Cauliflower curry, boiled eggs & coconut crumble

Cauliflower and eggs are two of my favourite things, here ingeniously combined by Dan Doherty of the Duck & Waffle in his brilliant book Toast, Hash, Roast, Mash.

Dan writes: "I fell in love with vegetable curries while spending time in India and Bangladesh – cauliflower curry being one of my favourites. The coconut works really well, adding flavour and a rich creaminess, with a crunch in the topping."

Serves 4–6

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

olive oil

1 cauliflower, broken into florets

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1 teaspoon onion seeds

1 tablespoon curry powder

1 onion, finely chopped

2.5cm (1 inch) piece of ginger, grated

4 garlic cloves, crushed

1 red chilli, finely chopped

150g (5 ½ oz) cooked yellow lentils

2 x 400ml (14fl oz) cans of coconut milk

sea salt flakes and freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons desiccated coconut

8 eggs, hard-boiled and shelled

a large sprig of coriander

Heat some olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat and brown the cauliflower florets on all sides.

Meanwhile put the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, ground turmeric, onion seeds and curry powder in a dry frying pan over a medium heat and toast for a few minutes, shaking the pan, until you can smell the aromas and the spices look toasted.

Add the onion to the cauliflower pan and cook over a medium heat without letting it colour for 5–6 minutes, or until soft . Add the ginger, garlic and red chilli and cook for a further 3 minutes, again without letting them colour. Stir in the toasted spices and cook for 3 minutes, then add the cooked lentils and pour over the coconut milk. Season with salt and pepper, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a dry pan, toast the desiccated coconut over a medium heat, shaking the pan, until golden brown.

After the final 10 minutes cooking time, the cauliflower should be cooked but retain a little bite. Add the eggs and cook for 3–5 minutes more. Roughly chop the coriander, stalks included, and stir through.

Transfer to a serving dish and scatter the toasted coconut all over, like a crumble, then serve.

What to drink:

Assuming you manage to resist the temptation of having this for breakfast (I would be sorely tempted, personally) a glass of dry white wine such as a chenin blanc, (not too oaky) chardonnay or viognier would be delicious with it. And if you're having it for brunch, why not a glass of champagne or cava?

See also The Best Wine Pairings for Cauliflower

Extracted from Toast Hash Roast Mash by Dan Doherty, published by Mitchell Beazley, £20 www.octopusbooks.co.uk. Photograph ©Anders Schonnemann

Soup for Syria: spiced red lentil soup

I don't often post commercial recipes but this delicious soup from London restaurant Arabica Bar & Kitchen is being promoted in a very good cause.

All profits from the soup, which they're selling in their restaurant throughout January, are being donated to 'Soup for Syria', the humanitarian cookbook project fronted by food writer Barbara Abdeni Massaad. The money raised will go to the UN Refugee Agency UNHCR to help provide urgently needed food relief for Syrian refugees.

Serves 4 generously

Ingredients

3 tbsp olive oil

2 small onions, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tsp ras el hanout

½ tsp urfa chilli flakes

1 bay leaf

2 tsp tomato paste

200g red lentils

3 tsp pomegranate molasses

1- 1.2 litres hot water

Sea salt to taste

Black pepper

To finish

Fresh thyme leaves

Sumac

Fried onions or shallots (Available from any oriental supermarket)

Black pepper

Method

Peel and finely dice the onion.

Heat the olive oil in a medium sized saucepan, add the onions and cook on a low heat until they soften, become translucent and give off their natural sweetness.

Add the garlic, bay leaf, and ras el hanout and continue to cook on a low heat for further minute stirring continuously.

Add the tomato paste, red lentils and slowly add 1 litre of boiling water mixing as you go. Finally add the pomegranate molasses. Bring to the boil. Skim the surface if necessary. Lower the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for 30 minutes or till the lentils are fully cooked and begin to break down.

Blend the soup to a smooth consistency and season with salt to taste. If the soup is too thick add more water.

To serve ladle into deep soup bowls, drizzle with olive oil, liberally sprinkle with crispy onions, a pinch of cracked black pepper, a few fresh thyme leaves and a tiny pinch of citrusy sumac.

What to drink: I'm not sure you really need anything to drink with this apart from water - I mean it is January, right? But I wouldn't say no to a glass of Domaine des Tourelles red from the Bekaa Valley in Lebanon