Category Archives: Vegan

Sweet potato and lemongrass soup

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With the big freeze hitting London, all I want to eat it food that warms you through. This soup is definitely warming, filling and of course – tasty.

The slight ‘exotic’ combination of sweet potato and lemongrass really works and it is a nice alternative for a mid-week meal.

The vegetable puré itself is velvety and thick enough without the addition of dairy product, however I think a dollop of creme fraiche while serving adds another flavour, and it cuts through the lemongrass nicely.

(To make this vegan, use vegetable stock and omit the creme fraiche.)

Sweet potato and lemongrass soup, serves 2

2 sweet potatoes

1 lemongrass

1 tbsp olive oil

400 ml chicken or vegetable stock

salt, black pepper

To serve: a dollop of creme fraiche and a drizzle of olive oil

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into even-sized pieces. Cut the lemongrass in half lengthways and then across so you have four pieces. Heat up the oil in a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the lemongrass and sweet potato and stir for a few minutes to enhance the flavours. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Then cook with the lid halfway on for about 15 minuter or until the vegetables are soft. Remove the two thickest pieces of lemongrass then puré the everything into a thick soup consistency. Add more stock or hot water until it has the thickness you want. Bring to the boil again and season. Serve with a dollop of creme fraiche and a drizzle of a flavoursome oil. 

Oven roasted cherry tomatoes, marinaded mozzarella, vegan pesto swirls

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On Saturday Natalie and I went to Jenny and James’ for a nice evening in. I brought some nibbles and Jenny had made a gorgeous garlicky chicken made with lots of garlic with roast potatoes for maincourse and strawberry cupcakes for dessert.

Since James is a vegan I made sure most of the nibbles were vegan so he could enjoy them as well. I made oven roasted cherry tomatoes, bought some nice olives and made some vegan pesto swirls with (vegan) puff pastry. It is all very easy to make, but really nice. For the non-vegans I also marinaded some mozzarella, so simple yet delicious.

Oven roasted cherry tomatoes, serves 4 with other nibbles

1 packet cherry tomatoes

olive oil

Italian herb seasoning

salt, white pepper

Turn the oven on 150C. Rinse and cut the tomatoes in half and place in a greased ovenproof dish. Drizzle with with olive oil, plenty with Italian herbs, salt and pepper. Leave to cool.

Marinaded mozzarella, for 3-4 people

1 good quality buffalo mozzarella

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

basil

Shred the mozzarella and place on a plate. Drizzle with oilve oil and balsamic vinegar. Decorate with a few basil leaves.

Vegan pesto swirls, serves 4

3 bunches basil

1 handful almonds

1 garlic clove

1/2 lemon, the zest

salt, white pepper

50-100 ml rapeseed oil

1 packet vegan puff pastry

Place everything but the olive oil in a food processor and mix to a paste. Pour in the oil bit by bit until the pesto has the texture you like. Leave the flavours to develop in the fridge for a few hours.

Roll out the puff pastry and spread out the pesto on top. Roll it up from the short side and pinch to secure the roll. Cut in 1/2 cm thick slices and place on a baking sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes in 180C or until golden brown.

A vegan New Year’s Eve menu

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I like to be challenged in the kitchen, and that is why I thought it was a good idea to cook for my friend Jenny and her boyfriend James on NYE before heading to a party. Last time I invited James I cooked a whole lot of mezze dishes inspired from my trip to Syria and Ottolenghi’s book Plenty.

I wanted the NYE menu to be quite traditional, nice and vegan and because it was just for the three of us I kept it quite simple.

~ The New Year’s Eve menu 2011 ~

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Crostini with bean spread

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Jerusalem artichoke soup with coconut milk and fried chestnut mushrooms

Rustic baguette, olive oil and balsamico

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Butternut squash risotto with spinach

Salad with romaine lettuce, romano peppers, avocado and pomegranate

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Vanilla pannacotta with soy cream and passionfruit

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We had champagne to start as well, and thanks to Waitrose I got a great bottle of bubbly half price. At the champagne tasting at Harrod’s I tried some champagnes from Duval-Leroy, but not thiis one; their regular Brut NV, but because I liked the others and it is a good quality champagne house I bought this bottle and it was really good.

Vega Jerusalem artichoke soup with coconut milk, serves 3 as a starter

1 shalot, finely chopped

1 tbsp oliv oil

500 g Jerusalem artichokes, peeled

water

2 tsp concentrated vegetable stock

50 ml coconut milk

salt, white pepper

Topping: fried, sliced chestnut mushrooms

Fry the onion until soft in the oil. Add the artichokes to the pan and fry for a minute or so, Add hot water to cover and add salt. Bring to the boil and cook until very soft. Remove half the water, but keep it on the side, and puré the rest with the artichokes. Add the coconut milk and then adjust the thickness with the left over water. Add concentrated stock, salt and pepper. Bring to the boil again and serve.

Vegan butternut squash risotto with spinach, serves 4

1/2 butternut squash

1/2-1 onion

olive oil

100 ml dry white wine

1 litre vegetable stock

400 g aborio rice

2 handfuls fresh spinach

salt, white pepper

Peel the squash and remove the seeds. Cut it into chunks and place them in a roasting tray, add oil, salt and pepper and mix. Place in 200C for 35 minutes or until soft.

Fry the onions in olive oil in a casserole dish or large saucepan but don’t let it brown. Add the rice and stir for a minute or two. Add the wine and watch most of it evaporate. Then add a ladle of the hot stock and continue to stir while it cooks in. Add another ladle and repeat the procedure until all the stock is used up and the rice is soft. it usually takes 18-20 minutes depending on the type of rice. Add the spinach and stir until it is wilted. Season with salt and pepper and add the butternut squash. Feel free to serve with parmesan if you’re not vegan.

Vegan vanilla pannacotta with soy cream and passionfruit, serves 3

400 ml soy cream

2-3 tbsp vanilla essence

50-75 ml jelly sugar, or the same amount of caser sugar + enough veggie set or agar flakes for the amount of liquid

3 passionfruits

I tried my way through when I cooked this, to get rid of the particular aftertaste soy products have, and I recommend you do the same.

Add the cream to a sauce pan and the smaller amount of sugar and vanilla and heat it up. Then add the sugar and vanilla little by little until you are satisfied with the taste. Add the jeling agent if not using jelly sugar. Bring to the boil and stir so the sugar melts. Pour into dessert coupes or ramekins and leave to cool. Place in the fridge for a minimum of four hours to set. 

Before serving, place the inside of the passionfruits in a bowl and place enough on each pannacotta to cover the top. Serve and enjoy.

A reminder: Bruschetta

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I came down with a terrible cold on Sunday. Just bam it hit me, and I got the lot; sore throat, runny nose, fever… At least it broke out quickly and the recovery seem pretty quick as well. Fever is gone, I’m back at work and my taste sensation has come back as well. Yay!

Before this hit me, on Friday we had a lovely little basil-themed dinner. It just happened like that and it was really nice! We had one of my favourite starters to begin with – bruschetta. It is best this time of year when the tomatoes taste like they should, full of sun and happiness. Paired with lots of basil, some garlic and nice crusty bread this is a winner every time. I just wanted to remind you of that.

Bruschetta, serves 2 as quite a large starter

6 largeish pieces of ciabatta

4-6 medium tomatoes

a handful of basil, finely chopped

2 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic clove, pressed

salt, pepper

Chop the tomatoes wuite finely and put it into a sieve to get rid of the excess water. Transfer to a bowl, add basil, pressed garlic, olive oil and spices.

Place the bread pieces on an oven tray and pour garlic on them. Rub the recently used garlic press over the bread to give it a hint of garlic. Roast in 200C oven for about 5 minutes (or until crusty on top).

Place generous spoonfuls of the tomato mixture on each piece of bread. Serve immediately – with napkins.

Classic tomato salad

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After seeing this the other day, I craved tomato salad, something I haven’t eaten since I was in Provence in 2007. Weird, since it is such a nice and refreshing little salad. And incredibly easy to make. Just make sure you have nice tomatoes and this will be a perfect little side dish, especially with meat.

Classic tomato salad, serves 2

4 medium tomatoes

1/2 large onion, finely chopped

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

salt

black pepper

Slice the tomatoes and place them on a plate. Sprinkle the onion on top, and salt and freshly ground pepper. Whisk together mustard, vinegar and oil and pour over the salad. 

And a little dessert…

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The vegan dessert I had planned was almond biscuits with rose water buttercream wedged in between. But that didn’t happen.

Apparently it is very difficult to make a vegan buttercream that involves rose water. Ifailed. Three times.

So I had to come up with plan B. Said almond biscuits fresh strawberries, perfectly ripe mango and a splosh of rose water on the fruit. Nice too, but not what I had in mind.

Oh well, shit happens sometimes, and the best you can do is to make it work with what you’ve got.

Almond discs with sesame and cadamom, makes 25

100 g ground almonds

3 tbsp sesame seeds

100 ml caster sugar

100 g margarine

2 tbsp plain flour

1 tbsp soy milk

1 tsp ground cardamom

Melt the maragine in a sauce pan, add the other ingredients. Cook for a few minutes while stirring, until you have an even batter. Place dollops of teaspoon size onto a baking sheet, with plenty of space in between. Bake for 6 mins, 175C, leave to cool on a flat surface, then store in an airtight container. 

Mezze: amazing lamb scewers and Damascene lentil salad

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Another recipe courtesy of the carismathic Syrian chef is this phenomenal lentil salad with pasta. Unfortunately my stomach does not allow me to eat lentils, but I still wanted to make this for my friends.

Pasta is actually quite common in the Middle East among with other Italian influences such as pizza. This dish requires lasagne sheets, but I couldn’t find any egg-free lasagne sheets (to make it vegan) in the shops near work so I used fusilli instead. It worked well but I used a little bit too much pasta to get the perfect pasta-lentils ratio, so do use the measurements below. It was still a very tasty dish and this is great buffet food. (And cheap too.)

Damascene lentil salad (Harra s’bao), serves 4

230 ml lentils

2 lasagne sheets, semi-cooked, cut in finger-sized strips

1,4 l water

2 tsp salt

4 lonions, finely chopped

1/2 bunch coriander, chopped

4 garlic cloves, pressed

juice from 2 lemons

3-4 tbsp pomegranate molasses

240 ml olive oil

250 ml pomegranate seeds

Arabic croûtons

Bring the water to the boil in a large saucepan. Add salt, lentils and 1 tbsp olive oil. Cook for 2o mins, covered, stirring occasionally.

Add the pasta after 20 minutes and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally until the pasta is cooked.

While the lentils are cooking, fry the onion brown in a frying pan, transfer to a bowl. In the same pan, fry the coriander for a minute (until wilted), add the garlic and fry on low heat. Place with the onions.

When the lentils are done, add olive oil and the rest of the ingredients. Top with Arabic croûtons and pomegranate seeds. 

As I told you earlier, everything was vegan apart from one meat dish, and that is the lamb scewers above. It might not be strictly Middle Eastern influences in this recipe, but it has the chilli and the cumin, and besides, it was too nice not to try!

And if you will be barbecuing just one thing this summer, make sure it is these scewers! The recipe is courtesy of the lovely Rejina at Gastrogeek and you find the recipe here.

I marinated the meat for 2 days to cram in as much flavour as possible, but since we don’t have a barbecue (or a garden, sob) I cooked them in the oven for 15 minutes or so and a few minutes under the grill at the end.

Mezze: Fatoush and Maroccan carrot salad

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At least one salad is compulsory when having mezze, and the most common one is probably tabbouleh, but I chose to make fatoush instead, the same way we made it in Syria when cooking with the chef.

I completely forgot to take a photo of it, but it looks like a regular green salad with tomatoes and peppers, chopped herbs and some Arabic coûtons on top. These:

Fatoush, serves 6-8

4 cucumbers, roughly diced

4 tomatoes, roughly diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 head of lettuce, romaine lettuce, roughly chopped

1 bunch mint, only the leaves, chopped

1 bunch parsley, chopped

(2 bunches purslane, chopped hackad – if available)

cider vinegar

pomegranate molasses

sumac

salt

Arabic croûtons (deepfried left over pitta/flatbread)

Mix the vegetables. Add the chopped herbs. Season to taste with vinegar, molasses and spices. Add the croûtons just before serving. 

I also made this Maroccan carrot salad from Plenty that was very appreciated. This would work well as a side dishtoo, for something that can handle the spice.

Maroccan carrot salad, serves 4-6

1 kg carrots, peeled and sliced

80 ml olive oil

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tsp caster sugar

3 garlic cloves, pressed

1 spring onion, chopped

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp sweet paprika

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp white wine vinegar

1-2 tbsp pickled lemon peel (I used the same amount grated lemon peel)

1 bunch coriander, chopped

(120 ml Greek yoghurt (I omitted this, soygurt would not have worked)

Peel the carrots and cut them in 1 cm slices. Boil in salted water 10 minutes or until they have softened but still are crunchy. Drain.

Heat up the oil in a frying pan and fry the onions for 10-12 minutes until soft and brown. Add the carrots and the rest of the ingredients apart from the fresh coriander (and yoghurt). Mix well. Season with salt and pepper.

Leave to cool completely and sprinkle with coriander just before serving. Ottolenghi suggests serving this in individual bowls with yoghurt on top.

Mezze: Baked aubergine with pomegranate and stuffed courgettes

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As always when I go on holiday, i filled my bags with groceries when I was on my way home from Syria. Soon thereafter I bought the fabulous cookbook Plenty by Yotam Ottolenghi and he uses alot of the things I brought back in his recipes. Perfect or what?!

These two recipes from Plenty don’t require any strange ingredients though, and I highly recommend you trying them. I utterly adored the aubergine dish, but my boyfriend fell in love with the courgettes. I have followed the recipes, but have veganised them where needed. You find the stuffed courgette recipe here in which I omitted the currants. It is from Ottolenghi’s culumn The New Vegetarian on the Guardian’s website, where many of the recipes in Plenty are from.

And below you find my adapted recipe for the baked aubergines with pomegranate.

Baked aubergine with pomegranate, serves 4 or 6 as a buffet

2 medium aubergines

olive oil

thyme

150 ml soy cream

1 garlic clove

juice from 1/2 lemon

salt

pepper

pomegranate seeds

Cut the aubergines in half lengthways and place them skin down in a greased roasting tray. Cut a diaond pattern in the flesh with a knife, being carfel not to pierce the skin. Brush with olive oil a few times, so it gets soaked up by the aubergine. Sprinkle with thyme leaves and a few thyme sprigs. Add salt and pepper. Bake in 200C for 40 minutes. Leave to cool completely.

Mix the soy cream wuth garlic, lemon, salt and pepper. Pour it over the aubergines just before serving and sprinkle with pomegranate seeds.

Mezze: Hummus, chilli dip and flatbread

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I have grouped the recipes from Friday’s dinner, so this is the first lot.

When eating mezze it is a must to have a few dips for the bread. The most common one is of course hummus, and here is my version:

Hummus, serves 6 as mezze

1 can chickpeas (400 g)

a splash of water

olive oil

2 tbsp tahini

2-3 tbsp lemon juice

salt

white pepper

1/2 clove garlic

Pour lemon juice, tahini, water and drained chickpeas into a food processor (or use a stick blender) and add some oil. Mix and add oil as you go until the hummus has the desired texture. Season to taste with lemon, garlic, salt, pepper and tahini. 

The next dip is almost as common as hummus in the Middle East, but less known here. The proper version is the one I made with ground almonds, but sometimes you can get a cheaper version were the almonds are substituted by breadcrumbs. We learned the rule in Syria, that if you get the almond-version in a restaurant it is a good restaurant, and if you get the bastard-version then of course, it is not as good.

Muhammara, serves 6 as mezze

120 ml ground almonds (or breadcrumbs)

2-4 garlic cloves

1/2 small onion, finely chopped or 1 tsp onion powder

spicy pepper purée (mine is from Syria, but a combination of sambal oelek and pickled peppers will probably work)

70 ml tahini

70 ml pomegranate molasses

salt

ground cumin

aleppo/cayenne pepper if more heat is required

60 ml olive oil

Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste with cumin and salt. The dip should have she same texture as hummus so adjust accordingly.

Flatbread is another must when it comes to mezze, and the homemade version is miles  better than the storebought option. This recipe is from Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall’s River Cottage Everyday and it is incredibly easy to make. We had a few leftover and I can happily tell you that they were just as good the next day.

Flatbread, makes 8

250 g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil/ rapeseed oil

150 ml varm water

Pour the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the oil to the water and pour it into the bowl while stiring with a wooden spoon/fork. Mix thorougly and knead with your hands for a few minutes. Cover the bowl with a tea towel or cling film and let the dough rest for 15 minutes. Divide it into eight pieces. Roll each piece flat with a rolling bin with plenty of flour. Heat up a dry frying pan on high heat, then lower to medium heat before cooking each bread for a few minutes on each side.