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Post by suze on Mar 18, 2012 12:59:01 GMT
Roast Cauliflower and saffron
adapted from a Yottam Ottelenghi recipe - he uses more raisins, less onion and more oil.
Saffron is a luxury, but not as dear as fillet steak! LOL! it really adds a great scent / flavour to the dish, but you could always just sprinke in a bit of turmeric if you feel economical!
1 tsp or more of saffron strands 75 ml boiliing water
1 medium cauli cut into florets 2 red onions thickly sliced 100g large green olives, halved 70g raisins, soaked in hot water to plump up for a few minutes, then drained 2 tbsp olive oil 2 bay leaves
4 tbsp fresh chopped parsely
Heat oven to Gas 6 / 200'
Pour hot water on saffron, leave to stand a few minutes Mix all ingredients, except parsely, thoroughly in a big bowl. Toss it all into a large roasting dish, cover with tin foil and bake for 20 mins. Check after 20 mins, stir it all and cook for another 20 mins .. maybe longer until cauli is soft enough.
Remove from oven and allow to cool a bit, then stir through the chopped parsely and serve. Good hot or cold as part of meal or meze ..
I served this with lentil dahl, which I had cooked with turmeric and topped with a spicy mix of fried garlic, cumin seeds, chilli powder and coriander powder .. yum ..
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Post by suze on May 17, 2012 21:15:00 GMT
Cambodian-style Mushroom Dip adopted this from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's book, River Cottage Veg everyday
box shitake mushrooms (c. 125 grams) 1/2 tbsp oil 1 small chilli finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tsp turmeric 1 tsp garmam massala black pepper 1 tbsp crunch peanut butter 100 ml warm water juice of 1/2 lime splash of Tamari soy Finely chopped coriander or parsely to finish
Method Finely chop the mushrooms Fry in oil over high heat, stir a lot and evaporate any liquid Add chopped chilli and garlic, fry for a minute Add powdered spices and peanut butter, stir briefly then add warm water Stir for a few minutes then add lime juice and tamari soy to taste
Turn into bowl and serve sprinkle with chopped fresh coriander or parsley ... can be served hot or cold as part of a meze
We had it warm as filling for jacket spud with side dishes of dahl/cauliflower and leek and a mixed leaf salad made with shredded beetroot, finely sliced red onion and pomegranate seeds ...
pretty good combinations ... though I say it myself!
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Post by suze on May 31, 2012 19:47:26 GMT
Mange Toutes salad
1 bag mange toutes - steam or microwave for a couple of minutes
four generous stalks of mint, leaves finely chopped - about 2 tbsp when chopped (could add other fresh herbs like coriander and parsley too)
For the dressing: 1 tbsp crunchy peanut butter 1 tbsp tamari soy sauce juice of 1/2 a lime small green chilli, finely chopped couple of drops of honey or agarve syrup (optional)
finely chopped spring onions (optional)
Once the mange toutes are cooked stir in the chopped mint (and other fresh herbs) Mix all the dressing ingredients together and stir through the warm mange toutes
Garnish with finely chopped spring onion if you have some handy
Let it rest for a few minutes and serve just warm as opposed to hot/cold!
We had is part of meal: roast asparagus and tomatoes with lettuce as a starter these manges toutes as a side-dish to some dahl with broccoli.
very tangy and its fresh taste went well against the earthiness of the dahl ...
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Post by suze on Jun 5, 2012 10:30:26 GMT
Note to self ... madhur jaffries veggie book has good recipe for sandwich spread / jacket topper using tofu and a few finely chopped veg and sesame seasonings
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Post by suze on Jun 21, 2012 20:50:23 GMT
I was trawling for this old recipe fave .... I first wrote it up on the bog, pre-this-forum ... here it is on the blogbut for the record ---- handily cut and pasted to here : aubergine pastaok - probably not "perfect" diet food - but very lovely, adapted from paul gayler's pure vegetarian book It's adapted first by reducing his oil count from 5 tablespoons to 2 !!... and to avoid the aubergine soaking all that up I baked it first, I baked garlic too - much more than he suggests all baked where he fries .. Then I threw in some extra liquid (rice wine and soy sauce) to add juice instead of oiliness .. but otherwise it's the same - and really good range of flavours and textures! --------------------------- aubergine sesame oil veg oil garlic ginger chinese black beans (or kideny beans) chilli hoisin sauce peanut butter soy sauce rice wine spring onion coriander bake one large aubergine with 5 BIG clovesof garlic (still in skin) about 40 mins gas 6-7 when that's nearly ready put 5 oz of wholemeal pasta to boil, and a side dish of green beans to steam .. when aubergine is ready assemble the sauce: fry 2 inches of finely chopped ginger in 1 tablespoon sesame oil and 1 tbs veg oil squeeze baked garlic cloves out and mash cut baked aubergine in to small dice add these two to the sizzling ginger stir and fry for a minute add two tbsp chopped beans - he says dried chinese black beans, I used kidney beans! 1 finely chopped red chilli stir and fry for a couple of minutes add 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter two tbs hoisin sauce 1 tbsp rice wine 1 tbsp soy sauce (if it is too thick, it'll take a drop of water at this point) when it's all blended and gorgeous dress it with a few finely chopped spring onions and some chopped coriander (or red onions and parsley) Add the drained pasta to it then eat it with the green beans and great pleasure!
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Post by suze on Jul 15, 2012 20:06:59 GMT
OK - I know fresh herbs are not "store-cupboard", but I have them growing on my steps - this was really very nice .. all my own work! Store Cupboard Rice Dish5 oz brown rice pre-cooked using a chicken or veg organic stock cube (optional) two small onions, diced generous amount of ghee/olive oil - say 2 tbsp good handful fresh thyme sprigs stripped --> about tbsp fresh leaves 30 ml dry sherry black pepper to taste 100g of Gourmet Marchand's Roasted Chestnuts from a vaccum pack - roughly chopped 1/2 jar cooked red peppers (about 3 smallish peppers) - well rinsed, patted dry and roughly chopped 2 or more tbsps of fresh chopped parsley Method
Fry the diced onion in the ghee/olive oil - I used both, you could use one or the other - fry gently until very soft without browning. Add the fresh thyme and sherry, swirl around for a few minutes to cook off the boozy fumes. Add the rice and ensure it is well stirred into the boozy onions. Just before serving incorporate the chestnuts and red pepper, they don't need much cooking but should be warmed through well. Too much stirring will puree the whole thing! Sprinkle with lots of parsley before serving. You could add parmesan cheese too, but I went for more oil in the frying side of it instead ... Served with a simple soft lettuce and tomatoe salad dressed with a lemony garlic dressing ... Quick Quality from the cupboard ...
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Post by suze on Sept 17, 2012 18:47:46 GMT
Must be the time of year for figs, cos I posted this recipe almost a year ago to the day . .. and spotting figs going cheap this week I have made it again ... really it is very lovely! Yotam Ottlenghi's recipe in The Guardian this week .. I adjusted his quantities to serve two of us, and used agarve syrup instaed of sugar .. and I did not add the cheese we though it was delicious! I served it with stir fried brussels sprouts, believe it or not, it went well! LOL Roasted sweet potatoes and fresh figs This unusual combination of a fresh fruit and a roasted root wholly depends on the figs being sweet and moist and perfectly ripe. The balsamic reduction is very effective here, both for the look and for rounding up the flavours. Serves four. 4 sweet potatoes (1kg) 75ml olive oil Coarse sea salt and black pepper 40ml balsamic vinegar (not a premium aged grade) 20g caster sugar 12 spring onions, halved lengthways and cut into 4cm long segments 1 red chilli, thinly sliced 6 fresh, ripe figs (240g), quartered 150g soft goat's cheese, crumbled (optional) Heat the oven to 220C/425F/gas mark 7. Wash the sweet potatoes, cut in half lengthways, then cut each half lengthways into three long wedges. Mix with three tablespoons of oil, two teaspoons of salt and some pepper. Lay the wedges skin side down on a baking tray, and roast for 25 minutes, until soft but not mushy. Remove and leave to cool down. Put the balsamic vinegar and sugar in a small saucepan, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for two to four minutes, until it thickens. Be sure to remove the pan from the heat when the vinegar is still runnier than honey as it will thicken as it cools (if it does get too thick to drizzle, stir in a drop of water before serving). Arrange the sweet potatoes on a serving plate. Heat the remaining oil in a medium saucepan and add the spring onions and chilli. Fry on a medium heat for four to five minutes, stirring often so the chilli does not catch, then spoon over the sweet potatoes. Dot the fig quarters around and about, then drizzle over the balsamic reduction. Serve at room temperature, with the cheese scattered on top, if using.
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Post by suze on Oct 3, 2012 7:08:15 GMT
Quickly stir frying brassicas, rather than boiling, preserves more of the nutrients that fight cancer, so why not try this seasonal and speedy recipe next time you buy brussels or savoy cabbage?
Stir Fried Brussel Sprouts
Trim your brussels and cut in half. Stir fry them in a wok with a generous splash of toasted sesame oil for about 5 minutes, they will brown and soften but not go as as soft as when boiled.
When they seem almost ready to eat add a few finely chopped garlic cloves and spring onions. Stir around to get these warm, slightly browned.
Finish with a good sloosh of tamari soy sauce.
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To this basic recipe you can add finely chopped ginger if you fancy it, and a bit of fresh chilli to spice it up even more.
It also works well with finely shredded savoy cabbage, cooked in this method, or added to the sprouts, but cook the sprouts for a couple of minutes before adding the cabbage.
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You can also pop in some slices of cooked chestnuts or marinated tofu and left-over spud into the pan to make a meal in minutes!
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Post by suze on Nov 9, 2012 15:44:19 GMT
Easy ways to improve your daily diet ....
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Post by suze on Nov 11, 2012 16:22:06 GMT
Enough for two jam jars full of harissa paste, sterilise them before you start. I wore gloves to do all the chillis, which is the lengthy part of the job. You will need a big food processor - my blender failed to cut this recipe and we had to transfer to the processor. I also could not fit it all in at once, so got 1/2 started then added the rest to finish it all together. Harissa Paste20 oz of red chillis - seeded and roughly chopped 30 cloves of garlic - roughly chopped 3 tbsp ground coriander 3 tbsp ground coriander 1 tsp salt 2 tbsp dried mint or tarragon 1 cup fresh parsley, incl stalks, roughly chopped 1 cup or maybe a bit more of olive oil 2 tsp sumac (optionla) Prepare all your ingredients! Chuck 1/2 of it all into the blender and roughly whizz, then add the rest them (my blender would not cut this recipe) Whizz until very fine paste. Ladle into sterile DRY jars. pour a thin layer of oil over the top. We kept it in fridge for a month, which I think is fine if you keep the top layer of oil topped up to keep the air out. It makes hummous a treat, and a good addition to most veggie soups, or just spread on bread and crackers once you get the taste for it .. we are officially addicted now. B just used the last of the first batch into her bread mix for a loaf!
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Post by suze on Nov 11, 2012 20:20:31 GMT
Pasta with Squash and sage
I got it from a recent Guardian. Hugh Freanely Whittingstall
He says: The classic Italian combo of squash, sage and pasta is very hard to beat, but the crunch of walnuts is a lovely addition.
Serves four.
About 750g squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2-3cm cubes 4-6 fat garlic cloves, skin on, lightly squashed Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil 75g walnuts, very roughly chopped (optional) 250g pappardelle (or other pasta) 50g unsalted butter 15-20 sage leaves, cut into ribbons Finely grated parmesan or hard goat's cheese, to serve
Heat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5. Put the squash in a roasting tin, add the garlic and some salt and pepper, trickle over the oil and toss together. Roast for 45 minutes, stirring once or twice during cooking, until the squash is completely soft and starting to caramelise. Add the nuts for the last 10 minutes, taking care they don't burn.
When the squash is about halfway cooked, bring a large pan of water to a boil, salt it well and add the pasta. Cook for the time suggested on the packet, then drain. While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter very gently in a small pan. When foaming, add the sage and cook over a low heat, without letting the butter brown, for three minutes. Turn off the heat.
Toss the sage butter, the hot squash and walnuts into the pasta – add any pan juices, too, as well as the garlic, provided it's not too burned.
Season to taste and transfer to warmed dishes. Finish with more seasoning and cheese if using.
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I say: I did more squash to pasta than his ratio and decresased the amount of oil in the roasting stage, but kept the butter, which infuses well with the herb .. it will take more herb if your leaves are only small! This recipe has gone on to become one of our real faves ...
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Post by suze on Jan 27, 2013 12:52:17 GMT
Mezze type meal What we have here is: Top row a little bowl of cherries and a three part bowl of stuffed olives, artichokes and those red peppers with rictota second row is a bought salad of endame (soya) beans and other beans, some of B's home-made nutty loaf, and a few multi-seed wholegrain crackers The heart shape bowl has spicy roasted sweet potaotes and figs, the adjacent two bowls are shitake mushrooms done satay style and an avocado with chilli and parsley. the bottom row has been cut off, but it is lettuce and parsley with a bowl of Turkish style spinach .. Yum! This meal did us for more than one day, obviously! Lots of great anti-cancer nutrients here!
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Post by suze on Feb 26, 2013 20:13:43 GMT
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Post by suze on Mar 16, 2013 8:10:07 GMT
Sauté of chickpea with carrots and chardWandering in Waitrose I spotted some red coloured chard this week ... that is a bit of a novelty so I bought it and then came to look for recipes ... and spotted this one in Yotam Ottolenghi's Plenty I didn't have the fresh herbs which would really make this dish zing, but it was good enough with heaps of fresh parsely instead .. and I used soya yogurt for the dressing which was also fine ... a good way to get me to eat carrots as well! Serves 4 300 g chard 75 ml olive oil 4 medium (organic) carrots - diced 1 tsp caraway seeds tin of cooked chick peas 1 garlic clove (crushed) 1 tbsp chopped mint 1 tbsp chopped coriander 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice 100g Greek yogurt 1 tbsp olice oil Trim the stalks off the chard, and blanch them for three minutes in salted boiling water Add the chard leaves for further two minutes Drain and refresh under cold water then squeeze dry and chop roughly Heat the olive oil and sauté the caraway seeds and diced carrots for at least 5 minutes on medium heat ... depends how crunchy you can take your carrots, really! Add chard and chick peas and cook for another 5 or 6 minutes Add garlic, herbs, lemon juice, salt and pepper and remove from the heat. Mix the yogurt and olive oil with a little salt and pepper. Pile the veg into a serving dish and top with the yogurt. A drizzle of more olive oil is nice if you are not counting calories ... Easy peasy! I served this with another variation on the spicy sweet potato wedges. this time I brushed the roasting tin with olive oil, added quite thinly cut wedges of sweet potato and brushed them with oil before simply sprinkling with a tsp each of turmeric (!) black pepper, coriander powder and paprika ... give em a good stir and they are ready to cook ... roasted on 210* for 25 mins .. perfect supper
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Post by suze on Mar 29, 2013 20:19:52 GMT
Vegan Cauliflower "Cheese" (- there is no cheese in this recipe!)
It has no cheese but it has somewhat the texture of the traditional dish and I thought it rather a success ...
One large aubergine 5 cloves of garlic - skin still on them juice of small lemon tbsp tahini pinch salt
1 small cauli - washed and cut into florets paprika
Heat oven to 220, rub the aubergine with a little oil and bake it on a tray for about 45 minutes, maybe longer. After about 30 minutes add the unskinned cloves of garlic to the tray
When the aubergine is nearly done start to steam / boil the cauli.
The aubergine is ready when the skin is very crisp and inside is very soft.
Take the baked aubergine, cut it in half and take out pulp - need care to avoid getting burned, it will be very hot. Chop it roughly.
Place it in bowl with juice of one lemon, salt, tbsp tahini and the insides of the baked garlic cloves.
Whizz lightly with hand blender, it does not need over doing. If you dont have the gadget, chop the cooked aubergine more finely by hand and mix the ingredients with a fork ..
Drain cooked cauli and place in serving dish, spoon over the auberigne and tahini sauce, sprinkle with paprika and serve.
Goes very well with chick-pea and spinach curry ....
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