Super Vegan SUPPERS - ideas for Vegan-uary and beyond!

Never has there been a better time to learn about and experience a plant-based lifestyle.

A lifestyle that's kind to you, to animals and to our beautiful planet.

Whatever you've either heard about Veganism or think about Veganism - perhaps: how hard it is, how boring it might be, how bland the food must be - FORGET IT!!!

Negative perceptions - are just that - PERCEPTIONS - because a lot of industries want you to doubt how good a life Vegans have.

But I'm here to let you in on the world's best kept secret - being VEGAN is WONDERFUL!!!

Of course Veganism is a whole lifestyle, but starting with changes to your diet is the most fun way to begin. So let me show you that it's never about deprivation - more about liberation! Through scrumptious breakfasts, brunches, lunches, suppers and treats.

[All the meals you see here have been made by me, from scratch, in my kitchen at home. I take my inspiration from everywhere and love to be creative too. No time to add all the recipes, so please contact me if something takes your fancy and I'll send you your very own recipe sheet.] 

Much love - Chantal xxx

 

Easy flatbread pizza topped with tomato salsa, griddled veg, olives & pinenuts. Great for a Monday night after work!

Roast pumpkin linguine with sundried tomatoes, chilli basil pesto & croutons. Easy to make, then assemble!

Crispy smoked sesame tofu strips with a sweet and sour vegetable stirfy. Always easy midweek.

Lentil & nut roast (from Fair Foods of Exeter) with paprika parmentier potatoes & a fresh 'rainbow' salad.

A hearty vegan sausage & cider casserole with olive oil mash, romanescu and braised red cabbage. Perfect for Autumn/Winter!

There are hundreds of vegan burgers to be enjoyed! This one is a millet burger with onion relish.

Saturday night can still be curry night! This is a red Thai curry using cucumber, romanescu, courgette & extra chillis cos I like it hot!

And on Sundays something like this mushroom in ale pot pie hits the spot! With roast baby potatoes & steamed seasonal veg. The pastry is Jus-Roll vegan puff.

Spicy courgette rigatone with homemade coleslaw & vegan mayo.

Buddhas delight - a light and healthy vegetable tofu stirfry with steamed basmatti rice.

Stuffed fennel baked in white wine with a piquant tomato sauce.

Tofu and mushroom kebabs in a BBQ marinade with couscous & steamed broccoli.

Smokey mushroom burger with avocado and raw red seeded slaw.

Punjabi style potato curry with green salad, vegan raiita, papadums & mango chutney!

Nut Cutlet (Tesco) with steamed seasonal veg & roast new potatoes.

Mediterranean vegetable linguine with chill basil cashew pesto.

Thai spiced tofu cakes with chilli soy dipping sauce.

Vegetable chilli chimichangas with creamy coleslaw & sweetcorn relish.

Broccoli and peanut bake with seasonal steamed vegetables.

Mock BBQ'd pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and fresh salad.

Aduki bean curry with a trio of vegan naan breads - coriander, kalonji & peshwari.

Mixed but and lentil loaf with steamed green vegetables.

GF Fusilli with kale and griddled artichokes.

Rich vegetable ratatouille with quinoa & bulgar wheat.

Terriyaki tofu with stir-fried vegetables and noodles.

Savoury root veg oat crumble with steamed vegetables.

Beetroot & beanburger with courgette frittes & rainbow salad.

Sundried tomato and artichoke pithivier with steamed greens.

Spicy root veg and red lentil casserole, topped with soya 'cream'  & served with fresh veg.

Full on vegan fry-up!! (with tofu scramble) Why not?!

And there we have it for Vegan-uary! A month's worth of delicious Vegan supper ideas!

Next up I'll be sharing some incredible new recipes of my own and also cooking from and reviewing tibits new cook book and Vegan Zombie's new cookbook!! Cannot wait!

Enjoy!

Much love, Chantal x x

Recipe: Sweet potato and chilli empanadas with lime mayonnaise.

'Hola'!

I've gone all Mexican in my house lately. I discovered a little freebie Mexican cook book tucked in my bookcase which turned out to be vegetarian and actually 90% vegan! So it's revived my love of this tasty cuisine.

Empanadas are basically fried Mexican pasties and while the recipe I've used (as you'll see from the 'chaos' pic below, was tasty - it sure as hell was messy! So I've rewritten it, with my slant on improved flavour AND a methodology that won't have you getting sweet potato and dough up the walls for 3 hours (sorry Dave).

 I've been meaning to make these for ages and I'm so glad I finally have. These are 'deliciosa'! and I unapologetically scoffed 4 of them and then needed a siesta...

Chantal xx

sweet potato and chilli empanadas with ribbon salad & lime mayonnaise

[ makes either 12 or 24 large empanadas - enough for you and a mariachi band :) ]

Gather                                                                                                                                       

Kitchen stuff you'll need:

Food processor, large pan, kettle, chopping board, peeler and knives, 2 large roasting tins, rolling pin, pastry brush, pastry cutter, large bowl, dessert spoon, fish slice and spatula, sense of adventure, poncho, apron... 

ingredients

Filling (for 24, halve if you only want to make 12)

600g sweet potato - peeled and cubed

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 small brown onions - finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic - grated / crushed

1 red jalapeno chili - deseeded and very finely sliced (leave some seeds if you like it hot!)

1 green jalapeno chili - deseeded and very finely sliced (leave some seeds if you like it hot!)

30g raisins

30g ground almonds

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp ground white pepper

Dough (for 12, make 2 lots if you want to make all 24 empanadas)

350g plain flour

50g soft sunflower margarine (I use Pure)

1/2 tsp salt

200ml boiling water

Oil to cook - approx 200ml+

Extra flour to dust your work surface and rolling pin.

Dip

4 heaped dessert spoons of mayonnaise (I use Plamil Organic Egg Free)

Juice and zest of 1 lime

Create

1.  Cook the sweet potato in simmering water for about 10 minutes or until soft. Drain and add to your large bowl.

2.  While the potatoes are cooking sautee your onions in the oil on a low to medium heat until they start to soften and go translucent. 

3.  Add the garlic, chillies and raisins to the onions and continue to cook gently for another 5 minutes.

4.  Add the onion mix to the potatoes, sprinkle over the ground almonds, cinnamon, salt and pepper and mix really well to combine. It is fine if the potato mashes up a little.

5.  Switch on your oven to warm up and pour enough oil into the roasting tins to completely cover the bottom - up to about 5ml deep. Place the trays in the oven.

6.  Next prepare your dough - add all of the dry ingredients to your blender, switch it on and carefully add the boiling water. Keep the blender running until a dough ball has formed -
** this will not take very long - just a few moments**.

7.  Flour your work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Cut the dough into 12 pieces - half, half again and then each piece into 3 will help to make them equal.

8.  Flour your rolling pin and roll a piece into as round a shape as you can manage - about 3mm thickness and 18cm diameter. Don't worry too much about getting a perfect round though as you can trim them to tidy them up.

9.  Place a heaped dessert spoon of your sweet potato mix onto the dough circle. Place it on the half furthest from you (there's a good reason for this). 

10.  Use a pastry brush to brush a little water in a crescent shape around the filling on the far side from you.

11.  Gently fold the dough nearest you over the filling using a cupped hand to press the filling down and expel excess air. Then press the dough together where the water has been brushed to form a tight seal. (NB the dough should be big enough that no filling will ooze out of the sides.)

12.  You can then trim excess 'scruffy' dough either using a sharp knife or a serrated pastry cutter to form a neat & pretty edge and a large crescent shape.

13.  Gently lift the empanada with a fish slice and set to one side on a lightly floured surface and repeat with the remainder of the dough and the filling. (You can either make a second batch of dough as mentioned above or keep the remaining filling to make chimichangas or enchiladas!)

Tip: I used a 'fish slice' spatula to lift the empanadas off the work surface as they are quite delicate to lift by hand and you don't want to risk tearing them.

14.  By the time you've made all 12 your oven should be up to temperature, so take out the roasting trays and carefully add 6 empanadas to each - flipping them over gently with two spatulas so that they are covered in oil.

empanadas gently place on tray of hot oil

15.  Place the trays back in the oven and bake for approx 8 minutes. (you can make a salad accompaniment during this time). Then carefully remove the trays and turn each empanada over with your 2 spatulas (I say carefully as they can still be a little fragile at this stage and the oil will be bubbling hot.)

16.  Return to the oven and bake for another 8 minutes or until you can see that the pastries are a lovely golden brown colour. (You can make the mayo dip during this time by simply combining the ingredients listed in a small bowl with a fork or small whisk).

17.  Once the empanadas are cooked, carefully remove them from the oven and rest on some pieces of laid out kitchen roll to absorb some of the excess oil.

chaotic aftermath - but worth it!

Enjoy!

Serve with a fresh crisp salad (as you can see, this time I used a mixed baby leaf salad with ribbons of cucumber and carrots topped with tomatoes slices, drizzled with a little omega 3,6,9 oil and some grinds of fresh black pepper. I had the mayo as a dip on the side but ended up pouring it all over the salad!

Cooks tip: for an authentic taste use Serrano chillies - which are a little hotter than jalapenos. If this has inspired you to get your sombrero on I'd recommend these great Mexican food product websites:

http://www.mexgrocer.co.uk/home.php

http://www.mexgrocer.co.uk/home.php

Recipe - My Malaysian Laksa-style Soup (for the Soul).

Everyone has their own way of making this wonderful soup. 

This is mine.

I love the aromatics, the colours and the textures in my version of it.

See what you think - lets compare Laksas [she said]... 

my lovely Laksa

Vegetable variations you can use include: fine green beans, broccoli, mangetout, beansprouts, leaf spinach, bok choi (Chinese cabbage), cucumber, you could also add some firm tofu pieces and garnish with deep fried shallots, finely sliced red peppers and/or lime wedges. p.s. I do not recommend adding onions or shallots to the broth - for me they spoil the delicate flavours.

Serves 4 (heartily) but is best eaten the same day.

Gather

150g rice noodles (usually about 3 'nests')

2-3 tbsp sesame oil

1 heaped tbsp Vegan Thai red curry paste (*warning - Laksa paste often contains shrimp)

1 red chilli - cut in half, deseeded and finely sliced

200g assorted mushrooms - thinly sliced (shiitake are traditional but I'm not so keen on these so I tend to use white, chestnut and forestiere, for example)

400ml can coconut milk

600ml water (you can fill the coconut milk can with water 1 and a half times)

1 aubergine - sliced into 1cm thick rounds

150g baby sweetcorn - cut in half or thirds on a diagonal slant

2 pak choi - leaves separated and halved if large (leave small ones whole)

freshly ground black pepper to taste

salt to taste (I use about half a teaspoon - which seems a lot, but does bring the flavours alive)

garnish - small bunch of fresh coriander leaves (no stalks) - finely chopped

Create

1.  Put your grill on to warm and add 1 tbsp of sesame oil to a large pan on a medium heat.

2.  Add the curry paste and fresh chilli to the pan and stir to sizzle and release aromas.

3.  Next add the mushrooms and coat in the sauce. Then add the coconut milk and the water - bring to the boil and then turn down the heat to a simmer.

4.  Brush the aubergine rounds with the remaining sesame oil and place on a baking tray under the now warm grill for 5 minutes.

5.  Wash and slice the sweetcorn. Wash and slice the pak choi (pak choi can be a little dirty lower down the stems, so this is important.) Chop your coriander ready to use.

6.  Turn the aubergine slices over, add the sweetcorn to the soup pot and turn up the heat a little to simmer more vigorously. Put a full kettle on to boil.

7.  Add the pak choi leaves to the soup and pour enough boiling water over your rice noodles to cover them.

8.  Taste your soup for seasoning and add black pepper and salt to your preference.

9.  Your aubergine will have grilled on the other side for another 5 minutes now and should be golden - so remove it from the grill and chop each round into 4 pieces.

10.  Stir the rice noodles with a fork to separate and drain in a large sieve.

11.  Add the aubergine to the soup, add the noodles to the soup, give it all a good stir to combine and re-test for seasoning if you want to double check.

Enjoy!

Serve into hot bowls using tongs to make sure everybody gets a share of noodles and veg and then a ladle to top up with the coconut broth. Sprinkle with just a little of the coriander. Serve with a soup spoon and a fork!

Cooks tip: If you have the time and the inclination, you can make your own curry paste by blending this list of ingredients. [recipe by Yotam Otolengi]

100g peeled baby shallots
8 garlic cloves
25g peeled ginger, sliced
15g lemongrass (soft white stem only), sliced
2 tsp ground coriander
3 large dried red chillies
2 tbsp sambal oelek (or other savoury chilli paste) 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

25 g fresh coriander(stalks and all)

Recipe - Speedy Sweet Chilli Sauce...

I love this condiment (almost as much as mayonnaise) and I always have. I never really gave any thought to it being vegan, until now, and thank goodness it is!

I think it goes well with so many dishes and I'm so pleased I've finally got round to making my own.

I suspect many of you will have made this already - but for those who haven't, I'd really recommend it, because it's so quick and simple to create, yet tastes and looks incredibly impressive. It would make a perfect gift for someone and I think is something I shall include in my Xmas hamper this year.

Enjoy!

Chantal xx

[Makes approx 340g / 350ml - recipe can easily be multiplied for batch cooking]

Collect a: Small pan and wooden spatula, food blender, small cup and teaspoon, sterilised glass bottle/s with cap/s, funnel, dry tea towel.

Gather

4 large red chillis - chopped (remove seeds from 3 of them & retain seeds from 1 or more if you like it really spicy)
3 cloves of garlic - roughly chopped
125ml  /  1/2 cup clear rice vinegar
125ml  /  1/2 cup cold filtered water
125ml  /  1/2 cup caster sugar
4 tsp corn flour - mixed with a little cold water to form a creamy consistency
1/4 - 1/2 tsp salt (I use pink himilayan rock salt & used just two tiny wooden scoop measures)

Create

1.  Put your glass bottle in the oven and turn on to 140C (or fill the already cleaned bottle with boiling water from the kettle).

2.  Literally add all of the ingredients to your food blender and whiz until the pieces of chilli are very small.

3.  Transfer the sauce to the pan and heat gently, stirring occasionally.

heat gently in a pan and stir until thickens and just bubbling

4.  As the sauce heats up it will start to thicken. Once it starts to bubble, remove from the heat.

5.  Very carefully using a tea towel either remove your bottle/s from the oven or pour out the boiling water and fill with the sauce using the funnel (this may be safer with two people - as if your funnel creates a seal with the bottle the boiling sauce can splash back up and burn you!)

6.  Seal the bottle with the cap immediately and leave to cool - or, leave unsealed and use on the noodle salad mentioned below (patience never was one of my strong points!) and refrigerate once cooled.

the finished sauce in a very glamorous old ketchup bottle!

Enjoy!

Obviously the food to serve with this tangy sauce is veg tempura (a vegan classic!) which you can easily make from a variety of veg dipped in a thin batter of cornflour & sparkling water and then deep fried.

This veg tempura is my fave starter at Typedong restaurant in Exeter - they do lots of vegan food!

 The day I made this sauce I added it to a warm noodle salad with shredded vegetables:

poured over this warm rice noodle salad with shredded veg & toasted cashews

A couple of days later I used copious amounts of the sauce to go with my nemesis: avocado - made into the rather crispy little panko-covered goujons. Loved the sauce, ate half the avocado - so it was progress at least!

'enjoying' some crispy avocado goujons with my sweet chilli sauce!

Recipe: 16 minute 'Chilli non Carne' ...

Yep - that's right- in just 16 minutes I made a delicious (if I say so myself) Vegan chilli non carne. Who says fast food has to be unhealthy?

Having spent all day trotting round the Devon County Show - with little sustenance on offer for Vegans (no shock really) belly rumbles spurred me into a bit of 'power' cooking.

Now I've been making chilli con carne for years and loving it, but since going veggie (now Vegan) all I really changed was the meat and stock content, and, guess what - I think the flavour of this Vegan version is better! And with no nasty saturated fat and dead cow in the pot it's a total win win.

Now I do have my own perfect secret recipe filed somewhere - but this was my quick fire version and it turned out pretty well, so I'm jotting it down here for you while I think of it.

'Hola'! deliciousness...

 [Serves 6 - so it's really good value]

Gather:

1 tbsp oil (I used olive)

1 large brown onion - finely chopped

good squirt of garlic puree (or 3 - 6 cloves of fresh, finely chopped garlic)

1-2 fresh chillies - finely chopped (I used one 'medium heat' red one)

2 bell peppers (1 red & 1 green) - chopped into small squares

1-2 tsp chilli powder (I used 1 tsp of hot chilli powder)

1 tsp ground coriander

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tbsp dried oregano

2 vegetable stock cubes (or 2 tsp vegetable bouillion powder)

3 tbsp tomato puree (approx - I just squeezed the tube 3 times!)

1 pack meat substitute (such as Tesco frozen Vegan soya mince 454g)

1 x 400g tin chopped plum tomatoes

1 x 200g tin cooked red kidney beans (I never use a whole tin, as I only like a few)

boiling water to make up the vegetable stock

Create:

Set your timer...ready, set, go!

1. OK - fill the kettle and put on to boil, run around demented and grab your ingredients while you heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
2. Chop the onion, throw in the pan and while you gently fry the onion chop the fresh chillis and the peppers.
3. Add the garlic puree, chillis and peppers to the pan and fry a little more.
4. Add in all of the spices and the stock cubes/powder, mix well and cook gently for a minute or so.
5. Add the 'meat', tomato puree, tinned tomatoes and kidney beans and then add boiled water to the level of the top of the mix.
6. Give it all a good stir, bring to the boil and then turn down to a gentle simmer.

Phew!

This should take you up to the 16 minute stage (or thereabouts).

You can simmer the chilli for another 10-30 minutes until it reduces down and the sauce thickens beautifully. (Don't be tempted to thicken with cornflour, as, in my opinion you need the sauce to be lovely and rich - so reduction is better than thickening a weak sauce.) Have a little taste and add some salt and pepper to your liking.

Meanwhile get your rice/tacos/tortillas/nachos and condiments ready and prepare for some hot mouth-tingling food action!

Enjoy! 

On this occasion I cheated and microwaved some Veet basmati ready-rice and served with some homemade coleslaw I already had in the fridge from dinner the night before.

But the other picture above was of more of the chilli making an appearance a couple of days later, along with some homemade nachos and a dip.

The final batch will get used on a baked potato with some Vegusto Vegan 'cheddar cheese' I would think!
Great accompaniments include Vegan sour cream, guacamole and some jalapenos as well if you love it super spicy!

Cooks tip: Add a strip of dark chocolate and melt into the chilli at the very end. This is a genuine Mexican addition that really elevates this dish in a way that you can't quite put your finger on...

p.s. Let me know if you beat my 16 minutes!

Chantal xx

Recipe: Spicy Thai-style Butternut Squash Soup [Vegan]

Given that British summertime seems to be subzero I am still making soups and warming lunches to make freezing afternoon gardening sessions more bearable! Here's something to warm you up this summer....

topped with pink grapefruit, fresh coconut & coriander!

When butternut squash first became fashionable I just couldn't understand what all the fuss was about - I didn't really like its sweet taste. But knowing it was good for me, I persevered and I'm so glad I did because I think this is now one of my favourite soups. I've never seen soup like this in the shops and so I hope you'll give this a try and that you'll love it as much as I do!

Gather:

15ml / 1tbsp oil (coconut, olive or vegetable)

1 medium onion - chopped

2 cloves of garlic - chopped

1 - 4 Thai red chillis - chopped (4 will be very spicy!)

1 red or orange pepper - deseeded and chopped

1 carrot - peeled and chopped

1 butternut squash peeled, deseeded and chopped

1 lemon grass stalk - split length ways, root intact

600ml veg stock

1 x 440g can coconut milk

sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

torn fresh coriander to garnish

Other toppings to try - toasted coconut, slices of fresh coconut and a squeeze of fresh lime, slices of red chilli with some toasted pumpkin seeds, swirl of coconut milk.

Create:

1. gently heat the oil and sautee the onions until softened (about 5 mins)
2. add the garlic and chillis and sautee for a couple of minutes without browning
3. add the remaining vegetables and continue to cook for a couple more minutes
4. add the stock, coconut milk and lemon grass, bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for approx 20 mins or until all veg are softened
5. remove the lemon grass stalk and blend the soup until really smooth and glossy
6. add a little extra stock if the soup is too thick

Enjoy!

Serve with a garnish and some hot crusty bread. 

Happy (warm) gardening!

Chantal xx