veggie corner

under new management

2006-04-23T17:13:00.001+01:00

Well, not really.

I just thought I'd separate this blog from my personal blog.

Will post recipes soon!

-missy-

under new management

2006-04-23T17:13:00.000+01:00

Well, not really.

I just thought I'd separate this blog from my personal blog.

Will post recipes soon!

-missy-

a note from the vegetarian cook

2006-04-06T08:20:00.000+01:00

Just a quick post whilst on holiday here in Egypt :-)

I got a comment from an anonymous about one of the recipes posted here. One of the recipes here is by Delia (the lasagne) and it can be found on her website but I don't have the time to look for it now... anyway, I didn't write it in the post that it was hers when I am normally good at giving credit to people!

Sorry about that, and well-spotted anonymous!

Most of the recipes here are from other people... some I alter depending on the availability of ingredients in my kitchen, and when I alter them, I try to mention it.

I am really not that creative to create my own recipes, however, when I finish my cooking course, maybe I'll be able to make one? Who knows? Meanwhile, I will adapt recipes or use recipes of other people and use this page to document what I have done, as well as serve as my fave recipes page which I can visit when I don't know what to make for a small party.

Just to clarify things :-)

Also, feel free to send me recipes I can try! I promise to give credit :-)

Warm Couscous, Tomato, and Halloumi Salad

2006-03-12T00:26:00.000Z

You need:

250g couscous
3 tbsp olive oil
600 ml / 1 pint boiling water
1 red onion, thinly slice
a packet of halloumi cheese (about 250g), drained and thinly sliced
300 g baby plum tomatoes, halved
2 garlic cloves, sliced
85 g marinated black and green olives ¹
15 g each of fresh parsley and oregano ²
4 tsp capers
lemon wedges, for serving

Preparation:

1. Put the couscous and a tablespoon of olive oil in a bowl, and season with salt and pepper. Pour over the boiling water, cover, and let it stand for 5 minutes.

2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil and fry the red onion for 2-3 minutes until cooked ³. Push to the side of the pan. Add the rest of the oil and fry the halloumi for 2-3 minutes until it's golden and crispy. Remove from the pan, once cooked.

3. Add the halved baby plum tomatoes and the garlic. Fry over high heat for about 2 minutes until browned. ⁴

4. Add the olives, season with salt and pepper (and if you are using dried herbs, you can them at this point) and cook for one minute.

5. Finely chop the herbs and stir into the couscous with the capers.

6. Divide between plates, top with the halloumi and the tomato mixture, and sprinkle with any remaining herb leaves or sprigs. Serve with lemon wedges.

Comments:
¹ The measurement is an estimate. What I normally do is get a handful each of green and black olives or you can put as much as you want!

² If you don't have fresh herbs, you may use dried herbs but you need to add it early on during the cooking process so as to release it's flavour.

³ A good trick in caramelising onion- dry fry them with a bit of salt to release the sugar. Once it's cooked, you can then add the oil. I almost always cook my onion this way.

⁴ If you want to make a bigger tomato mixture, you can add a tin of herbed chopped tomatoes or whole plum tomatoes.

Sponge Cake with Strawberry and Cream

2006-02-28T22:01:00.000Z

On Allison's birthday and farewell party last July, I asked her what kind of cake she wants me to make. She said she wanted something "British," to remember her year as an exchange student in London. So, I made her this sponge cake.

What you need:
1 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
4 egss, at room temp.
scant 2/3 cup superfine sugar (caster or icing sugar)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup butter, melted or clarified and cooled

For the filling:
1 pound of strawberries (you can also use raspberries)
2-4 tbsp superfine sugar
2 cups whipping cream
1 tsp vanilla extract

1
Preheat oven to 180˚C (350˚F). Lightly butter a 22-cm (9-inch) spring form pan or deep cake pan. Line the bottom with waxed paper, and lightly dust with flour. Then, sift flour and salt together twice.

2
Half-fill a medium sauce pan with hot water and set on low heat. Make sure that you do not let the water boil. Put a heatproof bowl on top of the sauce pan, making sure that it does not touch the water. Put the eggs in the bowl and using an electric mixer, beat eggs at medium-high speed, adding sugar gradually. Do this for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is very thick and pale and leaves a ribbon trail when you lift the beater. Once done, remove the bowl from the sauce pan, add the vanilla extract and continue beating until the mixture is cool.

3
Fold flour mixture in 3 batches; however before the last addition of flour, stir a large spoonful of the mixture into the butter to lighten it. Then, fold the butter into the remaining mixture with the last batch of the flour. Work quickly, but gently, so that it does not deflate. Pour into the cake pan, smoothing the top so the sides are slightly higher than the centre.

4
Bake the cake for about 25-30 minutes until the top of the cake springs back when touched and the edge begins to shrink away from the sides of the pan. Place the cake in its pan on a wire rack or trivet to cool for 5-10 minutes, then invert the cake onto the rack to cool completely. Don't forget to peel off the waxed paper!

By the way, this cake is called a génoise, a French cake which can be used for simple cakes or more elaborate ones. You can serve it as is with a dusting of confectioner's sugar.

5
To make the filling, slice the strawberries, place in a bowl, sprinkle with 1-2 tbsp of the sugar and set aside. Beat the cream with the rest of the sugar and the vanilla extract until it holds soft peaks.

6
Now, to put the whole thing together (do it 4 hours before you are serving it), split the cake horizontally, using a serrated knife. Place the top, cut side-uup, on a serving plate. Spread with a third of the cream and cover with an even layer of sliced strawberries.

7
Place the bottom half of the cake, cut side down, on top of the filling and press lightly. Spread the remaining cream over the top and sides of the cake. Chill until ready to serve. You can serve the remaining strawberries with the cake (on the side).

Curried Cauliflower

2005-10-10T20:56:00.000+01:00

This recipe comes from Abel & Cole

A beautifully aromatic concoction, that also works with Romanesco cauliflower. Serve hot or cold with basmati rice and tofu. Serves 4.

You need:
1 medium head cauliflower, cut into florets
a red onion, chopped
1 tablespoon olive or vegetableoil
1/2 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 tablespoon garam masala
1/2 tablespoon fennel seeds *
1 teaspoon salt
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 tablespoon grated lemon peel
1 teaspoon ground pepper
2 handfuls frozen peas, thawed**
1 handful chopped fresh coriander

What to do:
1. Preheat your oven to 200˚C (or 400˚F, gas mark 6).
2. Place all the ingredients (except for coriander) in a large bowl.
3. Toss the ingredients together until each piece of cauliflower is coated.
4. Place the mixture in a large baking pan, and roast for 25 to 30 minutes, until the cauliflower is crisp-tender, turning every 10 minutes.
5. Place in a serving bowl and mix in the peas/beans and coriander.

* I ran out so I used panchporan (Indian 5-spice) instead
** I used canned flageolet beans instead

Spicy Steamed Corn

2005-09-17T20:55:00.000+01:00

Spicy Steamed Corn

You need:

2 corn cobs
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1/2 tsp chopped fresh red chilli
1 tbsp water

What to do:

1. Remove the husks and silk from the corn cobs.
2. In a bowl, combine the ginger, garlic, chilli, and water.
3. Roll each cob in the spice mixture and place in a steaming basket lined with baking paper.
4. Place the basket over a wok or pan of boiling water, cover and steam for 10-20 minutes, or until corn is tender.

Happy eating!

Go here for more vegetarian recipes!

Shiitake and Coriander Risotto

2005-06-22T20:52:00.000+01:00

Here's a recipe that uses quorn, a meat alternative made of my mycoprotein. I make it when I have guests who will not touch anything green (they exist!). The original recipe is from Waitrose magazine uses chicken breast fillet. Can anyone recommend an alternative to quorn? I know this is not available in some parts of the world...

This is an Italian dish turned slightly Oriental : )

You need:

6 pcs/a pack of Quorn fillet, cut into 2.5 cm pieces
2 tbsp olive oil
150 g Shiitake mushrooms, thickly sliced
325 g carnaroli or arborio risotto rice
1. 2 litres of boiling stock
a cup of chopped fresh coriander
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

What to do:

1. Heat half the oil in a large pan, fry the quorn fillet until golden brown. Transfer to a plate and then set aside.
2. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the mushrooms. Give a quick stir, then add the garlic. Stir over low heat, then add rice. Cook for 2-3 minutes, then return the fillet.
3. Gradually add the stock, a ladleful at a time. Make sure that each has been fully absorbed by the rice before adding another ladleful. After putting in all the stock, cook for about 25-30 minutes, stirring regularly until the rice is cooked (tender).
4. Stir in the coriander and sprinkle with soy sauce and sesame oil.
5. You can put some cracked black peppers and/or parmesan and serve with salad**

** Normally, I have a watercress, rocket, and spinach salad with this. But last night, I grilled green beans, then chopped it and mixed it with pinto and red kidney beans. I used lemon and extra virgin olive oil dressing. It was all delicious!

I took the picture last night. I'm sure some of you will notice the plate and the chopping board from previous recipe!

I am still waiting for recipes promised by some of you! I know we all get so busy and typing recipes is quite a chore but the advantage of having the recipes posted here is that it is kept on the archive and we can easily print it . Also, all recipes will be put up here.

If you want to know how to access the mailing list archives, let me know!

Masoor Dal (Red Lentils)

2005-06-02T20:47:00.000+01:00

This is one of my favourite things to do and I make this to go with rice and spicy cauliflower. This is another Madhur Jaffrey recipe. The photo shows the lentil dish on top of boiled white rice and cauliflower and potato curry. I will type up the recipe for the Punjabi style curry I used for this dish.

You need:
2 fresh green chillies, cut lengthway slits not cutting the top and bottom
180 g cooked red lentils *
2 tbsp vegetable oil
chilli flakes
1/2 tsp panchporan**

1. Bring the red lentils to a gentle simmer and drop the chillies. Cover and let simmer for about 5 mins.

2. Put oil in a small pan, medium heat. when very hot, put in the chilli flakes. Once dark, put in the panchporan. After about 2 seconds, add the oil and spices to the lentils. Mix then serve.

* To cook red lentils for this recipe, you need 180 g of red lentils and 1 litre of water. Boil, watching the froth that rises to the top. I remove the froth with a slotted spoon. Add 1/4 tsp of ground turmeric and 1/2 tsp of salt, partly cover, turn the heat low, and cook for about 45 mins.

**You can get panchporan in any Asian store but basically it's a mixture of brown mustard seeds, cumin seeds, nigella, fennel seeds, and fenugreek seeds in equal parts.

Asparagus Stir Fry

2005-05-22T20:44:00.000+01:00

This recipe is originally from the Madhur Jaffrey World Vegetarian cook book. Last night, I decided to add a few of the things I like-- egg noodles, shiitake mushroom and cashew. This is a lovely noddle dish which is a meal on its own. If you don't put the egg noodles, you can serve it with rice and a bean curd dish, spring rolls or steamed veggies.

You need:
100 grams egg noodles (I used medium size)
2 tbsp vegetable oil (I used groundnut oil)
2 thin slices of fresh ginger, peeled and mashed
5 cloves of garlic, peeled and lightly mashed ( I always put more garlic but that's just me!)
1 dried chilli, coarsely crumbled (or you can use chilli flakes)
900 g (2 lbs) fresh asparagus, peeled and cut into thirds
8 pcs of dried shiitake mushroom (if you have fresh ones, better!)
4 tbsp vegetable stock/water
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp caster sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil

To cook:
(On asparagus, MJ recommends peeling it using a regular peeler then soaking it in cold water before cooking)

Cook egg noodles according to instructions in the packet.
Boil water to soak dried mushroom in for 5 minutes. Thinly slice the reconstitued mushrooms.
Put the vegetable oul in a large wok or frying pan and put in high heat.
When hot, put ginger and garlic. Give a it a quick stir, then add the chilli.
Stir once and then quickly add asparagus.
Stir fry asparagus until it turns deep green and coated with oil.
Add stock, soy sauce, salt, and sugar.
Stir and bring to the boil, then cover, turn the heat down and cook for 3-4 mins until the asparagus is tender.
Uncover, put the noodles and cashew in, stir and then add the sesame oil. Stir once then serve!

Should make 2-4 people happy : )

Carrot and Walnut Squares

2005-05-15T20:42:00.000+01:00

This is my friend's Sara's recipe. It's easy to make and it's gorgeous!

100-150 g walnuts, chopped
400 g carrots, peeled and grated
200 ml white sugar
200 ml brown sugar
250 ml sunflower oil/rapeseed oil
5 eggs
500 ml flour
1 heaped tsp baking powder
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
1½ tsp ground cinnamon
--------------------------------------------
300 g cream cheese
100 ml icing sugar
2-3 tbs lime or lemon juice
lime or lemon zest

Use a large baking tin (20x30 cm) and cover the bottom with grease-proof
paper. Butter the sides and cover with breadcrumbs. Heat the oven until 180
degrees C. Mix oil and sugar in a large bowl. Add one egg, mix and add the
second until you've used all five eggs. Add the chopped walnuts and the
grated carrots. In a smaller bowl: mix flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of
soda, salt and cinnamon. Mix these dry ingredients with the others. Pour the
batter into the baking tin. Bake for app. 50 min. Mix the cream cheese with
icing sugar and lime/lemon juice. When the carrot cake is cold, spread the
icing and decorate with lime/lemon zest. Cut into squares.

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne with Pine Nuts

2005-05-04T20:41:00.000+01:00

NOTE: This is an original recipe from Delia's online. I will include the link when I get home. I posted this recipe here because I did it once and it was divine so I put it here so that I can remember where to look for it! Thanks to anonymous for reminding me! xx

For the sauce:

11/2 pints (850 ml) milk

2 oz (50 g) butter

2 oz (50 g) plain flour

1 bay leaf

21/2 oz (60 g) Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiano), freshly grated (see recipe introduction)

salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the lasagne:

1 lb 5 oz (600 g) young leaf spinach

8 oz (225 g) ricotta (see recipe introduction)

12 fresh lasagne sheets (weighing about 9 oz/250 g)

2 oz (50 g) pine nuts

knob of butter

1/4 whole nutmeg, grated

7 oz (200 g) Gorgonzola, Shropshire Blue or Cashel Blue cheese, crumbled

7 oz (200 g) Mozzarella, coarsely grated

salt and freshly milled black pepper

* Click an ingredient to find out more

You will also need an ovenproof dish measuring about 9 x 9 inches (23 x 23 cm), 21/2 inches (6 cm) deep, well buttered.

Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4, 350°F (180°C).

Begin this by making the sauce, which can be done using the all-in-one method. This means placing the milk, butter, flour and bay leaf together in a saucepan, giving it a good seasoning, then, over a medium heat, whisking the whole lot together continually until it comes to simmering point and has thickened. Now turn the heat down to its lowest possible setting and allow the sauce to cook gently for 5 minutes. After that, stir in 2 oz (50 g) of the Parmesan, then remove it from the heat, discard the bay leaf and place some clingfilm over the surface to prevent a skin from forming.

Now you need to deal with the spinach. First of all remove and discard the stalks, then wash the leaves really thoroughly in 2 or 3 changes of cold water and shake them dry. Next, take your largest saucepan, pop the knob of butter in it, then pile the spinach leaves in on top, sprinkling them with a little salt as you go. Now place the pan over a medium heat, put a lid on and cook the spinach for about 2 minutes, turning the leaves over halfway through. After that, the leaves will have collapsed down and become tender.

Next drain the spinach in a colander and, when it's cool enough to handle, squeeze it in your hands to get rid of every last drop of liquid. Then place it on a chopping board and chop it finely. Now put it into a bowl, add the ricotta, then approximately 5 fl oz (150 ml) of the sauce. Give it a good seasoning of salt and pepper and add the grated nutmeg. Then mix everything together really thoroughly and, finally, fold in the crumbled Gorgonzola.

Now you need to place a small frying pan over a medium heat, add the pine nuts and dry-fry them for about 1 minute, tossing them around to get them nicely toasted but being careful that they don't burn. Then remove the pan from the heat and assemble the lasagne. To do this, spread a quarter of the sauce into the bottom of the dish and, on top of that, a third of the spinach mixture, followed by a scattering of toasted pine nuts. Now place sheets of pasta on top of this – you may need to tear some of them in half with your hands to make them fit. Now repeat the whole process, this time adding a third of the grated Mozzarella along with the pine nuts, then the lasagne sheets. Repeat again, finishing with a layer of pasta, the rest of the sauce and the remaining Parmesan and Mozzarella. When you are ready to cook the lasagne, place it on the middle shelf of the pre-heated oven and bake for 50-60 minutes, until the top is golden and bubbling. Then remove it from the oven and let it settle for about 10 minutes before serving.

Lemon Rice with Spinach

2005-04-30T20:38:00.000+01:00

I tried this recipe last night and it was really good! I was feeling a bit low in energy and I thought I need some iron! I feel so much better after having this meal :-) I had boiled broccoli sprinkled with toasted sesame oil, tamari sauce and fried chopped garlic and some left over red lentil soup!

225 g basmati rice
450 g spinach
1 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
2-inch piece ginger root, peeled and grated
1 chilli (I didn't have it so I used chilli flakes, about 1/4 tsp)
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds

Cook rice.
Boil or steam the spinach with water and a little salt for 6 minutes and then drain.
Puree the spinach in a blender and mix with the cooked rice.
Stir in the lemon juice and add salt and pepper to taste.
Heat the oil in frying pan, add the ginger, chilli and spices and sizzle until they split and crackle a little.
Pour over the spinach and rice and serve immediately.

Rajma

2005-04-23T20:36:00.000+01:00

Rajma

You need:
3 tbsp olive oil
5 whole cloves
5 whole cardamom
10 black peppercorns
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
2 onions, chopped
6 plum tomatoes, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbsp ginger, chopped
1 tsp paprika/cayenne/Cajun pepper/chilli powder
1 can drained red kidney beans
fresh coriander
salt & pepper

What you do:

1. Heat the oil in a large sauce pan (medium heat). Put in the cloves,
cardamom, peppercorns, cinnamon stick, and bay leaf and cook for about
a minute.

2. Add the onion, saute until soft. Add tomatoes and cook well. It's
okay if it dries a bit.

3. Add garlic and ginger and cook for about 3 mins. Add the chilli
powder. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Add water slowly until the gravy is in the consistency you like.

5. Garnish with coriander.