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Home   Whole Foods from Hodmedod & Guest Producers   Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod
Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks
Onion & Fava Bhajis Onion & Fava Bhajis
Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod
Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod
Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod
Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod
Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod
Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod

Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod

Free UK delivery on all orders over £50

Hodmedod's long-awaited book Whole Food is out now and available to order! Or find it in good bookshops everywhere or the usual online outlets - we recommend Bookshop.org to support independent booksellers.

We'll throw in a £5 Hodmedod's voucher towards ingredients to use in the book's recipes.

"A brilliant mix of the deeply authentic and playfully original" Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

We've written Whole Food to show just how delicious, varied, joyous and meaningful pulses, grains and seeds can be in dishes from around the world and across our history. Growing more diverse crops is good for the planet and its soil. Eating them is good for our bodies and minds. We hope Whole Food will encourage everyone to eat more of it, from gruel to brownies.

Listen to Nick and Josiah talking about why they wrote the book on Gilly Smith's Cooking the Books podcast, and Josiah waxing lyrical about gruel on Farmerama Radio Episode 94.

"This book is innovative, generous, and full of flavour", Itamar Srulovich
"A must have for any bean lover", Thomasina Miers

Book details

  • Publisher: DK
  • Publication date: October 8, 2026
  • ISBN: 9780241811177
  • Format: Hardback
  • Pages: 192

Category: Books , New

Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks
Onion & Fava Bhajis Onion & Fava Bhajis

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Recipes using Whole Food: a book from Hodmedod

Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks
View Full Recipe
Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks

Try gruel! Enjoy this recipe from our new book Whole Food - we're not sure when a cookbook last included a recipe for gruel.

Unjustly maligned as miserable sustenance, gruel is just the simplest and earliest of soups. At heart, gruel is a warming and nourishing meal, but it is so easy and economical to make that it became associated with poverty and institutional food. Our recipe shows just how comforting and flavoursome gruel can be. Forget thin and watery, this gruel of barley and oats is velvety, silky, and elevated by nutty browned butter and caramelised leeks.

Serves 2–3

Ingredients

For the Leeks
  • 80g unsalted butter
  • 2 leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced
  • Pinch of sea salt
  • 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked (plus extra to serve)
  • 2 tsp cider vinegar

Method

  1. Put the pearl barley and vegetable stock into a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook for 25–30 minutes until starting to soften.
  2. Add the oats and continue cooking for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until creamy and thick. Season with the nutmeg, salt, and black pepper.
  3. In a separate pan, melt the butter over a medium heat, then continue cooking, swirling the pan, until it turns nut-brown and aromatic.
  4. Immediately add the sliced leeks, salt, and thyme, and cook slowly for 15 minutes until soft and caramelised.
  5. Stir in the cider vinegar to deglaze the pan, then remove from the heat.
  6. Spoon the hot gruel into warm bowls, top with the brown butter leeks, more picked thyme leaves, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, then serve.


Onion & Fava Bhajis
View Full Recipe
Onion & Fava Bhajis
Try this recipe from our cookbook Whole Food.

Of utmost importance to bhajis is the quality of the flour and the balance of onion to batter. Pale imitations may use wheat flour, but true Indian bhajis are made with besan, otherwise known as chickpea or gram flour. Pulse flours like besan or the fava bean flour we use don’t take up nearly as much oil from frying as wheat flour, are higher in protein and fibre, and have a distinctively earthy flavour. The batter mustn’t overwhelm the onion; it’s fine if the ball opens up and the onions splay out, which is known as a khekda, or crab bhaji.

Makes 10–12

Ingredients

  • 3 red onions, thinly sliced (around 400g)
  • 120g Fava Bean Flour
  • 1 bunch of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
  • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp hot curry powder
  • 1 tsp hot chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste)
  • ½ tsp baking powder
  • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Neutral oil, for frying
For the Raita
  • 250g natural yogurt
  • ½ cucumber, grated and squeezed of excess water
  • 1 small garlic clove, grated
  • ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped mint
  • 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro)
  • Squeeze of lemon juice

Method

  1. First, make the raita: Put the yogurt into a bowl. Stir through the cucumber, garlic, cumin, mint, and coriander. Season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Keep chilled until needed.
  2. Combine all of the bhaji ingredients in a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Pour in 100ml water and mix well with clean hands until well combined.
  3. Half-fill a large saucepan with oil and heat over a medium heat for around 10 minutes (if using a thermometer, the oil should reach 170–180°C).
  4. Form the bhaji batter into golf ball-sized balls, compressing them slightly so they hold firm. Place on a spoon and carefully lower into the oil. Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning if needed until crisp and deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper or a wire rack.
  5. Pile the hot bhajis onto a platter. Best eaten hot and crispy with the raita to cool things down.


View all recipes
  • Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks

    Barley & Oat Gruel with Brown Butter Leeks

    View Full Recipe

    Try gruel! Enjoy this recipe from our new book Whole Food - we're not sure when a cookbook last included a recipe for gruel.

    Unjustly maligned as miserable sustenance, gruel is just the simplest and earliest of soups. At heart, gruel is a warming and nourishing meal, but it is so easy and economical to make that it became associated with poverty and institutional food. Our recipe shows just how comforting and flavoursome gruel can be. Forget thin and watery, this gruel of barley and oats is velvety, silky, and elevated by nutty browned butter and caramelised leeks.

    Serves 2–3

    Ingredients

    For the Leeks
    • 80g unsalted butter
    • 2 leeks, trimmed and thickly sliced
    • Pinch of sea salt
    • 4 sprigs of thyme, leaves picked (plus extra to serve)
    • 2 tsp cider vinegar

    Method

    1. Put the pearl barley and vegetable stock into a saucepan, bring to a simmer, and cook for 25–30 minutes until starting to soften.
    2. Add the oats and continue cooking for 10–12 minutes, stirring often, until creamy and thick. Season with the nutmeg, salt, and black pepper.
    3. In a separate pan, melt the butter over a medium heat, then continue cooking, swirling the pan, until it turns nut-brown and aromatic.
    4. Immediately add the sliced leeks, salt, and thyme, and cook slowly for 15 minutes until soft and caramelised.
    5. Stir in the cider vinegar to deglaze the pan, then remove from the heat.
    6. Spoon the hot gruel into warm bowls, top with the brown butter leeks, more picked thyme leaves, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper, then serve.


  • Onion & Fava Bhajis

    Onion & Fava Bhajis

    View Full Recipe
    Try this recipe from our cookbook Whole Food.

    Of utmost importance to bhajis is the quality of the flour and the balance of onion to batter. Pale imitations may use wheat flour, but true Indian bhajis are made with besan, otherwise known as chickpea or gram flour. Pulse flours like besan or the fava bean flour we use don’t take up nearly as much oil from frying as wheat flour, are higher in protein and fibre, and have a distinctively earthy flavour. The batter mustn’t overwhelm the onion; it’s fine if the ball opens up and the onions splay out, which is known as a khekda, or crab bhaji.

    Makes 10–12

    Ingredients

    • 3 red onions, thinly sliced (around 400g)
    • 120g Fava Bean Flour
    • 1 bunch of coriander (cilantro), roughly chopped
    • 1 green chilli, finely chopped
    • 2 tsp cumin seeds
    • 2 tsp ground coriander
    • 1 tsp hot curry powder
    • 1 tsp hot chilli powder
    • 1 tsp garam masala
    • ½ tsp ground turmeric
    • 1 tsp chilli flakes (or to taste)
    • ½ tsp baking powder
    • Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
    • Neutral oil, for frying
    For the Raita
    • 250g natural yogurt
    • ½ cucumber, grated and squeezed of excess water
    • 1 small garlic clove, grated
    • ½ tsp ground cumin
    • 1 tbsp finely chopped mint
    • 1 tbsp finely chopped coriander (cilantro)
    • Squeeze of lemon juice

    Method

    1. First, make the raita: Put the yogurt into a bowl. Stir through the cucumber, garlic, cumin, mint, and coriander. Season with salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. Keep chilled until needed.
    2. Combine all of the bhaji ingredients in a large bowl and season well with salt and pepper. Pour in 100ml water and mix well with clean hands until well combined.
    3. Half-fill a large saucepan with oil and heat over a medium heat for around 10 minutes (if using a thermometer, the oil should reach 170–180°C).
    4. Form the bhaji batter into golf ball-sized balls, compressing them slightly so they hold firm. Place on a spoon and carefully lower into the oil. Fry for 3–4 minutes, turning if needed until crisp and deep golden. Drain on kitchen paper or a wire rack.
    5. Pile the hot bhajis onto a platter. Best eaten hot and crispy with the raita to cool things down.


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