Tag: Vegetables

Roasted Sweetheart Cabbage with Lemon Tofu

I’ve been really enjoying exploring new recipes using different varieties of cabbage. My favourite recipe so far using sweetheart cabbage is this simple oven roasted dish.

Preheat the oven and place halved sweetheart cabbage heads into a baking tray. Drizzle a little olive oil over the cabbage head and season with a little salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 20 – 30 minutes until the leaves are soft and tender inside and crispy around the edges.

Whilst the cabbage is cooking cook the tofu. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil in a large pan and add chopped tofu. I use Tofoo Naked tofu as I find the texture is beautiful and it cooks consistently. Turn to ensure its cooked evenly on both sides and drizzle with a little lemon juice and black pepper.

Serve the cabbage and tofu with salad and a little lemon dressing.

This meal is very simple, super tasty and incredibly healthy. I would highly recommend this as a perfect summer meal which fit my gluten free, vegan diet down ideally.

Beet burger, vegan coleslaw and sweet swede mash

Packing my plate full of tasty vegetables is my favourite way to eat coeliac, vegan friendly food. This dish uses so many under rated vegetables to make a fantastic meal.

These beet burgers are gorgeous. I bought them from Aldi at St James’ Park in Sheffield and they are healthy and make a vegan coeliac a happy bunny.

I’ve served them with homemade swede mash and homemade coleslaw.

To make the coleslaw use a white cabbage and peeled carrots. Slice the vegetables thinly, I actually use the slicer on my grater for the carrot to make the task easier. Mix the carrots and cabbage with vegan mayonnaise, stirring through until evenly covered.

Swede mash is a really simple accompaniment to so many meals and much healthier than mashed potato. Peel and chop the swede then place in a pan with water and bring to the boil. Cook until the swede is soft and then drain thoroughly. Add a tablespoon of dairy free spread, a little salt and then mash to the desired consistency. I prefer a slightly chunky, rustic mash so leave a few bits in.

Served with avocado on the side this is one of my favourite meals of recent days, I hope you enjoy it too, either all together or as individual recipes.

Sesame and Cashew Stir Fry with Heck Sweet Fusion Sausages

Heck have brought out quite a range of new gluten-free, vegan sausages and I have so much time (and tummy space) for this.

So far I have tried the Super Greens, Beetroot and the Sweet Fusion flavours. The sweet Fusion sausages contain a mix of gentle Thai flavours, rice and vegetables.

Today I’ve made a simple and yummy sesame stir fry to accompany the tasty sausages. With crunchy carrot, mange tout and cashew nuts fried in sesame oil this stir fry is lovely with some toasted sesame seeds.

I hope you try and enjoy the Heck sausages as well as the stir fry.

Chickpea, split pea and cashew curry

Having discovered I am not allergic to cashew nuts I’ve been including them in as many recipes as I can.

Start by making a yellow curry paste by blending chilli, garlic, ginger, coriander and turmeric into a paste using a vegetable mincer. Warm the paste through with some coconut oil and saute to create the base of the curry.

Add dried yellow split peas, chickpeas and cashew nuts and then cover with coconut milk and boiling water. I use Alpro coconut milk instead of tinned milk as it’s less heavy and less fatty.

Bring to the boil then turn down and cook on a medium heat for 1 – 2 hours, stir regularly and keep an eye on how the chickpeas and yellow split peas are cooking. The pulses will have softened and expanded as they cook.

If needed continue to cook the curry for longer. This is a great recipe to make in a slow cooker for an easy workday tea.

I serve with coconut rice for a really tasty meal.

SHED at the Cutlery Works Sheffield

I love finding new places to eat out and when I visited Cutlery Works Sheffield I found quite a few! Cutlery Works is a food court with shared eating space and a number of independent small food kitchens. For once it was lovely to be a coeliac vegan who was actually spoilt for choice as a number of the kitchens offered suitable food and allergy signage was great.

In the end I opted to order from SHED, a plant based kitchen on the first floor towards the far end bar. SHED had quite a few options I could choose from and were really helpful when I spoke to them in person about allergies and dietary requirements. I had an antipasto board to start (the homemade lemon and sesame seed humous is delicious).

For my main I tucked into this delicious green Buddha bowl curry. I really liked the inclusion of wild rice and the fresh vegetables were lovely in the curry and had enough crunch to feel nutritious.

As well as a choice of places to eat there are a few bars, smoothie and coffee options available. Much too full for a smoothie it was definitely a gin day and the Boseden Rose is a lush floral accompaniment to a beautiful veggie meal.

Oumph! Salty and Smoky

I have a new (not so secret) favourite food in the Salty and Smoky flavoured Oumph available at Tesco in the UK.

Fod those of you who haven’t come across Oumph! before it a high protein soya alternative that you can cook in next to know time. I’ve tried different flavours including chunky and kebab but the Salty and Smoky is a firm winner in my eyes.

Cooking from frozen with a little oil in a wok or frying pan this is a really swift and easy food to cook. It’s been forming a good central point for much of my “quick tea” meals recently.

In the dish pictured above I’ve added kale and some leftover braised red cabbage to the Oumph! as it cooks in a wok and served it up.

Be on the look out for more recipes featuring Oumph! as I’m quite a fan.

Smoky Swede and Beans

I really like the combination of sweet flavours with the smoky taste of paprika. This dish serves up both and is a really tasty, as well as cheap vegan and gluten free meal in the long months after Christmas.

I think swede is really underrated and often we forget how versatile it is and only think of it as an addition to mash or stew. This roasted vegetable and bean dish makes the most of the swede’s sweet flavour and soft texture. And as large British swede was on offer in the supermarket the swede I used for 4 servings was only 59p!

Start by preparing the vegetables. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the hard green and purple skin from the swede and then chop into batons. Similar sizes to carrot sticks. Pop into a roasting dish and into the oven at 200° with some oil. Personally I’ve used a little of the Fry Light Avocado oil for this roast but you can amend to your taste. Roast for 20 minutes before turning the swede and adding slice red pepper, yellow pepper and red onion. Stir through so the vegetables are even coates in oil and season with a generous sprinkle of paprika and a little cayenne pepper before returning to roast again for a further 25 minutes.

At this point you can add your beans for the last 15 minutes of the hour long roast. I’ve used black eyed beans as they have a hearty flavour and work really well in smoky dishes. I’ve also used ready to eat black eyed beans from a tin for bonus lazy weekend points! Add the beans and stir through the vegetables before finishing the roasting.

This meal is so tasty and so simple to make. A great way to use swede in vegan and coeliac diets.

Vegetable Miso Soup

January is a time when many of us embrace a healthy detox. Miso soup is a great way to do this. This tasty staple of Japanese foods is becoming more widely available and I love using the Yutaka Miso Paste in cooking.

Yutaka Miso Paste is vegan, gluten free and high in protein so it’s ideal for detox times. Also it’s really easy to use.

For this soup I finely chop vegetables, I’ve used celery, carrot, spring onion and broccoli florets. Add the vegetables to a large wok and saute with a small amount of sesame oil. I only cook for a few minutes as I love this with crunchy vegetables. Then add a large tablespoon of Miso paste and some boiling water. Turn down the heat and continue to cook for a further few minutes.

Serve up and enjoy. A great low calorie as healthy soup for January detox.

Sweet Potato and Aduki Bean Thai Burger – Vegan and Gluten Free

It’s Veganuary and I’m loving all the new food and drinks available at the moment! I’m actually going back to an old classic tonight and making vegan burgers with sweet potato and Aduki beans.

As I’m trying to shop with less packaging and from zero waste stores where possible I’m purchasing more dried beans and pulses and then soaking or cooking them before use. These Aduki beans are one example of products I’m getting dried. It’s really simple to bring them to a usable state and I’ve done this with approx 250g Aduki beans by popping them in the slow cooker for about 6 hours on a low heat.

The next job is to prepare the sweet potato. To make 6 burgers I chop the sweet potato into pieces about an inch or so wide and bring to the boil. Personally I am a fan of the extra nutrients and the added texture so I leave the skin on but if you prefer a smoother texture peel them too. Boil for 15 – 20 minutes and then drain off and allow to cool for a little while until you can easily handle the potatoes.

Once cool add a tablespoon of soya butter to the sweet potatoes, this will assist with the mashing. Also add your flavours. I used minced garlic, lemongrass paste and chopped spring onion to give it a Thai feel as well as a little salt and pepper. Using a potato masher crush the sweet potatoes, seasoning and onion until well mashed.

Then add the cooked or tinned beans. Stir through the mash so the beans are evenly distributed. After this form the mix into patties. I find the thinner patties cook a little better. Place into a cooking pan lined with a little oil. I’ve used coconut oil as I think it goes perfectly and then cook for 40 minutes at 200.

I’ve served these delicious homemade burgers with salad. A yummy vegan and gluten-free option ideal for keeping us healthy and well fed in January.

Herby Roasted Vegetables and Tofu

This delicious combination of vegetables and tofu make a great lunch or dinner and is incredibly easy to prepare and cook.

I warm a little oil in a roasting tray and add chopped red onion, courgette and fennel. Scatter over plenty of herbs for an extra punch of flavour. I expect used rosemary, thyme and basil, then roast in the oven for approximately 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes add tofu to the roast. I’m using the Cauldron marinated tofu pieces and continue to cook for a further 20 minutes.

I actually don’t think you need to serve this with anything carby or heavy and dish it straight up with a little balsamic drizzle. Another tasty new way to enjoy a gluten free, vegan diet.