Vegan Cream Sauce

I read a recipe for “cream sauce without the cream” in Eating Well magazine (the February 2013 issue) and decided to adapt it for our tastes.

 

This makes a big batch, so I froze much of it, for later use in soups or other dishes, such as the gratin I’ll post next.

 

Ingredients:

1 onion

olive oil

1 vegetable stock cube

2/3 cup rice

5 cups boiling water

1 tsp lemon juice

 

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion and cook it lightly in the oil in a big saucepan.

2. Add the stock cube and the rice and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the water and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes.

4. Add the lemon juice.

5. Puree with a handheld blender in the pot until smooth. If too thick, add a little more water.

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.

Butternut Squash Soup

M and I were both ill, and we’d had colds for over a week. Soup – and lots of it – was what we needed. So I made butternut squash soup. It’s really soothing and flavourful, especially when served with fresh bread.

 

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash

2 shallots or 1 onion

oil

1 vegetable stock cube

1 tbsp maple syrup, plus extra

2-3 cups water

1-2 cups milk (I used rice milk)

cream (I used Oatly)

 

Instructions:

1. Roast the squash in the oven at 180 C for 40-60 minutes. Halve it halfway through so the inside gets fully cooked.

2. Peel and slice the shallots/onion and fry lightly in oil. Add the stock cube and maple syrup and caramelise slightly.

3. Peel and de-seed the squash. Put in chunks into the pan. Add the water and cook for 10-15 minutes.

4. Add the milk and cook over medium heat for another 10 minutes.

5. Puree and then swirl in a little more maple syrup and some cream.

Scrambled Eggs

This is a fast, tasty breakfast. Top with chives and serve with toast.

 

Ingredients:

butter or margarine

4 eggs

6-8 tbsp cream (I use Oatly)

 

Instructions:

1. Melt the butter or margarine in a non-stick pan.

2. Whisk the eggs and cream together. Pour into the pan.

3. Let the eggs set for about 30 seconds, then continue to heat over a low flame while stirring (with a silicone or wooden spoon). The eggs should form into curd-like shapes.

4. When still soft and just barely set (about 3-4 minutes), serve.

Vegan Fruit Crumble

I made this with blueberries, apples, and pears, but any combination of fruit that you prefer should work.

 

Ingredients:

100 g flour

100 g oats

5 tbsp sugar

2 tsp vanilla

3 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

5 tbsp oil (I used rapeseed for its slightly nutty flavour, but sunflower works too), plus a little to grease the dish

600 g fruit (for example, 2-3 apples and 2-3 pears)

oat or soya cream, to serve with it

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the flour, oats, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, lemon juice, and oil together in a bowl.

2. Peel, wash, and slice the fruit as applicable.

3. Lightly grease an oven-safe dish.

4. Layer the fruit in the dish. Top with the crumble mixture.

5. Bake at 190 C for 15-25 minutes. Serve with cream, if desired.

Vegan Vanilla Panna Cotta

I wondered if it were possible to make my old panna cotta recipe vegan for M, and the answer is yes, definitely. It’s too bad there aren’t that many choices for vegan creams. Oatly tastes rather strongly of oats and M can’t have soya products. Still, it’s nice to be able to have old favourite recipes in new vegan form.

 

Ingredients:

1 container Oatly oat cream (or other vegan cream) (250 ml)

3 tbsp sugar

2-3 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp Vegeset

berries to serve with it, optional

 

Instructions:

1. Mix everything together and warm it over low heat until just boiling.

2. Pour into ramekins and refrigerate.

3. Serve with berries.

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.

Pasta Salad

This recipe can easily be varied according to what vegetables you have at home. You can add smoked salmon or tuna if you eat fish.

Ingredients:

about 50 g pasta per person (I used conchiglie because then bits of veg hid inside the shells)

frozen peas

water

¼ cucumber

1-2 spring onions

6-10 black olives

cream (I used oat cream but dairy cream or soy cream or yogurt would work well too; a touch of mayo could be nice as well)

black pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil the pasta and peas in the water for about 10 minutes. Drain and cool.

2. Wash and chop the cucumber and onions. Chop the olives.

3. Mix the chopped veg with the pasta and stir in the cream.

4. Season to taste and serve.

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.

Potato, Fennel and Onion Casserole

I saw this in Vegetarian Living a few months ago in a slightly different format (they had no onions, for example, and with tomatoes added at the end) and thought I’d try it. It would be good as a side dish, but was a bit too starchy as a main course.

Ingredients:
5-6 potatoes
1 fennel
1 onion
2 spring onions
3-5 cloves of garlic
1 tsp oil for the dish
2 cups (about 500 ml) milk or cream (I used soy, but Vegetarian Living recommended regular)
salt
pepper

Instructions:
1. Wash all the vegetables and peel as needed. Thinly slice them all.
2. Oil a casserole dish. Place the vegetables in it.
3. Pour the milk or cream over the vegetables and season with salt and pepper.
4. Bake at 200 C for about 60 minutes, checking and stirring partway through.

Chocolate and Coffee Buttercream Frosting

This recipe makes enough frosting for the cupcakes I posted in the last recipe. I used soy cream, which doesn’t harden as much as regular dairy cream, so I spread this on the cupcakes rather than piping it from an icing bag. It still looks and tastes great, though.

Ingredients:
100 g butter
2 tbsp milk or cream (cream makes it richer; I used soy cream this time)
4 tbsp cold coffee (or more if you want a stronger coffee flavour)
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup icing sugar

Instructions:
1. In a mixer, mix the butter, cream, coffee, and cocoa together until pretty smooth.
2. Add the icing sugar, about ¼ cup at a time. Mix well.
3. Taste and add more cream or vanilla if needed.
4. Frost the cupcakes (or cake) with the frosting.

Baked Apples

This is a simple and relatively healthy dessert. Well, except for the cream, I guess. You can also add raisins and nuts, as desired.

Ingredients:
butter or oil for the dish
2 cooking apples
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
cream (soya cream is fine)
milk (soya milk is fine)

Instructions:
1. Grease and oven-safe dish. Wash and core the apples, leaving a bit at the bottom (in other words, made a hole in the middle of the apples, but not one that goes all the way through). Put the apples in the dish.
2. Put 1 tbsp brown sugar and 1 tsp vanilla in the centre of each apple. Pour cream in as well.
3. Drizzle cream on the sides of the apples and pour more cream and milk around the apples.
4. Bake for 30 minutes at 200 C.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

This recipe makes enough frosting for the cupcakes I posted in the last recipe. You can double it for a larger number.

You can also replace the vanilla extract with mint or almond or any other flavour.

Ingredients:
100 g butter
2 tbsp milk or cream (cream makes it richer)
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup cocoa
1 cup icing sugar

Instructions:
1. In a mixer, mix the butter, cream, vanilla extract, and cocoa together until pretty smooth.
2. Add the icing sugar, about ¼ cup at a time. Mix well.
3. Taste and add more cream or vanilla if needed.
4. Frost the cupcakes (or cake) with the frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

This recipe makes enough frosting for the cupcakes I posted in the last recipe. You can double it for a larger number.

You can also replace the vanilla extract with mint or almond or any other flavour and/or you can add cocoa powder to it.

Ingredients:
55 g butter
½-1 tbsp milk or cream (cream makes it richer; it also works well with soy cream)
¼ tsp vanilla extract
1 cup icing sugar

Instructions:
1. In a mixer, mix the butter, cream, and vanilla extract together until pretty smooth.
2. Add the icing sugar, about ¼ cup at a time. Mix well.
3. Taste and add more cream or vanilla if needed.
4. Frost the cupcakes (or cake) with the frosting.

Aubergine Quiche

I like to play around with different quiches/pies/tarts. I like how you make one large one and then have enough food for several days. Since I first wrote this recipe, we’ve stopped using dairy at home because it seems that M feels better without it. So we’ve been trying out various soy “cheeses”. I’m not keen on them all, but many work pretty well in dishes such as quiches or omelettes. Do experiment and see what you like.

Ingredients:
1 portion cornmeal pastry (see previous recipe)
1 aubergine
1 handful cherry tomatoes
50 g spinach
1 tsp parsley
oil
1 tbsp honey
100 g cheese (you can use any type – I used up leftover blue cheese and cheddar)
3 eggs
200 ml milk or cream
pepper

Instructions:
1. Roll out the dough into an oven-safe dish.
2. Wash and dice the aubergine. Wash and halve the tomatoes. Fry the aubergine, tomatoes, spinach, and parsley in oil. After a few minutes, add the honey. Fry another 10 or so minutes.
3. Crumble or chop the cheese. Mix it with the eggs and milk or cream and season with pepper.
4. Put the vegetables on the pastry. Top with the egg mixture.
5. Bake at 180 C for 30-40 minutes.

Rhubarb and Blackberry Crumble

As I write this, rhubarb is still in season. As it will be posted, however, that’s not really the case. But if you thought ahead, you might have frozen some excess rhubarb, or you can get some from the grocery store. A crumble will warm you up on a cold night.

Ingredients:
400 g rhubarb
¼ cup sugar (or more if needed)
1 container blackberries (about 150 g)
70 g butter, plus extra for the dish
1½ cup flour (or 1 cup flour and ½ cup oats)
6 tbsp sugar (I used soft brown, but demerera or castor or some combination thereof will work too)
1 tsp vanilla
cream or ice cream, to serve with it

Instructions:
1. Wash and slice the rhubarb. Toss it in the ¼ cup sugar.
2. Lightly butter an oven-safe dish. Put the rhubarb in it. Wash the blackberries and add them on top.
3. Dice the butter and mix it with the flour (or flour and oats), sugar, and vanilla. Put the crumble topping on the fruit.
4. Bake at 180 C for 25-35 minutes, until golden brown.
5. Serve with cream or ice cream.

Dark Chocolate Pudding

This is pudding in American sense, not the British one, which means it is a creamy dish not unlike custard. You can use this recipe with milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate and you can freeze it to make ice cream, too.

Ingredients:
¼ cup sugar (I used brown)
3 tbsp corn flour
3 tbsp cocoa powder
1 pinch salt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup double cream
2 cups milk
200 g dark chocolate

Instructions:
1. Mix all the ingredients but the dark chocolate in a sauce pan. Warm over low heat, stirring often, until well-blended.
2. Chop the dark chocolate and add it to the pan. Continue cooking and stirring until the chocolate has melted.
3. Place the mixture in a bowl in the fridge and leave to cool a few hours.
4. Serve with berries and/or cream.

Avocado Mousse

There is an ice cream shop not far from where I grew up that has many unusual types of ice cream. At least unusual to me – the owners are from the Philippines and they serve flavours that are typical of their homeland, such as yam and avocado. I really like those flavours and I began to realise that avocado in particular works well in both sweet and savoury dishes.

So when I saw this recipe for avocado mousse, I wanted to try it, although I adapted it to make it a bit sweeter and creamier. M was pleasantly surprised, as she had expected it to be disgusting, and we even served it to a friend who came over.

I think it could also work well to freeze this mousse and serve it as ice cream. Yum!

Ingredients:
2 avocados
2 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup sugar, plus 1 tbsp
2 tsp vanilla extract
¾ cup milk
¾ cup double cream

Instructions:
1. Halve, peel and pit the avocados, and put the flesh into a food processor. Mix until soft, then add the lemon juice, the ½ cup of sugar, and 1 tsp of vanilla. Mix again.
2. Add the milk and mix well.
3. Whip the double cream with the 1 tbsp of sugar and the other 1 tsp of vanilla until firm.
4. Fold the avocado mixture into the whipped cream.
5. Refrigerate for an hour or so and then serve.

Pasta with Beans and Peas

This is a simple pasta dish that was great at the height of summer with fresh produce.

If you eat seafood, you can add in some prawns as well. My M likes prawns, so I add them in sometimes for her.

Ingredients:
½ red onion
olive oil
1 tsp sugar
200 g runner beans
200 g sugar snap peas
2 tsp coriander
2 tsp tomato purée/paste
cream, to taste
200 g multigrain tagliatelle
water to cook the pasta in

Instructions:
1. Dice the onion and fry it lightly in olive oil, then add the sugar to caramelise it.
2. Wash the runner beans and sugar snap peas and cut them as necessary. Add them to the onion, along with the coriander, tomato purée/paste and cream.
3. Meanwhile, boil the pasta in the water.
4. Serve the vegetable sauce over the pasta.

Lentils and Vegetables

Ingredients:
1½ cups puy lentils
water
1 carrot
1 bag green beans
½ half cabbage or 1 head spring greens
3 tbsp cream or yogurt
seasoning (salt, pepper, paprika, parsley, etc – I actually seasoned it with truffle olive oil for a luxurious edge)
rice, if desired

Instructions:
1. Rinse the lentils and cover with water. Boil them over low heat for about 15 minutes.
2. Wash the veg. Peel and chop the carrot. De-string the beans. Chop the cabbage/greens.
3. Add the veg to the pot and add more water if needed. Continue to cook for about 10 minutes.
4. Mix in the cream/yogurt. Season to taste.
5. Serve over rice if desired.