Avocado Open Sandwich

This is a really quick, simple yet tasty sandwich. For years I avoided eating avocados, not liking their soft soapy taste, however, recently in an effort to make them more palatable, I added some sweet chili sauce and coriander to some mashed avocado and spread it on some bread. I was amazed at what a difference it made to the taste. No longer was it bland and soapy, it had been transformed into a creamy, rich flavoursome paste with a nice subtle heat from the chili sauce. Still, finding the avocado on its own a little soft, I added some thick slices of cucumber and a few salad leaves to add some much needed crunch.

I am now converted to the delights of avocado. I think using sourdough or rye bread as base also helps bring the dish together. I feel you need something a little denser and heartier to offset the softness of the topping, rather than a soft fluffy white. It also means you can hold a single slice without it falling to pieces. This is now one of my favourite sandwiches. Even if you don’t like avocado, I urge you to try this, you may be pleasantly surprised at what a difference a few little additions can make. I know I was.

Avocado Open Sandwich
Ingredients
1 slice sourdough bread
½ small avocado
2 tsp sweet chili sauce
Thick slices of cucumber
Coriander
Baby spinach leaves
Baby beetroot leaves

Method
Cut the avocado in half lengthways, twist apart and remove the stone.
Scoop the flesh away from the skin and place into a bowl. Mash with a fork until fairly smooth and then mix in the chili sauce.
Take a slice of sourdough or rye bread and top with slices of cucumber.
Dollop over the mashed avocado and spread out evenly.
Top with some roughly chopped coriander and serve with some baby salad leaves, ready to pile on top before eating. (Mine were home grown).

No Prove Pizza Dough

My cousin came to visit me a couple of days ago and we decided we wanted to make pizza for lunch. We used a recipe for pizza dough that doesn’t require any proving time. This makes it perfect for when you haven’t planned very far in advance, as it means you can be eating pizza made from scratch in under an hour. It produces a good thin, crisp base and although I think the traditional proven pizza dough does have slightly more flavour, this is a very satisfactory second.

Our pizzas turned out looking very different. I topped mine with spinach and butternut squash, and my cousin topped hers with lots of tomato and cheese. They both looked very attractive after baking and tasted delicious.

No Prove Pizza Dough

Ingredients
30g dried yeast

½ tsp caster sugar

250g strong plain flour

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil
125 warm water

Method
Preheat the oven to 250C and place two baking trays or pizza stones into the oven to heat up.
Crumble yeast into the warm water, add the sugar and stir until relatively smooth.
Add the flour and salt to a large bowl and make a dip in the centre. Pour over the yeast mixture and the olive oil.
Bring the mixture together into a dough, before turning out onto a lightly floured surface and kneading for around 3-5 minutes until smooth and soft.
Divide the dough into two and roll each piece out into a 9 inch round, directly onto a square of greaseproof paper.
Spread a layer of tomato sauce over the base and top with the ingredients of your choice.
Remove the baking trays or pizza stone from the oven and holding them level with the countertop, pull the greaseproof paper/pizza onto the tray.
Return to the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until crisp and golden brown around the edges.
Makes two 9inch pizzas

Spinach and Multi Veg Pizza

Spread the dough with a thin layer of tomato sauce (a reduction of oregano and chopped tomatoes) and top with a double layer of fresh baby spinach leaves. Scatter over thin strips of orange pepper, sweetcorn, sliced mushrooms and 1cm square cubes of butternut squash. Top with a few slices of fresh mozzarella if desired and bake.

Cheesy Tomato and Onion Pizza
Spread a thick layer of tomato sauce over the dough and top with thin slices of onion. Top with a few mushroom slices and a scatter of sweetcorn before adding a generous layer of sliced fresh mozzarella. Bake until golden and melted. (See above for photo)

Vegetable Bean Chili in Mole Sauce with Cornbread

This is a Mexican themed meal that I made for my family over Easter. It involved two recipes I had never tried before, but I was very pleased with the results.

In the last year I have suddenly developed a taste for hot, spicy yet flavoursome food. I still don’t like food that blows your head off, but I now like food with a good kick to it. A few months ago I went out for my first Mexican meal which was where I had my first taste of vegetables in a chili chocolate sauce. I have since learnt that this is the basis of what is called a Mole sauce and often served over meats in Mexico. An authentic Mole sauce should also include cinnamon, sugar and ground nuts but I decided to just experiment with the chili-chocolate aspect of it for my first attempt. However, being vegetarian I decided to take this concept and incorporate it into a bean chili.

I really enjoyed both creating and eating this dish, it was really delicious and the smells while it was cooking were amazing. The paprika added a smokiness and the ground chilies added a gentle heat that built up the more you ate. The addition of the cocoa powder added a deep richness to the sauce and gave a great aftertaste, not overly chocolaty but the same kind of rich bitterness that lingers on your tongue after eating a square of dark chocolate. I chose to serve this dish with some home made cornbread that was great crumbled over the top to absorb some of the sauce before eating.

Vegetable Bean Chili in Mole Sauce
Ingredients
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
2 green chilies
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp dried oregano
½ orange pepper
¼ red pepper
3 tbsp tinned sweetcorn
½ courgette
1 carrot
2 tsp ground cumin
1½ tsp ground chilies
2 tsp sweet paprika
420g tin black eyed beans
420g tin red kidney beans
270g tin mixed beans
300ml vegetable stock
400g tin chopped tomatoes
3 tsp cocoa powder

Method
Peel and very roughly chop the onion and garlic before adding them to a food processor. Split the chilies in half and remove the seeds and add to onion.
Blitz until a smoothish paste has formed (watch your eyes, it packs a punch when you remove the lid).
Heat the vegetable oil in a large saucepan and add the onion/garlic/chili mixture along with the oregano. Cook until softened, but not brown.
Meanwhile finely dice the peppers, carrot and courgette and drain the sweetcorn. Drain the beans into a large sieve and wash under the cold tap to remove any brine.
Add the cumin, paprika and ground chilies to the pan along with the vegetables and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Add the vegetable stock, beans and tinned tomatoes to the pan and bring to the boil. Then reduce to a simmer and cook for a further 30minutes, stirring every 10minutes to prevent sticking.
Put the cocoa powder into a small bowl and add 1tbsp water and combine to make a smooth runny mixture. Drizzle this into the chili and stir well, the sauce should turn a darker colour and begin to smell chocolaty. Allow to cook for a further 10 minutes, which should allow the sauce to thicken.
Taste and add more ground chili or seasoning to preference.
Serve in big bowls with sour cream, nachos or cornbread.
Serves 5 – 6

Cornbread
(Recipe by Nigella Lawson)
This recipe is really really quick to make and very easy. It is very versatile and tastes great hot from the oven spread with butter or eaten cold with jam or even… nutella. In this case I served it in wedges that people could then crumble over the top of their chili mole beans. Using polenta will give you a grainer texture than cornmeal, but they both work well.

Ingredients
175g cornmeal or polenta
125g plain flour
40g caster sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 egg
45g melted butter
250ml milk

Method
Grease and line an 8inch/20cm tin and preheat the oven to 200C.
Place the cornmeal, flour, baking powder and sugar into a bowl.
Melt the butter and pour over the flour mix.
Beat the egg into the milk and add to the bowl.
Beat everything together with a wooden spoon until smooth.
Pour into the tin and bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown and coming away from the slides of the tin.
Serve immediately or allow to cool before gently reheating wedges in the oven, wrapped in foil, when required.

Quiche or Tart?

I am just about to start my last week of uni before heading home for the Easter holidays. Looking through my cupboards at lunchtime I realised I had a large amount of red onions and eggs that would need using up before I left. The first thing that came to mind was a quiche. After a short rummage I unearthed some sweetcorn which I thought would look very pretty alongside the red onions and so I set to work.

The pastry was very easy to work with, although it was rather a nuisance to get out of the tin once cooked. However, I didn’t grease the tin beforehand which is probably the reason. I will have to remember to do that next time. In the end I have decided to label this as a tart rather than a quiche as in my opinion a quiche should lots of eggy mixture surrounding vegetables and a tart is lots of vegetables stuck together with eggy mixture and mine is the latter. (Confused yet?)

The tart has a naturally sweet flavour due to the red onions and sweetcorn which go well with the crisp pastry and smooth eggy filling. On cooling, the red onions turned almost the dark blue colour of blueberries, which looked very pretty next to the bright yellow of the sweetcorn. I think it could have done with a little more thyme as it only gave a very subtle flavour. Next time I will try to get hold of some fresh thyme.

I love baking the straggly shaped left over pastry on the baking tray along side the tart case. Mum always used to let us do this with any leftover pastry she had and it always brings back fond memories. They are great to nibble on when hot out of the oven, dusted with a sprinkling or sugar or spread with a little jam.

Red Onion and Sweetcorn Tart
For the pastry
130g plain flour
55g butter
Pinch of salt
1½ tbsp cold water

For the filling
400g red onions
75g Sweetcorn
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 eggs
120ml milk
1 tsp dried thyme
Pepper and salt for seasoning

Method
Sieve the flour and salt into a bowl and add the butter. Using a round bladed knife, work the butter into the flour using a cutting action.
When the butter is evenly distributed through the flour, rub the mixture together using the tips of your fingers until it resembles fine breadcrumbs.
Add the cold water a little at a time and work it in using the knife. Then form the mixture into a dough using your hands.
Form into a ball, wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, prepare the filling. Chop the onions in half and then shred them into strips.
Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onions and thyme. Cook over a fairly high heat until soft, sticky and sweet. Around 10 minutes.
Pre heat the oven to 180C. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until around 3mm thick. Carefully place into a 9inch fluted tin.
Roll the rolling pin over the top of the tin to remove any excess pastry. Then go round the edge of the tin pressing the pastry so that it rises slightly above the rim.
Prick the base with a sharp knife and place on a baking tray in the oven for 15 minutes.
Measure out the milk into a jug and add the eggs, pepper and sweetcorn. Whisk together until combined.
Remove the pastry case form the oven and brush the inside with a little of the beaten egg mixture and return it to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
Take the pastry case out of the oven and add the fried onions over the base. Carefully pour over the egg and sweetcorn mixture. Place in the oven and leave to cook for 30 minutes until set and lightly golden brown.
Allow to cool or serve whilst still warm.

Serves 6-8 people depending on appetite.

Chinese Style Lettuce Wraps

I decided to make these lettuce wraps with the leftover vegetables I had in the fridge from a stir fry I made a few nights ago. I have had something similar in a Chinese restaurant once, they were the vegetarians alternative to the crispy duck pancakes. These take literally less than 5 minutes to make and taste very fresh and crisp. The recipe could of course be adapted to fit whatever vegetables you had lying around and any kind of dipping sauce would do in place of the chili sauce.

Chinese Lettuce Wraps

Ingredients
Beansprouts
¼ carrot
½ Pak Choi
1 spring onion
2 mushrooms
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp vegetable oil

To serve
Iceberg lettuce leaves
1 tbsp chili sauce

Method
Shred the pak choi into thin strips and slice the mushrooms, spring onion and carrot into thin batons.
Heat the oil in a small frying pan and add the chopped vegetables along with a handful of beansprouts.
Drizzle over the soy sauce and stir fry very quickly for no more than 2-3 minutes, until they have started to soften but are still crisp.
Carefully peel a couple of leaves off the outside of the lettuce and lay on a plate.
Divide the vegetable mixture between the lettuce leaves and roll/fold them up to form parcels.
Serve at once with chili sauce to dip them in.

Sweetcorn Fritters

I had some leftover sweetcorn that had been lurking in the back of my fridge for far too long, so I decided to turn them into fritters. These are really quick and easy to make and are a great way of using up a wide variety of leftovers. Canned or defrosted frozen sweetcorn works well for this recipe, however, if using canned then try and drain away as much of the liquid as possible as you don’t want the batter to be too wet.

These fritters make a good lunch time meal or light supper. They are lovely eaten hot straight from the pan, or they can be eaten cold as a snack. Serve them with a salad of your choice and some kind of sauce. Tomato salsa works well when they are hot and cream cheese and sun dried tomato paste or guacamole both work well when they are cooled. You could also make these fritters in miniature for a party or picnic, by using a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon.

I added a small finely chopped red onion to the batter this time to add some extra colour and flavour. Spring onions or finely chopped chili are also great. I am sure a little ham or cooked bacon would work equally well too.

Sweetcorn Fritters

Ingredients
50g plain flour
1 egg
A little milk
3 tbsp canned or frozen sweetcorn
1 tiny red onion
¼ tsp ground pepper
Oil for frying

Salsa or guacamole to serve

Method
Turn the oven to a low temperature and place a plate inside to gently warm up.
Finely dice the red onion and add to a mixing bowl along with the sweetcorn.
Add the flour, pepper and egg. Beat everything together to form a thick paste. Add enough milk to produce a thick spoonable batter.
Heat a little oil in a frying pan and add small tablespoons of batter to the pan. I find I can usually get three fritters cooking at once.
Allow them to cook for 1 minutes before turning over with a pallet knife and cooking for a further minute.
When golden brown on both sides, remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and place in the oven to keep warm while you use make the second batch of fritters.
Serve hot or allow to cool before wrapping in clingfilm and placing in the fridge until required.
Serve with the accompaniment of your choice.

Makes about 7-8 fritters.

Pizza Time

I love pizza and unless you are going to a nice Italian restaurant I find making your own is far tastier than any of the frozen ones you can buy which often taste like they have cardboard or Styrofoam for bases. Making your own pizza is fun and very satisfying and it doesn’t take as long as people expect. You can even make the dough he night before and leave it in the fridge overnight if you don’t have time to start from scratch on the day you want to eat it.

I must confess that I did cheat slightly when it came to the tomato sauce and bought a jar of tomato pizza topping but whenever I make my own it always turns out too wet and makes the base soggy so I thought I would play it safe and cheat slightly.

A pizza has the same kind of attributes as a sandwich, in that it’s the bread dough base which makes it a pizza, but what you top it with is up to you. I added red onion as I like the crunch they give and I think they have a much sweeter and nicer flavour than white onions. They also add great colour. One thing I do think is important though is to use mozzarella for that great stringy quality.

This pizza was delicious, with a crisp crust that was still slightly soft and chewy in the middle, just how I like it. Cold pizza make great leftovers for lunch the next day.

Mushrooms, Sweetcorn and Red Onion Pizza
For the pizza dough
10g fresh yeast
175ml warm water
½ tsp caster sugar
125g strong plain flour
¼ tsp salt
½ tbsp olive oil

For the topping
½ jar tomato pizza topping
1 small red onion
3 mushrooms
2 tbsp sweetcorn
½ fresh ball of mozzarella

Method
Crumble the yeast into the warm water, add the sugar and stir until it has dissolved. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.
Place the flour and salt in a large bowl, and pour in half the water mix and start mixing together with your fingers, shaped into a claw. Add the olive oil and combine. Keep adding water until you have a soft dough, you may not need it all.
Put the dough onto a well-floured surface and sprinkle with flour. Knead the dough until it becomes elastic, around 5 minutes.
Place the dough into a lightly greased bowl and cover with cling film. Leave to prove in a warm place for 30minutes or until it has doubled in size.
Meanwhile, peel the onion and slice it into fine rings and slice the mushrooms. Drain the mozzarella, pat dry and finely slice into rounds.
Preheat the oven to 220C. Knock back the dough and roll it out on a floured work surface until thin and rectangular in shape.
Place the dough onto a lightly floured rectangular baking tray and spread on the tomato sauce and scatter over your chosen toppings. Distribute the mozzarella over the top.
Bake in the oven for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown and crisp.

Serves 2

Butterbean and Sweet Potato Salad

I fancied making something using the sweet potato I have had in my cupboard for the last couple of days that would also provide me with some quick lunches. I chose to make a butterbean salad along with some extra veg to add colour and flavour.

This was really quick and easy to make and the colours all looked very attractive together, the pearly white of the beans, with the deep orange of the sweet potato and bright green of the peas. The cumin in the dressing complemented the sweet potato well. I had some for lunch today and I think it tasted even better than when I tasted it last night. The flavours have had time to mingle and mellow, so I would advise making this a few hours before you want to eat it and keeping it covered in the fridge.

Butterbean and Sweet Potato Salad
Ingredients
410g can butterbeans
1 medium sweet potato
1 red onion
1 carrot
50g frozen peas
1 tsp vegetable oil

Dressing
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
½ tsp ground cumin

Method
Put a pan of water onto boil. Peel and chop the sweet potato into 1cm cubes.
Add to the pan and cook for 13 minutes before adding the frozen peas and cooking for a further 2 minutes until tender. Drain and leave to cool.
Meanwhile peel the red onion. Cut it in half lengthways and then slice it finely.
Heat a small frying pan with the vegetable oil and fry the onion until soft.
Drain the butterbeans and rinse them in cold water. Place into a container and grate over the raw carrot.
Add the fried onion, sweet potato and peas.
Put all the dressing ingredients into a small bowl and mix together.
Drizzle it over the salad and toss together.
Great eaten on its own, or in a tortilla or pitta bread with lettuce and a thin spread of hummus.

Note: I think it would also be nice with some freshly chopped coriander stirred through, but I didn’t have any at the time.

Tofu?!?

I have always said that I cannot stand tofu believing it to be tasteless and rubbery. That was until recently when I went out to dinner with Chris and chose a tofu, vegetable and noodle stir fry in a satay sauce. Upon tasting it, I was amazed to discover I actually liked it. The tofu had been fried to give it a crispy coating and it had taken on the flavours of the sauce and was not in the least bit rubbery. It seems that the type of tofu you use and how you cook it can vastly alter its texture and flavour.

On my last trip to the shops I happened to spot some tofu that was on special offer and remembering how much I enjoyed the tofu stir fry I decided to take a chance and buy some. Once home, I tried to recreate the dish and although not quite as good as the meal I had out, for a first attempt I was pleased with the results. The peanut butter added good flavour and crunch and the sweet chili sauce gave it a warming kick.

Broccoli and Tofu Noodles in a Satay Sauce

Ingredients
60g firm silken tofu
3 broccoli florets
50g frozen peas
½ sheet dried fine egg noodles
½ tbsp soy sauce
½ tbsp sweet chili sauce
½ tbsp crunchy peanut butter
2 tbsp water
1tsp vegetable oil

Method
Prepare the tofu according to pack instructions and then cut into small cubes.
Heat the oil in a small saucepan and fry the tofu for 2 minutes until golden and crisp around the edges. Remove from the pan and set aside.
Chop the broccoli into small pieces and add to the pan along with the frozen peas and dry noodles.
Cover the base of the pan with 1cm of water and bring to the boil and then reduce to a simmer.
Meanwhile mix the soy sauce, chili sauce, peanut butter and water together to form a fairly runny sauce.
When the noodles are cooked and the vegetables just softened, pour away any excess water and return the tofu to the pan.
Pour over the sauce and toss well so that everything gets covered in the sauce. Heat for a few seconds until the sauce begins to thicken and then remove from the heat and serve.

Serves 1.

Soup’s On…

The weather has been cold, wet and dreary lately and nothing is more warming or comforting than a big bowl of thick tasty soup. I chose to make this soup as I love the combination of carrots and thyme. The red lentils act as the perfect thickener in place of the usual potato. The tortilla croutons provide a nice crunch and are lighter than standard croutons. The consistency of the soup is quite thick, which I personally love, but if you prefer thinner soups you could easily achieve this by adding more stock. I like to freeze the leftovers in single serving portions that I can then reheat and take into uni with me for lunch as it makes a welcome change to sandwiches.

This is also my first entry to any of the food events that regularly take place. ‘Soup’s on’ is an ongoing event for February that’s hosted by Alanna over at A Veggie Venture. Check out the other entries and rules here.

Carrot, Red Lentil and Thyme Soup with Tortilla Croutons

For the soup
1 onion
3 medium carrots
200g dried red lentils
1 clove garlic
2 tsp dried thyme or 2 fresh sprigs
2 pints vegetable stock
Salt and pepper to season
1 tbsp olive oil
Small knob of butter

Method
Heat the oil and butter together in a large saucepan. Peel and roughly dice the onion and carrots and add them to the pan.
Crush the garlic and add to the pan along with the thyme. Cover with a lid and allow to sweat over a low heat, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, for 10 minutes until the carrots are just beginning to soften.
Rinse the lentils under cold water and add to the pan along with the vegetable stock.
Cover and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes until the carrots have softened and the lentils have become soft and mushy. (If using fresh thyme sprigs, remove them at this point).
Blitz the soup either with a hand blender or in a liquidiser until thick and smooth.
Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve with the tortilla croutons and a drizzle of cream.
Serves 3 – 4 depending on appetite.

For the croutons
1 flour tortilla
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp dried thyme
Pinch of salt

Method
Brush the tortilla with the olive oil and sprinkle over the dried thyme and a pinch of salt.
Cut into 1-2cm squares and place on a baking tray.
Bake in the oven at 200oC for 3-4 minutes until crisp and golden.