Category: Recipes

Kidney bean veggie burger

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Kidney bean veggie burger

This vegan kidney bean and dried soya mince burger is very tasty and perfect to satisfy any burger craving. It is also perfect for vegetarian and vegan guests if you’re inviting them to a barbecue – there’s no reason to not include them with a tasty burger you’ve made for them. Serve with some vegan mayo and ketchup, salad leaves, tomato and onion and you’re onto a winner!

There are plenty of different types of veggie burger on sale at the supermarket – some with tofu, some are made with broccoli, cauliflower, all sorts of other vegetables but few taste like a traditional burger. Likewise, asking for a veggie burger at a restaurant is a very hit and miss experience, at least in Gibraltar. Just because it doesn’t have any meat doesn’t mean I want vegetable mash in the form of a burger that will completely deform as soon as I bite into it!

That is why I prefer to make veggie burgers myself. It is also very easy and economical, you can make them in advance in batches and freeze them until they are ready to use. This recipe uses kidney beans from a tin, (because what is the point in cooking them just for this!) and also dried soya mince (also known as textured vegetable protein). This can be bought in many supermarkets and health shops. It needs to be hydrated and then it is ready to use. Soya protein mince is also very lean and very high in protein (approximately 50%) so it’s a good ingredient to use in a burger or as a mince replacement in general. To bind all the ingredients together I like to use chickpea flour which acts as an egg binder.

 

‘Ajoblanco’ soup

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Ajoblanco is a typical cold soup made with almonds, garlic, bread and olive oil from the Axarqui­a , the eastern part of the Malaga province in southern Spain. It is a traditional dish with very ancient origins tracing back to Roman times when they introduced it to the province then known as Hispania. This soup is sometimes known as ‘gazpacho blanco” or white gazpacho.

Traditionally it was made in a pestle and mortar and the bread used was usually stale and soaked, which is a recurrent theme in Spanish food as a way to not let anything go to waste. Nowadays with high speed blenders it reduces the amount of work considerably and also gives a lovely smooth texture, and does a great job of emulsifying the oil and water in the soup.

Ajoblanco is usually served with green moscatel grapes (although you can use any seedless grape too), or chopped melon. Some people even use apple, it really depends on what you have. The fruit gives a lovely balance to the harshness of the garlic and acidity of the vinegar without being too sweet.

For illustration purposes I prepared some parsley oil to drizzle on top but it really isn’t necessary or customary. This recipe belongs to Matilde, a dear friend who makes a wonderful ajoblanco and was kind enough to let me have the recipe.

Greek Style Feta Cheese Salad

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Greek style feta cheese salad

On a recent visit to Turkey and Greece I marvelled at the fantastic vegan and vegetarian dishes they have, especially with the starters (also known as meze). On a day trip to the Greek island of Chios I had lunch with a friend at Mestá Port. It was a lovely location eating right on the sea shore, and the food was to die for. There was a typical salad (what we know as Greek salad) which was so incredibly delicious, helped by the fact that they used ripe and tasty tomatoes and lovely cucumbers. I had always had ‘Greek salad’ with feta cheese that was crumbled in it, but here they served it with a block of feta cheese on top with herbs sprinkled on top. My friend is vegan so we ordered the salad without the feta cheese, but once home I decided to try and recreate the traditional version.

One thing to note is that not all feta cheeses are suitable for vegetarians. Luckily in British supermarkets it is quite easy to see if a cheese is vegetarian friendly by looking at the wrapping as most will say if it is. If it doesn’t say anything or you don’t see the vegetarian logo you can take it that it won’t be suitable. Finding one that is suitable however shouldn’t be too difficult.

This salad is very easy to make, all it takes is 10 minutes to prepare the vegetables and it is super tasty. A lovely taste of summer and of Greece.

Green Bean Salad

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Green bean salad with garlic

Green bean salad is a simple dish that is full of flavour very typical of southern Spain and Gibraltar. Locally it is knows as ‘ensalada de habichuelas verdes‘ although it is also known as ‘judí­as verdes aliñadas‘. It is usually served as a side dish and goes very well with a protein source of your choice (veggie of course!). It is also quite typical to have this during the hot season as it is served cold. Green bean salad is a very Mediterranean dish and there are variations of this all across the Mediterranean. In fact I had a similar salad in Greece recently, although it was served warm and had no garlic, but very similar in concept.

As with many salads of this region, it has raw garlic, and while our palates here are well accustomed to it, it may be that the thought of raw garlic may be too much for others. If that is the case, don’t be put off, simply sauté the garlic and allow to cool down and then serve into the salad. It will be just as good and don’t waste any of the garlic infused oil! Use it to marinade the green beans.

I tend to use lemon juice to marinade my salads because I do not like vinegar, however the usual way to do this is with a mild vinegar, such as wine vinegar or apple cider vinegar. This really is up to individual taste.

Berza – Chickpea Stew

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Berza chickpea stew

Berza (pronounced like the name Bertha!) is a stew which is customary of the Malaga and Cadiz region of Spain (the southernmost part) and of course is one of our traditional stews in Gibraltar. This is a recipe that is different depending on where it is that you have it but after doing some research I found that my family recipe has much more in common with the Cadiz area than the Malaga area and this is down to the use of spearmint which is not used in the Malaga versions of berza. Spearmint may seem like an unusual addition to any stew but in fact it is commonly used in many stews of southern Spain, making me think this is maybe of Moorish influence.

Berza, like many Spanish stews is traditionally a little meat heavy and relies on chorizo and pork loin. In order to make up for this and still keep the flavour I use garlic (quite a lot), as garlic is one of the main ingredients in chorizo, but don’t be shocked by the amount, after all there are quite a few servings here, and Spanish food is very garlic heavy, although the end result isn’t garlicky at all. Also another flavouring in chorizo is sweet smoked paprika or sun dried red peppers, so I add a bit more of this. Making these simple substitutions will make this dish much healthier!

To replace the meat I like to use seitan, although in Gibraltar this can be difficult to find. I tend to buy it in Spain or make it myself. You can also use Quorn fillets, or opt for not using any at all, it is not essential as the flavour is substituted using a bit of yeast extract (Marmite) and miso paste.

The mixture of spearmint, tomato and sun dried red peppers (or sweet smoked paprika) is very distinctive and is an explosion of flavours – what seems like a clash in flavour types actually works beautifully well. There is also a bit of heat from the peppercorns which comes at the end.

The way of making this berza dish is very traditional, where the onions, butternut squash (or pumpkin) and potato are left in big pieces or whole and then blended in order to thicken the sauce. I also like to make this with tinned chickpeas as it saves me time but if you want to use dry then please see the notes below. It is also important to note that variety of chickpea used can make a bit of a difference. For example the Indian chickpeas are smaller have a slightly different flavour, whereas the ones used in Spanish food tend to be much larger, plumper and sweeter.

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies

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I made these chocolate chip cookies last week when I discovered that I had some dark chocolate chips and had a sudden craving for something chocolatey. So, these cookies came to the rescue! I use cocoa powder to make the dough intensely chocolatey as well as the dark chocolate chips. These cookies are also vegan in that there is no dairy used but if you are concerned that the chocolate chips have dairy then you can also use 70% chocolate and break into into small pieces the size of a chocolate chip. For all intents and purposes it will be just the same.

For the oil I use refined coconut oil instead of margarine or butter. Refined coconut oil is great for baking because like butter it will stay solid until about 25C (butter melts a few degrees higher) but can be used to much higher temperatures so it can also be used in cooking. One important thing to note about refined coconut oil is that unlike the virgin coconut oil, it does not have any coconut aroma. A lot has been written about the benefits of virgin (raw) coconut oil but I very much don’t like the aroma of coconut on things that are not supposed to have coconut! Refined coconut oil has a neutral aroma and flavour and so is much more versatile. Unlike the raw coconut oil which is made from fresh coconuts, refined coconut oil is made from dried coconut and steam refined to remove any flavours. The word refined can be a bit misleading but no chemicals are used in the refining process. Which one you use is up to you, but if you don’t want any undue coconut aroma then refined coconut oil is the one to use (and much less expensive!)

Another worthy note is that instead of eggs I use aquafaba (chick pea water). This may sound odd, but vegans have been using chick pea water (the water that you get in a tin of chickpeas!) for some time. It has a complex mix of carbohydrates and proteins that can be whipped like egg and can be used to provide moisture in baking in the same way as eggs can. In a recipe like this 2 eggs would be used, and you can replace one egg with 2-3 tbsp of chickpea water

Back to the double chocolate chip cookies – they are so good! A bit like a brownie in a cookie because they are very rich and intensely chocolatey, perfect for chocoholics or a chocolate fix on a rainy day. One thing I do suggest as an upgrade is to sprinkle a little sea salt on top of the cookies in order to take them to another level!

Cinnamon Cookies

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Cinnamon cookies, vegan

I have to admit I love to bake biscuits (or cookies as they are known elsewhere!) more than I love baking a cake because they are easier to make and also much quicker to bake and cool down. When I get a craving I can’t help to fulfill it soon enough, so cookies are perfect. These biscuits (or cookies) are based on the my mantecados recipe which uses oil and is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. Mantecados are flavoured with lemon zest and a bit of cinnamon, however these cinnamon cookies use only cinnamon (and quite a lot of it!).

To complement the cinnamon I also use soft brown sugar. You can use dark brown sugar for a more caramelly flavour but light brown sugar works very well too. This gives a biscuit that is crunchy on the outside, ever so slightly soft in the middle, sweet, caramelly and so cinnamony! They are a bit like the Biscoff Lotus biscuits (one of my favourites) except that theirs are much thinner and crunchier. Also there is a certain pleasure in making it yourself and infusing the entire apartment with the aroma of cinnamon!

Torrijas Recipe

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Torrijas recipe - Easter Spanish toast

In Gibraltar you know it is Easter time when people make Torrijas. They are similar to French toast, and there is no direct translation so you could call them Spanish toast. Torrijas are creamy on the inside, sweet, cinnamony and absolutely heavenly! There are 2 main variations of them – some people make torrijas and then drench them in a simple syrup (my favourite) or cover them in a mix of sugar and cinnamon. Either way I have never met a single person who doesn’t like them.

Torrijas are a classic and traditional Spanish sweet traditionally made during the Easter festive period with the recipe going back to at least the 15th century, although it is probably older. Everyone says that their favourite is their mum’s, and I have to concur! In fact this is my mother’s recipe. Having said that, my friend Nicole makes a mean torrija too. She makes them for the Calentita food festival in Gibraltar every June for the ‘Traditional Gibraltar Sweets” stall, and while the stall sells out, the first sweet that usually sells out early on are the torrijas. That is a measure of how popular they are!

Torrijas can be found ready made at the supermarket, cake shops, even some bars and restaurants but I have never had one as good as home made, and it pays to make them yourself as the recipe is relatively easy and cheap! As with many traditional Spanish dishes, bread is used. With torrijas, bread is simply a medium as it soaks up the sweet infused milk mixture and them becomes creamy when cooked. The milk is infused with lemon rind and cinnamon. The lemon rind will release lots of lemony flavour and combined with cinnamon is a classic of many Spanish desserts.

It is best to use bread which is slightly stale (from the day before) as it will soak up more liquid and make it creamier on the inside. You can either use thick cut sliced bread (the thicker the better) or a normal baguette cut into slices about 3cm (1 inch) thick. In Spanish supermarkets you can find bread especially made for torrijas, usually already sliced. It is important to not remove the crust as otherwise it will fall apart.

Vegan Cottage Pie

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Vegan cottage pie

Cottage pie is a classic of British cuisine. I have always known this as Shepherd’s Pie I have learned that cottage pie has a potato mash topping, and Shepherds Pie has a pastry topping, so this is a twist and vegan version of the classic Cottage Pie recipe. For me this is comfort food, and it is perfect to make in advance and put in the oven just before dinner time.

Making this vegan is quite easy, as is keeping all the traditional taste. Most store bought veggie minces are not vegan though so I used a block of seitan which I had in my refrigerator, minced this in the food processor and it worked perfectly well. You could always use rehydrated textured soya or minced tofu as an alternative. Lentils also make for a lovely alternative in this type of dish.

The mash is also a little different in that I have used sweet potato and regular potato. This makes it a little sweeter but sweet potato is quite healthy and surprisingly lower in carbs anyway despite being sweeter. The mash is silky smooth and has a wonderful taste and colour.

Traditionally Cottage pie is cooked in a gravy sauce and then topped with mash. However in this recipe I make it a little different since I base it on my mother’s recipe and she is Spanish so she has always used tomato as a base for the sauce instead. However I promise this tastes wonderfully good and can be great to make for dinner with friends or the family.

Meat-free Bolognese Sauce

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Veggie bolognese sauce

Bolognese sauce is one of those sauces that everyone knows how to make and everyone has it’s own version. It is also popular with children, although it is still one of my go-to recipes whenever I fancy some spaghetti! One thing is for sure, and that is that the bolognese sauce we tend to have is anything but authentic! However, I always say that as long as it tastes authentically good it really doesn’t matter, I’m not a purist by any means.

Whether this dish is vegan or vegetarian depends on the type of mince you use. Many veggie minces are not vegan but there are some that are vegan friendly. You can also use the same amount of some minced seitan, minced tofu, or my favourite is dried soya mice (already rehydrated – see notes).

In fact this is a version of my mother’s recipe and since she is Spanish, there is a definite Spanish influence and variation of the traditional recipe. After all, I use white wine and tomato frito sauce as part of the ingredients which may leave some people wondering what is going on, but trust me, it tastes delicious! Tomato frito (or tomate frito in Spanish) is a classic sauce which is basically onion, peppers, garlic and tomato sauce, like a sofrito, but blended which makes it quite sweet as it releases all the natural sugars of the onions. This in turn gives a lovely depth to the tomato and reduces any acidity from the tinned tomato puree.

I also use yeast extract (Marmite) in order to give a savoury depth of flavour and that ‘meatiness’ that classic bolognese has. The Maggi Jugo seasoning (also known as liquid aminos in some places) also helps bolster those savoury flavours. The white wine is used in many Spanish dishes and even though it is normally not used in a bolognese, I have always had it this way and think it tastes good, however you can use red wine too. The thing is that I tend to keep the red wine for myself and won’t use it for food (unless I have to!)

The secret to this dish is to cook it slow, it tastes better believe me! However you can do it faster if you’re in a hurry and make it a meal in 30 minutes. You can also use some herbs, like oregano and thyme and add them towards the end, it will taste good but I tend to simply cook it as is. It is a very simple and tasty sauce to make, especially for the family. You can serve this with any type of pasta but spaghetti is my favourite, and also you can use this as the sauce for a lasagne. Some grated dairy-free parmesan will also take this to the next level.

 

Creamy broccoli & spinach soup

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Broccoli and spinach soup

This soup recipe is one of my favourites not only because I love the taste of broccoli, but because it is health in a bowl. Broccoli is one of those vegetables that is full of goodness but we tend to only use the florets and throw away the thick stalk. However this is also full of flavour so there is no reason to throw this away, having it in a soup is perfect way to use it. Also I’m also trying to cook extra healthy lately and lose some weight, so having soups for dinner helps in that respect.

I like the fact that this soup is very creamy but without using any cream which would make it heavy. The green colour is enhanced by the spinach as cooked broccoli can loose some of it’s vivid green colour. The creaminess comes from the tofu which like in other soup recipes makes the soup thick and creamy but without adding much to the flavour. The tofu is also an important source of protein, which makes this soup a protein rich meal and also very satisfying. I tend to blend soups in my Nutribullet blender which is quite powerful, but I figure that if it can make wonderful smooth smoothies with ice cubes, then it can blend a soup until perfectly smooth and creamy and it does! There is no need to pass it through a sieve. I like to have this soup with some chunky whole bread and drizzle some extra virgin olive oil on top.

Turkish Lentil Soup Recipe

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Turkish lentil soup with paprika oil

I first tried this red lentil soup when I went to visit a dear friend in Istanbul and I was blown away. How could something so simple be so tasty!? I wasn’t even a big fan of lentils (at the time) but ever since it became a staple for me and one of my favourite foods. The combination of red pepper paste (or paprika), cumin and dried mint make these warm and earthy flavours come to life.

The red lentils do not just add to the taste but also have a wonderful creaminess making this soup a great meal on it’s own. I prefer the soup to have a thicker consistency, but you can add more water if you prefer it thinner. On serving it can be drizzled with paprika oil, which is entirely optional and I admit I many times have it without. Still, the bright red oil adds a lovely warm accent to the dish.

Vegan Nut & Lentil Roast Recipe

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Vegan lentil and nut roast

Last Christmas I made a nut roast which I adapted from the BBC Good Food website and it really was very nice. However this year I have decided to make it vegan because I remembered thinking that it wouldn’t be that difficult to adapt it, and why not? I have to say that I prefer this vegan nut roast, not only is it tastier but it is also a little bit lighter and has a savoury punch to it that goes so well with roast vegetables and vegan gravy sauce perfect for occasions such as these. There are layers of texture. You have the softness of the vegetables and lentils and then some crunchiness from the nuts.

To bind the mixture together I use chick pea flour which does the job of the eggs in a traditional nut roast. Also I use Tamari soy sauce which has more flavour and less salt than regular soy sauce, but if you don’t have any you can substitute for regular. Also I use nutritional yeast which has a cheesy malty flavour to it. If you don’t have any don’t worry too much but if you do have it it is worth using as it will add another layer of flavour.

It is quite easy to make (despite the lengthy cooking time), it is a case of sweating down some vegetables, cooking the lentils until soft, then adding the rest of the ingredients, mixing and baking. It needs to be done in advance, even a few days in advance will be good (as I am doing) as it will keep perfectly well in the refrigerator and then you will avoid this in the last minute rush! What is more is that this is quite healthy dare I say, and super tasty!

Traditional Salmorejo Recipe

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Salmorejo - vegetarian, vegan

Salmorejo comes from the south of Spain, particularly the Cordoba region. It is a simple cold raw soup of tomato and garlic, thickened with bread. There are plenty of Spanish recipes that use bread, it was a way of not wasting food way back when and also in a hot climate ingredients that add creaminess (such as cream) were expensive or non existent. It is best if the bread is stale (bread gone hard from the day before or even a few days old) and the tomatoes are ripe but still firm. Please do not buy those tasteless salad tomatoes for this dish, the tomatoes really do need to have flavour. If you can smell them then they will have the taste, after all the tomato is central to this dish. I am listing this as being 1-2 servings because as per the photo you can have this as a main dish, or you can make 2 tapas or starters out of the amounts listed.

Traditionally Salmorejo is served with egg and serrano ham, however when ordering this at any tapas restaurant you need to specify for the ham to be left out if you are vegetarian. Usually you will be offered tuna as a replacement but you can have it with just the egg.

Vegan Salmorejo

Vegan friends may bewondering why I have listed this as vegan when it contains eggs, but the reason is that the soup itself is vegan. You can choose to garnish with eggs or not, just like this vegetarian version chooses not to garnish with serrano ham. A good alternative would be to crumble in some firm tofu instead, and the recipe can stay virtually the same.

Variations

There are many variations of Salmorejo that vary from place to place. For example if you chuck in a green pepper then you have something called ‘Porra Antequerana‘, which is comes from a town called Antequera in Malaga. Not all places serve it with serrano ham, some serve it with tuna. There are also variations that include fruits such as strawberries instead of tomatoes and are more of a gourmet thing…the combination of salty, garlic and the spiciness it gives and sweet from a fruit really does work very well. You can also use some balsamic vinegar if you like. The essence of it which is a cold soup with good quality Mediterranean ingredients is all that matters.

Cauliflower and Garlic Salad Recipe

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Cauliflower and garlic salad

Cauliflower and garlic salad (also known as ‘ensalada de coliflor‘) is quintessentially summery, at least it always reminds me of this time of year. This is simple, rustic and good home food, usually served as a side dish or as a starter. The cauliflower florets are boiled or steamed enough for them to go soft but still have some bite. The bulk of the flavour comes from the garlic and the lemon which play together to create an intensity of flavour that is hard to rival with so few ingredients.

One way to cook the garlic is to thinly slice them and cook them over a gently to medium heat. This will caramelise them and make them crispy and crunchy giving a difference in texture to the salad. The garlic needs to be cooked until they go golden, if you over do them then they will end up being bitter. The lemon at the end lifts the whole dish. Cauliflower and garlic salad is usually made as a side dish together with other salads and can be made in advance.

Egg Free & Vegan Spanish Omelette Recipe

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Spanish omelette, vegan

Spanish omelette is so popular because it is a simple dish, it is tasty and traditional, however vegans in Spain have been making this without eggs for some time. It may seem like a bit of an impossibility but using chickpea flour gets the texture quite close to the regular version and using black Himalayan salt gives it an eggy taste. Black Himalayan salt, or kala namak, can be found in health stores and is actually a dark pink colour, not black. It has a distinct taste of cooked egg yolks and this is due to the sulphur content of the salt which is of volcanic origin. Sulphur compounds are what give eggs yolks their taste, so using this salt when substituting eggs in savoury dishes makes sense. If you don’t have this salt or you can’t find it where you live then don’t worry too much. You can add some Himalayan pink salt or a pinch (a small pinch!) of turmeric for added flavour and colour; it really isn’t the end of the world.

So is this just like the regular Spanish omelette? Well, it’s close. I like it, it’s a nice change that I think non vegans would enjoy eating too. If you want to avoid eggs because of health reasons (cholesterol) then this is a very viable alternative.

Spanish omlette, vegan
Spanish omlette, vegan

Roast Pepper Salad Recipe

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Roast pepper salad

One of the typical summer salads not only in Gibraltar but also Andalusia, is a roast pepper salad also known as ‘pimientos asados‘. This is usually served as a side dish or as an accompaniment to various other tapas and ‘raciones‘. You can make this with only red peppers, although I like to use both red and green peppers as they each have their own individual flavour. At supermarkets here you can actually find packets of roasted peppers ready to use for this salad, however making it from scratch is quite easy. However if you are in a hurry, ready roasted are perfectly fine to use (in fact I use them all the time). It is best to use large bell peppers for this as they are nice and fleshy. You can also use tomatoes with this salad and even roast them with the peppers but I find it is perfectly fine without it. This is summer in a plate and tastes even better the day after, so the salad can be made in advance. Feeling adventurous? Roast some mild red chilli peppers for a little bit of heat!

Raisin Fritters, Tortillitas de Pasas

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Tortillitas de pasas

‘Tortillitas de pasas‘ or raisin fritters, is a favourite sweet in Gibraltar being one of our traditional sweets of Spanish origin borne from a time when ingredients were scarce. Every family has its own way of doing them. Some make them fluffy (as in this case), others are less so, but there is no right or wrong way of doing it. Some people cover them in sugar, others in honey, although my family recipe covers them in golden syrup which makes then sticky, sweet, soft on the inside and impossible to just have the one. It consists of a batter of a slightly thicker consistency of pancakes but it is fried in hot oil. The result is a raisin fritter which is not oily and is lovely and sweet. These raisin fritters are best eaten on the day and not made too far in advance otherwise.

Spanish Omelette Recipe

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Spanish omelette, traditional recipe

Spanish omelette is pretty much ubiquitous in Gibraltar and Spain, a firm favourite at any time of the year but especially so in the summer. In Gibraltar it is known as ‘torta papa‘ which is a slang term for it’s Spanish name of ‘tortilla de patatas‘. This is a very simple dish that consists of potatoes, eggs and onion although there are several steps to make it. There is no need for other vegetables and especially not chorizo (aside from being vegetarian I am horrified every time I see British cooking programmes add chorizo to anything and everything every time they want to cook something remotely Spanish).

Spanish omelette is the perfect picnic food, and I usually have it at room temperature with salads, so it is perfect to make in advance. Some people make it runny on the inside but I prefer the eggs to be set. It is served by either cutting into wedges and would normally yield 8 portions, or you can chop it up into bite size squares and put a toothpick on each portion and it immediately becomes finger food, fantastic for sharing. This dish is vegetarian, so if you are making a BBQ your veggie friends will love this. For vegans there is also a vegan version that can be made which is equally delicious.

Feta Cheese, Mint, Watermelon & Chilli Salad

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Feta cheese, mint, watermelon and chilli salad

This is a salad I have making quite a lot recently because not only does it have fresh flavours but it also has interesting textures which makes eating this salad a complete joy. First you have the watermelon which may seem a bit unusual to include in a salad but it gives a lovely sweetness which does not overpower the rest of the ingredients. Then there is the feta cheese which is salty and crumbly and gives a nice contrast to the watermelon. The mint elevates the flavours to another level and the chilli contrasts the coolness of the mint flavour.

All in all your taste buds will be singing and dancing and because it is a salad it makes for a light meal which is also good on the calories. Here in Gibraltar we tend to get spearmint (hierbabuena) sold in the supermarkets and food stalls, although mint will work just as well. It is important to rinse the feta cheese block under running water to remove extra saltiness (this tip was given to me by a Turkish friend of mine so I trust it and it works).

Turkish Green Bean Stew Recipe

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Taze fasulye, Turkish green bean stew

A few weeks ago I posted a picture on Instagram after I was given some amazing sweet and crunchy green beans, wondering what to do with them. My good friend gave me her recipe for a Turkish dish called Taze Fasulye, so I decided to make it given I love Turkish food. Incidentally another foodie pal suggested making a Greek dish called Fasolaika and it turns out they are both pretty similar.

This recipe is so simple and tasty, with just a few ingredients you have a meal that is finger licking good, which is the essence of Mediterranean food. I like green beans which are flat as they are sweet and crunchy and retain a good texture when cooked. The regular rounded green beans will also work although will probably need less cooking time. This dish is usually served with rice but I think with the potatoes it has it can also be served as an all in one dish. The original recipe calls for 1 tbsp of Turkish red pepper paste (biber salçasi) which is simply red peppers cooked down and made into a paste, and whenever I go to London I like to buy a few jars and bring them over. However you can simply replace this by finely dicing a large raw or roasted red pepper (piquillo peppers work very well, use about 4 since they are quite small) and adding smoked paprika.

Chickpeas & Butternut Squash Thai Curry

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Thai green curry with chickpeas and butternut squash

Every now and then I crave a coconutty, fragrant and spicy Thai curry. Thai curry has fish sauce (nam pla) which is not suitable for vegetarians with fish sauce being fermented anchovies. However I did find in my local supermarket small tubs of Thai curry paste which was labelled suitable for vegans. This is important because usually even the Thai curry paste that comes in jars usually has fish sauce included, but this one didn’t, leaving it up to whoever is cooking it to add it on or not.

With that said I decided to use chickpeas which is a good source of protein and butternut squash for taste and a bit of sweetness and simply follow the instructions on the packet (well, sort of!). It is an easy way to make a meal, nothing wrong with taking shortcuts now and then, after all who has time to be pounding all the herbs and condiments in a mortar for the sake of authenticity? As long as it tastes authentically good then that is all that matters. This is a very quick and tasty fix for a Thai curry craving!

Tofu Salad Recipe

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Crispy tofu salad

Scared of tofu? No need to be! This is a simple salad that uses tofu as it’s source of protein. When shallow fried tofu goes crispy on the outside but stays soft on the inside giving it a nice texture and the great thing is that tofu takes whichever taste you give it, making it a very versatile ingredient.

The tofu is first dipped in cornflour and spices such as parpika and cumin and then shallow fried until crispy. The salad element also has the refreshing tastes mint and coriander contrasted by some heat from the fresh chilli, and Asian influenced flavours with a peanut butter, soya sauce and lime dressing. All these different flavours play around in your mouth, and the best part is that it takes all of 15 minutes to make. If you use extra firm ‘eco’ tofu then no prior preparation is necessary.

When using regular firm tofu it will need to be pressed in order to remove as much water from it as possible. Pressing tofu doesn’t require anything high tech at all. Simply wrap the block of tofu in several layers of kitchen paper, place on a plate and place another plate on top of the block. Put 2-3 cans of food on top so it presses the tofu and leave for 30 minutes to 1 hour (the longer the better). Remove and pat dry, and it is ready to be used!

Dairy Free Spanish Rice Pudding Recipe

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Arroz con leche, or rice pudding infused with cinnamon and lemon zest is one of my favourite comfort foods. It’s not fancy or gourmet, but it is proper home cooking. I recently posted the regular version of arroz con leche, which is a family recipe but I tend to make a dairy free (and vegan) version of this because a few years ago my father realised he was lactose intolerant so I decided to make this dairy free version for him. I have been making it ever since because I prefer to cook dairy free whenever I can.

There really isn’t much difference in taste to the regular arroz con leche, and none in texture. Instead of using dairy milk I use unsweetened soya milk, preferably organic for the simple reason that some brands add extra thickening agents (such as guar gum) which can affect it when cooked. The same goes for the oat milk which I use as a replacement for the evaporated milk. Both flavours work well together and with the sweetness of the sugar, and the flavours of the cinnamon and lemon you wouldn’t know it was dairy free unless someone told you! The only discernible difference is in colour which is more of a cream colour than white. This version does require a little extra work because it is impossible to buy dairy free evaporated (or condensed milk) so it has to be made from scratch, but it is super easy. Basically it is a matter of just putting the oat milk in a pan to simmer and allow it to reduce by just over more than half of it’s original amount. This can be done at the same time as the rice pudding is cooking. Overall this is just as sweet, creamy and comforting as the regular version, which for me ticks all the right boxes.