Gourmet meals for the time poor. That’s how I’d describe Simple Suppers – Sarah Graham’s latest cookbook. She describes it as a year of easy and delicious family dinners, which while true, doesn’t tell you that the recipes she’s created are like a cheat sheet to making gourmet dinners in a jiffy. The recipes are wholesome using a combination of raw ingredients and premade store bought ones. Most come together in under thirty minutes, a handful an hour (most of which is cooking time) and the longest recipe is 3 hours of which you’ll only be actively cooking for 20 minutes.

Dietary Notes

Wholefoods feature strongly in every recipe, but she does utilise animal proteins. If you’re gluten free you’ll find plenty of dishes to try.

Best For

Anyone who wants wholesome meals without spending hours on prep and cooking. It’s the perfect family cookbook.

Cooking Level

Beginner. Recipes are simple to make, proving that good food doesn’t need to be complicated.

I’m sharing her recipe for salmon rainbow bowls, a recipe that is ridiculously easy to make, feels fancy and is delicious. I did cheat and use these hot smoked trout portions instead of the salmon ones, but they both taste identical to me. For the noodles I opted for wholewheat noodles – my closest alternative to soba.

Print Recipe

Salmon Rainbow Bowls

20 minutes and a handful of ready make ingredients is all you need to make this salmon rainbow bowl.

Course: Main Course, Salad

Dietary: Dairy Free, No Added Sugar, Refined Sugar Free

Make This for: Dinner, Lunch

Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients

250 g soba, wholewheat or brown rice noodles
2 x 250 g hot smoked salmon (or trout) portions
300 g store bought red cabbage slaw
1 handful each parsley and mint
¼ C roasted peanuts or cashews

Soy Dressing

4 Tbsp soy sauce
4 Tbsp lime juice
2 Ttbsp fish sauce *optional (I left it out)
1 Tbsp honey or maple syrup
1 tsp fresh grated ginger
1-2 tsp tahini or peanut butter *optional

Instructions

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions.
Make the dressing by mixing all of the ingredients together, adding tahini or peanut butter for a creamier, nuttier dressing. Adjust quantities to taste.
Add the salmon or trout (flake the fish gently with your fingers) to the drained noodles along with the slaw and fresh herbs. Drizzle over half the dressing and toss well.
Serve the salmon and slaw in suitable serving bowls with the nuts and the extra dressing on the side.

Simple Suppers is published by Penguin Random House. It is available here.