Get delicious, unfussy soul food at this Smyrna spot

There's a special counter service restaurant hiding in an unexpected spot in Smyrna. Hang a right when you walk into the Nam Dae Mun Farmers Market on South Cobb Drive, and you'll find yourself at the counter of 2 Sistas Soul Food. Whether you're starving, and need a full chicken dinner, or feeling peckish after grocery shopping, the friendly women working there will fix you right up.

You can't go wrong with the tostones rellenos, adorable little cups made from fried plantains that are filled with your choice of beef, pork or chicken. I went with beef, and, while I'm sure the other options are good, I can't imagine getting something different next time. The ground beef filling has a complex flavor from sharing time in the pot with olives, raisins and traditional Puerto Rican spices.

The sweet and savory combination is certainly tasty, but it's taken to a different planet by a simple cilantro garlic sauce that's bright green and hums with freshness. The classic vinegar-based hot sauce served at 2 Sistas is a good addition, too. Adding one or both of those acidic sauces will kick the tostones rellenos into a higher gear.

Plus, they're a great value, like everything on the 2 Sistas menu: three tostones for $5. You also could choose two empanadas with the same filling options for the same price. You might as well tack on a three-piece fried chicken meal. Those start at $6.99 for dark meat.

If you live in Smyrna, and you're not eating at 2 Sistas Soul Food, you're not only missing out on their fantastic Creole and Puerto Rican cooking, you're basically losing money.

Simple recipe for fish biryani

The anticipation of Christmas Eve, especially if you have children, is one of my favourite things about this time of year. But it can be exhausting getting to this point, with so much still to prepare. Ideally, you'll have something sustaining to pull out of the oven when the children are tucked up in bed tomorrow night, because you'll need all the sustenance you can get to help you through the last-minute present wrapping.

We rarely get a white Christmas, but it's usually frosty outside, so instinct demands food that's warming and comforting. Fish is an obvious answer, being both light (ahead of the day of feasting) and familiar. Rice, too, because it's so forgiving (see also Meera's vegan pilau). This year, I wanted a break from our usual kedgeree, so have been experimenting with new flavours, inspired by a trip to Kerala a few years ago. Being so dependent on fish and vegetables, the cooking there is remarkably light, yet boldly flavoured, and one brick-red fish and coconut curry in particular caught my attention. This is my version of it: the spices work together to give soft, mellow notes and a signature russet colour that rivals even the most enthusiastic Father Christmas (who may well prefer it to mince pies).
Fish biryani

You can prepare everything a day ahead, then pop it in the oven half an hour before eating. Serves six.

Juice of ½ lime
½ tsp turmeric
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
500g skinless, sustainably caught cod fillet (or other firm white fish)
400g basmati rice, rinsed
1 bay leaf
1 cinnamon stick
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
½-thumb-sized piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
400g fresh plum tomatoes
1 green chilli, deseeded
¼ tsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp freshly ground coriander seed
¼ tsp red chilli powder
1 tsp garam masala
400ml coconut milk
Coriander and mint leaves, to serve

In a bowl, mix the lime juice, turmeric and half a teaspoon of salt, smear this all over the fish and leave to marinate for 30 minutes. After that, wash off the marinade and store the fish in the fridge.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 180C/350F/gas mark 4. Put the rice, bay and cinnamon in a pan with a pinch of salt, cover with boiling water and boil for four minutes, until al dente. Drain, return to the pan, cover and leave to steam while you get on with the next stage.

Warm the oil in a large pan on a low heat and start frying the onions, stirring occasionally. With the onions on the go, put the ginger, garlic, tomatoes and chilli in a food processor and blitz until finely chopped. Once the onions have been frying for five to eight minutes and have softened nicely, turn up the heat to medium-high and add the mustard and cumin seeds. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the ginger and garlic mix, and fry until lightly coloured. Add the coriander, chilli powder and garam masala, stir-fry for a minute, then add the coconut milk. Once the mix is simmering, add the rinsed fish to the pot, making sure it's just submerged, and cook gently for five minutes. Once the fish is just cooked through, take the pan off the heat.

Spread half the fish and its sauce in a deep baking dish, and spoon half the rice on top. Repeat the layers, then cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, until heated through, then leave to cool and rest for 10 minutes. Serve scattered with torn mint and coriander, and with raita and chutneys of your choice alongside.

Recipes for fried party snacks for new year and beyond

Room for one more party, yes? Just one more slice of cake and one more glass of wine? New Year's Eve marks the line between one year and the next, of course, but for many of us it also marks the cut-off point between indulgence and abstinence. What better way to tread this fine line, then, than to have friends over and serve them some snack food rather than one big feast. This sort of food often makes for my favourite kind of get-togethers, anyway: hanging out while eating various nibbles over the course of an evening, rather than the ready, steady, go of a big sit-down number.

One or two or all three of today's snacks will indulge your guests far more than any little party canape, but at the same time they are all just about abstinent enough not to weigh everyone down, which is the last thing any of us needs right now. That's why I'll be treading this very line tomorrow night, to see out the old year and bring in the new.

Panelle
If you're going to make only one snack to serve with the drinks tomorrow night, these are the perfect make-ahead choice. They are made with chickpea flour and cooked like polenta, and you can prepare and chill the mixture today or tomorrow morning, then cut it into slices so the panelle are ready to cook when your guests get hungry and you get frying. I was introduced to these little fritters, a tasty street food snack from Palermo in Sicily, by my friend Ivo Bisignano. Traditionally, they're served hot, straight out of the oil, in a soft white bread roll with just a squeeze of lemon by way of accompaniment, but I like to snack on them just as they are before a meal; they're also lovely dipped in decent mayonnaise or aïoli. To me, panelle are the epitome of indulgence, rather than abstinence, in the New Year's Eve equation. Makes about 30 fritters, to serve four to five generously.

225g chickpea (aka gram) flour
½ tsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped
Flaked sea salt and black pepper
750ml water
500ml sunflower oil
1 lemon, halved

Sift the flour into a bowl, then stir in the chopped rosemary, a teaspoon and a half of salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper.

Pour the water into a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Take the pan off the heat, then add the flour in three or four stages, whisking continuously with each addition to stop too many lumps forming (though there's no escaping the fact that some will). Return the pan to a low heat and cook the mix for five minutes, stirring frequently with a spatula, until it starts to come away from the sides of the pan, then turn off the heat.

Cut out two 35cm-wide x 80cm-long sheets of greaseproof paper, lay one out on a worktop, then spoon the panelle mixture on top and spread it out into a roughly 20cm x 30cm rectangle that's about 1cm thick (again, use a spatula). Lay the second sheet of paper on top, then roll out with a rolling pin until the batter is 0.5cm thick and about twice its original surface area (don't worry if it loses its shape a bit).

Set aside for half an hour to cool and set properly, then lift off the top layer of paper and cut the panelle batter into long, 4cm-wide strips. Cut each strip into 10cm-long pieces (so you end up with 4cm x 10cm rectangles). Don't worry about trimming the edges: any frayed bits will go nice and crisp when fried.

Put the oil in a large saute pan on a high flame. Once the oil is good and hot (about 200C), carefully drop in four or five slices of panelle and fry for five to six minutes, turning them once halfway through, until golden brown and crisp. Lift out with a slotted spoon and transfer to a wire rack lined with kitchen paper, to drain. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt and repeat with the remaining panelle mixture. Once all the panelle are fried, squeeze over some lemon juice and serve at once.
Chorizo, banana and prawn cakes with harissa yoghurt

These are what I'd sell if I ever jacked it all in and set up a street stall somewhere tropical. I'm probably not going to do that any time soon, but in the meantime, these will transport you there. Makes about 15 fritters, to serve four as a snack or first course.

3 cooking chorizo sausages, skin removed and discarded, meat finely chopped (150g net weight)
100g Greek-style yoghurt
1 tsp rose (or regular) harissa
2 ripe bananas (but not so ripe that they have brown bits), peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
80g sustainably caught ready-peeled raw king prawns, roughly chopped
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
2cm piece ginger, peeled and finely grated (to end up with about ½ tsp)
2 limes – zest finely grated, to get 2 tsp, then cut into wedges
¼ tsp ground coriander
10g coriander leaves, finely chopped
2 tbsp plain flour
Salt
2 large egg whites
3 tbsp vegetable oil

Put a large nonstick saute pan on a high flame. Once hot, fry the chorizo for four minutes, stirring regularly, until nice and crisp, then tip into a large bowl (including any oil that leeches out) and leave to cool a little.

In a small bowl, fold the harissa into the yoghurt – don't mix them together so much that they turn into a uniform mass, but rather just swirl the harissa through the yoghurt, so it ends up with attractive red marbling. Cover with cling-film and refrigerate.

Add the bananas, prawns, chilli, garlic, ginger, lime zest, ground and fresh coriander, flour and a quarter-teaspoon of salt to the chorizo and stir to combine. Whip the egg whites to soft peaks, then gently fold into the fritter mixture, taking care not to knock out too much air.

Vegan recipe for shiitake pho with crispy leeks

There's a whole world of mushrooms out there and, much like wine, we can all probably name a handful of them. Unlike wine, however, there are no dedicated menus rhapsodising about their various flavours. This might be because of the dangers associated with fungi: pick and eat the wrong mushroom, and you're dead, we're taught as children. Sadly, this has done nothing to help varieties such as slippery jack, stinkhorn or shaggy ink cap on to our dinner tables.

We eat closed cup, chestnut and button in spades, with the odd “mixed wild” thrown in. Not that there's anything wrong with that: they're cheap; they're great mates with garlic and olive oil on toast; they make superb keema (“mince”) when blitzed into tiny bits and paired with walnuts, sweet onions and spices; and they make ravishing ragouts. And, when the season allows, the odd chunky-stemmed porcini or dainty chanterelle might put in an appearance at the local market, and can be eaten raw in salads or flash-fried and served on creamy polenta: when you start with the best mushrooms, life becomes simple.

But the diamond in the rough, in my eyes, is the shiitake. Originally from China, and now grown in the UK, it's sold both fresh and dried. These mushrooms unleash an almighty meaty, smoky richness, and add a welcome chewy texture to boot. This makes them a great segue into meat-free eating, and a good ingredient for seasoned vegans to have up their sleeve when they fancy something meaty (that's not meat).

Today's recipe features fresh shiitake in a pho, a big, bold Vietnamese soup packed with rice noodles and topped with a glorious broth. It's balanced, flavoursome, light and a great introduction to the extended mushroom family.

Shiitake pho with crispy leeks
You can top a pho with a galaxy of good things, from crisp fried onions to all manner of herbs (fresh mint and coriander, say), but I've gone for leeks. This recipe rewards the cook who chops everything in advance. Serves four.

4 tbsp rapeseed oil, plus extra for frying the leeks
4 banana shallots, thinly sliced
2 inches ginger, peeled and grated
1 star anise
3 cloves
1 cinnamon stick
2 leeks, 1 finely sliced, the other cut in half and then into long, thin strips
2 bird's- eye chillies, very finely chopped
375g fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 tbsp soy sauce
6 spring onions, very finely sliced
2 litres vegan vegetable stock
200g flat rice noodles
1 big handful fresh coriander, shredded
1 lime, quartered

In a large pot (three litres or bigger), heat the oil on a medium flame, then fry the shallots for five minutes. Stir in the ginger, star anise, cloves and cinnamon, and fry for five minutes more, until the mix starts to blacken and turn sticky (this will add great flavour). Add the sliced leek, chillies and mushrooms, and stir-fry for eight to 10 minutes, until softened and cooked down, then add the soy sauce, half the spring onions and the stock. Bring to a boil, turn down the heat to a whisper and leave to simmer. Check for seasoning: it may well need salt.

Meanwhile, fry the shredded leek. Pour enough oil into a frying pan to come 1cm up the sides, then heat on a medium flame until very hot. Fry the leek in batches, until crisp and golden, then use a slotted spoon to transfer to a plate lined with kitchen paper to drain while you fry the rest.

Cook the noodles according to the packet instructions and drain.

To serve, distribute the noodles between four bowls, ladle the broth on top, making sure everyone gets a good helping of the vegetables, then scatter with coriander, the crisp leeks, spring onions and a squeeze of lime.

Recipes for light and easy post-Christmas relief

Half the challenge at this time of year is to plan what you're going to eat on Christmas Day and to stick to it, so the last thing you need from me is more ideas about what to cook. Sure, every year there are recipes that claim to be the ultimate and only way to cook a carrot, potato or turkey, but the menu you devised way before 2017's avalanche of Christmas advice even started will in all likelihood still be more delicious.

So, no festive recipes this week. Instead I offer meals to provide light and easy relief from the main event. These are dishes you may well be able to put together largely from what you've already got in the cupboard or fridge; though quick to make, they are confident enough to hold their own against the bird and all the rest. Not only that, but they are as good as light standalone meals as they are as support acts for the Christmas leftovers: pair the little gem and anchovy mayonnaise salad with cold roast turkey or chicken, for example, and you might just wish you'd put the two together for the main event itself. And if that gives you one more idea of what you could make on Monday, I'm (sort of, but not really) sorry. Happy Christmas!
Roast aubergine with curried yoghurt, caramelised onions and pomegranate

A breath of fresh air for tired, jaded tastebuds. Serves four, generously.

3 large (or 4 regular) aubergines
100ml groundnut oil
200g Greek-style yoghurt
2 tsp medium curry powder
¼ tsp ground turmeric
1 lime – finely grate the zest to get 1 tsp and juice to get 2 tsp
Salt and black pepper
1 onion, peeled and thinly sliced
30g flaked almonds
½ tsp cumin seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
½ tsp coriander seeds, toasted and lightly crushed
40g pomegranate seeds

Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Use a vegetable peeler to shave strips of skin off the aubergines from top to bottom, so they end up with alternating stripes of dark purple skin and clear white flesh. Cut the aubergines widthways into 2cm-thick rounds and put in a large bowl. Add 70ml oil, half a teaspoon of salt and plenty of pepper, then spread out on a large oven tray lined with baking paper. Roast for 40-45 minutes, until dark golden brown, then remove and leave to cool.

In a small bowl, mix the yoghurt with a teaspoon of curry powder, the turmeric, lime juice, a generous pinch of salt and a good grind of pepper, then put it in the fridge until later.

Heat the remaining two tablespoons of oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high flame. Once hot, fry the onion for eight minutes, stirring frequently, until soft and dark golden brown. Add the remaining teaspoon of curry powder, the almonds and a pinch of salt, and fry for two minutes, until the almonds are lightly browned.

To serve, lay the aubergine slices on a platter, overlapping them slightly. Spoon the yoghurt sauce over the top, then scatter on the fried onion mix. Sprinkle over the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, pomegranate seeds and lime zest, and serve.
Gem lettuce with anchovy mayonnaise

This take on the caesar salad was inspired by a meal I had earlier this year at Olympia Provisions in Portland, Oregon. With some good crusty bread, it makes a lovely light lunch in its own right, but it's also fabulous alongside grilled tuna steak or leftover Christmas turkey. Serves four as a light main course or six as a side dish.

6 anchovy fillets in oil, drained and finely chopped
4 large eggs, plus one yolk extra
1 small garlic clove, peeled and crushed
¼ tsp dijon mustard
4 tsp lemon juice
75ml sunflower oil
450g little gem lettuce (ie, about 4 large heads), trimmed and quartered
2½ tbsp olive oil
5g tarragon leaves
Salt
50g pitted Kalamata olives, torn in half
¼ red onion, peeled and very thinly sliced (30g net weight)

Put half the anchovies in the small bowl of a food processor, add the egg yolk, garlic, mustard and two teaspoons of lemon juice, and blitz to a smooth paste. With the motor still running, very slowly add the sunflower oil in a thin stream, until the mixture emulsifies and comes together into a thick mayonnaise. Thin with a tablespoon or two of water and pulse until the mayonnaise is pourable. Stir in the remaining anchovies and set aside.

Half-fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil. Turn down the heat to medium-high, gently lower in the eggs, boil for six minutes, then drain. Put the eggs under cold running water for a few minutes, to stop them cooking any more, then peel.

In a large bowl, mix the lettuce quarters with the olive oil, the remaining two teaspoons of lemon juice, half the tarragon and a quarter-teaspoon of salt. Arrange the lettuce cut side up on a large plate, then spoon the mayo on top. Sprinkle on first the remaining tarragon, then the olives and red onion slices. Tear open the eggs, put them on top of the lettuce, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and serve.