Jenni Gilbert This editor has obviously been under a rock when it comes to the Hemsley sisters, Melissa and Jasmine, who are by all appearances the new rock stars of the good (as in, good for you) food scene in Britain and beyond. Move over Nigella!
I was alerted to their cult following – actually, it seems mainstream – by Leonie Faddy, marketing manager of The Beauty Chef inner beauty products, who spent a week in London in February launching TBC into the iconic Selfridges department store on Oxford St.
The Hemsleys are soon opening a wellness and body studio on the first floor of Selfridges, into which The Beauty Chef products will be curated. This is as well as TBC’s counter on the world famous cosmetics floor below. Major coup!
So I became fascinated by the Hemsleys and now I’m hooked on their recipes.
The Hemsleys are former models and home cooks with a passion for wellness, easy recipes and healthy, wholesome and delicious food.
In 2010, Jasmine and Melissa launched Hemsley + Hemsley, the London-based food business that provides nutritious home-cooked food to a range of private clients and celebrity fans.
Maximising the traction it created, their subsequent blogs and recipe books have attracted a huge international following.
The Green Goddess Salad comes from their latest book, Good + Simple by Hemsley + Hemsley. The girls now take over the narrative …
This salad is a great way to pack a ton of vibrant greens into one dish.
A sesame, ginger and lime dressing is paired with some delicious, nutty buckwheat noodles to tie it all together.
It’s the perfect meal to make on a Sunday night, leaving you leftovers to keep in the fridge for lunch the following day.
Just put the rest into a glass jar, with the dressing at the bottom and the avocado slices and leaves on top (so they don’t get crushed). Then put the lid back on, and it’s ready to go!
Ingredients
300g buckwheat (soba) noodles
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
300g broccoli florets or purple sprouting broccoli, asparagus or green beans
1 medium green cabbage or bok choy, leaves finely shredded
1 medium fennel bulb, finely sliced
1 cucumber, halved lengthwise, seeds scooped out with a spoon and flesh chopped
4 spring onions, finely sliced
1 large ripe avocado, sliced
2 handfuls of fresh greens (such as watercress, baby spinach, sliced lettuce or leftover cooked kale)
1 small handful of nuts (such as cashews, peanuts or almonds) or seeds (such as sesame, sunflower or poppy seeds)
4 large handfuls of fresh herbs (such as coriander, mint or basil, or a mixture), roughly chopped
Dressing Ingredients
Grated zest and juice of 2 limes or 1 lemon
2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 garlic clove, grated
6cm piece of fresh root ginger (unpeeled if organic), finely grated
2 teaspoons tamari
Pinch of cayenne pepper or chilli flakes (optional)
Sea salt and black pepper
Preparation
- Cook the buckwheat noodles in a large pan of boiling water according to the packet instructions (about 7 minutes). Use two forks to tease the noodles apart during the first minute of cooking.
- When they are tender, drain and rinse under cold water for 15 seconds. Drain again and then toss in the olive oil in a large serving bowl to stop the noodles sticking together. Set aside.
- Using the same pan, after a quick rinse, steam the broccoli (or other vegetable), covered with a lid, in 4 tablespoons of boiling water for 4 minutes until tender.
- Whisk all the dressing ingredients together in a bowl or shake in a jam jar with the lid on. Season to taste with salt and pepper, then drain.
- Add the raw vegetables, spring onions and avocado to the noodles with the greens and steamed broccoli. Pour over the dressing and mix everything together. Top with the nuts or seeds, toasted in a dry pan for a minute if you like, and the fresh herbs.
Serves 4
Enjoy!
