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.

 

 

Every year I plant a couple of courgette plants in my garden, and every year I forget quite how prolific they are! So this week when I had 5 needing to be used up, I created this super-easy throw together meal of courgette pancakes with Asian dipping sauce. Even the non-courgette fan teenager enjoyed them!

For the pancakes:

4-5 medium courgettes, grated

1 egg

1 cup flour (I used ordinary, but gluten-free or chickpea flour would work really well here)

Big bunch of chives, chopped

2 spring onions, chopped

Pinch salt and pepper

1 cup soda water

1 T coconut oil

Mix all the ingredients together until you have a thick pancake batter. Heat oil in a non-stick pan, and spread 1/4 of the mixture over the bottom of the pan. Cook until the underneath is set, then slide it out onto a plate and invert it back into the pan to cook the other side.

Repeat 3 more times with the remaining batter. Cut into wedges and serve with dipping sauce.

For the sauce:

2 T light soy sauce

2 T rice wine vinegar

1 t sesame oil

1 small fresh chilli, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

Mix all the sauce ingredients together and serve in a small dipping bowl.

 

 

A storm had rolled in (despite it being summer!) and we were stuck inside all day while the thunder rolled outside. Days like this seem like the perfect opportunity to hunker down with a rich, satsifying meal, so I thought I’d give a vegan Wellington a try, having heard about local restaurants doing delicious versions. This one, based on a recipe by Vegan Huggs, has a few steps and took about 45 minutes to prepare, but was not difficult and was certainly worth the effort! I’ve served it here with a summery salad of greens, asparagus, avocado, strawberries and pinenuts.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons ground flax meal

2 tablespoons olive oil

Half a medium onion , diced

2 small carrots , diced small

3-4 cloves garlic , minced or crushed

1 handful fresh thyme finely chopped

6 fresh sage leaves finely chopped

2 sprigs fresh rosemary finely chopped

225 g mushrooms , grated

1.5 tablespoons soy sauce

400 grams chickpeas (or 1 tin, drained)

1/2 cup ground walnuts

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1.5 tablespoons worchestershire sauce

1/2 teaspoon teaspoon salt

Fresh cracked pepper , to taste

1 sheet vegan puff pastry 

1 tablespoon vegan butter , melted

 

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Mix the flaxseed with 5 tablespoons water and set aside to make a ‘flax egg’.

Saute the carrots and onions until soft, add the garlic and herbs and saute for another 2 minutes, then add the soy sauce and turn off the heat.

Mash the chickpeas roughly with a potato masher, then add to the sauteed vegetables with the rest of the ingredients including the flax egg (except the pastry and vegan butter). Mix well and form into a loaf with your hands.

Roll the pastry out slightly, then arrange the filling down the middle, lengthways. Fold the sides up to meet in the middle, then bring the ends up to form a parcel.

Turn over and place on an oven tray and baste with melted vegan butter. Score diagonal lines in the top for extra effect.

Bake at 200 degrees for 20-30 minutes. Allow a few minutes to rest before slicing and serving.

A few weeks ago I had the privilege of catering a weekend yoga retreat for 25 hungry, hardworking yogis. My philosophy of simple, plant-based food made with love underpinned the event, and I was so pleased to be able to provide an enjoyable experience and nourishment on many levels. My famous creamy dhal recipe even made an appearance one night, along with colourful salads, homemade hummus, sourdough, soup, and a little bit of baking, because we all need a bit of sweetness every now and then.

How great is this online calculator? Just punch in your distance and goal time, and it will you tell you your ideal pace. Takes all the guesswork out of it!

https://www.polar.com/blog/running-pace-calculator/

I’m not quite sure how to categorise these little balls; they don’t contain dried fruit so I’m not going to call them bliss balls; but are creamy little balls of dough with caramel and maple flavours. They make a great afternoon pick-me-up, and are full of protein and healthy fats to keep you feeling full. They’re easily whipped in about 5 minutes too!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups almond meal

1/2 cup raw cashew pieces

1/3 cup oatbran

1/4 cup rice syrup

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/3 cup coconut oil, melted

2 teaspoons lucuma powder

1 teaspoon vanilla paste/essence

pinch salt

Optional:

Walnuts, pecans or cacao nibs

Cacao powder, desiccated coconut or lucuma powder for coating

 

Blend all the main ingredients in a high speed blender until smooth. Tip out, and if desired mix through one of the optional fillings. Roll into walnut sized balls, and either refrigerate as is or roll in an optional coating then refrigerate.

Makes 10-12 balls

So, pulled pork is the current darling of the culinary world, and it always looks and smells soooo good. But I know eating it won’t make me feel good. This ‘pulled pork’ burger made from jackfruit takes care of any carnivorous FOMO, tastes damn good, and packs a good vegetable punch. Make it; you won’t be diappointed! Makes 2 big burgers.

For the ‘pulled pork’:

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 Tablespoon olive oil

1 tin jackfruit in brine

1/2 tin chopped tomatoes

1/2 cup vegan BBQ sauce (I love Baxters)

1 teaspoon liquid smoke

 

For the rest of the burger:

1/2 cup cabbage, thinly sliced

1/4 cup grated carrot

2 tablespoons vegan aioli

2 iceberg lettuce leaves

2-4 slices vegan cheese

1 gherkin, sliced

2 burger buns

 

To make the ‘pulled pork’, drain and rinse the jackfruit. Pull apart with fingers or a fork until it is well shredded. Set aside. Cook chopped onion in olive oil until soft, then add the shredded jackfruit. Stir in the tomatoes and burger sauce, stir and simmer for 20 minutes. You will need to add some water as it dries out.

To prepare the rest of the ingredients, mix the sliced cabbage, grated carrot and aoili to make a simple coleslaw.

Toast the burger bun, layer the coleslaw, lettuce, gherkin, ‘pork’ and cheese. Squash down a little so you can wrap your mouth around it. Be prepared to get messy!

 

 

 

There’s a slice that sits in cafe cabinets and calls to me. You know the one; coffee and walnut slice made with crushed biscuits and condensed milk. I love the contrast of the gooey texture and the crunch of the walnuts, with the bitter coffee flavour underlying it all. But I don’t love the sugar and dairy overload! This is my attempt at a coffee slice free from dairy, wheat and refined sugar. It may be less processed but make no mistake-it’s just as decadent as the original!

For the slice:

1 cup rolled oats

10-12 dates

2 tablespoons coconut sugar

1 tablespoon espresso coffee grinds

3 tablespoons melted coconut oil

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1/2 cup peanut butter

1 cup walnut pieces

 

For the icing: 

2 tablespoons cacao butter

1 tablespoon coconut oil

2 tablespoons rice syrup

6 dates

1/2 teaspoon vanilla essence

1 tablespoon instant coffee

Coconut sugar to taste

2 tablespoons walnut pieces for garnish (optional)

 

To make the base, blend all the ingredients except the walnuts in a high speed or food processor until holding together. I added about a tablespoon of water to get a slightly wetter consistency. Stir through the walnuts and press into tin, then pop into the freezer to set while making the icing.

Melt the cacao butter and coconut oil together. Add to all the other icing ingredients and blend on a high speed for about a minute until smooth and glossy. Taste, and if not sweet enough, add a little bit of coconut sugar. Spread over the base and sprinkle over the extra walnut pieces (if using) as a garnish. Allow to set fully in the fridge before slicing.

Serve from the fridge.