Walnut and Mushroom Pie

I can't remember where I got this recipe from but it might be adapted from Oi Polloi's Anarcho Pie. It takes a bit of effort but it's absolutely worth it and makes enough pie for at least 5 meals. It'll easily keep for around 5 days in an air tight container in the fridge or you can (probably) freeze it. Serving suggestion; with a small mountain of chive and mustard mashed potato! Suitable for vegans so long as you use a brand of pastry which is vegan such as Jus-Roll.

Time: Prep 20 minutes. Cooking 40-45 minutes. Serves 4-6 (depending on how much you like pie).

Ingredients:

• 250 g can chopped tomatoes or pasata
• 375 g mushrooms, sliced
• 125 g shelled walnuts
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 tsp mustard powder
• 500 g puff pastry
• 1 tbsp gravy powder or cornflour
• 2 tbsp vegetable/sunflower/rapeseed oil.
• 1 dsp yeast extract
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 1 tbsp chopped parsley
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tbsp soy milk (to glaze)
• 1 dsp sesame seeds, to garnish (optional)

Method:

1. Oil a 30 cm pie dish or six 10cm individual dishes. Preheat oven to 180°C.
2. Put chopped tomatoes (or pasata) in a large saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the mushrooms, walnuts, carrot, onion, red pepper, and mustard powder. Stir well, then cover the pan and simmer for 15 mins.
3. Flour a work surface, cut the pastry in half and roll out to a 5mm thickness (if you don't have a rolling pin a bottle of wine works well). Bake for 7 minutes to half cook it.
4. Combine all remaining ingredients in a small jug and gradually pour into the simmering pan, stirring constantly as it thickens.
5. Spoon the stew into the half cooked pie crust. Roll out the remaining pastry and use to cover the tops of the pie(s). You can use a little water as glue to stick the edges of the pastry together.
6. Brush the top of pastry with soy milk, sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional). Use a fork or knife to gently pierce the top of the pie(s) in the middle (helps let out excess steam as the pie cooks). Bake for a further 25-30 minutes until puffed and golden.
7. Serve and nom.

Salt Spicy Fried Tofu

This is one of my favourite recipes. They're really cheap and quick to make once you've got the hang of it. It's a good recipe for people who like to experiment as you can use any mix of herbs and spices you like! This lets you tailor the flavour to whatever food you're eating it with. They make really good burgers if you put them in a burger bun with a bit of salad and maybe a smudge of hummus!

Ingredients:

• Tofu (firm)
• 3-4 table spoons of cornflour
• Various spices (personal preference), a nice mix I often use is plenty of curry powder, gram masala, turmeric, ginger powder, garlic powder, powdered coriander and a bit of chilli powder.
• Salt
• Oil for frying.

Method:

1. Optionally freeze the tofu and thaw it out again. The freezing process changes the texture to be firmer and chewier, which is ideal for this recipe.
2. Slice the tofu into rectangles. It doesn't matter how large so long as they're no more than 1cm thick (ideally about ¾ of a centimetre is good).
3. In a small bowl, mix the cornflour and spices. The amount of cornflour and spices you'll need depends on the amount of tofu you've got. You can always mix up more so it doesn't matter if you run out. You will want to make the mix quite strong about 40-50% volume cornflour and the rest should be whatever mix of herbs/spices you've chosen. Make sure the cornflour is well mixed with the flavourings (pictured below).
4. Place each slice of tofu in the bowl of spices, flipping it over to cover each side with the spice mix.
5. Fry the coated tofu slices in vegetable oil until they go golden brown and crispy. The spice/cornflour coating should turn into a crispy shell of flavour around the tofu pieces. They can soak up quite a lot of oil, so if the pan gets too dry just add a little extra.
6. Serve as a side in a meal or use as bugers. Store any excess in the fridge.

 

4-minute Microwave Cake

This is a great recipe to have in your library for when you've finished a meal but you're still craving something sweet. If you're as lazy as me then the idea of a cake which can be cooked in 4 minutes using only a microwave may sound tempting...

Ingredients:

• 100g Self-raising flour
• 50g Sugar
• 1tbsp Cinnamon
• 1tbsp Nutmeg
• 1tbsp Ginger
• Lots of currants or raisins
• 4tbsp Oil (whichever you like; I use nut usually)
• Small cup of water

Method:

1. Mix dry ingredients (flour, sugar, spices, currents) in a microwavable jug.
2. Add oil and water, stir in to make sure everything is well mixed.
3. Microwave on full power for 4min.
4. Serve with custard, cream or chocolate sauce (http://mylittlecelebration.com/vegan-hot-fudge-chocolate-sauce/). Voila!

There is a bit of guesswork involved in the spices so just use as little/much as you like. It's an easy recipe to experiment with too! For example you can replace the spices with cocoa powder and chocolate chips to make a chocolate cake, or lemon juice for a lemon cake...the possibilities are endless!

Three great dip ideas

These quick and easy dips make an excellent healthy snack. Eat with crudités – pepper, celery, breadsticks, ryvitas, pitta…

Carrot and Sunflower Seed Dip

Ingredients:

• 2 carrots
• 3 dessert spoons sunflower seeds
• A little olive oil
• Curry powder, cumin, pepper
• Garlic and ginger

Method:

1. Boil the carrots with cumin (I cook them in a bowl in the microwave because I’m lazy).
2. Blend with a hand blender with the sunflower seeds and curry powder, pepper, garlic and ginger.

Spicy Kidney Bean and Sweet Potato Dip

Ingredients:

• Tin of kidney beans
• A sweet potato
• Half an onion and garlic
• Curry powder, chilli powder
• A little vegetable oil

Method:

1. Cook the sweet potato– prick holes in it and put in the microwave or oven.
2. Fry the onion and garlic with the spices.
3. Add the tin of kidney beans and the sweet potato, peeled and cut up into chunks.
4. Whizz with a hand blender

Hummus

Ingredients:

• A tin of chickpeas
• Two table spoons of tahini
• A clove of garlic
• Olive oil
• A squeeze of lemon
• Optional – paprika, curry powder for a new flavour

Method:

1. Put all ingredients in a blender and mix.
2. If the mixture is too thick add a splash of water.

Lentil and Tomato Soup

Quick, cheap and healthy soup! Suitable for vegans, freezing and feeding to your friends. Why not toast and slice some pitta bread for dipping?

Time: Start to finish takes 15-20 minutes.

Ingredients:

• Lentils
• Tin of tomatoes
• Garlic
• Half an onion
• Herbs or chilli to flavour
• Vegetable oil
• Optional – mushrooms, aubergine, carrot or other vegetable to add more flavour

Method:

1. Chop the onion and garlic and fry in olive/sunflower oil.
2. Add the lentils and then pour on twice as much hot water as lentils. Cook for 5 minutes with the water boiling.
3. Add the tin of tomatoes after about 5 minutes.
4. Add flavours – salt and pepper, and curry powder or chilli, or herbs.
5. Pop it in a pretty bowl and eat!

Vegetable Korma

Quick and easy vegetable korma recipe! Freezes well, so why not make enough for next week?

Time: approximately 20 minutes from start to finish.

Ingredients (quantities depend on the number of servings):

• Korma sauce
• Potato
• Sweet potato
• Carrot
• Bell pepper
• Oil (for frying)

Equipment:

• Saucepan
• Frying pan
• Cooking oil
• Wooden spoon

Method:

1. Peel and chop the sweet potato and boil (high heat) for five minutes in the saucepan.
2. Do the same with the potatoes, adding them to the sweet potatoes. Leave for five more minutes.
3. As the potatoes are being prepared, peel and chop the other vegetables. Put some cooking oil in a frying pan and cook your veggies for five minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Drain the potatoes and add the fried vegetables to the saucepan.
5. Pour the korma sauce in with the vegetables and cook for however long the instructions recommend.

Stuffed peppers

Stuffed peppers are a favourite with vegans and vegetarians alike! It's a very flexible recipe which make it a good choice when you have a bunch of veg which needs eating before it goes bad.

Rice stuffed peppers shown here served with a side of sweet potatos chips and a stack of grilled vegetables on top.

Ingredients:

• One red bell peppers per serving
• Couscous or rice
• Selection of vegetables (mushrooms, peas, onion, cherry tomatoes, broccoli... You can pretty much add anything, why not go crazy and try it with walnuts)
• Small amount of oil for frying
• (optional) cheese or soy cheese

Equipment:

• Tablespoon
• Small, sharp knife
• Baking tray
• Frying pan
• Saucepan (for rice/cous cous).

Stuffed peppers before they go in the oven. We've used risotto rice here for a different texture!

Method:

1. Cut the tops off of the peppers and de-seed them, trying to leave a cup shaped bit of pepper in one piece.
2. Chop any vegetables/nuts/seeds, and fry them lightly.
3. Cook the rice/cous cous and mix in the vegetables. You can add soy sauce or other flavourings for extra taste, so why not experiment a bit?
4. Alternatively, if you're feeling super lazy you can just prepare a packet mix of couscous, rice, or anything you’d like to go with your pepper.
5. Push the rice/cous cous mix it into the pepper/s using a spoon.
6. Put it into the oven until the pepper is soft (approx 10-15 mins in a medium heat).
7. (optionally grate cheese on top of the peppers and return to over to melt for a few minutes.

Stir Fry

Super quick, super easy and super healthy! Stir fry is a versatile staple for any vegetable loving student on a budget!

Time: 5 minutes prep, 10 minutes to cook.

Ingredients:

• Noodles or rice
• Half a carrot
• Three mushrooms
• A handful of bean sprouts
• Half an onion
• Any other vegetables you fancy
• A tablespoon of soy sauce
• Stir fry sauce (optional; for extra taste)

Equipment:

• Frying pan/Wok
• Saucepan (if using rice)
• Wooden spoon
• Cooking oil
• A fork

Method:

1. Chop up all of your vegetables.
2. Heat a small amount of oil in the bottom of your pan and add the noodles/rice (once cooked in the saucepan), stirring occasionally with the wooden spoon for around 3 minutes on a medium heat.
3. Do the same with the vegetables (for 4-5 minutes), remembering to add more oil in the pan to avoid any sticking. Add the soy sauce to taste.
4. While they’re all frying, add either add a bit more soy sauce or the stir fry sauce to the noodles/rice, using a fork to mix it in.
5. Pour your veggies onto the noodles/rice.
6. Dig in!

Veggie Lasagne

Great tasting lasagne which is easily adaptable for vegans. I freezes well so it's perfect for making a big batch and reheating when you are feeling lazy! :)

Time: Approx 30 mins preparation time (40 if you're making your own cheese sauce). Cooking time approximately 35 minutes. Serves 4 or 5.

Ingredients:

• Meat-free mince
• Pasta sheets
• Tomato-based pasta sauce
• Grated cheese (substitute for soy cheese to make vegan)
• Cheese sauce (vegan version here: http://www.veggieful.com/2013/01/vegan-white-bechamel-sauce-recipe.html)
• Mixed vegetables (a few tomatoes, mushrooms, half an onion, some olives and a bell pepper are a good mix).
• Cooking oil
• Salt
• Mixed herbs

Equipment:

• Frying pan
• Saucepan
• Lasagne dish (or any deep, oven-proof dish)
• Small, sharp knife
• Foil

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to approximately 200 degrees C.
2. Chop all of the vegetables you’ve decided to use.
3. Add a bit of oil to a frying pan and fry the vegetables, adding in mixed herbs and salt to taste.
4. Heat up the meat-free mince and pasta sauce in the saucepan.
5. Once the vegetables are done frying, add them into the saucepan with the mince and pasta sauce.
6. Prepare whatever cheese sauce you’ve decided to use, using a small saucepan if needed.
7. Grab the lasagne dish and scoop in a thin layer of the ingredients in the saucepan.
8. Add however many pasta sheets will fit side-by-side on top of it.
9. Spread a layer of the cheese sauce on top of the pasta sheets.
10. Repeat steps 6-8 twice.
11. Grate some cheese on top of the final layer.
12. Cover the top of the dish in foil and put in the oven for 30 minutes.
13. Remove the foil, put in the oven again for five minutes.
14. Congratulate yourself on cooking a top-notch meal and dig in!

If there are any leftover mince/veggies, you can freeze it, and/or add it to some pasta another time?

Orzo Pasta with Tomatoes, Kidney Beans and Kale

Orzo pasta has the great combination of sounding posh without being very expensive. Of course you can just use normal pasta though!

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 clove garlic
• vegetable oil
• 1 tin tomatoes
• 1/2 tin kidney beans
• mushrooms
• kale

Recipe:

1. Cook the pasta as usual in a pan with hot water
2. Either steam or boil the kale - I put it in the microwave in a bowl with water for 5-7 mins
3. Fry the onion and garlic in the oil
4. Add the mushrooms, kidney beans and the tin of tomatoes and cook for 5 minutes
5. Add salt/pepper to taste
6. Serve and eat!

Spicy Red Kidney Bean and Sweet Potato Dip

Great in sandwiches or as a snack with pitta bread/carrot sticks/ryvita. In this photo I took it with a green salad, roasted aubergine and ryvita for lunch.

Time: 10 minutes
Serves: normally makes enough for two portions

Ingredients:

• 1 clove garlic
• olive oil
• 1 onion (optional)
• 1 sweet potato
• 1 tin kidney beans
• curry powder, chilli powder, paprika, black pepper (to taste)
• ideally a hand blender to whizz the dip, but otherwise you can just mash with a fork as all the ingredients are quite soft.

Recipe:

1. Cook the sweet potato in the microwave for 5-7 minutes (don't forget to stab holes in it with a fork!)
2. Fry the onion if using (I like it because it gives it extra texture and taste but if you don't like them leave them out!) and garlic in the oil with the spices
3. Drain the kidney beans and add along with the sweet potato (you can peel it or not, depending on what you like. Tip: if you don't like the skins in the dip, you can pop them in the oven for 5 minutes and make sweet potato crisps!)
4. Blend the ingredients to make a smooth dip

Red Lentil, Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne

Really good for shared meals or bulk cooking and freezing in portion sizes. (Or a particularly hungry evening!) You could do lots of different versions - kidney beans, chickpeas or brown lentils with basically any vegetable combination work just as well.

Time: 20 minutes to make the filling, 30-40 minutes in the oven.
Serves: depends how big the dish is, but this small/medium dish would serve at least two or three.

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
• lentils
• 1 tin of tomatoes
• mushrooms (about 5)
• spinach (a good handful!)
• mixed herbs and black pepper

For the white sauce:

• 1 tbsp margerine/butter
• 1 tbsp flour
• milk/soy milk
• black pepper
• 1 tsp mustard
• optional - I add a generous sprinkling of Engevita, available from healthfood shops. It's got a cheesy flavour which makes the sauce very tasty.

Recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to about 200°C
2. Chop the onion and garlic and fry in the oil for five minutes
3. Add the lentils, and twice as much water as lentils
4. Add the tomatoes and chopped mushrooms
5.  Grind some black pepper and herbs in to taste
6. After about fifteen minutes when the lentils are soft add the spinach
7. Now prepare the white sauce - melt the margerine
8. When it's melted stir in the flour to make a paste
9. Slowly add the milk whilst stirring until a fairly thick sauce is made
10. Add mustard, black pepper, Engevita if using
11. Layer up sauce and pasta sheets and pour the white sauce on the top
12. Cook in the oven for 30-40 minutes - you don't want that pasta crunchy!

Serve with a side salad like above, or on its own!

Spinach, Feta and Pine Nut Parcels

A fresh and cheesy meal to fill you up. This can be served hot or cold, and goes nicely with a side salad

Time: 1 hour 30 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For the Dough - 

• 250g white bread flour
• 1 tsp of salt
• 1 tsp yeast
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 150ml water

For filling - 

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves
• 500g of spinach
• 125g feta cheese
• 2 tbsp pine nuts
• Mint
• Salt and pepper

Recipe:

1. To make the dough put the flour, salt and yeast into a bowl. Create a well and add the oil and 125ml of water. Mix together adding more water until all the flour is mixed into a slightly sticky dough.
2. Place the dough on a clean surface. Knead it for 5 minutes unit it is no longer sticky. Return to bowl and cover with cling film. Leave for about an hour or until it has doubled in size.
3. To make the filling heat the oil in a frying pan over a low heat. Add the crushed garlic and fry until slightly coloured. Add the spinach and increase the heat, cook until soft. Add salt and pepper and then remove the heat and leave to cool. Add the cheese mint and pine nuts.
4. Pre heat oven to 220^oC and line a baking sheet.
5. Tip the dough onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate it, roll it out to about 5mm thickness. Using a plate as a guide, cut out 4 circles.
6. Divide the filling between the circles. Dampen the edges of the dough and bring the dough up over the filling to form a pyramid
7. Bake the parcels for 12-15 until golden.

Butternut Squash Risotto

This is a really comforting and creamy dish, and is vegan to boot! It does take a while to cook however, so make this when you have plenty of time to devote to a brilliant dinner!

Time: 30 minutes to roast the squash, 20-25 minutes to cook the risotto
Serves: 2-4 (depending on amount of rice, or your appetite!)

Ingredients:

• 1 butternut squash
• 1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil + a drizzle for roasting squash
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• rice (risotto rice is best) - vary the amount for how many servings you want
• vegetable stock (amount will vary depending on rice, but no need to be precise)
• 1 tbsp chopped thyme (optional)
• a dash of white wine (optional)
• salt and pepper to season

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 200^OC/180^OC fan/Gas mark 6
2. Peel and chop the butternut squash into 2cm chunks, place in baking tray and drizzle with oil and season. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes or until soft.
3. Dice the onion
4. Heat a large saucepan (or wok) over a medium heat with the olive oil, and then add the onion and garlic. Keep stirring to prevent them from going brown or burning
5. When the onion is soft, add the rice to the pan and stir in the oil for 1-2 minutes until the grains go translucent.
6. Add a ladle of vegetable stock at a time, and let the rice absorb the liquid whilst stirring. Keep repeating until the rice is tender (around 20 minutes).
7. Around 5 minutes before the risotto is finished, add the chunks of roasted squash, being careful not to break them up too much, and the thyme. If you are using wine, you could add this now.
8. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve.

If you aren't vegan, you could also add some (vegetarian) parmesan-style cheese if you like

Mushroom and Goats Cheese Pie

If you're looking for something wholesome and filling, you've come to the right recipe! Flaky pastry with a herby, creamy mushroom and goats cheese filling. What's there not to enjoy?! This recipe is completely from scratch, but you could cheat and buy the pastry (we won't tell anyone!).

Time: 40 minutes preparation, 45 minutes to cook
Serves: Approximately 2

Ingredients:

• 4 mugs plain flour
• 250 grams of butter
• Water
• Punnet of mushrooms
• Goats cheese
• 2 teaspoons sage
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Gravy Granules – enough to make 200ml gravy
• 1 teaspoon mixed herbs
• Olive oil

Method:

1. Cut butter into small chunks and add to flour. Rub butter and flour together until it reaches breadcrumb texture. 
2. Add very small amounts of water to breadcrumb mixture and knead with hands until dough sticks together. Do not rush with the water as the dough can soon get too sticky!
3. Leave to rest in fridge for at least 10 minutes.
4. For the pie filling, add chopped onion and garlic to a non-stick saucepan or frying pan with some olive oil and fry until soft and golden.
5. Add chopped mushrooms and herbs to the pan
6. Simmer mushrooms for 5 minutes before adding gravy
7. Simmer mixture until thick but not sticky
8. Roll out the dough you made earlier so it’s flat and even, but not so thin that it will tear
9. Line your pie tin (I usually use a rectangular bread tin) with the dough you used earlier, remember to leave an ample amount for the lid. To prevent the dough sticking to the tin rub some butter around to edges of the tin before adding the dough.
10. Add your mushroom mix to the lined tin, crumble up the goats cheese and sprinkle it in at the same time
11. Add your dough lid to the tin and seal the edges by pinching the dough together with your fingers, poke a few holes in the top with a sharp knife to let steam out whilst it’s cooking
12. Place pie in the oven for 45 mins at 180 degrees/gas mark 6. If your dough is quite thick then leave for additional 5 mins.

Vegan Pasty with Sweet Potato Mash and Steamed Broccoli

Well, we are in Cornwall after all!

Time: 45 mins
Serves: 1

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp Oil
• Half a large leek (or onion), chopped
• 1 tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 4-5 mushrooms, chopped
• 6x4in of Jus-rol ready-made pastry (or other ready to roll vegan pastry, or make your own!)
• 2 slices of Vegan cheese (Iused Violife chedder style, which melts really well)
• 1 tsp parsley
• 1 & ½ tsp oregano
• 1 small-medium sweet potato
• 5-7 stalks of broccoli
• Knob of vegan margarine
• ½ tsp mustard
• 1 tsp of dill

Recipe:

1. Put the oil in a pan and fry the leek/onion with cumin and nutmeg for a minute or so. Then add the mushrooms and fry on a medium heat until the leek/onion is soft. Turn off the heat.
2. Preheat your oven to 220^OC/200^OC fan/Gas mark 7.
3. Roll out pastry. Mine was just under A4size and half a cm thick. Place this on a baking tray. Place vegan cheese over the middle and pour the onion and mushrooms over the top. Sprinkle over the parsley and oregano.
4. Lightly brush the edges of the pastry with water to help them stick together when you fold it. Fold the pastry to half its length and push it down around the filling and at the edge.
5. Roll the edges inwards to create the crust and seal it further, using more water to keep these in place if needed. If any gaps appear repair these with any spare pastry if possible – but don’t worry if you can’t.
6. Make several random holes in the pastry using a fork. Place in the oven, cook for 15-20minutes, or until golden-brown. 
7. Boil a pan of water whilst peeling and chopping your sweet potato, and chop up your broccoli. Put these in the pan and boil until the sweet potato is soft. Once done, turn off the hob.
8. Check on pasty and remove if pastry is golden brown, if not leave in.
9. Using a slotted spoon, or fork, fish out the broccoli and put on a plate.
10. Drain the sweet potato and put back on the warm hob to evaporate any left over water (but stir, do not let it burn). Stir in margarine, mustard, dill and mash. Serve the mash onto a plate.
11. Remove pasty from oven and serve.

Sweet Potato Rostis

These sweet potato rostis are one of the tastiest vegetarian dishes I cook. In fact, they are vegan, and one of the tastiest dinners I make full-stop!

The ingredients alone look great!

Time: 15 mins to prepare, 5-10 to cook
Makes: 5 rostis

Ingredients:

• 1 medium-large sweet potato 
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 2cm piece of ginger, grated
• ½ a red chilli, finely chopped
• 1 tsp lime zest and a squeeze of lime juice
• Flour, to help bind the rostis
• 1-2 tbsp vegetable oil
• Fresh mint, coriander or basil (optional)

Recipe:

1. Peel the sweet potato and put into a pan of simmering water for 5 mins
2. Drain and let the sweet potato cool 
3. Meanwhile, mix together the soy sauce, peanut butter, garlic, ginger, chilli and lime into a smooth paste
4. Coarsely grate the sweet potato into the mix and combine, along with the herbs (if using)
5. Divide the mixture into 5, and shape into patties using flour to hold them together
6. Heat the oil in a pan and fry the rostis for a couple of minutes each side, until golden
7. Serve with a salad

Thai Green Curry

A favourite of mine, you can make a vegan Thai green curry in no time!

Time: 30-40 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• Thai green curry paste with no fish sauce (you can get one from asda, but look out as the own brand has palm oil in). Try this: http://groceries.asda.com/asda-webstore/landing/home.shtml#/product/910000799312
• 2 cloves of garlic
• Small bunch of spring onions
• Can of thick coconut milk
• Lime zest
• Kaffir lime leaves (but you can do without)
• Soy sauce
• 250g new potatoes 
• Half a broccoli (cut into little florettes)
• 200g green beans
• Fresh basil leaves
• Boiled basmati rice

Recipe:

1. Wash new potatoes and roughly cut into pieces about an inch wide. Top and tail green beans and cut in half. Cut broccoli into small pieces. Quarter each floret that you can break off. Dice the garlic and spring onions. 
2. Heat a tablespoon of oil in a wok or saucepan. When hot, add the garlic and spring onions until garlic is just browning but not burnt otherwise it ruins the flavour. Add 2 tablespoons of green chilli paste and fry for a couple of minutes to release the flavours. 
3. Add the can of coconut milk and stir. Add in the new potatoes. Depending on how thick your coconut milk is you might need a bit of water to loosen it and cover the potatoes so you can cook them. They need to be par boiled before adding in the green beans and broccoli. Stir in the lime zest or kaffir lime leaves. 
4. Add a teaspoon of soy sauce or season with salt to taste. 
5. Cook until vegetables are tender, then just before serving stir in the fresh basil leaves and serve with boiled rice.

Vegan Chilli

A quintessential dinner-table staple, chilli con carne is a fiery and filling dish. But as its name suggests, chilli con carne isn't a friend of the vegetarian or vegan! Until now, that is! Serve this dish with rice, or bake it on top of tortilla chips with some cheese/vegan cheese!

Time: ~30 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
• 1 onion
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 red pepper
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• 1 tin of green lentils
• 1 tin of red kidney beans
• 1 tsp of paprika
• ½ tsp of cumin
• 1 tsp of chilli powder

Recipe:

1. Chop the onion, garlic and red pepper
2. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the onion, garlic and red pepper until the onion is soft, but not too brown
3. Add the tinned tomatoes, tomato puree, lentils and kidney beans
4. Stir in the spices and allow the mixture to simmer for around 20 minutes
5. Serve with rice, baked on nachos or however you'd like. But always with guacamole!

Vegan Burritos

Another classic Mexican dish, easily made vegan. In fact, it's much easier than making meaty burritos!

Time:
Serves:

Ingredients:

• A pack of flour tortillas
• 1 Onion
• 1 Pepper
• 1 Garlic
• 1 Tomatoes
• 1 Kidney beans
• 1 Rice
• 1 Salt, pepper and spices for seasoning

Recipe:

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 degrees
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large pan
3. Chop an onion, a pepper and a small clove of garlic and fry them until the onions are browned
4. Meanwhile, cook a cupful of rice according to the instructions on the packet
5. Drain a tin of kidney beans and add to the pan, along with chopped fresh tomatoes
6. Season the mixture in the pan with salt, pepper, mixed herbs and spices as you like and mix everything together well
7. Once the rice is cooked, drain it, and spoon out evenly onto 4 flour tortillas
8. Add a generous scoopful of the burrito mixture to each tortilla and wrap them up
9. Wrap each burrito in tin foil and bake in the oven on a metal tray for 5 minutes to warm them through
10. Serve as they are for a vegan dish, or add a dollop of sour cream if you are a veggie and like sour cream!

Enjoy

Vegan Shepherd's Pie

Another classic British dish, easily adapted to be made vegan.

Time: 1 hour

Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:

• 750 g potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 25 - 50 g vegan margarine
• 50ml or more soya milk
• Vegetable oil for frying
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 stick celery, finely chopped
• 1 medium carrot, diced
• 75 g dried red lentils, cooked in water until tender
• 1 x 400 g tin tomatoes, chopped
• 150 ml vegetable stock

Recipe:

1. Steam potatoes until soft. Place in separate bowl and add margarine. Mash thoroughly, adding soya milk until potato is smooth and creamy. Place aside.
2. Heat vegetable oil in frying pan and add onions and celery. Fry until tender. Add carrot, lentils, chopped tomatoes and vegetable stock. Simmer for 20 mins or until lentils are cooked and liquid is absorbed.
3. Place in casserole dish and spread creamed potato on top. Heat in oven at 180C, 350F or gas mark 4 for 15-20 mins until potato is browned on top.

Vegan Dorset Apple Cake

Who doesn't love a good cake? This is a vegan twist on the classic Dorset apple cake.

Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 8

Ingredients:

• 100g vegan spread (or butter)
• 50g caster sugar
• 50g soft brown sugar
• 200g flour (self-raising)
• 1 large Bramley apple, cut into small cubes (about 1-2cm squares)
• Extra brown sugar and cinnamon for dusting on top

Recipe:

1. Preheat oven to 180^OC/Gas mark 4 
2. Cream together the spread and sugar until smooth
3. Add the flour and fold with enough cold water to combine into a thick batter
4. Fold in the apple chunks
5. Put in a greased cake tin and sprinkle with extra sugar and cinnamon
6. Bake for about 40 minutes or until golden

This recipe can also be doubled up, if you are serving it for a group like the EcoSoc committee (there are 18 of us!)!

Roast Potatoes with Sauce

A British classic, the roast potato! This recipe is vegan and gluten free!

Time: 50 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 4 large potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 10 asparagus spears
• ½ cup rice flour
• 2 tbsp/ 1 cube vegetable stock
• Olive oil
• Balsamic vinegar
• Sunflower seeds
• Mixed herbs 
• Turmeric
• Salt and pepper to taste

Recipe:

1. Chop potatoes into halves and place on baking stray.  Pour a small amount of olive oil and balsamic vinegar on each half before sprinkling on salt, pepper, mixed herbs and sunflower seeds. 
2. Put in the oven at 180-200°C and leave until crispy brown on top (should take 30-40 mins depending on the size of the potatoes).
3. Chop and fry the onion and garlic clove in olive oil before adding the chopped asparagus then leave to simmer. 
4. Next, mix the rice flour, vegetable stock a small amount of turmeric, salt and pepper in a cup of water before adding it to the asparagus and stir well. 
5. Add small amounts of water until the mixture is runny custard-like in consistency.  Use a low heat when adding flour mixture so as not to burn the sauce!
6. Serve with a sprinkling of fresh parsley.  

Apple Crumble in a Mug

What beats the comfort of an apple crumble? Almost nothing! The fact you can make this one in the microwave and be eating it (from start to finish) in 10 minutes is phenomenal!

Time: 10 minutes
Serves: 1

Ingredients:

For the filling -

• 1/2 apple, peeled and diced
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon maple syrup
• 1 pinch ground cinnamon
• 1 tablespoon water

For the crumble - 

• 1 slice butter  (~15g)
• 1 tablespoon fine oat flakes
• 4 tablespoons plain flour
• 2 tablespoons cane sugar
• 2 chopped blanched almonds (optional)

Recipe:

1. Mix chilled butter, fine oats, flour, sugar and almonds and set aside.
2. Mix all remaining ingredients in a mug and microwave for 3 minutes.
3. Add the set aside ingredients, the crumble, to the top of the mixture in the mug. Microwave for 2 1/2 minutes.

Sweet Potato Fritters with Spicy Rice

A vegans best friend, the humble sweet potato, is the star yet again in this recipe!

Time: 25 minutes
Serves: 1-2

Ingredients:

• 2 sweet potatoes
• 1 red onion
• 1 green pepper
• 1 tin chickpeas
• A couple of red chillies (add more or less as you like)
• 1/2 lime
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• rice
• kale
• flour
• salt & pepper
• oil for frying

Recipe:

1. Prick and microwave the sweet potatoes for about 6-7 minutes until just cooked through. Meanwhile dice the onion, pepper, and chillies very fine, and fry them together with the paprika until tender.
2. Cut the potatoes open with a knife and scoop all of the flesh into a bowl with a spoon. Add about 2/3 of the onion mix to the bowl and mash together with the juice of the lime, salt & pepper to taste, and enough flour to make the mix extremely thick and sticky.
3. Cook the rice along with 1/2 a vegetable stock cube. Meanwhile heat enough oil for shallow-frying the fritters in a pan over a medium-high heat.
4. Scoop dollops of the fritter mixture into the oil and fry until golden and crispy, turning half way through to do both sides.
5. When the rice is done put in back in the pan with the remaining 1/3 onion mix, add the tin of chickpeas, and fry for a few minutes together. Serve with kale and salsa

Vegan Lemon Drizzle Cake

Lemon cake is a favourite amongst the EcoSoc committee, and as there are a few vegans in our ranks, this recipe comes in very handy! It's super easy too.

Time: 40-50 minutes
Serves: ~12

Ingredients:

• 275g self-raising flour
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 zest & juice of lemon
• 100ml vegetable oil
• 170ml cold water
• 150g icing sugar

Recipe:

1. Put flour, baking powder, sugar and zest into a bowl and mix well before adding the oil, juice and the water.
2. Mix thoroughly to make sure all is combined well.
3. Pour into a lined cake tin and bake for 30 minutes until fully cooked at around 200°C. 
4. When cool it’s definitely worth making a glaze for the top, this is done by sieving the icing sugar and stirring in lemon juice until the consistency is wet enough to pour over the cake.

Red Lentil and Kidney Bean Curry

Another great curry recipe, which is low on ingredients but big on flavour.

Time: 40 minutes
Serves: 2

Ingredients:

• 1 400g can of chopped Tomatoes
• 1 400g can of Red Kidney Beans in water
• 100g dried Red Lentils
• 1 Onion
• 2 Courgette
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1-2 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp turmeric

Recipe:

1. Chop onion and both garlic cloves finely before frying with olive oil.
2. Add the tinned tomatoes
3. Dice courgettes, drain red kidney beans and add to onions.
4. Boil dried lentils separately in water until soft then add to vegetables.
5. Finally sprinkle in some mixed herbs and spices (garam masala, chilli powder, turmeric) and ground black pepper.
6. Serve with a small amount of Balsamic vinegar.

Sweet Potato Curry and Dahl

A classic Indian dish, curry was made for vegetarians!

Time: 45 minutes - 1 hour
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

For the curry -

• 60ml groundnut or sunflower oil
• 2 white onions, diced
• 800g sweet potatoes, chopped into 5cm chunks
• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 500g whole leaf large spinach, roots cut off and well washed
• 50g ground almonds
• 2 green chillies, sliced thickly
• 1 tin of coconut milk
• Juice of half a lime

For the dahl - 

• 3 tbsp groundnut or vegetable oil
• 8 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
• 1 tbsp seed spices, such as mustard, cumin and coriander
• 4 cardamom pods, smashed with side of knife(discard husks and just use seeds)
• 250g dried split peas, (yellow or green)

Recipe:

1. In a wide, lidded, heavy-based pan, fry the onion in the oil to soften for about 5 minutes. Stir in the sweet potato chunks, curry powder and turmeric and fast-fry with the lid off until it begins to stick to the bottom. 
2. In two batches, stir in the spinach, adding the ground almonds and chilli. When all the spinach is in the pot and beginning to collapse, pour in the coconut milk, add some salt, stir well and put the lid back on. 
3. Keep it at an active simmer, stirring from time to time, for about 20 minutes until the spuds are cooked. Take the lid off and let the curry reduce down to a thicker consistency (another 10 minutes or so). 
4. For the dhal, gently fry the garlic and all the seeds (don't forget the cardamom) in the oil until they are a deep golden brown. Tip in the split peas and give them a good roll around in the garlicky oil then pour in 1litre of water and turn the heat up. 
5. Slowly bring it to a gentle boil over around 10 minutes then skim, cover and leave to simmer for 45 minutes-1 hour until the peas are well-cooked. Taste for seasoning – dried pulses take a lot of salt to bring out their best flavour. 
6. Finish the curry by stirring in the lime juice and adjusting the seasoning. Serve with the dhal on the side and all the usual suspects (basmati rice, chutney and yoghurt).

Red Lentil Bolognese

Bolognese is comfort food at its finest. But can you really have bolognese without the meat? Absolutely! This red lentil bolognese is full of flavour and the perfect accompaniment to pasta.

Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 2-4

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp olive/vegetable oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1-2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• Vegetable stock cube + boiled water
• 1 tbsp tomato puree
• Red lentils (measure by eye for how big a serving you would like)
• 1/3^rd of a red pepper, diced
• A dash of balsamic vinegar (optional)

Recipe:

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan, then add the onion, carrots, celery then garlic and stir until softened
2. Add the chopped tomatoes and the tomato puree to the saucepan and stir. Using the empty tomato tin, dissolve the stock cube with enough water to fill the tin and add to the pan (being careful not to burn your hands!)
3. Add the red lentils and stir through. Let the mixture gently simmer for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Towards the end of cooking, add the red pepper and balsamic vinegar if using.
5. Season and serve with spaghetti, or ‘courgetti’ – grate a courgette into long ribbons and boil for roughly 3-5 minutes until the texture resembles pasta – delicious!

You could also spice up this recipe by adding some paprika or chilli powder into the mix!