The teenager was on dinner and the contents of the fridge were looking grim. He managed to scrape together a reasonable selection of vegetables; potato, peas, beans and carrots. With a bit of magic he had the house smelling amazing, and had created a really tasty, nutritious curry for us all.

Again, more a suggestion than a recipe. Any vegetables could be substituted; kumara would be great, as would chickpeas, mushrooms or spinach. He used a korma paste but any curry paste would work.

Ingredients: 

1 tablespoon cooking oil

1/2 onion

3 cloves garlic

1 potato

3 tablespoons curry paste (from a jar)

1 carrot

3/4 cup frozen beans

3/4 cup frozen peas

3/4 cup vegetable stock

3/4 cup coconut cream (about half a tin)

 

Method:

Heat oil in a pan. Cook the onion, garlic and potato until lightly browned. Add the curry paste and cook, stirring until fragrant.  Add the beans and carrots and cook for 2-3 more minutes. Put the peas, stock, and coconut cream in and reduce to a simmer. Cook with the lid on until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes. Serve with steamed rice and a dollop of coconut yogurt.

This is less a recipe and more a suggestion, based On Jamie Oliver’s Reverse Puff Pastry Pizza recipe. It’s a great way to use up any vegetables you might have in your fridge and is very forgiving!

Ingredients:

About 3 cups vegetables, roughly chopped. Good choices would be: courgette, eggplant, mushroom, cherry tomatoes, asparagus, capsicum, red onion, sun-dried tomatoes…

2 tablespoons fresh herbs; oregano, thyme or parsley would all be good. If you don’t have any herbs, that’s OK

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 sheet puff pastry

1/4 block feta cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper

Any other toppings that take your fancy

Method:

Preheat oven to 180. Combine all the chopped vegetables and the chopped herbs and put into a small roasting dish or casserole dish. Drizzle over olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 45 minutes until soft and golden. Turn a couple of times while cooking.

Remove the dish from the oven and drape the pastry sheet over the vegetables. You can tuck the edges in a bit. Bake for another 20 minutes or so until the pastry is golden and puffy. Turn over onto a large board and remove the tart from the dish.

Sprinkle over any toppings you have chosen; crumbled feta, toasted pine nuts, olives, more olive oil, balsamic glaze, fresh basil etc

Serve with a fresh salad or some steamed green vegetables. Beautiful!

I’ve included a similar recipe on the blog in the past, but I’m sharing this one inspired by Suzy at The Mediterranean Dish. 

 

Method:

Slice the onion into rings, and cook slowly in 2 tablespoons oil for up to 15 minutes until crispy.

This traditional Italian soup literally means ‘reboiled’. It is made in large quantities with lots of fresh vegetables, and boiled up again the following day, when it usually tastes even better!

When we got the news that our country was going into lock down for at least 4 weeks, this is what I chose to make my family. It is comfort food at its best.

Ingredients:

1 T olive oil

2 sticks celery, chopped

1 large carrot, chopped

1 small red onion, chopped

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1/4 cup parsley

1 tin tomatoes

1 cup dried cannellini beans, soaked and cooked, or 2 tins

1 potato, diced

2 zucchini, chopped

1/4  cabbage

200 grams green beans

4 cups chicken/vegetable stock

salt and pepper

Loaf of wholemeal bread to serve

 

Method:

Heat oil in a large pot over low heat and add celery, carrot, onion, garlic and parsley. Cook for about 10 minutes or until onions are soft then add the tinned tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper.

Blend half the cannellini beans until smooth-you may need to add a little water. Add to the pot with all the other vegetables (including the other half of the cannellini beans) and the stock, and boil on a low heat for 30-40 minutes until everything is tender.

To serve, place a slice of bread in the bottom of the bowl, ladle the hot soup over it, and finish with a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper.

Even better the next day.