VIETNAMESE TOMATO SALAD
Will someone please fly me to Vietnam? I have asked before and I think it would be so nice. I have been good. I would like to walk through markets. I would like to pick herbs from the centre of a table and add them to a steaming bowl before me of something redolent with lemongrass and lime. Pho? Bánh mì? I would also like a proper Vietnamese coffee. Until then, I dream. This Nuoc Cham-dressed salad is a tenuous spectre of what could be, but delicious nonetheless!
SERVES: 4-6
500g mixed heirloom tomatoes, halved if small, or cut into wedges if large
1 small fennel bulb, thinly sliced 1 Persian cucumber, halved lengthwise and sliced into halfmoons, or 3 small Lebanese cucumbers, cut on the diagonal 1 red onion, thinly sliced
½ cup Nuoc Cham dressing (see p10)
1/3 cup crushed salted dry-roasted peanuts (peanut roasting works best in an oven)
1/3 cup store-bought fried shallots or onions (or you can make your own, see p176)
2 cups coarsely chopped mixed tender herbs such as dill, coriander and/or basil
1 Layer the salad ingredients, beginning with the tomatoes, then fennel, cucumber and red onion, drizzling the Nuoc Cham dressing all over the salad as you go. 2 Finish with the crushed peanuts, crispy onions and all those glorious herbs!
For the past two years, my partner and I have been whipping up an assortment of treats inspired by our love of cooking, especially since the first dish I made included a chocolate mousse and crushed cookies with a sprig of mint to symbolise our blossoming future. To continue this, we have compiled our own cookbook, and an air fryer cake seemed the perfect addition. While the finsihed product is tasty, calling it a cake is an overstatement. It’s really a brownie recipe. If you want to pinch pennies, I’d suggest substituting the Kahlua with any flavoured Amarula. Neither the alcohol nor sugar overpower the recipe, and this is coming from someone who adds a little extra of everything as a way of putting the love into a dish. If you are worried about the cup full of sugar, I’ve learnt that replacing it with brown sugar can work. You can also pull back on the butter or oil as the molasses in the sugar will make it just as moist.