Pasta with Raw Cheese

One evening, I was feeling weak and told M I was just going to make a simple, dull pasta dish. It turned into anything but dull. It was delicious and I couldn’t wait to eat the leftovers the next day for lunch. The raw cheese added a great flavour.

Ingredients:

broccoli

pasta (about 50 g per person)

olive oil

1 tin artichoke hearts

1 tin tomatoes

olives

raw cheese (see recipe a few posts back; you can also use regular cheese if you prefer)

truffle oil

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop the broccoli and boil it and the pasta together for 10-15 minutes.

2. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a saucepan. Drain and add the artichokes and warm for a few minutes. Add the tomatoes and their juice and simmer.

3. Slice the olives and add them.

4. Serve the pasta and broccoli topped with the tomato sauce. Add spoonfuls of raw cheese and drizzle with truffle oil.

Stir-Fry with Udon Noodles

I’ve been making lots of stir-fries lately, because they’re so easy and healthy. I’ll post a few variations on them, but play around and see what combinations you like. You can also add an egg in at the end, for extra protein.

Ingredients:
1 red pepper
½ broccoli (or a container of tender-stem broccoli)
oil
1 container tofu
100 g sugar snap peas
1-2 tbsp miso paste
1-2 tbsp peanut butter
chilli flakes to taste
150 g udon noodles

Instructions:
1. Wash and chop the pepper and broccoli. Stir-fry them in oil.
2. Dice the tofu and add it to the pan. Wash and add the snap peas.
3. Add the miso paste and peanut butter to the pan and stir well, so all the vegetables and tofu get some sauce. Season with chilli flakes according to how spicy you like it.
4. Add the udon noodles and stir-fry 2-3 minutes more, then serve.

Caramelised Potatoes and Broccoli

This is a tasty and simple side dish. I served it with Tesco’s new vegetarian “lamb” burgers, in a playful take on meat, potatoes, and veg. I can’t say I recommend Tesco’s burgers, because they left a strange aftertaste, but they were okay for a fast weeknight meal. I probably wouldn’t get them again.

Ingredients:
new potatoes (about 75 g)
oil
1 tbsp sugar
broccoli
salt
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash and dice the potatoes.
2. Fry them in oil, stirring often, until they brown slightly.
3. Sprinkle with sugar and stir. Fry another 5-10 minutes.
4. Wash and chop the broccoli and add it to the pan.
5. Season with salt and black pepper. Fry another 5 or so minutes, then serve.

Broccoli Soup

Broccoli is the first vegetable I made for M and it’s probably the one I make her most often, as it’s her favourite. I made a flavourful broccoli soup (and it included my fave veg, spinach), which we ate with the sun-dried tomato bread I posted yesterday.



Ingredients:

1 onion

1 head broccoli

1 tbsp butter

2 tsp mustard

1 tsp salt

2 cups water

1 vegetable stock cube

1 cup spinach

100 g cheddar cheese

bread to serve with the soup



Instructions:

1. Chop the onion. Wash the broccoli and break it into florets.

2. Melt the butter in a pan. Add the onion, broccoli, mustard, and salt.

3. After a few moments, add the water and the stock cube. Simmer for about 20 minutes.

4. Add the spinach. Cook another few minutes.

5. Blend the soup with a hand-mixer.

6. Chop the cheddar.

7. Return the soup to the stove and add the cheese.

8. Serve with bread.

Asparagus and Spinach Pizza

Once you’ve made your dough and sauce (see the previous recipes), you can play around with toppings for your pizza. Because it’s been asparagus season, I used asparagus for my most recent pizza, but other toppings having included spinach, olives, and feta, tofu and broccoli, and fake meat products. Anything you’d order from a restaurant or buy at a grocery store you can make at home!

Ingredients:
1 portion pizza dough (see earlier recipe)
2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra for the tray/dish
1 portion pizza sauce (see previous recipe)
1 bunch asparagus
1 cup fresh spinach
1 package mozzarella cheese (about 200 g)
50 g cheddar cheese
black pepper to taste

Instructions:
1. Roll out the pizza dough and place it on an oiled pizza stone or a baking tray, or in an oiled oven-safe dish. Pre-bake at 180 C for 5 minutes.
2. Spread the sauce over the base.
3. Wash and chop the asparagus and spinach. Place it over the sauce.
4. Shred the cheeses and top the veg with the cheese. Sprinkle with olive oil and black pepper.
5. Bake for about 15 minutes at 180 C.

Red Vegetable Curry

M pronounced this “very, very lovely”, which I think means it’s a winner of a dish. It’s simple and healthy and it’s really easy to vary according to your tastes and what’s in season.

Ingredients:
oil
red curry paste
1 tin coconut milk
vegetables (I used purple sprouting broccoli and asparagus, because they were in season)
tofu or other protein
lime leaves
Thai sticky rice
water

Instructions:
1. Warm the oil and add 1 tbsp each of curry paste and coconut milk. Warm so the paste releases its fragrance.
2. Add the vegetables, a few lime leaves, and the tofu, and stir fry.
3. Meanwhile, boil the sticky rice according to directions in the water. I use half the amount of water and half coconut milk.
4. Add more curry paste according to taste (I usually use 3-4 tbsp, as M doesn’t like it too spicy) and the rest of the coconut milk to the vegetables. Cook for a few more minutes.
5. Serve the vegetables over the sticky rice.

Broccoli, Courgette, and Tofu Tart

This was inspired by a recipe in Vegetarian Living. I made the pastry gluten-free and I added a bit of heat with curry paste.

Ingredients:
75 g butter
¾ cup flour (I used gluten-free)
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
1 dash salt
1 egg
1 onion
oil
1 courgette
½ package tofu
broccoli (I used tender-stem)
1 tbsp red curry paste (or chilli flakes)
½ cup yogurt
2 eggs
75 g blue cheese

Instructions:
1. Cube the butter and blend it with the flour until crumbly. Add the pumpkin seeds and salt and egg.
2. Chill the pastry for about 10 minutes then place it in an oven-safe dish (I just use my fingers to smooth it into all the corners and up the walls – it looks homey, which isn’t a bad thing). Bake it for about 7 minutes at 160 C.
3. Meanwhile, dice the onion and brown it in some oil. Slice the courgette into rounds and add it. Dice the tofu and chop the broccoli and add them as well.
4. Continue stir-frying, then add the curry paste and the yogurt and mix everything together.
5. In a bowl, beat the eggs and add some of the cheese.
6. Put the filling into the pastry and top with the rest of the cheese. Pour the eggs on top.
7. Bake for 20 minutes at 190 C.

Gluten-Free Broccoli and Cauliflower Cheese

On a recent night, comfort food was what was on order. So I went for a simple vegetable and cheese dish, gluten-free in an attempt to help our health, and with a hint of mustard for extra kick.

Ingredients:
1 medium cauliflower
½ half broccoli
50 g butter
1/3 cup gluten-free flour
3 tsp mustard
½ cup cream
2 cups milk
120 g cheddar cheese, or other mature cheese, grated or chopped
1 tsp parsley
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash the cauliflower and broccoli, and break them into florets. Then boil them for about 10 minutes.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan and add the flour. Stir until mixed.
3. Add the mustard, milk, and cream. Stir.
4. Add about 80 g of the cheese and stir until it is a thick sauce.
5. Season with parsley and pepper.
6. Place the cauliflower and broccoli in one layer at the bottom of an oven-safe dish. Pour the sauce over it.
7. Top with the rest of the cheese.
8. Bake for 30 minutes at 200.

Quinoa with Vegetables and Halloumi

After a long day of work, it is tempting to skip making dinner and just have some ready-made soup or pasta and sauce or even a frozen pizza. But it’s actually possible to make fast, easy, healthy, tasty meals. I aim for balanced meals that have some carbohydrates, plenty of vegetables, and some protein. For example, here I lightly fry halloumi cheese and serve it over quinoa grains and with broccoli and spinach. It makes a pretty green, white, and tan meal, and it’s fast to cook. Within 20 minutes, dinner is served.

Ingredients:
1 head broccoli
water
1 package quinoa (or about 50 g per person)
100 g spinach
1 package halloumi cheese
olive oil
1 tsp dried mint

Instructions:
1. Wash the broccoli, break it into smaller pieces, and boil it in the water for 8-10 minutes, until tender but with a bit of crunch.
2. Cook the quinoa according to the directions on the package. When it’s ready, add the spinach and the broccoli and keep it all warm.
3. Meanwhile, slice the cheese, then fry it in olive oil and mint, until lightly golden.
4. Serve the quinoa and vegetables topped with slices of cheese.

Sweet Potato and Broccoli Pie

In a recent issue of Vegetarian Living magazine, I saw a recipe for sweet potato and broccoli filo rolls. I liked the combination but didn’t want to make individual rolls, so I decided to turn it into a more filling pie by adding eggs, yogurt, and blue cheese. It was very hearty and the ingredients went well together. I served slices of the pie with dollops of thick Greek yogurt, and the creamy tartness added that little bit extra. The pie was good cold the next day for lunch, too.

Ingredients:

1 onion
2-3 sweet potatoes
olive oil
1 chilli
200 g broccoli
2 eggs
½ cup yogurt, plus more to serve with the pie
100 g blue cheese
filo dough
lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Chop the onion. Peel and dice the sweet potatoes.
2. Sauté the onion and potatoes in olive oil for a 5-10 minutes. De-seed and chop the chilli and add it to the pan.
3. Wash and chop the broccoli. Lightly beat the eggs and mix in the yogurt. Crumble the cheese into this mixture.
4. Lightly oil a casserole dish or pie tin and put 4 overlapping sheets of filo dough on the bottom and sides. Add half of the potato mixture, half the broccoli, and half the cheese mixture.
5. Place 3 more overlapping sheets of filo dough on top. Then top with the rest of the ingredients.
6. Make a cover out of 2 or 3 sheets of filo dough and sprinkle with lemon juice and a bit of olive oil.
7. Bake at 200 C for 20-25 minutes, until cooked all the way through and golden brown. Serve with yogurt.

Mustard Soup with Vegetables

On a day when I was feeling chilly and grumpy, I thought of minestrone soup. I like the concept of soup with vegetables, beans, and pasta in it, but I wanted to do something different, more filling and more sinus-clearing. After all, this was going to be our entire dinner, so it had better be satisfying.

So I decided on vegetable soup with tortellini, all spiked with a significant dose of whole-grain mustard. With some buttered bread, it was a lovely, simple dinner. And, as with most of my recipes, it can be varied according to what you have in your fridge and cupboard.

Ingredients:
1 red onion
olive oil
3 carrots
5-6 purple spouting broccoli
2 vegetable stock cubes
1 litre water
2 tbsp whole-grain mustard
1 container cannellini beans
1 package cheese tortellini or 200 g spaghetti, broken in pieces
1 tbsp coriander or parsley
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Dice the onion and fry it in oil in a pot. Meanwhile, peel and chop the carrots into small pieces, and chop the broccoli.
2. Add the stock cubes to the pot and mush them up a bit.
3. Add the carrots and broccoli and stir for a minute, then add the water.
4. Bring the water to a boil and cook the vegetables for about 10 minutes.
5. Add the mustard, beans, and pasta, and cook as long as it says on the pasta package.
6. Season with herbs and pepper, then serve.

Vegetable and Coconut Stir-Fry

The other night, I wanted to use up a variety of odds and ends before embarking on shopping for some new recipes. So I made a vegetable and coconut stir-fry. M and I ate it from bowls while sitting in a cuddly fashion on the couch, and we had another bread and butter pudding afterwards. Plus I made so much that I had leftovers for lunch the next day.

Basically, I stir-fried red onion, tender-stem broccoli, pak choi, red chilli, and haricot together. Then I added fresh rice noodles and stir-fried some more. After that, I poured in a tin of light coconut milk, and I seasoned it all with leftover red pesto. It sounds odd, combining coconut milk, which we associate with Thailand, with Italian pesto, but it actually worked together. Curry paste or black bean sauce would have worked just as well. So this is a simple, healthy, quick meal to make that can be varied according to taste and according to what you've got around.

Ingredients:
about 400 g of mixed vegetables (onions, spinach or pak choi, broccoli, and cubes of squash are good choices)
oil
300 g fresh rice noodles
1 tin light coconut milk
3-4 Tbs pesto (or curry paste, or 1-2 Tbs black bean sauce)

Instructions:

1. Chop the vegetables into cubes or dice them, as appropriate.
2. Heat the oil and add the veg. Stir fry for 5-10 minutes, depending on what type of veg you're using.
3. Add the noodles and stir fry for another 5 minutes.
4. Pour in the coconut milk and let the whole thing cook for another 5 or so minutes, until the milk has warmed.
5. Add the sauce and stir well.
6. Serve.

Broccoli and Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

As much as one might like to live off dessert, you do need actual food as well. So a few hours after the bread and butter pudding snack, I thought we should have a light dinner. I had all those raisins left, so I wanted to do something with them, and when I’d been at the grocery store, I’d been tempted by tender-stem broccoli, which you don’t see all that often. M and I both love spinach, so I’d gotten a package of fresh baby leaves too. Thus a recipe for slightly sweet greens began to take shape, inspired by a dish I saw in a magazine of spinach and pine nuts.

I don’t think M was totally convinced by this dish, but I liked the balance of flavours, the sweetness of the raisins with the veggies, all topped with piney tones. Maybe it’s worth pointing out that the recipe includes several flatulence-inducing ingredients, so you might want to be careful about who you serve it to and when, but then again, you can vary it with other ingredients if you prefer (or if necessary!). The recipe can be easily doubled to serve as a side dish for more people or as a larger meal. I just made a small amount, as we weren’t particularly hungry.

Ingredients:
.25 cup raisins (or half a handful)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
200 g spinach
6-8 tender-stem broccoli
30 g pine nuts
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil some water and soak the raisins in it for 5-10 minutes, until they get plump.
2. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in a pan in olive oil.
4. Wilt the spinach by putting it in a Teflon or similar pot, with the lid on, over medium heat. Do not add any water. It takes just a few minutes, so keep an eye on it.
5. Chop the broccoli.
6. Add the spinach and the broccoli to the pan with the onion and garlic.
7. After a few minutes, add the drained raisins and the pine nuts. Stir and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
8. Season with pepper and serve.