Broccoli And Carrots, With Cashew Sauce And Rice (Serves 4)

• Brown rice, cooked in stock
• 1 Tbs butter or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 cinnamon stick, broken
• small knob of fresh ginger root
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• 6-8 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 150g (1 cup) crispy cashew nuts
• 250ml water (or chicken or vegetable stock)
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1-2 tbls lemon juice (optional)
• 450g (1 lb) broccoli, or combination of broccoli and carrot

3 hours before serving – set some brown rice cooking in some stock (as per previous page). [Or pre-cook your rice, and just reheat on the night]

½ an hour before serving, prepare the vegetables, and get them ready to steam, then make the sauce. Heat the butter or oil in a medium saucepan, add the onion and the cinnamon stick then cover and cook gently for 5 minutes, until the onion has softened. Meanwhile, grate the ginger on the fine side of a grater and crush the garlic. Add the ginger and the garlic to the onion, cover again and cook for 2-3 minutes. Crush the cardamom so that the seeds come out of the pods; discard the pods and crush the seeds a bit. Stir these into the onion along with the turmeric and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.

Se the vegetables cooking. Take the cinnamon out of the pan but don’t throw it away. Tip the onion mixture into a food processor and add the cashew nuts and of water. Whizz thoroughly until creamy. Tip the mixture back into the pan and add the cinnamon stick again. Season with salt and pepper, sharpen with a little lemon juice if necessary, then reheat the sauce gently and keep it warm while you finish steaming the vegetables.

Pile some rice on each plate, pour over some sauce and top with the steamed vegetables.