Georgia says: “God, I love dumplings (who doesn’t?) and am always looking for excuses to get them on my plate. This is one of those recipes. You can use any frozen dumpling you wish, just follow the packet instructions for cooking them. This makes quite a lot of dressing so you can have extra to dip the dumplings in. Please forgive me for asking you to use only a quarter of these cabbages, but there’s a perfect recipe to use the rest of them: red cabbage & carrot kraut.” 

Serves 4

Ingredients

For the dumplings:

• 2–4 tbsp sunflower oil
• 28 (or more!) of your favourite frozen vegetable gyoza
• Hoisin, sriracha and/or chilli oil, to serve

For the salad:

• ¼ red cabbage
• ¼ white cabbage
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned
• ½ yellow or orange pepper, deseeded and sliced
• A handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
• A handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 4 tbsp crispy fried onions to serve, optional

For the dressing:

• 1 garlic clove, peeled
• A small thumb of ginger, peeled
• 4 tsp soft light brown sugar
• 1 red chilli, deseeded and chopped
• 5 tbsp light soy sauce
• 5 tbsp rice vinegar
• 2½ tbsp sesame oil

Method

Get the dumplings going first. You may need to cook them in batches or use two pans. Heat enough vegetable oil to generously cover the bottom of a large frying pan (with a lid) over a medium-high heat. Add the dumplings on their flat side and fry for 2–3 minutes until dark golden.

Carefully add enough water to come halfway up the sides of the dumplings, cover with the lid and steam for about 8–10 minutes (check the packet for exact timings) before removing the lid and cooking until all the water has evaporated.

Meanwhile, make the dressing. Finely grate the garlic and ginger into a mixing bowl, then add all the other ingredients, stirring until the sugar dissolves. Spoon 4 tablespoons into a small dipping bowl and put to one side.

Make the salad. Using your sharpest knife or a mandolin, or the slicing attachment of a food processor, shred the cabbages as finely as you can (the finer you can get, the less chewing you need to do) and transfer to a bowl. Add all the other ingredients except the crispy onions, pour in the remaining dressing and toss with your hands. Have a taste to check you’re happy with the flavours: it should be sweet, salty and a little acidic. Divide between plates or bowls and sprinkle over a layer of crispy fried onions, if you like.

Once the dumplings are cooked, sit some on top of each portion. Serve with the extra dressing for dipping and drizzle over some hoisin, sriracha or chilli oil (or all three!).

Georgia says: “This is preposterously tasty, and perfect for colder days when you want something crunchy and fresh but comforting too. If you’ve never grilled grapes before, you’re in for a very pleasant surprise – heat transforms them into intense little juicy orbs of joy. You may want to make extra salty-sweet walnuts; I find there are very few left by the time I actually assemble my salad…”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 250 g/9 oz/1⅔ cups black grapes
• 15 /1 tbsp butter
• 75g walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 6 Little Gem lettuces, each cut into 4 wedges through the stem
• 1 large, not-too-ripe pear, quartered, cored and sliced
• A few sprigs of tarragon or a few chives, chopped
• Salt and pepper

For the blue cheese dressing: 

• 150g blue cheese such as Stilton, Stichelton, Cashel Blue or Gorgonzola
• 3 tbsp Greek yogurt or soured cream
• 2½ tbsp white wine vinegar
• 6 tbsp olive oil

Method

Preheat the grill to high. Line a small baking tray with greaseproof paper. Cut the grapes into small bunches of about 3–5 grapes, sit on the baking tray, and grill for 5–7 minutes until the skins start to split and the juices begin to run. Remove, sprinkle with a little salt and leave to cool.

Meanwhile, line a small plate with a piece of kitchen paper. Warm the butter in a small frying pan over a medium-low heat and add the walnuts. Fry gently for about 3 minutes, stirring, until the butter smells nutty and the walnuts begin to turn golden on the edges, then tip onto the kitchen paper and immediately sprinkle over the sugar and ½ teaspoon of salt, shaking the paper so that it all gets tossed together. Leave to cool.

Next, make the dressing. Put half the blue cheese, the yogurt and vinegar in a bowl and use a hand blender to blitz until smooth-ish, then blitz in the oil until you have a creamy dressing. Season to taste.

Arrange the lettuce wedges on four plates or a big platter. Tuck the pear slices in between the wedges and spoon over the dressing, then crumble over the remaining blue cheese in small chunks. Scatter over the walnuts and herbs, then spoon over the cooled grapes and their juices and serve. 

Georgia says: “This recipe celebrates the humble butter bean. But often, living up to its name, the bean can sometimes be a bit dry. Giving it a quick warm up in salty water and coating it in a really assertive dressing brings out its best qualities. In the summer months, I would definitely chuck some asparagus under the grill with the spring onions. This would also be amazing with feta (but then what wouldn’t?) or with some anchovies on top.”

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 x batch of caper and raisin dressing (see below)
• 2 x 400g cans butter beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 2 bunches of spring onions
• 1 cucumber, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 200g radishes, quartered
• 160g rocket
• A large handful of mint leaves, roughly chopped
• Salt and pepper

For the caper and raisin dressing:

• 1½ tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 30g raisins
• ½ garlic clove, roughly chopped
• 30g, soaked if salted
• A handful of parsley or dill leaves (or a mix), roughly chopped
• 100ml olive oil

Method

First make the dressing. Combine the vinegars and raisins in a bowl for a few minutes while you prepare everything else. Put the garlic, capers and herbs in a small food processor and pulse-blitz until finely chopped, then add the vinegars and raisins and blitz again to roughly chop. Finally, add the oil, pulse a few times to combine and then transfer to a bowl to serve. Set to one side.

Preheat the grill to high. Bring a pan of water to the boil and when boiling, season generously with salt and add the butter beans. As soon as it returns to the boil, take off the heat. Drain the beans and, while still warm, transfer to your salad bowl, and drizzle with a tablespoon of oil and the vinegar. Leave to cool. Spread the spring onions out on a baking tray and rub them with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and some seasoning. Put under the grill for 3–4 minutes, turning once until they have dark spots and are cooked through.

Add the rest of the salad ingredients to the cooled beans, except the grilled spring onions. Toss with 3–4 tablespoons of the dressing, leaving a few spoonfuls to drizzle over at the end. Transfer to a large platter or plates, sit the grilled spring onions on top and drizzle with a little more dressing before serving. 

Let’s Do Lunch: Quick and easy recipes to brighten up your week by Georgia Levy (£16.98, Pavilion, HarperCollins Publishers) is out now