Tag: vegetarian

Pea and coriander falafels

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Fresh, green, tasty morsels. Perfect in a pitta with a spoonful of tzatziki. Makes 24. Up to you how many people that serves…

  • 250g frozen peas
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds
  • 1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • Handful of fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 1 egg
  • 50g dried breadcrumbs
  • Salt and pepper
  • Veg oil, for frying
  1. Place the peas in a large bowl and cover with boiling water from the kettle. Leave to stand for a minute, then drain in a colander
  2. Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan and gently cook the onion for 5 mins until starting to soften
  3. Stir in the garlic, ground cumin, sesame seeds and chilli, and cook for a further 2-3 mins
  4. Tip the shallot mixture into a food processor with the drained peas and blitz for a few seconds until coarsely ground (or use a wand blender)
  5. Add the coriander and egg, and blitz again until well combined
  6. Scoop out of the food processor and into a bowl. Stir in the breadcrumbs and season.
  7. Take teaspoons of the mixture and make 24 balls, then flatten them gently
  8. Heat a couple of tbsp veg oil in a large frying pan and fry the falafels in batches for a minute on each side until golden on the outside

Delicious hot or cold

Gnocchi, broccoli and walnuts

~ Sophie ~ Leave a comment

Whip up this delight for a quick weeknight dinner. The creamy cheesiness is set off beautifully by the slightly bitter broccoli and walnuts, tangy mustard and sweet, fresh peas. Tasty and incredibly more-ish. Will make you want to lick the bowl. And no-one would judge you if you did

  • 500g bag fresh gnocchi
  • 200g pack long stem broccoli
  • 100g frozen petit pois
  • 50g walnut pieces
  • 100ml double cream
  • 2 tbsp dijon mustard
  • 50g gruyere, grated
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  1. Toast walnuts in a dry pan over a medium heat. Don’t allow to burn or they’ll go bitter
  2. Cut the broccoli stems into halves/thirds
  3. Boil large pan of water
  4. Add broccoli and cook for 3 mins then drain, keeping a cup of the broccoli-water on one side
  5. Heat large non-stick frying pan with olive oil
  6. Tip in broccoli, gnocchi and frozen peas
  7. Fry for 2 mins then add mustard and cream
  8. Stir together, bring to a bubble, taste and season. Add a little broccoli-water if it gets too thick
  9. Turn off the heat, add cheese and walnuts and stir together
  10. Serve straight away

Corn fritters

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

The ultimate brunch. Also supper, lunch, I could argue breakfast too. This recipe makes 6-8 fat fritters. Pop some piquant salsa on the side, dollop on some crushed avocado, pop a poached egg on top or drizzle with sriracha. Or, of course, all of the above for ultimate delicousness.

  • 1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained
  • 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
  • 3 spring onions, finely chopped
  • Handful fresh coriander, finely chopped
  • 100g strong cheese (grated cheddar, crumbled feta, grated halloumi)
  • 250g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 2 eggs
  • Milk (enough to bring together as a thick batter, can add a couple tbsp sour cream instead)
  • Salt and pepper (add other spices to taste – maybe garlic powder, paprika, smoked paprika)
  • Veg oil

Just mix everything together briefly until well-combined but without over-beating it. Heat some veg oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry for about 4 mins a side until golden brown and cooked through. Keep warm in a low oven if you need to cook in batches. Enjoy!

Katsu curry sauce

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

More Wagamama or Yo Sushi than authentic Japanese, but savoury and delicious nonetheless. For a quick dinner, use pre-made breaded chicken escalopes or goujons. Serve over rice, garnished with sesame seeds and sushi ginger, with a zingy salad on the side. Or just dunk chips in it. Makes enough for 4

  • 1 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, finely chopped
  • 5 whole garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 1 tbsp medium curry powder
  • 500ml chicken stock
  • 2 tsp honey
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 bay leaf
  • ½ tsp garam masala
  1. Heat the oil in a small pan
  2. Add the onion and whole garlic cloves and saute for 2 mins
  3. Add the carrots and sweat slowly for 10 mins with the lid on over a low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened and starting to caramelise
  4. Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook for a minute
  5. Slowly pour in the stock until combined (gradually to avoid getting lumps)
  6. Add the honey, soy sauce and bay leaf and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 mins, so the sauce thickens but is still pouring consistency
  7. Add the garam masala, then either strain or whizz up the lumps using a hand blender to create a smooth sauce

Make veggie katsu by par-cooking cauliflower florets, thick slices of sweet potato and baby corn. Dredge them in flour, then dunk into an egg whisked with a tsp of sesame oil, then dried breadcrumbs. Bake at 200C fan for 20 mins or fry until golden.

Green mango salad

~ Sophie ~ 1 Comment

A brilliant summer salad to serve with something barbecued and spicy. Cool, refreshing, crunchy, sweet, sour, nutty, herby. It’s like a small and very delicious party in your mouth. A favourite with everyone who tries it. Feeds 4-6 as a side dish. Don’t worry about exact quantities – it’s very forgiving!

  • 1 large unripe mango – it needs to be unripe or it’ll turn to mush when you slice it
  • ½ red pepper
  • ½ small red onion
  • 4 tbsp fresh mint, chopped
  • 6 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
  • 4 tbsp roasted unsalted peanuts, coarsely ground (not too fine, into small pieces rather than meal)
  • 6 tbsp roasted unsalted cashew nuts
  • 1 tbsp Thai fish sauce
  • ½ clove garlic, minced as finely as poss (a microplane grater is ideal for this)
  • 3 tbsp caster sugar
  • 1 tbsp lime juice
  • 1 tbsp peanut oil (or any unflavoured oil)
  1. Peel the mango using a vegetable peeler.
  2. The description of how to cut them is a bit complicated. If it makes no sense, just bear in mind that, at the end of the process, you should end up with a large pile of long and very thin strips of mango. Here goes… Lie the peeled mango on one of its broad sides and, holding it firmly and still, use a large (very sharp!) knife to cut into it lengthways from top to bottom in very narrow stripes down to the stone about 3-5mm apart. Cut a small slice off the base of the mango so it can stand on its end without falling over then stand it up and cut very thin layers off the sliced front of the mango. Turn the mango round and repeat the process on the other side. With the edge pieces where there is no stone, just chop them off and slice them separately
  3. Cut the red pepper into long, thin strips to match the mango
  4. Cut the red onion into wafer-thin half moons.
  5. Put the mango, red pepper, red onion, herbs and peanuts in a bowl
  6. To make the dressing, mix together the garlic, sugar, fish sauce, lime juice and oil. Stir until the sugar is dissolved. It smells quite pungent, but it tastes really good, so don’t worry!
  7. Pour the dressing over the salad and mix it all together so that everything is coated. Taste and adjust the seasoning if needed – it should be piquant with garlic, sour with lime, sweet with sugar, savoury with the fish sauce, and you should be able to taste all the different elements being delicious in perfect harmony.
  8. Serve immediately (or within the hour)

Spanakopita

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Spinach pie. Wholesome – because so much iron in spinach! – prettily greenly herby, crunchy on the outside, and mouthwateringly yummy. An excellent vegetarian main course for 4.

  • 500g fresh spinach 
  • 1  onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed 
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • 8 sheets of filo pastry 
  • 4 tbsp of butter, melted 
  • Grated nutmeg
  • 200g pack of feta cheese, crumbled 
  • 2 eggs, beaten 
  • Handfuls of fresh parsley, dill and mint, chopped 
  • Salt and pepper 
  1. Pre-heat your oven to 160C fan (180C)
  2. Wash the spinach and chop it. In a large pan, heat 1 tbsp of the oil and cook the spinach until wilted
  3. Transfer it to a sieve and squeeze out as much water as possible
  4. In the meantime, add the other tbsp of oil into the same pan, drop in the onion and garlic, and saute until soft – about 5 mins
  5. Put the spinach, onion and garlic into a bowl and add eggs, herbs and feta. Grate a few gratings of nutmeg over
  6. Season and mix well until everything is combined
  7. Time for the butter! Best to apply it using a pastry brush if you have one. Butter the inside of a ceramic oven dish then place in a layer of filo pastry, letting the edges drape over the sides. Brush the filo with melted butter and then put the next sheet on. Do this with 5 sheets of filo altogether. You don’t need to butter the top one because you then fill your filo-lined dish with the spinach mixture
  8. Cover with the remaining filo sheets, buttering each one in turn, then flip the trailing edges over onto the top of the pie. Scrunch and crinkle them before also brushing them with butter for an extra crunchy top. (With hindsight, I know I called this dish wholesome – and I stand by that – but it’s also buttery and cheesy and eggy, so definitely not a diet food!)
  9. You can scatter the top with sesame seeds if you want to make it especially tempting and crunchy
  10. Bake for 20-30 mins until the top is golden brown and crisp
  11. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for 5 mins before serving straight from the dish

A tomato salad goes really beautifully with this dish – incredibly simple to make. Beautiful, refreshing and delicious to eat. Just cut up some lovely ripe tomatoes (slices or wedges or whatever you like), sprinkle with salt, a good grind of black pepper, a large pinch of sugar and some decent extra virgin olive oil. That’s it.

Mexican sweet potato bowl

~ Sophie ~ 2 Comments

Less a recipe, more a construction job. An ideal mid-week meal and an excellent way to use up leftovers, which I’m mildly obsessed with. Feeds 2 people. Tasty, satisfying, adaptable.

  • 1 large sweet potato
  • 2 tbsp veg oil
  • Paprika, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, pinch of cinnamon
  • 1 packet pre-cooked basmati or long grain rice
  • 1 tin black beans
  • Chipotle chilli sauce (or regular chilli sauce with ½ tsp smoked paprika)
  • 1 avocado
  • Lime juice
  • Toppings – including pickled jalapenos, fresh coriander, sour cream, diced tomatoes
  1. Peel and dice the sweet potato. Mix the spices with the veg oil and then tumble in the sweet potato. Roast on a tray at 180C fan (200C) for 30-40 mins
  2. Drain the tinned black beans. Warm in a pan with the chipotle chilli sauce and a bit of the liquid from the tin
  3. Cook the rice according to the directions on the packet
  4. Dice the avocado and sprinkle with lime juice and a pinch of salt
  5. Construct the bowl with rice, then black beans, then sweet potatoes. Top with the avocado and any other toppings which appeal

By all means pre-cook the sweet potato to save time at dinnertime, use up leftover chicken, add grated cheese, substitute in brown rice, add fresh chilli. Munch on tortilla chips while you cook. So many options!