Tag: vegetarian

The most delicious puy lentils

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Inspired by a trip to Duck and Waffle where I blissfully ate their incredible puy lentils with toasted buckwheat, spinach puree, sweet onion, organic yoghurt, miso and nasturtiums – accompanied by a spectacular view across London. This is 100% less fancy than that, but still delights with maximum flavour and deliciousness.

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 carrot, finely diced
  • 1 stick celery, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 150g puy lentils
  • 350 ml veg stock
  • 1 tsp white miso
  • 1 sprig thyme
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 onion, finely sliced
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 pinch sugar
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • Handful chopped parsley
  • 100g baby spinach
  • Plain yoghurt
  1. Heat 1 tbsp butter in a saucepan over a medium heat
  2. Tip in the diced onion, carrot, celery and garlic, stir and cook until beginning to caramelise
  3. Add the puy lentils and stir in the stock and miso. Add the thyme and bay leaf
  4. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for 30 mins until lentils are soft
  5. While the lentils cook, cook the sliced onion slowly in butter with a pinch of salt and sugar until golden brown
  6. When the lentils are soft, stir in the caramelised onions, red wine vinegar, spinach and parsley and heat through
  7. Serve with a spoonful of plain yoghurt on top. This is amazing alongside roast veg and/or roast chicken

Squash with tamarind, cashew nuts and coconut

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Sweet and sour, spiced and fragrant. Beautiful shades of orange and red, you can use any variety of squash for this dry curry. Scoop it up with delicious dosa, naan or chapati. Feeds 4

  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 15 fresh curry leaves
  • 2 cinnamon sticks
  • 1 star anise
  • ½ fenugreek seeds
  • ½ tsp kashmiri chilli powder
  • 30g fresh ginger, grated
  • 1 big red chilli, finely chopped
  • 200g tinned chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tamarind concentrate
  • 1 tbsp soft light brown sugar
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 kg squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into roughly 2cm cubes
  • 1 generous handful cashew nuts, toasted
  • 1 handful desiccated coconut, toasted
  1. Heat the oil in a large pan. When it’s hot, add the mustard seeds which will sputter and pop
  2. Add the curry leaves and fenugreek
  3. Stir into the oil, turn the heat down and add the cinnamon, star anise and chilli powder
  4. Stir in, frying for 30 secs or so then add the ginger and chilli
  5. Stir and fry until fragrant, then add the tomatoes, tamarind, sugar, salt and 100ml water
  6. Cook over a medium heat for 5 mins until it forms a velvety sauce
  7. Tumble in the squash cubes and stir them gently until they are coated in sauce
  8. Cover the pan, lower the heat and cook for about 40 mins, stirring occasionally until the pumpkin is soft but not collapsed
  9. Add the cashews, cover and cook for a further 5 mins
  10. Stir in the toasted coconut and serve

Delicious with this split pea daal, and you’ll use up a whole tin of tomatoes if you make them both!

Courgette herb muffins

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Perfect savoury lunch/brunch/soup dunker/snack/on-the-go breakfast. Adapt as you like, it’s very forgiving! Makes 12

  • 1 large courgette or 2 small ones
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 25g fresh herbs, finely chopped (parsley and dill are a lovely combination, but you could go with some oregano, marjoram, mint – whatever soft herbs you have in the fridge. Or just 1 tsp of dried herbs of your choice)
  • 225g plain flour
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 100g cheddar cheese
  • Salt and pepper
  • 2 eggs
  • 125ml milk
  • 50ml olive oil
  1. Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C) and fill a 12-hole muffin tin with muffin cases
  2. Grate the courgette and then dump the pile of gratings into the centre of a clean tea towel
  3. Gather the tea towel into a pouch surrounding the courgette, then (over the sink) twist and squeeze out as much liquid as you can
  4. Dump the now-much-drier courgette into a large bowl and add the spring onion, herbs, flour, baking powder, cheese, salt and pepper
  5. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs, milk and olive oil
  6. Pour the wet into the dry and use a spoon to combine all the ingredients until just mixed
  7. Spoon into the muffin cases, splitting the thick batter evenly between the 12
  8. Bake for 20 mins until the tops are golden and they’re cooked through
  9. Cool in the tin and them tumble out into a basket to serve or into an airtight container to keep for later. They also freeze really well

Spinach and ricotta cannelloni

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Sometimes you just need tubes of pasta full of iron-rich spinach and creamy cheese, enveloped in a rich garlicky tomato sauce. And of course topped with melted toasty cheese

  • 400g spinach
  • 6 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 egg
  • 30g parmesan, grated
  • 250g ricotta
  • 30g basil, roughly chopped
  • 150g (around 15 tubes) dry cannelloni
  • 4 cloves garlic, finely sliced
  • 400g passata
  • ½ tsp sugar
  • Salt and pepper
  • 40g cheddar, grated
  1. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large deep pan
  2. Sauté the spinach until it wilts then tip into a sieve – you can do this in stages if the spinach doesn’t doesn’t fit at once
  3. Press and squeeze out all the liquid from the spinach
  4. Then leave to cool for a bit, and then chop the spinach
  5. Put the spinach in a bowl, add the egg, parmesan, ricotta and half the basil
  6. Stir together well and set to one side
  7. Heat the other 4 tbsp oil over a medium heat and add the garlic slices
  8. Sauté until garlic is golden and then add the passata, sugar plus half a tin of water
  9. Stir together, season with salt and plenty of black pepper
  10. Heat to a bubble, cook for 5 mins and then stir in the rest of the basil
  11. Turn off the heat and set to one side
  12. Pre-heat the oven to 170C fan/190C
  13. Use a teaspoon (or, if you’re fancy, a piping bag) to fill the cannelloni tubes one at a time. There should be enough mixture to the fill each one to overflowing
  14. As you fill them, place the filled tubes neatly in rows in an ovenproof ceramic dish
  15. Pour the tomato sauce over the top and sprinkle with grated cheddar
  16. Bake for 45 mins until the top is browned and the pasta is soft when you stick a sharp knife into one of the tubes
  17. Leave to stand for 5 mins before serving so as not to burn the inside of your mouth off with molten sauce

Green bean curry

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

So easy, so tasty. An excellent mid-week dinner when everything feels a bit too much. I love using frozen green beans for this aromatic, flavourful veggie curry because the texture reminds me of childhood and I often have them available, which makes this a good store cupboard dish. But you could just as easily use fresh ones or leftovers or pretty much any robust green veg you’ve got lurking about – just adjust the final cooking time accordingly.

  • 2 tbsp veg oil 
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds 
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • 6 curry leaves 
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ¼ tsp fenugreek seeds
  • 4 tomatoes, chopped
  • ½ tsp turmeric
  • ½ tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp ground cumin 
  • ½ tsp mild chilli powder
  • 300g frozen green beans
  • Salt and pepper
  • Fresh coriander, chopped
  1. Heat the oil in a pan over a medium heat and add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves and garlic until they crackle
  2. Stir fry for for a few seconds then add the fenugreek and tomatoes
  3. Cover and cook over a low heat for 5 mins until the tomatoes break down
  4. Add the ground spices and stir-cook for 1 min, then add the green beans, 150ml of water, salt and pepper
  5. Bring to a cheerful bubble and then leave to cook uncovered over a medium heat for 5-10 mins until the beans are soft and the sauce has thickened a bit
  6. Check the seasoning, sprinkle with fresh coriander and serve

Serve with warm parathas or naan for scooping. Cheerful comfort in a bowl!

Herb pancakes

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Tender and green, this is the perfectly quick weeknight dinner. Makes 8 pancakes.

  • 300g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 200ml milk
  • 3 eggs
  • 50-60g soft herbs, finely chopped (I like a combination of parsley and dill with a bit of mint and sage. But anything works. Try coriander, tarragon, chervil, chives. Whatever you like – or have guiltily wilting in the back of the fridge)
  • 100g mature cheddar cheese, grated
  • 100g baby spinach
  • Salt and pepper
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • Chop the spinach and pop in a sieve. Boil the kettle and pour the boiling water over the spinach to wilt it. Then press out as much of the liquid as possible
  • Dump all the ingredients except the oil (but including the spinach) into a bowl and whisk gently until just combined. If it’s too stuff, just add a little more milk but take care not to over-beat it or it’ll be chewy when you cook it
  • Turn the oven on to 50-70C to keep the pancakes warm as you cook them
  • Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large non-stick frying pan over a medium-high heat
  • Use a serving spoon to scoop 3 scoops of batter separately into the pan to make 3 small pancakes. The edges should sizzle!
  • Leave for 3-4 mins until golden brown on the bottom and puffy on top, then flip it and give it a couple of mins on the other side
  • Pop the cooked pancakes into the warm oven, then add another tbsp oil to the pan and repeat the process
  • Keep going until all the batter is used up and then serve while still warm
  • Change up with different herbs, different cheeses, whatever you’ve got hiding in the fridge.
  • Serve with a lovely crisp salad and some guac. Or some honey mustard roast carrots. Or crunchy red cabbage slaw. Or just chilli sauce and mayo for dunking. Tuck in!

Salad bag pesto and butternut squash lasagne

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

It’s got stripes of orange and green! And it’s flipping delicious! There’s literally no down side. Feeds 4.

This recipe is multi-stage, but every step is very simple and the end result is fully worth it, promise.

It’s also endlessly adaptable, so the perfect way to use up leftover odds and ends of nuts, fresh-but-floppy herbs and a slightly-past-its-best bag of salad. Especially as bagged salads are one of the most wasted foods in Britain, with over half of them ending up in landfill. This recipe is inspired by and dedicated to the bloody extraordinary Jack Monroe.

  • 1 butternut squash, deseeded and peeled
  • 1 head of garlic, cloves separated but unpeeled
  • Nutmeg
  • 3 tbsp veg oil
  • 100g bag of salad (I like a rocket, spinach and watercress combo, but anything will work as long as it’s not iceberg)
  • 100g nuts, toasted gently in a dry pan until golden (I prefer a combination of almonds and pine nuts but, again, it can be anything you like/have leftover)
  • Handful of fresh herbs (parsley is good, or basil, a bit of dill or mint. Not so much the hard herbs like rosemary)
  • 2 tsp garlic oil
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 30g parmesan, grated
  • 200g mascapone
  • 100g cream cheese
  • 60ml milk
  • 7 pucks frozen spinach, defrosted and liquid squeezed out through a sieve
  • 50g cheddar, grated
  • 250g fresh pasta sheets
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  2. Quarter the butternut squash from top to bottom, and slice into thin pieces around ½ cm wide
  3. Chuck the slices into a baking tray with the unpeeled garlic cloves, then drizzle over the veg oil and season with salt, pepper and a few scrapes of nutmeg
  4. Mix well and then stick in the oven for 30-40 mins until the squash is tender and soft
  5. Take out and pop on the side to cool a bit. Then squeeze the garlic out of its skin and back into the pan. Use a potato masher to roughly crush the squash and garlic together. You’re after a chunky mash, not a smooth puree
  6. Meanwhile, tip the salad into a bowl, add the herbs, toasted nuts, garlic oil, olive oil and a large pinch of salt
  7. Use a hand blender to whizz it into a bright green, fragrant pesto – don’t blitz it into oblivion, you still want a bit of texture
  8. In another bowl, mix the mascapone, cream cheese, spinach and milk. Season with salt and pepper (and a bit more nutmeg wouldn’t go amiss here too)
  9. Now you’re ready for construction! Get yourself a deep oven dish roughly the size of your lasagne sheets – I like glass so I can see the layers through the side, but ceramic would work just as well. (My lasagne sheets need soaking in cold water for 2 mins before using, so do that too if you need to)
  10. Spoon half the crushed squash and garlic into the bottom of the dish, smoothing out to an even layer. Top with a lasagne sheet. Then half the pesto, spreading it out to a fairly even layer. Then a lasagne sheet. Then half the mascapone spinach mixture, smoothing that out fairly flat and sprinkling with half the grated cheese. Then a lasagne sheet, press down gently and start all over again. Squash – pasta – pesto – pasta – mascapone + cheese – until you’ve finished everything up and ended with a layer of grated cheese on top.
  11. Stick in the oven for 40 mins until the pasta is silkily soft, the sides are bubbling enticingly, and the top is crusty and bronzed
  12. Leave to stand for 5 mins before eating if you can bear to, just to avoid burning your mouth.

If you want to make it in advance, you can make it earlier in the day all the way up to the final stint in the oven. Cover and keep in the fridge til you’re ready for it.

Meat-free shepherd’s pie with cheesy mash

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

A delicious alternative to lamb, deeply savoury and cosy in shades of autumnal brown and orange. The perfect weeknight dinner for when it’s raining and cold outside.

  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 1 small leek, chopped
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • ½ tsp garlic granules
  • 1 stock cube (1 used beef but you can choose what you like)
  • 2 tbsp tomato puree
  • 200g quorn mince (such a handy freezer staple, use straight from frozen)
  • 1 tbsp plain flour
  • 200ml red wine
  • 300ml boiling water
  • 200g peas
  • 1 potato, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
  • 1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into 2cm pieces
  • 100ml whole milk
  • 100g cheddar cheese, grated
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Melt 1 tbsp of the butter in a saucepan over a low heat
  2. Add the onion, leek, carrot and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, for 8-10 mins until everything is soft and golden
  3. Add the stock cube, garlic granules, black pepper and tomato puree and stir in
  4. Cook for a minute, then add the quorn mince and mix in
  5. Sprinkle over the flour and raise the heat to medium
  6. Stir and cook for 2 mins until no white shows then pour over the wine
  7. Stir in until the wine almost disappears, then add the boiling water and stir until combined
  8. Turn the heat to a simmer and leave to cook for 5-10 mins until thickened, glossy and rich
  9. Check the seasoning and then, off the heat, add the peas and mix through
  10. While the sauce is cooking, put a small pan of salted water on to boil
  11. When boiling add the potato, and perch the parsnip and sweet potato on top in a steamer. Cooking them like this stops the mash from being watery but if you don’t have a steamer, just add them to the pan 5 mins after the potato
  12. Boil and steam for 15 mins
  13. Drain the potatoes then put them back in the pan with the parsnip and sweet potato
  14. Add the milk and the other 2 tbsp of butter, then mash until its as smooth as you want (I like a few lumps!)
  15. Season with salt and plenty of pepper, then stir through the cheese
  16. Pre-heat the oven to 180C fan (200C)
  17. Layer the quorn mixture in the bottom of an oven dish and top with the mash
  18. Bake for 30 mins until the top is brown and the sauce is bubbling up the sides (leave to stand for 15 mins before eating if you can bear to, to reduce the risk of burning your tongue!)

Serve with steamed savoy cabbage or kale

You can make all of this in advance, up to putting it in the oven. Keep the components in the fridge or freezer, separately or constructed. Just do the oven bit when you’re ready for it

Potato and chard croquettes

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Small and tasty. Crunchy on the outside and fluffysoftcheesy on the inside.

  • 400g mashed potato
  • 50g parmesan, grated
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 150g chard stalks, roughly chopped (keep the leaves for something else, like spanakopita)
  • Salt and pepper
  • Grate of nutmeg
  • 4 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 1 whole egg plus the extra egg white, beaten
  • 30ml milk
  • 50g plain flour
  • 200g breadcrumbs
  • Pre-heat oven to 180C fan (200C)
  • Cook the chard in salted boiling water for 4 mins
  • Press the water out in a sieve or a clean tea towel
  • Mix together the mashed potato, egg yolk, nutmeg, parmesan, chard and spring onions. Season with salt and pepper (if the mashbisnt already seasoned) and make sure it’s all thoroughly combined
  • Create little cylinder shapes in the palm of your hand about an inch and a half long. They are easiest to coat if you chill the cylinders in the fridge for 30 mins to firm them up, while you get on with other stuff
  • Beat together the egg and milk
  • Put the flour and the egg mixture and the breadcrumbs into separate shallow bowls next to each other
  • Coat each croquette gentlt in flour (shaking off the excess), then in egg, then roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat the egg and crumb layers so each one has a double coating
  • Place the croquettes onto a lined baking tray and bake for 20-25 mins, until golden brown (or deep fry, which is probably nicer, but makes the whole house smell of hot oil and leaves you with quite a lot of oil to dispose of afterwards)

Eat straight away with lashings of sriracha and mayo. Or something a bit fancier probably.

Sweet potato and feta fritters

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Tasty golden morsels.

  • 1 egg, beaten
  • 3 tbsp milk
  • 2 heaped tbsp plain flour (or gluten free flour)
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and grated
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • Handful of fresh herbs, chopped (I like parsley and mint, but you could choose dill, coriander, whatever you like)
  • 150g feta, crumbled
  • Salt and pepper
  • Veg oil
  1. Put the egg, milk and flour in a bowl and mix together until smooth
  2. Gently mix in the sweet potato, spring onion, chilli and herbs, then stir in the feta ensuring you leave some slightly bigger pieces
  3. Heat enough veg oil in a large frying pan to coat the bottom of the pan
  4. Fry small spoonfuls of the sweet potato mixture over a medium heat until golden on one side, then flip and cook on the other side

Serve piping hot from the pan.