Category: Vegetarian

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Kale Fritters for Food Friday on BBC Radio Leicester

March 26, 2015

Often when it comes around for myself to do Food Friday again for BBC Leicester, which is about every month now.   I love to look at what I have already in my Fridge and Cupboards as I want to show people how it is great to tackle a few ingredients and see what you can come up with. I like to show how we can be more frugal by using up things we have and creating something that is quick, easy and has that wow factor.  Other times I have to admit, there maybe a certain recipe I want to cover may it be a particular event or season in the Calendar year.  I have the skills of being a Chef so I obviously want to share that knowledge with our Listeners.

   I had to laugh at Ben’s reaction to when I told him what I had decided to cook.  His response was, “Apparently we are doing something spectacular with a cauliflower!” Which I do believe our little humble cauliflower over the last couple of years has lost its pizzaz. I personally LOVE cauliflower (Has to be British over personal choice mind you).  It is so versatile and I hope to share many other recipes, however it is going out of season, but still widely available.  I won’t tell you what you can do with it as you will just have to listen Here at Ben and Myself chatting about this fantastic Vegetable. 

One thing I need to add is that since I did this recipe for BBC Radio Leicester, I actually feel that they should have been called Patties rather than Fritters as with a Fritter it is more likely to be covered with a Batter, which these are not. 

Indian Spiced Cauliflower and Kale Fritters:




Ingredients:

Makes about 20 fritters

– 1 Whole Cauliflower broke into its florets
– 3 handfuls of Curly Kale chopped
–  1 1/2 sweet potato chopped into 1/3’s if large
–  1 medium onion diced finely
–  3 cloves of Garlic
–  1 tsp of Cumin seeds or ground if have it ( I use Spice Kitchen for all my spices )
–  1 tsp of Ground Coriander
–  1/2 tsp of Turmeric
–  1 tsp of mustard seeds
–  1/2 tsp of chilli powder (hot)
–  1/2 large green chilli diced finely
–  1 Lime 
–  Small handful of flat leaf parsley chopped
–  Plain flour to coat fritters
–  Rapeseed oil 
–  Salt and pepper to season
–  Lime


Method:

*  Boil the Sweet potato until soft, take out of pan and dry onto some kitchen paper.

*  Boil the cauliflower until soft.

*  Fry off the onions and all spices, leave to one side to cool.

*  When the Cauliflower is soft, take out with a slotted spoon, pop onto kitchen paper to dry. Leave water to keep boiling for the Kale to go in.

*  Cook the Kale for a couple of minutes and once again, dry off with kitchen paper and chop down.

*  Into a Bowl mash with a potato masher all the veg and add the onions and spices. Add Salt and Pepper to season.

*  Add the chopped parsley, mix all together and start to make a ball in your hands with mixture, pat into a fritter/Patty shape, dust with plain flour and fry off in a hot pan with rapeseed oil in.

*  Fry for a few minutes each side and serve in a bowl with salads, chutneys and wedges of Lime.

Spicy Butternut Squash Hummus (East Meets West)

October 10, 2014


Some time back, ooh a few months ago now, I was approached by the Chinese company Lee Kum Kee to do some recipe development Work for them.  I am always passionate about Oriental and Asian food in general so I was keen to know what they wanted.  They wanted me to help out with Recipes regarding an “East meets West” Theme. Something that would later go into a Cookbook, some neck tags and any other promotional material regarding this.  I love a good task on hand and felt that this would challenge me, as my first thought was you should never “fusion” things too much? Surprisingly,  I was proved wrong, in this case anyway…by myself! 
  I don’t normally show much of my Recipe development work but I feel this is very interesting to see how Chinese sauces can be mixed with another cuisine. I won’t post all of them, just the ones I feel stood out the most.  Now, because this was a few months back, some ingredients may not be in season anymore, but certainly squash was a good starter point as, well we see a lot of those in October hey?! 
  You will see a few of these recipes of mine “pop” up so I will put in brackets (East Meets West) so you will know it is from this Project.



Spicy Butternut Squash Hummus:


Ingredients:

–  1/2 Butternut Squash copped into inch squares
–  2 Tbsp Lee Kum Kee Chiu Chow Chilli Oil
–  1  Garlic Bulb split through the middle to create 2 halves to roast.
–  1 Tbsp of Rapeseed Oil
–  200g of Tinned Chick Peas
–  1 Tbsp of Lee Kum Kee Sesame Oil
–  A squirt of Lemon Juice (Fresh)
–  1 Tsp of Ground Cumin
–  Salt and Pepper to season
–  Fresh Coriander for Serving

Method:

–  Preheat your oven to 190c.

– Place the Butternut Squash into a baking tray and drizzle over the Chilli oil. Place next to it (in foil) the Garlic bulb in two halves, drizzle over with Rapeseed oil, close up like a Parcel and Roast both in the oven for 20 minutes or until soft.

–  Allow the Squash and the Garlic to cool.

–  Squeeze out half of the garlic cloves into a Blender or Processor along with the Butternut squash.

–  Add the rest of the ingredients and Blitz to a smooth Paste. You may need to add a touch  more lemon juice, salt or oil to get the correct consistency.

–  Serve with some Warm Pitta Breads, an extra drizzle of Sesame oil and fresh Coriander on the Hummus. (You could even try my Flatbread recipe which is under my Spiced Moroccan soup recipe)

Breakfast Boost Bars

July 15, 2014



I realise that this isn’t  a Recipe post that is a “New Thing” or “Trend” in the Culinary world,  but it is something that I always used to make and have been meaning to come up with a new recipe for a while now. 

  Today,  As usual, I had some bananas that were way overripe.  So instead of me putting them into a bread or muffin like I normally do, I decided to come up with a Bar of some sort.  Now I say, “some sort” because, well, I am not sure If this recipe is a Flapjack or a Granola Bar? as, in my eyes, it qualifies for both! 

   I have to say, I am not great at eating breakfasts, especially in summer.  I do get easily bored and like something that I can eat quite efficiently  whilst reading my emails, doing my “To Do list” for that day AND drink my morning Coffee. I know, its bad! But I have to find something that suits me, we all do! and I feel with these bars, it will certainly keep me going for a while. Lets hope it will help others too.
  Now I am no nutritional expert but I have tried to keep the recipe packed full of nutrients with the fruit, nuts and seeds. Also adding no extra sugar to the syrup.

  I can’t wait to let my Fiance try these before he goes for his morning run at the weekend.  He’s been trying to find that certain something that works for him as many others have their own energy fix before a run/workout.  I will let you know what happens there on that note at a later date. Not forgetting aswell how great these are for Children, for breakfast or as a boost over those summer holidays! 
  For now, I will be trying these as my breakfast hit for the next few days…These Boost bars are moist, chewy, packed full of goodness and they’re Vegan too!


Breakfast Boost Bars:

Ingredients:

(This mixture made 9 2″x2″ Squares)

–  100g of Soy Spread ( I used Pure Dairy Free)
–  100g of Golden Syrup
–  1 Tbsp of Raw Organic Coconut Oil ( I used Lucy Bee)
–  200g of Whole Rolled Porridge Oats
–  40g of Grated Raw Carrot
–  2 Over ripe Bananas mashed
–  40g Dried Soft Apricots
–  20g Pistachios (De- shelled)
–  40g of Dried mixed Boosting Berries (i.e Blueberries, Cranberries, Goji, Raisins, etc…)
–  Sprinkling of mixed Seeds for on top (i.e Sunflower, Pumpkin, Linseed etc…)

Method:

–  Preheat Oven to 170c

–  Melt the Soya Spread in a Heavy bottomed pan on a low-medium heat and add the Golden Syrup to it.

–  Into a small hand blender/mixer or processor blitz loosely all the dried fruit together and the pistachio nuts.

–  Add the Oats to the Pan and stir coating all the mixture. Then add the Coconut oil, Bananas and grated carrot to the mixture. Stir and turn off the heat.

–  Line a baking tray with baking parchment and add the mixture creating a nice rectangular even shape.

–  Pop into the Oven for about 20 mins.

–  After 20 minutes sprinkle over your seed mix and pop back into the oven for another 20 mins.

–  Once done, take out and allow to cool before cutting into squares/slices.

If you pop these in a larder/Pantry they will keep for a good few days if kept in a sealed cake tin.

Lemon,ricotta and blueberry pancakes

May 16, 2014

In our House, one of our Favourite Breakfasts have to be My Blueberry Pancakes.  Wether it is someones birthday or just because we have a bit more time on a Sunday, having this really brightens us up for the day ahead.  They’re not too sweet, not too savoury and the sensation of Blueberries popping in your mouth is like Gigantic Caviar (of course without the fish taste)!  Even as a dessert… this would be great.  

  When I last did these, I decided to change my recipe slightly as I had some ricotta to use up. I had never put it in before and thought it should add an extra maybe creaminess, tang or even make them lighter?  Well, in fact, it did all three! The new recipe worked straight away, which is always a thrill! And they were better than ever! 
 This is my new improved recipe and My Fiance loves these better so there’s no turning back! 


Lemon Ricotta and Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

–  175g Self Raising Flour
–  2 tsp Caster Sugar
–  1/2 tsp Baking Powder
–  Pinch of Salt
–  1 Egg separated
–  200 ml Semi Skimmed Milk
–  1 Tsp Vanilla Extract or pod
–  100 g of Ricotta Cheese
–  1 Zest of Lemon
–  1 tbsp of melted unsalted Butter
–  Blueberries
–  Icing Sugar
–  Creme Fraiche to serve

Put the Flour, Caster Sugar, Vanilla Extract, Baking Powder and Salt into a bowl and then whisk in the Egg Yolk, milk and Ricotta until you have a nice smooth Batter.


Whisk the Egg White and Fold in to the batter.

Heat a non stick Frying Pan and use a very small amount of oil. When the pan is hot put a spoonful of mixture and flatten out with a ladle. Sprinkle some blueberries on top and you’ll start to see the bubbles forming, flip and cook the other side. 



At this point you could have a plate warming in the oven and start stacking them up to keep warm. 
 Serve the Warm Pancakes with a Sprinkling of  Icing Sugar and Creme Fraiche on the side.









A Meat Free and Fuss Free Leftover Gem…

February 10, 2014

I almost forgot to tell you lovely readers out there about this little gem of a dish, of which I never imagined tasting as nice as it did.  I have come up with different versions of this before but not so much with these ingredients, more spicy, such as Mexican style.

  It was in the middle of my “Roast Pork challenge” and by lunch time of the 3rd and final day, I was crying out for something Vegetarian.  I do like my Meat, but I also like variety in a week.  So I took a look into my Fridge and I literally save everything that I can safely put back into another meal the following day.  Here in my fridge were various tubs of cooked vegetables, including the potatoes.  I assembled all ingredients with lids off the tubs and took a glare.  Ok Im going to whack everything together, add Eggs and spices, a bit like Bubble and Squeak and Hope for the best! 

  It was lovely. Warming,comforting and a really nice Lunch that again was very cheap and quick to allow me to carry on writing.  So if you have any of your Veg from yesterdays Roast, why not give this a Go?…




*Not the Greatest looking dish, I know!* but tastes lush.

 Scrambled Veg with Eggs :


Ingredients:


( Baring in mind, you can be as versatile with this recipe as you like. It is your leftovers, these were just mine) … Amounts do not matter in this.


–  Tbsp of Rapeseed oil or the oil you normally fry in?
–  1 Clove of fresh Garlic chopped finely
–  1 Spring onion chopped.
–  A 2 inch piece of fresh Leek sliced finely
–  A Tsp of mild Curry powder
–  1/2 Tsp of smoked paprika
–  Salt and Pepper to season.

–  4 leftover Cooked roast potatoes

–  Some leftover cooked Savoy cabbage
–  A few leftover cooked carrots about 6 pieces, if being precise.
–  Some leftover cooked sugar snap peas 
–  Some sliced, Cooked white onion.
–  2-3 eggs depending on size
–  Salt and Pepper to season.
If you want more spice, Add fresh chilli to heat it up! 


In a bowl, Mash the Cooked roast potatoes roughly.  Add all of the cooked ingredients and mash up with your hands (Fun Part!). 

Whisk the eggs in another Bowl as you would for an Omelette and season a little.

Pop the chosen oil into your frying pan and start to fry off the leeks, garlic, spring onion, curry powder and paprika.

Then add the Cooked leftover Potato and Vegetable mix. Followed by the Eggs and now the world is your Oyster as you can scramble the whole lot as I did or try and flatten like Bubble and Squeak!  Whatever you have chosen to put in this or however you cook it? It is as Versatile as you want it to be.

A lovely Meat Free, Fuss free, thrifty Lunch or Dinner. You choose…