Sweet Root Vegetable Stew

This recipe is adapted from Nigella's Feast, my favourite book after How to be a Domestic Goddess and is a perfect way to cook all the wonderfully sweet winter root vegetables that are about now, the spicy stew goes perfectly with the starchy sweetness of the veggies. I added chickpeas because I love them and they add a bit more oomph, but you could easily subsitute 250g red lentils instead for a thicker stew. Either way this is warming winter food at its best, as usual make lots and eat leftovers the next day or freeze for a treat at a later date.

Toasted almonds and chopped coriander go perfectly, but pine nuts are delicious too as is parsley and I'm guessing pomegranate seeds would be great as well as pretty. Serve in a large bowl, pile the stew onto a big mound of couscous and sprinkle the flaked almonds and coriander on top. A dollop of yoghurt is a must.

Ingredients

serves 4

2 onions
2 carrots
3 cloves garlic
1 small red chilli
600g assorted root vegetables (carrot, swede, parsnip, pumpkin, squash, celeriac)
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp bouillon 9vegetable stock powder.
150g dried apricots, chopped
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 cans chickpeas, drained
To serve:
200g couscous
½ lemon
3tbsp olive oil
1tsp salt
plenty of yoghurt
50g flaked almonds or pine nuts, toasted
1 small bunch (about 30g) chopped coriander or parsley

Heat a generous glug of oil in a large frying pan.
Peel the onions, garlic and carrots, chop roughly and blend in food processor with the chilli to a fine mush. Tip into the pan and fry gently.
Chop your remaining root vegetable selection roughly and add to the pan as you go along, giving it a quick stir now and then. Sprinkle over the spices and stir to coat the softened vegetables.
Now add the chickpeas and chopped tomatoes along with an extra canful of water.
Bring to the boil and leave to simmer for about 45mins.
Whilst the stew is cooking, boil the kettle and pour the couscous into a large bowl, sprinkle over the salt and give it a quick stir. Pour over 200ml boiling water, cover with a plate and leave to stand for 5mins. Once the couscous has absorbed all the water, fluff it up with a fork, squeeze over the lemon juice, pour in the oil and stir well.

Read more...

Thai Curry

I've been thinking of making a thai curry for ages, and obviously, I know I should make my own as all it is is a bit of chopping and blending, plus it tastes so much better. But, I gave in and bought a ready made version which was recommended to me and I have to say its pretty good, a reassuringly short list of ingredients.

The beauty of a thai curry is that you can pretty much use whichever vegetables you like - mushrooms, carrots, courgettes, greens, peppers, sweet potatoes, corn, butternut squash. Chickpeas are always a welcome addition too, but then again, I think chickpeas are a welcome addition to most things.

To make this curry, fry a tablespoon of the paste for a few minutes until you can smell all the aromatic ingredients, I added some chopped onions, carrots cut into thin strips and sliced runner beans and coated them in the paste. Add a can of drained chickpeas, stir and add ½ can coconut and 250ml stock. bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes. I also like to add some courgette, slice of the skin on all four sides, and cut into cubes, add these at the end. Then all you need is a good squeeze of lime juice, serve over rice with lots of coriander.

Obviously these are all vague ingredients, to make enough for 4, I would use 2 tablespoons of paste, and enough vegetables for 4, then add a can of cocount milk and a canful of stock. It all depends how rich you like it, I always like to use equal quantities of coconut milk and stock, otherwise it can be quite heavy, add more liquid if you want it soupier, which is good with noodles.

Now I have big pot of the paste, I'm trying to think of different uses, next on my list is this recipe for Asian Potato Cakes. I'll keep you posted... Read more...

Broad Bean Pilaf

I made this with fresh broad beans, but they are another vegetable like the pea that freeze well, so this is just as good with frozen broad beans. I had this with the Mackerel Salad below, but this would be good with curry too.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1tsp cumin seeds
1tsp ground coriander
300g broad beans
1 mugful basmati rice
2 mugfuls stock
50g toasted flaked almonds

Fry the onion in a little oil until soft. Add the garlic, cumin and coriander, fry for 1min. Add the broad beans and rice, stir to coat in the spices. Add the stock, bring to the boil, cover and simmer gently for 10mins until the stock is absorbed. Turn of the heat, cover and leave to stand for 10mins. Sprinkle over the flaked almonds to serve. Read more...

Sausage and Lentil Casserole

This is a classic from university when 5 of us used to take it in turns to cook for each other on a weekly rota. This is a rich, intense stew, lovely little puy lentils cooked in a red wine and tomato sauce with sausages. The lentils can easily be substituted for other beans, cannelini, butter, flagelot etc.The beauty is, you use cheap as chips ingredients to bulk out the more expensive sausages. (Make sure you buy good quality sausages)

Make up lots of this as it will improve the next day as well as freezing well should there be any left over. Have it with mashed potato, crusty bread, pasta, rice, couscous. My friend Jen came up with this and used to cut up potatoes into little cubes and roast them with rosemary. Possibly the best bit...

Ingredients

Seves 4

8 sausages, about 450g, sliced
2 onions, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
A couple of sprigs of rosemary
a strip orange zest
½ glass red wine
450g puy lentils
2 cans chopped tomatoes

• Heat a little oil in a large heavy based saucepan, fry the sausages on a high heat until they begin to brown, they don't need to be cooked through, just begininning to colour and singed brown in places.
• Remove the sausages, and fry the onions in the same saucepan on a low heat until softened, add the garlic, rosemary and orange zest and fry for a few mins more.
• Pour in the wine, turn the heat up and allow it to bubble until half has evaporated off.
• Add the lentils and sausages back to the pan, stir thoroughly and add the tomatoes. bring to the boil and simmer gently for 20-30mins until the lentils are cooked through, top up with water or stock as necessary.

Read more...

The Loveliest Daal

A lovely bowl of soft comforting daal. Eat with rice and naan. Counts as one of your 5-a-day too. Its worth making loads of this as it lasts really well and freezes superbly.

Ingredients
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
small piece ginger, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
½ tsp turmeric
2tsp ground coriander
2tsp ground cumin
1tbsp curry powder
500g daal
4tbsp creamed coconut
1½tsp sugar
1tsp salt
1litre vegetable stock

Cook the onions in a little oil for 5mins, then add the garlic and chilli and cook for a further few mins. Next add the spices, allow to sizzle a bit and add your lentils. Stir to make sure the spicy mixture coats the daal, add the creamed coconut, salt, sugar and stock. Simmer gently for 30mins at least... its hard to say how long it will takes, it all depends on the daal you use. I didn't soak my lentils and they took about 45mins. Just keep an eye on them and add extra water as necessary. Remember that they will continue to absorb water as they cook so you probably want to end up with a slightly runny sauce. Read more...

Spaghetti Bolognese

This makes no claims to authenticity at all, besides spaghetti bolognese is hardly authentic Italian fare. This is unashamedly retro, complete with grated cheddar on top and perhaps one of those frozen garlic bread sticks on the side?

Oh yes, naturally, my version doesn't have any meat either, but I've never let that hold me back. There's a knack to using vegetarian mince, namely throw as much flavour at it as possible and you should be ok. I used Quorn mince, which probably has the best texture of the veggie minces out there, but the dried stuff you can get for about 50p is not too bad either, especially if you're using it in a lasagne where all that cheese means the mince isn't so important. If you want to be completely unorthodox, my friend always puts a can of kidney beans in with her mince too, its adds a bit more texture and also ups the health quota. I also used passata, but only because I have a bit of a thing about the chunks of tomatoes in chopped tomatoes, but I won't pass that onto you.

It goes without saying that this freezes superbly, so cook 2/3 times as much as you need and freeze in handy individual portions so you can just take one out of the freezer in the morning and have it for your tea!

Spaghetti Bolognese
Serves 3-4

2 onions, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced finely
2 red chillis, chopped finely
300g veggie mince
1 can kidney beans, drained
2 cans chopped tomatoes
½ glass red wine
1tbsp balsamic vinegar
2tsp bouillon powder
2 bay leaves

Fry the onion, pepper, garlic and chilli slowly until completely soft and aromatic. Add in the mince and beans, stir to completely coat in the oniony juices. Add the wine, turn up the heat and allow to bubble for a few mins, add in the rest of the ingredients and a little water if necessary. Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20mins until you have a thick sauce. Season to taste and serve however you like! Read more...

Sweet Vegetable Tagine

This is a step up from the ubiquitous vegetable tagines, there is a real depth of flavour here. You can't really go wrong topping this pine nuts and coriander, they really counteract the sweetness of the tagine, plus I love pine nuts...Anything you can eat with bulghar wheat yoghurt is always a winner for me too.

It comes from the Ottolenghi column in the Guardian on Saturday which is fab, full of new and exciting veggie recipes. My friend always complains that there are too many ingredients in his recipes, which may be true, but I usually take a creative spin on them, i.e. use what ingredients I do have and not worry about the others. What follows is my version...

Sweet Vegetable Tagine

serves 4

1 onion, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 small butternut squach cut into small pieces
2 parsnips cut into small cubes
2 carrots cut into small cubes
1 bayleaf
3 cardamom pods
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
½ tsp ground turmeric
Small pinch smoked paprika
1tsp cinnamon
½ tbsp honey
700ml vegetable stock
250g dried apricots, sliced
100g pine nuts
1 bunch coriander chopped

Fry the onions in a little oil until soft, add the squash, parsnip, carrot and chilli, fry for a few mins. Now add the spices and honey, make sure everything is evenly coated in the spices. Add the stock and simmer gently for 10mins, add the apricots and simmer until everything is well cooked. Serve with bulghar wheat, sprinkled with toasted pine nuts and chopped coriander Read more...

Mushroom Stroganoff

When I'm not craving cheese and carbs, I usually want some sort of stew with a rich sauce you can pour over mashed potato or couscous to soak up all the juices, winter comfort food. This mushroom stroganoff dish is one such dish, flavoured with sherry and paprika.

This looks like a lot of mushroom but believe me they cook down a lot, to my disappointment when making this. A mixture of mushrooms is best, the more wild mushrooms you use, the more luxurious it is, in the absence of wild mushrooms, I made mine with chestnut and it tasted just fine.

I also had it with Bulgar wheat, partly in an effort to be more healthy, but also because I prefer the nutty grain to cous cous. You basically soak it like cous cous, but for a lot longer (30mins), make sure you don't add too much water as it can become a bit slimy if all the water isn't absorbed.

Ingredients
750g mushrooms, sliced
1 onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 chilli, finely chopped
1 glass white wine
½ tbsp paprika
½ small tub soured cream
½ bunch chopped parsley

Fy the onions in a little oil soft, add the mushrooms, leave to cook down, stirring occasionally. Add the paprika, fry for a few mins, then add the sherry. Let it bubble away until most of the alcohol has evaporated. Take the pan off the heat, when you're ready to serve, stir in the soured cream and season to taste. Sprinkle with parsley. Read more...

Noodle Soup

This is one of those spicy, warming, comforting soups you can get in noodle bars that inevitably get slurped all over your front. It is actually an incredibly fast and easy recipe and you end up with a wonderfully tasty soup. I make this a variation on salad, you can pack it full of vegetables and the delicious broth not only makes everything taste good, it fills you up too. You can have it with or without noodles, I find its easier to cook the noodles separately and then ladle the soup over otherwise everything gets all tangled up.

Ingredients

Serves 2
500g Selection of vegetables cut into equal sized pieces (e.g. mushroom slices, carrot and courgette batons, pak choy, finely sliced)
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 chillis, finely chopped
1tbsp grated ginger
1tbsp miso paste
600ml vegetable stock
200g cooked noodles
Coriander to serve

Fry the vegetables for a minute or two in a little oil. Meanwhile dissolve the miso paste in the stock and pour over the vegetables. Bring to the boil, turn down to a simmer and add the garlic, ginger and chilli, simmer for a few mins until the flavours have infused. Allow to cool a little and pour over the waiting noodles, sprinkle with coriander. Simple as that! Read more...

Fish Stew

I've only just started eating fish, I gave up after reading one too many depressing articles on over-fishing. I'm dipping my toe in the water again, as it were, as I realised I could eat fish every so often as a treat as long as it is well sourced. Rules that I work by are I don't buy tuna or cod, I avoid farmed fish, I try to buy fish caught in the UK and preferably line caught. Fish online have a fantastic website with a really useful guide on the fish to eat and the fish to avoid.

Preaching over, we made this stew as a bit of fishy treat. Its based on a wonderful recipe by Nigel Slater and is sort of a cheats bouillabaisse. The idea is to start by making a fragrant tomato broth, that I've actually eaten on its own as a sauce for pasta, then gently cook your fish in the liquor, sprinkle with parsley and enjoy. Its good to have a mixture of white meaty fish and mussels, clams and prawns. Buy whatever is sustainable and looks good, most combinations work well. Oh yes and serve with plenty of bread and butter to mop up the juices, we had Wholemeal soda bread.

Quick Fish Stew

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
6 anchovy cloves, sliced
2 red chillis, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
A couple strips of orange peel
2 bay leaves
1 glass white wine
2 cans chopped tomatoes
500ml vegetable stock
1.5kg assorted fish (plus some mussels or clams a handful per person)
1 bunch chopped parsley

Cook the anchovies, chilli and garlic slowly in a generous slug of olive oil until soft, add the bay and orange and cook for a few mins to release the aromatic orange oil. Add the white wine and let the alcohol bubble off for a few mins. Now add the chopped tomatoes. (If i were going to eat this sauce with pasta, I'd stop here and simmer for about 20mins and maybe throw in a few capers before serving). Add the stock and simmer for about 30mins until all the flavours have melded, carefully drop your fish in and simmer until the fish turns opaque, add the clams and mussels, cover and cook until they open. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Read more...