Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Posts Tagged ‘Vegan’

Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za’atar

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , on 15 October 2018| Leave a Comment »

Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za'atar

A divine vegetable dish from Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi’s book ‘Jerusalem’ – still one of our absolute favourites. We served this on a platter as a light starter but it would also work really well as a vegetarian/vegan main or as a side with other dishes. There were happy diners at our table!

Wine Suggestion: this worked excellently with Massaya’s le Colombier from the Beqaa Valley in Lebanon, a very Rhône blend with a touch of  Tempranillo which gives it hints of North African / Eastern spices.

Roasted butternut squash & red onion with tahini & za’atar – serves 4

  • 1 large butternut squash, cut into wedges (about 2cm x 6cm)
  • 2 red onions, cut into wedges
  • 50ml olive oil
  • 3½ tbsp light tahini paste
  • 1½ tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 small garlic clove, crushed
  • 30g pine nuts
  • 1 tbsp za’atar
  • 1 tbsp roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Preheat your oven to 240C/220C fan/Gas 9.

Put the squash and onion wedges into a large mixing bowl and toss with 3 tbsp of oil, 1 tsp of sea salt flakes and some black pepper. Spread out on a baking sheet with the skin facing down and roast in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked through and starting to crisp and brown at the edges, leave to cool.

Make the sauce by putting the tahini into a small bowl with the lemon juice, 2 tbsp of water, the garlic & ¼ tsp of sea salt. Whisk until the sauce is “the consistency of honey”. You may need to add more water or tahini.

Pour the rest of the oil into a small frying pan and warm over a low-medium heat. Add the pine nuts with ½ tsp of sea salt and cook for 2 minutes, stirring, until golden brown. Remove from the heat and pour the nuts and oil into a bowl so that they stop cooking.

Spread the vegetables out on a serving platter and drizzle over the tahini. Sprinkle with the pine nuts and their oil, the za’atar and parsley.

(Original recipe from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi, Ebury Press, 2012.)

Read Full Post »

Marinated Mushrooms with Lemon

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Spanish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 5 October 2018| Leave a Comment »

Marinated mushrooms with lemon

These mushrooms, from Claudia Roden’s fantastic book The Food of Spain, are served cold and make a great nibble to serve with drinks. Some bread and olives would be good too.

Wine Suggestion: Jono purchased a bottle of the delicious Valdespino Inocente Fino Sherry from a friend and this was the perfect Tapas dish to go with it.

Champiñones marinados – serves 4

  • 500g button mushrooms
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • grated zest of ½ a lemon
  • 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley

Wipe the mushrooms clean with some damp kitchen towel. Trim the stems and cut into halves or quarters.

Heat the mushrooms in a large, non-stick frying pan, over a medium heat for 10-12 minutes, stirring until they release their juices and the juices have evaporated.

Mix the lemon juice & zest with the oil and some salt and pepper in a wide, shallow bowl. Add the hot mushrooms to the bowl and mix well.

Cool, then cover and refrigerate for at least 5 hours (or you can make a day ahead). Serve at room temperature with the parsley sprinkled over.

(Original recipe from The Food of Spain by Claudia Roden, Michael Joseph, 2012.)

 

Read Full Post »

Pistachio Pesto

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegan, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 31 July 2018| Leave a Comment »

Pistachio pesto

Our fabulous friends have a weekender in the country with loads of space for growing herbs and veg. We are the very happy recipients when there’s more produce than one family can eat and we put it to good use. So if you have a prolific bed/windowsill with parsley and basil growing you should make this delicious variation on classic pesto. It’s especially good with roast chicken (drumsticks for us) but would also be nice with fish or vegetables.

Pistachio Pesto – serves 4

  • 50g pistachios
  • 25g flatleaf parsley leaves
  • 25g basil leaves
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed
  • zest and juice of a lemon
  • 100ml olive oil

Put the nuts in a bowl and cover with just-boiled water. Leave for a few minutes then drain and tip onto a clean tea towel. Give the nuts a good rub with the tea towel and skins should slip off. Throw the skins away and save the bright green nuts.

Put the nuts in a dry frying pan and toast over a medium heat until lightly coloured all over and smelling fab. Keep a watchful eye as they can turn from toasty to burnt in an instant. Put the nuts on a plate to cool.

Put the herbs and pistachios in a food processor and whizz until finely chopped (you could pound in a pestle and mortar but parsley is much more difficult to pound than basil so we recommend the processor if you have one). Add the rest of the ingredients and pulse briefly – you want to leave a bit of texture. Taste and season. Cover with oil and put in the fridge until needed.

(Original recipe from ‘The Hairy Bikers’ Mediterranean Adventure’ by Si King & Dave Myers, Seven Dials, 2017.)

 

Read Full Post »

So it’s still winter even though it’s March – make soup!

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Healthy, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 28 February 2018| 1 Comment »

Winter root vegetable soup

So here we are almost March and we are experiencing an artic blast. The snow is piled up at the back door and Dubliners have been advised to stay indoors tomorrow as more is on the way. Soup seems like our only defence. Nothing fancy here but full of fresh vegetable flavours. It will protect you against almost all weather eventualities, or at least both fill and warm you up.

Winter Root Vegetable Soup – serves 6 to 8

  • 1 tbsp butter
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 1 leek, sliced
  • 2 potatoes, peeled and chopped
  • 2 litres vegetable stock
  • 2 carrots, chopped
  • 1 parsnip, chopped
  • 1 small celeriac, peeled and chopped

Melt the butter in a large pot over a medium to high heat. As soon as it has melted and started to froth, add the onion, leek and potatoes. Sauté for a couple of minutes, then cover and sweat over a low heat for 8 minutes.

Add the stock, the rest of the vegetables and some salt and pepper (white pepper would be our preference), then lower the heat and simmer for about 20 minutes, partially covered. Taste the vegetables to check that they are completely soft, then check the seasoning before serving.

(Original recipe from Fresh by Donal Skeehan, Hodder & Stoughton, 2015.)

Read Full Post »

Need Veggie Inspiration? Try your Indian cookbooks

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 15 January 2018| Leave a Comment »

Sweet potato vindaloo

It hasn’t happened just yet but there will come a time when we will grow tired of all the winter root veg and will be hankering for spring and some lighter dishes. If you start to feel this way we recommend turning to cookbooks inspired by India which often contain some of the most interesting and delicious veggie dishes. Don’t be put off by the fiery connotations of ‘vindaloo’, this is a spicy dish but nothing too scary and is tamed by the additions of fluffy white rice and cool yoghurt.

Sweet potato vindaloo – serves 4

  • 4 tbsp rapeseed oil
  • 6 cloves
  • 1 star anise
  • 20 black peppercorns
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 2 tsp cumin seeds
  • 6 cloves of garlic, crushed
  • 4cm piece of ginger, peeled and grated
  • 5 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • ¾ tbsp chilli powder (feel free to adjust to your own tolerance level)
  • 2 medium onions, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 x 400g tin of plum tomatoes
  • 1kg sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite-size cubes
  • yoghurt, to serve
  • steamed white basmati rice, to serve

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large frying (for which you have a lid) over a medium heat, then add the cloves, star anise, black peppercorns, cinnamon stick and cumin seeds. Stir-fry for a couple of minutes until fragrant and then remove from the heat and grind in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Add the garlic, ginger & vinegar and continue to grind to a smooth paste, then mix in the chilli powder.

Heat the remaining 3 tbsp of oil in the same pan over a medium heat, then add the onions. Cook for 15 minutes or more until brown and caramelised. Add the spice paste, salt and sugar, then cook for another couple of minutes before tipping in the tomatoes and crushing with a wooden spoon. Fill the empty tomato tin half full with water and add to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for around 5 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes.

Bring the curry to the boil, then cover and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes or until the sweet potato is completely tender. Serve with cool natural yoghurt and hot basmati rice.

(Original recipe from Fresh India by Meera Sodha, Penguin, 2016.)

Read Full Post »

BBQ Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Posted in Barbecue, Food, Gluten-free, Healthy, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 14 August 2017| Leave a Comment »

BBQ roasted cherry tomatoesA revelation of a dish that we’ve been cooking all summer. Much tastier than expected and goes with pretty much anything you cook on the barbecue.

Roasted tomatoes & red onions – serves 6

  • 2 red onions, halved and sliced
  • 500g mixed small tomatoes
  • olive oil
  • 3 garlic cloves, bashed
  • 3 thyme sprigs

Put the onion in the middle of a large square of double thickness foil. Fold the sides of the foil up to form a baking tray (or you can use a foil tray like we did).

Scatter the tomatoes over the onions and drizzle with about 3 tbsp of olive oil. Add the bashed garlic cloves and thyme sprigs and season with salt and pepper. Put the foil onto a rack on the barbecue and cook for about 15 minutes or until the onions and tomatoes are tender.

If the weather gods don’t shine you can put all the ingredients onto a roasting tray and bake in the oven at 220C/fan 200C/gas 7 for 20 minutes.

(Original idea from BBC Olive Magazine, June 2005.)

 

Read Full Post »

Radish & Broad Bean Salad

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Side dish, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , on 6 June 2017| 4 Comments »

Radish & broad bean salad

We’ve been revisiting the original ‘Cookbook’ from Ottolenghi and found this delicious spring salad. Works well as a side for a barbecue or on its own with some warm pitta breads. The leftovers didn’t suffer too much packed into lunchboxes the next day.

Radish & broad bean salad with green tahini sauce – serves 4

  • 500g broad beans, fresh or frozen
  • 350g small radishes
  • ½ red onion, very thinly sliced
  • 2 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 30g preserved lemon, finely chopped
  • 2 lemons, juiced
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp ground cumin

For the Green Tahini Sauce:

  • 150ml tahini paste
  • 150ml water
  • 80ml lemon juice
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 30g flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped if making by hand

First make the tahini sauce by using a food processor or blender to whizz all the ingredients except the parsley together until smooth. Add more water if necessary until you have a honey-like consistency. Add the parsley and blitz for another few seconds, then adjust the seasoning to taste. (If you don’t have a processor you can whisk the ingredients together in a bowl and add the chopped parsley at the end.)

Chill the tahini sauce until needed. It will thicken the longer it is left in the fridge so add a bit more water if necessary before serving.

Simmer the broad beans in a pan of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. Drain in a colander and rinse under cold water. Remove the beans from their papery skins by squeezing them gently.

Cut the radishes into 6 wedges each and mix with the broad beans, onion, coriander, preserved lemon, lemon juice, parsley, olive oil and cumin. Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with warm pitta breads.

(Original recipe from Ottolenghi: the cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi, Ebury Press, 2008.)

 

 

Read Full Post »

Radish & Fennel Salad

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Healthy, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 15 May 2017| 2 Comments »

Radish & fennel salad

Let’s eat more radishes. They’re delicous and in season right now. Try this easy spring salad that tastes good with almost anything.

Lemony Radish & Fennel Salad – serves 4

  • 2 bunches leafy breakfast radishes
  • 1 unwaxed lemon
  • 2 shallots, finely sliced into rings
  • 2 fennel bulbs
  • 5 tbsp olive oil

Separate the leaves from the radishes, then wash & dry them.

Finely grate the zest of half the lemon, then juice all of it.

Put the lemon zest into a salad bowl and stir through the shallots. Leave to macerate.

Trim the fennel & slice it as finely as possible (a job for your mandolin if you have one). When you’re ready to serve, toss all the ingredients, including the radish leaves, with the lemon juice & olive oil. Season with salt and black pepper.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Posted in Food, Gluten-free, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 9 January 2017| Leave a Comment »

Vegan Pie

Vegan Pie

Vegan recipes often get bad press, not helped by the poor offerings of restaurants. This dish has bags of flavour and doesn’t require any extras to make it a whole meal. A big splodge of ketchup on the side doesn’t go a miss if you’re that way inclined.

Wine Suggestion: not all wines are Vegan, but there are no standards on stating this on a bottle or to say what fining agents (which determines if it is Vegan friendly) have been used in making the wine.

Fining agents are used by winemakers to make a bright, clean coloured and tasting wine. Naturally most wines begin quite cloudy or hazy because of proteins, tannins, tartrates and phenolics. Winemakers traditionally add fining agents to rectify this and these include casein (a milk protein), albumin (egg whites), gelatin (animal protein) and isinglass (fish bladder protein) as well as others like various clays. These bind with the proteins etc which then fall out of the wine. So by the time it reaches the bottle and then your glass there are no traces of these products. However they have been used and part of Veganism is not only if the product is not in the food, but also the use in the production.

A lot of wines are potentially Vegan friendly, but quite often don’t say on the label and aren’t obliged to so don’t dismiss a wine for not being Vegan if it doesn’t say so, it may still be.

Look online on the winery sites if you are in doubt and even email the winemakers – they love to discuss their wines and are happy to answer questions on how each wine is made.

We drank some Domaine du Joncier Lirac Blanc from a wonderful, biodynamic and natural wine maker Marine Roussel. A blend of Roussanne, Marsanne and Bourboulenc and fined naturally with time and gentle handling this is both round, fresh and full of depth.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie – serves 8 (make in 2 dishes and freeze one for later)

  • 1.2kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper
  • 50ml vegetable oil
  • 30g dried porcini mushrooms, soaked in hot water for 15 mins, then drained (reserve the liquid)
  • 2 large leeks, chopped
  • 2 small onions, chopped
  • 4 medium carrots, cut into small cubes
  • 1 vegetable stock cube
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 small butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
  • a handful of marjoram or oregano, leaves picked and roughly chopped
  • a handful of thyme, leaves picked
  • a handful of sage, leaves picked and roughly chopped
  • 4 celery sticks, chopped
  • 1 tin of chickpeas
  • 300g frozen peas
  • 300g frozen spinach
  • 20ml olive oil
  • a handful of flat-leaf parsley, chopped
  • tomato ketchup, to serve (optional)

Put the unpeeled potatoes in a large saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer for 30-40 mins until the skins start to split. Drain and leave to cool a little.

Meanwhile, heat the vegetable oil in a large casserole dish. Add the mushrooms, leeks , onions, carrots and stock cube and cook gently for 5 minutes, stirring.

Add the garlic, tomato purée, paprika, squash and herbs. Stir and turn the heat up a bit, cook for 3 mins, then add the celery and continue to stir and cook for a few more mins.

Tip in the chickpeas along with the water in the can and reserved mushroom stock. Add the peas and spinach and stir well. Cook for 5 mins, stirring occasionally, then season, turn off and set aside.

Peel the potatoes and discard the skin. Mash 200g with a fork and stir into the veg. Break the rest of the potatoes into chunks, mix with the olive oil and parsley and season.

Divide the filling into two pie dishes and top with the potatoes. Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and bake the pies for 40-45 mins, until the top is golden and the filling is heated through.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Turkish Carrots with Lentils & Herbs

Posted in Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , on 18 March 2016| 1 Comment »

Turkish carrots with lentils & herbs

We seem to permanently have a half-empty bag of carrots in the bottom of the fridge. This side dish puts them to excellent use and any leftovers are perfect for lunchboxes.

Turkish Carrots & Lentils with Herbs – serves 4-6 as a side dish

  • 4 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1½ tsp coriander seeds, crushed
  • ¼-½ tsp dried chilli flakes
  • 100g green or Puy lentils
  • 6 large carrots, sliced
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 2 tsp caster sugar
  • 275ml vegetable stock/water
  • 2 tbsp chopped mint, parsley or dill
  • good squeeze of lemon juice
  • extra virgin olive oil, to serve

Heat the oil in a saucepan and sauté the onion until soft and pale gold. Add the garlic and spices and cook for 2 minutes. Then add everything else except the herbs, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil.

Bring to the boil and cook until the carrots are tender and the liquid has been absorbed – about 30 minutes.

Taste, add the herbs and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper. Add a generous slug of extra-virgin olive oil and serve warm, hot or at room temperature.

(Original recipe from Food From Plenty by Diana Henry, Mitchell Beazley, 2010.)

Read Full Post »

Burnt Aubergine with Garlic, Lemon & Pomegranate Seeds

Posted in Food, Party Food, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , on 22 September 2014| 1 Comment »

Burnt Aubergine salad

Not quite a Baba Ghanoush, but you can drizzle on some tahini paste to make it one. This was really delicious and we loved the freshness from the lemons and the burst of fruity pomegranate. You need to start this many hours in advance but the process is very straightforward and the result is worth it.

Burnt aubergine with garlic, lemon & pomegranate seeds – serves 4 as a meze plate

  • 4 large aubergines (about 1.5kg before cooking)
  • 2 garlic cloves, crushed
  • grated zest of 1 lemon and 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 5 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
  • 2 tbsp chopped mint
  • 80g of pomegranate seeds (about ½ a large pomegranate)

If using a gas hob, line the base with foil and keep only the burners exposed. Put the aubergines on 4 separate moderate flames and roast for about 15-18 minutes or until the skin is burnt and flaky and the flesh is soft. Use metal tongs to turn them now and then.

Alternatively, score the aubergines with a knife in a few places, a couple of centimetres deep, and place on a baking tray under a hot grill for about an hour (we do ours on a gas barbecue). Turn them every 20 minutes or so and continue to cook even if they burst.

Allow the aubergines to cool slightly, then cut along each one and scoop out the flesh and divide it into long strips with your hands. Throw away the skin. Drain the flesh in a colander for at least an hour or longer if possible to get rid of as much water as possible.

Put the aubergine in a medium bowl and add the garlic, lemon zest and juice, olive oil, ½ a teaspoon of salt and a good grind of black pepper. Stir and allow the aubergine to marinate at room temperature for at least an hour.

When ready to serve, mix in most of the herbs and adjust the seasoning. Pile onto a serving plate, scatter on the pomegranate seeds and garnish with the rest of the herbs.

We served ours with some barbecued flatbreads.

(Original recipe from Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s Jerusalem, Ebury Press, 2012.)

Read Full Post »

‘Swooning Imam’ Stuffed Aubergines

Posted in Food, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 24 July 2013| 1 Comment »

This is not the most attractive dish in the world and we definitely didn’t do the best job of cutting the aubergines. It nonetheless tasted delicious and we’re sure to do it again.

Wine Suggestion: We’d recommend finding a juicy red from Spain. Look out for well made wines from the smaller and lesser known areas as these offer great value; this dish doesn’t need a refined and suave wine, some rusticity is good. We tried  a juicy and smooth Tempranillo called Biberius from the Ribera del Duero and thoroughly enjoyed it!

‘Swooning Imam’ Stuffed Aubergines – serves 2

  • 2 large aubergines
  • 4-6 garlic cloves, finely sliced
  • 2 red onions, finely sliced
  • 3-4 tomatoes, finely sliced
  • 1 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • about 5 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • fresh mint, shredded

Leave the stem on the aubergines, score the skin and peel it away in thick stripes. Cut down the length of each one (without cutting completely in half) and scoop out the seedy bits. Chop these and set aside. Sprinkle the cavities with salt, and leave to drain on kitchen paper for half an hour, then wipe dry.

Heat a good splash of oil in a frying pan. Add the aubergines and fry for about 7 minutes, until lightly browned and softened. Remove from the pan and leave to drain.

Add some more oil to the pan and fry the onions, garlic and with the reserved seedy bits of the aubergine. After about 5 minutes, add the tomatoes, paprika, sugar and lemon juice, stir well and season.

Put the aubergines into a deep frying pan with a lid. Stuff the cavities with the onion mixture and drizzle the rest over the top. Add the rest of the olive oil and 100ml cold water, then put on the heat. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat to low, cover and leave to cook for about 45 minutes or until completely tender.

Serve warm or at room temperature with the mint sprinkled over the top and serve with crusty bread.

(Original recipe from Veggiestan: a vegetable lover’s tour of the middle east by Sally Butcher (Pavillon) and published in The Guardian.)

Read Full Post »

Lebanese Giant Couscous & Chickpea Salad

Posted in Food, Side dish, tagged , , , , , , , , , on 11 February 2013| 1 Comment »

One of those dishes that was even better than expected.We served this with lamb chops with seven spices but it would make a nice mezze dish or a side for any grilled fish or meat.

Giant Couscous & Chickpea Salad – to serve between 4 & 6

  • 12 cherry tomatoes, halved
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 500ml vegetable stock
  • 120g giant couscous
  • 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 2 tbsp ground cumin
  • 2 tbsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 3 tbsp chopped coriander
  • 3 tbsp chopped parsley
  • juice of ½ a lemon

Heat the oven to 200ºC/Fan 180ºC/Gas 6.

Put the tomatoes on a baking tray, drizzle with 1 tbsp of the oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake for about 20 minutes or until soft.

Pour the vegetable stock into a small saucepan and bring to the boil. Add the couscous and simmer for about 10 minutes or until tender (check it as it may not take the full 10 minutes). Strain, tip into a bowl and add the chickpeas.

Heat the rest of the oil in a frying pan, add the onion, and cook over a low heat for 5 minutes or until soft. Stir in the spices and cook for another minute. Remove from the heat and stir the spiced onion into the couscous and chickpea mixture.

Add the coriander, parsley, and roasted tomatoes, and season well with salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

(Original recipe from The Lebanese Kitchen by Salma Hage, Phaidon, 2012.)

Read Full Post »

Sprout-fry with Sesame & Spring Onions

Posted in Food, Healthy, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 1 February 2013| 1 Comment »

A stir-fry of Sprouts; Brussels & Bean. A delight and a real treat as a healthy midweek supper.

Sprouts with Sesame & Spring Onions – to serve 2 (or 4 as a side)

  • 1 tbsp sesame oil
  • thumb-size piece ginger, cut into matchsticks
  • 300g Brussels sprouts, halved
  • 250g beansprouts
  • small bunch spring onions, sliced diagonally
  • 1 tbsp clear honey
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce, plus extra to serve
  • 1 tbsp sesame seeds

Heat the oil in a wok. Fry the ginger and Brussels sprouts, tossing, for 5-6 minutes, until slightly browned. Add a few tbsp water while they’re cooking if you need to stop them sticking, though the odd crusty bit will only improve things.

Add the beansprouts, spring onions, honey and soy sauce, then stir-fry for 1 minute. Sprinkle over the sesame seeds and serve with some extra soy sauce.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food)

Read Full Post »

Lebanese Spaghetti Sauce

Posted in Food, Pasta, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 28 January 2013| Leave a Comment »

A Lebanese twist to tomato sauce with gentle spices and almonds; a lovely variation on a theme. The proportion of sauce to spaghetti is also very different to how the Italian’s make pasta so there is a lot of sauce for this dish. This worked for us but you could use the same amount of sauce for a greater quantity of pasta and therefore serve more people if you’d like.

The spices are subtle and warming and the pinches can be generous if you like.

Spaghetti with a Rich Tomato Sauce & Toasted Almonds – serves 2 generously

  • 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato purée
  • 3 garlic cloves, grated
  • 1 tsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • pinch ground cinnamon
  • pinch ground allspice
  • pinch grated nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • pinch ground pepper
  • 200g spaghetti
  • 50g flaked almonds, toasted
  • 2 tbsp chopped parsley

Put the tomatoes, tomato purée, garlic and sugar into a pan and simmer over a low heat. Stir frequently and simmer for 30 minutes.

Stir in the olive oil, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, salt and pepper and cook for a further 20 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to a boil, add the spaghetti and cook according to packet instructions (usually between 10-12 minutes). Reserve 3 tablespoons of the cooking water and then drain the cooked spaghetti.

Return the spaghetti to the cooking pot with the reserved cooking water and the tomato sauce.

Toss well and then serve sprinkled with the almonds and parsley.

Wine Suggestion: we drank a Valpolicella Ripasso with this dish and the ripe, juicy spices went well with the warming spices of the sauce.

(Original recipe from The Lebanese Kitchen by Salma Hage, Phaidon, 2012.)

Read Full Post »

Hummus with Pine Nuts

Posted in Food, Side dish, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 13 January 2013| Leave a Comment »

Such a good recipe for hummus we couldn’t stop eating it and had to make another batch! Once you’ve bought the tahini you may as well use it up.

  • 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 4 tbsp tahini
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 2 tsp sea salt
  • best extra virgin olive oil
  • 50g pine nuts, toasted

Drain the chickpeas, keeping 50ml of the juices from the tin, and rinse.

Put the chickpeas into a food processor, add the garlic cloves and tahini, and process for a few minutes.

Add the reserved can juices, then half the lemon juice and the sea salt, and process until smooth.

Taste and add some more lemon juice, if you like.

Scrape the hummus into a dish, drizzle generously with your best olive oil, sprinkle with the toasted pine nuts, and serve as a starter, with  breadsticks and crudités for pack lunch, or with a selection of other mezze dishes.

(Original recipe from The Lebanese Kitchen by Salma Hage, Phaidon 2012.)

Read Full Post »

Crushed Olive Salad

Posted in Food, Italian, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 3 December 2012| 2 Comments »

Green Olive Salad

We can’t encourage you enough to try this salad. The list of ingredients is not instantly inspiring but the result is fabulous!

You will have far too much dressing left over but it will keep in the fridge for up to 6 months and can be used on any salad (it will separate but just give it a good shake each time before serving).

Crushed olive salad – Insalata di olive verdi schiacciate – to serve 4-6

  • 450g good quality green olives in brine
  • 6 celery stalks, with leaves, all finely chopped
  • the leaves from 10-12 stalks of mint, finely chopped
  • 40ml dressing (see below)
  • sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

FOR THE DRESSING (makes approx. 375ml): 

  • ½ tsp sea salt
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
  • 300ml extra virgin olive oil

First make the dressing:

Put the salt into a bowl, then add the vinegars and leave aside for a minute or two to allow the salt to dissolve. Whisk in the olive oil and 2 tbsp of water until it emulsifies. Pour into a clean bottle and keep in the fridge (it should last for about 6 months); it will separate but just give the bottle a good shake before serving.

Drain the olives and pat dry with kitchen paper. Cut the flesh away from the stone (try slicing 3-4 times from end to end then carefully cutting away each segment). Put the olive pieces into a bowl and add the celery, celery leaves, and mint. Toss with 40ml of the dressing, season and serve.

(Original recipe from Georgio Locatelli’s Made In Sicily, Fourth Estate, 2011.)

Read Full Post »

Roasted Peppers with Capers

Posted in Food, Italian, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , , on 3 September 2012| 1 Comment »

This is a great antipasti plate to serve with some cured meats, crusty bread and good olive oil.

Roasted Peppers with Capers – to serve 4 as an antipasti plate

  • 2 red peppers
  • 2 yellow peppers
  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 3 tbsp Marjoram leaves
  • 6 tbsp salted capers
  • 2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Brush the peppers with olive oil and roast on a baking tray in the oven for about 30 minutes, turning once. Put the peppers in a bowl, cover with cling film and leave to cool. Peel and remove the seeds when the peppers are cool enough to handle.

Chop the marjoram. Rinse and chop the capers, and mix with the vinegar.

Lay the peppers on a serving dish and season. Sprinkle with the vinegar and capers, scatter over the marjoram, and drizzle with olive oil.

(Original recipe from Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers’ Italian Two Easy, Clarkson Potter, 2006.)

Read Full Post »

Panzanella

Posted in Food, Healthy, Italian, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , , on 31 May 2012| 2 Comments »

A delicious Tuscan salad which is usually made with stale bread – we think the bread in Tuscany may contain less preservative as our bread rarely gets a chance to go stale. This version uses baked croutons for a similar effect. Make sure you leave the salad for about 30 minutes before serving to allow the flavours to mingle.

Panzanella – to serve 6

  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 1 large mild red chilli
  • 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • pinch of sugar
  • 100ml extra virgin olive oil
  • 600g ripe tomatoes
  • 1 red pepper
  • ½ large cucumber
  • 2 sticks celery
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • ½ red onion
  • 4 thick slices from a country-style loaf
  • a small bunch of basil

Crush the garlic with a little bit of salt in a mortar, then deseed and chop up the chilli and crush with the salt and garlic until you have a coarse paste.

Add the vinegar and sugar and mix then tip into a large salad bowl. Add the olive oil and beat together.

Chop the rest of the salad ingredients into bite-size chunks or slices.

Tear the bread into small chunks and bake in a moderate oven until golden and crispy, then add the salad bowl.

Tear over the basil and add to the bowl with a bit of salt and pepper, then toss lightly and leave to stand for about 30 minutes. Toss again before serving.

Wine Suggestion: Wines from a region tend to complement the foods from that region (kind of like a chicken and egg thing). A glass of straightforward Chianti will have the right sort of acidity and rusticity to complement this perfectly.

(Original recipe by Alastair Hendry in Olive, June 2010.)

Read Full Post »

Falafel Burgers

Posted in Food, Healthy, Vegan, Vegetarian, tagged , , , , , , on 8 April 2012| Leave a Comment »

Healthy burgers – so easy to make! Next time we’re going to try them in flatbreads with houmous and hot chilli sauce!

Falafel burgers – to feed 4

  • 400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
  • garlic clove, chopped
  • handful of flat-leaf parsley
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • ½ tsp harissa paste or chilli powder
  • 2 tbsp plain flour
  • 2 tbsp sunflower oil
  • toasted pitta bread
  • tomato salsa, to serve
  • green salad, to serve

Pat the chickpeas dry with some kitchen paper. Tip into a food processor with the onion, garlic, parsley, spices, flour and some salt. Blend until fairly smooth and shape into burgers with your hands.

Heat the oil in a non-stick frying pan, then fry the burgers for 3 minutes on each side or until golden. Serve with toasted pittas, salsa and salad.

Wine Suggestion: A simple juicy, fruity red is all that’s required here like a Grenache or Tempranillo.

(Original recipe from BBC Good Food.)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »