1 red onion
1 courgette
10 mushrooms
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
2 beef tomatoes (or 4 smaller ones)
Dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tsp tomato puree
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp light soy sayce
1/2 tsp brown sugar
Mix together the dressing ingredients. Clean the veg and slice thinly. Mix with the dressing and leave to marinate in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.
Season to taste and serve with a slice of quiche or a baked potato with butter and cheese.
This lovely recipe is from the second ‘World food Café book. If is for a savoury gluten-free pancake which goes well with curries or filled with stir fries.
12oz gram flour (chickpea)
2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tsp black peppercorns, crushed
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 pint water
2 eggs, whisked
1 red onion (white will do)
1 cup coriander or parsley leaves (optional)
1 tbsp corn oil
In a small pan, dry fry the cumin and coriander seeds for a couple of minutes. Tip them into a pestle and mortar or spice grinder, together with the black pepper and crush them. Mix them with the flour, baking powder and salt, then stir in eggs and water. Leave the batter to stand for half an hour.
Finely chop onion and coriander and stir into the batter.
Heat a little oil in a small frying pan and wait until it sizzles. Wipe round with a piece of kitchen roll. Pour in batter and swirl to cover base of pan. Turn down heat. Once bubbles appear and the top looks nearly done, flip the pancake to cook the other side for a minute or so, then eat. Wipe the pan with the greased kitchen roll and repeat.
Eat immediately or keep warm in the oven until you have cooked them all.
Quick fillings:
6 rashers dry-cure streaky bacon
1 red pepper
6 eggs
500g spirali pasta
1 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp thick greek yoghurt
salt & pepper to taste
Boil eggs for 10 mins and put bacon on to grill until crispy. Boil pasta until al dente. Chop pepper into small cubes.
Cool eggs by running under cold water. Peel and mash the eggs and mix in the mayonnaise and yoghurt. Season to taste. If it’s a little dry, add some more yoghurt and mayo in the same proportions… some eggs are bigger than others and you need it to make a creamy sauce for the pasta.
Crumble the bacon into the egg mixture, add the red pepper and drained pasta and serve while still warm.
I love this as a lazy hangover brunch, served with a tall glass of fresh blood orange juice, or just a plate of orange cut into segments with the rind still on. If you have some left over, it is delicious as a cold salad for a working lunch.
This is an excellent sauce to have down pat. It is basically exactly the same as you’d do with minced beef or lamb, but using puy lentils instead. The finished texture is extremely like a meat sauce.
1 tbs olive oil
1 onion
1 clove garlic
4 tomatoes
8 mushrooms
1 pepper (red or yellow)
1 mug puy lentils
1 tin tomatoes
1 stock cube (veg, beef or lamb)
2 tbsp dark soy
1 tbsp ketchup
1/2 ltr boiling water
Chop up the veg into small dice and mince the garlic. Fry the onion gently in the olive oil until glassy, then add the garlic and the rest of the veg. Allow to soften for a couple of minutes then add the lentils, stock cube, tinned tomato, soy and ketchup.
Stir well, then top up with boiling water; the water must cover everything with a little bit to spare. Stir well and leave to simmer. Check occasionally and stir, add more boiling water if needed. It should take around 40 mins. Season to taste. The sauce freezes well.
You can use this straight on noodles for spaghetti bolognaise, layered in a lasagne or nestled under mash to make a cottage pie. The babies really like it too, and for fussy eaters, just chop the veg a little finer. If you add a tin of kidney beans, a chilli and a tsp ground cumin, it becomes a lovely veggie chilli sauce which is great on baked spuds, scooped up with tortilla chips or ladled into split baguettes for the fantastically named sloppy Joes.