Category Archives: Main Courses

Chickpea & Vegetable Curry

19 Thursday Mar 2020

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This recipe is adapted from Gaz Oakley – the Avant Garde Vegan – and his recipe for Chickpea Curry. I wanted to make a curry that was a little less solid than only chickpeas, so have added various vegetables. I’m going to list in this recipe exactly the vegetables that I used, but of course you can change these according to what you have. I would alway include the red and green peppers, but then alternatives for the other vegetables are aubergines, peas, green beans or cauliflower.

Do have a look at Gaz’s website, there are some great recipes there, most with how to videos.

For 4 portions

1 teaspoon mustard seeds

1 teaspoon coriander seeds

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds

1 teaspoon turmeric

6 curry leaves

1/2 teaspoon salt

oil – either olive or peanut

1 onion – sliced

3 cloves garlic – finely chopped

1 dessert spoon finely chopped ginger

2 teaspoons finely chopped red chilli

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

1 small or 1/2 large courgette

1/2 col rabí

2 x 1 cm slices from a butternut squash

400 grams cooked chickpeas – either ready cooked from a jar or can, or if you want to start with dried peas, 200 grams – soaked overnight and boiled in salted water until tender.

small broccoli florets

1 banana – unpeeled

1 tin coconut milk – full fat

2 tablespoons tomato purée

Firstly slowly toast the first four spices listed in a thick bottomed pan until The mustard seeds start to pop. Grind them either in a coffee grinder or pestle and mortar.

Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a large shallow pan and add the onions, garlic, ginger and chilli. Cook slowly until the onions are nicely caramelised stirring from time to time. This will take 10 to 15 minutes, don’t rush it as this gives a rich flavour to the curry.

Cut the rest of the vegetables into 1 centimetre cubes.

Add the peppers to the onions and carry on frying for another 10 minutes.

Add the spice mix together with the turmeric and curry leaves. Stir to mix.

Add the tomato purée and stir to mix this in.

Now add the coconut milk and chickpeas. Mix in and heat to a simmer.

Add the courgette, col rabí and butternut squash. Simmer on a low heat for about 15 minutes until the vegetables are just cooked.

Wash the banana and without peeling it, top and tail it then cut it in half lengthwise and the cut into thick slices. Add to the curry together with the broccoli florets. Most of you have probably never added banana to your curry before, but trust me and try it, it adds a rich sweet element to the curry.

Continue cooking for another 5 minutes.

Serve with plain rice, chapatis and your favourite chutneys.

Braised Red Peppers with Baby Tomatoes & Capers

18 Wednesday Mar 2020

Posted by in Food for One, Main Courses, Starters, Vegan, Vegetable Dishes

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This is one of those recipes that are so super simple that it’s hard to believe how tasty and rich the resulting dish is. Peppers and tomatoes are stewed in their own juices to make a rich and moist stew.
I had mine today with cous cous flavoured with almonds and raisins, this goes very well with pasta too.

For 1

2 medium or 1 large red pepper – cut into 1 1/2 centimetre strips

olive oil

10 baby tomatoes

1/2 teaspoon capers

small amount finely chopped red chilli to taste

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat a shallow saucepan or frying pan, and add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil and the red peppers. Cover and fry gently for 3-5 m8nutes to soften the peppers.

Add the tomatoes, capers and chilli, then season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Stir to mix.

Cover and leave to stew gently for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time until you have a soft juicy stew.

Spaghetti With Globe Artichokes

16 Monday Mar 2020

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Today’s recipe is a simple tasty pasta dish with the sauce made from fresh globe artichokes and hazelnuts.

For 2 portions

200 grams spaghetti

6 globe artichokes – cleaned, trimmed and then cut into thin wedges

1 spring garlic/clove garlic – finely chopped

olive oil

50 grams hazelnuts

80 ml unsweetened hazelnut milk

salt and freshly ground black pepper

50 grams pecorino/Parmesan cheese finely grated – optional

Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water seasoned with salt and a splash of olive oil.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large frying pan and add the artichokes and garlic. Fry on a medium heat turning the artichokes over regularly until they are just cooked and lightly browned. Turn off the heat.

In a small food processor whizz the hazelnuts to chop them small.

Add the milk and whizz more.

Add half the artichokes to the nut mix and whizz again to achieve a thick paste. Season with salt and pepper.

If you are using cheese add two thirds of it to the purée and pulse to mix.

When the spaghetti is about cooked, put the heat back on under the artichokes in the frying pan. Add the puréed artichokes and a spoonful or two of the pasta cooking liquid to make a thick sauce. Heat gently to warm up.

Drain the pasta from its water reserving a bit in case the sauce needs more.

Add the pasta to the artichokes and mix well to coat the pasta with the sauce.

Serve with either a sprinkling of finely chopped parsley or the rest of the cheese if using.

Urap – Vegetable Salad & Coconut Dressing

13 Friday Mar 2020

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This Indonesian salad, as with the tofu fritters in the previous post, is from Sri Owen. As with most salads, you can vary the ingredients depending on what you have available that fits with the style of the salad.

I have used –

cucumber – peeled and cut into long wedges

red peppers – cut into long strips

red cabbage – finely shredded and blanched in boiling water for 1 minute

edename beans – I’d got cooked frozen ones that I defrosted

cooked mung beans

Other options are –

radishes

carrots – cut into fine julienne

beansprouts

french beans – lightly cooked

chinese cabbage – shredded and blanched

broccoli florets – blanched

For the dressing –

2 tablespoons very finely chopped fresh coconut

2 tablespoons thick coconut milk

1/2 teaspoon finely chopped fresh red chilli

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint

1/2 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

juice of 1/2 a lime

1/4 tablespoon brown sugar

salt to taste

Mix all the dressing ingredients together and then add them to the salad and mix well.

Tofu & Beansprout Fritters

13 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by in Main Courses, Snacks and Tapas, Starters, Vegan, Vegetable Dishes

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I have been doing my kitchen spring clean and as part of this culling my, rather large, collection of cookery books. As I have been doing this I’ve found some forgotten favourites hiding amongst the other tomes, so I thought I would go through them and share with you some old favourites and new discoveries from each one. This recipe and the next one are adaptations from Sri Owens excellent book, Indonesian Regional Food & Cookery.

For 2 portions

200 grams firm or silken tofu – drained

2 spring onions – finely chopped

1 clove of garlic – finely chopped

peanut oil

1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger or galangal

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh coriander

2 tablespoons bean sprouts – either the regular sort you can buy or, my current favourite, fenugreek sprouts, or alfalfa are good

1/2 teaspoon of finely chopped red chilli

Pinch of salt

2 tablespoons rice flour ( if you haven’t got this then regular wheat flour or chickpea flour)

1/2 lightly beaten egg

Gently fry the onion, garlic and ginger in a couple of tablespoons of the oil until the onions are translucent.

Put the tofu in a bowl and mash it well. Drain the onions from the oil in the pan, reserving the oil, and add to the tofu. Mix in.

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Form into 4 round patties and fry On a medium heat in peanut oil until crisp and light brown.

Drain and serve with a chilli vinegar to dip into.

Provencale Brocolli Gratin.

12 Thursday Mar 2020

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Broccoli florets in a rich tomato sauce flavoured with black olives and topped with a breadcrumb crust, which is then baked to a golden brown crispness. Yummy!

For 2 servings

head of broccoli – divided into bite sized florets

olive oil

1 small onion – finely chopped

2 cloves garlic – finely chopped

3 large tomatoes – peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon tomato puree

1 tablespoon pitted black olives

Mixed fresh herbs if you have them or 1/4 teaspoon dried mixed herbs- orégano, Rosemary, thyme, sage

1 tablespoon green pumpkin seeds

2-3 tablespoons dry breadcrumbs

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Blanch the broccoli by putting it in a container and pouring over boiling water. Leave to steep for ten minutes then drain.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in shallow pan that has a lid. Add the onions and garlic, and fry then gently until translucent.

Add the tomatoes and tomato purée then stir to mix in.

Add the olives and herbs. Season the sauce with a pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper.

Simmer covered for 15 minutes.

Add the drained broccoli and mix in, then tip this mix into a shallow ovenproof dish. Sprinkle over 2-3 tablespoons of breadcrumbs to make an even layer over the vegetables. Drizzle all over with olive oil.

Put into a fairly hot oven – 150 C – for 15-20 minutes until golden brown on top and sizzling.

Butternut Squash Risotto & Crispy Sage Leaves

09 Monday Mar 2020

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For 1 portion

150 grams butternut squash

olive oil

1 small or 1/2 larger onion – finely chopped

1 clove garlic – finely chopped

60 grams risotto rice

2 tablespoons white wine

300 – 400 ml vegetable stock

salt and freshly ground black pepper

20 small sage leaves

Cut the butternut squash into small cubes.

Heat a couple of tablespoons of oil in a saucepan and add the butternut squash. Cover and braise slowly until slightly browned and nearly cooked.
Remove from the pan.

Heat more oil in the pan and add the garlic and onion. Gently fry until transparent. Add half the butternut squash and mash to break it up a bit.

Add the rice and stir in to coat the rice with the other ingredients. Warm through for a couple of minutes.

Add the wine and stir in.

Add enough vegetable stock to just cover the rice and add a pinch of salt if your stock is not already salted.

Cover the pan and turn down the heat to a slow simmer to cook the rice. Check the pan every five minutes or so to see if the risotto is getting too dry, adding stock as needed.

When the rice is almost cooked, stir in the rest of the butternut squash. Check the seasoning of the risotto and add salt and pepper as needed. Cook gently for another five minutes then turn off the heat and leave to rest for five minutes.

Heat 3 or 4 tablespoons of oil in a small pan and when hot add the sage leaves. Fry for three or four minutes until crisp.

Serve the risotto with the sage leaves strewn over.

Mushroom Burritos

02 Monday Mar 2020

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Where to start to describe the joys of a good burrito? My first, and still the best, was in a no frills eatery on Mission Street in San Francisco. It’s simply a meal in a flour flatbread………and so much more. The original recipe is refried black beans, good grilled beef, salad and a spicy sauce, all wrapped in a light flour tortilla, the result being a divine mixture of flavours and textures.
Now that I no longer eat meat I thought I would have a try at using marinated mushrooms in place of the meat, and it worked rather well. It may seem a lot of work to make burritos at home, but if you cook the beans in advance you don’t have so much to do at once.
This is the first time that I have made flour tortillas, and they were so good and light that I will be making them regularly.

BLACK BEANS – use the chilli recipe in the previous post.

Rewarm the beans.

FLOUR TORTILLAS – this amount makes four tortillas of about 25 cm diameter

200 grams strong white flour

50 ml olive oil

good pinch of salt

125 ml hot water

Put the flour in a mixing bowl with the salt. Add the oil and mix thoroughly until the oil is evenly distributed in the flour.

Add the water bit by bit mixing throughly as you go along, adding it even more slowly as the mix starts to come together. You are aiming for a firm but pliable dough.

Knead the dough on a floured board for five minutes or so to get a smooth textured dough.

Divide the dough into four equal pieces then put it to rest covered in its mixing bowl for half an hour or so.

To cook the tortillas heat a flat iron griddle or a thick based frying pan.

Roll the tortillas into thin rounds and then cook dry until slightly golden on each side.

Wrap in a clean tea towel as each are cooked to keep them warm.

MARINATED MUSHROOMS – per person

65 grams strongly flavoured mushrooms – I used shiitake

pinch ground cumin

pinch ground coriander

pinch smoked paprika/pimenton

pinch salt

olive oil

Slice the mushrooms and put in a small bowl with the rest of the ingredients. Mix well to coat the mushrooms evenly.

To cook, fry in olive oil until nicely browned.

THE SALAD

Tomato

cucumber

avocado – all cut into small cubes

teaspoon of finely chopped spring onion

shredded lettuce

fresh lime juice

Mix salad adding lime juice to taste.

SAUCE – if you want spicy use your favourite chilli sauce. If you are after mild to balance the spiciness of the beans in this case, the either sour cream or I made a cashew nut cream. There are many recipes for this on the Internet.

THE BURRITO

Lay out your warm tortilla on a piece of aluminium foil, put in the centre a line of the beans, then a line of the mushrooms, then the salad and finally a line of your chosen sauce. Using the foil to protect your fingers from the heat of the ingredients, roll up the burrito. The foil will keep the burrito warm while you make the rest.

Serve with pickled Jalapeño peppers and more sauce on the side.

Black Bean & Sweetcorn Chilli

01 Sunday Mar 2020

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While you can make this chilli with jar or tinned beans, the flavour and texture will not be anywhere near as good as starting from scratch. Also as with any stewed dish, if you can manage not to eat the chilli as soon as it’s cooked, but leave it to cool and reheat it the next day, the flavours are always richer and more rounded.

This recipe makes two servings, one of which I saved to go into vegan burritos. I’ll post the recipe for those tomorrow.

150 grams dried black beans

sea salt

3 cloves garlic

olive oil

1 small onion – finely chopped

1 medium sized red chilli – very finely chopped

1 horn shaped green pepper – cut into small cubes

1 horn shaped red pepper – cut into small cubes

150 grams sweetcorn – either fresh, tinned or frozen

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

cube of dark chocolate

salt and freshly ground black pepper

fresh coriander leaves

1/2 a lime

Soak the beans either overnight or for eight hours.

Put the beans in a small saucepan with 2 of the garlic cloves and 1/2 teaspoons of salt and enough hot water to just cover.

Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer until the beans are soft and cooked, about 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile finely chop the remaining clove of garlic and put into a frying pan with some of the oil and the chopped onion. Cook until transparent.

Add the peppers and chilli to the onions and stir in to mix. Fry gently for ten minutes.

Add the sweetcorn and spices. Stir in to mix.

Once the beans are cooked, drain them but keep the cooking liquid. Add the beans to the frying pan with a little of their cooking liquor.

Stir in the cube of chocolate. Cover and leave to cook slowly for ten minutes.

Check the seasoning adding salt and black pepper as needed.

Serve with fresh chopped coriander sprinkled over and lime wedges to squeeze over.

Fideua de Verduras

18 Tuesday Feb 2020

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It’s a cool drizzly day today and I have been busy sowing peas and planting lettuce so that they can benefit from the dampness. So after that, a warm hearty lunch is required. My first thought was to make a vegetable paella, and I found that I’d forgotten to buy rice but while looking in the cupboard I saw that I had fideuá. These are small pasta, usually, but not always, rice shaped, that are cooked in place of rice in a paella pan with similar ingredients to a paella. As with paella Spanish cooks vary the ingredients depending on what vegetables are in season, and of course if you are a meat or fish eater, then small pieces of these can be added to your ingredient list.

Today’s fideuá – this makes two portions

70 grams fideua

olive oil

1 large spring onion – sliced

1 large spring garlic -sliced

2 shiitake mushrooms – halved and sliced thinly

150 grams fresh broad beans

half a picante green pepper – cut into small cubes

200 grams courgette – cut into bite sizedcubes

150 grams fresh globe artichokes – prepared, sliced and fried

1 large tomato

few sprigs of thyme

pinch of saffron threads

pinch of smoked pimienton/paprika

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

vegetable stock

Prepare your artichokes first. I had some left from a previous dish. Clean the artichokes down to the tender leaves. Top and tail them. Cut into thin slices and fry immediately in olive oil until about half cooked. Remove from pan.

Add more oil and fry the onion, garlic and green pepper. Cook until the onion is translucent.

Add the mushroom and stir in. Cook for a couple of minutes

Add the courgette, stir in and let fry for five minutes.

Cut the tomato in half and grate the flesh up to the skin into a bowl. Discard the skins.

To the pan add the tomatoes, pasta and broad beans. Stir to mix.

Add the seasonings and then enough stock to come just to the top of the pan contents. Turn the heat down low, cover the pan and let cook slowly for five minutes.

Add the artichokes and more stock as needed.

Check the liquid level in the pan every few minutes until the pasta is cooked. If you are using the rice shaped pasta this will only be another five to ten minutes, other thicker pastas will need longer. The dish does not want to be as dry as a paella.

Once the pasta is cooked, turn off the heat and leave to sit for 5 minutes before serving with wedges of lemon to squeeze over.