I don’t usually like celebrity cook books as they are usually not written by the celebrity and the recipes mostly don’t work. (…Sophie Dahl) After all the publicity around Gwynnie’s new book, Notes from my Kitchen Table, we had to try at least one of them. This is a really easy and quick recipe which is her interpretation of a warm Nicoise Salad.

It took about 10 mins to prepare everything and then 12 minutes to cook. Truly a quick and complete meal in under 30 mins. One thing I would say is that this would serve about 3 people or 4 if you are all on diets and eat very small portions. Also, buy bigger tuna steaks than we did in the photo and maybe serve some boiled jersey royals on the side if you eat carbs. If not, you could parboil the potatoes and add them to the pan to roast with everything else.

Gwyneth Paltrow’s Hot Nicoise Salad

SERVES 4

* 225g green beans, ends trimmed
* 225g cherry tomatoes, halved
* 75g niçoise olives (preferably pitted)
* 7 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 1 large handful fresh basil leaves
* 1 yellow roasted bell pepper (see page 69), roughly torn into strips
* 1 red roasted bell pepper (see page 69), roughly torn into strips
* 12 olive-oil-packed Spanish anchovies
* 4 x 175g tuna steaks about 2cm thick
* coarse salt
* freshly ground black pepper
* 4 organic large eggs
* 1 lemon, halved, for squeezing

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas 6.
2. Steam the green beans for 4 minutes. Immediately toss them in a large roasting tin (about 30cm x 34cm) together with the tomatoes, olives and 4 tablespoons of the olive oil, crushing the tomatoes slightly with your hands. Tear in the basil and push the mixture around the perimeter of the tin. Nestle the peppers and anchovies in and around the vegetables. Lay the tuna steaks in the middle of the tin and coat each with ½ tablespoon of olive oil and rub with a generous amount of salt and pepper.
3. Crack each egg into a small ramekin and tuck the ramekins into the corners of the tin. Drizzle each egg evenly with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Stick the whole thing in the oven for 10-12 minutes, or until the eggs are just set and the tuna is cooked through but still moist. Pull the tin out, squeeze lemon over everything and serve.

Am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this recipe and will now try out a few more recipes from her book.

You can find lots more easy recipe as per Miss Paltrow in her book Notes from my Kitchen Table also called “My Father’s Daughter” in the US.