Hemsley + Hemsley Your book e Art of Eating Well has become an international bestseller, how will your next book Good + Simple differ from your first? We can’t give too much away, but Good + Simple will offer an accessible and highly practical cookbook that’s perfect for anyone who loves food and wants to look and feel amazing by eating good food, every day. What simple dish would you cook for surprise dinner guests? Mung Dahl or Squash, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry which we’ve had in the freezer. We are big fans of batch cooking as a little preparation on the weekend (something we like to call a Sunday Cook-Off) meaning all we need to do is heat up our food and throw in some spinach or greens at the last minute. In the most frugal and efficient way, we’ve created something to eat that’s comforting, delicious and easy to digest. Who are your idols when it comes to other chefs, whose cookbook would you turn to for a reliable recipe? We don’t cook much from recipes but for beautiful writing, imagery and inspiring ideas, we love Nigel Slater, Yotam Ottolenghi, Sabrina Ghayour’s Persiana and Madhur Jaffrey. Although many of your recipes are healthy, what unhealthy food do you find irresistible? People always tell us that our recipes don’t taste healthy and we pride ourselves on coming up with upgraded versions of takeaways, comfort foods and the nostalgia-inducing dishes that our clients, friends, families and followers love best from their childhoods. We make clever use of whole foods to reinvent classics - our 2 pizza recipes are made from cauliflower or chickpea bases and they are so simple, we always make extra and freeze some for later. One of our most popular sweet treats are the Black Bean Brownies from our book; they’re rich and fudgy and best of all, free from any processed nasties! Another delicious dessert is our bright green Avocado Lime Cheesecake. It’s a raw, New York-style cheesecake packed full of goodness. e smooth creamy lime sits atop a nutty, chocolate base with a hint of coconut. Other surprisingly healthy favourites include rice made from broccoli, noodles from cucumbers and carrots and spaghetti made from courgette (courgetti). We even have a Hemsley + Hemsley answer to fried chicken, free from breadcrumbs and vegetable oil but crunchy, crispy and delectable. It’s called Pablo’s Chicken after our cousin’s boyfriend who’s a huge fan and didn’t think we could recreate it but was very pleasantly surprised! (All recipes in e Art Of Eating Well)
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autumn 2015
Do you have any tips for readers who find it difficult to stick to eating healthily? Making eating healthily a lifestyle is all about the prep! And of course anything that saves time is a must; skip any cooking/food prep processes like sautéing the vegetables for a frittata or frying onions for a stew and instead take the time out once a week to properly prepare foods to make them more nutritious and easier to digest. We do this during our ‘Sunday Cook-Off’, which is one of our most popular tools which we teach our clients and readers so that come Monday morning, they’re well-equipped with delicious nourishing food to take on the week! We usually have a cook-off every Sunday and have been teaching this in our cooking classes - cooking a stew made from pulses or a less fashionable cut of meat (we champion these cheaper cuts), roasting lots of veg at the same time (to make maximum use of the oven) which can be eaten hot or added into salads, soaking a bowl of quinoa, soaking nuts for smoothies and making bone broth which is easy to do and kind on the pocket. Another great tip is that if you feel as though you are having a craving try hydrating yourself first - even better with a ginger tea (see point 2) or lemon water. Wait 20 mins and then see what has happened to the craving. Usually you’re just bored and something peppy on your taste buds does the trick to blow away sweet and salty snack attacks!
e success of your spiralizer has been incredible, do you have plans to launch any more gadgets which make healthy cookery simpler? We’re delighted with how popular the Hemsley Spiralizer has been and how much families love it. Shops tell us it’s one of the most gifted cookery items! We like to keep a very simple kitchen so the spiralizer is part of our arsenal but other than that you just need a great pan, sharp knife and a slow cooker which is brilliant for making our beloved bone broth.
What classic comfort food do you like to make if you feel in need of an indulgent pick-me-up? Homemade bone broth as it can be enjoyed around the clock in a multitude of ways and always makes us feel better! Bone broth is our secret weapon for quick and tasty meals and a nourishing all-rounder packed with vitamins, minerals, collagen and keratin which make it amazing for skin. It’s easy to make and kind on the pocket; we use homemade bone broth to steam veggies, add to sauces and as the base of soups, stews and quinoa risottos or wherever a savoury recipe calls for stock or water. We love it for breakfast with an egg whisked in or as a soothing bedtime drink.