Change-up your weekday supper routine with three recipes from Melissa Hemsley’s Eat Green…

Parsnip Dahl topped with roasted parsnips and pink pickled onions

Feeds 6, takes 40mins

This is ideal to make at the end of the weekend with any leftover root veg that didn’t make it into the Sunday roast.

INGREDIENTS
• 4 tbsp ghee or oil
• 5 large parsnips (about 900g)
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 thumb of ginger, finely grated
• 400g split red lentils, rinsed
• 2 large handfuls of fresh coriander, leaves and stems finely chopped separately
• 3 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 × 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk
• 200g leafy greens, like chard, leaves and stems finely chopped
• Yoghurt, to serve (optional)

SPICE MIX
• 1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric
• 2 tbsp ground cumin or 11/2 tbsp cumin seeds, roughly ground
• 2 tbsp ground coriander or 1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds
• 2 tbsp black mustard seeds, roughly ground
• A pinch of chilli flakes or chilli powder
• A big pinch of sea salt and black pepper

PINK PICKLED ONIONS
• 2 large red onions, thinly sliced
• Juice of 2 limes or 4 tbsp vinegar
• A big pinch of sea salt
• 2 tsp maple syrup (optional)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to fan 220°C/Gas mark 9 and melt 2 tablespoons of the ghee or oil on a large baking tray in the oven. Meanwhile, mix the spice mix in a small bowl and slice up three of the parsnips into about 18 wedges, say 5cm × 1.5cm, then toss the parsnip wedges in the oil on the tray with half of the spice mix. Pop in the oven for about 30–35 minutes, tossing halfway through with the maple syrup, until golden and going crispy at the edges. In a large pan, fry the onion in the remaining 2 tablespoons of ghee over a medium heat for 10 minutes, stirring occassionally, while you get on with everything else. Add the remaining half of the spice mix, plus the garlic and ginger and fry for 3 minutes. Add the diced parsnips and lentils, the chopped coriander stems and the tomato purée and let fry. After a minute, add the coconut milk, then fill up the tin four times with hot water (1.6 litres) and pour in, stirring well. Pop the lid on, bring to the boil and immediately turn down to a medium heat and let simmer for 20 minutes. Stir a few times throughout to make sure the lentils don’t stick. Add more liquid if you think it needs it or if you like your dahl soupier, like I do.  Meanwhile, scrunch and massage the red onion in a bowl with the lime juice, salt and maple syrup, if using, for 30 seconds, then leave to bathe in the salty lime juice.

Once the lentils and parsnips in the pan are cooked, add the chopped greens, pop the lid on so they steam for 3–5 minutes until just tender, then taste for seasoning.  Serve up each bowl, topped with the roasted parsnips, coriander leaves, pink pickled onions and their juices and a dollop of yoghurt, if you like.

WASTE NOT
Swap the parsnips for carrots, sweet potato, squash or cauliflower and you can use kale or spinach in place of the chard.

Fridge-Raid Frittata

Feeds 4, takes 20 mins

The beauty of a frittata is that anything goes – really, it does! In this case, broccoli is the star, but let whatever is in your fridge take the lead. Always aim for some green as it’s often the green veg that most of us could do with more of. Not only is a vegetable frittata an easy and delicious way to start your day, but in this case you eat the whole broccoli in all its glory – stems and stalks – and, even better, everything happens in the same pan. If you’ve got cooked broccoli ready to go, then skip step 1 and save time. And if you know you’ll be rushing out the door a lot this week, bake it in a 12-hole muffin tray at fan 170°C/Gas mark 5 for 10–15 minutes for a grab-and-go breakfast or snack.

INGREDIENTS
• 1 large head of broccoli, florets evenly chopped and stem finely chopped
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 2 tbsp butter
• 10 eggs
• 2 large handfuls of grated cheese (I use mature Cheddar or you could use crumbled feta or goat’s cheese)
• Sea salt and black pepper

OPTIONAL EXTRAS
• A handful of chopped fresh basil, parsley, chives or celery leaves
• Chilli flakes, to taste
• 2 handfuls of wild garlic, chopped (when in season)

DIRECTIONS
Grab a medium-sized, deep-sided frying pan and steam the broccoli for 3 minutes in about 4 tablespoons of water, lid on, until almost tender and just turned bright green. Drain any excess liquid (though the broccoli will probably absorb it all) and set the broccoli aside.

Pop the pan back on the heat and gently fry the red onion rings and garlic in the butter for a few minutes.

Meanwhile, whisk the eggs together in a bowl, add salt, pepper and the cheese, plus any of the herbs, chilli flakes or wild garlic, if using.
Preheat the grill to high. Add the broccoli back to the pan to coat in the garlic butter, then pour in the egg mix, stirring so that the broccoli and onions are distributed evenly. Let the bottom and sides cook and start to set over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.
Pop the frittata under the grill for a further 5 minutes until golden on top and just cooked through (give the pan a wobble to check), then slide it onto a chopping board or plate. Cool for 10 minutes and slice up into quarters.

WASTE NOT
This is divine with cauliflower too and tastes a bit like cauliflower cheese. The day I handed in this book, I made a celebratory clear-out-the-fridge frittata with 2 big handfuls of chopped mushrooms, shredded cabbage, 1 tablespoon of leftover cream, ¼ onion and a big pinch of fresh thyme leaves. It was delicious and too good to not share with you here.

Tahini Choc Chip Cookies

Makes 16 cookies, takes 25 mins

The vegan version of these are just as delicious, none of us can decide which we love the most. Store these cakey cookies in an airtight container for 5 days. You could warm them briefly in the oven to give them a little crispening boost. The dough freezes well so double up and save half for a rainy day. Just defrost, then slice into portions before putting in the oven.

INGREDIENTS
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 4 tbsp maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 150g light tahini
• 110g smooth nut butter
• 100g good-quality dark chocolate, broken up into squares, or chips
• 30g black and/or white sesame seeds
• A pinch of sea salt

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to fan 170°C/gas mark 5. Line a large baking tray with reusable baking paper.In a large mixing bowl, whisk the eggs then mix in the baking powder, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Add the tahini and nut butter and mix together until very well combined. Roughly chop the chocolate (if not using chips) and fold through the batter along with the sesame seeds. Measure out 16 balls of the cookie batter, roughly 1 tablespoon each, and bake for 10–15 minutes on the lined baking tray (making sure to leave a little room between each one) until the cookies are just set. Remove from the oven, sprinkle with a little sea salt and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving.

FLEXI SWAP
For vegans, replace the 2 eggs with 1 large mashed ripe banana. You can also swap the nut butter for the same amount of a seed butter or tahini for a nut-free alternative.

Eat Green by Melissa Hemsley (Ebury Press) £22 hbk. Photography by Philippa Langley;

hemsleyandhemsley.com

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