Green apple, thai basil and smoked tofu with shallots and bird’s-eye chilli

20 MINUTES | SERVES 4

EASY |

LC

The apples and the smoked tofu are an excellent canvas for the dressing in this recipe, a dazzling combination of cherry tomatoes and peanuts, which are bashed then mixed through with lime, fish sauce and shallots. Try to get hold of some thai basil – it has a pungent, slightly spicy flavour redolent of liquorice and anise, quite different to standard basil, which has more minty, grassy notes. Most larger supermarkets stock it these days, as do Asian supermarkets.

garlic 2 cloves, finely chopped

bird’s-eye chillies 1-3, thinly sliced, plus extra to taste

palm sugar (or use soft light brown sugar) 1 tbsp

roasted peanuts 30g, lightly crushed

cherry tomatoes 8, halved

fish sauce 4 tsp, plus extra to taste

lime 1, juiced, plus extra to taste

shallots 3 round or 1 long, finely sliced

green eating apples (such as Granny Smith) 3

Little Gem 2, or leaves separated

smoked tofu 200g, cut into bite-sized pieces

thai basil a small bunch, leaves picked and roughly chopped if large soft round lettuce

• Use a food processor on pulse or a pestle and mortar to pound the garlic, chillies and sugar to a paste. Add 1 tbsp of the peanuts and all the tomatoes and pound or blitz to bruise the tomatoes and release some juices. Stir in the fish sauce, lime juice and shallots, season and set to one side.

• Fill a bowl with some salted water. Slice or shred the apples with a peeler or cut them into matchsticks (peel them, if you prefer), putting them straight into the salted water to prevent discolouration. Drain the apples and transfer to a large mixing bowl along with the lettuce leaves, tofu and basil. Add the dressing, adjusting with more lime, chilli or fish sauce if you like, and serve with the remaining peanuts scattered over the top.

PER SERVING 232 KCALS | FAT 9.5G

SATURATES 1.5G | CARBS 19.8G | SUGARS 16.2G

FIBRE 4.7G | PROTEIN 14.6G | SALT 2.5G 1,