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The book *Three Good Things…on a plate is aimed at anyone who has become stuck with their cooking. If you are at a point where you want something different than your usual go to but something still simple and easy to cook, then check out this book. Hugh has taken cooking back to the basics sharing great ingredient combinations that you can make into a light meal or add to, to create your own tasty dinner.
When I think about cooking I can overthink what needs to be involved in my meal. Going back to the basics can be the best option. Using great ingredients and really letting them shine can create delicious meals. At times the book can be too simplistic for a main meal but see it as a starting place. Adding one to two more things will give you the meal you want.
Rather than a recipe book see this as a ideas book, showcasing what goes well with what. To try out the book I followed the recipes quite closely and didn’t go far from the original recipe.
I started with a light meal of beetroot, goat’s cheese and walnuts. I used pickled beetroot instead of the cooked beetroot from the recipe. I chose this way as I wanted a quick and easy lunch. It’s a good combination with a lovely sweetness and tang of the beetroot with the soft salty cheese. The walnuts add in some good healthy fats and welcome crunch.
If you wanted something more filling these would make a great topping to a leafy green salad. I think I would have this again as a light salad or lunch rather than a starter though. 
For the next set of dishes I wanted to try something that would be more filling. The lentil, spinach and potato dish was also a good option for a light meal but isn’t the quickest to prepare. The main taste of the dish will be the curry powder that you use, so make sure it is your favourite. I know the purpose of this book is to use three items but I added onions to this to help bulk it out. If I made this again I think mushrooms would be a good addition.
The next dish is great for a quick meal when you’ve had a long day and want something easy to make. The chorizo dish could be basic on first thought but any lover of chorizo will like this. The oil that comes from the chorizo coats everything and builds up a lovely spicy flavour. The different ingredients all work together providing you both different textures and nutrition. I added some chopped garlic which complimented the chorizo well. Apart from being quick and delicious this a a meal that is suited to using up leftovers.
The final item to review was the squash, coconut and chilli. This was similar to the lentil dish as the curry powder taste is a dominant flavour. I decide to give it a try since my boyfriend loves curries however I ended up liking it more than he did. If he were to have it again he would prefer the butternut squash was substituted for chicken but I liked it as it was. The coconut helped to make a creamy but not overly thick sauce and the heat gave a enjoyable kick rather than burn.
I can see this dish being a good vegan option for some or a good basis for those wanting to play around with curry flavours. I’ll be trying this dish again but using it as a base for a chicken curry rather than squash.
This is not a book I will look at to follow recipes but it will be one I flick through every now and then for inspiration. There are days that I will forget what will go well with leeks and this book will remind me and help me make up some of my own flavourful meals.
