Vegetarian Foods Archive

What's the weather like where you are?  Or should I not ask?! It's not so nice here at all, we went into Cardiff this morning and driving there and back - well it felt like we were in a submarine with the rain coming down in buckets.  I am not feeling 100%, plus its been a good, but busy week at work, so I was actually glad to get back home when we did, as I was not in the mood for Christmas shopping and the hustle and bustle.  I was glad that I didn't need to do any cooking either when we got in either. I made this Savoury Crumble a couple of days back, yes I know two Savoury Crumble s in one month.  This one is very autumnal in appearance, though its quite wintry outside.  Gold and yellow from the butternut squash and sweetcorn, moss green from the kale and studded with clay brown aduki beans.  It was quite pretty to gaze at, but then I went and covered it with a blanket of wholemeal flour and cheddar cheese crumble topping.  Once baked, a ...

Eating black eyed peas at the start of the New Year had become a bit of a tradition in my home, reputed to bring good luck and prosperity.  Goulash made with Black Eyed Beans Black Eyed Peas Hot Pot Ginger Black Eyed Peas Trini Black Eyed Peas with Rice Well whether its true or not, I fancied a change this time round and made something different. Still with pulse goodness.   I like the natural buttery nature of butter beans more than cannelini beans, but choose whatever white bean takes your fancy if you want to try this recipe.  What really tempted me to make this White Bean Soup was actually the  Arabic Seven Spices  known as Baharat .   Follow this link to learn and see so many other variations of the  Middle Eastern - Arabic Seven Spice - Baharat . When the dish was completed, I felt it was more of a stew than a soup which was actually a good thing, making this suitable more for a meal than a light lunch.  The weather has been stu...

Its been a little while since I have made stew with fluffy herby dumplings.  And the atrocious weather on Sunday kept me indoors and in the kitchen, cooking up some advanced meals for the working week ahead, this Butternut Squash, Kale and Sweetcorn Stew was one of them.  I think stews, casserole and ragout type dishes are best made a day or two in advance for the flavours to embrace the chosen vegetables.  So when I got in from work, all I had to do was put the stew on the hob to start warming through and as it does, begin making the dumplings  which only takes moments to whip up - really - dropping the uneven shaped balls on top. Put the lid back on and allowing the vegetable suet to do its magic, fluff up and almost double in size in the steamy bubbling heat.    I have written about suet before, click here if you want to learn more. The dumplings could be kept plain or just with herbs, but I wanted a little cheesyness without the greasy weight and t...

I made this Indo-Anglo Curried Vegetable Stew on Sunday for the working week ahead, the recipe serves 6, but D is a greedy man and can eat for 2, so it ended up being a meal for 2 days (including this evening), rather than 3.   Stews have been on our evening menu quite a bit lately.  Some of you may remember that I made one early on in the month with Butternut Squash and Kale .  Another reason its been on the menu is that we have both been enjoying the lightness of the dumplings.   This time thought I wanted to give the stew an Anglo-Indian twist with chillies, curry powder and coriander! Of course you can make your own curry powder, but there are plenty of brands about and if there is one that you like, use it.  I have to be honest, I don't make my own curry powder at all.  My mother or sister in laws give me some when they make it, which in fact is not that often as they don't really use curry powder in their cooking, so  I rely on those packets...

The last time I made Goulash was last year around Halloween.  Today, it was an unexpected meal as I decided to pick up some 'beef' style pieces from a health shop.   It wasn't my favourite mock 'beef' meat as I found it a little powdery,  but it was interesting to try.  I adored the tones of lipstick red from the peppers and Merlot from the kidney beans in the bowl, and a warming orange glow from the carrots.  I think Goulash like most stews benefits being cooked a day before before tucking in as the flavours develop.   We had this 'Beef' Goulash simply with plain rice.   I am off work tomorrow - whoop whoop, so I am planning on making Thursday night my Friday night with some junk TV.  Have a good evening. Vegan Hungarian 'Beef' Goulash with Red Peppers and Kidney Beans Ingredients Serves 6 300grams mock 'beef' style meat substitute 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 medium onions, sliced 2  teaspoons Hungarian paprika 1 teaspoo...

In anticipation of St David's Day, I made this Welsh Cawl Hot Pot yesterday afternoon. Most people in the U.K are  familiar with Lancashire Hot Pot made more famous by a barmaid called Betty (now deceased) in a popular British soap drama called Coronation Street.  It was Betty's signature dish at the Rovers Return Inn - a English pub.    Hot Pot is a slow cooked recipe traditionally made with lamb and vegetables, but as this is a vegetarian blog I made mine with some vegan mock 'lamb' meat pieces.  I also decided to give this Hot Pot a Welsh touch with the addition of leeks and good Welsh cheese.   Actually this can easily be a vegan Welsh Cawl Hot Pot, if you omit the cheese, but as I had some Dragon Welsh Caerphilly and Colliers Welsh Cheddar I opted to use them.   Although not authentic in any way, I enjoyed my vegetarian Welsh Hot Pot alternative.  It delivered on flavour, texture and substance.  there was also some gravy j...

It must have been a subliminal message of sorts that got me hankering for a Veggie Sausage Casserole.  For days I went onto D 'I need to pick u some veggie sausages...'  yet always seemed to forget and then I repeated myself all over again 'I have to pick up some veggie sausages', but yesterday - I remembered!   And so here it is, a rich thyme and smoked paprika infused tomato sauce based casserole with kidney beans and Romano red peppers.  It turned out very red indeed. You can choose to use any vegetarian or vegan sausage you like, I am not loyal to any particular brand and like to try them all.  If your not a veggie, of course you can opt the real meat variety.   The smokiness from the paprika was just right, not overwhelming at all.   I served this very red vegan casserole with some crushed roasted new potatoes.  It was grand I tell you and well worth the wait. So some of you may wondering why do I showcase a leek here?!  Well I w...

Yes, I share with you another stew of sorts.  Though I have to admit this is a much lighter stew compared to those features a couple of weeks back. I guess its a sign that Spring is here.   Contrary though, the ingredients are not spring like at all, mostly autumnal.  Squashes, sweet potatoes and red and yellow peppers have been featuring quite a bit on my plate recently, I think its the colours that shout and make me feel all warm and humble.   Or maybe its accidental, as I want a change from the drudge brown-beige and greens.   I normally squeeze some fresh lemon juice when eating dishes made with black eyed peas.  Its something my mother taught me as it enhances the dish and I love it.  This time I decided to add slithers of  home-made preserved lemons  to the dish instead to infuse the nutty black eyed beans. The black eyed peas certainly did take on the zing from the preserved lemons that had almost deteriorated in the pot. ...

This is just a variation of my popular Miso Bowl with Green Vegetables .   I decided to make more of a meal of it, simply by stirring in some buckwheat noodles.   It reminds me a little of of Bibimbap, a bowl that you mess up. This one though, I will let you slurp. Buckwheat Soba Noodles in Miso with Green Vegetables Serves 4 Ingredients 5g sea vegetables, rehydrated in water 600ml water 2 tablespoons miso paste 1 tablespoon Tamari or soy sauce 160grams asparagus spears (or sea asparagus - samphire), sliced in three 120grams edamame beans, soy beans, broad beans and peas Optional: chopped spring onions and for garnish coriander Soba noodles, cooked according to packet instructions, set aside Method In a pan, boil the water.  When it begins to boil, stir in the miso paste that has been diluted to a thick paste. Stir in the soy sauce, and asparagus and simmer for a couple of minutes. Stir in the beans and simmer for two minutes along with the sea ...

We had plans to go into Bristol this weeken d, but D felt we had been there too recently and didn't fancy it.   Then our plans to go exploring elsewhere were still scuppered as the rain came spitting down, so it was to be a day indoors for yet another week.  No gardening either, so its down to a bit of housework and some cooking for the week ahead. I wanted a change from the rice accompaniment that we normally have to this Fava Bean Carrot Chilli, so I decided to make some Turmeric New Potatoes.   Some of you may remember the last time I made Turmeric Potatoes they were Atomic Yellow and belonged to a fictitious world far and beyond... These ones are far more acceptable to the discerning eye.  The turmeric not only imparts colour, it does impart flavour too and worked well with the Whole Fava Bean and Carrot Chilli.  These  Turmeric New Potatoes  are so simple to make. I cooked 500grams new potatoes with 2  teaspoons ground turmeric ...

The past few weeks or so, I have made a few Persian inspired dishes inspired mostly by Iranian   food bloggers, rather than from the spate of mainstream Middle Eastern cookbooks published recently in the UK.  It started as a means  to find inspirational ways of using my spices such as Advieh , Baharat , Sumac, Za'ata r and ingredients such as Maftoul and Freekeh, but like any curious cook I have been lured and enticed by other recipes.   When I saw an Iranian style Koresh tweeted by The Persian Fusion,   I just knew I had to make a vegetarian variation of it.  Something about it had me salivating.   Koresht/Khoresht/Ghalyeh  are stews or curries in Persian cooking.  They should not be compared to South Asian curries popular in the Western world.  Persian stews and curries are  quite mild.   I substituted the chicken breasts with Quorn 'chicken' fillets and adjusted the spices to taste and the tomato sauce acc...