A lemongrass bush isn’t much to look at: an oversized tuft of grass with long waxy leaves shooting out and drooping down in every direction. But if I came across one in a field somewhere, I’d be grinning my way back to the kitchen. That unruly mop of tropical green comes with white stalks and the brightest of flavours. It sits somewhere between mint and fresh air, citrus and sunlight. It’s steeped in hot water for tea from Togo to Mexico; it loves coconut, chilli and ginger in all manner of curries, but is no stranger to sweet creams and bakes. It’s the herb you simply don’t get used to: the one that’s impossible to substitute and will surprise you every time. And your recipes did surprise me – from a whipped blackberry and semolina pud to the winning spicy soup base, they’ve brought boundless colour and verve to my table each day this week.
The winning recipe: lemongrass spice paste
Mehrunnisa Yusuf uses this as a base for a curry-like soup: she lengthens it with chicken stock or coconut milk, adds rice noodles or cooked rice along with some tofu, prawns, diced chicken or boiled eggs, and garnishes it with crushed peanuts or roasted cashews. Simply frying up the tofu, prawns or chicken with it works just as well. Beautifully green and boldly fragrant.
Serves 2-4
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 banana shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
A 5cm piece of ginger, peeled and roughly sliced
3 fat garlic cloves (or 6 small skinny ones), peeled and sliced
2 lemongrass stalks, outer layer stripped, base trimmed, cut into thirds
25g fresh chillies (red and green), tops trimmed
75g fresh coriander (leaves and stalks), roots trimmed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp honey
Juice of a lemon
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 Dry-roast the coriander seeds in a small pan, shaking them often to make sure that they do not burn.
2 Put all the ingredients except the sunflower oil in your food processor and pulse to break the ingredients down. Then process for at least a minute to achieve an almost smooth paste, trickling in the sunflower oil as you go. Use right away, or freeze for future use.
Lemongrass and ginger prawn cakes
Succulent and savoury on their own, ColonialCravings’ prawn cakes were even better crumbled atop a bowl of rice, with Anna Thomson’s cauliflower pickles (below), a flurry of coriander, some toasted cashews and a blob of chilli jam-spiked mayo .
Makes 8
1 lemongrass stalk
10g fresh ginger
1 red chilli
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp palm sugar or soft brown sugar
Juice of ½ lime
2 spring onions
175g fresh raw prawns
A bunch of fresh coriander
1 Remove the tough outer layers of the lemongrass, then finely slice the stalk. Peel the ginger and de-seed the chilli. Combine these with the soy, sugar and lime juice in a food processor, then whizz it into a rough paste.
2 Slice the spring onions. Add them to the food processor along with the coriander and half the prawns. Blitz until it is quite well minced. Add the remaining prawns, then pulse the processor until they have been roughly chopped.
3 Shape the mixture into eight small patties, then chill them for 30 minutes.
4 Heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the prawn cakes for 2 minutes on each side, or until they have become a little golden on the outside. Serve with sweet chilli and soy dipping sauce or mayonnaise mixed with some chilli jam.
Lemongrass and ginger banana bread
The inimitable Bobby Ananta was Instagramming lemongrass bushes the size of people this summer from a trip to Bali, so I was excited to see what crazy ride he’d take the herb on in his recipe this week. I was not disappointed. Banana bread has never tasted quite so fresh.
Serves 10
40g soft lemongrass stalks, very finely sliced
60g fresh ginger, finely chopped
100g golden syrup
160g soft brown sugar
160g unsalted butter, softened
2 eggs
310g overripe banana, finely chopped
270g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
80g yoghurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
A pinch of salt
For the crumble
30g plain flour
15g cold unsalted butter
15g demerara sugar
1 tsp soft lemongrass, grated – use a microplane to grate
1 In a food processor, blitz the lemongrass, ginger and golden syrup into a smooth paste, then set aside.
2 Next, make the crumble. In a small bowl, rub together the flour, butter, sugar and grated lemongrass with your fingertips until it has a crumbly, sand‑like consistency, then set aside.
3 Preheat the oven to 170C/335F/gas mark 3½ and line a baking tin with baking parchment.
4 Cream together the soft brown sugar and butter until light and fluffy. Break in the eggs one at the time, mixing well before adding the next.
5 Slowly and mixing all the while, add in the banana, plain flour, baking powder, yoghurt, vanilla, lemongrass paste and salt. Scrape down the sides of the bowl to make sure all the ingredients are incorporated.
6 Pour the batter into the prepared tin, sprinkle the crumble mixture on top and bake in the oven for 50-55 minutes, or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool down before you serve.
Overnight cauliflower pickles
I love a quick pickle. And I love that Anna Thomson’s here can make use of the whole lemongrass stalk –or the bits left over from other more picky recipes. The cauliflower can easily be substituted with other vegetables: green beans, spring onions, turnip, spring onions …
Makes 2 large jarfuls
1 cauliflower, broken into bitesize pieces
4 carrots, cut diagonally into discs
2 tsp coriander seeds (optional)
4 lemongrass stalks
10 garlic cloves, left whole
3cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
350ml rice/white wine vinegar
4½ tsp salt
2 red chillies (optional)
1 Pack two large sterilised glass jars with the cauliflower and carrot. Sprinkle in the coriander seeds, if using, as you go.
2 Remove the outer parts of the lemongrass and cut into diagonal slices.
3 In a stainless steel pan, bring 800ml water to the boil. Reduce the heat, add the garlic, ginger and lemongrass and simmer for 3 minutes.
4 Add the vinegar and salt; stir until the salt has dissolved. Pour the brine over the cauliflower and carrot to cover. Insert a chilli pepper in each jar, if you like. Push down the garlic, ginger and lemongrass bits to distribute evenly.
5 Leave to cool before putting in the fridge. These are ready after a few hours, but best left overnight. They’ll keep for a couple of months.
Blackberry and lemongrass semolina pudding
DetoutcoeurLimousin’s Scandi-style whipped porridge is as delicious as it is a looker with a slick of double cream. I would add more than the 2 stalks of lemongrass she does for a flavour a little less hesitant; the blackberry definitely dominates.
Makes 6
400g blackberries (fresh or frozen)
2-4 fresh lemongrass stalks, chopped
500ml water, plus extra if needed
50g sugar
50g fine semolina
To serve
Fresh blackberries
Creme fraiche, double cream or yoghurt
1 Heat the blackberries in a saucepan with the lemongrass and water. Simmer for 10-15 minutes, or until the blackberries have softened and released their juice and the lemongrass flavour has infused the liquid.
2 Strain through a sieve, and put the juice, plus enough water to make up 750ml, back into the pan along with the sugar. Bring to the boil.
3 Add the semolina to the boiling liquid in a steady stream, stirring constantly to avoid lumps forming, to obtain a thick porridge-like mixture. Lower the heat, then continue to stir for 5-7 minutes, or until the semolina is cooked through and soft.
4 Remove from the heat and put the saucepan in a sink of cold water.
5 When cooled, beat with an electric whisk – or by hand, vigorously – for about 10 minutes, or until the mix is lighter in colour and fluffy.
6 Spoon the mixture into serving bowls and serve immediately, while still slightly warm, with cream, creme fraiche or yoghurt and a few fresh blackberries. Alternatively, leave to chill for 3-5 hours before serving.
