Perfect for when you need a quick and easy, but still tasty and healthy, meal for unexpected dinner guests. This Broccoli and Feta Rice dish is a family favourite that’s sure to please even the pickiest of palettes. I came up with this one summer evening a few years back when we organized a spur of the moment dinner party with some friends we’d invited over for drinks, only to realise that purple sprouting broccoli, cherry tomatoes and feta cheese were quite literally the only things I had in the fridge! After a quick inspection of the cupboards I found a bit of Basmati Rice and inspiration struck! Not much more than 20 minutes later and we were happily stuffing our bellies with this tangy, cheesy delight.
Ever since that day, this has been my “go to” dish for any last-minute meal requirements. As an alternative you can replace the cherry tomatoes with sun-dried tomatoes, preferably the kind that come in a jar with olive oil. If you have the loose, dry kind, be sure to rehydrate them in hot water with a little olive oil before adding them to the mix. Also bear in mind that sun-dried tomatoes are notoriously salty, and when combined with the salty feta cheese it can be a bit much, so don’t add any more salt until the end and always test it first!
What you’re going to need
What you have to do
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
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One of my favourite meals when I was growing up was a beef and potato stew my mother used to make for us, especially in the winter. It was just the perfect thing for warming your belly and bones after a long day of playing outside in the cold. Naturally, when I became a vegetarian this was one of the first recipes I just had to emulate in a meatless version. Hearty Seitan Stew is the result of a few months of trial and error to get the mix just right. The thick broth, melt-in-your-mouth potatoes and deliciously chewy wheat gluten (seitan) make for a wonderfully filling and satisfying dish that even my unrepentant meat-eating brother can’t help but admit to loving. In fact, even my mother has said she prefers it over her original beef version, although to be honest even I’m not sure I’d go that far!
What you’re going to need
What you have to do
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 1 hour
Serves: 4
Difficulty: Easy
Continue readingThis classical Arab dish, originally from Beirut, Libya, is a favourite the world over with vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike. Hummus is incredibly quick and easy to make and once you’ve learned how to do it and I guarantee it will soon become one of your most useful recipes, and a real crowd pleaser too.
Hummus is high in iron and vitamin C, and the chickpeas provide a great source of dietary fibre. When eaten with bread (the standard method), it provides a complete protein serving due to the mixing of grains and pulses and is therefore a very useful addition to vegetarian and vegan diets.
I usually serve this as a dip, with some kind of flatbread such as Pita or Naan for scooping up the Hummus, but it’s also great with chopped fresh veggies such as carrot or celery sticks, broccoli, red-peppers or even asparagus sticks. As another interesting variation you can try adding half a red bell pepper to the blended ingredients, or even a jalapeño if you like it spicy or are feeling a bit daring.
Whatever you decide to do, one serving probably won’t be enough, so be sure to have enough ingredients on hand to make a second (or even third and fourth) batch when your guests start clamouring for it, as I guarantee they will!
What you’re going to need:
What you have to do:
Preparation Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: n/a
Serves: 2-4
Difficulty: easy
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