It was an antipasti-style butter bean dish that turned personal chef Natalia Rudin into an internet sensation.
Her post went viral in 2024, with a million views. “It had all the things that come in jars, like artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, capers, olives and some cavolo nero, in a tomato-based sauce,” says the 30-year-old, whose runs the account Nats Nourisments.
Her food, mostly plant-based, focuses on ease and comfort, with plenty of nutrition packed in.
Travelling to India at the age of 23, “I had a bit of a transformation, how I cared for myself, my body and the food I was eating. I became so much more aware of how ingredients, exercise and being outside had this huge effect on my mental health.” And she became a private chef in 2018.
But it isn’t always easy to prioritise eating lots of plants in busy lives. “It’s kind of being savvy. That’s where I’ve used my experience as a personal chef. A lot of the time, I’d work with clients who don’t really have any concept of time, they might suddenly be like, ‘Can we have a three-course meal in an hour?’ And you just scrap in the kitchen.”
Her debut cookbook, Cooking Fast And Slow, utilises this expertise of cooking under different time frames, “to aid people who think that they don’t have the time to cook, to eat well, to feel well, to show them that they can”.
Here’s her advice for packing in the plants if you’re always in a rush.
Have some fast recipes in your repertoire
Rudin says most people understand that eating better helps us feel more well – “I think the problem lies in the nature of a busy schedule for people. When I had a nine-to-five job, I would come home and I’d be like, OK, I’ve only got really half an hour to play with, and then I’m knackered and I just want to get into bed.”
So you’ll find 15-minute dishes like kimchi noodle stir-fry and cavolo nero gnocchi in her book. While others, like the truffled white beans and wild mushrooms, or silky squash soup with crispy sage leaves, can be rustled up in under half an hour.
“Because it is so easy to cook with whole food ingredients fairly from scratch and still create something nourishing and delicious,” she says.
Stock up on key cupboard ingredients
“Having a cupboard full of back-up ingredients is always really, really important.”
Her biggest hero ingredient is beans. “They can be there for years and they’ll be absolutely fine. I always have butter beans or cannellini beans or chickpeas, and then also sun-dried tomatoes, because again, that’s the kind of thing that you can sit at the top of the fridge. They’re in oil, they last forever and they’re delicious.
“Same with artichokes, olives, capers – because you can always whip up something really flavoursome with that. You get your protein from your beans and the flavour punches from those.”
Pasta is key too, but don’t stick to one variety. “I always say, have as many fancy shapes as you possibly can, because it will make the meal feel more elevated.”
And, “if you’re struggling for time, you can buy the pre-made packets of lentils or quinoa. Those are always pretty handy to have on hand, because then you can throw them together with whatever fresh ingredients you have in the fridge”.
Have ready-made flavourings to hand
Rudin recommends having jars of shawarma paste or harissa paste, too. “If you’ve got those lying around, you really are never far from a meal. [Like] harissa chickpeas, which is something we make all the time.
“Something that we really love in our house is also miso paste. It’s a fermented thing, it lasts forever. I like putting it in place of chicken stock or vegetable stock because it’s got those really deep umami flavours.
“I love having fermented things in the fridge, like sauerkraut, kimchi and pickles.”
Utilise your freezer
Frozen fruit and vegetables are your best friend if you’re short on time – especially shopping time. “I’d always have frozen peas in the freezer, and frozen spinach, because that’s the kind of stuff you can throw into a pan to bulk up something.
“Something that we often have at home is lemony pea pasta, because it’s so quick, it’s so easy. [The peas] cook so quickly, they pack a huge punch with protein, and live in your freezer forever,” she notes.
Use this simple flavour bomb tip on different veg
“Lemon, chilli and garlic is a really good trifecta of ingredients to really jazz up anything,” says Rudin. “If you have a side of broccoli with a bit of lemon, chilli and garlic, it feels elevated – it’s delicious. It’s a great way to get people to eat more greens and just add more things onto your plate.
“I love dark leafy greens. If it’s pasta, I’ll throw a little salad on the side, whether it be some blanched cavolo nero with lemon and chilli and garlic.”
Get organised
Meal prepping is “a lifesaver”, she says, particularly for work lunches. “I’m such a huge advocate.”
Set aside an hour or an hour and a half a week to prepare for the week. For example, “Two grains, maybe a rice and a pasta, or lentils or chickpeas or quinoa, if you have two of those and a couple of fresh salad options, be that chopped cucumber and chopped tomato – those are really basic, fairly cheap ingredients – and then you can add whatever protein you want.”
Pack plants in at breakfast
“It’s difficult because we’re all working and we’re all under a time constraint in the morning, and sometimes people will value having a couple of extra minutes in bed rather than creating a breakfast,” says Rudin. Save time by prepping breakfast the night before, she suggests, like chai pots packed with fruit, or carrot cake overnight oats – “You’re getting a vegetable in a breakfast, which a lot of people don’t”.
She adds: “I love a savoury breakfast personally,” she says. One of her recipes is a black bean breakfast bowl with scrambled tofu, sweet potato and cashew cream.
“I think it’s just sometimes people may have exclusively toast or granola, and they don’t realise that you can have so much fun with your breakfast.”
‘Cooking Fast And Slow’ by Natalia Rudin (Penguin Life, £25).
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