Easy Wins goes Transatlantic

It's a USA special, there's (almost) no politics

Hi and welcome to my newsletter a celebration of cooking, vegetables and life. It’s great to have you here. If you have found yourself here but are not yet subscribed then you can sort that out below….

My cookbooks (there are five) are available here. The latest is Easy Wins - a Sunday Times bestseller. There are hundreds of free recipes on my website which you can find here.

Easy Wins is out in the USA. It’s a thrill. I still, five books in, feel completely amazed that you can buy my books in bookstores all over America. This life is a trip. 

If I'd told my four-year-old self this she's have been thrilled. The four-year-old me lived in Palo Alto just outside San Francisco and she loved pancake stacks at Denny's. Trips to the mall for Mrs Fields cookie's and choosing chocolates to fill the black and white boxes at See's Candies. It was the 80's. 

Four year old me loved trips to the grocery store more than anything, we went to one called Lucky's. The tubs of ice cream seemed as big as me. I longed for jet-puffed marshmallows, rainbow cereal and swirled jars of peanut butter and grape jelly. I got fruit leather and raisin bran. 

I am an Americanophile. Almost nothing in the world can match arriving in LA or NY, cities which feel like home. Being reminded on the drive from the airport of the love I have for the place. Every part of it, from the neon doughnut shop signs to the wheatgrass stall at the farmers market. 

The US and California have a place in my heart that is too big to put into words. I spent a few childhood formative years there, got engaged on the Big Sur coast. We've spent many Christmases there, some on the beach. My sister Laura lived in LA for years so it feels like a second home. So to have this book there feels right and very special. 

Today, in celebration of the US publication, I have for you a celebration of sorts. A recipe that features in Easy Wins by US-based food writer Hetty McKinnon and a bumper list of USA favourites, a list I have collected and built over years of visits and books, writing and recipes I love too. 

Since I discovered this recipe from my friend and cook Hetty, it’s been one of the meals I have cooked the most. With this recipe, Hetty manages to tread that elusive line between something tasting so delicious that you can’t stop eating it and making you feel so good after eating that you crave it all the time.

Hetty says herself, ‘This salad comes with a warning: eat at your own risk, as it is very addictive. The combination of kale, tofu and ginger-accented peanut sauce is unexpectedly irresistible.’ Hetty wrote this recipe for all the peanut butter obsessives who, like her, are often caught surreptitiously sneaking spoonfuls straight from the jar.

And it would not be ok to do a US special in October 2024 without mentioning the election. What a time. I hope if you are reading this in the US (that's 1 in 10 of you) that you use your vote wisely. 

With love, 

Anna

Hetty’s ginger-peanut warm kale salad

If you think putting quinoa, tofu and kale in a salad sounds worthy, think again.

Serves 4–6

4 heaped tablespoons smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons tahini
2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and grated
3 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon runny honey or maple syrup
2 bunches of kale (320g), stalks removed and leaves roughly torn
200g (1 cup) quinoa, rinsed
500ml (2 cups) vegetable stock or water
300g extra-firm tofu
extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced
1 cup unsalted peanuts, roasted and roughly chopped
a handful of coriander leaves

Make the ginger–peanut sauce

Place a medium saucepan on a low heat and add 4 heaped tablespoons smooth peanut butter, 2 tablespoons tahini, 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil, a 2.5cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated, 2 peeled and grated cloves of garlic, 3 teaspoons tamari or soy sauce, 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar and 1 tablespoon honey or maple syrup, along with 1 cup water. Cook until the peanut butter and tahini have melted, stirring until the sauce is smooth and creamy. If the sauce ‘freezes’ or is too thick, add more water, a tablespoon at a time, until it’s smooth and the consistency of thickened cream. Taste and season with sea salt and black pepper.

Fold the kale into the sauce

Fold 320g de-stalked and roughly torn kale leaves into the hot peanut sauce. The heat from the sauce will wilt and cook the kale. Set this aside.

Cook the quinoa

Put 200g rinsed quinoa and 500ml vegetable stock or water (if using water, season it with 1 teaspoon of sea salt) into a large pot. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for 15–18 minutes, until all the liquid has been absorbed and the quinoa is translucent and you can see the twirly grain. Turn off the heat and set aside, uncovered, while you prepare the rest of the salad.

Fry the tofu

Put 300g extra-firm tofu on a chopping board and season well with sea salt and black pepper. Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium–high, and when it’s hot, drizzle with 1–2 tablespoons olive oil. Working in batches, place the tofu in the pan and fry for 2–3 minutes on each side until lightly golden. When all the tofu is cooked, allow it to cool, then slice it into 5mm-thick strips.

Cook the onion

Rinse and dry the tofu pan and place it back on a medium heat. Drizzle more olive oil into the frying pan, add 1 peeled and thinly sliced red onion and cook for 12–15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it is softened and sweet.

Finish the salad

Combine the peanut-kale mixture with the quinoa, tofu and onion. Transfer to a large serving plate and top with 1 cup roasted and chopped peanuts and a handful of coriander leaves.

Things to click on, USA edition

Food:

• The best spices

• How to un-boring your broccoli

• Kitchen Mouse

• Halloween pumpkin bread

• Fail-safe sourdough cookies

• All things NY shuk

• The very best beans and pulses I have ever tasted

• A treat from my childhood that still gets a 10/10 - Milk Scotchmallow® Bars

  See's Candies

• This episode on pizza

• Pumpkin bread with streusel

• Heidi’s rice pilaf

Reading:

• Where fashion meets food

• I wish I could write like Molly

• Another favourite newsletter

• An extraordinary group of artists

• Salad for President

• Simple and delicious food for kids and their exhausted parents

• Recipes for the road

• How to be the cook you want to be

• The Kitchen Shrink

• Emotional Eating

• Edna Lewis, the seasonal eating pioneer

Things:

• Anything from here

• For your walls

• Everyday oil

• A proper mug

• All the blockshop things please

• Investment napkins

• My favourite tea towel

• The OG patchwork dresses and homeware

• The smell of California to me

• Favourite pottery supporting hurricane relief efforts in North Carolina

A note about the US edition - The US edition of Easy Wins uses metric measurements like the UK version, there is a conversion chart at the back to convert into pounds, ounces, cups and tablespoons.