Creole Chickpea Fritters with Red and Green Pepper Salsa

At the restaurant we aways had some sort of fish cake on the menu and they were always best sellers. One of the most memorable ones for me were the Creole Crab Cakes that we served with a roasted red pepper mayo. There was something about the combination of Creole seasoning, fresh thyme and finely diced peppers that everyone loved.

Everyone except for Nik the Chef.  He hated making them. They were a bit (ok a lot) of a nightmare because the peppers would leak their liquid into the crab cakes and make them soggy so Nik had to spend hours finely dicing peppers and then meticulously drying them out on kitchen towel before combining them with the crab meat. He hated me for coming up with those crab cakes, but the customers loved them.

I was reminded of those crab cakes when I saw a recipe for chickpea fritters on A Little Bit Crunchy. Hers were Mexican in flavour but they had diced red pepper in them which is what caught my eye. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, after all I never ate a whole crab cake because I was vegetarian. I only ever tried a little bit to see if it tasted how I wanted it to.

So I made some Creole seasoning which I added to a jar of cooked chickpeas that I had blended to a puree. I added some fresh thyme and started to finely dice a red and green pepper, a spring onion, garlic & chilli. I stirred a few handfuls of the diced veg into the chickpea mix, but not too much, I didn’t want the mixture to be too wet.  I used the rest of the diced peppers etc to make a salsa to accompany the chickpea fritters by adding a chopped tomato, lemon juice & some Creole seasoning. I used chickpea flour to dust the fritters and then mould them into patties to keep it gluten-free but you can use flour and breadcrumbs if you like.

Creole Chickpea Fritters with Red & Green Pepper Salsa

makes 6-8 patties, vegan, gluten-free

For the Creole seasoning:

• 1 tbsp dried oregano
• 1 tbsp dried basil
• 1/2 tbsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tbsp fresh ground black pepper
• 1/2 tbsp ground white pepper
• 1/2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 2 1/2 tbsp paprika
• 1 1/2 tbsp salt

Put all the ingredients in a jar with a lid and shake well to combine.

For the Chickpea Fritters:

• 1 jar/tin 400 gr cooked chickpeas, drained & rinsed
• 2 tbsp Creole seasoning (see above)
• a few sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
• 1/2 red pepper, finely diced
• 1/2 green pepper, finely diced
• 3 or 4 spring onions, finely chopped
• 2 spring garlic or 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 chilli, finely chopped
• the juice of half  a lemon
• 1 big tomato, finely diced
• salt
• chickpea flour/besan/gram flour for dusting
• olive oil for frying

Put the rinsed, drained chickpeas in a bowl or processor and blend until smoothish. Mix the diced peppers, spring onions, garlic and chilli together in a bowl and add a couple of small handfuls to the chickpeas with a tablespoon of Creole seasoning and the thyme leaves. Stir everything together so well combined. Taste for seasoning and add more salt if necessary. Tip some chickpea flour onto a plate and shape the mix into patties about 1/2 inch thick. Then dust the patties in the flour and put in the fridge to firm up for 30 minutes. (No longer or the peppers will start to leak their juice and the patties will be too wet).

Meanwhile make the salsa by adding a finely diced tomato to the rest of the diced veg with a tablespoon of Creole seasoning and the juice of half a lemon. Taste for seasoning and add salt if necessary.

To cook the fritters, heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the fritters for 4-5 minutes per side until browned and crispy. Serve with the pepper salsa and a green salad dressed with olive oil and lemon juice.

Things That Made Me Smile Today…

A Shetland pony and her new foal…

A white dolomite rock and delicate magenta flowers…..

Date, Walnut and Coconut Energy “Truffles”

It’s normally at about 4pm that I get a sugar craving. It must be an English thing, something to do with afternoon tea maybe. Not that I ever have afternoon tea but I definitely feel the blood sugar levels crashing at about that time.

Apparently afternoon tea was invented in Victorian times when the ladies fashion was to wear very tight-fitting corsets and waist-cinching dresses. They would come over all faint in between lunch and dinner and had to be revived with a piece of cake and a dainty sandwich.

As you may know, I am currently following a detox, vegan, gluten and sugar-free diet so no cake or sandwiches allowed. I usually have an apple but that does get a bit boring all the time. I found this recipe for Date & Walnut Power Balls somewhere but I couldn’t print it out because the printer wasn’t working. I wrote the recipe out instead but forgot to write the name of the blog I found it on. So, if I stole these from you, thanks and let me know so I can give you some credit.

Because credit where credit is due, these are quick, easy and sweet enough to feel naughty but are so not. Vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar-free but delicious enough to serve with coffee after dinner. You can even do the whole Ferrero Rocher tower thing in a “really spoiling us” moment. It’s not compulsory though, I just couldn’t resist.

Date, Walnut & Coconut Energy Truffles

makes about 15 balls, vegan, gluten-free, refined sugar-free

(Thanks to Dzenana from The New Tastement for this recipe and for reminding me where I got it from!)

• 1 cup (150 gr) stoned dates, preferably Medjool
• 1 cup (100 gr) walnuts, roughly chopped
• 1 cup (50 gr) desiccated coconut (unsweetened), plus extra for coating

Soak the dates in water for about an hour then roughly chop them. Blend everything together well so there are no big chunks and the mix comes together.  Tip some coconut onto a small plate. Take small amounts of the mix in your hands, squeeze it together and roll it into small balls. Then roll in the coconut. Store in an airtight container.

These are perfect for that mid-afternoon pick-me-up, as an energy boost pre or post exercise, as well as an after dinner treat. You can change-up the nuts and dried fruit for whatever you like, just make sure you soak the dried fruit first.

What time is it? I’m feeling a bit faint…..

Things That made Me Smile Today…

Our first hibiscus flower of the year came out this morning….

Pale pink camelias looking like the perfect bridal bouquet….

Flowers on Friday and My First Guest Post

I don’t have the time to post a recipe today as I have my cousin Michelle staying with me and we have been busy sunbathing and hiking to a waterfall!  I thought I’d take this opportunity to share some photos of flowers that I’ve taken this week. Who knows it might become a regular spot. So here is the first Flowers on Friday selection…

And the waterfall…..

Today is my first ever guest post over at Veggie Grettie. Gretchen has an extremely informative blog full of interesting articles and recipes about nutrtition and a vegetarian/vegan diet. This is what she says..

“I believe food is the ultimate  medicine.  I am a Certified Nutrition Specialist with Certification in Plant Based Nutrition through Cornell University.  All of my research has led me to the  conclusion that a plant based diet is optimal.

At a young age I experienced health problems.  Despite numerous doctor appointments and numerous tests, no one had any answers as to why I was so ill.  Unfortunately I also experienced health issues in high school and college which at times were debilitating.  Toward the end of college after having been to many specialists and receiving many wrong diagnosis’ (along with suggestions that my health problems were psychosematic) my parents convinced me to try one last specialist,  Dr. Arnold Kresch of Stanford University.  Dr. Kresch finally had a diagnoses for me; endometriosis.  After performing surgery to remove my lesions, Dr. Kresch encouraged me to research nutrition and how it could be a powerful force in my quest for health.

For the past 15 years I have been able to manage my endometriosis through diet and exercise.  I have personally experienced the healing powers of nutrition have been able to nurse myself back to even better health than before through a plant based diet.  I am passionate about sharing my nutrition knowledge with others and can be found doing so through Veggie Grettie, as a Columnist for Chic Vegan, a freelance writer, and a Brand Ambassador for NEXT by Athena.” 

If you have a chance please check out her blog Veggie Grettie and have good look around. I would like to say a big thank you to Gretchen for featuring my recipe for Ezogelin Corbasi (A Turkish Red Lentil Soup) and am really happy that all the family enjoyed it so much!!

Sri Lankan Green Bean, Potato and Cashew Nut Curry

I saw Rick Stein making this curry on his Far Eastern Odyssey series. I watched every episode because he visited all the places I’d love to go; India, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam. Him eating his way around Asia just reinforced my desire. Even though he doesn’t cook much vegetarian food it still transports you there.

You know when you are watching a food programme and someone makes a dish that you just have to cook straight away. That’s what happened when I saw this dish. It’s like the planets align and you simultaneously have all the ingredients in the house and the perfect recipe. I love it when that happens……

The original recipe doesn’t have potatoes in it but calls for 300 gr cashew nuts. I didn’t have 300 gr of cashew nuts (who does?) so I padded it out with some baby new potatoes. The potatoes are great  because it means that you don’t have to make rice to go with it. It’s a one pot dish, which is always a bonus, less washing up.

It may seem like a lot of fuss to make you own Sri Lankan curry powder but it makes such a difference. You just toast the whole spices and then grind them in a spice grinder, coffee grinder or mortar & pestle. I did mine in a battery operated pepper mill, it took a while and it wasn’t really a powder but hey, afterwards you have a little jar of your own  Sri Lankan curry powder that you can bust out whenever you need a quick and delicious dinner.

Cinnamon has been cultivated in Sri Lanka for a very long time. About 90% of the world’s cinnamon comes from Sri Lanka making it a very important part of the history of the island.  It is made from fine curls of the inner bark of the cinnamon tree. Not surprisingly cinnamon plays an important part in the cuisine of Sri Lanka and, along with coconut, is found in nearly every dish.

Sri Lankan Green Bean, Potato & Cashew Nut Curry

Serves 2, vegan, gluten-free. Adapted from Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey

For the curry powder

I halved the original recipe feel free to double it again.

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds
• 1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tbsp fennel seeds
• 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1/2 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1/2 tbsp black mustard seeds
• 3 green cardamoms
• 1/2 cinnamon stick
•  1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1/2 tsp rice

Toast all the spices in a dry pan for a few minutes until they release their aromas and start to pop. Cool them slightly and then grind in a spice grinder, coffee grinder or mortar & pestle. Tip into an airtight jar and store in a cool dry place.

For the Curry

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil (or coconut oil)
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 6 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1 stick lemongrass, bruised & finely chopped
• 2 tbsp Sri Lankan curry powder (see above)
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tin 400 ml coconut milk (I used low-fat)
• about 400 ml veg stock
• a handful of curry leaves (if you can find them)
• 2oo gr green beans, trimmed & cut into thirds
• 350 gr baby new potatoes, quartered
• 150 gr cashew nuts, plus extra for garnish
• 1 tbsp palm sugar (or brown sugar)
• 1 lime, 1/2 juiced 1/2 cut into wedges
• salt
• 1 tsp cornflour, to thicken if necessary

Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over a medium heat. Add in the cinnamon, garlic, ginger, chilli, lemongrass, turmeric and the Sri Lankan curry powder. Fry until the aromas develop but don’t let it burn. Add the coconut milk then fill up the coconut milk tin with veg stock and add that too, mix well.

Stir in the potatoes, green beans, curry leaves and cashew nuts (save some for garnish).  Bring to the boil, season well with salt then add the sugar & lime juice. Lower the heat and simmer for 25 – 30 minutes until the potatoes are tender.

If it seems a bit too liquidy. Stir a teaspoon of cornflour into a few tablespoons of water until dissolved, add this to the pan and stir. Cook for a few more minutes until thickened.

Serve in warm bowls topped with more toasted cashew nuts and the lime wedges.

Enjoy!!

Things That Made Me Smile Today

Dandelions……..

Daisies…….

Rufus in a daisy chain….

Make a daisy chain if you see some. It’s like being a kid again…..

Sesame Soba Noodle Salad with Spring Onions, Chives and Awards

I’ll start by saying a big thank you to Kimberli at Kimberli’s Kitchen for passing a Versatile Blogger award onto me. Go and check out her blog, she makes lovely cookies!

The rules of these things are that :

1. You must thank the person who awarded you by linking back to their post (check)
2. You have to list 7 interesting things about yourself  (Seven! Oh dear) 
3. You have to pass the award on to 15 other new or newly discovered blogs. (That’s the easy part)

The following blogs are new (or new-ish) to me and I find them all inspiring in different ways…

Journeys of Your Life. Andrew is living the dream and doing his round the world trip in style. Stops in New York, Peru, Thailand, Bali, India and more. Jealous much?!

A Meandering Mango Bhavani takes some of the most beautiful pictures of food I have seen. I want to be that good!

Pearl & Pine Sarah has an understated and beautiful blog. Her food is simple and elegant. I love her photos of Seattle it makes me want to live there even though it seems to rain all the time!

The Culinary Taste Rita lives in Tuscany with her husband and little boy Lapo. She makes simple, seasonal Italian inspired food and she has just written a children’s book for her son’s first birthday.

Beloved Green Clarkie makes delicious food that you want to eat. Her step by step photos are always gorgeous and she has a soft spot for beautifully designed things.

Two Tarts Sarah are Dulcie are two friends who like to cook and make things from scratch. They show you how to make things like ricotta and mascarpone and then give you a list of gorgeous recipes to make with them. They also post full menus for entertaining which is really brilliant.

Chocolate Chilli Mango As the name suggests, Viviane is obsessed with chocolate and uses her Italian genes to come up with some beautifully delicious sweet things that may have an exotic Aussie twist!

KO Rasoi Sanjana makes the most mouth-watering Indian vegetarian food out there and photographs it beautifully.

Alexa Marsden Alexa is an artist and photographer who also has a  beautiful vegetarian/vegan food blog. Some people can just be too talented you know!

Sweet Caroline’s Cooking Caroline is, as the name suggests, very sweet. Her happy, smiling face greets you when you arrive at her blog and you immediately feel at home. Home cooked beautiful food at it’s best. Margarita cupcakes, need I say more!

Mission Delectable Kirsten lives in San Francisco and I love every delicious recipe she posts. Her photos are light and beautiful, and her dog is just gorgeous!

Moderate Oven Dani makes healthy, seasonal dishes for her family using local produce and has a beautiful vegetable garden to pick from too. So jealous!

A little Bit Crunchy A Little Bit Rock n’ Roll Mama J muses on food, family, music and life. Her vegetarian food is always what I want to eat right now. She also takes beautiful pictures of flowers!

Rufus’ Food & Spirit Guide Rufus is not a spirit guide in the yogic sense (as I thought when I first read it!). What he does do is make interesting, eclectic recipes and amazing cocktails. I love that combination!

The Taste Space  Janet/Saveur posts delicious vegetarian recipes with a definite world flavour. Think Middle Eastern, Asian and Mexican with a whole lot more thrown in. My idea of heaven! 

Okay so that’s my 15 new- ish finds. I really hope you check them out and have a good look round. You won’t regret it and if you feel like leaving a comment don’t forget to say who sent you…..

So back to the recipe while I struggle to find SEVEN interesting things to share about myself….

Soba noodles are made from buckwheat so they are gluten-free. They are also delicious. They have a nutty whole-wheat flavour which goes perfectly with the sesame oil. You can serve them hot in a stir fry or noodle broth but I actually prefer them cold which is how the Japanese serve them. Something about the cold bringing out the flavours and textures I think. They are also extremely more- ish (not Moorish). You can definitely eat a large bowl by yourself, no problem. Which is fine because they’re good for you.

This is our little chive plant which is growing on our roof terrace. It’s beautiful purple flowers make it stand out from the rest of the herbs so I wanted to do a recipe using chives as a main ingredient. This is a Nigella recipe that I make quite often, I just added the chives, it’s delicious…

Sesame Soba Noodle Salad with Spring Onions & Chives

serves 1, vegan, gluten-free. Adapted from a Nigella Lawson recipe

• about 100 gr soba noodles (about 200 gr cooked)
• 3 tsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp Shaoxing rice wine
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar (or sherry vinegar)
• 1 tsp honey
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped
• a bunch of chives, finely chopped
• 25 gr (or more) sesame seeds, toasted

Toast the sesame seeds in a dry pan over a medium heat until golden brown, and tip them into a bowl. Bring a large pan of water to the boil and add some salt. Put in the soba noodles and cook them for about 6 -8 minutes (or according to packet instructions) until they are just tender. Have a bowl of iced water waiting to plunge them into after draining.

In the bowl you are going to serve the noodles in, whisk together the vinegar, rice wine, soy sauce, honey and sesame oil. Then add most of the spring onions and chives into the bowl with the cooled, drained noodles and mix together thoroughly before adding most of the sesame seeds and tossing again.

Leave the sesame noodles for about half an hour to let the flavours develop if physically possible.  If not, serve straight away garnished with the remaining, spring onions, chives and sesame seeds.

Okay so here we go: Seven “Interesting” Facts you may not know about me……

1. I’ve been a vegetarian for 25 years (that’s scary)
2. When I was 13 I saw an episode of the TV show MASH where they had a pet lamb. By the end of the show they had to eat it. I never ate meat again.
3. I developed breast cancer 2 years ago aged 36. I’ve just finished my treatment which was 6 months of chemo & lapatinib (a clinical trial) followed by an operation to remove the tumor. Then 6 weeks of radiotherapy and then a year of Herceptin.
4. I now feel better than ever and attribute my swift recovery to a combination of conventional treatment, healthy diet (during treatment I stopped eating dairy (cow) products and all sugars, including fruit), reiki sessions and some alternative medicines such as Salvestrol, LDN and Melatonin. Salvestrol and LDN I will continue to take for the rest of my life.
5. We used to own a restaurant where I designed the menus but I never went in the kitchen, except to make tea.
6. None of my friends and family can believe that I now cook because from the age of 18 I lived on a diet that consisted of Marks & Spencer’s mashed potato and hummus, and I NEVER cooked!
7. My ambition is to publish a vegetarian/vegan cookbook that will be a  vegetarian culinary journey around the world.

Enjoy!!

Ezogelin- Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Mint and Sumac

I had to make this soup when I read the story behind it. It sounds like an ancient myth but is actually from the 20th century. I love a tragic love story that includes a recipe don’t you?……

Ezo-gelin translates as Ezo The Bride. The origin of this soup is attributed to an exceptionally beautiful woman named Ezo, who lived in the village of Dokuzyol near Gaziantep in the early 20th century. Legend has it that Ezo, with her rosy cheeks and black hair, was admired by travellers along the caravan route who stopped to rest in her village. Many men longed for her hand in marriage and Ezo’s family hoped to secure a worthy match for their daughter.

Unfortunately, Ezo the bride, didn’t have much luck when it came to finding marital bliss. Her first husband was in love with another woman and she divorced him on grounds of maltreatment. Her second marriage took her to Syria where she became homesick for her village and had to deal with a difficult mother-in-law who couldn’t be pleased. It is for her, the story goes, that Ezo created this soup. After bearing 9 children, poor Ezo died of tuberculosis in the 1950s and has since become a Turkish legend, depicted in popular films and lamented in folksongs. Her name lives on in this popular soup, which is now traditionally fed to brides to sustain them for the uncertain future that lies ahead.

It kind of reminds me of Princess Diana’s story with the husband in love with another woman and the very difficult mother-in-law. Maybe they should have fed it to Kate before her wedding to William!!

I love the idea of a tradition where the modern brides in Turkey are fed a soup with a story to prepare them for their married life ahead. It’s in stark contrast to the custom in the UK where the bride dresses up as a tart in a veil with  L plates stuck to her drinking as many shots of Tequila as possible while watching a slimy male stripper with a can of squirty cream. Give me the soup any day…..

The original soup contains bulgur wheat which I have replaced with quinoa to keep it gluten-free. Sumac is a crushed dried berry used in Middle Eastern cooking. It is sold in powdered flakes and has a smokey, spicy, lemony flavour. See picture below. If you don’t have any leave it out, just make sure you have the lemon wedges to squeeze over and fresh mint for the top.

Ezogelin Corbasi- Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Mint & Sumac

serves 4-6, vegan, gluten-free

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 stick celery, finely chopped
• 3 or 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp paprika
•  1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 3 tbsp tomate frito (tomato paste)
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1  tbsp dried mint
• 150 gr (1 cup) dried lentils, red lentils if possible
• 50 gr (1/4 cup) wholegrain rice
• 50 gr (1/4 cup) quinoa or bulgur wheat
• about 1 1/2 litres veg stock (or a mix of water & stock)
• 1 tbsp sumac (optional)
• salt & black pepper
•  fresh mint leaves, chopped for garnish
• sumac for garnish (optional)
• lemon wedges, to serve

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over a medium heat. Cook the onions, carrots & celery with a pinch of salt for 4 or 5 minutes until softened and lightly golden. Then add the garlic, cumin seeds, paprika, chilli flakes, cayenne, tomato & tomato paste and cook for a further 5 minutes

Add in the lentils, rice & quinoa (or bulgur wheat) and stir to coat in the tomatoey spices. Add the veg stock/water, season well with salt & black pepper, add the dried mint and bring to the boil.  Turn the heat down, cover and simmer for 35-40 minutes everything is tender.

If you like you can remove a ladleful of the soup and blend it until smooth, then add it back into the soup. This gives it a smoother thicker consistency. Add the sumac, taste for seasoning, add more salt or mint if necessary. Bring back to the boil.

Serve in warm bowls sprinkled with chopped fresh mint leaves, a little sumac and some lemon wedges to squeeze over.

I would think this soup could be a good hangover cure for the bride recovering from a few too may tequilas as well.  Just remember poor Ezo….

Carrot and Courgette Pakoras with Coriander Lime Chutney

Okay so I might have overcooked them slightly. They are a little bit dark but that means that they are really crispy on the outside, which is a good thing. I think I had my oil too hot for these. The ones I did for dinner the night before were perfect. This is what I do before blogging a recipe. I make dinner, making sure I write down the recipe while I’m cooking it so I don’t forget anything and I make enough so that I have some left over for lunch and to photograph the next day in the light. It’s all about the natural light you see. Taking photos of food at night with artificial light just isn’t the same.

So that is what happened, I only had enough mixture for two pakoras left, and then I burnt them a little bit. You get the idea though, they taste great and the chutney is the perfect mix of light and zesty and good and fiery. And if you do overcook them you can pretend that they are supposed to be like that. You can use words like caramelized or chargrilled (even though they are fried).

Carrot & Courgette Pakoras Recipe

makes about 8 small balls, vegan, gluten-free

• 1 large carrot
• 1 medium courgette (zucchini)
• 1/2 green chilli, finely chopped
• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• a handful of fresh coriander, chopped
• about 25 gr gram flour/chickpea flour/besan
• salt & black pepper
• vegetable oil for deep-frying

Wash and trim the courgette and peel and trim the carrot. Grate both on the long side, put in a bowl, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt and set aside for 30 minutes. Then squeeze as much liquid out of the mix as possible (this is a lot of liquid). Put the squeezed vegetables back into the dry bowl and mix in the chilli, onion, ginger, spices and coriander. Sieve the chickpea flour over the mixture, season with salt & black pepper, mix together well and then form into about 8 small balls. Sprinkle over some more chickpea flour if they are not sticking together, but not a lot.

In a deep frying pan or wok heat about 4cm oil over a medium (not high) heat. When the oil is hot drop in about 4 or 5 balls at a time (off a slotted spoon). Fry for about 1 1/2 minutes, turning them occasionally until they are a dark (but not too dark) golden brown colour. Remove with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper in a warm place while you cook the rest.

And try not to overcook them…..!

Coriander Lime Chutney Recipe

vegan, gluten-free

• a big bunch of coriander, including stalks, chopped
• 1 (or more) green chillis, chopped
• I lime, zest and juice
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp salt

Put everything in a food processor or bowl and blend until smooth. Taste and add more lime, chilli, salt or sugar to taste.

Serve the fritters hot with the coriander lime chutney and another wedge of lime to squeeze over if you like.

Enjoy!!

Mixed Vegetable Paella and Stuffed Peppers

 

This is one of my favourite recipes. It was one of the first recipes I posted on this blog when I started it last September. I have decided to reblog it for those of you who haven’t seen it because it is really versatile and delicious. I make it at least once a week. It is a great way to use up any leftover odd bits of veg you have lying around.

I use whole grain (brown) rice which takes bit longer to cook but you can use any short grain or risotto rice. For me the essential ingredients are saffron, peppers, tomatoes, peas, rosemary, paprika, parsley and lemon juice. Any veg you want to use is fine just make sure you have red and green in there to stand out against the beautiful saffron gold.

The best thing about making paella is the leftovers. I always make sure I make too much so I have some left for lunch the next day. You can always just reheat it but using it to stuff a pepper is such a quick and easy way to make it a bit more special. Go on spoil yourself. Just slice the pepper in half if it is large (as below) or slice the top off a smaller pepper, take out the seeds and membrane and pile in the paella. Drizzle with some extra virgin and bake for about 25 minutes. You can even grate over some Manchego cheese before it goes in the oven for extra flavour.

Just serve with a simple salad dressed with lemon juice & olive oil and a wedge of lemon to spritz over the paella pepper.

Another way to use up the leftovers is to make paella cakes. You just form the cold paella into little patties and shallow fry or bake them until crispy. The crispy bits are the best. You can see my full instructions for the paella cakes here. Or try stuffing tomatoes with the paella rather than peppers.

Mixed Vegetable Paella Recipe

serves 2 with leftovers, vegan, gluten-free

• 1/2 onion, finely chopped
• 1 leek, halved lengthways, rinsed & sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 or 2 small green peppers (the long thin ones) sliced
• 1/2 big red pepper, chopped
• 6 mushrooms, sliced
• a handful of frozen peas
• 1 tomato chopped
• 1 squirt of tomato paste (tomate frito)
• 4 handfuls of short wholegrain rice(you can use risotto rice)
• 1 big pinch of saffron (or an envelope of powdered saffron)
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp dried oregano
•  a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme leaves
• 1 stalk of rosemary leaves removed & chopped finely, about 1 tsp
• salt & black pepper
• a good splash of Spanish sherry(or madeira or wine)
• 1 litre veg stock
• a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• some grated Manchego cheese (optional)
• 1 lemon, half squeezed, half cut into wedges

Heat about 2 tbsp olive oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Fry the onion & leek  with a pinch of salt until translucent (about 3 – 4 minutes)  then add the garlic and cook for another 2 mins.

Add in all the vegetables, stir and cook for 2 or 3 mins. Add in the rice, stir to coat in the oil, then add the herbs (except the parsley) and spices, stir again until well combined. Add in the splash of sherry/wine and the tomato paste, stir to incorporate.

Add the veg stock, season well with salt & black pepper, and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down to medium low, put the lid on and cook for 20 – 25 mins (stirring occasionally) until all the liquid has gone and the rice is cooked. Don’t worry if it sticks to the bottom of the pan the crispy bits taste good. Squeeze over the juice of half the lemon and stir in most of the chopped parsley. Taste for seasoning.

Serve sprinkled with grated Manchego cheese (if using), some more chopped parsley and wedges of lemon.

Paella Stuffed Peppers Recipe

serves 2, vegan, gluten-free

• leftover paella (see above)
• 1 large red pepper (or 2 small)
• extra virgin olive oil
• manchego cheese (optional)
• mixed salad leaves
• cherry tomatoes
• lemon juice
• salt & black pepper
• lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 200 C. Cut your large red pepper in half, or cut the top off of two small red peppers. Remove all seeds and membrane. Stuff the paella in to the peppers and press down. Place on a lined baking sheet. You may have to cut a little bit off the bottom of the small peppers to make them stand up straight. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake in the preheated oven for 25 – 30 minutes until the peppers are softened and starting to collapse.

Serve with a simple salad of mixed leaves and cherry tomatoes drizzled with olive oil, lemon juice, salt & black pepper.

Buen Provecho! I hope you enjoy this easy weeknight supper as much as we do. You get two meals for the price of one which is always a bonus!!

Green Vegetable Minestrone with Toasted Pine Nuts

May Day here is known as Dia de la Cruz “Day of the Cross”. It is also Dia de los Verdes “Day of the Greens”. In Alhaurin there are two main churches known as The Greens & The Purples (the colours of the Andalucian flag). For the whole long weekend and Tuesday the Green Church known asVera Cruz have processions, marching bands and let off rockets very early in the morning and very late at night.

Thankfully it stopped raining long enough to get out and take some photos this week.

I can’t pretend to know what it’s all about but they seem to enjoy it and it brings the community (well one half of it anyway) together. Rows of different types of chairs are tied together all along the procession route so no one can steal a precious front row seat.

After the processions everyone congregates at the church.

Everyone is wearing green. Purple is a definite faux-pas. Unless you are our friend Miguel, who was over from England with his girlfriend Lindsey for the Bank Holiday. He decide to rock it in lilac jeans, despite all the funny looks, classic Miguel, hilarious….!!

So in keeping with this green weekend and to atone slightly for the purple jeans incident I have made a Green Vegetable Minestrone. This is my favourite soup that we served at the restaurant. I got it from a Cape Town cookbook my Dad gave to me. It is really fresh tasting and more Springy than a classic Minestrone. You can use whatever green veg you like just make sure you give it loads of fresh basil…

I kept it vegan & gluten-free by using rice vermicelli. You can use any pasta you like but keep it tiny. Freshly shaved parmesan on top is the authentic addition that I replaced with toasted pine nuts. Either way it’s a deliciously healthy bowl of goodness that leaves you feeling all virtuous inside…

Green Vegetable Minestrone with Toasted Pine Nuts

serves 6 , vegan, gluten-free. Adapted from Cape Town Food by Phillippa Cheifitz

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 big Spanish spring onion (or 4 or 5 scallions)
• 1 leek, halved lengthways, rinsed & finely sliced
• 2 stalks celery, finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• a handful of fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/2 small cabbage, cored & finely shredded
• 125 gr green beans, 2 cm diagonal slices
• 1 courgette, diced
•  bundle of asparagus, woody ends snapped off, 2cm diagonal slices
• 100 gr frozen peas
• 50 gr rice vermicelli (or other tiny pasta) 
• 150 gr rocket (or spinach/watercress)
• 1+ 1/2 litres veg stock
• salt & black pepper
• a big bunch of basil, leaves torn or sliced when served
• 25 gr pine nuts, toasted in a dry pan
• extra virgin olive oil for drizzling
• shaved parmesan (unless vegan)

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over a medium heat, add in the spring onions, leeks & celery with a pinch of salt and cook until starting to soften about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic & parsley and cook for another minute or two.

Add in the cabbage and cook gently for about 10 minutes (you don’t want it to brown) add a splash of stock if dry. Then add in the rest of the vegetables, except the rocket and basil, and cook for another 5 minutes. Season well with salt & black pepper, pour over the stock, bring to the boil, cover, lower the heat & simmer for about 25 minutes.

Stir in the pasta and rocket and cook until tender about 5 minutes. Check seasoning and add more stock if you want it more soupy than stewy.

Ladle into warm bowls and sprinkle over lots of freshly torn basil, the toasted pine nuts and shaved parmesan (if using). Finish with a drizzle of extra virgin.

I think Los Verdes would approve don’t you?