Super Quick Mushroom Curry

I love a quick curry don’t you?  All you need for a winters’ night.  Mushrooms are ideal because they don’t take long to cook, but you can always use other vegetables : just take note of how long they need to cook properly before adding to the sauce …and vary cooking times accordingly. Think this would also be good with firm sautéed tofu? No?

I think this combination is very tasty though ….

Using classic ingredients and one of the classic cooking methods too…. (to make a simple onion paste – you will need a blender)

SUPER QUICK MUSHROOM CURRY (serves 2)

Ingredients:

• 1 large onion (I used red onion) about 200gms. – roughly chopped
• 3cm. chunk of fresh ginger – peeled and chopped
• 4-5 large garlic cloves – peeled and roughly chopped
• 5-7 tbs. water
• 450 gms. mushrooms (I used large chestnut mushrooms)  – medium sliced (see pics.)
• 250 gms. tomatoes ( I used 2 large beef tomatoes – peeled and finely chopped (removing white pith)
• 2 good tsps. coriander seeds – freshly ground
• 1 good tsp. cumin seeds – freshly ground
• 1 tsp. garam masala powder
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric powder
• 20 black pepper corns
• 0.5 – 1 tsp. chilli powder (depends on your taste) – this curry is nice with some chilli heat but not a crazy amount!
• 1 tsp. salt (I use Himalayan)
• approx. 5 tbs. oil (I just use olive oil)
• 5 tbs. plant-based yogurt (I used coconut yogurt)
• 150 ml. water
• Handful of fresh coriander

slice the mushrooms

peel and finely chop tomatoes

saute mushrooms and set aside

add onion paste to pan

add tomatoes – yogurt – wate

add mushrooms and simmer gently

Method:

• Put all the spices, along with the salt and peppercorns in a grinder or pestle and mortar and grind until fine.
• Peel the tomatoes. To do this, incise a small cross at the top and the base of each tomato.  Place the tomatoes in a heat-resistant bowl, and then cover with boiling water.  Leave for 10 mins.  The skin will then slide off the tomato – (avoid burnt fingers!)  Discard tomato skin, and then finely chop tomatoes, removing central white pith.  Set the chopped tomatoes aside.
• Place the chopped onion, ginger, garlic and water in a blender and whizz until smooth.
• In a wide pan, add the oil, and place on a hot heat.  When the oil is hot, add the sliced mushrooms and saute for 5-8 mins. until softly golden.
• Remove the mushrooms to a plate, reduce the heat under the wide pan to medium, and then add the blended onion paste to the pan.
• When the onion paste is hot (no more than 2-3 mins simmer) add the ground spices.  Simmer for 30 secs. Stir to avoid burning.
• Add the yogurt, the chopped tomatoes and 150ml. water.
• Bring to a gentle simmer. Add the sautéed mushrooms.
• Stir gently to combine.  Taste and adjust flavours accordingly.
• Simmer for about 5 mins.

Serve immediately – scattered with chopped fresh coriander  – and accompanied by rice or flat breads!

 

Enjoy!

Peace

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शान्ति
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Pasta in a cream pea sauce.

This is one of the quickest and simplest recipes anyone could wish for.

I often think that any meal, vegan or otherwise, is all about the sauce.

So here’s a recipe for a vegan pasta sauce that is very versatile and supremely adaptable.

I’ve used frozen peas, but try steamed broccoli, or sautéed mushrooms, carrots cooked in vegan butter or blanched spinach.  Just replace the peas with about 200 gms. of another vegetable, cooked appropriately, and blended with the cream.

Flavourings may vary too: basil… paprika…nutmeg …to name but a few.

You could also use something else instead of the mushrooms…e.g. steamed asparagus, baby broad beans or just a handful of pitted olives.

It really is that easy… use what you have to hand. Italian style.

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Today I’ve used some fancy, gluten-free and very delicious, red lentil pasta that I happened upon, but any pasta will do, particularly penne or fusilli …..

I’m also in love with ‘Oatly’ at the moment : cream, crême frâiche and of course, milk.

All available in some UK supermarkets now.  Which is fab.

For this recipe I use the oat cream, but unsweetened soy cream will do just as well.

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PASTA IN A CREAM PEA SAUCE

with sautéed mushrooms

Serves 2

Ingredients:   

Italian Summer Vegetable and Flageolet Broth

‘Tis August…the silly season …and I’ve been away on high days and holidays …and taking a break from cooking …but not from eating 🍴… a girl’s always gotta eat! 😊

One of the places I visited was Brighton, a big seaside town on the southern coast of the UK…and I want to sing its praises as a vegan foodie heaven. 💚

Apart from lazing on the beach soaking up a little Vitamin D, and a trip to the theatre, I did very little in Brighton except eat. 😉 There’s so many vegan possibilities in Brighton to suit all budgets and tastes, I was overcome with an overwhelming desire to cram as many of them in as I could. 😏 So I did.  I stuck to what I like when I’m out and about – simple café and street food, but there are also some stunning looking vegan restaurants when you’re feeling in gourmet mood!

Many of the cafés are in a relatively small pedestrianised area called The Lanes where there are lots of little independent shops with a strong emphasis on vintage and unusual stuff from across the globe.  The only thing that deeply saddened me was several large piles of animal skins – being sold supposedly as ‘rugs’ …they seem to be everywhere at the moment???

😓

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I more or less lived in the Infinity Foods Cafe … I had an all day breakfast, scrambled tofu, rice and dal for lunch, peanut and maple cheesecake, AND lime and coconut cheesecake…… and  this glorious mezze …. not all in one sitting I hasten to add. 🙃

Vegan Mezze with gluten-free bread all for £9.00 …

I can’t tell you how much I relished this, after so many mediocre vegan options I’ve had to put up with when eating out… Brighton was simply a joy…and I made the most of it. Yay! 💚

Wild Cherry Vegan Ice Cream (with vegan cone)

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‘Infinity Foods’ also has a shop, where I bought a range of vegan cheeses (including vegan parmesan – used in the recipe below), and the best gluten-free bread I’ve ever tasted which is baked fresh daily…..and a lot more besides…

…and no I’m not being paid to write this …but I’m very happy to recommend them 💕

And there’s a vegan festival in Brighton in September….worth a visit ….

🍃

Back home the courgettes in my vegetable garden have been going insane, and lots of my long pod beans have reached flageolet stage, and the fact is, it’s actually really nice to come back to some home-cooking in a simple form, with this summer vegetable and flageolet broth, using mainly homegrown veg. and simple Italian flavourings.  (You can easily find all these ingredients in the shops).

There is something deeply comforting about a bowl of vegetables and beans… perfectly flavoured…..  that cannot be denied!

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ITALIAN SUMMER VEGETABLE AND FLAGEOLET BROTH

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Crispy Tofu + Warm Noodle and Spring Vegetable Salad + Ginger and Tahini Dressing.

This is a recipe based on the delicious, tender, sweetness of young fresh carrots, using some of my favourite Asian flavours…. naturally…!

Haven’t had the chance to do much cooking lately….because, right now, it’s all about the growing!  I have a big allotment plot dedicated to vegetable growing, near the centre of town, and with a chilly UK spring finally giving way to a summer beginning with a bit of a heat wave there’s a lot to do on the growing front!

 I grow carrots in a big bin to avoid carrot fly, and a couple of days ago I thinned out a big bunch of young carrots, because that way the others have a chance to get bigger!  But, no worries if you don’t grow your own, because you can buy nice, young, thin carrots in the shops at this time of year…

Bar the marinading of the tofu, this is a quick meal to put together…

….here’s how it goes…

PS: The different aspects of this dish require a bit of organisation and timing to bring everything together.  But not rocket science 😉

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CRISPY TOFU WITH A WARM NOODLE AND SPRING VEGETABLE SALAD AND A GINGER AND TAHINI DRESSING

for 4

Ingredients:

Okonomiyaki. Japanese Pizza.

I had been wondering what to do with the cabbage in my veggie basket.  I was thinking of stuffed cabbage leaves… because prior to that I’d been considering the grape vine that is now leaping into life over my garden shed and thinking that it would be nice to try stuffed vine leaves from scratch when the leaves get bigger….and that was but a short jump to cabbage leaves 😉  ….idle lateral thinking really…

Then I found a few recipes for stuffed cabbage leaves and they all looked a bit mid-winterish… and not what I fancied…so I carried on searching.  Until I came across Okonomiyaki.  I gather that Okonomi means ‘as you like it’ and Yaki means cooked.

You can put all sorts of things into it but one of the favoured ingredients is cabbage.

Now I think cabbage is a pretty under-rated vegetable.  For many of us, that probably dates back to the days when a pile of wet, limp, soggy, yellowy-green leaves appeared on our plate accompanied by the instruction to ‘eat your greens’.  Over-cooked boiled cabbage is rarely attractive…..

But there are lots of great recipes that put cabbages in a very different light. From curries to ribbons of lightly-steamed spring greens drizzled with vegan-butter and a pinch of salt, and from crunchy coleslaw to crispy kale, there’s a myriad of ways to make cabbage shine.  And here’s another one.  Because cabbage is a beautiful thing.

Okonomiyaki, also known as Japanese Pizza or Japanese Pancake is really more of a frittata.  Traditionally, it includes eggs, so I’ve taken a bit of liberty to veganise it: using chickpea flour, chia seeds and black salt.

There is also a special Okonomiyaki Flour that includes milled yam.  I’ve used chickpea flour and mashed sweet potato……

But I’m pleased with the results.  I shall be returning to Okonomiyaki again and again….

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OKONOMIYAKI

for 4

Ingredients:

Garlicky Herby Hasselback Potatoes.

A Swedish invention, apparently a speciality in a Stockholm Restaurant in an area called Hasselbacken… and just a lovely way to spruce up an everyday baked potato!

They only take a few minutes to do …. with a sharp knife and a steady hand …. and they’re definitely worth it for all that extra crispiness on the outside and lovely mellow potato-ness on the inside … 🙂

You can of course omit the herby garlicky bit and have them plain with salt and pepper, or else scatter with grated vegan cheese for the final 10 mins. of cooking …or chopped spring onions might be nice…

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GARLICKY HERBY HASSELBACK POTATOES

Ingredients:

Thai Hot Noodle and Vegetable Broth

A quick delicious supper for 2.

Here’s a recipe for a hot, sharp, flavourful, fresh vegetable and noodle broth with Thai flavours.

The broth is flavoured initially with a chilli and garlic paste…and miso is added at the end to give it real depth.

Can be easily adapted to different vegetables, noodles or rice….

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THAI HOT NOODLE AND VEGETABLE BROTH

ample for 2

Ingredients:

Spaghetti con una crema di Broccoli

Spaghetti, Broccoli and Peas in a Broccoli Sauce.

Light, fresh, mellow, earthy, full of the flavours of Italy…. Garlic, Basil, Pepper and Sage.  When I conceived of this dish, I expected to add soy or oat cream to the sauce, but I think using all the broccoli stalks added a creaminess to the sauce that needed nothing extra.  So.. no cream… just creaminess….!

Let me know what you think?

I love the idea of vegetables in a sauce using the same vegetable…I’ve done it before with peas, and also with cauliflower.  It works somehow…..

A word for protein… not only does broccoli contain protein but also immune strengthening minerals and powerful anti-oxidants.  To complete the protein picture of this dish I added 3 tsps. of hemp powder, which contains all the amino-acids needed.  It enhances the mellow earthiness of the broccoli and the sage… and is abundantly healthy!

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SPAGHETTI CON UNA CREMA DI BROCCOLI

for 3-4

Ingredients:

Chickpea and Mushroom Curry with a Roasted Pepper and Tomato Sauce.

It’s always interesting to see how many ways there are to use the same ingredients to create different dishes.

The other day I made a roasted pepper chickpea hummus…..

(click image for hummus recipe link)

……and here’s another great way to use chickpeas and peppers: in a quick wok curry…..

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The heat in this curry comes from the roasted pepper…but feel free to add a teaspoon or two of chilli powder if you like a hotter spicy curry….

…hope you like this quick and easy supper…

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chickpea and mushroom curry

CHICKPEA AND MUSHROOM CURRY IN A ROASTED PEPPER AND TOMATO SAUCE

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Swiss Rosti + Chicory Orange Salad with a Mustard Dressing

 Rosti is a Swiss dish, (definitely germanic swiss rather than latin swiss…)  and is a crispy potato pancake which is often eaten for breakfast.  It’s a very simple recipe, but I think there’s an art to getting it just right: golden and crispy on the outside, and soft and melty in the middle.

I’ve served it here with a salad of chicory and orange with a strong mustard dressing  … bitter, tangy and sharp flavours cutting through the mellow oily warmth of the pancake..

I hope you enjoy this lovely mix of contrasting flavours.

potato rosti and orange and chicory salad

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SWISS POTATO ROSTI + CHICORY AND ORANGE SALAD WITH A MUSTARD AND SPRING ONION DRESSING

for 2

Ingredients: