5 Minute Food Fix

We discuss the utter absence of cooking with cactus in our lives (!) and a cookbook which I have loved by Nik Sharma called VEG-TABLE.To make the recipe, you need500g Orecchiette (thus named because the tiny scooped pieces look like a baby's ear 285g frozen peas11/2 tsp cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle4 cloves of garlic, grated1 tsp red pepper flakes, eg., Aleppo, Maras or Urfa.2-3tbs white miso paste (I use 3, Nik Sharma says 2)lots of grated Parmesan or Grana Padano (I use a cup+)snipped chives from the gardenBoil the pasta in generously salted rolling boiling water a minute or 2 less than the amount of time recommended on the packet. In the last 2 minutes, add the peas to the pot. Drain, reserving 1 cup of pasta water. Dress the cooked pasta/peas with 1tbs of olive oil. Set aside and then:Warm 3 tbs good olive oil then add cumin seeds and fennel seeds. Fry for less than 1 minute until releasing their aromas. Add in the garlic and red pepper flakes.Dissolve the miso paste in 1/3 cup of the reserved pasta water. Add this to the fried spices then add the peas and crush them a little so they're less intact and more prepared to integrate with the sauce.Use a big slotted spoon to fold the cooked pasta into the spice mixture, adding in about 1/4 cup of cheese. Feel free to add a bit more pasta water to make the final version brothy. Taste. It may need more salt. Serve with more cheese on top and some generous snips of chives.

On today's episode Simon and Yumi reminisce about when they first started recording the podcast more than 280 episodes ago - in the KiiS Sydney studios, using Kyle Sandilands's diamond-encrusted microphone.It's been an incredibly fun and delicious ride since then and today's a bit of a full-circle moment as Simon builds on that first ever episode's food suggestion - try grating a tomato on your box grater. Add olive oil and a generous pinch of salt, garlic if you want (don't have to), and then spoon this simple mixture onto sourdough toast. Unbelievable!So what now? Cook it? Add seafood? You'll have to listen! And share the podcast with your people!

Some great info in today's episode about why some foods burn while we're cooking them EVEN WHEN WE'RE RIGHT THERE WATCHING.It's all about SUGAR content! Whether in a bolognese sauce or the fancy toast you keep burning, WHY? And what to do about it?PLUS - try this brilliant Teriyaki Sauce recipe that is TOO EASY to believe!TERIYUMMY CHICKEN500g chicken thigh fillet, cut into plus-size nuggets, dusted in plain flour2-3 tbs plain oil, eg., grapeseed, peanut or canolaTERIYAKI SAUCE2 tbs Kikkoman soy sauce2 tbs mirin (a sweet wine)1 tsp honeyPreheat the oil in a heavy-based frypan. When it's hot to sizzle, tumble in the dusted chicken pieces. Fry until burnished, then when pretty cooked, pour in the combined teriyaki sauce ingredients. Cook, stirring to coat the chicken and reduce a little, then remove from the heat and serve immediately on hot rice. Optional: top with a handful of roasted cashews.

On today's episode I take care to explain exactly what is meant by the Very Online term, 'Girl Dinner'... and I have a girl dinner of my own to share, based on this recipe - but not much like it at all.YUMI'S GIRL DINNER FLATBREAD1 x small, round za'atar flatbread, shop boughtabout 150g of halloumi cheese, grated1 x medium zucchini, shaved into ribbonssalt, pepper, a drizzle of honey (optional), fresh oregano (optional)Pre-heat the grill to HOT.Top the flatbread with grated halloumi and then arrange the ribbons of zucchini artfully around on top. Season with salt and pepper then pop under the hot grill for about 5 mins. (Keep an eye on it - your grill is different to mine, and how close your tray is to the heating element makes a huge difference to how long it will need. You want the bread hot and steamy, the zucchini cooked and the cheese melted.)Pull out, pop on a plate, drizzle with honey and oregano if you can stump up that much energy, then serve with an opened tin of sardines on the side. If you want. I mean Simon audibly gagged when I suggested this so you figure it out!

It's no secret that Simon Davis LOVES Greek yoghurt as an ingredient. But has he ever been this excited about Greek yoghurt as he is today?Listen for a fantastic rave about Anna Jones's new cookbook 'Easy Wins' - an exasperated take on mayo - and this fantastic recipe:Frizzled Spring Onion and Olive Oil Dip150g good Greek yoghurt, strained if you can be bothered1 bunch spring onions, finely chopped100ml olive oil1 tsp pul biber Turkish chilli flakes 1 tsp sugar1/2 tsp ground turmericzest and juice of 2 limessalt and pepperOver a low-medium heat, fry the spring onion and pul biber chilli flakes in the olive oil until crisping and charring on the edges, veritably sizzling and frizzling - around 10 minutes.At the 9th minute, add the sugar and turmeric.Remove from heat, add salt and pepper then set aside and allow to coolJuice and zest the limes into the yoghurt, mix through, add salt to taste. Opulently dress the yoghurt with the yellow onion and oil mixture. Mix through or leave it on top. Serve with bread, chips, roast chicken, lamb chops, whatever you want! It's amazing!

Making bread takes a bit of effort so you really want it to pay off!On today's episode, Simon and I discuss YEAST and a book that I am a huge fan of - - Karen Martini's COOK (- which I manage to mis-name as "Food" - my apologies!). There's so much in there, it's basically an encyclopaedia OF FOOD. I even bought a second copy to give to my kid who lives out of home.And I'm still discovering cool new recipes inside. Like this one:POTATO BREADCombine 300g still-warm mashed potato with 500g plain flour then add to the mixing bowl of your stand mixer.Add 375ml of warm water which has already had 7g dried yeast added to it and dissolved. Mix using the dough hook for about 6 minutes.Allow the dough to prove in a warm place (not hot!) until double in size. Could take an hour? Could take longer.Tip the dough into a metal baking tray. Drizzle it with oil and stretch it to fit the pan. Cover and leave it for 45 mins.Meanwhile, pre-heat the oven to 190C.When your bread looks big and puffy, gooshje your fingers deeply into the dough to create many delightful indentations. Top with your choice of yummies. (I use fresh rosemary and flaky salt.) Karen Martini suggests 250g cherry tomatoes, 80g pitted and torn black olives, Greek oregano, 1 tbs red-wine vinegar, 1 tsp caster sugar and 5 anchovies.Bake for 40 mins until well puffed and golden.

It's funny to realise just how inevitable it is that when you first get a mandolin slicer (also known as a 'V-Slicer'), you are likely to cut your fingertips or knuckles a few times before giving the gadget the respect (and caution) it deserves!Simon has a couple of golden rules for staying safe when using it... and a beautiful salad that makes the most of your amazing mandolin.Fennel and Radish Salad1 fennel bulb, trimmed and halved1 bunch of washed and trimmed radishparmesan cheeseLemony dressing:Juice of 1 lemon6 - 8 tbs of your best olive oilsalt1/2 tsp mustard

Cookbook authors reach for a few phrases that suck me in every time. If someone says, "I've tried it many other ways, but THIS way is the best! I can't veganise it!" - - I tend to believe them. Today we celebrate a brilliant book that won a Guild Award in the UK - Ruby Tandoh's 'Cook As You Are'. The book Simon edited which previously won the same award is Mark Diacono's 'A Taste of the Unexpected'. Ruby Tandoh's Gnocchi Recipe:1 packet of store-bought gnocchibuttercaperschili crisp oiltons of finely grated parmesanCook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions, remembering to reserve a few tablespoons of the cooking water.Meanwhile, melt the butter in a medium-large frypan. When it's molten, add the capers. Add in the chilli crisp oil to loosen, then add in the cooked gnocchi and pasta water. Serve on a bed of baby spinach (optional, this is my recommendation!) with a ton of grated cheese.