Tofu Bolognese

Tofu Bolognaise 
(recipe By Daniel Acevedo)

1 parsnip

1 carrot

1 onion 

3 celery sticks

1/2 fennel bulb

250g tofu

4 cloves garlic

1Tbsp dry oregano

2 bay leaf

1 tsp fennell seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

3 tsp smoked paprika

300ml red wine
1 cup water

3 tins chopped tomatoes (1200g)

Crumble the tofu onto a baking tray, lightly oil and season with salt, pepper and oregano, bake this in the oven at 180c until it starts to brown slightly (approx 15-20 min).  You don't have to bake the tofu you cad add it fresh to the sauce, I prefer baking as it gives the tofu a better texture.

Dice onion, celery, fennel, parsnip and carrot into small cubes and thinly slice or crush your garlic.
In a med sized pot, Lightly fry you garlic and onions for a few minutes, then add the rest of the vegetables and cook for a further 5 min.  Add your herbs, cooking for a further 4-5 min, this helps release the flavor of the herbs.

Add the red wine, letting this simmer for a good 10 min before adding your tomatoes, water and fresh or cooked tofu, simmer this on a low heat for a good 20-30 min.

serve with you favorite pasta and cheese for the non vegans out there.

Chunky Puy Lentil Dahl (Vegan)

Chunky Puy Lentil Dahl (Vegan)

This is a mildly curried soup which is really closer to a stew. Its just the thing on a cold winter day. As a main course you could serve with some basmati rice. 

(recipe by Sarah Wasserman)

Serves four as a main or six to eight as a starter.  

Ingredients:

3 tbsp olive oil

1 small red onion (diced)

1 mild green chilli (red would be fine too)

4 garlic cloves

1 inch of peeled fresh ginger

1 tsp mild curry powder (madras preferably)

1 tsp coriander seeds 

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

2 small or 1 large carrot (diced)

3 sticks celery (diced)

1 leek (diced)

1 potato (cubed)

300g dried puy lentils (washed)

1 can of chopped tomatoes

water

pinch of sugar

salt and pepper

chopped fresh coriander

To make the soup:

1) In a large pan warm some olive oil. Add the diced red onion and saute gently.

2) Chop together the garlic, chilli and ginger. Add to the onion.

3) Toast the seeds and grind. Add these and the rest of the spices to the pan and saute for a couple of minutes.

4) Add the carrots and celery. Then add the puy lentils and cook for a couple of minutes before adding the the tomatoes, pinch of sugar, potato and leek. Then add in enough water to bring it to a desired thickness. I used about 500ml because I wanted it quite thick but if you want more of a soup add more. 

5) Simmer for 20-30 minutes until the lentils are cooked. Before serving add the chopped coriander.

Spinach and Feta Lahmacun

Spinach and Feta Lahmacun 

 

I don't know if its okay to call this a lahmacun as it has no meat. A lahmacun is a thin flat bread usually coated in a thin layer of minced lamb or beef seasoned with tamarind and tomato. Names and sizes vary but it is a common street food of the middle east. Lahmacun is the Turkish name but it is also known as Lahma bi Ajeen, which is what it is called in Claudia Rodins' 'The book of Jewish Food', from which the dough part of this recipe is taken. Lahma bi Ajeen means 'meat on dough' in Arabic so this should be called K'ss bi Ajeen - or Spinach on dough.

I have come to know lahmacun as a wonderful comfort food as my mother in law, Sylvia, makes the best I have ever eaten. They are generously doled out at her parties, when babies are born, when weddings are being prepared for or when somebody begs her to make them for long enough. It is a family tradition handed down by Sylvia's mother Mary, who was from Eygypt, whose food is legend. This is one vegetarian variant I have tried and I plan to try more. We eat them warm with a squeeze of lemon, smothered in hummus and sometimes with salad. I made some large ones but they are also really nice bite size. 

Serves 6-8 as a main
(recipe by Sarah Wasserman)
For the dough:
2 1/2 Tsp's (1 Packet) dried yeast 
1/2 Tsp sugar
250ml lukewarm water
500g Strong white bread flour
1 Tsp salt
4 tbsp sunflower oil


For the topping:
100g Pine nuts (toasted till golden brown in the oven. 10min at 160 ought to do it)
3 bunches (approx. 600g) of spinach (large leaf spinach with the stems on, just cut of the very base where the leaves join. Wash thoroughly.) 
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 Large white onion (finely diced)
6 Cloves of garlic roughly chopped
200g Feta
5 Tbsp chopped dill
5 Tbsp chopped flat parsley
1 1/2 Tsp dried Red Pepper flakes (not to be confused with chili flakes. If you can only get chili flakes just add 1/2 tsp. )


To make the dough:
1) Mix the yeast, sugar and water in a large bowl and leave to activate for 10 minutes.
2) Add 3 tbsp of the oil and whisk it a little then start gradually adding the flour. Keep whisking until it becomes thick then add the rest in with your hands. 
3) Knead the dough till elastic and then coanreturn to the bowl with the rest of the oil to coat the dough so it doesn't stick. 
4) Cover with clingfilm and leave to rise in a warm place for 2 hours or till doubled in size. 

To make the filling:
1) In a large pan saute the onions in the olive oil on a low heat till the onion wbeging to caramelize. This will take at least 5 minutes. 
2) Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes.
3) Add the spinach and saute for a minute and then cover and steam till they wilt. 
4) Turn this mixture out into a colander and drain of the excess liquid. 

5) Put the spinach, onion, and garlic mixture onto a chopping board with the pine nuts and chop it all together quite roughly. 
6) In a bowl, combine with the crumbled feta, dill, parsley and chili flakes. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

To assemble:
1) Preheat your oven to 240c/475f. 
2) When the dough is ready, divide into 14 balls for large lahmacuns (20cm) or 18 for bite size (about 10cm). 

2) Roll these out very thin (5mm). As you roll them transfer onto lightly oiled baking trays. 
3) Spread the filling on quite thin so you can see the bread though it.
4) Bake for 10-15 minutes. 
5) Eat while still warm with hummus or spicy harissa or both and a squeeze of lemon.

Beetroot, fennel and dill Burger

Beetroot, Fennel & Dill Burger

(6-8 Burgers) 

People love our veggie burgers. We make a new flavor every day or so, using a huge range seasonal ingredients. We must have made hundreds of different variations over the years and we find the beetroot burgers always sell really fast.

(Recipe by Daniel Acevedo)
For the Burger:

2 med beetroot

½ bunch dill

½ TBSP fennel seeds

1 small fennel bulb

400-500ml water

600g SOS mix. 

1) Peel wash and grate beetroot, wash and finely dice fennel add into a mixing bowl, chopped dill, fennel seeds SOS* mix and water 

2) Combine ingredients well and allow to stand for 20mins check to see if consistency is correct. The burger mix should be dry enough to be pliable so it doesn’t stick to your hands but still be moist. 

3) To cook, heat non-stick fry pan on the lowest heat possible, allow pan to heat, add a touch of oil and fry burger on each side for 4-6 min until golden brown.  We then char-grill the burger but its not strictly necessary.

We serve ours on a granary bun with our homemade carrot relish, vegan basil mayo, rocket and tomato. 

*For more information on where to find SOS mix www.sosmix.com
if your finding it hard to find SOS mix you can see what other brands of vegetarian sausage mix your local health food store supply, i have also used Granose sausage mix to make these burgers before, giving me similar results. 

Halloween recipe #3: Baby Pumpkins filled with chipotle, black bean chilli with toasted coconut and coriander rice

Baby Pumpkin filled with chipotle, black bean chilli with toasted coconut and coriander rice 
(this recipe is vegan and wheat free)

I made this for our daily special main yesterday but I got the idea from our Sous Chef, Marcelo Navarro, who told me about a dish popular in his native Brasil, in which they empty pumpkins and fill them with a coconut curry. I think the nice fresh flavour of the rice and pumpkin married well with the smoky chipotle flavour. This dish is a little labour intensive for making at home but it makes an impressive dish for a special meal or a dinner party.

Our pumpkin man, Greg, has supplied us with lots of beautiful little baby pumpkins. His advice with small pumpkins is not to peel them as the flesh loses flavour so just take the tops and bottoms off and scoop out the flesh. They are really easy to peel on the plate (though the skin is edible and sometimes quite tasty). If you cant get these baby pumpkins you can just use one medium sized pumpkin or alternatively use the bottom part of some butternut squashes and save the rest of the squash for another meal.

This recipe serves 6-8  for a main, depending on the size of your pumpkins. You might have a bit of chilli left over or you could choose to by not making so many pumpkins as the chilli make a lovely meal in itself. Just pop it in the fridge for another meal. It also makes a nice starter if you skip the rice and use slightly smaller pumpkins.

(recipe by Sarah Wasserman)
First prepare your pumpkins. Top and tail and scoop out all the seeds. Then brush the pumpkins (inside and out) with seasoned olive oil mixed with chopped garlic. Roast these in the oven (180c) for about 20 minutes.  

For the Chilli:

1x can black beans
1x can chopped tomatoes
1x diced white onion
200ml water
3 Tbsp tomato puree
1 Tbsp chopped garlic
2 Tbsp chipotle chilli (this is a smokey flavoured chilli which we get from the excellent Cool Chilli Co in Borough Market. Ancho chilli is a good substitute and failing that add more smoked paprika)
1 Tbsp brown sugar (I use muscavado but it doesnt really matter)
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
1/2 Tsp smoked paprika
1 Courgette diced
3 Sticks celery diced
5 Tbsp chopped coriander 

To make the Chilli:

1) Roast the diced courgettes in oven till cooked but still firm and green.
2) Saute the onions in olive oil for a couple of minutes (not too hot) then add the garlic. Turn down the heat and add the diced celery and saute for another few minutes. Then add all the spice including the chipotle and cook out for 2 minutes.
3) Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes, sugar, water and cook for 20-30 minutes.
4) Take of the heat. Add the black beans, courgette and coriander.


Fill the pumpkins with chilli and return to an oven (preheated to 180c) till heated through (about 15 minutes).

For the rice:

1) 250g basmati rice (thoroughly washed)
2) 1/2 can coconut milk
3) 100g dessicated coconut (toasted in the oven. Couple of minutes at 180c ought to do it)
4) Green chilli (not diced but thinly sliced)
5) 5 Tbsp chopped coriander


To make the rice:
(I'm sure most of you know how to cook basmati but including it here just in case. Timings are for easy cook basmati but for regular increase cooking time by ten minutes)
1) Heat a pan with a couple of tablespoons of oil. Add the chilli stir and then add the rice. Stir through the oil and then then cook for about 1 minute.
2) Add the coconut milk and then enough water to cover the rice by about 1/2cm. Cover and simmer gently for 10 minutes. Take off the stove and steam for five minutes.
3) Add the toasted coconut and chopped coriander.