COCONUT AND TOMATO LAKSA

Tomato purée somehow feels a bit old-fashioned, retro and reliable. This laksa-style soup shows it off in all its glory – the dish gains so much depth from it. The deep, savoury tomato is mixed with aromatics and, once it hits the creamy coconut milk, a well-rounded, multi-layered flavour is created. I use the term ‘laksa’ so you know to expect richness, spice and coconut, but this recipe is far from a traditional laksa, which has so many variations all over Southeast

Asia. The paste can also be made and frozen in ice-cube trays for later use.

SERVES 4

H 1-3 small Thai red chillies, depending on your tolerance

H 6 cloves of garlic, peeled

H 2 shallots, peeled and chopped into a few chunks

H thumb-size piece of ginger, peeled and chopped into 3

H 15 raw cashew nuts (40g)

H 1 tbsp sambal oelek or other chilli sauce

H 2 tbsp coconut oil or other cooking oil

H 2 tbsp tomato purée

H 200g dried flat rice noodles

H 400ml tin coconut milk

H 3 unwaxed limes

H 4 lime leaves

H 15g mint (reserve a few sprigs for garnish)

H 15g coriander (reserve a few sprigs for garnish)

H 1 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed

H sea salt

H 2 handfuls of freshly podded peas

H bunch of asparagus, sliced

H a few sliced spring onions

H 200g silken tofu, cut into cubes

1 To make the laksa paste, blend the chillies, garlic, shallots, ginger and cashews in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Add the sambal oelek, coconut oil and tomato purée and blend again until smooth.

2 To cook the rice noodles, fill a large pan with water and bring to the boil. Remove the pan from the heat, add the noodles and soak them for 6-10 minutes, until tender but still chewy. Drain the noodles and rinse well under cold water, then return to the pan, tossing in a little oil to stop them sticking. Set aside.

3 To make the broth, boil a kettle of water. Heat a large pan over a medium heat, add the laksa paste and fry for a few minutes to cook the tomato purée and the spices. Once the paste has darkened in colour a little, add the coconut milk along with a tinful (400ml) of boiling water. Add the juice of 2 limes, the lime leaves, half each of the mint leaves, the coriander leaves and the coriander seeds, and season to taste with sea salt.

4 Add the vegetables to the pan and simmer until tender, about 2 minutes.

5 To serve, divide the cooked noodles between 4 bowls, then divide the cubed silken tofu among them. Add the vegetables evenly, then the laksa broth. Finish with the remaining mint, coriander and wedges from the remaining lime.