Zena Kamgaing is a passionate recipe creator with a highly engaged global audience (over 1 million followers across TikTok and Instagram, plus 500,000 monthly readers of her blog).
DINNER TIME – published by Bloomsbury Publishing earlier this month – is her debut cookbook and is packed with vibrant, affordable and easy to recreate recipes. One of the things I love about the book (as well as the recipes of course) is the way it’s split into time zones for creating the recipes: 15, 30, 45 or 60 minutes.
There’s a meal for any time of the day, quick midweek pick-me-ups as well as roasts, stews, ragus and curries…taken to the next level. It’s a lovely hardback book, at £22 with photography by Yuki Sugiura.
Here are some recipes to give you a flavour of what’s in store if you buy the book.
One-Pan Thai Curry Salmon with Coconut Rice
“This is one of those recipes that does a lot with very little. You build layers of flavour into the rice using coconut cream and lime leaves, then nestle in salmon that’s been marinated in good-quality Thai red curry paste. The fish finishes under the grill, taking on a little char while the rice continues to steam underneath. It’s rich, fragrant and deeply satisfying – and it all happens in one pan, without any complicated steps. Great for a weeknight, but also impressive enough for guests.
It’s worth going the extra mile (perhaps literally) to source makrut lime leaves. They have a unique citrusy, slightly floral brightness that pairs beautifully with the richness of the coconut, taking the rice from a 10/10 to a 12/10. But if you can’t find them, don’t worry – lime zest delivers plenty of the freshness you need.”
Serves 6
3 tbsp vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
1 tbsp good-quality Thai red curry paste
6 salmon fillets (skin on or off)
350g jasmine rice
250ml coconut cream
4 makrut lime leaves, finely chopped (or the zest of 2 limes)
1 tsp fine sea salt
1 small handful of fresh coriander, chopped, to garnish
For the sauce
50g sweet chilli sauce
1 lime, juice
Heat your oven grill to high. In a large bowl, combine the oil and Thai curry paste with a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add the salmon fillets and toss to coat, then set them aside to marinate while you prepare the rice.
Wash the rice in cold water until the water runs clear. Drain it well and tip it into a wide ovenproof sauté pan or shallow casserole dish.
Add the coconut cream, lime leaves or lime zest, teaspoon of salt and 300ml of cold water and stir to combine. Bring the liquid to a simmer over a medium–high heat, then cover, reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes.
Uncover the pan and arrange the seasoned salmon fillets in a single layer over the rice (skin down if they have the skin). Transfer the pan to the grill for 6–10 minutes, or until the salmon is lightly charred on top and just cooked through. The exact timing will depend on the thickness of your fillets.
While the salmon and rice are under the grill, stir together the sweet chilli sauce and lime juice. Drizzle this over the salmon and rice just before serving, then garnish with the coriander.
Harissa Butter Steak Flatbreads
“These flatbreads are proof that big-flavour cooking doesn’t have to mean long cooking times. Thin-cut steaks cook in seconds, and the harissa butter they’re basted in does all the heavy lifting in the flavour department. Nestled on top of warm flatbreads with garlicky yoghurt and a bright tomato and onion salad, they make for a truly delicious and comforting meal.”
Serves 4
150g Greek yoghurt
2 garlic cloves, finely grated or minced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1 lemon, juice
4 vine tomatoes (about 300g), cut into wedges
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
4 minute or thin-cut steaks
Vegetable oil (or any neutral oil)
1 heaped tbsp butter
½ tbsp harissa paste
4 small flatbreads
1 small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, leaves and tender stems chopped
In a small bowl, mix the Greek yoghurt with the garlic and a pinch of salt. Set aside.
In another bowl, scrunch the red onion with the lemon juice and a good pinch of salt until softened, then add the tomatoes and olive oil, toss to combine, and set aside.
Heat a large non-stick frying pan over a high heat. Pat the steaks dry with kitchen paper, then lightly oil them and season them with salt and pepper. Cook for 1 minute in total, flipping halfway through.
Lower the heat to medium and add the butter and harissa. Tilt the pan and spoon the melted harissa butter over the steaks, basting for 30 seconds, then transfer them to a plate to rest for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, warm the flatbreads according to the package instructions. Slice the rested steaks.
Spread the garlicky yoghurt over the warm flatbreads, then layer on the steak slices and spoon over the buttery harissa drippings from the pan. Scatter over some of the tomato and onion salad, serving the rest on the side, and finish with a sprinkle of parsley.
Caramel Pineapple Ice Cream Sundaes
“This dessert is all about contrast – hot-cold, soft-crunchy, sweet- salty. You start by searing the pineapple until deeply golden and charred in places, then poach it in a cinnamon-spiced brown sugar syrup until beautifully tender. The sauce is finished with butter, whisked in to create a glossy, pineapple-infused salted caramel of sorts, ready to spoon over just before serving. Warm fruit, cold ice cream and a scattering of toasted coconut flakes – it’s a big-flavour dessert that requires relatively little effort.”
Serves 4
65g unsalted butter
1 small ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into 8 wedges
100g dark brown soft sugar
2 × 7cm cinnamon sticks
4 big scoops good-quality vanilla ice cream
1 handful of toasted coconut flakes
Set aside 25g of the butter, then cut the rest into 1cm-thick slices and refrigerate.
Melt the reserved 25g of butter in a large frying pan over a medium– high heat. Arrange the pineapple wedges in a snug single layer over the butter and cook undisturbed for 5–6 minutes, or until browned and charred in places. Flip and cook for another 3–5 minutes, or until browned.
Turn the heat down to medium, then add the sugar, cinnamon sticks, a pinch of salt and 4 tablespoons of water and give the pan a good shake. Cover the pan with a lid and cook the pineapple, flipping halfway through, for 8–10 minutes, or until tender (a skewer should slide through with little resistance).
Take the pan off the heat and transfer the wedges to bowls – you want two wedges per portion. Discard the cinnamon sticks.
Whisk the chilled butter into the sauce left in the pan until melted and emulsified. If the sauce feels too thin, return the pan to the heat and simmer for a couple of minutes until it has thickened slightly. Transfer to a bowl and leave it to cool a little.
To serve, add a big scoop of vanilla ice cream to each serving bowl, top with lots of the sauce and finish with a sprinkle of toasted coconut flakes.
