Chef Shivi Ramoutar shows us how to snip, chop and tear ingredients into easy, delicious dishes – perfect for those of us with busy lives
Mumbai roasted potatoes
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Meet Shivi
Shivi first shared her take on Caribbean cuisine on 2013’s MasterChef, and regularly appears on cookery shows with her family-focused recipes. Cook Clever: One Chop, No Waste, All Taste (HarperCollins, £20) is her third book. @shiviramoutar
S Simplicity does not have to mean boring. My new book, Cook Clever, is all about the day-to-day. It’s about delicious simplicity, and my hope is that this book will bring you out of the food rut you might find yourself in when you’re stuck in a routine of cooking the same meals day in, day out. Think exciting, but easy!
As a chef, my passion is creating lovely flavours that work together. But the reality is that I have three young children and I’m busy! The book was inspired by the fact that I still wanted those delicious textures, flavours and colours – but done in a very simple way. Something I can manage to do while holding one child, colouring with another and doing homework with the other! It’s very much borne out of reality!
The ingredients in my kitchen are carefully chosen to ensure that chopping is kept to an absolute minimum. I always keep jarred peppers in my pantry because I think they are a genius ingredient. You get that gorgeous roasted pepper taste without having to do anything!
I also use gnocchi a lot – just throw them into a tray and let the oven do the work for you! Spring onions are a really good substitute for a white onion; snip them into your dish and you don’t have any of that chopping board mess.
In the whirlwind of life, when I get home and want a delicious meal, snipping and tearing straight into the pan is far less time-consuming than getting out a chopping board and knife…
Spaghetti meatballs traybake
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MASALA NAAN BREAD PIZZA
‘How incredibly cheeky is it to take supermarket naan bread and turn it into a pizza, of sorts? Very. But… it works really well and is ready in minutes. The green chutney sauce really pulls it all together, so get that blitzed up in your food processor or blender and save leftovers in the fridge or freezer to jazz up other dishes.’s.’
SERVES 4 VHANDS-ON TIME 10 mins TOTAL TIME 20 mins
◆ 2 mugfuls grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese mix* (about 250g)
◆ 4 fluffy naan bread (plain or garlic)
◆ 1-2 tbsp (depending how hot you like it) jarred jalapeño peppers, drained
◆ ½ red onion, roughly sliced
◆ 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
◆ 1 tsp ground cumin
◆ 1 tsp ground coriander
For the green chutney
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