Red lentil dhal

How do you spell dhal / dal / daal? I vary back and forth but seem to favour dhal. I couldn't tell you why though and I am not aware of a rationale for one spelling over another.

However you spell it, dhal is a classic lentil dish and a recent addition to our regular meal rotation. I started making it as an alternative to the spiced carrot and red lentil soup that everyone in the house still loves, but which I got a bit sick of having every week. This dish is a great alternative that is still a hit with Mini Bite and Mr Bite (and me) but is a bit simpler to make, and nicely versatile in that you can pair it with rice or bread or even enjoy plain.

Tweet

Lemon and artichoke spaghetti with spinach

Having my parents visit inspired me to make some different meals to those in our usual rotation. This spaghetti dish was adapted from the recipe for lemon, artichoke and baby spinach spaghetti in Adele McConnell's The Vegan Cookbook. I won this book back in 2014 and posted at the time that I wanted to make almost all of the recipes it contains. Four years on and I haven't made even half the recipes, but those I have made have been great.

Tweet

Creamy vegan tomato and basil pasta

It turns out the old adage about children and pasta is true. Mini Bite is pretty good with most foods, but she loves pasta and is capable of tucking away an enormous amount of it when hungry. My go-to easy sauce for her is a mix of tomato pasta, tahini, dried oregano and nutritional yeast, but recently I have been looking for some different sauces that we can all enjoy. This creamy tomato basil pasta was one result.

Tweet

Easy cauliflower and aubergine vegetable curry

I have made a few vegetable curry dishes over recent months but neglected to photograph or post them. This is a shame, because our evening lighting was lovely in the middle of summer and I could have taken decent photographs if I'd thought to do so. Going with the spirit of better late than never, I am pleased to share this curry that I photographed in waning evening light this week.

Mr Bite is not, historically, a big fan of these sorts of curries. He also has a low opinion of cauliflower and aubergine. However, we have discovered that mango chutney and naan bread go a long way to winning him around. So it was with this meal. I don't think he would have been happy to have the curry and rice alone, but with chutney and naan bread, he professed himself satisfied.

Tweet

Triple chickpea stack

I had such fun making and naming this dish. There is something about three layers of chickpeas, in three different forms, that appeals to my kitchen creativity. If the photos don't immediately give it away, the three forms here are chickpea flour (besan flour) pancakes, whole chickpeas, and hummus.

This can be as easy or complicated as your life permits. I cooked chickpeas from dry and made the hummus myself, but then took a short cut with ratatouille and used a commercial tin for that. If you needed a meal in a hurry, you could use tinned chickpeas and store bought hummus; if you are more organised than I was you could whip of ratatouille yourself.

Tweet

Lentil and apricot tagine

I may be taking liberties with the term 'tagine' here, as I do not have a tagine dish and this is not a traditional North African recipe. Tagine-stew is probably a more accurate term. Whatever you call it, the dish is enjoyable and combines vegetables, lentils and dried apricots to pleasing effect.

Tweet

Red pepper and lentil bolognese

I have previously shared an aubergine and pepper bolognese that offers a satisfying mid-week (or anytime) vegetable-packed meal. This red pepper and lentil bolognese is a worthy alternative. I paired this version with pasta spirals instead of spaghetti and really enjoyed the result. I know pasta shapes don't matter that much, but somehow they change the feel of a meal and I think this one suits spirals!

 

Tweet

Mediterranean pasta salad with tofu

We have had a few cold dinners this week, on account of some hot summer days and overly warm summer nights. The nice thing about England is that, generally, the hot weather doesn't last for weeks on end like it does in Australia. The flip side is that air conditioning isn't common here, so when it is hot, you are hot.

For those of you in the northern hemisphere, this Mediterranean pasta salad is perfect for summer nights, barbecues or picnics. It's easy to make ahead and then serve cold. For those of you in the southern hemisphere, I imagine it could work as a warm pasta dish too.

Tweet

Spiced couscous salad with grilled portobello mushrooms

I'm still in my mushroom phase and have branched out from small button mushrooms to the larger portobello variety. Aren't they fun? One day we will have an outdoor barbecue and I'll grill them in style, but for now they are just as delicious cooked in an oven-based griller.

This simple meal pairs the grilled portobellos with an easy couscous salad. The combination worked very well, both in ease of making (the couscous cooks while the mushrooms grill) and in the resulting mix of flavours and textures.

I used paprika, onion and chilli powders to flavour the meal, along with a dash each of salt, pepper and sugar and some fresh mint leaves. The mint leaves were from our garden, which added to my enjoyment of them! I also added diced carrots and whole snow peas (mange tout) to the couscous. I loved the resulting mix but other vegetables would work well too if you have different things to hand.

Tweet

Just creamy, vegan, spiced tomato spaghetti

Having used hummus as a cheese alternative on grilled toast and in lasagna, it is perhaps not surprising that I recently added it to pasta sauce. It worked extremely well. Paired with tomato paste, red wine vinegar, various herbs and plenty of vegetables, it turned spaghetti from bland to exciting and was a very satisfying meal.

I confess that, of late, I have been buying hummus rather than making it. I know, I know! It's extremely easy to make, not to mention cheaper and open to customisation. Nevertheless, I sometimes buy it. A consequence of this is needing to use up the tub within the recommended date range. I'm very fond of hummus, but sometimes I struggle to get through it all as a spread or dip. Dishes like this are handy at such times.

Whilst I didn't use them here, I think sun dried tomatoes would provide a nice twist with this meal too. If you like sun dried tomato flavours, feel free to try out the addition (and let me know how it goes).

Tweet

Winter vegetable and kidney bean stew

This is not a recipe that will win points for beauty, innovation or excitement. It is, however, a recipe that may win you over with its hearty but nutritious simplicity. You probably have all the necessary ingredients to hand and it is budget-friendly to boot.

Sometimes, dinner is about what the cupboard can provide with minimal fuss. It is always a bonus when those meals are fuss-free but taste-filled and this was definitely such an example. It isn't radically different to other stews I have shared, and I have no doubt you make similar things yourself, but I'm a big believer in sharing the simple dishes as well as the complex ones. The flavourings in this come from oregano, paprika and maple syrup - as well as the vegetables themselves, of course. I know I'll be pleased to have the recipe to refer to again in the future.

Tweet

Satay tofu noodles with snow peas

I have previously shared recipes for satay tofu and satay sweet potato noodles. However, this dish manages to be different from - and better than - both of those past meals. In fact, I liked it so much I am already planning a repeat batch.

I use the term 'satay' quite loosely here as I know authentic satay dishes will have a few extra ingredients. I could have called this peanut butter tofu instead as there is a very generous quota of peanut butter in the mix. Between that and the tofu it is a great source of vegan protein and the snow peas and noodles make delicious accompaniments. You could use a greater range of vegetables if you prefer, and broccoli comes to mind as a particularly good alternative or addition to the snow peas.

Tweet

M&S-style nutty super wholefood salad

I mentioned in my last post that my favourite Marks and Spencer salad is their nutty super wholefood salad. Featuring green beans, peas, broccoli, carrots, black-eyed beans and quinoa plus peanuts, almonds and pistachios, it is absolutely packed with delicious ingredients. A dollop of hummous and a soy and ginger dressing finish the everything off.

Whilst I have no qualms about buying prepared salads on occasion, it's obviously nice to make them at home when possible. It saves money, for one, but it also allows you to customise ingredients and portions - and make up a batch to cover lunches for several days if you're so inclined. With salads like this one, it's also a good way to use up leftover grains or vegetables.

There are a few takes on this M&S salad online already, some following it extremely closely and others using it as a springboard for inspiration. My version is somewhere in between. Like the M&S original, my salad featured green beans, peas, broccoli, quinoa, almonds, hummous and a soy and ginger dressing. I omitted the carrots, black-eyed beans, peanuts and pistachios, but added butter beans, pecans and brown basmati rice (a half-half mix with the quinoa because I had some already cooked). In truth, small beans (black-eyed or otherwise) are probably better suited to this than butter beans, but you can use whatever you have to hand.

Tweet

Vegan banh mi sandwich

After my delicious bahn mi lunch at Mono, I returned from Scotland determined to make bahn mi at home. This led me to look up the dish and learn that bahn mi really just means bread. To be specific, baguette made with rice flour as well as wheat flour. A bahn mi sandwich, on the other hand, refers to the complete dish: a filled Vietnamese baguette with meat or tofu, picked vegetables, chilli, and coriander (cilantro).

My version used a standard wheat baguette, but I tried to stay true to the spirit of Vietnamese sandwich fillings. Online information suggested I could pickle the vegetables quite briefly - for an hour or so - rather than needing an extensive pickling process. I used carrot, cabbage and radishes but cucumber and daikon would be authentic additions to the mix. Fresh coriander isn't in season here, but if you can find it, it would be a great finishing touch. As it is, I used the dried variety in my tofu marinade.

I've shared a few recipes lately with the note that you don't really need to press your tofu. Here, you do. Allow time to press it in advance and then marinate it for 30 minutes or so before cooking. The result is crispy thin slices that really make the sandwich.

Tweet

Purple vegan lasagna

If I'd been more organised, I might have shared this post for Halloween. Purple lasagna would have been particularly fun then, but as it is, we're having it in mid-November. I'd like to think it is fun now too - difficult to photograph well, but fun.

As with my previous purple meals, the colour in this dish comes from purple carrots. It amazes me how much colour they are capable of providing. They usually cost a little more than regular carrots, but I get such pleasure from them that I think they're worthwhile every now and again.

Other than carrots, this dish drew inspiration from the lasagna with hummous I made earlier in the year. I used tahini here instead of hummous, but either would work well. Whilst purple carrots don't taste very different to regular ones, their dark colour conjures up a depth of flavour that tahini complements nicely.

Tweet

Giant couscous with greens, sun dried tomatoes, chickpeas and tahini

I'm on a real tahini streak at the moment. My jars of peanut butter and almond butter have been untouched for weeks, but tahini is featuring pretty much daily. I've come to expect this from myself and am sure I'll move on to a different ingredient love soon. For now - tahini it is. As a result, you get to share in a few tahini recipes and today's bowl meal is a savoury counterpart to my tahini chocolate oat balls of last week!

 

Tweet

Hot and sour stir fry with sweet potato

This recipe is a shameless retake on my sweet and sour tofu from March 2014. Like that earlier recipe, pineapple and sriracha play key roles. Unlike the previous version, kale is not such a star player (I still love it, but it wasn't in the kitchen when I made this). I've also increased the spice component and sweet potato provides an accompaniment instead of rice or noodles.

Meals like this are a staple of my mid-week meals and I'll readily confess that most don't make it to the blog. This one was particularly good, I found time to take some photos, and I wanted to remind myself of the ingredient mix for future reference. I hope it can provide some of you with ideas and inspiration too!

Tweet

Leon-inspired chickpea, aubergine and mint stew

It's getting a bit embarrassing, the way you can track my recipe progression. In addition to my ongoing enjoyment of aubergine, this stew carries forward the mint theme from my last recipe and features the chickpeas that allowed me to create a vegan mousse with chickpea brine. What can I say, my kitchen activities are transparent. It may also be obvious that I don't have enough time to create surplus recipes to mask this transparency!

Whilst some of the flavours in this dish are familiar, it definitely deserves recognition in its own right. The recipe is adapted from one in the Leon cookbook, which is published by the creators of the popular UK Leon restaurants. Leon is all about real, healthy, fast food and many of the dishes draw on Mediterranean and African ingredients. This recipe epitomizes the Leon style.

Tweet

Vegan cannelloni with spiced tomatoes and aubergine

I posted two aubergine recipes in June, which (to me at least) were a logical extension of each other: vegan lasagne with aubergines and hummous, and then vegan potato and aubergine bake with tahini. This recipe drops out the creamy hummous/tahini element, but is inspired by the lasagne I enjoyed so much. In fact, the cannelloni tubes are made from lasagne sheets. And yes, aubergine is involved.

 

Tweet

Harissa-spiced tofu, beetroot and sweet potato salad

I had trouble titling this recipe because I felt like all of the ingredients were stars. However, harissa-spiced tofu, beetroot, sweet potato, carrot, broccoli and kale salad with lemon and mint was too much of a mouthful. Rest assured, though, that you'll appreciate all of the ingredients in this dish should you choose to make it.

I don't mind confessing that the harissa in this came from a jar. I bought it on the same shopping trip that gave me preserved lemon paste. Both were impulse buys, but useful ones that have given rise to some new recipe ideas. For this salad, the harissa was key in flavouring the tofu and I balanced the spice out with lemon juice and mint.  I am still quite new to cooking with harissa but really enjoy the depth of flavour in the spicy paste.

Tweet