Lunch

Rhubarb and Raspberry Crumble with Oats and Hazelnuts

Another crumble recipe? Really?  Well, yes!    I just couldn’t resist the wonderful combination of the first of the forced pink rhubarb and some of the last of the frozen autumn raspberries.  That and a topping of an oaty and nutty biscuity crumble, well, who could resist?
I am a recent convert to crumble as too often I find the topping a bit too claggy and the fruit underneath sparse.

With a husband who simply loves crumble it took years for me to get the balance right so we could both enjoy what seems like the quintessential classic British pudding.
What’s more this is an adaptable recipe.  It can be vegan by using a butter replacement (I used the vegan flora) and there are such good vegan cream/custard/icecream available that no one need miss out.  If you have someone who has a nut allergy up the flour and oats to replace that 100g of hazelnuts or add some mixed seeds instead.  Gluten free flour can be easily substituted for those with an intolerance or coeliac.  Everyone gets a look in.

Cut rhubarb

Continue reading →

Chunky Moroccan Vegetable Soup

  1. I seem to have developed a bit of a yearning for clean flavours in 2020.  In particular I’ve gone from despising preserved lemons to having a bit of a “moment” with them!  Maybe unusually this soup makes use of them to great effect combining them with tomatoes, cumin, turmeric, chilli and a little cinnamon.  It brings the sunshine of North Africa to what is turning out to be rather a wet and grey January in the UK.

Morrocan Market

The other good news for those who are trying to see off the extra pounds that Christmas invariably means is this soup is actually quite low in calories as well as being a real comfort food.  Add a little less liquid and you could eat it as a stew so it’s quite versatile too.  Make a batch and use extras to have as lunch during the week and bring warmth to January. Continue reading →

Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb with Potatoes, Thyme and Garlic

I love a roast on a Sunday.  I love a long dog walk on a Sunday.   Or catching up on all the things I’d promised myself I would do during the week – like pottering in the garden or reading the Sunday newspapers with a large cup of coffee.   Unfortunately producing a roast and doing any of these things usually doesn’t make for a relaxing day.  Enter the solution – Slow Cooked Shoulder of Lamb.  Particularly appropriate this St David’s Day weekend but delicious any time.   The lamb sits on a layer of garlicky potatoes and onions (though you could substitute thickly sliced leeks if you want to go all out for the Welsh theme) which absorb all the lambs cooking juice and fill the house with the most amazing appetising smells. It cooks for 4-5 hours leaving you plenty of time to do other things (see all of the above) whilst it gently cooks in your oven.   It’s a dish that looks after itself, is flexible if your walk takes an hour longer than you thought (or you diverted by the pub) and any leftovers can be turned into dishes for the week ahead – for example Monday Pie.  The meat ends up so soft when it finishes cooking you can pull the bones out with your hands!  It’s practically the lamb equivalent of pulled pork!

Continue reading →

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup with Roasted Chickpeas

It seems like everyone is going down with colds just recently so I wanted to share with you a soup that is great for helping you/them get better!   An alternative to the classic chicken broth that traditionally is the cure-all for so many people.

I have to admit that I make this Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup because it is delicious but sometimes when I am feeling a bit sniffly I like knowing that It contains lots of herbs and spices that are held to help fight off symptoms of a cold or the flu.  I can of course, make no substantiated claims to this soup being a magic cure for colds and flu, but it always helps me feel as though I am doing something positive which is no bad thing and at least there is no eye of newt or tongue of toad needed in this caldron/saucepan to make this potion/soup!   It does, however, contain:

  • ginger as an highly effective against nausea, a powerful anti-inflammatory, great for treating indigestion and for fighting infection.
  • garlic which is renowned for its cold and flu fighting properties. It has anti bacterial  properties
  • chilli is very high in vitamin C. Capsaicin is the wonder property here and is reported to have anti oxidant and anti inflammatory properties
  • cumin Is held to increase antioxidant intake and promote digestion
  • ground coriander reportedly has anti inflammatory and anti bacterial properties as well as aiding digestion
  • turmeric’s active ingredients is curcumin which is said to be anti-inflammatory and to increase anti-oxidant capacity. Black pepper increases the absorption of curcumin by something like 2000% – so always have pepper with turmeric.

Continue reading →

Torn Vegetable Lasagne

I seem to have a real problem with dried lasagne sheets.  It has proved to be absolutely infuriating.   I seem to manage to break them.  I am not sure if its in the packing into bags after shopping or because I have rather a rammed full larder cupboard but when I open the packet more often that not there are quite a few broken sheets.    I could get round this by making or buying fresh pasta but, if I am honest, I cant always be bothered or remember to do so.   And I love lasagne.   Its a brilliant comfort food.  So in the spirit of the saying “if life gives you lemons, make lemonade”, this recipe was born – and whether or not you have broken or whole lasagne sheets, it very tasty if I say so myself.

The trouble with traditional lasagne is that it is fiddly to make.   Lots of layers to assemble and a sauce to make to go on top.   Delicious but time consuming and often too carb heavy for a supper.    The great thing about this “torn lasagne” is it is really simple to do and its easy to make sure that the veggies are more plentiful than the pasta if that’s the way you like things!!  Its also quicker to make and any leftovers are great the next day as a packed lunch.

It uses pesto rather than the traditional creamy béchamel to keep things light and fresh though somehow it tastes just as comforting as traditional lasagne.  If you use the vegan cheese and pesto (shop bought is fine here though, of course don’t let me stop you from making your own ) then you can easily, and very “taste-illy”, make this recipe suitable for a plant based diet without going to any extra effort.   As I have said before, the best parts of a lasagne are where the pasta edges go crispy.   With Torn Lasagne there are a lot more edges to go crispy!! Yum Continue reading →

Sweet Potato Satay Soup

I love a good soup.   This Sweet Potato Satay one is pretty special.  Ok I know it’s not a flavour combo you’d probably expect in a soup but it works.    It’s warm and spicy with the flavours of chilli, garlic and ginger and sweet and earthy with red lentils, carrots and the sweet potatoes themselves.  It’s full of good things that fight both a cold and the cold itself,  and yet it’s satay flavours lend themselves to being eaten in warmer weather when you need a pick up.  It’s “accidentally” vegan, gluten free and if you have a nut allergy works as a spiced sweet potato soup if you don’t add the peanut element.  It’s an all round winner!

Of course the use of the peanut satay flavours in this soup doesn’t make this an authentic Indonesian dish   We are entering the same battlefield as M&S are at the moment with their biryani wrap in terms of authenticity.  To call a soup satay (which historically was essentially a meat kebab) is technically incorrect,  but my use of satay here does give you an extremely good idea of this soups flavour profile which I can’t think of any other way of doing so succinctly.

Depending on the time of year, I like to adjust this soup’s thickness/viscosity.   In the winter I like it thick and almost dhal like.  In the summer, by letting the blended soup down by adding water, I like it looser and more of a traditional soup consistency.  This is all a matter of personal preference of course so do whatever feels right for you. Continue reading →

Vietnamese Spring Rolls

I fondly remember making these with my lovely goddaughter Chloe a couple of years ago.   They were delicious.   She had a bit of time that day so made her wonderful peanut sauce to go with them – if you are reading Chloe I am still after that recipe!

Chloe is vegan now and this is her version.  I often make them and add shredded left over roast meat to the roll but, honestly, it doesn’t need it. They provide a wonderful crunchy freshness as a totally vegan dish and  I swear they make you feel good as well as being delicious.

I love  Chloe’s website http://www.vetyogi.com and I really would recommend you have a look   There are wonderful guides to yoga postures and my favourite – 5 minute sequences for everything from neck and shoulders to back to feet and toes   Absolutely wonderful to practice along with at any time

In the mood for something healthy, fresh, crunchy and quick to make? These Vietnamese Rolls are ideal for helping you to get some of your 5 a day, and you can use whatever you fancy (or whatever you happen to have in the fridge). I often take these to work for lunch, and I find myself really looking forward to them. I can’t pretend my way is very traditional, but to be honest as long as they taste good, I just use whatever I have in at that time. Continue reading →

Chocolate Pear Pudding

I was reading in the newspapers today about something called “coorie”.   In many ways this is the Scottish version of hygge.  To “coorie in” means to snuggle up and applies to everything from log fires and sheepskins to food, exploring the outdoors – in fact everything that gives a sense of well-being.

 

Chocolate Pear Pudding is a great coorie dish. I love it as a Sunday lunch pudding. I can imagine it as an old fashioned nursery pudding in a story book like Peter Pan or Mary Poppins.  Homely, comforting, easy to make and involves chocolate – what more could you want?  I certainly would have no problem in snuggling/coorie in to  it with its soft chocolatey sponge and unctuous, juicy pears.  If you are a chocoholic serve it with more chocolate in the form of a sauce (homemade or your favourite bought one),  although it does make a little sauce of its own where the pears juice mixes with the chocolate sauce at the bottom, or try it with cream or icecream and while you are at it why not both?  Can you ever have too much coorie after all?

Continue reading →

Mushroom Soup

There is a distinct nip in the air in the mornings now and I am beginning to turn away from salads in favour of something more homely and comforting.  A bowl or a mug of soup is the equivalent of a food hug and I am happy to huddle down in the kitchen with some, yet, if the weather sunny it’s something I often take outside to eat in the garden. It makes a great packed lunch put into a flask especially if you take a bread roll to eat alongside (or dunk in) !   I particularly like taking this soup with me when I take the dogs for a walk.   It fits right in with foraging for sloes and picking wild damsons or blackberries for a crumble or pie.   I love  Plum, Hazelnut and Sloe Gin Crumble  so I am always on the look out for damsons.  Mind you a great apple pie is hard to beat and there are lots of apples about at the moment as well as wild blackberries.

When I was young, soup tended to come in tins.   We weren’t allowed anything to do with the Campbells in our house (something to do with the Campbells betraying the rest of the clans to the English at a highland gathering they were hosting) so it was either Heinz or Baxters.   Tomato was my favourite (Heinz) and Oxtail or Mushroom were my brothers.   I have very fond memories of those days but homemade mushroom soup is an absolute revelation compared to the canned stuff.   I will never be able to open a can of it again.

Mushroom soup maybe doesn’t look the prettiest soup in the world but boy does it taste wonderful.  There are a lot of mushrooms about in the countryside right now.  As I much as I’d like to be able to channel my inner Antonio Carluccio I’m not an expert when it comes to identifying mushrooms so I often end up making this with bought mushrooms rather than foraged ones. *  My favourite one for this are chestnut or field mushrooms though you could always garnish this with some fancy varieties such as girolle or morel if you wanted to look fancy! Continue reading →

Thai Noodle Salad with a Spicy, Creamy Peanut Dressing

Yum!   This Thai Noodle Salad is vegan and (if you use rice noodles as I have here) gluten free.  But that’s just a bonus because what really matters is it’s crispy, crunchy, sweet, sour and with a bit of a kick so you feel just so happy and healthy after eating it that Its a real boost   Best of all its simple and quick and the longest part time wise is slicing the vegetables Continue reading →

1 2
Blog at WordPress.com.
%d bloggers like this: