SESAME & CHILLI OIL NOODLES

+ a conversation with Anna Jones

I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that the majority of us are looking for delicious ways to eat less meat, a few more vegetables and get the most out of our time in the kitchen, using as few ingredients as possible. Not everyone, for sure, not even every day, but I certainly have a desire to find recipes that are easy, quick, that I already have the ingredients for in my house, that are DELICIOUS and inventive and surprising and plant forward.

Anna Jones

has been consistently sharing such recipes with the world for over a decade. I vividly remember when ‘A Modern Way To Eat’ came out and how it changed my world view and perception of vegetarian cooking, it gave me inspiration, motivation and a deep desire to eat more vegetables. I have long been an admirer of Anna’s work and taken a lot of inspiration from her style of cooking, the way she writes and generally moves in the world. It was then a real treat to bump into her at the Substack Summer Party in London and get to meet IRL for the first time. I was struck by her warmth, generosity and kindness, taking time to talk to me about my cookbook, In for Dinner, and before long putting the world to rights with our mutual friend

Stacey O'Gorman

. I love nothing more than making new friends with women in the food industry who support one another and promote an inclusive, room for all, generous attitude to the work. Here’s to strong women, forever and ever, amen.

Anna’s latest book ‘Easy Wins’ is a solid gold classic, built on a premise that I frankly wish I had thought of first, with her signature style and simplicity, this is a book you will be reaching for daily. It’s hard to constantly think of new and exciting ways to cook at home, and cooking fatigue can be all too real when life gets busy, Anna has written a book full of recipes that are simple, achievable and built around ingredients you probably already have in the cupboards.

It was such a joy to be able to speak to Anna for this week’s newsletter and to share this DELICIOUS noodle recipe alongside it. We’re having a bit of a heatwave in London at the moment and this bowl of cold noodles ticked all my cravings in one go, genuinely landing on the table ten minutes after I started cooking. What a treat.

Now, let’s dig into the good stuff.

Sending love, Rosie x

For anyone who doesn’t know you already, please can you introduce yourself, tell us a little about who you are and what you do?

Sure, I’m Anna Jones. I am a cook and writer and the author of five cookbooks. My food focuses on putting vegetables at the centre of our plates and celebrates the joy, connection and creativity of food and cooking. As well as recipes, my writing, I hope, encourages people to see the food and the food system as something we all have a part in and that we can all make a difference - that the food choices we make should reflect how we wish the world around us to be.

Congratulations on your fifth cookbook, ‘Easy Wins’, can you tell me a little bit about how this book came about, the inspiration for it and how the writing process differed from your other books?

Easy Wins is my fifth cookbook (how did that happen?) it focuses on vegetables and like all of my cookbooks is full of easy life friendly recipes. But this book differs from the others in that it focuses on 12 ingredients that I use to fast forward the flavour of dishes I cook. Lemons, olive oil, tahini, vinegar and more. I like to think of it as a ‘capsule’ pantry. The 12 things I know I can rely on when time or energy is short to help me put a really tasty plate of food on the table. The 12 ingredients gave me some structure and from there I started to fill the chapters with the recipes I cook again and again using those ingredients, with the classics I think of when I think of say tahini or lemons, and even some recipes from cooks and friends who have grown up with ingredients like miso or tahini that I came to a bit later in life.

You  really led the way on making vegetarian cooking more accessible and mainstream, back in 2014 when you published ‘A Modern Way To Eat’, what do you feel has changed in the last decade since publishing your first book and now your fifth?

Thank you for saying that, that’s a huge compliment. It means a lot to me to hear that. It does feel like I lot has changed. When my first book came out in 2014, vegetarian (let alone vegan) was not a word that was conjured up ideas of delicious, generous food. There was a worthiness to the idea of vegetarian cooking and restaurants that I think put a lot of people off. When I became vegetarian i could not find the kind of food I wanted to eat, I’d been a chef for some time by then, so I had the skills to take the flavours I loved and reimagined them but without the meat or fish. I wanted to make a book filled with the vegetarian recipes that I cooked at home and loved. A book that was about amazing, generous, beautiful mouthwatering food. That was vegetarian but was also much more than that. I made the book I had wanted when I became vegetarian but it was also my wish that it would be for everyone. I have never been one for lecturing or finger wagging, I think the food choices we make are important and impactful, but I know a delicious plate of food is going to be more convincing than any words I could say. Ten years on, things have changed a lot. Every single chef going has a vegetarian or vegan cookbook and of course there is the online world too. I see it as a good thing so many people are joining the conversation, the more people who eat this way the lighter our load on the planet, we all have the same goal. I’ve written a bit more about my thoughts on the last ten years in food here.

As a busy working mother, what is your top tip for getting a delicious and stress free dinner on the table?

Simplify. Cook one thing. Most of our dinners are built around one ‘cooked’ or main thing. Whether that's a pan of black beans, a tray of roasted squash or some sesame and honey baked tofu. I’ll cook one tasty thing and then build around it with simple things I can make in my sleep: basmati rice, charred flour tortillas or tacos or boiled new potatoes and then some fresh things like a salsa, herby oil or chilli dressing that brings it to life. All made in the time it takes for the ‘main’ thing to cook. I find the key to a meal, that everyone will love, is a simple base, that more dimensions of flavour can be added to, for those who want it (read: the adults but also my 9 year old). This dinner is a prime example of the cook one thing philosophy.

If you could give your 18 year old self some advice, what would it be?

I’d say there are so many more things you can do with your life than the world you can see now. The things you’ve been told are ‘good’ jobs feel boring to you. Lean into that and lean into your creativity, there are so many more ways to build a life than what's in front of you right now. Follow what you love, be curious, be useful, ask questions, talk to people, ask those you respect if you can learn from them. Make what you love what you do. It's all possible but you’ll have to work hard. First in, last out until you have learnt your craft.

Can you describe a typical morning for me, in particular, any morning rituals you enjoy?

Sure. We get up about 6.30 with my littlest son who is 2 and a half, sometimes my husband lets me sleep a bit longer, mostly we all head down to the kitchen where I turn the coffee machine and the kettle on. I make myself a cup of lady grey with oat milk and I cut up fruit for my kids - whatever's in season - right now it's strawberries, pears and as a treat mangoes. Or I’ll make them a smoothie with frozen berries, hemp seeds, banana and peanut butter. Then I’ll cook something for the boys breakfast, most often these pancakes. I make enough batter for 3 days and keep it in the fridge. They eat them with honey. Then I’ll make a coffee and drink before a quick shower. Some days I will walk my older son to school, I love this as it's time for a good chat about the day ahead. Other days I’ll stay home and take longer over my coffee and play with my little boy who is 2, he loves riding on my back like a horse. If it's a work day I’ll come back and open my laptop to start writing or cooking - I’ll eat something later in the day around 10 or 11 with another coffee. 

And your ideal breakfast?

Favourite breakfasts on weekdays are toast with homemade marmalade (my latest batch is a mix of blood orange and lemon from this haul.) Bircher (I premix oats, hemp, chia and oatbran and seeds) berries or eggs with herbs from my garden. On weekends we go for waffles with a quick frozen cherry compote and yoghurt and maple syrup or shakshuka and fruit, always fruit.

Now that we’re firmly in the throes of summer, which seasonal vegetables are you enjoying cooking with and what are you making with them?

I really like this time of year for cooking. Asparagus is getting a lot of attention in my kitchen, as are jersey royals and the end of the winter tomato crop. My garden is full of herbs so I’m using a lot of herbs too. Feels fun cooking lighter brighter things while the weather is warm.

For anyone thinking about a career in food writing, recipe development, or who might have an idea for a cookbook, but doesn’t know where to start, what advice would you give to them?

Write. Write. Write. The food world right now feels very different to the one I started out in. There are lots of different ways we can write now. My advice to anyone who wants to write about food or a cookbook is to just start writing. You’ll be honing your craft and you’ll be building up a back catalogue that you can come back to. It’s always useful and valuable. The more personal and more specific, the more ‘your voice’ it can be, the better. There are lots of other ways to write about food too, a newsletter is a great way of getting your writing out to people without the investment of a book. Pitch to a newsletter or publication you love but just start writing.

If you could cook dinner for anyone, dead or alive, who would that be and why?

Joan Didion, Nora Ephron, Laurie Colwin, Patti Smith, Nina Simone, Billie Holiday, my Aunty Avril and my friends Kris Hallenga, Laura Plane, Christian Ewton and Tom Relleen. I’d love to see my friends again.