Two things have happened in David Frenkiel’s life recently that have prompted him to think about the meaning of home – the most obvious being that he has just written a book about it.
Frenkiel is the Swede behind food blog Green Kitchen Stories, which he launched with his Danish wife Luise Vindahl in 2009. Back then, she was a health-conscious meat eater, he a carb-loving vegetarian. When they moved in together in Stockholm, she agreed to go veggie while he resolved to cut down on the pasta and pizza. The blog documented their adventures around a healthy vegetarian diet.
Green Kitchen at Home, their fourth cookbook, is aimed at people who don’t have vast reserves of time on their hands. “We got requests from readers who want to eat proper vegetarian food on a day-to-day basis when they’re stressed, or working late, or have a family,” says Frenkiel. “So we tried to break down how we eat at home and build the book around that.”
It helped that, just as the book went to print last October, Vindahl gave birth to Gabriel, their third child. So Green Kitchen at Home, with its shortcuts and fuss-free recipes, is also responding to their own domestic situation.
The second thing that made Frenkiel reflect on home happened shortly before Gabriel was born. Last September, he flew to Istanbul, then headed south to Antakya, not far across the border from Aleppo. He had been invited to the Turkish city by the UN World Food Programme to help draw attention to the growing refugee crisis. The plan was to visit Syrian families and cook with them, then post about his encounters on Instagram.
On the first day, visiting a woman called Suad who had fled Aleppo with her young family and was now living in a tiny rundown apartment in Antakya’s old town, Frenkiel found it hard to break the ice. “I’m an almost-2m-tall white man and she’s a short, pregnant, quite religious Syrian woman. It was difficult to really connect. But once we started cooking – she showed me how to make a Syrian tabbouleh – we both immediately started relaxing.”
The experience has clearly had a big effect on Frenkiel and he’s hoping to work with the World Food Programme again – there’s talk of running workshops with Syrian kids in Jordan. “Even though we might use quinoa at home and they might use bulgur, we can cook together, eat together and become closer,” he says. KF
Full vegetarian breakfast
We make this modernised, vegetarian interpretation of a full English whenever we crave something savoury in the morning. It’s warm, filling and generous without being too heavy. Apple and kale keep the flavours interesting, while browned onions, mushrooms, sweet potatoes and sprouts make it rich and hearty. We love to add some sriracha or gochujang sauce for a sweet and spicy flavour punch, but regular chilli sauce or even a good-quality ketchup can be used instead. The servings are quite generous here, so if you are a small family, it should still be enough for all of you with the addition of one or two extra eggs.
Serves 2
extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
onion 1, peeled
sweet potato ½, peeled
brussels sprouts 10, trimmed
mushrooms 10 of your choice, cleaned
cherry tomatoes 10
red apple 1, cored
cavolo nero or curly kale 2 handfuls, stems removed
ground cayenne pepper a pinch
free-range eggs 2
Heat the oil in a medium-sized frying pan on a medium heat. Finely slice the onion, add it to the pan and sauté for about 5 minutes or until it begins to soften.
Thinly slice the sweet potato, cut the sprouts in half and roughly chop the mushrooms. Add them to the pan and sauté for 5 more minutes.
Cut 5 of the tomatoes in half (leaving the others whole), thinly slice the apple and roughly chop the cavolo nero or kale. Add them to the pan along with the cayenne pepper, season to taste with salt and pepper and sauté for a further 5 minutes or until all of the vegetables are tender.
Create two small wells in the vegetable mixture and crack an egg into each one. Cook the eggs to your liking.
Serve straight from the pan, topped with a drizzle of spicy sauce or ketchup.
Black rice, lentil and aubergine pilaf
I would put this recipe somewhere in between a pilaf and a salad, as it has both the qualities of flavoured rice and a generous, hearty salad.
Serves 6
black or brown rice 200g, rinsed
green lentils 200g, rinsed
cardamom seeds 1 tsp
sea salt 1 tsp
extra-virgin olive oil 8 tbsp
lemons juice of 1½
ground cumin ½ tsp
ground turmeric ½ tsp
chilli powder ½ tsp
sea salt flakes a pinch
aubergine 1, stem removed
cucumber ½, topped and tailed, halved and seeds removed
red onion ½, peeled
avocado 1 ripe, stone removed and flesh scooped out
spinach 100g
fresh mint 1 handful (25g), leaves picked
dried apricot halves 20
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
full-fat plain unsweetened yogurt
pistachio nuts roughly chopped
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment.
Place the rice, lentils, cardamom, salt and 1 litre water in a medium-sized saucepan, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 30 minutes or until tender and the water has been absorbed. Drain any excess water and set aside to cool.
Meanwhile, place half the oil, juice of 1 lemon, spices and salt in a medium-sized mixing bowl and whisk until combined.
Cut the aubergine into bite-sized pieces, add to the bowl, toss until well coated and transfer to the baking tray. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tender and golden. Set aside to cool.
In the meantime, slice the cucumber, finely slice the onion, cut the avocado into bite-sized pieces and roughly chop the spinach, mint and apricots.
Put the rice and lentils in a serving bowl, add the remaining oil and juice of ½ lemon and toss to coat. Add the aubergine and the rest of the ingredients, season to taste and gently toss to combine. Serve topped yogurt and pistachio nuts.
Tip Rice can differ in cooking time. Choose a variety with the same cooking time as your lentils.
Green pea, broccoli and mint soup with puy lentil topping
Serves 4
coconut oil or olive oil 1 tbsp
onion 1, peeled
garlic 2 cloves, peeled
fresh ginger 2 tbsp, peeled and grated
frozen green peas 250g
fresh broccoli 250g, stalks included, roughly chopped (or frozen broccoli florets)
vegetable stock 500ml
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
coconut milk 1 × 400g tin
fresh mint leaves 20
For the puy lentil topping
cooked puy lentils 200g
extra-virgin olive oil 1 tbsp
unwaxed lemon zest of ½
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
To serve
toasted pumpkin seeds
fresh mint or purple shiso leaves
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
extra-virgin olive oil
toasted sourdough garlic bread
To prepare the lentil topping, add the cooked lentils to a small bowl, stir through the oil and zest and seasoning to taste. Set aside.
For the soup, heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-low heat. Roughly chop the onion and garlic, add them to the pan along with the ginger and sauté for about 10 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Add the peas and broccoli and sauté for a further 5 minutes. Add the stock and season to taste.
Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally so the soup doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and stir through the coconut milk and mint. Using an immersion (hand) blender or food processor, blend until smooth.
Top with a sprinkling of lentils, pumpkin seeds, mint and some seasoning and a drizzle of oil, along with toast on the side.
Fifty shades of greens
This was one of the first dishes I cooked for Luise and I like to think that it was then and there that she fell for me (and not watching my drunk feet trying to seduce her on the dance floor a week earlier).
The original version didn’t include quite as many green vegetables – it was made with double (heavy) cream and served with pasta – but the essence was the same: green, creamy and delicious.
You can use frozen broccoli and spinach instead of fresh, swap peas for beans and use olives instead of capers. If you don’t fancy coconut milk or cream, use ordinary cream, Greek yogurt (added right at the end) or a vegan alternative. This can be served with cooked quinoa, millet, rice or any pasta of choice.
Serves 4
coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil 3 tbsp
onion 1, peeled
garlic 2 cloves, peeled
fresh thyme 8 sprigs, leaves picked, or 1 tsp dried thyme
broccoli 1 head and stalk
courgette 1
capers 3 tbsp, plus brine
white wine 120ml
frozen green peas 190g
spinach 100g
full-fat coconut cream or milk 1 × 400g tin
vegetable stock 250ml
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
unwaxed lemon zest and juice of ½
To serve
quinoa or cooked grain or pasta of choice
roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-low heat. Finely chop the onion, garlic and thyme, transfer to the pan and sauté for about 10 minutes or until the onion begins to soften. Cut the broccoli into small florets, trim and slice the stalk and cut the courgette into half circles. Add the vegetables to the pan along with the capers and brine and sauté for a further 5 minutes, then add the wine.
Once the alcohol has evaporated, add the peas, spinach, coconut cream and stock and season. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened, stirring from time to time so the sauce doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon zest and juice.
Serve with quinoa, topped with a sprinkling of parsley.
Middle Eastern sweet potato wraps
Roasted sweet potato slices are on weekly rotation in our home, tucking them into salads, mixing them with cooked lentils as a hearty dinner, placing them inside mayo sandwiches, or in wraps like this one here. The boiled eggs make it a more substantial meal; dates, pomegranate and feta add a burst of flavours, and lettuce and cucumber keep it light and fresh.
Serves 2
sweet potato 1 small
ground cumin ½ tsp
ground turmeric ¼ tsp
sea salt ½ tsp
freshly ground black pepper ¼ tsp
extra-virgin olive oil 2 tbsp
wholegrain or buckwheat tortillas or flatbreads 2
mixed lettuce 2 small handfuls (50g)
cucumber slices 10
hard-boiled eggs 2 free-range, peeled and quartered
soft dates 2, pitted and thinly sliced
feta 40g, crumbled
pomegranate ¼, seeded
tahini 2 tbsp
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 200C/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Wash and dry the sweet potato then slice it into 5mm thick rounds (with the skin on). Put the rounds in a bowl along with the spices, salt, pepper and oil and toss until well coated. Spread the sweet potato out in a single layer on the baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes or until soft and golden with crispy edges. Turn the slices over halfway through the cooking time to ensure that they bake evenly. Remove from the oven and set aside while you start assembling the tortillas.
Heat the tortillas in the oven for a couple of minutes then lay them flat on a board. Fill the centre of each tortilla with a line of the lettuce, then top with the baked sweet potato, followed by the cucumber, eggs, dates and feta and, finally, a sprinkling of the pomegranate seeds, a drizzle of the tahini and a pinch of the salt and pepper. Gently fold the bottom of each tortilla up to cover part of the filling, before folding one side in towards the centre, followed by the other. Enjoy!
Tip If you can’t find soft dates, soak dried dates in hot water for 20 minutes.
Shattered blueberry and yogurt cake
We got the idea from a deconstructed chocolate cake we had at a Copenhagen rooftop restaurant a couple of years ago.
By shattering the cake and layering the pieces with yogurt and whipped cream it looks even more decadent and it also turns the serving process into a lottery, as the pieces come in all shapes and sizes. As spectacular as it might look, the great flavour and texture are actually our favourite things about this cake. Light, moist and sweet, with pieces of blueberries breaking through.
Serves 8
Dry ingredients
rolled oats 100g
almond flour 100g
rice flour 80g
baking powder 1 tsp
sea salt ½ tsp
vanilla extract ½ tsp
Wet ingredients
butter 100g, at room temperature
pure maple syrup or runny honey 160ml
unwaxed lemon zest of 1
full-fat plain unsweetened yogurt 250ml
eggs 3 free-range, separated
blueberries or berries of choice 300g, fresh or frozen (thawed)
To serve
full-fat plain unsweetened yogurt
whipped cream
fresh berries of choice
Preheat the oven to 180C/gas mark 4, grease a 20cm springform cake tin and line it with parchment paper.
Place the oats in a food processor and blend until the texture resembles coarse flour. Transfer to a large mixing bowl, add the rest of the dry ingredients and stir until combined. Make a well in the centre and set aside while you prepare the wet ingredients.
Cut the butter into cubes and add it to the bowl of a stand mixer along with the maple syrup and lemon zest and mix until well combined and creamy. Add the yogurt and egg yolks, mix until just combined and set aside.
Place the egg whites in a clean, dry bowl of the stand mixer or in a medium sized mixing bowl and beat until soft peaks form. Using a spatula, gently fold the wet ingredients, followed by the egg whites and half the blueberries, into the dry ingredients until just combined, making sure not to over-mix as the cake will be compact otherwise.
Pour the cake batter into the tin, scatter the remaining blueberries on top and bake for about 1 hour or until golden and a skewer inserted in the centre of the cake comes out clean. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly in the tin before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store the cake at room temperature in an airtight container and it will keep for 3-5 days.
When ready to serve, carefully break the cake up into different-sized pieces and separate them slightly, while still maintaining the overall circular shape of the cake. Serve topped with dollops of yogurt, cream and a scattering of berries.
