(Almost) Veggie-Heaven

Cheesy Garlic Mushrooms

2007-06-18T18:07:00.001+00:00

This is super simple: Fried mushrooms, with a cheesy sauce. It contains a mixture of pickled garlic, peppers and olives for extra taste, which you can by ready made.

500gr white mushrooms
3 table spoons Garlic Salad (pickled garlic, olives, peppers in vinegar)
1 pinch vegetable soup powder
30gr cheddar

In a pan fry the chopped mushrooms. After a few minutes add the garlic salad mix and a little vegetable soup powder for extra flavour.
After a few more minutes, add some cheese to bind the water in the pan - and you are done.
Photo credit: GTO350.

Pisto (Braised Vegetables)

2007-04-09T11:45:00.000+00:00

This recipe is an absolute date-killer, because of the large amounts of garlic. But if you are not on the prowl, it is an absolutely delicious way of preparing your vegetables! Also, it can be eaten immediately after cooking, or alternatively let it cool down a bit, add some more olive oil and use it as a spread.

1 aubergine
1 zucchini
1 large onion
10 cloves of garlic (I mean it!)
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
3 tomatoes
olive oil, salt, pepper

Cut all the vegetables into small but chunky pieces. In a pan, heat some olive oil and add all the vegetables and the garlic (crushed). Fry on medium heat for about an hour, it should look somewhat very mushy. Season with salt and pepper and add a little extra virgin olive oil for extra taste. Enjoy :) !

Spinach & Tofu

2007-03-11T19:28:00.000+00:00

A very easy recipe which works very well with flavoured tofu.

1 pack of fresh spinach
100g tofu (if possible with basil flavour)
30g pine nuts
1 onion
salt, garlic powder, pepper, olive oil

Cut the onion and the tofu in small pieces and fry all together in a little oil.
Clean the spinach, and add to the pot. Cover, and cook until the spinach is cooked.
Season with some salt, pepper and a little garlic powder. If you can't get basil-flavoured tofu, then you could add some freshly cut basil at this point, too.

Cabbage and Lentil Curry

2007-03-02T19:13:00.000+00:00

1 green pointed cabbage
250g of red lentils
1 can of tomatoes
1 onion
Juice of 1 lemon
vegetable soup (powder), curry powder (mild or hot)

Cut the onion in small pieces and fry in a little oil until translucent. Add the lentils, cover with water, add some vegetable soup powder, curry powder and the can of tomatoes and let the mixture simmer until the lentils are soft (around 20 minutes).
During this time cut the cabbage into small pieces, and add to the soft lentils. Cook for a further 5-10 minutes (until the cabbage is done, but be careful not to overcook it).
Before serving, add the juice of one lemon (or to taste).
Can be served with rice or alternatively bread. If you like it spicy, you can also add some chili .

Jerusalem Artichokes Bake

2007-02-08T21:59:00.001+00:00

A combination of the sweet taste of Jerusalem artichokes and horseradish make this an interesting bake with a twist.

500g of Jerusalem artichokes
1 table spoon horseradish
100ml of milk
breadcrumbs
salt, pepper

Boil the artichokes, skin on for about 30 minutes. After that time, peel the artichokes, slice them into small, chunky pieces and put them into an oven-proof dish.
Mix the milk with the horseradish, salt and pepper and if you want, add some cream or even a bit of white wine. Pour the mixture over the sliced artichokes and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
Bake in an oven at around 180C for 20 minutes, until the milk has turned creamy and the breadcrumbs are golden brown.
Photo credit: h-bomb.

Restaurant: The Place Below

2007-02-08T21:23:00.001+00:00

Tucked away from the buzzing surroundings of the City, is a small restaurant called "The Place Below". It is, however, right in the heart of "real London", right under the St-Mary-le-Bow church in Cheapside in the crypt of the church that makes a true Londoner a real Londoner.
A word of warning: It is slightly difficult to find. Basically you need to enter the church, and you will see stairs going down into the crypt. Although the Place Below is a self-service restaurant, the surroundings are quite nice (even intimate if you manage to get one of the tables in the "caves" around the main dining area) and make you forget this. The food is definitely very nice, with a definite emphasis on healthy and flavoursome food, rather than just vegetarian: not a surprise then that brown rice, honey and wholemeal are dominant in the menue, though combined with other great ingredients. For lunch I had a "health bowl", a mix of puy lentils and brown rice with a delicious dressing made from sesame, ginger and balsamic vinegar (probably enough as a small lunch), and a Moroccan style vegetables with rice (again) and peanuts (which made a nice combination). To top it all of, there was a very delicious pear and apple crumble (yummy!) with clotted cream (ok, ....) .

The staff were noticeably very friendly and certainly made an effort to offer a service with a smile. The only down point to note is that unfortunately the Place Below is only open from 7:30 am in the morning until 3:00 pm, so no dinners - yet it would be a perfect place for a candle light dinner (unless you are scared of ghosts, presumably). A nice touch: If you are prepared to have lunch outside of the peak hours, i.e. before noon or after 1:30 pm, some dishes are £2 cheaper.

St Mary le Bow church, Cheapside, London EC2V 6AU
http://www.theplacebelow.co.uk/

Photo credit: stevecadman.

Steamed Broccoli & Tofu

2007-02-06T21:59:00.001+00:00

This is an amazingly simple recipe. If you can get the Asian "chili in oil" sauce sold in many specialty stores, then it is perfect!

1 broccoli
500g tofu
chili in oil, soy sauce

Cut the tofu into bite sized pieces and boil in a mix of water, a bit of chili sauce and a splash of soy sauce.
Steam the broccoli florets (you can do that over the tofu if you don't boil it too much!) until it is "al dente".
In a bowl mix the steamed broccoli and tofu with some chili sauce and a little soy sauce. Serve.

Photo credit: Tzatziki.

Spicy Roasted Parsnips and Potatoes

2007-02-05T22:02:00.001+00:00

This is a variation on the traditional roasted potatoes: The vegetable stock gives it a hearty flavour with an added zing of chili. The recipe also works without the parsnips, though the sweetness of the parsnips adds an additional interesting flavour to the mix.

2 parsnips
4 large potatoes
olive oil (mild), vegetable soup powder, chili (in oil if possible), salt

Peel the potatoes and clean the parsnips, and cut both into chunky pieces.
In a small bowl mix some oil, vegetable soup powder and chili to taste and mix it with the potatoes and parsnips, making sure all chunks are evenly covered.
Bake in an oven at around 170C for 45 minutes to 1 hours until crispy on the outside and lightly browned.
Before serving, sprinkle with some salt.

Photo credit: .michael.newman..

Leek, Carrot and Lentil Stew

2007-02-01T22:31:00.000+00:00

An easy stew, very warming on a cold winters day!

5 (large) carrots
5 leeks
1 onion
200g lentils (puy or red)
3 cloves of garlic
1 tin of tomatoes
water, vegetable soup powder, rosemary, thyme, salt

In a pot heat the oil and fry the onion. Add the leeks and carrots, cut into chunky pieces, the lentils and around 1l of water (to cover the stew). Season with rosemary and thyme. Cook for about half an hour, and then add tomatoes (with the juice), the garlic squeezed through a garlic press and season with some vegetable soup powder.
Serve with some rustic bread, for example the Baguette a l'ancienne from Pain Quotidien.

Tofu Fritters

2007-01-31T22:55:00.000+00:00

This is a basic recipe for baked tofu. The trick is to make a very spicy coating from breadcrumbs,thyme, vegetable soup powder and garlic powder (you can of course use any other herbs and spices that take your fancy!).

1 pack of tofu (250g)
2 eggs
breadcrumbs, vegetable soup powder, thyme, garlic powder, flour, oil

Put three plates in a row: the first one with some flour, the second with the two eggs (beaten vigorously). In the third plate mix breadcrumbs, instant vegetable soup powder, thyme and garlic. This mixture should be quite spicy, as it is the only flavour used in this recipe to "spice up" the quite bland tofu.
Cut the tofu into small, bite-sized pieces. Roll each piece first in the flour, then in the egg and finally coat it with the breadcrumb mix.
Bake the pieces in a medium hot pan with some oil until golden brown, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.

Chickpea and Roasted Vegetable Salad

2007-01-31T22:44:00.000+00:00

The salad is an interesting mixture of cold chickpeas and warm roasted vegetables. It is easy to make and very flavoursome!

1 aubergine
1 courgette
2 onions (preferably red, but white will do)
1 red pepper
1 tin of chickpeas
salt,olive oil, pepper
Lemon-Garlic Dressing

Cut the aubergine, courgette, onions and red pepper into chunky pieces. In a shallow dish, bake the vegetables in the oven (at 200C) for about 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Ideally the vegetables should be turning slightly brown at the edges.
When they have finished cooking, let them cool for a few minutes, and mix with the cold chickpeas and the dressing.

Serve the salad either on its own with rustic bread as a light meal or with hot Tofu Fritters, if you want a bit of a protein boost.

Lemon-Garlic Dressing

2007-01-31T22:36:00.000+00:00

This is a fairly easy and light dressing for all kinds of Mediterranean-style salads. It uses lemon juice rather than vinegar, which gives it a less sour but a more refreshing taste.

juice of 1/2 lemon
1 or 2 cloves of garlic
olive oil, salt, pepper

Squeeze the garlic through a garlic press into a cup or small bowl, and together with some salt "mash" the garlic to an almost liquid consistency. Add lemon juice and olive oil and season with pepper. You can also add some mustard for more flavour.

Parsnip Fritters

2007-01-30T22:33:00.000+00:00

This is a really easy dish where the sweetness of the pasnip works really well with the saltiness and the rosemary taste of the oil. You can serve this with rustic bread, or just on its own.

4-5 parsnips
1 egg
50gr flour
olive oil (mild), salt, pepper, rosemary

Boil the parsnips until tender - and then mash. Mix the mash with one egg, some salt & pepper and some flour (about 50gr). Form small pancakes and fry the fritters with a little oil in frying pan until golden brown.
In a cup mix salt, some olive oil and rosemary. With a brush quickly brush a little of the savory oil on each fritter before serving.

A tip: As I was a bit early and made too many fritters in one go, I left some of the fritters in a warm oven (100C) for about an hour. They tasted just as good as the freshly made ones and did not become dry.

Photo credit: uberschnapp.

So what is this now?

2007-01-30T18:53:00.000+00:00

OK, I am a recovering carnivore. Not to much of one, but a little one. I used to be a vegetarian when I was younger (or pescetarian more precisely), and after some time am returning to being one. Of course, in some way saying good bye to meat is a bit of a journey - but importantly it is also about cooking really nutritious, delicious and healthy foods. Unfortunately, I tend to be rather forgetful with my recipes, so I hope that this repository will not only help me to remember what I did last time I tried to cook that funny vegetable - but can also be a resource for anyone interested in cooking with vegetables (and the occasional fish :)).

Photo credit: *reesie*.