Food: My ‘God’s Butter’

Sarah Philpott’s book ‘The Occasional Vegan’ has been a regular source of inspiration to me, containing an array of recipes from different cuisines, all vegan. So, whether you fancy a Buddha Bowl or a dirty vegan ‘pork pie’, she and the book has you covered. The recipes give a great foundation, that if you want to differ from it, verse and gospel, you can. This brings me to the greatness that is her ‘God’s Butter’ and my version of it. Such an easy and satisfying recipe for a pea, avocado and mint spread. You’ll find the original recipe on Page 47 of the book. To make my version of the recipe, you’ll need:

• 200g frozen peas or petit pois
• 1-2 ripe avocados
• Zest & juice of 1 lime
• 200g canned butter beans  (drained)
• 1/2 a red chilli, sliced finely
• 1 tsp fresh ginger, grated
• Handful of fresh mint, chopped
• 1tsp garlic infused oil
• Salt & pepper

 

Boil the peas for 2-3 minutes, then take off the heat whilst they are still bright and green, rinse under a cold tap, until cool. Place in a mixing bowl. Add in the rest of the ingredients (I’d chunk the avocado up, to make it easier to blend). Plug in a stick blender and pulse until it comes together into a green and aromatic spread. Season & you’re ready to serve.

My version is a lot smoother than the original, as I think with it being smoother it’s more versatile to be used as a base for a pasta sauce and a spread for toast. Below are just some of the ways I’ve used it.

 

Enjoy!

 

Published By Seren Books, RRP £12.99

With Pictures by Manon Houston

Food: Rude Food Recipe 4: ‘Keep the cold at bay’ soup

 

The #Beastfromtheeast has left its mark over all of northern Europe it seems and snowy Malmö is no exception. I’ve decided to take matters into my own hands with this stalwart soup that will batten down the hatches with plenty of fresh alium and flush out any lingering nasties with the heat of the chilli. The level of any of these is preferential, but here are the amounts that I used.

You will need:

• 1 pack of cooked Beetroot, and its juice
• The zest & juice of 1/2 lemon,
• 1/2 tsp chilli, (go full tsp if you’re feeling particularly under the weather!),
• 2 medium potatoes,
• 1/2 an onion,
• 1tbs Sauerkraut juice (optional, I used some, leftover from my dear friend Kathe Kaczmarzyk’s pop-up here in Malmö) ,
• 3 cloves of garlic,
• 3 rhizomes of fresh turmeric, grated,
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon,
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger,
• Salt & pepper,
• 500ml homemade veg stock
• 1tbs dried parsley,

For the orange, ginger & mustard crème:

• 2tbs dairy free crème fraîche (I used Oatly fraîche)
• 1tsp wholegrain mustard
• zest & juice of 1/4 orange
• Thumb- size piece of ginger, grated

Garnish:

Handful of fresh parsley, chopped.

 

 

The method for soups is always fairly simple, the magic here is the contents and not the process.

Chop the onion, the garlic and the onions roughly, separately chop up the beetroot into chunks and make sure you keep the juices.

Gently soften the onion and the garlic in a little oil and then add the potatoes, stir them through. Begin to add the lemon juice, the sauerkraut, the beetroot pieces, the beetroot juice and then grate in the lemon zest and the turmeric. Be careful with the fresh turmeric as it will stain anything, including your skin, so you might want to use gloves. Add the spices, the herbs and then pour over the stock, season to your taste including the chilli!

Bring the whole thing up to a robust simmer before sticking in the oven at 140 degrees celsius (fan assisted) and allow it to do its thing for at least an hour. Take the whole thing out, stir and check the seasoning. When you’re happy with it you can blast the whole thing with a stick blender or a food processor until it’s thick.

The aroma should be rich and earthy with the beetroot and the garlic, the back notes from the sauerkraut and the lemon should be sharp and punchy. The heat should be there to the taste too from the chilli. The colour should be like you’ve liquidised rubies.

For the punchy crème, simply mix all the ingredients together into a bowl and leave to thicken for 5 minutes.

Serve with a good loaf of your favourite sourdough, a sprinkle of chopped parsley and a generous dollop of the punchy fraîche.

Enjoy!

Food: Raw vegan ‘semlor’

As it’s semlor season here in Sweden for Fettisdagen, or ‘Fat Tuesday’, when these buns are traditionally eaten before lent. The traditional semla is a cardamom- enriched bun with homemade marzipan, called ‘mandelmassa’ and plenty of whipped cream. For this raw vegan version, I’ve decided to use persimmon/ kaki/ Sharon fruit in place of the bun. I was going to use peaches, but they seem to be impossible to get at the moment, not being in season.  As I’ve used persimmon, I decided to top it with a bit of matcha powder, a nod to the asian heritage of the fruit,

 

Makes 6 mini semlor bites

To make you’ll need:

• 3 persimmon/ kaki/ Sharon fruit
• 1.5 litres of water
• 1 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp almond oil
• 1 shot of amaretto (optional- don’t use if want to make it totally raw vegan)
• 2 tbs raw agave syrup
• 1tbs matcha powder, to top

For the mandelmassa:

• 150g soaked almonds
• 150g coconut sugar
• 1-2 tbs water

For the coconut & cardamom cream:

• The ‘cream’ from 2 tins of full fat coconut milk
• 3 tbs raw agave syrup
• 2 tsp ground cardamom
• 1 tsp vanilla bean paste/ fresh vanilla bean

 

Start the night before by making up the syrup. Mix the water with the almond oil, agave and cardamom. I also added in some Amaretto, in the spirit of the decadance of a semla bun, but by all means, take it out.  3 big persimmon will make 6 mini semlor buns. To make them, I’d recommend slicing each fruit into 4 equal pieces and cutting out the middle with a round cookie-cutter. This should leave you with a top and bottom bun for each ‘semla’. If there is any lefover persimmon, simply chop it up and keep in the fridge, it’s a great addition to any curry or jerk recipe. De-leaf the top and place into a shallow dish. Once you have done this with all 3 fruits, cover with the syrup. This should soak up all those cardamom & almond flavours of the syrup. Leave overnight.

The next day, turn the persimmon buns in the syrup and make the mandelmassa. I used the recipe off this blog  to make it, but essentially, de-skin the almonds and blend it up with the coconut sugar in a food processor, adding a teaspoon or two of water to bind.

 

To make the cardamom cream, spoon out the coconut cream portion of 2 cans of full-fat coconut milk into a bowl, adding the ground cardamom, agave and vanilla bean paste. Whip up into a thick and aromatic cream.

 

When you’re ready to assemble your mini persimmon semla, take them out of the syrup and pat dry. roll a little ball of the mandelmassa and squish into the palm of your hands. Top the bottom of the buns with the disk of mandelmassa. Next, spoon on about a tablespoon of the cream. Top with the ‘top bun’ of persimmon and dust with some matcha powder.

 

Enjoy!

Food: Rude Food Recipe 1: Sage roasted parsnips on a bed of meaty green lentils

New for 2018! I’ve been made the Rude Food Ambassador for the next few months. Rude Food is Sweden’s first food rescuing service and I am lucky that it’s based here in Malmö. They stop perfectly good food from going to waste and promote good food practice to everyone. They usually return the food to the catering world to be used again but in order to help the promotional side of things they have asked me to write two recipes a month using some of their ingredients. Reducing food waste is a massive issue for me, not only for environmental and ethical purposes, but on a practical and economic level too. It just makes sense to make use of what you’ve got, so I’m thrilled to be taking on this role!

This first recipe is for sage roasted parsnips on a bed of meaty green lentils, served with a sour apple purée, blueberry pickled onions, plump sultanas and a sprinkle of fresh sage.,

If you’re wondering, here are the rescued ingredients I was given for this recipe: rescued parsnips, sage, lemons & apples.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

For the stock and the lentils:

600ml of water,

1 regular onion – ½ cut into half rings; ½ other half finely chopped.

150g of green lentils,

1 tsp of dried sage,

For the parsnips:

• 4 parsnips,
• 3-4 tbsp of rapeseed oil,
• 2 tbsp of cornflour
• 1 tsp of dried sage,
• Salt,
• Black pepper

For the sour apple puree:

• 2 apples
• 1 heaped tbsp of sugar,
• 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar vinegar
• Juice of ½ lemon

For the sultanas:

• 20g of sultanas
• A cup of the stock,

To serve:

• Black pepper
• Salt
• A handful of fresh sage,

 

For the stock and the lentils:

 

To begin you need to create a stock to cook the lentils in, one that’s imbued with the flavours of the main ingredients. To do this, simply peel the parsnips and the onion and add the skins to a Dutch oven of gently boiling water. Season with salt, black pepper and some of the dried sage. Having peeled the parsnips, cut them into decent sized chips; cutting off the thin ends then quartering the thickest part is best. Parboil them in the stock water for 2 minutes and then remove.

Allow the stock to reduce by a third. Ideally allow the stock to do its thing for at least an hour before taking out all of the skins. You can do this by straining the mixture over a bowl and then returning the water to the heat in the dutch oven. (Keep a small cup of the stock aside for the sultanas).

 

Fry the finely chopped half of the onion gently until soft in a little oil and then add to the water with the lentils and allow them to cook slowly in the Dutch oven for at least 45 minutes. Cooking them low and slow will give them all the time to lose their grittiness and take on all the flavours of the stock, leaving them meaty and moreish.

 

For the parsnips:

 

Preheat your oven to 220°c and layer a baking tray with the rapeseed oil and place in the oven until super hot.

 

Pat the parboiled parsnips down with kitchen towel to remove all excess water. Put the parsnips into a medium sized bowl and rough the skins up a little with a fork. Dust over the corn flour and season with black pepper, a pinch of salt and dried sage. Make sure the parsnips are thoroughly covered with the seasoning mix.

 

Remove the pan from the oven and place the parsnips into the hot oil carefully, they should immediately start to sizzle. Be careful to avoid spitting fat. Make sure the rapeseed oil covers all of the parsnips and return to the oven.

 

Continue to cook for 5 minutes on 200°c before reducing to 180°c. Cook for a further ten minutes before checking them.The undersides should be crispy and golden. Turn them all over and return to the oven for a further ten minutes. When they’re golden and crispy all over you can take them and remove any excess oil with some paper towel.

 

For the sour apple puree:

 

Peel and core the apples, cut them into small cubes and place in a small pan. Cover them with water and add in the sugar, lemon juice & apple cider vinegar. Allow the water to reduce and the apples to break down until you have a thick sauce. When it’s ready, remove from the heat and blend with a stick blender.

For the pickled onions and the sultanas:

 

Quick pickles are really easy to do and they can really add zing to a dish. You don’t need to use fancy vinegars but it is nice if you have a couple of bottles of nice flavoured vinegar ready for dishes like this.

 

Fill a small bowl with a third of water and add the vinegar, break up the half of the onion that’s been cut into half rings and sprinkle into the pickling liquor. Allow to absorb the vinegar for 20 minutes, but ideally a bit longer if you have the time. This can easily be made in advance, in fact they’ll keep in the fridge for a while and can be topped up and reused regularly.

 

For the sultanas, leave some of the stock aside and put in a handful of sultanas in a cup. Let them plump up in the warm stock.

 

To serve:

 

Layer a bed of the lentils in the bottom of a dish and place the parsnips on top. Spoon a little of the apple on the side and sprinkle with the sultanas, the pickled onions and some fresh sage.

 

Food: Vegan Carbonara

Last week in the ICA store in Möllevången, here in Malmö,  I saw these awesome new soya bacon pieces. Well, I just had to buy them and make myself a vegan spaghetti carbonara didn’t I 😉

Here’s a recipe for an equally creamy sauce as the original, but 100% plant based.

To make, you’ll need:

• 1/2 pack soy bacon (87g)
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1tsp vegan butter,
• 100ml Oatly cream (or any other plant based cream)
• Glug of garlic infused oil
• 1tbs nutritional yeast
• 1tbs vegan mayo
• Lots of black pepper, around 8-9 cracks

To serve:

• Handful of chopped fresh parsley,
• Lots of vegan Parmesan ( I used Astrid och Aporna’s Riv-iera)

 

Start by putting on the spaghetti, the dish isn’t going to take long to make! Once the spaghetti is starting to simmer in it’s salty water, start by melting the butter in the pan and adding in the vegan bacon. I used ones from ICA here in Sweden, but I’m sure there are definitely nice bacon alternatives you could use, like smoked tofu, or tempeh bacon etc. Fry off until it starts going crisp, then add in the garlic. Fry until it cooks out its raw bite. Now, add in the Oatly cream, black pepper, nooch and garlic oil. Turn the heat down to low and stir. When they have thoroughly mixed together take the pan off the heat. By this time, the pasta should be nice and al-dente. Strain into a colander. As the sauce has started to cool down, you can add in the vegan mayo. This will give the same unctuous taste and feeling as using eggs in a traditional carbonara. Stir through the pasta evenly, so that each strand of spaghetti is enrobed in the sauce.  Serve with the chopped parsley and a generous helping of vegan Parmesan.

Enjoy!

Food: Broccoli, spinach & parsley soup

This is a great soup with a big burst of green to help beat the up-coming illnesses this Autumn, and will make you feel generally more hyggelig (cosy)!

You’ll need:

• 3-4 medium potatoes
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1/2 head of broccoli, chopped
• Broccoli stem, finely cut
• 20g frozen spinach
• Handful of fresh parsley
• 1 tbs dried parsley
• 100ml veg stock
• 1 tbs Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 litre of water
• Rapeseed oil
• Salt & pepper

 

Garnish:

• 1 tbs walnut oil
• Chopped fresh parsley

 

Start by chopping the potatoes into chunks, parboil them in a pan of salted water. Once done, drain and set aside.

Chop and fry the onion & minced garlic in a cast iron pot on a medium heat with a little oil until they’re soft and mellow. Next, add in the potatoes, dried parsley and the broccoli stem. Pour over the water and veg stock and stir. Add in the broccoli and bring to a simmer. Simmer for at least 20 minutes before adding the spinach and fresh parsley, and stir lightly until it starts to thaw. Place the lid on, turn the heat down onto its lowest setting and leave the mixture bubble and cook for a further 8-10 minutes. Now, stir in the nooch (nutritional yeast) and the mustard.

When the soup’s done its thing, take a hand blender and blitz the whole thing into a thick, velvety green soup. Season to taste.

Serve with a drizzle of walnut oil, a crack of black pepper and some chopped parsley. It goes really well with a crusty loaf and I’d recommend pairing it with a Æro Valnød Øl (walnut ale)  by Danish brewery, Rise Bryggeri, as the flavours complemented each other so well, but any gold ale would work here!

Enjoy!

Food: Whole roasted cauliflower

I was craving a proper ‘Sunday roast’, a huge deal for a Brit abroad. But I had missed the boat on the Sunday, instead I made this tasty dish on Monday. A perfect cheap and vegan solution for those awkward family gatherings, where everyone else is catered for by a huge roast joint. It’s so easy to make, even Grandad could make it!

To make you’ll need:

• A whole head of cauliflower
• 3 tbs gravy granules (I used Bisto- Original (red))
• 3tbs cornflour
• 1tsp dried thyme
• 1tbs dried parsley
• 1tsp mustard powder (I used Coleman’s)
• 1tsp garlic powder (Available from Flying Tiger Copenhagen)
• 1tsp onion powder (Available from Flying Tiger Copenhagen)
• 1tsp ground black pepper

Simply wash the cauliflower and carve off any stalk and unsightly bits from the main body. Pat down with a towel and pre-heat the oven to a nice 180°C. In a bowl, place all the dry ingredients and mix thoroughly. Then, start adding water, bit-by-bit,  until a thick, savoury paste has formed. Now, prepare to get messy! Use your hands (cleaned, of course) to cover the whole cauliflower with the paste. This will form a nice herby crust as it roasts in the oven. Make sure the cauli is evenly covered and place in the oven in a baking tray. Roast for roughly 50 minutes, before taking it out and turning the baking tray. Place in for a further 20 minutes. Once this is done, take it out and pierce the centre with a skewer, to check that it has fully cooked. If not, place it back in for a further 10 minutes. Once it has finished, leave to slightly cool before serving.

I’d recommend serving it with a medley of vegetables and a classic British onion gravy,  which I make from using Bisto Original (red), the cooking water from all of the veg and some fried onions. I also served mine with some homemade stuffing, of which I’ll post the recipe soon!

Enjoy!

 

 

The roasted cauliflower, enrobed in onion gravy.

 

 

Food: Lentil ragù

Here’s a great cheap & healthy recipe for a ragù, that has that same rich taste, but uses green lentils, instead of meat.This is another one of those recipes where time is the most important ingredient, not only to allow the lentils to properly cook but also to allow the rest of the flavours to come together. To make you’ll need:

• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 100g of green lentils
• 200ml of water
• Splash of rapeseed oil/vegetable oil
• 1 tbp of tomato puree
• 1 tbp of sundried tomatoes/sundried tomato paste (optional)
• Splash of red wine (optional)
• ½ tsp of salt
• ½ tsp of black pepper (or more!)
• 1 tsp dried basil (or a generous handful of fresh if you can get it)
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2-3 Bay Leaves

 

Fry the onions and garlic in the oil over a medium heat until soft. Stir in the tomato paste and the tin of tomatoes. Season with the herbs, the salt and the black pepper and add the splash of wine if you have it.

Pour in the lentils and add ¾ of the water to the mix. The lentils will suck up the water as they cook. Bring to a good simmer and then put in the oven for at least 45 minutes at 140°c (fan). Take out and give it a good stir – add more water if it’s looking a bit thick. Put back in the oven for another 30 minutes and the lentils should have lost all of their “bitty” ness.

Serve with tagliatelle or spaghetti, fresh bread and a nice glass of red wine.

 

 

Food: Posh beans on toast

Here’s a way to up-level the almost cliché of budget meals, for Brits at least; beans on toast. My way to  have a gourmet dinner after a long day of work.

To make, you’ll need:

• 1 tin of baked beans in tomato sauce
• 1 tin/ carton of butterbeans
• 2tbs tomato purée
• 1tbs sundried tomato paste (optional)
• 1tbs dried rosemary
• 1tsp chipotle chilli powder
• 1tbs smoked paprika
• 2tsp garlic infused oil
• Splash of liquid smoke
• Sprinkle of smoked salt (optional), (I used Falk smoked salt flakes)

For the toast:

• Any bread really, but I’d recommend a nice crusty sourdough
• Vegan butter

The recipe couldn’t be any easier, start by heating your pan on the hob on medium. I’d recommend putting the oven on around the same time, to a temperature of 180°C.  You could do the whole dish on the hob, but if you’re using a cast iron Dutch oven, like myself then I advise you should finish them in the oven. As I’m using tinned butterbeans, they can have a strange aftertaste to them and by putting them in the oven to finish, removes that taste and also concentrates the sauce to make a more gourmet dish.

Once the pan is heated up add in your baked beans, just as you would if you were making conventional ‘beans on toast’ and add in the tomato purée, paste and the array of spices. Stir and leave the spices a couple of minutes to cook-out into the tomato sauce. During this time, you should open and drain the butterbeans, but crucially don’t throw the liquid, or aquafaba away- you can use it to thicken up sauces, soups etc.

Add in the drained beans and stir them through the sauce. Leave for a minute or two on the hob before placing the pan in the oven. Place them on a timer for 8 minutes. Whilst the beans are doing their thing in the oven, get the toast ready and buttered. When it’s time to take the beans out, stir throughly and serve. Finish with a sprinkle of smoked salt.  I’d recommend pairing the hearty dish with an equally robust IPA.

Feel free to be creative with this recipe, why not add in a pinch of onion powder, a spoonful of mustard or even a splash of beer, the possibilities are endless!

 

Enjoy!

 

 

Food: Columbian potatoes

This is my take on the Colombian dish, Papas con Salsa de Aguacate (potatoes with an avocado sauce), using sweet & purple potatoes, topped with a creamy intense avocado hit. My version has a spicy tomato base to transform it from a traditional side-dish into a tasty plantbased meal.

You’ll need:

• 3 Sweet potatoes, roughly chopped
• 3 purple potatoes/ potatoes roughly chopped
• 1/2 tin of peeled tomatoes
• 1tbs tomato pureé
• 1 red onion, diced
• 1tbs Pimentón
• 1tbs ground cumin
• 1tbs ground coriander
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 red chilli, chopped finely (de-seeded if want less hot!)
• Black pepper
• Oil for roasting.

For the Salsa de Aguacate:

• 1/2 a tub of Oatly fraîche
• A glug of garlic infused oil
• 1 avocado
• Handful of coriander, chopped
• Juice of 1/2 a lime
• Some red onion
• Salt & pepper

Garnish:

• Salt for garnishing (I used Saltverk Birch smoked salt)
• Handful of chopped coriander

Start by parboiling the potatoes in salted water. As they’re boiling, place a baking tray in oven on it’s hottest setting, with a layer of oil (just like you’re making roasties). Whilst they are cooking, fry off the onion & garlic in a pan. When they are sufficiently softened the potatoes should be ready to take off the boil. Drain and place into the baking tray and oil. Flip over until they begin to sizzle. Place back into the oven to start roasting and crisping up.

In a baking dish, place the now softened garlic & most of the onion with the tomatoes, spices and the chilli. I’d recommend roughly chopping up the tomatoes. Season, mix thoroughly and spread evenly across the bottom of the dish.  After around 10-15 minutes, take the potatoes out and place into the baking dish, on top of the spicy tomato base. Place back into the oven, with a lower temperature of 180°C. Cook for a further 30-40 minutes before taking out. Leave to cool slightly, before serving.

Whilst the potatoes are in the oven, you can make the indulgent bit, the avocado sauce. In a food processor, place the Oatly fraîche, avocado, coriander, garlic oil, lime juice and the rest of the fried onion. Whizz up until it forms a creamy sauce. Scoop into a bowl. Season to taste. If too thick, you can loosen it up with a bit more lime juice.

To serve, drizzle on the sauce, the chopped coriander and a sprinkle of salt flakes. I used Saltverk birch smoked salt, which matched the smoky spicy taste of the potatoes.

I’d reccomend serving this with a couple of cold cervezas. I paired it with some Columbian Cerveza Aguila.

 

Enjoy!