A CELEBRATION OF SIMPLICITY

VIS FOR VEGET ARIAN

PHOTOGRAPHS MARTIN POOLE FOOD STYLING MARINA FILIPPELLI STYLING JO HARRIS

Deliciousness and joy are the driving forces behind the food I write about and serve in my café. Texture and flavour are my main concerns, ease and satisfaction my aims. These meat-free recipes from my new book are the sort of food I cook day in, day out – nutritious, with simple prep and minimal washing up. They’re ideal dishes for midweek, and for get-ahead, make-and-freeze batch cooking. It’s modern food for the way I live, and I hope it fits into your lives too. ELLY PEAR

A BIT ABOUT ELLY

Her surname is Curshen but she has a pseudonym, Pear, by which she’s best known. She runs the highly regarded Pear Cafe in Bristol. Her popular first book, Elly Pear’s Fast Days and Feast Days, centred on 5:2 eating (restricting calorie intake to 500 per day, two days a week). Her latest book is all about healthy, nutritious, veg-centric food that’s easy to put together – and tastes great, of course.

Refried beans baked with green rice and eggs

SERVES 2. HANDS-ON TIME 35 MIN, OVEN TIME 30 MIN

A fragrant, spiced, herby rice hides at the bottom of this dish, layered up and baked with refried beans, tomatoes and eggs. The surface is covered with avocado, toasted seeds and hot sauce. All the good stuff. You’re going to love this one. Make a mini-one for yourself with leftovers and just one egg, in a little ramekin, or scale it up and feed a crowd, like in the photograph.

FOOD TEAM’S TIP

To make this recipe dairy free, grease the dish with oil instead of butter.