Carrot Ginger Soup

Ingredients:

2 shallots or 1 onion

oil

2-3 tsp minced ginger (I use frozen, but fresh is great too)

1 vegetable stock cube

5-6 carrots

1 potato

water (about 4 cups)

black pepper, to taste

powdered ginger, to taste

yogurt or cream (we use Oatly)

 

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the shallots or onion, then fry lightly in oil.

2. Add the ginger and stock cube and fry another minute or two.

3. Peel and chop the carrot and potato and add them to the pan.

4. Boil the water and add it to the pan.

5. Cook the vegetables for 15-20 minutes.

6. Puree the soup.

7. Season as desired, then top with a dollop of yogurt or cream.

Pan Haggerty

I read a recipe for something called pan haggerty, which I’d never heard of before. Basically it is a potato and kale dish that’s baked in the oven after the veg is first boiled.

 

It sounded rather plain, so I added fennel, garlic, onion, and watercress, to mix it up a bit. Then I made an egg and cream (Oatly) topping for it. You could easily add herbs (I added mint) or cheese.

 

Boil the potato and kale, dice all the other veg, and mix it together. Pour two eggs on top (mixed with cream and/or cheese, if desired) and bake for 20-30 minutes at 180 C.

Apple and Vegetable Pie

I’d read a recipe that suggested making a mash out of apples instead of potatoes to use as a crust for a vegetable pie. M thought that sounded interesting but long-winded, so we decided to make a vegetable pie that included apples instead.

We used our typical vegan shortcrust pastry to make a nice pastry bottom and lid for the pie.

Ingredients:

200 g flour

110 g Cookeen (or margarine or butter)

1 tsp salt

2-4 tbsp cold water

1 onion

olive oil, plus a little extra to grease the pan

2 Bramley apples

1 parsnip

1 carrot

1 baking potato

1 stock cube

100-200 ml water

1 tbsp tomato puree

herbs (rosemary, mint, parsley, for example)

Instructions:

1. Make the pastry by mixing the flour, fat, salt, and cold water together. Set in the fridge while you make the rest.

2. Peel and dice the onion. Fry it lightly in olive oil.

3. Peel and dice the parsnip, carrot, and potato. Add them and the stock cube to the pot and cook for a few minutes.

4. Add the water, cover, and let cook for 10-15 minutes.

5. Uncover and let the water cook away (this takes another 10 minutes).

6. Mix in the tomato puree and herbs.

7. Roll out the pastry and put it in a lightly greased oven-safe dish. Fill with the vegetables and fold the pastry over it, so there is a lid. Crimp the edges.

8. Cook at 200 C for 20-30 minutes.

Hot Pot

I saw a recipe for a vegetarian hot pot. I’ve never had a hot pot, not being English, but I liked the idea, so I made my own variation on the recipe. I don’t know if it’s like a hot pot, but it was good and warming.

Ingredients:

4-6 small potatoes or 2-3 medium ones

water

1 onion

1 clove garlic

oil

1 tsp honey

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 carrots

2 stalks celery

½ cup liquid (I used a combination of coconut milk and water, but wine or ale or just water would work too)

2 tbsp herbs (I used dill and sage, but any would probably work well)

black pepper

Instructions:

1. Parboil the potatoes in the water for about 10 minutes.

2. Peel and dice the onion and garlic and lightly soften them in the oil and honey. Mash in the stock cube and stir in the tomato puree, then continue to caramelise for a few minutes.

3. Peel and chop the carrots and wash and chop the celery. Add them and the liquid to the pan. Cook for 5-10 minutes.

4. Add the herbs and season with black pepper.

5. Pour the vegetables and liquid into an oven-safe dish. Slice the potatoes and layer them on top. Drizzle with a little oil.

6. Bake at 180 C for 10-15 minutes.

Potato Tart

This is somewhat like a gratin, except without the cheese. You can use regular milk/cream and add cheese, if you want, and you can vary the vegetables.

Ingredients:

6-8 potatoes

water

oil

1 onion

1-2 garlic cloves

1 fennel

1-2 stalks dill

cream or milk (I used rice milk and oat cream)

salt

pepper

Instructions:

1. Wash the potatoes and boil them for about 10 minutes in the water.

2. Peel the onion and garlic and dice. Slice the fennel too.

3. Slice the potatoes and layer them with the onion and garlic.

4. Intersperse the vegetables with dill, cream or milk, salt, and pepper.

5. Bake at 180 C for 20-25 minutes. Serve with a salad, if desired.

Savoury Carrot Pie

This can also be easily varied with different vegetables or different spices or herbs. I thought this worked quite well and was something different.

Ingredients:

1 onion

1-2 garlic cloves

oil

2 tsp honey

2-4 small potatoes

3-5 carrots

1 courgette, optional

milk or water

1 lemon

2 tsp cinnamon

2-4 stalks dill

filo dough

70 g hazelnuts or almonds, chopped

Instructions:

1. Peel and dice the onion and garlic. Soften them in oil in a large saucepan over low heat, then add the honey, so they caramelise.

2. Thinly slice the potatoes and add them to the pan. Chop the carrots and add them. Slice the courgette, if using, and add it too.

3. Add a little water or milk, cover, and cook for 20-30 minutes, stirring now and then. Add more liquid if the vegetables start sticking to the bottom of the pan.

4. Add the lemon zest and juice from half the lemon and the cinnamon. Wash the dill and snip it into the mixture as well.

5. Transfer the mixture to a food processor and blitz a bit at a time until it’s the desired consistency (some people like it smooth; I left it slightly chunky); you can also use a hand mixer.

6. Lightly oil an oven-safe dish. Spread 3 pieces of filo dough across the bottom, then top it with some of the carrot mixture. Squeeze a little lemon juice on top, then sprinkle with nuts.

7. Top with 2 more pieces of filo dough, then more carrot mixture, lemon juice, and nuts. You can do one more layer if you like or just do two. Top with 2 more pieces of filo.

8. Bake at 180 C for about 30 minutes.

Easy Lunch

I know this sounds a bit odd, but I had a leftover baked potato (already baked, I mean) and I didn’t quite know what to have it with. I sliced some beautiful fresh tomatoes and squirted a dab of mayonnaise on it and ground some black pepper on top, and it was really tasty! I’d recommend the combination.

Leek Soup

This was a very simple recipe for a chilly day, delicious with fresh bread.

Ingredients:

2 leeks

oil

1 stock cube

2-3 small potatoes or 1 medium one

water

milk or cream (I used rice milk)

black pepper

mint

Instructions:

1. Wash and chop the leeks. Fry them lightly in the oil and crumble in the stock cube.

2. Wash and slice the potatoes and add them to the pan.

3. Add water and cook for 20-30 minutes (until the potatoes are tender).

4. Blend with a hand blender and add milk or cream to taste. Season with black pepper and mint to taste.

Vegetable Stew

This was a hearty meal, especially served with the dumplings and bread I posted in the last two posts. You can easily vary the amounts and the vegetables.

Ingredients:

oil

5 shallots

1 tbsp honey

2 tbsp tomato puree

1 vegetable stock cube

1 pinch rosemary

2 tbsp flour

3 parsnips

4 carrots

½-1 sweet potato

4-8 little new potatoes or 2-3 medium potatoes

1 apple

water

½ cup orange juice

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil in a large oven-safe casserole.

2. Dice the shallots and sauté them for a few minutes over low heat.

3. Add the honey, tomato puree, stock cube, rosemary, and flour, and cook for a couple of minutes.

4. Peel and dice all the vegetables and the apple. You can choose how large to leave the pieces. Small pieces cook more quickly but large ones might look nicer to you.

5. Add the vegetables to the pan and cover with water and orange juice.

6. Roast in the oven, covered, at 180 C for about an hour.

7. Stir, add the dumplings (if using them), and cook for another 20-30 minutes.

Apple and Potato Latkes

I love traditional potato and onion latkes (pancakes), but sometimes it’s good to change old favourite recipes a bit for some variety. So when I saw <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/14/dining/polishing-up-latkes-with-apples-a-good-appetite.html?_r=2&ref=dining">this recipe</a> in the New York Times, I thought I’d try it, though of course I adapted it to our tastes and what we had on hand. You can serve them with sour cream, apple sauce, sugar, and/or any other toppings you would like.

Ingredients:

2-3 apples

1 onion

5 new potatoes (or 1-2 large ones)

¾ cup flour

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp sugar

1 pinch salt

3 eggs

oil

Instructions:

1. Peel the apples and onion and grate them into a mixing bowl.

2. If using a large potato, peel it, but there’s no need if using new potatoes. Grate the potatoes into the bowl.

3. Squeeze the grated fruit and veg to get as much moisture out as possible.

4. Add the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, sugar, and salt to the bowl. Mix well.

5. Break the eggs in and mix everything together.

6. Warm some oil in a frying pan. Drop tablespoonfuls of the mixture into the pan and fry the latkes on both sides.

Honey and Mustard Stir-Fry

Obviously, you can use any vegetables you like, but the combination of honey and mustard (and, for a touch of tartness, add some lemon juice or sour plum) works really well with greens and potatoes.

Ingredients:

6-8 new potatoes (or 2 larger ones)

water

2-3 shallots

oil

1-2 carrots

1-2 parsnips (or a piece of swede)

honey

mustard

spinach or spring greens

100 g tofu

lemon juice, if desired

Instructions:

1. Wash the potatoes, then boil them for 15-20 minutes in the water.

2. Peel and dice the shallots, then fry them lightly in the oil.

3. Peel and dice the carrots and parsnips and add them to the pan.

4. Add honey and mustard and let the vegetables caramelise a bit.

5. Wash and dice the spring greens. Add them to the pan.

6. Chop the tofu and add it as well. Stir-fry everything together for another 5-10 minutes.

7. Sprinkle with lemon juice, if desired, and serve.

Roasted Vegetables

This is a simple side dish, but it’s very tasty. Use sugar instead of honey to make it vegan.

Ingredients:
2-3 parsnips and/or carrots
5-6 small potatoes
1 fennel bulb
olive oil
1 tsp honey/sugar
sea salt
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash and peel the parsnips and/or carrots and the potatoes and then slice them. Wash and chop the fennel as well. Put the vegetables in an oven-safe dish.
2. Pour olive oil over the vegetables.
3. Roast at 200 C for about 10 minutes. Then add the honey/sugar and salt and pepper to taste and stir.
4. Roast for another 20 minutes, stirring now and then.

Fish Stew

You can vary this according to what you have on hand (for example, use coriander but not lime or curry paste) or which type of fish you like. You can also add prawns. I made this spicy for me by adding dried chilli and Tabasco, but I left it milder for my sweetheart.

Ingredients:

around 6 waxy potatoes

1-2 carrots

a couple of small pieces of lemongrass

water

one head of spring greens or a similar amount of spinach

oil

around 200 g fish (I used coley)

lime leaves

curry paste

coriander

black pepper

1 tin coconut milk

Instructions:

1. Wash and slice the potatoes. Wash, peel, and slice the carrots.

2. Put them and the lemongrass in the water and boil for about 10 minutes, until the potato has softened. Drain.

3. Lightly steam the greens and the oil.

4. Remove the skin and bones from the fish and chop it into pieces.

5. Put the greens, potatoes, carrots, and fish in a pot and season/spice according to taste. Add the coconut milk and cook, covered, for about 15 minutes.

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.

Salmon Hash

Okay, this is another pescatarian recipe rather than vegetarian, but such are the compromises one must make when living with a carnivore (luckily, a carnivore who rarely eats meat). This recipe is based on corned beef hash, which has potatoes and some sort of processed meat and fried eggs. Instead, I use salmon. And one time when I made this, I also added one flaked fillet of smoked mackerel, for an extra depth of flavour. I plan to try it with tofu at some point soon.

It’s a very fast and healthy weeknight dinner.

Ingredients:
300 g potatoes
oil
1 tsp sugar
300 g salmon
2 eggs
salt
black pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash and chop the potatoes. Fry them in oil for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until they brown. Add the sugar and continue to brown and caramelise.
2. Chop the salmon into small pieces. Add it to the pan and cook for a few minutes, stirring and flipping as needed.
3. Move the potatoes and salmon to the side of the pan. Break the eggs into the middle and cook until just set.
4. Serve the eggs over the potatoes and salmon. Season with salt and pepper.

New Potatoes and Asparagus Chutney

We stopped at a stand out in the country to buy some fresh asparagus. There was also some asparagus chutney for sale. I’d never heard of that before and I asked the woman working there what one would use asparagus chutney for. Her English wasn’t good and she shrugged. “Uh, I don’t know. Potatoes,” was her response.

Well, M and I took her at her word. We got some lovely Jersey new potatoes and boiled them up. We had them with butter and asparagus chutney. It sounds like an odd combination, but it actually works! The asparagus chutney is quite mild, with a faint mustard kick, and it didn’t overwhelm the delicate Jersey potatoes.

Ingredients:
new potatoes
water
butter
salt, if desired
asparagus chutney

Instructions:
1. Boil the potatoes in the water.
2. Drain the potatoes and serve with butter, salt, and asparagus chutney.

Tofu Cutlets with Potatoes and Vegetables

This recipe is so simple that it’s almost silly to write it, but I jokingly referred to it as the vegetarian’s meat and potatoes. Try serving it to dedicated carnivores and see if you convince them that going meat-free doesn’t mean going hungry or having to skip flavourful meals.

Ingredients:
1 courgette
tofu cutlets
oil
yogurt
new potatoes
water
garlic baguette
butter

Instructions:
1. Slice the courgette. Fry the cutlets and courgette pieces in oil, then add yogurt.
2. Meanwhile, boil the potatoes in water and toast/bake the garlic baguette.
3. Serve the cutlets, vegetables, and potatoes along with slices of baguette.

Veggie Crumble

Fruit crumbles are so easy to make and they’re a tasty, healthy end to a meal. So why not a veggie crumble? It’s the same concept. Lots of veg topped with a yummy crumble, perhaps with cheese and/or seeds in it. It’s really easy to vary both the filling and the crumble topping, so you could happily make many different veggie crumbles.

Ingredients:
900 g vegetables (I used a combination of potatoes, parsnips, peas, spring onions, and carrots, but any combination could work)
1 l vegetable stock (or milk, if you prefer that sort of taste)
parsley, tarragon, mustard, black pepper, or other spices
75 g flour (I used spelt flour)
50 g butter
2 tbsp seeds (I used poppy seeds)

Instructions:
1. Peel, wash, and chop the vegetables as needed.
2. Cook the vegetables in the liquid and season with the spices.
3. Blend the butter and flour, but leave some lumps. Mix in the seeds.
4. Pour the veg into a casserole dish, then top with the crumble.
5. Bake for 25 minutes at 200 C.

Watercress and Potato Soup

I posted a couple of recipes that I made when M and I had friends over for dinner last week. M made the soup and it is in fact the same soup she made on my birthday. It is a tasty and healthy watercress soup, thickened with potatoes. So I’m turning this post over to M:

This is a recipe of Delia’s, so can be found on her website but I think it’s worth repeating here as it turned out so well (note from Veggie Dyke: M didn’t follow the recipe exactly, which means it’s not the same recipe as Delia’s. Even one changes means it is your own recipe!).

The lack of a measuring jug meant it turned out a touch watery the second time round. This was overcome by the addition of some cream, but the recipe must be quite sensitive so be careful to stick to the amounts stated.

Ingredients:
1 large onion
25 g butter (plus one teaspoon)
175g watercress
350 g potato (2 baking potatoes)
½ pint milk
¾ pint vegetable stock
salt to taste
pepper to taste
a little lemon juice
a little cream as needed

Instructions:
1. Chop the onion. Melt the 25 g of butter and gently heat the onion so that it cooks but doesn't brown (takes about 5 minutes).
2. Add 110g of the watercress, cover and leave it to sweat for 15 minutes (it makes things easier at the final stages to chop the watercress stalks into small pieces).
3. Meanwhile, chop the potato and put it in another pan with boiling water (and salt according to Delia), and boil for 10 minutes until tender.
4. Drain potatoes and return to pan.
5. Add teaspoon of butter and a splash of the milk, and whisk until very smooth (ideally with a hand blender).
6. Add stock and remaining milk and watercress to the watercress pan.
7. Whisk in mash so that it’s well blended.
8. Season, and simmer gently for another 10 minutes.
9. Liquidise, add lemon juice, and check seasoning. Add cream if desired.
10. Re-heat gently before serving.
11. Ta-da!

Baked Gnocchi with Carmelised Onions and Cheddar

Last weekend M and I had some friends over for dinner. I wanted to have as much of the meal prepared in advance as possible. No one wants the stress of having people there and yet having to rush off to the kitchen to chop or stir or whatever. A leisurely evening is much more pleasant.

For the side dish, I made baked gnocchi with carmelised onions and cheddar. In the afternoon, I carmelised the onions and put the dish together. Then, as we were eating the first course, all I had to do was turn the oven on.

I used to make this dish often for two friends when I lived in another city. It’s so simple but for whatever reason it appealed to them. Since moving to the city where I live now, I think I have only made it once before. That’s because it always makes me think of those two friends and now that it’s been over half a year since I’ve seen them and since they don’t seem to want to keep the friendship up much anymore, the dish has become imbued with sad memories. However, I decided to make it over the weekend as a way of creating positive new memories associated with the dish. It’s amazing how just the sight or smell or even thought of a particular recipe can bring up such powerful feelings. I miss those friends a lot, but it was nice to see these new friends eating this dish. I felt less sad then.

Ingredients:
2 red onions
oil
sugar
2 packages gnocchi
100 g cheddar

Instructions:
1. Peel and dice the onions. Sweat them in oil, then add sugar. Carmelise the onions.
2. Oil an oven-safe dish. Add one package of gnocchi, then mix in half the onions.
3. Chop the cheddar and sprinkle half of it over the gnocchi.
4. Add the other package of gnocchi and mix in the rest of the onions and cheese.
5. Bake at 200 C for about 30 minutes, stirring once about halfway through.