Vegetarian

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

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I obviously love classic lasagna – I mean who doesn’t? But I also really love experimenting with different varieties and this one with spinach, feta, grated courgette and super savoury mushrooms is my current favourite to make. Obviously its not a healthy dish, but it’s healthier than traditional lasagna and its also hella delicious. Enjoy. 

 

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Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna

This is the cheesiest, most satisfying vegetarian lasagna ever. Way better than a fake mince variety with tomato sauce. This is creamy, savoury and delicious.
Like any lasagna, there are a few stages involved but its totally worth it!
Servings: 6 people

Ingredients

  • 1 Onion Red or White
  • 2 Courgettes
  • 200 g Frozen spinach
  • 1 punnet Mushrooms
  • 4 cloves Garlic
  • 1 block Feta cheese
  • 70 g Cheddar cheese
  • 1/2 pint Milk
  • 20 g Butter
  • 20 g Flour
  • Dried lasagna sheets

Instructions

  • Fry the mushrooms and onions in a wide bottomed frying pan until quite brown. For the last 2 minutes add the garlic crushed or minced – set this aside
  • Defrost the spinach in the microwave and grate the courgettes with a cheese grater.
  • Fry the grated courgette in the same frying pan for a few minutes until they are soft
  • add the courgette and defrosted spinach to a bowl and crumble in the block of feta 
  • Now make your white sauce – melt the butter and add the flour, frying for a couple of minutes. Slowly add the milk while whisking and cook together for 3-5 minutes until slightly thickened. 
  • Add half the white sauce to the feta, spinach, courgette mixture – keep the other half for the top of the lasagna
  • Layer up the lasagna adding oil to the bottom of your baking dish to stop it sticking – layer the feta spinach mixture then the mushrooms and onions on each layer. Finish with the rest of the white sauce and add the cheddar cheese to the top
  • Put tin foil on the top and bake at 170 for 1 hour

My New Favourite Yellow Curry

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I’ve recently got hugely into making my own curry paste – which is way easier than I thought. The proportions are easy and it means you can make the paste when you have time and throw everything together later in the day. 

 

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Yellow Curry

Vegan Sweet Potato, Lentil and Spinach curry which is creamy and spicy with a depth of flavour from the turmeric. 
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

For the paste

  • 1 Onion
  • 1 Thumb sized piece of ginger
  • 1 bulb Garlic
  • 5 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 small bunch Fresh or frozen coriander
  • 1 tbsp Turmeric
  • 1 tbsp Curry powder

For the curry

  • 350 g Dried yellow lentils
  • 2-3 Small sweet potatoes
  • Spinach Fresh or frozen – as much as you like
  • 1 tbsp Peanut butter optional
  • 1 tin Coconut milk

Instructions

  • Peal and roughly slice the onion, ginger and add it to an oven safe dish with the whole bulb of garlic – roast with the oil at 200 for 30 minutes
  • Afterwards, remove the garlic skins and add the whole lot to a small blender with the turmeric, curry powder and coriander, blend. Keep in the fridge until needed
  • Add the curry paste to a saucepan and fry for 3 minutes, siring all the while
  • Add 1 ltr water plus the dried lentils. Simmer for 1 hour
  • Add the cubed sweet potatoes and simmer for another 30 minutes
  • Lastly cook your rice or naan, add the frozen spinach until the blocks come apart, the peanut butter and the tin of coconut milk (adding it at the end ensure it stays super creamy)

Red Onion, Apple and Brie Tart

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This is an amazing lunch. Its sweet and sticky and goes amazingly with a crunchy salad. 

 

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Red Onion, Apple & Brie Tart

Easy, vegetarian lunch. Sticky sweet onions and melting brie
Prep Time15 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time35 mins
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 3 Red onions
  • 1 Apple any variety
  • 2 tbsp Cranberry sauce
  • 1 tbsp Mustard grain
  • 150 g Brie or other soft cheese
  • 1 tbsp Sugar
  • 1 Ready-rolled puff pastry

Instructions

  • Slice the onions and fry for 10 minutes with a pinch of salt and the sugar until caramelised and sweet
  • Flatten out the pastry on an oven tray and bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees 
  • When the onions are sweet and sticky turn off the heat and mix in the mustard and cranberry sauce. Slice the apples and brie
  • Flatten down the inside of the pastry which will have puffed up in the oven – add the onion mix first then the sliced apples and finally the brie. 
  • Bake for another 10 minutes or until cheese is melted
  • Serve with a nice crisp green salad

Wild Rice Risotto

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I made this with a mixture of red rice, brown basmati and white basmati but you could easily use a bag of mixed wild rice. I think this would make a great vegetarian dinner party option because you can make it, leave it and reheat when you’re ready to serve.

The vegetables in the dish are 100% flexible. I used some gorgeous oyster mushrooms and a leek and shallot but you could easily replace with green veg or whatever you have in your fridge.

 

Nutty & creamy risotto
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Mixed Rice Risotto

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Total Time1 hr
Keyword: risotto, vegetarian
Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

  • 170 g Mixed rice rice, brown, wild, white
  • 1 glass White wine
  • 150 g Mixed mushrooms
  • 1 large Leek
  • 1-2 Shallots
  • 2 tbsp Butter
  • 2 tbsp Olive oil
  • 2 cloves Garlic
  • 2 tbsp Yoghurt
  • 50 g Vegetarian hard cheese
  • 1 ltr Vegetable stock

Instructions

  • Finely slice the (washed) leeks, shallots, mushrooms (torn into small pieces) and fry with the butter and oil for 5 minutes
  • Add the garlic (chopped) and continue cooking for 5 minutes (the mushrooms will release some water so the garlic doesn’t burn)
  • Add the rice (you may need to add the harder rices first and the white rice after 10 minutes – make sure you follow the package instructions) and the white wine
  • Cook for a few minutes until the wine has evaporated 
  • Like any risotto, continue stirring and adding ladle fulls of stock at a time until the rice is cooked (20-40 minutes depending on the variety)
  • Turn off the heat and add the grated cheese, salt and peeper, the yoghurt and an extra drizzle of olive oil. Serve!

Crispy Polenta with Slow Roasted Tomatoes

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This would make a great vegetarian or vegan (replace the feta with nutritional yeast) dinner party recipe. The recipe here meant to serve 4 but you could easily double the quantities and have enough for a meal for 8 in under an hour. 

The smoky crunchy polenta goes so well with the sweet tomato sauce and sharp salty feta – it’s honestly such an amazing combination!

 

Heaven on a plate
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Crispy Polenta with Slow Roasted Tomatoes

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time50 mins
Total Time1 hr
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian
Keyword: polenta, slow roasted tomatoes
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce

  • 1 kg Tomatoes A mixed variety is best
  • 4 tbsp Olive oil
  • 1 tbsp Fresh Rosemary or Thyme
  • 3-4 cloves Garlic
  • 2 tsps Sugar
  • 1 tsp Salt

For the polenta

  • 1 cup Polenta
  • 4 cups Stock
  • 3 tbsp Olive oil

Instructions

  • Firstly roughly chop all of your tomatoes and put them in a deepish oven safe dish with the sugar, salt, olive oil, garlic and rosemary (leave the garlic whole) – bake at 180 degrees for 50 minutes
  • Heat 4 cups of stock on the hob until boiling – add the cup of polenta and whisk for 5 minutes on medium heat until it has formed a thick creamy mixture
  • Pour the polenta into a dish to cool down for 10 minutes (it will firm up as it cools
  • Slice the cooled polenta into thick slices and fry on a high heat until golden brown on both sides – transfer to an oven pan and add to the oven for the last 10 minutes of cooking time
  • When the tomatoes are out of the oven, either mash them with a potato masher (if you like it a bit chunky) or blend in a food processor.
  • Serve with feta and fresh herbs of your choice (basil or coriander work well)

Spicy Indian Potato Soup

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During isolation I’ve been making lunch for my housemates. It gives me a break away from work and has also meant I’ve finally nailed soup-making! This one is so incredibly warming; sweet, spicy and creamy from the potatoes. The secret is the dollop of mango chutney which takes the harshness away from the spices. 

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Spicy Indian Potato Soup

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time15 mins
Total Time25 mins

Ingredients

  • 1 Onion red or white
  • 3 cloves Garlic
  • 3 Potatoes any kind
  • 1/2 Courgette or some frozen peas for the hint of green
  • 1 Carrot
  • 1 Parsnip
  • 1 tbsp Curry powder
  • A few Curry leaves if you have them
  • 1 tbsp Mango chutney
  • 1 Stock cube veg or chicken
  • A splash Milk or plant based milk
  • 2 tsbp Red lentils to help with the texture

Instructions

  • Roughly chop the onion and fry it with 3 tbsp oil on a medium high heat with some salt to stop them from burning until soft
  • Add the chopped garlic, curry leaves and curry powder and fry for a further 2-3 minutes
  • Add the peeled and cubed potatoes, carrot and parsnip (you can use any combination of root vegetables you have
  • Add 500ml of water and the stock cube, the lentils and the mango chutney
  • Boil everything together on a high heat for 15 minutes – add the courgette 5 minutes before the end
  • Blend the soup with a stick blender and stir through a bit of milk or yogert for creaminess at the end

Sticky Miso Aubergine

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This is my favourite thing to make whenever I have Aubergines. You do need a good few staples such as Miso and sesame oil, but if you are ok to invest in them do – they will last forever and once you’ve made this, you’ll want to make it again in the future. 

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Sticky Miso Aubergine

Servings: 2 people

Ingredients

  • 2 Aubergines
  • 2 Sping onions
  • 1 tbsp Miso paste
  • 2 tbsp Soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp Mirin
  • 1 tbsp Rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Sesame oil
  • 1 tbsp Brown sugar
  • Sesame seeds for garnish

Instructions

  • Slice the aubergines and start heating a grill pan as hot as you can
  • Grill the aubergine slices for five minutes per side or until they are nicely charred
  • Meanwhile mix the remaining ingredients together to make the sauce
  • Put the grilled aubergine slices in a saucepan with the sauce and a lid on to let it soften for 5-10 minutes while you cook your noodles or rice
  • Garnish with sliced chilli, spring onion and sesame seeds

2 Ingredient Pizza Dough

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This was a bit of a revelation, Pizza in 15 minutes! I think this would be great to try with kids too as it make a really easy dough to work with. I used smoked cheddar because its what I had and it was delicious! Obviously use mozzarella if you prefer. 

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2 Ingredient Pizza Dough

Prep Time10 mins
Cook Time7 mins
Total Time17 mins
Servings: 1 person

Ingredients

  • 1 mug/small cup Strong bread flour
  • 1 mug/small cup Unflavoured yogert
  • 1 tsp Salt
  • 5 tbsp Passata
  • 1 tsp Dried Oregano
  • 1 handful Cheese

Instructions

  • Preheat your oven to 240 degrees or the maximum it will go
  • Mix the yogert and flour together until they form a dough
  • Add more flour so it doesn’t stick and roll the dough out into a thin circle
  • Add a thin layer of passata and the cheese, oregano and some pepper
  • Cook for about 7 minutes

Curried Carrot & Lentil Soup

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This is a nice store cupboard staple, I don’t know if this is true of everyone but I always seem to have slightly soft carrots and other root veg at the bottom of my vegetable drawer and this is way of turning them into a quick spicy, smooth and creamy soup. 

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Curried Carrot & Lentil Soup

Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 1 Red Onion
  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 500 g Carrots or other root veg – swede, parsnips, sweet potato
  • 1 Small potato this helps with the creaminess
  • 200g Dried red lentils
  • 1 tbsp Curry Powder or mixture of spices
  • 150 ml Milk or plant based milk
  • 1 lt Vegetable Stock

Instructions

  • Roughly chop the onion, garlic and vegetables and fry for 5 minutes in some vegetable oil
  • Add the curry powder and continue to fry for 2-3 minutes
  • Add the lentils and liquid including the stock and milk and boil together on a rolling boil for 15 minutes
  • Blend until smooth using a blender and serve with yogurt and fresh coriander (if you have it) 

The Perfect Falafel

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OVERVIEW

Oh my god, this recipe changed my life. My live-in lover adores falafel more than anything and I never thought i’d be able to make proper, crunchy, fresh out of the frier falafel that is a little bit creamy inside at home. The only niggle is you need to soak the dried chickpeas over night, but using dried means its crazy cheap. The mixture also freezes really well which is great because this recipe makes a lot!

Ingredients

200g dried chickpeas – soaked overnight

1/2 big bunch of coriander (stalks included)

2 cloves garlic

3 spring onions

1 tsp salt

1tsp pepper

1tsp curry powder

1 tbsp cumin

1 tbsp flour

Method

Make sure to soak the chickpeas in water overnight – they’ll massively expand and become softer.

Drain them and add them to a food processor. Slice up the spring onions, coriander, and garlic and add them and everything else to the processor as well. 

Once the mixture is slightly holding together, empty out into a bowl.

Chill the mixture for an hour in the fridge. 

Roll into golf sized balls and deep fry for 5-8 minutes in medium oil. 

Serve however you fancy!

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