About This Blog

So it's got to that point... that point when your adventures in the kitchen are getting so ridiculous that your friends say, 'I know... you should start a blog!'

Well here it is. A collection of my favourite recipes, my own recipes and all things food that resonate. Enjoy!

My Recipes




Recipe no1:  Beetroot + Goats Cheese Veggie Burgers

Where this all began... After seeing a cooking demo by Jack Monroe cooking up her famous 9p veggie burgers the smell was so delicious I had to try them. Being the first time I made veggie burgers I realised how easy it would be to make them using almost anything as they were bound by a base of kidney beans. Growing up I never used to like beetroot but after working in a restaurant that makes everything taste delicious I have grown to love it and it is now one of my favourite vegetables to experiment with.


Makes 10

Ingredients:

4  medium / large raw beetroot grated
1  carrot grated
1  large red chilli finely chopped 
1  tin chickpeas
1  tin kidney beans
1  red onion
1 butternut squash
handful coriander
soft goats cheese log
olive oil

Turn the oven to 180 degrees. Chop the butternut squash and red onion into 1.5cm chunks and toss in separate bowls with olive oil, salt + pepper. Roast the butternut first and after about half an hour add the onion as it takes much less time to cook. Roast until the squash is golden and the onion is caramelised (I like to check regularly that the onion doesn't burn). 

Whilst these ingredients are roasting put the chickpeas and kidney beans in a saucepan, cover with water and bring to the boil for 10 minutes. This will soften the beans and make them much easier to use. Once softened, drain and put aside.

Once the roasted veg is cooked get a large pan, heat some oil and fry the beetroot, carrots + onion to soften and get some flavours flowing. Keep it moving and after about 10 minutes take off the heat and add the squash + beans. Use a potato masher and give it a good mashing until the elements are well combined. In the last stages add the chilli and chopped coriander. Taste + season. You should have some good seasoning from the roasted veg already.

Take half the goats cheese and mix thoroughly into the mixture.

These are a little messy to shape so get some flour at the ready and shape into burgers with floury hands and refrigerate before frying, this will help the shape hold.  If you fancy it... make a dimple in the centre of each burger and encase a slice of goats cheese. 

My perfect serve: A brioche bun with sliced avocado and tomato + chilli chutney.

.........................

Recipe no2:  Beetroot + Horseradish Chutney


I had to have a go at creating this myself after a craving that could not be satisfied! I purchased a jar on holiday and opened it to find that it had fermented and fizzed up out of the jar. I am now highly addicted to this chutney... and am usually making in double batches. I would suggest a good movie for prepping as it takes a while to chop the beetroot into tiny cubes! The horseradish is a subtle element to this recipe as you don't feel the heat once it been cooked, so you can play with amounts here adding more if you fancy it. If you like it sweeter, add a glug of pomegranate molasses. 

Makes: A few small jars!

Ingredients:

750g cubed raw beetroot (about 4 medium sized beets)
160g horseradish root (grated)
150g balsamic vinegar
150g red wine vinegar
300g caster sugar
20g pomegranate molasses (optional)
3tsp coriander seed
15g sea salt
3 lrg shallots (finely chopped)
Juice of 1 lemon

Dissolve the sugar slowly in a pan with the balsamic and red wine vinegar.  Add the beetroot, shallots, coriander + sea salt. Simmer for a good 40 mins, then add the horseradish. 

Simmer and stir occasionally until all the liquid has dissolved. A good way to check this is by running a spatula across the bottom of the pan, if you have a thin layer of thick liquid that stays parted as you run through it, you're there. It will never completely disappear, unless you leave it to go to far!

Taste. You will probably need some acidity. Add the lemon slowly, stir and taste. At this point I would decide whether to add the molasses. Stir and taste.

To sterilise your jars put them in the oven for 20mins at 160degrees. Leave to cool slightly, then add your chutney. This chutney is pretty good to use right away, but a good week or more will make it a little tastier. This chutney keeps well!

.........................

Recipe no3:  Avocado Hummus


Ingredients:

1 tin chickpeas
2 ripe avocados
2 tbsp tahini
Juice of 1/2 limes
handful of coriander
big glug of olive oil
sea salt



A delicious accompaniment for my beetroot burgers, why have I not discovered this sooner?! After eating avocado daily for the last 3 weeks I decided to mix it up. This makes a good sized portion, certainly enough for a big bag of tortillas :D

This is so easy, just whizz the whole lot up and adjust the lime and salt to season to your taste. A little extra coriander is what bought mine to it final state of perfection. You can have a play around with this adding fresh red chilli or different spices.

.........................

Recipe no4:  Beetroot + Chipotle Hummus

Ingredients:

1 tin chickpeas
250g raw beetroot
2 tbsp tahini
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 chipotle in adobo sauce
big glug of olive oil
sea salt
cracked black pepper


Peel your beets! Chop into small chunks, lightly mix with olive oil, season with salt + pepper and roast covered in foil until soft. The foil stops them becoming too shrivelled and dry.

Whizz up your roasted beets with chickpeas, tahini, juice of 1/2 lemon to start and 1/4 of your chipotle. Add in half a cup of water a big glug of olive oil and season with salt. Once you've made this base you can adjust the acidity by adding more lemon if needed, more salt if needed and more oil or water. You can make hummus without oil but it gives it a delicious silky smooth texture (and it certainly tastes better!!) I would say no more than 3 tbsp of oil. And of course, adjust your spice levels!! I used half a chipotle in the end and added some extra chipotle powder as it has more smokiness than heat.

This hummus is a delicious accompaniment to avocado on toasted sourdough. Enjoy :D

.........................

Recipe no5:  Squash + Coconut Soup


Ingredients:
1 tin coconut milk
1 small squash / half large squash
1 large onion
coconut oil
500ml vegetable stock
big handful coriander
juice of 1 lime
cumin
jalapeños


Thank you so much to the amazing Shirelle at work who decided to give up a huge bag of food due to overflowing cupboards! Intending to make something using these ingredients I picked a tin of coconut milk and surprised myself with the result.. the MOST DELICIOUS soup!!

Slice the onion and using a large soup sized saucepan fry lightly in coconut oil until soft. Add the squash chopped into small chunks and stir for 8-10mins until the onion starts to brown. As soon as it starts to brown stop it going too far by adding the vegetable stock and coconut milk then keep on the heat until the squash is cooked through. Add a handful of jalapeños (amount dependant on how spicy you like it!!), lime juice to taste, a teaspoon of cumin, and whizz up with a blender until smooth. Season to taste, then stir through finely chopped coriander.

Serving suggestion: I've recently got into having something chunky in my soup instead of bread with this one I roast some tomatoes in the oven whilst cooking the soup then just put in the top :)

.........................

Recipe no6:  Beetroot + Blue Cheese Pizzas


Base:                                                    
15g fresh yeast or 7g sachet dried      
300ml tepid fresh beetroot juice        
500g strong white flour                      
15g fine sea salt
2tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Sauce:
bunch raw beets
bunch vine tomatoes
1 lemon

Topping:
your choice of blue cheese, recommended a Gorgonzola or Stilton (Colton Basset is my preferred local cheese tipple)
beetroot chutney (see recipe no.2)
rocket

One of my favourite get together meals is pizza night! The best pizza dough recipe I've found is from Polpo so refer to the recipe in my favourites. All you're doing is replacing the water with beetroot juice. To make beetroot juice, get a bunch of fresh beets and grate them up, take some muslin and squeeze the grated beetroot to extract juice. Reuse the grated beets in a coleslaw or salad.

The sauce is really simple but one of the best sauces I've made. Peel, drizzle in olive oil, and roast the beets and tomatoes until soft, they should start to shrivel and brown very slightly. Whizz up in a food processor, season with salt, pepper + lemon. Quantities aren't too necessary here as any left over sauce you can use for pasta or a veggie stew. The beetroot : tomato ratio is always fun to play with, they'll taste different every time.

It's easy (for me especially) to go overboard with pizza toppings but this one is just so delicious with the 'less is more' tactic. Earthy pizza base, with a delicious perfectly seasoned sauce, topped with a slightly sweet chutney, balanced out by that tasty blue!



.........................


Recipe no7:  Beetroot + Coconut Iced Tea


Ingredients:

60ml tea and coconut flake mix
15ml lemon juice
10 sugar syrup
15ml freshly squeezed beetroot juice
spring of fresh mint
soda water

Makes: 1 small glass - these are super small measurements so double / triple / quadruple the recipe for more / larger drinks! I got about 60ml juice from a medium sized beetroot.

Start by making the tea mix... boil the kettle and add 1 litre of water to 2 tea bags, add a good handful of organic coconut flakes and leave to cool, then sieve before using.

Then prepare your ingredients... add about 75ml boiling water to a few teaspoons of raw sugar to make some sugar syrup, squeeze your lemon juice and grate your beetroot into some muslin then squeeze like crazy to get as much juice out as possible!

Build your ingredients in a glass, add ice and top with soda and some fresh mint!



.........................

Recipe no8:  Parsnip + Pineapple Lentil Cakes 

Makes 16

Ingredients:

2cm ginger (grated)
1 garlic (crushed)
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 large parsnip (grated)
1 cup red lentils 
3 small or 2 large slices of pineapple (grated)
chipotle flakes 
cinnamon 
coconut oil
salt to taste 


After a rooty winter my taste buds have been missing the tropics and I'm finding myself incorporating the fruity flavours of pineapple or mango into a lot of savoury dishes! This little invention stewed itself together in my mind just thinking about what I had to use up in the kitchen for lunch. An exciting combo of winter roots, sweet cinnamon, tart pineapple and smoky chile... incorporated with coconut!

Rinse the lentils in cold water until the water is see-through and put on the hob to boil until just cooked. Once cooked remove from the heat and strain, should be roughly 10 minutes. In the meantime, on a medium heat add a couple of table spoons of coconut oil to the pan and gently fry the garlic, ginger and onion until it starts to go soft and translucent. 

Add the parsnip and mix gently for about 8-10mins until it softens into the mix. Then add the pineapple and juice from grating, lentils, 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp chipotle flakes. Mix everything well, the lentils should break up and become a create a paste texture binding the mix, add salt to taste. 

 Transfer to a bowl, allow to cool before touching then roll into small balls and bake in the oven for approx 20mins or until golden brown. Serve with the dressing below for a zingy finish... 

.........................


Recipe no9:  Sweetcorn, Tahini + Lime Dip

                                                         Ingredients:

2tbsp tahini
3tbsp water
1tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic minced
juice 1/2 lime
zest 1 lime
pinch salt
1 tin sweetcorn 340g or drained / fresh 250g

Put the sweetcorn in a saucepan and boil until super soft, my tinned sweetcorn took a good 25mins!

Whilst cooking, add the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and whisk by hand until well incorporated. When the sweetcorn is ready add then together and whizz it up in a blender until smooth. This is a fab alternative to guacamole for tortilla chips or tacos.. I even had this with roasted cauliflower and mash!

Experiment with orange instead of lime... exchange the water and lime juice for the juice of 1 orange and replace the lime zest with half the zest of an orange.

.........................

Recipe no10: Baked Aubergine Chilli Sauce 

Ingredients:

1 aubergine
1 sweet pepper
1 large red chilli
juice 1 lemon
pinch salt 

So my new thing is baking things in the oven like a jacket potato, no oil required. Wrap the aubergine, pepper and chilli in foil and bake in the oven for around an hour until nice and squidgy. 

Once cooled a bit, peel the outside from the aubergine (chilli + pepper optional depending on what texture you want and if there's any burnt bits) then add to a food processor. Jazz it up with a pinch of salt then lemon juice and whatever else takes your fancy. As an all time favourite I used a dash of smokey chipotle sauce to really bring this to the table!


No comments:

Post a Comment