Vegan or vegetarian sticky toffee pudding

175g/6oz chopped pitted dates

1 tea bag (regular or Earl Grey)

1tsp bicarb of soda

dash of vanilla essence

80ml sunflower oil

50g (2oz) dark brown sugar

50g demerara sugar

100g unsweetened cooked pureed apples (or you can use 2 eggs for a vegetarian version)

100ml soy 'milk' (or cow's milk for a vegetarian version)

175g /6oz SR flour

50g/2oz chopped walnuts

Toffee sauce:

1/2 can full fat coconut milk

100g demerera sugar

1/4 - 1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

1. Put the dates, teabag and bicarb into a bowl and pour 150ml boiling water over the top. Set aside for 10mins, take out the tea bag, add the vanilla and mash the dates with a fork.

2. Preheat oven to 180c.

3. Oil or grease 6 - 8 ramekins, depending on how big your puds should be.

4. Beat together the sugars and oil, then beat in the apple, soya milk and dates.

5. Fold in the flour and the walnuts.

6. Spoon the mixture into the ramekins, leaving enough room for them to rise.

7. Bake for around 20 minutes, until an inserted skewer comes out clean.

While the puds are cooking make the toffee sauce:

1. Put the sugar into a heavy saucepan and heat for a minute.

2. Add the coconut milk and sea salt and stir to combine.

3. Bring to a boil, then simmer on a low heat until the sauce thickens and coats the back of a wooden spoon (10 - 15 mins).

4. Refrigerate for an hour or two to allow the sauce to thicken.

Serve poured over the puds. You can also pour over vegan cream substitute.

Not meat balls

50g pine nuts 

400g tin chickpeas drained

50g rolled oats

200g carrot, peeled and grated

10g fresh ginger grated

Herbs frsh or dried

2 tbsp sundried tomatoes removed from oil

3 cloves garlic crushed 

1 egg beaten 

1 tsp turmeric 

1/2 tsp ras el hanout 

1tsp paprika 

1 tsp dried mixed herbs

1 tsp Maldon salt

2tsp oil from the sundried 

1 tbsp sesame seeds 

1. Preheat oven to 180c (use halogen)

2. Line a baking sheet with grease proof paper.

3. Put the chickpeas, herbs, garlic, sundried tomatoes in the food processor and blitz until combined but still with plenty of texture.

4. Mix with the rest of the ingredients into a dough. If the mixture is too wet, add more wheat germ.

5. Take lumps of the mixture and roll into walnut sized balls.

6. Put the balls on the baking sheet and brush them with some of the oil from the tomatoes 

and bake for around 25 mins, turning them over half way through.

7. Serve with pasta and tomato sauce.

Carrot and coriander soup

1 large leek, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped (or more onion if you don't have leek)

1 medium onion, peeled and roughly chopped

750g carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

1 tsp Pataks madras curry paste

1 heaped tsp ground coriander

olive oil

1.2 l vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

salt and pepper

1. In a pressure cooker, saute the onion and leek in a glug of olive oil until it is softened and just starting to brown.
2. Stir in the curry paste and coriander. You can also add freshly grated ginger (but I didn't have any).
3. Throw in the carrots, give it all a good stir, then pour over the stock.
4. Put in the bayleaf, season with salt and pepper (be careful if you're using salted stock).
5. Bring up to pressure and cook for about 8 minutes once at full pressure. If you don't have a pressure cooker, cook in a large pan for as long as it takes to soften the carrots completely.
6. Leave to come down from pressure, then puree the soup (use a hand blender or failing that smoosh it with a masher).
7. Check the seasoning and serve with some chopped fresh coriander sprinkled on the top, and maybe a swirl of single cream if you're so inclined.

Ethiopian Red Lentil Curry (Misir Wot)

See my post on Mumrousse Ethiopian Red Lentil Curry This is a delicious way of cooking that veggie stand-by, red lentils - I think it's even nicer than Dhal.

Peanut, sweet potato and tofu stew

A recipe for a West African chicken peanut stew appeared in my news feed today. I liked the sound of the curry-like ingredients and the idea of adding peanut butter, but wanted a veggie option. I looked up some alternative recipes, substituted some firm silken tofu and chunks of sweet potato and threw in some red split lentils for good measure. Totally inauthentic, probably unrecognisable as a West African stew, it was nonetheless very tasty, and what's more, vegan.

It tasted much nicer than it looks!

 1 onion, chopped
1 big clove garlic, minced
2cm piece of fresh ginger, grated
glug of olive oil
shake each of: ground cumin, turmeric, paprika, cayenne pepper
a vegetable stock cube (I used Knorr)
About 500ml boiling water - more if it starts to stick
350g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into small chunks
small courgette, chopped into small chunks
about 12 brussels sprouts, trimmed and washed
75g red split lentils
2 heaped tbsp crunchy peanut butter
200g firm silken tofu, cubed

1. Gently saute the onion, garlic and ginger in some olive oil.
2. Add the spices and saute for a minute or two
3. Throw in the veg, the lentils, the stock cube and the water and give it all a good stir.
4. Stir in the peanut butter
5. Bring back to the boil, and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the sweet potato and brussels are cooked but not too mushy and the red lentils are cooked. Add more water if it gets a bit too dry and starts to stick. I left it a bit too long, as I mistook chunks of peanut for underdone lentils. Stir in the tofu and heat for 2 or 3 minutes more, taking care not to mush up the tofu too much.
6. Serve as is, or with rice.

Veggie crumble

Selection of seasonal veggies eg leeks, aubergines, courgettes, carrots

Tin Tomatoes 

Garlic 

Spices or herbs according to what you feel like, eg curry, Italian...

6oz red lentils

Crumble topping:

3oz whole meal flour

2oz Marg

3oz porridge 

2tbsp oil

Fry veggies in olive oil until browned, the add other ingredients and cook until lentils are just done. 

Meanwhile rub the Marg into the flour, then stir in the oats and oil.

Transfer to a baking dish and pour the crumble mixture over. Bak at 200 for around 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

About 1kg sweet potato 

About 600g plain flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

2 sage leaves

1/2 tsp smoked paprika

1 egg, beaten

Roast the sweet potatoes in their skins (pricking them all over first) at 200c for around 50 mins. When cool enough to handle peel them and mash or puree the flesh. You should end up with around 750g mashed sweet potato. Season with the salt, garlic powder and paprika and stir in the finely chopped sage leaves. 

Stir in the beaten egg. Then add around 250g of the flour, beating it into the potato until combined. Gradually add more of the flour, until you have a smooth dough that isn't too sticky. Flour the work surface. You should be able to roll it into a sausage shape without it sticking to your hands too much.

Roll pieces of the dough into sausage shapes, around 2cm diameter. Then cut the sausages into diamonds or squares. Press each one with a fork to make indentations.

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil. When boiling quite fiercely, drop the gnocchi in (in batches if you have too many) and cook them until they float to the surface. This will take around 3 minutes. Fish them out with a slotted spoon.

Serve with a garlicky tomato sauce, or sage butter, and some grated cheese and freshly ground black pepper.