Peanut butter has to be one of the greatest culinary inventions ever. Not only is it delicious by the spoon, but it goes with so many flavours – from jams to soups and curries. This udon recipe from Manilife predictably makes peanut butter the main star of the show, and for good reason. Choose a butter like the brand’s smooth version, and you’re looking at a paste that just contains peanuts and sea salt – nothing else. Peanuts and peanut butter with so few ingredients are great sources of plant protein and oleic acid, a type of monounsaturated fat that’s been linked to improved insulin sensitivity, lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and improved cardiovascular health. 

Elsewhere, this dish contains seven plants including vitamin C-rich red pepper, anti-inflammatory ginger and fibrous mangetout. Load everything up in a bowl, smother with crispy onions and/or chilli oil and enjoy something that’s not been roasted, wrapped in pastry or drowned in sherry. 

• 1 onion
• 1 red pepper
• 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh root ginger
• 150g mangetout
• 1 carrot
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Salt and pepper
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 tbsp medium or hot curry powder (depending on your preference)
• 800ml vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp smooth ManiLife peanut butter
• 1½ limes
• 2 x 150g packs straight-to-wok udon noodles
• Crispy fried onions and crispy chilli oil, to serve

1. Finely slice the onion and pepper, and chop the ginger into matchsticks. Slice the mangetout and peel the carrot into long ribbons.

2. Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the onion, along with a pinch of salt and pepper. Cook for 5 minutes until the onion is beginning to soften, then add the ginger and crush in the garlic. Cook for another minute.

3. Add the curry powder and cook for 1 minute more before adding the pepper. Cook for another minute, then pour in the stock. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

4. In a small bowl, whisk the peanut butter with the juice of one lime and a little of the curry-flavoured stock to loosen, then add to the pan, along with the carrot ribbons, mangetout and udon noodles. Cut the remaining half lime into wedges.

5. Once everything is piping hot, divide between two shallow bowls. Sprinkle over the crispy onions, spoon over the chilli oil, and serve with the lime wedges for squeezing.

Recipe and image courtesy of The Peanut Butter Cookbook, by ManiLife (Ebury Press, £20). Photography by Haarala Hamilton.