Quick Chickpea Salad with Cumin

Never think to make this at home but we made it pretty much every day over half term, away with foodie friends in France, to accompany barbecued meat

1 can chickpeas, drained
1/2 a small onion, peeled and thinly sliced
2-3 tbsp mustard vinaigrette
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp ground cumin

Mix all ingredients together and leave to marinade for as long as possible.  Can be made with 1 tbsp olive oil and 1 tsp red wine vinegar if you don't have vinaigrette to hand.

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Vegan Aubergine & Lentil Curry

The aubergine I bought what seems like weeks ago was beginning to go mouldy at one end, so I decided to lose it in a curry.  I googled aubergine curry and came up with yet another Maunika Gowardhan recipe which I added a few more of my favourite ingredients.

This is a mildly spiced curry.  Aubergine lovers like me can still taste the aubergine, whilst the aubergine phobics in this family had no idea until I told them and yet would happily eat it again.

Serves 4

2 large onions
2 tbsp cooking oil
1 large aubergine
2 tbsp cooking oil
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and crushed
5cm cinnamon stick
5 green cardamon pods
1 500g carton passata
1 heaped tbsp coriander powder
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground fennel
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp tamarind paste
100g green lentils
1 carton recently boiled water
1 tsp salt

Peel and slice the onions.  Fry in 2 tbsp oil over a medium heat for about 20-30 minutes until brown and caramelised but not burnt.  Scrape into a stick blender jug.

Whilst the onions are cooking cut the aubergine into 1cm cubes and fry in the remainder of the oil until browned or it starts to stick.  Add the whole spices, liquidise the cooked onions with about 250ml of water to make a paste the consistency of double cream.  Add the remaining spices to the aubergine and stir around for a few minutes then add the rest of the ingredients.  Add as much water to make a slightly watery stew, as the lentils will absorb some of this liquid.

Bring to the boil and simmer briskly for 10 minutes then turn the lid down and leave to simmer gently for another 30 minutes.  Stir from time to time to check it is not sticking.  Add more water if you think it is, or remove the lid for the final 10 minutes if the curry is too liquid for your tastes.

Season to taste and serve with basmati rice.

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Retro Bortsch or Beetroot Soup

Beetroot must be the Marmite of vegetables.  Mention it to the wrong person and they start gagging and retching at the very thought of it.  I'm sure this is because of a traumatic memory of the overly vinegared stuff on their grandmother's table served with the cold cuts.  But sadly it is hard to get past the amateur dramatics to get them to try it served a different way.  After all, it's flamboyant colour is near impossible to hide.

Bortsch has been a favourite of mine since my early teens, when my mother seemed to go through a phase of working her way through the 1960s recipes from her Kenwood liquidiser manual.  In the absence of this manual I have attempted to recreate Borscht as I remember it.

We usually ate it chilled in summer, but it equally good warm on a cold British summer day.

Serves a greedy 2

2 large or 3 medium cooked beetroot
1 small onion
1 medium carrot
1 stick of celery
1 clove of garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
600ml boiling water
1 beef (or vegetable) stock cube
juice of 1 small lemon
salt and pepper
2 tbsp greek yoghurt (optional)

Peel and roughly chop the onion and start to soften in a saucepan over a medium heat whilst you peel and roughly chop the carrot, beetroot and garlic, and roughly chop the celery.  When the carrot and celery is chopped add this and soften for a few minutes before adding the hot water, stock cube, garlic, and chopped beetroot. Bring to the boil with a lid on and then simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes blitz the boiled ingredients.  If eating hot,  blitz with the lemon juice.  Season to taste.  Pour into bowls and serve with a heaped teaspoon of yoghurt.

If serving chilled, blitz, cool, then chill in the fridge.  Stir in the lemon juice before serving, then add yoghurt to each bowl as before.

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Curried Cauliflower Soup

Knocked up this lunchtime, discovering half a limp cauliflower in the fridge.

Serves 2

Half a small cauliflower
1 small baking potato
1 medium onion
1 clove of garlic
1/2tsp garam masala
1/2tsp curry powder
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 vegetable stock cube
600ml recently boiled water
Chilli oil/chilli powder (optional)

Peel and roughly chop the onion and fry in a saucepan with the oil for about 5 minutes until it starts to brown.

Roughly chop the potato and add to the onion, together with the broken up cauliflower including any tender inner leaves.

After another 5 minutes add the spices and the peeled and halved garlic.  Stir around then add the hot water and stock cube.

Cover and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

When the time is up, liquidise with a stick blender, or a liquidiser for a smoother soup.  Serve with a drizzle of chilli oil or chilli powder.

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Thai Carrot Salad

Can't recall where the recipe for this salad came from. My recollection is the original is much sweeter, as Thai tastes can be, but this is a slightly healthier version.

Serves 2

2 large carrots
3 tbsp wine or cider vinegar
3 tbsp hot water
1/2 tsp hot chilli flakes
1 tsp brown sugar
Large pinch of salt

Peel and grate the carrots.  Mix together with all the other ingredients.  Leave for the flavours to develop if you can.

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Vegan/Vegetarian Bolognese Ragu Sauce

Had quite a lot of pulses last week, so thought I'd make a more 'meaty' textured vegan meal tonight.  Kids were fooled.

Serves 6

50g soya mince
Red wine or water (to soak soya mince)
1 medium onion
1 medium carrot
1 large stick of celery
1 large clove of garlic
1 tin plum tomatoes
1 tbsp olive oil

Weigh the soya mince into a mug and pour over enough wine or water to cover, and leave soaking whilst you prepare the vegetables.

Peel the onion (don't bother to peel the carrot), and roughly chop all the vegetables.

Soften the chopped vegetables in the olive oil over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and a can of recently boiled water.  Cover and bring to the boil,  then turn down to simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes, liquidise the sauce with a stick blender, taking care not to splatter yourself.  Add the soya mince and the soaking liquid and bring back to a simmer again.  Leave to simmer, and thicken, with a lid on whilst you cook your pasta.   If using in a lasagna, you may wish to reduce the sauce a little more by leaving the lid off after adding the soya mince.

Season to taste before serving.

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Wild Garlic Pesto

Wild garlic leaves start to appear in March, so I am late to the party to make my first wild garlic dish of the year.

Serves 4
1 handful of wild garlic leaves, the younger the better
50g mature cheddar
50g walnuts
50ml or more light olive oil

Put everything in a mini food processor and whizz together to a smoothish paste, add a little more olive oil if needed to make a loose paste.

We only ever serve pesto over pasta, but there must be other uses but the kids won't let us.

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Vegan Dhal Makhani

Maunika Gowardhan's Punjabi Dal Makhani popped up on my Instagram feed last night, so I thought I'd try to make a vegan version with cashew nut cream, and minus the butter. I also made it with a combination of green and red lentils, as I didn't have urad dal, and green & red lentils don't require remembering to soak overnight.

Serves 4

100g green lentils
150g red lentils
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
4 large garlic cloves, crushed
2cm ginger, finely chopped
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp chilli powder
500ml passata
40g cashew nuts
1 tsp salt

Weigh out the lentils into a saucepan with a lid.  Pour over 600ml water, cover and bring to the boil.  Simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes whilst you prepare the sauce.

Pour 100ml boiling water over the cashew nuts in a jug you can use a stick blender in, and leave to soften.

Fry the onion in the oil until starting to brown (about 5-7 minutes), stirring from time to time.  Add the cumin seeds, garlic, and ginger and stir around until you can smell the spices.  Add the rest of the ingredients with 250ml/half a passata carton of recently boiled water, and the cooked lentils.  Liquidise the cashew nuts and water and add to the pan.  Stir and leave to simmer gently with the lid on for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time to stop it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

Serve with basmati rice.

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Vegetable Biryani (Vegan)

Discovering we had a whole swede still untouched, and were expecting another in our vegbox this week, I searched 'swede' in Riverford's recipes to see if I could find a tantalising recipe for our vegan Monday.

I started off making Riverford's Indian Spiced Swede but then decided to make it into a one pot Biryani to try to hide the vegetables a little better.

Apparently it's "okay" which means they like it but would prefer meat in it. I think it's delightfully (and naturally) sweet.

Serves a greedy 4

2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/8 tsp hot chilli flakes
1 tbsp garam masala
1 tsp hot curry powder
1 onion, finely sliced
3-4cm piece ginger, grated or finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely chopped
2 chillies, deseeded & finely chopped
1/2 a medium swede, grated (or cauliflower, grated parsnip, grated carrot...)
100g puy lentils (optional - added for texture)
400ml tinned coconut milk
1 can recently boiled water
100g kale, shredded (peas or beans could be used instead)
1 mug of basmati rice
Salt & pepper

Fry the cumin and mustard seeds over a medium heat in a casserole dish (with a lid) until they start to pop.  Add the onion and fry until it starts to brown.  Stir in the rest of the ingredients apart from the rice, cover, and bring to the boil.  Turn down to a simmer and leave for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes stir in the rice, cover again and bring back to a boil.  Turn down to the lowest heat and leave to cook untouched for 10 minutes.  Then turn the heat off and without taking the lid off, leave for another 10 minutes for the rice to finish steaming.

Fluff the biryani up with a fork or spoon and season to taste.

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Kale Oven Crisps

Wow kale crisps, where have you been all my (adult) life?

OH was disappointed to discover a massive bag of kale, his least favourite vegetable, in our vegbox last week.  And it's taken him a week to relay a recipe for kale crisps from his work.

So tonight, after a quick google to establish exactly what his work colleague meant by "a hot oven", I have discovered a new beer snack.

1 large handful of kale, after stripping and discarding the tough stem and shredding
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp paprika, ras el hangout, piri piri seasoning
1 large pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 200C.  Toss the dry kale in the oil and seasoning then spread out on a baking tray, or two.  Bake for 5-10 minutes until beginning to brown at the edges and go slightly crispy.  I was told 5 minutes in the oven, but my small leaved Red Russian kale ended up taking 8 minutes.

No idea how long they stay crispy for as we ate them immediately.

PS.  Our two child testers universally announced them "DISGUSTING!"

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Merguez Burgers

Just chillin'

Merguez are traditionally finger thin North African sausages made popular in France with the arrival of immigrants from Algeria and Morocco.  'Merguez Frites' (Merguez & chips) is a popular fast food served out vans, hole-in-the-wall cafes, and bistros and much loved by our children, and us.

I do have a sausage maker, but time is short, so Merguez flavoured burgers it as birthday treat #2 for my now 15 year old, to be cooked after yet another parents' evening.

500g minced lamb
1 thick slice of bread
1 tsp harissa
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 free range egg

Make the slice of bread into breadcrumbs in a mini food processor.

Put all the ingredients into a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly with your hands.

On a greased baking tray, divide the mixture into half, and then each half into three.  I found it makes 6 burgers weighing just over 100g each which seems a good size for a 'healthy' burger.

Chill in the fridge on the baking tray as long as you can to make them nice and firm for frying.

Fry over a medium heat for about 5 minutes each side for a well done burger.  Or bake at 200C Fan on the baking tray.

Serve in a burger with salad and onion, in a pitta, or with pasta as I will probably do.

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My Watercress Soup

Hastily posting a Watercress Soup recipe, as @allthingsalresford has tagged me in an Instagram post about the Classic Mary Berry BBC series where Mary Berry visits Alresford, where I live, and make Watercress Soup!

Makes 2 litres, serving a greedy 4 (or our family of 5)

3 bunches of Alresford watercress
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
300g white potatoes
1 litre chicken or vegetable stock, ideally homemade
1 tbsp olive oil

Roughly chop the onion and fry gently in the oil whilst you roughly chop the potatoes and garlic.

Once chopped, stir the potatoes and garlic around in the hot oil and add the stock.

Grasp each watercress bunch in turn by it's leaves and snip the stalks, in 3cm lengths into the heating stock (having removed the blue elastic band first!).  Place the leaves into a bowl of cold water to soak/wash.

Cover the soup and bring to the boil. Turn down to and simmer for 20 minutes.

After 20 minutes turn off the heat and remove the lid.  Leave the soup to cool for 20-30 minutes before wilting the rinsed watercress leaves in the still hot stock.  Ladle the stock and vegetables into a heatproof blender jug and liquidise for 1-2 minutes.

If not consumed instantly, cool quickly without a lid on.  When reheating, again do not cover, as this will cause it to lose it's vivid green colour.

My Watercress Soup, made with homemade chicken stock is sold frozen at West Lea Farmshop, and with organic vegetable stock at Alresford's weekly Country Market held in the Alresford & Community Centre every Thursday morning 7.30-11.30am

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Moroccan Chickpea & Kale Stew

This is a fancier version of Spicy Kale & Chickpeas I used to make in my first few post student days. A massive bag of kale arrived in last week's vegbox, and as no-one else likes it, I did my best to 'lose' half of it in tonight's tea.

1 large onion, finely diced

1 large carrot, grated or finely diced

1 large stick of celery, finely diced

1 large clove of garlic, crushed or finely diced

2 cans of chickpeas, keeping the liquid

200g kale, shredded

1 500ml pack of passata

500ml just boiled water

1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp hot chilli flakes

1 tbsp red wine vinegar

1 tbsp olive oil

Soften the onion, carrot, and celery in the olive oil in a casserole dish.

When softened (5 minutes or so) add the cumin seeds, garlic, and tomato paste.  Stir around, and once you smell the garlic and cumin add the rest of the ingredients, and enough water to make a stewy consistency. 

Cover, bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer with the lid on for 30 minutes.

Season to taste and serve with couscous.

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