Vegetarian Sausage, Rice and Lentil soup

We’re back from Brighton now and although we had a really great time, it is nice to be home I’m not back to work until Thursday as we are off to London today for an extra holiday (spoiling ourselves!) so I find myself in a weird stage of not quite being ready for the post holiday detox but also feeling like I have over indulged and need some vegetables in my life!

When you get back from a holiday you have to be really organised with meal planning and doing the food shop because its more than likely that you will have an empty fridge, and this can quickly lead to multiple takeaways. Before we left for Brighton I made sure nothing too perishable remained in the fridge but I left items such as celery, carrots, onions and apples because they do last a bit longer.

This meant that alongside store cupboard ingredients like canned tomatoes, rice and lentils, I had everything to make a post holiday soup! But like I said I didn’t quite feel ready to get straight back to a vegetable soup diet so I dug around in my freezer and found some veggie sausages, perfect, these are a great way to make a soup feel more substantial!
Unfortunately these sausages are not gluten free but they are vegan! You can leave the sausages out for an awesome rich, gluten free tomato and rice soup!

Serves 3-4
Vegan, gluten free option, dairy free

3 medium sized carrots
2 onions
2 sticks celery
2 garlic cloves
1 teaspoon italian herb seasoning
90g (1/2 cup) red lentils
90g (1/2 cup) white rice
1 can chopped tomatoes
1.5 litre gluten free Veg stock
6 vegan sausages (I used Linda McCartneys onion and rosemary vegan sausages)
Parsley

Chop your vegetables up small and put into a large saucepan with a little oil and Cook for 6 minute, stirring frequently. Add crushed garlic and the dried herbs and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the lentils and rice and give it a good stir. Add the canned tomatoes and vegetable stock, put a lid on and cook on a low heat for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile grill your sausages, cut into bite size slices and put to one side.

Once soup is ready, add the sausages and heat them through again then garnish with parsley.

Do you have a standard meal you make for when you return from holiday?

Red Lentil and Butternut Squash Burgers – Vegan and Gluten free

I’ve done a lot of thinking about vegetarian burgers recently, I really want to keep experimenting with flavours and ultimately come up with what I consider to be the ultimate vegetarian burger.

The ultimate vegetarian burger has to be satisfying, savoury, full of flavour, a bit of a treat and completely moreish.

I usually make my burgers out of beans but this time I used lentils and butternut squash which gave the burger a completely different texture. It is quite soft but they keep their shape well because they are mixed with gluten free flour. The key is to not over cook the lentils, you want tender not mushy! Also getting the balance of flour is vital because I feel that too much flour and you get this horrible chewy texture and you definitely lose flavour!

Spicy yellow burgers made of lentils and butternut squash

I added some cayenne pepper and smoked paprika which I think worked really well, also instead of mashing the butternut squash I roasted it then sliced it into small chunks and gently mixed it with the lentils so when you eat it you get big chunky soft bites of squash

I love cayenne pepper but it is very spicy so feel free to use less, or leave it out completely! A few years ago I was cooking a recipe for dinner and it called for paprika and a red chilli, I didn’t have either of these but I did have cayenne pepper and a scotch bonnet chilli! I swapped the ingredients without adjusting the measurements and it blew my head off!! I didn’t make the same mistake again. I also used to get a bit shake happy with the chilli flakes because it never looked like many were coming out but I’d always regret it.

Spring onions create speckles of contrasting colour

Last time I made a gluten free burger I photographed it in a bun which kind of defeated the point but the two go hand in hand! This time I decided to serve it wrapped up in lettuce leaves which was fresh and delicious! Ill definitely do this more.

Makes 4 burgers

150g (1 cup) dry red lentils
1/2 butternut squash
6 spring onions
2 cloves garlic
1 tspn smoked paprika
1 tspn cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons gluten free flour ( I used rice flour)
Small bunch finely chopped coriander stalks
Olive oil

To serve – lettuce leaves, tomatoes and some potato wedges!

Cook the lentils in boiling water for approx 10 minutes until they are tender and split open but not completely broken down. Drain and allow to cool.

Heat the oven to 200c. Peel and slice the butternut squash, coat with a little oil and roast in the oven for 20-25 minutes. Once cooked allow to cool and then slice into small chunks around 2cm in diameter.

In a large mixing bowl add the lentils, butternut squash, finely sliced spring onions, crushed garlic, spices, flour and coriander stalks. Gently mix together with your hands and when fully combined shape into 4 burgers and place them on a plate in the fridge for at least half an hour!

When ready to cook heat a small amount of oil in a large frying pan and fry the burgers for around 4 minutes on each side until lightly browned and hot all the way through.

Serve in the lettuce leaves with any burger sides of your choice, I like wedges and salad!

National Curry Week 8th – 14th October: An easy way to celebrate vegan foods!

If your thinking of making the transition into becoming vegan then one of the easiest cuisines to begin with is curries! Spices, Lentils, Grains, Vegetables and Beans all lend themselves fantastically to the world of vegan food.

Making curries from scratch can be a lot easier than you think, especially basics like dhal’s or tomato based curries. Here are my favourite vegan curries that I have made in the past:

Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic Dhal

Spiced Roasted Cauliflower and Garlic are then pureed and stirred into lentils and stock to create this hearty dhal. A great way to use cauliflower which is in season at the moment!

Aubergine and Potato Curry

Aubergine and Potatoes create different textures and the creaminess comes from some light coconut milk. This is a much milder choice of curry and perfect served with fluffy white rice

Squash, Spinach and Red Lentil Curry

Brilliant for the Autumn Season, this curry is packed full of vegetables including Butternut Squash (or pumpkin!). This is a really low fat recipe

Carrot and Chickpea Curry

Another Creamy curry using the humble carrot! I experimented with soya cream in this recipe to make a really subtle mild curry. Really colourful too!

Aubergine and Tomato Curry

Another Aubergine Curry but this time made really low fat by using a tomato base and also made really simple by using pre bought curry paste! A great one for when you need something healthy but really easy

And then if you are after something a little different than your usual one pot curries, here are some different recipes I have come up with:

Roasted Cauliflower with Curried Dairy Free Yoghurt Dressing in a Naan Wrap

A really filling, nutritious and slightly different lunch recipe! The fun is in the eating with this one!

Twice Baked Curried Sweet Potatoes

The middle of the baked sweet potatoes are scooped out, mixed with all kinds of delicious curry flavours and put back in, then baked again to cook through. Delicious as a lunch or a side dish

Leftovers Transformed: Bland Lentil Stew turned into a Fiery Lentil Chilli

A while a go I made a lentil shepherds pie but it made so much of the lentil filling I ended up freezing it. As it turns out neither me or Scott liked the lentil mix at all so it sat in the freezer for a few weeks before I decided it really needed to be eaten. I’m not one to throw anything away I will always try to use it some how, so I decided to add some flavours and turn this bland lentil mix into a spicy lentil chilli.

The original lentil recipe before I turned it into chilli

In this original recipe was green lentils, onions, carrot, celery, mushrooms and vegetable stock, topped with mashed potato it became quite watery and on it’s own it was a bit bland. It did however make a fantastic base for a good lentil chilli. The fact the lentils were already cooked also meant that the chilli was really quick to cook.

The transformed lentils – a delicious lentil chilli

Here is the recipe for my lentil chilli. You can use cooked green lentils instead of making the bad lentil shepherds pie first!! Recipe adapted from Hugh’s River Cottage Veg ‘Pinto Bean Chilli’ page 23.

Serves 4

1 Onion
1 Red Chilli
1 Garlic Clove
1 Courgette,
1 Red Pepper
1 teaspoon Cayenne Pepper
1 teaspoon Paprika
1/2 teaspoon Cumin (seeds or ground)
1 Can Chopped Tomatoes
1 Can Cooked Green Lentils (or around 350g or 1 heaped cup)
200ml Vegetable Stock
coriander garnish (optional)

In a pan fry the onion in a little oil or spray oil and cook untill softened. Add the garlic clove, red chilli, courgette and red pepper and stir for 2-3 minutes to start cooking the vegetables and release the flavours.

Add the spices and mix with all of the vegetables untill everything in coated then add the lentils, canned tomatoes, stock and a little seasoning.

Simmer on a medium heat untill the tomato sauce has reduced and the vegetables are well cooked (around 20 minutes). Add a dash of water if it looks like it may be drying up before the vegetables are cooked.

Serve with rice, salad and a garnish of coriander.

A definitely not bland lentil chilli!

Have you made any recipes which were not as nice as you thought? Did you change it or did you eat it anyway?

Kale, Lentil and Ginger Souper Soup: Meat Free Monday!

There are a few “Super” foods which have stayed put when fad diets and hyped up new ingredients have flown by and one of those is kale. I took the following extract from http://www.whfoods.com as, well, they summed it up perfectly!

• Kale’s risk-lowering benefits for cancer have recently been extended to at least five different types of cancer. These types include cancer of the bladder, breast, colon, ovary, and prostate. Isothiocyanates (ITCs) made from glucosinolates in kale play a primary role in achieving these risk-lowering benefits.
• Kale is now recognized as providing comprehensive support for the body’s detoxification system. New research has shown that the ITCs made from kale’s glucosinolates can help regulate detox at a genetic level.
• Researchers can now identify over 45 different flavonoids in kale. With kaempferol and quercetin heading the list, kale’s flavonoids combine both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory benefits in way that gives kale a leading dietary role with respect to avoidance of chronic inflammation and oxidative stress.

I can’t say I know what all of that means but what I do know is that Kale is really really good for you! Whenever I’m feeling a little bit run down or starting to get a cold I make this soup and feel amazing again! Ginger is also very good for you, especially for digestion and it makes the soup taste so fresh! The soup also contains lemons (vitamin c) and lentils (general goodness).

This isn’t a soup which will be to everyones tastes as it’s not bright and colourful or silky smooth but it’s become one of my favourite soups to make.

You could blend it if you wanted however I think it goes a bit grey, I always prefer to have a ‘Broth style’ soup rather than a blended soup but it is completely up to you!

Serves 4-5 and is freezable

2 Medium sized Onions – Chopped
2 Cloves of Garlic – Thinly sliced
1 Red Chilli – de seeded and sliced
Thumb sized piece of Ginger – Thinly sliced or cubed
200g Kale – washed and roughly chopped
1 cup (200g) Lentils
1.4 litres Vegetable Stock
1 Lemon

Sautee the onion for 4-5 minutes untill softened then add the garlic and chilli and continue to cook for another 2 minutes or so.  Add the lentils and vegetable stock and simmer gently with a lid on for 20 minutes.

Add the kale, ginger and juice of 1/2 lemon and cook with the lid on for a further 10 minutes or untill the lentils are completely cooked (soft but with a little bit of bite to them).

Serve with slices of lemon.

Lentil and Spinach “Meatballs”: Meat Free Monday

This is a recipe I’ve been playing around with for a few month’s now and I think this simple version is actually the best so far! Sometimes all you need is a few ingredients and a little imagination!

I have seen different versions of vegetarian meatballs around but most of them have a lot of cheese in them and that’s something I always try and avoid! I experimented with different ways to bind the lentils to form the meatball shape and good ole egg and breadcrumbs worked fantastically so I kept with them.

I tried making these first by wilting the spinach and combining that into the mixture but it was quite soggy. For this recipe I blend the spinach leaves raw with a splash of water and one egg, the egg helps the spinach blend down into a smooth puree and these combined become a fantastic was to bind the ingredients together!

I love the vivid green colour of the meatballs, so much prettier than a beef meatball! They just look healthy!

I made 3 large meatballs per person to serve 2 and simply served it with basic tomato sauce but if you wanted to add pasta then I’d recommend making smaller sized meatballs and it could easily serve 4 people.

200g Cooked Green lentils
125 Spinach
1 Egg
1 Lemon – Zest and Juice
1 Garlic Clove
60g (1 cup) Fresh Breadcrumbs
Spray oil or olive oil for frying

Wash the spinach and put it in a blender with the egg and a splash of water and blitz untill you have a smooth paste. The colour will be a gorgeous vivid green!

Scrape the spinach puree into a large bowl and add the lemon zest, juice of 1/2 the lemon, crushed garlic clove, the cooked lentils, the breadcrumbs and some salt and pepper.

Stir the ingredients all together and then shape into balls using your hands (the large ones are slightly bigger than a golf ball). Place on a large plate or tray and put them in the fridge for half an hour at least.

Heat some spray oil or 1-2 tblspoons olive oil in a large frying pan and when hot add the lentil meatballs and fry for about 8 – 10 minutes untill beginning to brown and hot in the middle. I found that as they were frying the bottom would begin to go flat so as you turn them use a wooden spoon to gently pat the edges to keep them in a nice round shape.

Serve with a simple tomato sauce and some spaghetti if you are making the smaller balls – they are filling!

Cauliflower, Lentil and Spinach soup: Meat Free Monday

I never used to be a big fan of soup I thought it was boring…then I started making my own and realised just how good soup could be. It’s a fantastic way to pack some vegetables into your day, it’s low fat and it’s versatile – you can have a different flavour every week!

I got the idea for this soup after making a rich tomato and bean soup and I had some left over cauliflower so I threw it in and it tasted great! I decided to use lentils instead of beans, and stir some spinach in for a different colour variety within the soup! I try to eat lots of different colours everyday, not only does it look visually more appealing but it means your taking in lots of different varieties of vitamins.

I don’t like blended soups, I like to be able to see each ingredient and taste all the individual flavours…it just make the meal a bit more interesting I feel.

Serves 4-6

1 Large Onion
1 Carrot
2 Sticks Celery
2 Tomatoes
150g (1 cup) Green Lentils
1.3 Litres Vegetable Stock
1 Small Bunch Parsley
1 Whole Head Cauliflower (200g)
100g Spinach
Vegetable Oil for frying
Seasoning

Finely chop the onion, carrot and celery and fry it on a low heat in a drizzle of vegetable oil for around 8-10 minutes.

Add the finely chopped tomatoes, lentils, chopped parsley and the vegetable stock and stir. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and add the sliced Cauliflower and some salt and pepper.

Put a lid on the pan and simmer for 12 minutes, stir in the washed spinach and take the pan off the heat and serve hot with a big chunk of warm bread,

NB I have entered this recipe over at Wellness Weekend! Go check it out it’s a great source of information and recipes x

NB2 I have also entered this recipe at the Superfood sunday feature at painfree pregnancy.org ! x

Roasted Pepper stuffed with Lentils

In the summer I had my first family holiday as a vegetarian and my dads wife came up with some really delicious peppers stuffed with lentils and vegetables! I’d always stuffed peppers with rice or cous cous but had never thought to use lentils so I have to credit her with this brilliant idea! I love brown/ green lentils they taste so savoury and I have freshened them up with some parsley and lemon juice! This is a really simple recipe which tastes great! I served it up with some salad but it would also go lovely with a rich tomatoey sauce or some steamed greens!

Serves 2 as a main course (2 peppers each)

130g Lentils
2 Garlic Cloves
1 Onion
1 Lemon
40g Raisins
1 Courgette
1 Celery Stick
Vegetable Stock
Bunch of Parsley
Oh and of course 4 Peppers (any colour will work)

Cook the lentils in the vegetable stock for 40 minutes on a medium heat. You can buy canned lentils for this if you want to skip that step and they will still work perfectly fine although I find cooking them in the stock will create a greater depth of flavour.

Whilst the lentils are cooking finely chop the onion, celery and crush the garlic then soften them in a little oil in a frying pan for 5-7 minutes. Add the sliced courgette, raisins and chopped parsley stalks (reserve the leaves) and cook for a further 5 minutes then add the lemon juice, parsley leaves, lentils and stir untill warmed through.

Chop the top off the pepper and remove the seeds and any white pith from inside. Be careful not to cut through the skin! Fill the peppers with the lentil mixture then put the top back on the pepper and stand on a baking tray. You may need to slice a tiny bit off the bottom to make them stand upright but do not cut a hole in the bottom or the filling will all fall out!

Cook in the oven for 20 minutes at 190c