Category Archives: Vegetables

Vegetable Samosas

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VEGETABLE SAMOSAS

These vegetables samosas use shop-bought empanadilla pastry that you can buy in Spain. They are filled with potatoes, peas and onion and flavoured with Indian spices.

Vegetable Samosas

The samosas are a bit fiddly to make but once you’ve got the hang of them, you can prepare them quite quickly.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 packet of Buitoni (16 obleas de masa para empanadillas)
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 500 g potatoes, diced
  • 50 g frozen peas
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp ground fenugreek
  • ½ tsp chilli powder
  • 1 tsp garam masala

METHOD

  1. Bring the diced potato to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Drain.
  2. Heat some olive oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped onion until soft.
  3. Sprinkle over the spices and fry for 30 seconds or so.
  4. Add the frozen peas and stir well, heating through for another couple of minutes.
  5. Spoon in the cooked potato and salt and mix well, breaking down the potatoes with the back of the wooden spoon.
  6. It might be necessary to add a couple of tablespoons of water so that the mixture is not too dry.
  7. Open up the packet of empanadillas and arrange them on a tray. It’s a good idea not to remove them from the waxed paper. You can remove them from the paper just before cooking.
  8. Put a small spoon of potato mix onto each half of the empanadillas.
  9. Fold the empanadilla in half, rolling it between your fingers to spread out the filling. Imagine you are rolling a cigarette so use your fingers to press the filling towards to middle of the empanadillas and leave a space around the edge.
  10. Use the paper to foll each one in half.
  11. Gently peel back the waxed paper and use the tips of your three middle fingers to press the edges together.
  12. Use the prongs of a fork to gently press down and seal the edges .
  13. Brush each samosa with olive oil.
  14. Cook the samosas in the air fryer on 200ºC for 8 minutes, turning over half way through.

Veggie Cottage Pie

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VEGGIE COTTAGE PIE

This recipe for vegetarian cottage pie is adapted from Tom Kerridge’s version. I substituted normal potatoes for the sweet potato topping. This was the first time I had made it and it was absolutely delicious and I will definitely be cooking this again.

Veggie Cottage Pie

This is a vegetarian version of the classic shepherd’s pie.

 

INGREDIENTS

    • potatoes or sweet potatoes, cut into chunks and cooked until soft
    • 2 carrots, roughly chopped
    • 2 large onions, roughly chopped
    • 3 celery sticks, roughly chopped
    • 4 cloves of garlic, crushed
    • 100ml red wine
    • 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
    • 2 tbsp tomato puree
    • 200g baby mushrooms
    • 200g frozen peas
    • 1 cup of dried puy lentils (approximately 800g cooked), soaked and cooked until tender
    • 1 tsp English mustard
    • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
    • 100g cheddar
    • 1 tsp smoked paprika
    • 1 tablespoon flour
    • 1/2 – 1 cup water
    • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
    • 1 teaspoon dried thyme
    • extra virgin olive oil
    • salt and pepper
    • 1 vegetable stock cube
    • large knob of butter

METHOD

    1. Heat some olive oil in a large, deep pan.
    2. Meanwhile, pulse the onion, carrots and celery in a Magimix or food processor until finely chopped.
    3. Add the vegetables to the pan and fry gently until soft before adding the garlic.
    4. Add the oregano and thyme, tomato puree and red wine and stir well.
    5. Add the tinned tomatoes,vegetable stock and stir in the cooked lentils, seasoning with salt and pepper.
    6. Next add the tinned tomatoes and stock cube.
    7. Bring to the boil and then cover and reduce the heat to a simmer.
    8. Cook for 15-20 minutes.
    9. Sprinkle over the flour and pour in the water.
    10. Heat through to thicken, adding more water if necessary. The idea is to get a fairly loose consistency.
    11. Transfer the mixture to an oven-proof casserole dish.
    12. Mash the potato along with the butter, both mustards and a splash of milk.
    13. Spoon the mashed potato onto the cottage mixture.
    14. Use a spatula to spread and smooth out the potato and then a fork to make some swirling patterns.
    15. Sprinkle over the grated cheese, the smoked paprika and drizzle over some olive oil.
    16. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180ºC for 45 minutes.

Spinach Falafel

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SPINACH FALAFEL

I don’t normally use spinach when I make falafels but as we have got plenty of perpetual spinach at the moment, I thought it would be a good to add some to my normal falafel recipe. We tried them today and they worked well.

Spinach Falafel

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 cup dried chickpeas, soaked in water overnight and then drained
  • 2 teaspoons of cumin
  • 2 teaspoons ground coriander
  • 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
  • salt and pepper
  • olive oil
  • 30 large perpetual spinach leaves (or equivalent)
  • 1 small onion
  • 2 large cloves garlic
  • 2 tablespoons gram flour
  • juice of 1/2 lemon

METHOD

    1. Blend the chickpeas in a food processor.
    2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again to form a dough.
    3. Heat some oil in a frying pan.
    4. Form the falafel mixture into small falafels and fry for a couple of minutes on each side before turning.

 

 

Celery and Roquefort Soup

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Celery and Roquefort Soup

This soup is quick and easy to make.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 head of celery
  • 1.2 litres of vegetable stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • ground black pepper
  • 180g Roquefort or blue cheese
  • 1 jar chickpeas, drained (optional)

METHOD

  1. Wash the celery and cut in half.
  2. Put the celery into a pressure cooker.
  3. Add the vegetable stock and salt.
  4. Close the pressure cooker and bring up to pressure.
  5. Once it has reached pressure, turn down the heat and time 15 minutes.
  6. At the end of the cooking time, remove from the heat and leave to cool and release pressure.
  7. Add the blue cheese and blend with a stick blender.
  8. Serve.

NOTES

If you want a more substantial soup, add a jar of chickpeas and heat through. Otherwise it can be served with bread,.

Tzatziki Cucumber Salad

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TSATSIKI CUCUMBER SALAD

This Greek salad is made with grated cucumber and dressed with Greek plain yoghurt, minced garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and chopped mint.

Tzatziki

If you grow your own cucumbers, this is a great recipe for the summer if you have an overabundance.

 

INGREDIENTS

  • coarsely grated cucumber
  • 120g plain Greek yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, pressed
  • a handful of finely chopped mint
  • 1 teaspoon salt

METHOD

  1. Put the grated cucumber in a colander and sprinkle with salt.
  2. Mix well with your hands, pressing to release as much liquid as possible.
  3. Cover with a small plate and place a heavy object on the plate.
  4. Leave a for about an hour and then squeeze again with your hands to remove any liquid.
  5. Mix the remaining ingredients in a bowl
  6. Combine the cucumber with the sauce and check for seasoning.
  7. Chill in the fridge beforehand.