
Method
- Prepare all the ingredients first, as the cooking time is very quick. (I halve the 3 preserved lemons and fish out the pips, peel the 4 cloves garlic, and take an inch of ginger out the freezer, then throw all three together into the chopper.) If you're making this on a non-writing day, heat the oven to warm the ciabatta / pitta bread
- Heat the 6 Tablespoons oil in a large deep saucepan / wide pot over a medium heat.
- Add the crushed garlic, preserved lemon, 1 tsp/inch ginger, and 1 tsp/inch turmeric, fry, stirring, for a minute, until the oil is fragrant.
- Add the 400g peas and 30g coriander (if using), season and give everything a good stir.
- Cover the pan and leave until the peas are fully cooked – about four minutes.
- Mix in the tin of drained chopped artichokes and 120g chopped olives, taste and adjust the seasoning, and serve warm or cold.
- If you’re having it with pitta bread for a non-writing meal, you can also fill the pittas with it or let people fill them themselves at the table. Make sure to nudge people until they say "Nice food" so you can say "Thanks! It has pockets!" And if a pea rolls free, you point at it and yell "ESCAPEE!"
- Eat, write, and rejoice!
If you want more writing-food ideas, here are all the seasonal recipes so far. And don't forget there's also a free online workshop this spring: The Essentials of Storytelling!
Recipe credits: Nargisse Benkabou in The Guardian
