Aldo Zilli’s Fresh and Green

I’ve already written about one of the frankly divine recipes from Aldo’s latest book, and since then i’ve had a chance to make another of his creations and have a good read of the rest of the tome.

So the next recipe I tried was a truly yum coconut and coriander soup with sweet potato.

Making soup from scratch is not something I do often enough, how foolish because it’s so much better than the shop bought stuff I routinely nosh for lunch.

This veggie recipe from Aldo is very quick and simple with very few ingredients, but maximum taste. The coconut and sweet potato combo is ultra comforting and sweet enough to tempt children to try it.

I made a batch the day before Sam’s 6th birthday party so we’d have a quick and easy lunch ready to come back to after the bedlum of 30 plus children throwing themselves around a sports hall.

I dished it up with trashy children’s party leftovers – oh-so-good…

Coconut and coriander soup with sweet potato – Aldo Zilli Fresh & Green
Serves 6

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
500g sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
600ml hot veg stock
400ml can coconut milk
1 bunch coriander, chopped, plus extra for garnish
red chilli slices, to garnish (I left these out)
crusty bread, to serve

1. Heat the oil and butter in a large pan and fry the onion and garlic for 5 mins over a medium heat until the onion is soft and golden.

2. Add the potatoes to the pan and cook for 5 mins, then add the stock and stir in the coconut milk. Cook for 20 mins until the potatoes are soft. Remove the pan from the heat.

3. Blitz the soup in a blender or food processor with the coriander and season to taste. Serve the soup sprinkled with chilli slices and coriander with crusty bread.

Aldo has very kindly given me two copies of Fresh & Green to giveaway to two lucky Feeding Boys readers, so read my review then scroll down to enter!

So, onto the book…

Who is it for?

Vegetables are like so hot-right-now darling – it feels like everyone’s having a meat-free time of it lately.

Whether you’re a vegetarian yourself, cooking for visiting veggies or just fancy cutting back on your intake, this book is a really tasty and mediterranean approach to livening up  flesh-free meals.

Easy to follow

The chapters are divided into seasons, so it’s incredibly easy to dip into the relevant bit pretty swiftly and find some recipe inspiration.

The recipes themselves are simple and easy on the eye. The text is very clearly laid out and you can cook along to it no worries. There’s not loads of ingredients or long-winded methods.

There’s also minimal waffle from Aldo – he simply gives you a simple sentence or two intro to each dish which is frankly refreshing from a celebrity chef.

Family friendly

Italian food is incredibly attractive to kids and grown ups alike – pasta, pizza anyone?! The risotto I made a week or two ago was an instant hit with everyone in our house due to it’s extreme cheese factor.

Aldo gets some wonderful flavours into these dishes, so if you can persuade your kids to have that crucial first mouthful they’re sure to be won over!

Vegetarian friendly?

Well duh! But seriously, if you’re a new vegetarian, or trying to get your head around a family member turning veggie there’s a useful introduction which details which nutrients you should be aiming to include in your diet and how you can achieve this.

He also adds a little disclaimer that when he uses Parmesan in his recipes, he’s referring to the vegetarian alternative. True Parmesan is made using rennet – a by-product of animals so therefore to be avoided by the veggie brigade.

Most likely to cook

Well i’ve already tried a soup and a risotto, next on my list are some of the puddings including rhubarb tart tatin, dinner party friendly cappuccino mousse and vegan chocolate cake.

I’d also like to branch out a bit and try the grilled polenta as it looks like it has the makings of a hearty family meal.

Least likely to cook

That’s a tough one as they all look pretty inviting.

Would you buy it for a friend?

Hell yeah! It’s a gorgeous-looking book full of recipes your friends will truly thank you for giving them.

Rating out of 10

9 – Good work Aldo!

Published in hardback by Simon & Schuster, priced £20

***THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED, NO MORE ENTRIES PLEASE***

WIN WIN WIN!

I have two copies of Aldo Zilli’s Fresh & Green to giveaway….

1. For your main chance to win please comment on this post telling me your favourite meat-free meal that you cook at home

2. For a bonus second chance to win please tweet this post Win Aldo Zill’s veggie Cookbook Fresh & Green http://wp.me/pU5T8-17o @cookingkt  #win #prize and comment HERE telling me you have done so along with your twitter username

3. For a third chance to win please follow me @cookingkt on Twitter and comment HERE to tell me you have done so.

4. For a fourth chance to win please go and ‘like’ Feeding Boys on Facebook, and come back to this page to comment you have done so.

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This giveaway is open to all readers with a UK mailing address. The winner will be chosen using an online randomiser and announced in a subsequent post.

I am running this competition on behalf of Simon and Schuster who will be responsible for sending the prizes to the winners. Their decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

There is one main way to enter and several ways to get bonus entries. You must leave a separate comment for each bonus entry otherwise they will not be counted.

***THIS COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED, NO MORE ENTRIES PLEASE***