The Recipe Room

This simple Lima bean soup is sweet and savoury and very satisfying.  The starchy Lima beans help to give the broth the perfect thickness and also provide a sweet counterpoint to the kale and spices.  The soup also freezes well, so don’t worry if you can’t finish it all in a few days. (Why not also have a go at this red lentil and sweet potato soup?)

 

Something like a fancier, vegetarian version of traditional shepherds pie, this winter vegetable pie recipe makes for a great Sunday lunch and is a good way to trick younger kids into eating their turnips and parsnips without them even realising it!  I usually prepare this in one large oven-safe dish, but an interesting presentation alternative is to bake individual portions in small, round dishes and give everyone their own.  If you find your kids still make faces and don’t want to eat it, try doubling the amount of cheese; in my experience, this seems to work just as well as the proverbial spoonful of sugar!

Although it’s only vegetables, this dish can be quite heavy. For a lighter cheesy recipe to “fool” kids into eating their veggies, try this baked fennel with tomato gratin. For dessert, I recommend this carrot halwa.

Serve this dish with cheesy bread for dipping. I also like to set aside a little ramekin with the tomato sauce to pour over the mashed potatoes right before serving. But that’s because I really love tomatoes. Most people tell me that the tomatoes inside the pie are plenty, but I just never can get enough!

 

Mashed potatoes and gravy, so yummy, and so many memories!  I’ve been trying to stay away from beef and chicken lately, and the ingredients list on most gravy mixes just make me shiver, so I decided to come up with a vegetarian version of this traditional favourite.  This mashed potatoes and onion gravy recipe is the result.

You can serve it as a side dish to accompany pretty much any meat if you want, or alternatively you could throw some bangers into the mix for a quick and easy bangers and mash.  If you want to keep it vegetarian-friendly, just use veggie-bangers or serve alongside some seitan or veggie burgers.  If you’re a vegan, substitute the butter for margarine or oil and replace the milk with soy or rice milk – just make sure you choose one that’s not too sweet as that can ruin the taste.

You need:

For the Gravy:

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 500ml water
• 1 vegetable stock cube (gluten-free)
• 1 tsp dried thyme
• 3 tbsp cornflour
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the mash:

• 6 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 200 ml whole milk
• 50 grams butter

Steps:

For the gravy:

1. Heat the olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat.
2. When the oil is hot, add the onions and sauté until translucent but not brown.
3. Add the vegetable stock cube and thyme and sauté another 30 seconds.
4. Add the water and bring to the boil.
5. Mix the cornflour with 1.5 tsp water to form a thick paste.
6. Add the cornflour mixture to the boiling liquid a little at a time, stirring continuously, until the desired consistency is achieved.
7. Let simmer on lowest heat possible until you’re ready to serve it.

For the mash:

1. Boil the potatoes in abundant water with a little salt until they are very tender, approximately 20 minutes.
2. Drain the water and place the boiled potatoes in a large mixing bowl.
3. Add the butter and milk.
4. Mash it all together with a potato masher.
5. Add salt and pepper to taste.

To serve:

1. Spoon the mash onto a deep plate and pat down the middle so that it forms a bit of a bowl.
2. Pour the desired amount of gravy on top.
3. Serve hot!

Ready In: 30 minutes

Serves: 3

Difficulty: 2 out of 5

Artichokes are a wonderfully tasty vegetable that bring an authentic Mediterranean flavour to any dish, and this oven-baked artichoke dip is no exception!  As an added bonus, artichokes are known to have one of the highest antioxidant capacities of all vegetables, are diuretic and even help to reduce cholesterol!

This dip has a sweet roasted flavour and will be sure to impress your guests at your next dinner party.  Serve it in a bowl with a plate of fresh chopped veggies, savoury biscuits, crisps, or my rosemary focaccia recipe.  I guarantee the bowl will be empty long before the night is through!

You Need:

• 125ml fresh lemon juice
• 185ml extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 large garlic cloves, minced
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 package (400g) frozen artichokes, thawed
• 2 teaspoons dried thyme leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese, or soy alternative
• Additional salt and pepper to taste
• A selection of chopped mixed vegetables or crisps or biscuits for dipping.

Steps:

1. Place a rack in the middle of the oven and preheat it to 175ºC.
2. In a large, heavy frying pan, combine 6 tablespoons of the lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of the olive oil, the garlic, salt, and pepper.  Mix well until the ingredients are thoroughly blended.
3. Add the artichokes to the lemon juice mixture and toss to coat them in the liquid.
4. Bring the mixture to boil, remove from heat, and transfer from the frying pan to an oven-proof dish.
5. Bake, uncovered, in the preheated oven for 30 to 45 minutes, or until the artichokes are tender and lightly browned.
6. Remove from the oven and let cool.
7. Place the roasted artichokes in a food processor and add the rest of the lemon juice, the remaining oil, and the thyme, basil, and Parmesan cheese.
8. Process until thoroughly blended and smooth.
9. Taste the dip and add additional salt and pepper if required.
10. Serve immediately with some chopped veggies, crisps or savoury biscuits.

 

Ready In:  60 minutes

Serves:  8

Difficulty:   2 out of 5

We all know what cauliflower tastes like, don’t we?  I know I used to think it was just one of those stinky vegetables that is prepared by boiling the heck out of it until it turns mushy and pretty much flavourless.

However, it turns out that cauliflower can actually taste incredibly good, as long as you avoid overcooking it – a typical beginner’s mistake.  This quick and easy oven-baked cauliflower and garlic recipe brings the lowly cauliflower to a whole new level and is so simple to prepare that even the greenest of cooks will have no problem getting it right the first time.

The real secret behind the recipe is, as usual, the garlic and herbs.  The rosemary and thyme give the cauliflower a wonderful aromatic touch and the roasted garlic – well, let’s just say it’s almost too good to describe.  I use oven-roasted garlic in a lot of my recipes, mostly because I really love the taste of garlic, but my poor stomach has a hard time digesting it raw or even fried.  However, when you roast it, the flavour is actually enhanced, while at the same time the “bite” is lessened, so you can eat lots and lots of it with none of the typical side-effects.

Fresh rosemary and thyme are the best of option if you can get them, but if you can’t, then the dried variety will do just fine.   As always, the better quality the ingredients you use, the better the results will be.

As an option, try sprinkling some Parmesan cheese on top after stirring the mix in step 6. This version is a big favourite with my kids.

You need:

• 1 large head of cauliflower
• 16 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp rosemary
• 1 tsp thyme
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) olive oil

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
2. Wash the cauliflower and cut into small, bite-sized pieces.
3. Peel the garlic, but leave the cloves whole.
4. Place the cauliflower, garlic, rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and oil in a deep baking dish and toss well, making sure all the cauliflower is coated in oil and herbs.
5. Bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
6. Stir the mix well and bake for another 15 minutes.
7. Serve immediately.

Ready In: 30 minutes

Serves: 2

Difficulty: Out of 5, it’s a 1!

This turkey and sun-dried tomato loaf with onion gravy makes for a great Sunday afternoon roast replacement, like this lamb roast with garlic and rosemary.  I like to use turkey mince, but it should work fine with whatever mince you prefer, or even textured vegetable protein if you want to make it vegetarian-friendly.

You Need:

For the loaf:

• 250g sun-dried tomatoes
• 500ml boiling water
• 65g cornflakes, crushed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• ½  medium-size green bell pepper, chopped
• 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2tbsps mushroom or vegetable broth
• 2 large eggs
• 125g creamy Havarti cheese, shredded
• 2tsps dried basil
• 1tsp dried parsley
• 1tsp dried oregano
• ½tsp dried thyme
• ½tsp freshly ground pepper
• ½tsp salt
• 700g  turkey mince
• Vegetable oil spray

For the gravy:

• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 stock cube (vegetable or chicken)
• 2tsps thyme
• 500ml water
• 4tbsp cornflour + 2tbsp water, mixed together to form a thick paste 

Steps:

1. Preheat the oven to 175ºC.
2. Submerge the sun-dried tomatoes in the boiling water for a few minutes to soften and then drain. Chop into small pieces and place in a large bowl.
3. Add the crushed cereal and mix to coat. Set aside.
4. Over medium heat, sauté the onion and green pepper in the olive oil until soft, about 5 to 6 minutes.
5. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute.
6. Add to the sun-dried tomato and cereal mixture.
7. Next pour in the broth and mix well.
8. Beat the eggs and then add them to the mixture,  jumbling it all together.
9. Add the cheese, herbs, seasonings and meat and stir until well-blended.
10. Lightly coat a 23cm x 13cm loaf pan with the vegetable oil spray and then press the mixture firmly down into the pan.
11. Bake in the preheated oven for 1 hour, or until the temperature of the loaf, when measured with a roasting thermometer, reaches 80ºC.
12. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5 to10 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.
13. While the loaf is baking, prepare the gravy:

• Sauté the onions in the vegetable oil until translucent, about 3 minutes.
• Add the stock cube, thyme and 500ml of water and bring to the boil.
• Add the cornflour paste a little at a time until desired thickness is reached.

14. Cut into slices, cover with gravy and serve.

Ready In:  90 minutes

Serves:  8

Difficulty:   3 out of 5