Going spiral with Róisín Ingle and Susan Jane White

Since Róisín Ingle’s column in the Irish Times went viral, everyone wants to have a spiraliser! It will change your life (trust us!), your kids will be eating more veg without knowing it and it will bring more fun to your kitchen in general. Susan Jane White is a big fan and here she shares her recipe for an alternative noodle dish, wheat- and sugar-free!

I love spiralisers. These dinky machines make you feel like Handy Manny in the kitchen. Instead of prepping pasta, you can grab a courgette, fix it to a spiraliser, and kaboom! Courgette spaghetti! And if you don’t fancy forking out for another kitchen gadget, you could use a potato peeler to scrape ribbons from the vegetables instead.

A naturally shy vegetable, courgettes carry flavour rather than provide it. The trick is to avoid the large, bitter ones. You can dress courgette spaghetti up with your usual tomato passata, a bit of garlic, olives, spinach and look! That’s your five a day busted in less time than it takes to reheat a dodgy take-out. Investing in a spiraliser might be the best €40 you’ll spend this year.

Recipe: Flaked Salmon with Spicy Pomegranate Noodles

Serves 2

One of my all-time favourite suppers. The key lies with good-quality pomegranate molasses, so beware of imposters!

2 fillets organic salmon or wild trout

extra virgin raw coconut oil (or whatever oil you prefer)
1 fat carrot
1 small to medium courgette
2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
2 tablespoons almond butter
2 tablespoons cold-pressed toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons Bragg Liquid Aminos or 1 tablespoon tamari
1 small garlic clove, minced or crushed
good pinch of cayenne pepper
pomegranate seeds, to garnish

Preheat the oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F.

Prepare the salmon by wrapping the fillets in a parcel of tinfoil and drizzle with the oil. I use extra virgin raw coconut oil, but use whatever you’re happiest with. Make sure there’s lots of space above the fillets – it’s more like a tent than a parcel. They steam in their own juices this way.

Transfer the tent of salmon onto a baking tray and roast for 10–15 minutes, depending on how big the fillets are. Check by pulling the flesh apart. If they’re not done, just reseal your tent and pop them in the oven again. When you’ve become familiar with this method of cooking, crank it up another level by adding smashed lemongrass, maple syrup, chilli, cumin, kaffir lime leaves or whatever tickles your appetite on any given evening.

While the salmon is cooking, spiralise the carrot and courgette. In a separate bowl, beat together the remaining ingredients to make your spicy dressing. Toss through your spiralised noodles and divide between 2 bowls. When the salmon is done to your liking, flake the flesh over each bowl of noodles, then sprinkle over the pomegranate seeds. Awesome evening meal on a warm summer evening.

Extracted from bestselling ’The Extra Virgin Kitchen’ by Susan Jane White (€22.99) published by Gill Books.