Fast, Cheap and Good

White Post Cafe

2026-06-03T19:00:00.000+01:00

I am lucky to have such a great cafe nearby with the White Post Cafe at Langford Budville. They sell brunch type food but it is never boring.

With the rain pouring outside (it is May but still so cold) I welcomed the Spring Green Soup with a thick slice of sourdough. Delicious!

Bedouin

2026-05-31T18:48:00.000+01:00

Mint tea @ Bedouin

I was so lucky to come across Bedouin on my last day in Cambridge... a north african restaurant on Mill Road.

I was wondering if I was going to find anything on the menu for a vegan but they had some excellent starter dishes that were so flavourful.

I started with Chorba Hamra - a fresh tomato based soup with chickpeas, vermicelli and coriander... something I have cooking for myself off and on since. It was so delicious.

Chorba Hamra

Next I had oven roasted aubergine marinated with chilli, garlic and coriander; covered with a tahini dressing, pomegranate and toasted sesame seeds.

Betenjal Bel Tahina

The Hobson

2026-05-30T18:35:00.000+01:00

The Hobson restaurant Oz & Isles

Back in March I visited Cambridge; staying at the Hobson hotel. I initially was not going to eat at the hotel's restaurant Oz & Isles but after a rather tiring day exploring I decided to try it out. I was not disappointed. The hotel used to be a police station and restaurant was situated in what would have been a courtyard I believe. The courtyard had been covered and this beautiful space created.

I spent a pleasant couple of hours sipping wine, and eating this devine dish of miso glazed celeriac and a light salad.

Miso glazed celeriac

East Quay Kitchen

2026-05-27T18:14:00.000+01:00

East Quay, Watchet

The first good day after a very wet winter I travelled to Watchet in West Somerset... Watchet is blessed with this wonderful art venue; East Quay. With galleries, places to stay overnight, a paper maker and artists studios it is a great place to potter around.

It also has a great cafe; East Quay Kitchen.

Roasted cauliflower with chilli crisps

Now my eyes always light up when I see cauliflower on the menu and this saffron roasted cauliflower was gorgeous. The tahini dressing gave a creaminess and the chilli crisps just gave the right amount of punch. Something I am going to take away and cook at home.

World Travels - Maqluba

2026-05-25T18:30:00.000+01:00

I am back in Lebanon for my world travels series; just trying some recipes from all over the world, seeking out recipes that have been converted already or I can easily convert to being vegan.

Maqluba is normally made with layers of meat with vegetables with rice that you flip from the pan onto the plate. It look fabulous; this pile of fragrant rice with aubergine, potato and peppers topped with pinenuts and usually almonds (I used hazelnuts).

I found the recipe on the excellent website Plant Based Folk and with a few tweeks produced this.

I served the maqluba with just a simple salad of cucumber and a green salad.. perfect for a summers day.

Velvet Garden Winter Festive Dinner

2026-05-23T18:19:00.000+01:00

The star dish for me - confit leeks, leek cream, walnut crumb, thyme butter, leek ash

A bit of a late posting.... going to the Velvet Garden Winter Festive Dinner was such an experience. A 5 course meal of beautifully cooked vegetables; inventively cooked with stunning presentation. Every dish was exquisite but the real star plate for me was the confit leeks; the thyme just went so well with the leeks... will try and re-create as some point. I even loved the parsnip dish (one of my least favourite vegetables being so sweet); the ras el hanout mayo just made it.

The astonishing fact is that was all vegan and gluten free.

Beautifully laid festive table

Roasted cauliflower, cauliflower and dabinett cider cream, blackberry balsamic, parsnip crisps

Parsnip fritters, pear chutney, ras el hanout mayo

Confit leeks, leek cream, walnut crumb, thyme butter, leek ash

Wild mushroom stuffing, smoked celeriac puree, roasted onion puree, sauteed kalettes, crispy oyster mushrooms, pickle red cabbage, porcini gravy

Spiced date pudding, apple compote, amaretto caramel, almond french meringue, whipped yoghurt

Pip's Railway Carriage

2026-05-20T23:34:00.000+01:00

Inside the bus

It had been a long time since going to Pip's Railway Carriage in Lopenhead, South Petherton, Somerset. Last time I booked one of the railway carriages but this time we managed to snag a table on the double decker bus.

The food was scrummy as always and a vegetable lover's dream. Beautifully seasoned kale with a sort of peanut crumb and roasted cabbage (one of my new favourites). The roasted cabbage was served with a truffle crumb that made the humble vegetable rich and unctious. Well worth a visit.

Yummy kale with a peanut crumb and roasted cabbage with a truffle crumb

World Travels - Sudan

2026-05-17T15:58:01.787+01:00

From the top clockwise - Kisra, Mullah Aswad Bel Dakwa, Mullah Warag,

Mullah Amer

Kisra (Sorghum ‘Pancakes’)

This is a thin pancake like bread unique to Sudan. Typically made from sorghum flour but can be made from millet flour, corn flour or ordinary wheat flour. You ferment the sorghum batter for up to 3 days and then spread the batter wafer thin onto a cooking surface. The results are thin sheets of a mildly tangy bread that go so well with the stews… Mine were not quite so thin with the limited special utensils. I used my new chapati pan but still did not manage that wafer thin perfection. The recipe I used utilised yoghurt to act as a fermenting agent… I swapped in for kimchi ‘juice’ that perhaps did not have the desired effect.

This is a great video on how to truly make them.

Here is the recipe that I used (omitting the yoghurt) - https://www.sudanese.kitchen/recipe/kisra

Kisra

Mullah Ahmer (Red Stew)

Mullah Ahmer or Red Stew is soup normally made with beef and tomatoes. I took the recipe from https://www.sudanese.kitchen/recipe/red-stew and swapped the beef for red lentils…this goes so well with kisra.

Mullah Ahmer

Ingredients

2 small or 1 large red onion, finely chopped

100ml vegetable oil

150 g dried red lentils

4 tbsp tomato paste

1 tin of tomatoes, blended

2-3 tbsp ground coriander

4-5 tbsp ground okra

3-4 crushed garlic cloves

1 tbsp marmite (my addition to add some extra umami)

Instructions

Cook the red lentils with some water for about 15 minutes (you are looking for a soup like consistency).
In a separate pan fry the onion and add the cooked lentils.
Add the blended tomatoes and tomato puree. Add some water if it is too thick.
Stir in the marmite.
Reduce the heat and add the coriander and seasoning. Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the ground okra if you can source it and the garlic. Stir well.

Mullah Aswad Bel Dakwa (Aubergine and Peanut Stew)

Ingredients

1 Aubergine - chopped into large cubes

1 onion, finely chopped

Cumin

Nutmeg

Paprika

Cinnamon

Allspice

1-2 tbsp grated fresh ginger

1 lime, juiced

2-3 tbsp peanut butter

1 tbsp vegetable stock (or 1 stock cube)

1 tbsp ground okra

Instructions

Fry the chopped onion in a large saucepan and season with cumin, nutmeg, paprika, cinnamon and allspice.
Once the onion is caramelised add the chopped aubergine and fold into the onions.
Keep turning the aubergine for even cooking.
Make a paste from the peanut butter, loosen with the lime juice and add the grated ginger and a little water.
Season the paste with salt, pepper, cumin, nutmeg, paprika, cinnamon and allspice.
Once the aubergine is seared add water and some vegetable stock. Allow to simmer for 2 to 3 minutes.
Add the peanut paste and stir gently.
Allow to simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
Add the ground okra (or corn flour if you cannot get the ground okra). The ground okra is a thickener.
After a bit of stir it is ready to serve.

Mullah Aswad Bel Dakwa

Mullah Warag (Black-Eyed Pea Leaf Stew - substituting Spinach)

This is essentially a lamb stew with the black-eyed pea leaves. So I obviously left out the meat and added smoked rapeseed oil and vegetable stock to intensify the flavours. I could not source the black-eyed pea leaf so substituted spinach instead.

Ingredients

2 to 3 onions, finely chopped

500g spinach, coarsely chopped

1 tsp vegetable stock

1 clove garlic, crushed

2 tsp ground coriander

Ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Gently fry the chopped onions in a saucepan until translucent.
Add black pepper, and ground coriander and stir.
Add the spinach and a little stock and cook for about 10 minutes (it will not need very long).
Keep the stew loose with more stock if needed.
Blend the spinach and add the crushed garlic that had been fried.

Sharhabil Ahmed - The King of Sudanese Jazz (Habibi Funk 013)

Akub

2026-02-02T22:58:00.004+00:00

It was magical to return to Akub; the most divine restaurant in Notting Hill serving tempting Palestinian dishes. I was blown away by the non-alcoholic cocktails.. I had the Tamarind Fizz - an unusual combination of tamarind, lime juice, orange blossom and ginger ale with a bay leaf... just have to try it at home.

Zahra Fritters, Aubergine Fatteh and arabic bread

The zahra fritters was a morerish bite of cauliflower accompanied by coriander tahinia and marinated sumac onions...

aubergine fatteh

I had to go with the aubergine fatteh; a beautiful dish of gently fried aubergines in a spiced tomato sauce topped with shredded focaccia and garlicky yoghurt.

Mousabaha

And finally the mousabaha... chickpeas (my absolute favourite) with a tahinia sauce, lemon, parsley and almonds... I had to roll out of the restaurant so replete; remembering the myriad of flavours... I just need to go back - soon!

Cauliflower and Pumpkin Seed Tacos

2026-01-16T23:32:00.001+00:00

I have memories of the wonderful cauliflower and pumpkin seed tacos that I had at Chido Wey in Bristol many years ago and wanted to recreate the dish. Armed with freshly made tortilla from Masa Tortillas I searched for a recipe online. Much to my surprise I came across a recipe from Jane Goodall...

I leave out the sage and use canned tomatoes for my version.... The recipe is great with some avocado, vegan blue cheese and radishes (though I did not have them for this version). Really good if you can get your hand on fresh corn tortillas. The basic recipe can be frozen to bring out in later when you are busy.

Bokman

2026-01-15T23:49:00.001+00:00

Bokman

Before Christmas I visited the Korean restaurant Bokman in Bristol. Nestled in the grungy and artsy Stokes Croft area it delivers on dishes inspired by travels in Seoul and South Korea; these are simple dishes with the best ingredients. Loved it and hankering to go back.

Spicy braised tofu with rice, king oyster mushroom and choy sum washed down with yuzu-ade

Amazing intimate place with canteen vibes but bags of character. Just wished I had some of the sides as well.

Braised tofu that was silky soft and packed with flavour

Local murals in Stokes Croft

World Travels - Jamaica

2026-01-14T00:35:00.001+00:00

With the nights drawing in I wanted to bring back some of those summer vibes; what better way than to try rice n' peas, ackee and callaloo, and a lovely fresh slaw.

Rice n Peas

(Serves 2-4)

This is my quick recipe for that quintessential Jamaican dish of rice n peas. For a more authentic recipe please read this great article in Sous Chef.

Ingredients

2 cups Basmati rice
Tin red kidney beans
3-4 sprigs of thyme
2cm of fresh ginger, minced
tin of coconut milk
1 spring onion sliced
4 cloves garlic crushed
1 tsp allspice
1 scotch bonnet, seeds removed
1 tbsp vegetable stock

Instructions

In a large saucepan heat some oil (I used sunflower oil) and fry the spring onions, garlic, ginger and allspice.
Add the washed rice, scotch bonnet whole, sprigs of thyme, coconut milk (maybe about 1/2 a can) and water if needed.
Add the tinned red kidney beans as well and stock if you are using that. Bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer. Put a lid on the saucepan.
Basmati rice takes around 20 minutes to cook through. Remove the lid and fluff the rice and serve.

Ackee and Callaloo

Ackee is the national fruit of Jamaica and is normally paired with saltfish but I thought I would try it with calalloo, another important Jamaican ingredient. I have never used ackee before but it was such a great ingredient; quite neutral in taste really but able to absorb all those spicy flavours.

Ingredients

1 small can of ackee
1 small can of callaloo or a bunch fresh calalloo, roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, diced
1 onion, halved and sliced
1 spring onion, sliced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 scotch bonnet (remove the seeds and finely chop)
a few stalks of fresh thyme
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp lime juice
sea salt and black pepper
oil for frying (like rapeseed or sunflower)

Instructions

1. In a large frying pan add the onions to a medium heat and fry until slightly browned.

2. Add the crushed garlic and the spring onion and sautee for about 1 minute.

3. Add the tomatoes, thyme, smoked paprika and scotch bonnet and cook for about 5 minutes.

4.If you are using the fresh callaloo add to the frying pan and cook down.

5. Drain and rinse the ackee (and the canned callaloo if you using that).

6. Add the ackee and callaloo to the frying pan and stir through. Remember to be gentle to so the ackee is not too broken up.

7. Squeeze some lime juice on and serve.

Fresh Slaw

Ingredients

1 carrot (cut into strips)

1/4 white cabbage (shredded)

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tbsp neutral oil like rapeseed or sunflower oil

1 scotch bonnet (deseeded and sliced finely)

Instructions

1. Combine the lime juice, oil and scotch bonnet if using and whisk to combine the ingredients.

2. In a bowl place the dressing and add the carrot and cabbage... gently fold the dressing into the veggies.

World Travels - Kazakhstan

2025-09-30T21:43:00.001+01:00

I have been reading Red Sands by Caroline Eden recently; a sort of travelogue with recipes through Central Asia. Even though the recipes seem to be the antipathy to my kind of cuisine (ie plant based foods) the writing is exquisite with little vignettes into Caroline Eden's travels.

'In the shattered rear-view mirror, the land was pink from the rising sun. The fractured looking glass rendered the desert view, mainly sand dunes, scrub and small hills, broken and repetitive. On the road, between the cities of Bukhara and Khiva - some stretches good, others badly potholed - there was a sense of slowly evaporating, of being dwarfed by the Kyzylkum ('red sand') Desert.'

Whilst browsing the recipes and stories I came across a recipe: Meatball, Lavash and Chickpea Soup. This consisted of lamb meatballs seasoned with paprika and cumin in a thin bouillion with chickpeas, lavash or pitta bread, dill and parsley. Caroline Eden had this particular dish in Karaganda known for its mining industry and monuments to Yuri Gagarin. Taking liberties I substituted the meatballs for lion's mane mushrooms and the chicken stock for vegetable stock to make an extremely hearty meal freshened by piles of herbs.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
500 ml of vegetable stock
Couple handfuls of pre-cooked chickpeas
2 pitta bread
Dill fronds roughly chopped
Flat leaf parsley roughly chopped
150g Lion's mane mushroom
Garlic clove, crushed
1/2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper

Instructions

In a mixing bowl combine the olive oil, garlic, paprika, cumin and seasoning.
Break the mushrooms into big chunks and place in the bowl with the rest of the oil mixture.
Coat the mushrooms in the marinade.
Heat a frying pan on a medium heat and add a little oil to the pan.
Add the mushroom and fry for around 10 minutes.
In a separate saucepan add the vegetable stock and chickpeas and simmer for around 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes.
Toast or grill the pitta and cut into shards.
Ladle the soup into bowls and scatter with the pitta and the herbs.

I will leave you with another quote from Caroline Eden's book whilst in Karaganda - it is just such evocative writing.

'Temptation. I stepped onto the balcony, into the cold clear night, and with the packet in my hand, looked up at the Milky Way, our galaxy, named after 'gala' the Greek word for milk, each star believed to be a drop of spilled breast milk from goddess Hera. I lit a cigarette and imagined the cosmonauts up there, then down here, landing somewhere on Kazakhstan's flat plains. Vast cosmic space and immense human achievements, mirroring the hopes, possibilities and loneliness of all life on earth.'

A Vegan Take on Madrouba

2025-09-27T13:30:00.002+01:00

I was wowed so much my Zanzibar/Omani cuisine of food writer Dina Macki that thought I would try another Omani recipe Madrouba; a porridge of rice, enriched by spices. Usually madrouba is made with chicken but I found this excellent vegan version from the The Vegan Physicist - https://veganphysicist.com/oman-vegan-madrouba/ .

The name madrouba means beaten rice (a fact that I was ignorant of so will have to try it again sometime properly). Anyway it was still delicious and that combination of turmeric, cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg and very importantly dried limes made it beautifully flavoured. I was lucky enough to have a new shop open in my home town recently that actually stocked dried limes so took the opportunity to add them to my food pantry. The dish would go very well with baharat roasted cauliflower that I cooked before or the mchicha; that showstopping dish of spinach and coconut milk.

Suya Roasted Vegetables

2025-08-11T00:10:00.002+01:00

I was lucky to see Zoe Adjonyoh at the Abergavenny Food Festival some years ago and tried some of her Ghanian recipes in the form of red red (a super spicy stew with unusual ingredient of gari or cassava root that has been grated, and left to ferment. It is then dried and ground to flour) and fried plaintain - I tried the recipe before some years ago. So it was great to find this recipe in the Guardian for Suya Roasted Vegetables; the suya spice mix is key in West Africa especially for barbeques and works so well for roasting vegetables. Check out the recipe here.

I used potatoes, cauliflower and courgettes but you can add kale, broccoli or cabbage quite easily... as you can see I added some chickpeas as well which worked surprisingly well. Once you have ground the suya spice mix together you can keep it in a spice jar quite easily for up to 6 months. This is a great store cupboard spice mix that you can bring out and add that great West African taste to your veggies.

I serve the veggies with some rice... you can cook up a batch of jollof rice or just leave it plain like I did.

Nistisima

2025-08-10T17:46:00.000+01:00

I was recently drawn to the beautiful book by Georgina Hayden: Nistisima which focuses on fasting foods; foods that are inherently vegan due to fasting rules. If fact nistisima is the Greek word that translates as Lenten, or fasting, foods. Georgina Hayden explores the cuisine of Mediterranean and beyond; from the Greek Orthodox fasting recipes to the Coptic Christians in Egypt, the Maronites in Lebanon and Syria to Orthodox communities in Russia and Eastern Europe... the book is truly dazzling in the range of vegetable, grain and legume recipes and it is going to be my go to book for delicious meals for many years to come.

Eat to live, not live to eat.
Socrates (469-399 BCE)

Georgina Hayden starts the book with this quote and at first I did not understand the meaning; it seemed to convey that the act of eating was just to function which to my mind is very depressing. The author explains that 'Socrates meant something deeper: that food should be nourishing; energy to power our lives.' Certainly her recipes are full of flavour and I want to try each one...relish the tastes and indeed nourish my life. I suppose I am eating to truly live and these recipes are providing some delicious ways to do that.

I decided to try a Lebanese recipe arnabeet; deep-fried cauliflower with tarator alongside a Greek-Cyprian recipe for spiced courgettes that Georgina Hayden's own yiayia (grandmother) Maroulla would cook along with with some salad of watercress and radish and some fresh French beans straight from our garden.

The arnabeet was a simple recipe which I slightly changed from being deep-fried cauliflower to air fried cauliflower... I simply par boiled the cauliflower florets and then tossed in olive oil and smoked paprika and fried in the air fryer for about 10 to 15 minutes. The tarator was a mix of tahini, crushed garlic and fresh lemon juice and plenty of seasoning. Once the cauliflower is cooked plate up, sprinkle with sumac and drizzle the tarator on top. Sprinkle parsley on top. This is the way that I am going to be cooking cauliflower from now on... so delicious.

The second recipe that I tried from 'Nistisima' was for Maroulla's spiced courgettes; a delightful dish of fried onion, galic and courgettes with Lebanese seven-spice and dried chilli flakes... you need to cook this long and slow to get this unctuous dish.

Remember to leave some leftovers.. it is great the next day!

Fairuz - Ana Indi Haneen

Sopa de Maiz (Mexican Sweetcorn Soup)

2025-08-01T17:45:00.001+01:00

What do you do when you have an extra large amount of sweetcorn... you make soup of course. Adding a bit of heat and acidity of the lime juice took the edge off this vegetable and kept it from being too sweet. Topping it with some tostadas I had left over (you can use tortilla chips) gave the dish a crispiness that was needed. You can play around with the amount of heat you add by keeping the seeds of the chilli in or out... as I used little birds eye chillies I did not bother to remove the seeds which may have created a more potent combination than intended.. but it was still delicious.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
1 medium potato (cut into 1cm cubes)
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp paprika
400 ml vegetable stock
600 g tinned sweetcorn
1 grilled sweetcorn
Juice of 1 lime
3 tbsp chopped coriander leaves
2 or 3 tostadas or about 30 tortilla chips (I recommend Mister Freed tortilla chips - guacamole flavour - gluten free, vegan, very tasty)

Instructions

Fry the onion for about 10 minutes in a large saucepan.
Add the chilli and spices and combine the onion. Stir for about 1 minute to prevent the spices from burning.
Add the potato and the sweetcorn followed by the vegetable stock. If the mixture is too thick add some more water.
Simmer for about 20 minutes or until the potato is cooked and add more water if needed.
At this stage remove the bay leaves and add the majority of the coriander leaves and the lime juice.
Take off the heat and blend the mixture in a liquidiser or with an immersion blender.
When ready to serve heat up the mixture and then spoon into bowls with a sprinkle of broken up tostadas or tortilla chips and rest of the coriander leaves.

Antonio Aguilar - Corridos y Caballos

Cannellini Bean Dip with Homemade Crackers

2025-08-01T17:45:00.000+01:00

With the hot weather I am chasing some quick and easy recipes for some summery suppers; what more quick than a dip with just 5 ingredients. And what goes with a dip well a cracker of course... I had some rye flour to use up so thought I would riff on a Scandinavian cracker with plenty of seeds and good healthy things.

Cannellini Bean Dip

Ingredients

200/300g Cannellini beans (cooked)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 clove garlic (crushed)
Olive oil
Handful of sprigs of parsley

Instructions

1. Heat some olive oil in a sauce pan and add your crushed garlic and cooked cannellini beans.

2. Cook for about 5 minutes on a low heat. Take off the heat.

3. Leave the garlic and cannellini beans to cool and then add the parsley (I chopped the parsley roughly before adding to the beans).

4. Either liquidise or use an immersion blender on the mixture to whizz into a a lovely smooth dip.

Sweetcorn Hiyashi

2025-07-27T19:45:00.003+01:00

With the hot summer weather that the U.K. has been experiencing of late Meera Sodha's recipe for sweetcorn hiyashi in the Guardian was a welcome dish to try. The dish was based on Hiyashi Chūka which literally means 'chilled Chinese' and is one of those odd Chinese-Japanese fusions. Apparently th dish was invented in 1937 by the Chinese Restaurant Ryutei in Sendai which was an adaptation of the Shanghainese dish liangbanmian. Typically the dish consists of chilled noodles topped with summer vegetables of cucumber and tomato, a tare sauce (a sauce made from soy sauce, mirin, sake, vinegar, garlic, spring onions, ginger and black peppercorns), and usually meat toppings and shredded omelette... Meera Sodha's vegan version was with tofu and sweetcorn still hit the spot as it provided a cooling effect for the blistering hot days. I left out the tomato as it is not my favourite and did not have so much of the sweetcorn as it was far too sweet for me but the recipe seemed useful to riff on.

World Travels - Ireland

2025-07-14T00:36:00.000+01:00

I was inspired to delve into some Irish recipes by watching the fabulous CMAT at Glastonbury Festival on the television... I currently have her song 'The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station' on repeat and decided to bop around to it whilst making this vegan and gluten free version of an Irish classic boxty - a potato pancake.

There are a number of recipes for boxty but mainly they involve them including finely grated, raw potato and frying them. I took 'The Fiery Vegetarian's' version of boxty and just replaced the ordinary flour with chickpea flour (gram flour). Chickpea flour is my go to for making gluten free options for friends and myself (I do love chickpeas). I fried the boxty in Naturli Vegan 'butter' which is about the best butter replacement I have found. It has a great 'buttery' taste and is great for cakes, especially the Naturli Vegan Block.

Anyway, the boxty fried up a treat into light fluffy potato goodness. Served with a bit of vegan yoghurt and spring onions it was a beautiful supper dish.

CMAT - The Jamie Oliver Petrol Station

World Travels - Armenia

2025-07-13T18:02:00.002+01:00

Little did I know that delving into the vegetable dishes of Armenia would lead me to discovering some intriguing combinations and a wonderful use of apricots. Apparently the apricot is the national fruit of Armenia and has been cultivated there since ancient times. [1] Some even suggest that Alexander the Great took Armenian apricots and introduced them to Greece and the surrounding Mediterranean region. Apricots were first cultivated in China over 4,000 years ago but they seem to have embedded themselves into Armenian culture with festivals celebrating the apricot and even a musical instrument - the "tsiranapokh" which mean apricot tree pipe.

One of those surprising apricot recipes was for an apricot and red lentil soup - Tsirani Vosp Apur which providing hearty but tangy flavour. In season you use fresh apricots and dried during the winter so it will be interesting to try this with dried apricots and see how it makes a difference.

Tsirani Vosp Apur

Ingredients

1 shallot
1 carrot (cut in small dice)
1 cup of dried red lentils
1 tbsp cumin seeds
½ tbsp ground coriander
2 fresh apricots de-stoned and cut into large pieces
4 cups of vegetable stock

Instructions

1. Dice the shallot and fry in a little olive oil in a large saucepan. Fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the diced carrot and fry for another 5 minutes.

3. Add the spices and mix with the shallot and carrot and then the red lentils.

4. Ensure you coat the red lentils in the shallot/carrot/spices and add 2 cups of vegetable stock. You can add a few diced tomatoes at this point if you want but this is optional... I left them out for this dish.

5. Add the apricots and give it a stir through. Keep the mixture 'soup-like' by adding more vegetable stock. I ended up using 4 cups of stock in the end and could easily have added another cup as my soup ended up quite thick.

6. Cook for another 15-20 minutes and then you can liquidise the lentil and apricots together.

7. Serve with a little drizzle of pomegranate molasses or lemon a squeeze of lemon juice.

Courgettes with Pistachios and Basil

One of my resources was the excellent 'The Armenian Kitchen' where I was able to source a couple of great vegetable dishes including this one for grilled courgettes with pistachios and basil... it was so quick and easy to prepare. Find the recipe here - https://thearmeniankitchen.com/zucchini-with-pistachios-and-basil/

Easter Spinach Salad

I just used vegan yoghurt instead of Greek yoghurt in my version of this fresh spinach salad. Find the recipe here: https://thearmeniankitchen.com/easter-spinach-salad/

I ended up eating the courgettes and spinach salad with a few olives after the very filling red lentil and apricot soup.

John Bilezikjian - A Thousand and One Nights

References

[1] Armenian Geographic - Symbols of Armenia - https://www.armgeo.am/en/armenian-apricot/

World Travels - Suriname

2025-06-28T16:46:00.001+01:00

I have been a little addicted to the YouTube channel Geography Now recently… getting to know little known countries of the world and getting a real picture of what they are like. One of the places that Geography Now took me to was Suriname (watch this excellent film about Suriname to get a snapshot of the country.)

I was intrigued to understand the rich history of the former Dutch plantation colony in South America and how it informed the cuisine. That mixture of different cultures that includes India, Africa, Indonesia, China and of course the Netherlands makes for an intriguing melange of recipes.

The dark history of enslavement rears its ugly head with an estimated total of 220,000 enslaved Africans working the plantations of what was then Dutch Guiana on farms of coffee, cocoa and sugar[1]. Slavery was officially abolished in Suriname on July 1, 1863 by the Emancipation Act. 32,911 slaves were released but still had to work under contract for 10 years. After the Emancipation Act the Dutch brought in many Indonesian and East Indian people as indentured workers to work the plantations in much the same way the British brought in people from India when the slaves of Trinidad and Tobago were freed. These indentured workers made their favourite dishes with locally available ingredients and gradually blended with African, European and Indigenous recipes. Thus you get curry, roti, and satay sauces introduced. There are even influences from Jewish settlers from the 17th century. They all go to make up this rich culinary mix that makes Surinamese cuisine what it is today.

Bruine Bonen

Bruine Bonen, or brown beans, is a hearty dish that reflects the country’s rich cultural heritage. It is made with tender brown beans stewed with meat and accompanied with vegetables and rice. It belies its influences from Africa, the Netherlands and India. Usually the dish involves salt beef, chicken and smoked pork sausage so to veganise it I used smoked tofu and lion's mane mushrooms which I marinaded to get a more umami flavour.

Ingredients

(Serves 4-6)

90g lion’s mane mushrooms - cut into cubes
90g super firm smoked tofu - cut in small cubes
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp vegan Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp onion powder
2 cups of rice
1 onion sliced
3 cloves of garlic sliced
Can of pinto beans (400g drained)
2 tbsp vegetable stock
2 tsp allspice but use 5 allspice berries if you have them
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp onion powder
1 bay leaf
Whole chilli pepper
1 can of coconut milk
Oil for cooking (use coconut oil if you have it but I used sunflower oil)

Instructions

1. First of all prepare the marinade by combining the olive oil, tamari, vegan Worcestershire sauce and onion powder and add your mushrooms and smoked tofu and leave for at least 10 minutes.

2. In a large saucepan fry the sliced onion in a little oil and after about 5 minutes add the garlic. Fry for another minute.

3. Add the marinaded mushroom and tofu and fry for about 5 minutes.

4. Add the spices of allspice, cayenne pepper, onion powder, black pepper and bay leave and ensure the mushroom and tofu are coated with the spices.

5. Add the drained can of pinto beans and then the can of coconut milk with the whole chilli pepper and leave to cook for about 10 minutes.

6. Cook the rice separately (I just boiled the rice in 4 cups of water and a little salt for about 10 minutes or until the water has evaporated).

7. Serve the rice and bruine bonen together in a bowl with fried plantain, stir fried green beans and beansprouts and a satay sauce.

Dutch Satay Sauce

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
1/2 cup chunky peanut butter
1/4 cup candlenuts, ground finely in a food processor
1/4-inch fresh ginger, finely grated
1 clove garlic, finely grated
1 stalk lemongrass
3 tablespoons kecap manis, or soy sauce/tamari
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 makrut lime leaves
1 tablespoon sambal, or chilli paste

Instructions

Fry onion in oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
Once onion has softened and browned slightly, add peanut butter, ground candlenuts, ginger, and garlic.
Bruise lemongrass by laying it on a cutting board and hitting it a few times with the bottom of a handle of a knife or the blunt side of the knife.
Add kecap manis or soy sauce, coconut milk, lemongrass, and the lime leaves, then bring to a simmer. Cook for about 10 minutes.
Add the sambal and taste for seasoning.
If sauce has thickened too much at this point, add some warm water.
Discard lemongrass and lime leaves, then give sauce a quick whisk before serving. My ended up being quite thick and could have had some more water to get to the correct consistency.

Fried Plantain

Ingredients

2 green plantain
Neutral oil to fry the plantain (I used sunflower oil)

Instructions

1. In a large frying pan add some cooking oil and heat up.

2. Slice the plantain diagonally into large slices.

3. Fry the slices for about 5 minutes on each side keeping the heat to medium and not too high or else you will burn the plantain.

Stir-Fried Vegetables with Satay Sauce

Ingredients

Good handful of green beans snipping off the stalk
Good handful of bean sprouts (rinse before you use)
Neutral oil for cooking

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a frying pan or wok to a fairly high heat.

2. Add the green beans and bean sprouts and flash fry for about 2 minutes.

3. Serve the green beans and bean sprouts in a bowl and place a dollop of the satay sauce on top.

Conjunto Latinos - Groentoe Botto

[1] - Wikipedia on Afro-Surinamese - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Afro-Surinamese

Carrot Fritters

2025-06-23T10:59:00.000+01:00

In the last post I was talking about Maria Elia's recipe for carrot fritters which I have already written about many years ago.... I tried it again and it is so easy... just carrots, gram flour, cumin, coriander and fennel seeds made into a stiff batter and fried until crispy. This is recipe I will be using again and again especially when carrots are so cheap. This makes such a great supper dish. I just cook the carrot fritters part of the dish but you can find the full recipe here.

Peach, Tomato and Ginger Chilled Soup

2025-06-22T17:11:00.000+01:00

In conversation with a close foodie friend I reminisced over a carrot fritter dish by the wonderful chef Maria Elia from her book The Modern Vegetarian. Back home I dug out the recipe from my copy of the book and chanced upon this recipe for a chilled soup. A refreshing taste of peach, tomato and ginger; so subtle.

I found the recipe online on Foster's Daily Democrat if you want to replicate it or go and buy Maria Elia's book. It is a great mixture of plum tomatoes, sliced ginger and peaches with shallots and garlic. As you can see it is so beautiful dish... so colourful and makes for a great summer dinner party starter. You can make it in advance and keep in chilled in the refrigerator until serving.

The dish has reflections of the traditional Spanish gazpacho or the fruity version involving watermelon but I am also reminded of a dish I tried many years ago with white currents, milk and yoghurt. Since making this dish I have gone down a rabbit hole of investigating fruit soups; from Finnish Bilberry soup, to Hungarian cold fruit soups.... really intrigued to try a Armenian apricot soup (tsirani vosp apur) with red lentil and apricots from the capital city Yerevan.

White Hart, Somerton

2025-06-22T12:04:00.000+01:00

I have found another excellent restaurant in Somerset that can really cater for vegans. No butternut squash, no sweet potato, no bell peppers; bliss! Instead a real understanding of vegetable cooking giving plenty of taste and umami. I happily chowed down on this dish of 'merguez' spiced aubergine, borlotti bean cassoulet, 'n'duja', and cavolo nero salsa. So delicious and really satisfying. Those flavours that you get from a merguez sausage (apart from the small intestine part) of paprika, chilli, cayenne and coriander elevate the dish to give a harmonious balance of heat, smokiness and savoury complexity. The cavolo nero salsa added a rounded earthy tone to ultimately inspire me to replicate the dish at some point.

It was all matched with a calming, and sedate interior making it a wonderful place to dine on a very hot day in June. Go now to the White Hart in Somerton... you will in for a treat.