5 Minute Food Fix

Simon has taken the news that Yumi started introducing a tiny bit of her digestive nemesis - GARLIC - into her diet, and he's run with it.Inspired by the recipe from Gizzi Erskine's seminal cookbook, SLOW, Simon has a way to do garlic that is pretty magical and also, supremely easy.Tumble 4-5 whole bulbs of garlic with the tops sliced off into a tiny saucepan. Cover it with good quality olive oil.Add herbs like rosemary, thyme to the oil IF YOU WANT.Gently and slowly cook until bubbles are forming around the bulbs - for 20-30 mins. Strictly DO NOT BOIL.Remove the garlic cloves. They are available to be used as a condiment, smooshed onto toast, blended through a salad dressing or part of a bean gratin.The oil, once cooled, can be used to flavour anything at all ...with fewer digestive complaints! And NO, Simon did *not* provide the show notes he said he would. However, we will do a whole episode on the Bean Gratin he mentions. Next! On your 5 Minute Food Fix. xxx

What do Ottolenghi and Hetty McKinnon have in common?(Besides best-selling cookbooks?)They both embrace fancying up seeds and nuts to devastatingly good effect in a salad. How can we replicate it?And what hack does Yumi have on days when you just haven't got the energy?(PS. This is not a sponsored episode, just a really good hack that you can get from the shops!)

There's a cult TV show that half the world knows about and is OBSESSED by, and the other half has no idea whatsoever.That show is Heated Rivalry and Yumi counts herself as completely, 100% indoctrinated into the cult of Shane and Ilya. In today's episode, Yumi discovers that Simon has actually watched it as well !! and nearly implodes in delight. She also has a TUNA MELT recipe (IYKYK) that looks a lot like this one, with a few variations.TUNA SALAD FOR TUNA MELT1 well-drained 425g tin tuna2 celery sticks, dicedfreshly chopped parsley, 1/4 cup3 gherkin pickles, finely chopped, or 10 cornichons1/2 cup of good mayonnaise, to taste (add more or less depending on how you like it)salt, pepper, chilli flakesMETHODAssemble and mix the tuna salad. (This can be made ahead until your "boring" hot boyfriend comes over.)Turn on the grill or sandwich press.Spoon it out onto good quality sourdough bread.Top with 2 slices of American cheese or grated tasty.Pop under the grill until melted.Top with another piece of bread, press it down, then return the whole thing to the grill until toasted. Flip to toast the other side. Serve immediately. With ginger ale.

Much to Yumi's jealousy... Simon has discovered that his kids actually quite like soup - and a sophisticated one at that!On this episode you'll also hear about the super-easy stock that Yumi has been making now that she has hardly any freezer space.SOUR LENTIL SOUP - ADAS BIL HAMOD200g brown of green lentilscover with salted water then boil up for 20 mins until cooked but still with a bit of bite and shapedrain them offin a big pot heat 3tbs olive oil, 2 chopped onions and 5 garlic cloves, 1.5tbs cumin seeds and the peel of a lemon.Cook down gently and consistently for at least 15 minutes, stirring until soft and golden.Add in 3 chopped waxy potatoes.Throw in the lentils then the chopped hard stalks of some chard.Add a litre of stock and 800ml water.Bring to a simmer, pop the lid on the pot and simmer for 20 mins.When ready to serve, stir through the leaves of the chard or some baby spinach and the juice of 3 lemons.Finish with a dash of olive oil, coriander and/or chopped washed coriander.Also if you're interested, here is a good online recipe

More genius ideas about how to feed the whole family from the legendary Simon Davis.In this episode Yumi has a story about how her two younger kids nearly got food poisoning... and the fact is, Simon has ACTUAL REAL HELP for parents trying to feed their kids.2-Speed Pilaf (serves 4)You need a good-sized, heavy-pased pan with a lid that fits.Start by in that pan, adding 1tbs butter and 1tbs olive oil, add a finely chopped onion. Fry down until the onion has softened and then add a clove or two of minced garlic. Fry up 1.5cups of basmati rice, 1tsp cumin and 1/2 tsp of turmeric. (Leave these out if your kids are sensitive of spices!)Add in the 2.5 cups stock and water and cook at a low heat with the lid on. Allow to cook for 12 mins.For kids?Stir through a knob of butter and some peas and sweet corn.For the adults?Take some purple seedles grapes and a little olive oil fry them until blistering.To the pan, toss through mint, dill and parsley, some lemon zest and lemon juice.Spoon the rice into bowls, top with the blistered grabs and a fat dollop of labne or crumble over some fetta and sprinkle over some Aleppo pepper.YUMI

This is an incredible recipe from one of my most treasured cookbooks of the past year!If you love feeling nurtured and nourished by food that is loving and rich in flavours... please try this!Sami's book FALASTIN can be found here.And a version of the recipe (save me typing it out) can be found on this website.

SIMON'S SPIN ON THIS SILLY INTERNET FAD!Take 500g of Greek yoghurtMix in 2+tbs of honey, 1/2tsp vanilla, zest of one lemon and a pinch of salt.Mix well and check for sweetness. Mix to make sure the salt is dissolved.Press in some digestive biscuits, cover, and set it back in the fridge and leave it overnight.Serve with a fresh drizzle of honey, a handful of chopped pistachios, and some berries (compote = optional!).

Yumi shares a bad experience she had with being married.(It's food-related, trust me.)And Simon brings in the New Year with a perfect, easy, and really, really effective way to nail a good piece of salmon or trout.Bring a small pot of water to the boil. (It needs to fit your pieces of fish.)Add a teaspoon of salt and any aromatics that get you excited, eg., a teaspoon of peppercorns, a bayleaf, some garlic. But none of this is essential.Turn off the heat then gently lower your salmon pieces into the water. Put the lid back on the pot and leave the fish undisturbed for 11 minutes. (A bigger piece might need 13 mins, a smaller piece might need 9. But 11 is pretty spot-on for a standard piece of fish.Carefully scoop the fish out and let it dry on some kitchen paper or a clean tea towel.Serve with Simon's Yoggutty SauceStart with 3-4 spoons of thick Greek yoghurtstir in some tahini or a spoonful of horseradish, with a big squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt.

There's nothing Yumi loves more than being set on a food adventure!In this case, it's a friend's new baby that triggers a trip to the butcher and the creation of an iconic roast lamb meal.We also shout out to the legendary Nagi from Recipe Tin Eats, whose lamb creation was incredibly necessary (although adding anchovies is Yumi's idea).Check out Nagi's recipe here.