Shepard's Pie

Shepard's Pie

Starring polenta.

Busy week ahead? Spend 40 minutes whipping this up. Put it aside, then shove it in the oven later in the day; it's one to feed the masses. Or your own hungry mouth-hole every evening for the next week...

Mashed potato is an alternative topping option, although Polenta is preferable. The crispy, cheesy polenta top gives an exciting spin on this otherwise rather standard (yet admittedly delectable) English classic. 

Ingredients

serves 5-6 people

1+1/2 cups dried Soya Mince

3 x tins of chopped Tomatoes

3/4 cup of Gravy Granules (I used 'Ah Bisto' original & 'accidentally vegan' product)

3 x Carrots

3 x Celery stems

1 large Onion

2 Garlic cloves

2 cups Polenta

3/4 a block of Vegan Cheese (grated)

Nutritional Yeast

1. Add polenta slowly to boiling water in a saucepan until thick. Stir every few minutes for a total of 30-40 minutes. You may need to add extra water during this cooking time if the mixture appears too thick.

If you're really stuck on how to go about cooking your polenta, here's a video on HOW TO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jE2NemX-FO4 

2. Whilst cooking polenta, chop carrots, celery, garlic & onion

3. Sweat vegetables in a frying pan till soft. Optional: Sprinkle on sugar to caramelise

4. Add tomatoes to saucepan  

5. Add dried soya mince to tomato & vegetables. Mix, cover pan & leave to simmer for 10 minutes.

6. Add gravy granules to tomato mince mix & stir rapidly

7. Add lemon juice, salt & pepper to TASTE. Cover with lid.

8. When polenta is cooked, turn off the heat & mix in your grated cheese. 

9. Add salt & nutritional yeast to your polenta to taste. 

10. Throw your mincey mixture into your chosen pie dish. Top with cheesy polenta. 

11. Bake pie in oven for 30-40 minutes till polenta topping is crispy

Serve.

WELL GO ON THEN

THAT PIE WON'T EAT ITSELF.

Cauliflower sauce & caramelised aubergine spaghetti

Cauliflower Sauce & Caramelised Aubergine Spaghetti 

Who knew cauliflower was such a wonder veg...

THAT'S NO CHEESE SAUCE YO

Tomato sauce. Cheese sauce. Pesto? 

Those are pretty much the only sauces I've ever thought acceptable to smother my pasta dishes in. UNTIL NOW.

This excessively healthy pasta sauce is made from blended CAULIFLOWER.

Cauliflower...the vegetable that I rejected as a child for it's image, so suggestive of a failed broccoli.

But anyway, this recipe has changed my mind permanently over the previously questionable deliciousness of this big white plant. So enjoy!

Ingredients

Wholemeal spaghetti (I used enough for 3 people)

1 cauliflower 

1 garlic clove

1 tblesp olive oil

1/2 cup nutritional yeast

handful of flat leaf parsley

1 teasp of garlic powder

1/2 cup unsweetened soya milk

1/2 teasp of balsamic vinegar

1 fresh chilli

1 large aubergine or 2 smaller ones

Brown sugar

salt & pepper

1. Slice aubergine. Steam for 10 mins. Then fry on low heat for another 10 mins. Caramelise using a sprinkling of brown sugar, add salt & pepper. Put aside.

Never seen such purepleness in my entire life.

2. Boil cauliflower till tender & roast garlic in oven at 180°C (alternatively fry in frying pan). Approx 5-8 mins for both.

Boil those FLORETS.

3. Drain Cauliflower. Remove skin from roasted garlic.

4. Put pasta on to boil!

5. Add to blender: garlic, cauliflower, soya milk, nutritional yeast, garlic powder, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper & a pinch of brown sugar. BLEND! Remove from blender.

Look at that sexy cauli-mix.

TASTE THE MIX. Add more seasoning if/as required!!

6. Finely chop parsley & chilli. Add to the cauliflower sauce.

CHOPPPPPPPP!

7. Drain cooked pasta, place in serving bowl. Add olive oil. MIX. Add cauliflower sauce & mix till pasta is completely covered.

8. Add caramelised aubergines. Mix a little. SERVE. 

NOW DON'T TALK FUCKING SHIT ABOUT CAULIFLOWERS EVER AGAIN.

Cheezy stuffed squash

Cheezy stuffed Squash

Butternut Squash stuffed with 'cheesy' mustardy leeks

SO ORANGE!

People keep asking me if I miss cheese. The answer is no. Purely because there's plenty of cheesy tasting alternatives available out there for my hungry vegan mouth hole...

Ingredients

1 butternut squash

soya butter (or any vegan butter alternative)

1 large leek

150ml soya/vegan cream

3/4 pack of Vegan Cheese (I used Cheezly mozzarella)

1 tsp english mustard

1/2 cup Nutritional Yeast

1. Chop butternut squash in half. Remove seeds & carve out some of the flesh

Don't squash your squash. CHOP IT.

2. Wash & chop leeks finely. Fry with soya butter till soft.

I used more then one leek because these are tiny ones fresh from the garden. ORGANIC GOODNESS.

3.  Add the soya cream, nutritional yeast, cheese (finely grated), nutritional yeast & mustard. Turn off heat.

Creamy.

4. Pack the 'cheesy' mix into the carved out squash

5. Place the squash halves in a oven proof dish, cover with tin foil and bake for 45mins-1 hour (dependent on size of squash)

SERVE. EAT.

NOW EAT YOUR FUCKING VEGETABLES.

Easy Vegan Bolognese Sauce

Bolognese Sauce

Mincey vegan deliciousness.

Look at that TOMATOEY GOODNESS

Good for Spaghetti Bolognese, Shepard's pies, lasagne...I could go on.

Mix Spaghetti with coriander, salt & chilli oil...

Plonk this sauce on top. TA-DAH!

Ingredients

serves a few happy vegans

2 cups of dried soya mince protein (or any vegan mince)

1 onion

2 tins chopped tomatoes 

mushrooms

3 bay leaves

Herbs (dried italian herbs/thyme/sage/rosemary...whatever you've got in!)

Olive Oil

Sugar

Salt

Pepper

Balsamic vinegar
Garlic

1. Chop onion, fry & caramelise using a sprinkling of sugar

2. In a pan add dried soya protein & enough boiling water for the mince to absorb & expand (according to instructions on packet)

Dried soya protein. Appetising. 

3. Chop mushrooms. Add tinned tomatoes, mushrooms, garlic, a glug of Olive Oil, Bay Leaves & herbs. Simmer for 15-20 minutes. Top up with water if drying out!

4. Add caramelised onions in the last 5 mins of simmering

5. Turn off heat. Add salt, pepper, sugar & balsamic vinegar to taste. Remove bay leaves.

6. Made too much? Freeze it. 

YOU CAN EVEN EAT THIS SHIT ON IT'S OWN.

Christmas Stuffing

Sage, Onion & Apple Christmas stuffing

Looks like meat. Except that it's not.

How fucking Christmassy.

I'm a student. We break up for the holidays at the end of the week, so decided to have a cute home-cooked Christmas dinner! 

How fucking cute.

Took the moment to practice for the REAL CHRISTMAS dinner I'll be cooking come December 25th...

Ingredients

Makes 4 balls of stuffing

3 Linda McCartney Sausages (or any similar sausage type) http://www.lindamccartneyfoods.co.uk/ourfood/sausages/

1 cup of breadcrumbs

a few leaves of fresh Sage

Orange juice

1/2 Onion

1 small apple

Olive Oil

Sugar

1. Microwave sausages till soft. Mush them up between your fingers until crumbled.Mix with breadcrumbs in a bowl.

2. Chop sage finely & add to mixture

3. Caramelise apple & onion in a frying pan (by frying in oil, sprinkling with sugar & frying a bit more). ADD TO MIXTURE.

4. Add a glug of orange juice & a slop of olive oil

5. Mould into ball shapes

6. Cook in oven for 15-20 mins at 180°C

Eat alongside nut roast... (See 'Lentil Loaf' entry- use higher nut ratio & top with cranberry sauce not ketchup)

NOW STUFF THAT STUFFING INTO YOUR MOUTH-HOLE.

Ginger, garlic & chilli Soba Noodles

Soba Noodles

Who needs sushi when you've got Japanese noodles like these...

Because you can't have enough spring onions.

This takes less than 10 minutes to prepare & cook. Not to mention...it's a mouthful of noodle heaven!

Ingredients 

1 bunch of soba noodles

2 spring onions

Light soy sauce

Rice vinegar

a bit of fresh ginger (size of your thumbnail)

1 clove garlic

1 red chilli

Tofu (I used 1/2 a tin of Marigold Braised Tofu)

Sesame Oil

tblespoon of Sesame Seeds

a handful of spring greens

How fucking adorable is this noodle bundle?

1. 'Unroll' braised tofu & fry on both sides till slightly browned- no oil needed. Remove from pan and keep to one side.

2. Add a glug of Sesame oil to a saucepan. Fry spring greens, chopped chilli, chopped garlic & chopped ginger 3-4 minutes.

3. Add a cup of boiling water to the saucepan. Add the soba noodles.

4. Cook the noodles for approx 5 minutes

Looking noodley

5. Add a spoon of rice vinegar & a good glug of soy sauce to taste

6. Plate up your noodles. Pile tofu on top, add chopped spring onions & a sprinkle of sesame seeds

NOW EAT THAT SALTY NOODLEY GOODNESS

Marigold Braised Tofu & Bulgar Wheat

Braised Tofu

Don't turn your nose up at my TINNED TOFU! 

I have had this tin of 'Marigold Braised Tofu' sitting in the back of my cupboard for at least 3 months. 

It looks like this. 

I bought it from Holland & Barrett ages ago. I had nothing left in my fridge, so thought it was probably about time I ate it. And I was pleasantly surprised- it tasted SHOCKINGLY DELICIOUS. 

I had it with some left over coriander & basil bulgar wheat, to which I'd added some sweetened crushed peanuts. FUCKING YUM. 

Ingredients

Feeds 1 hungry Vegan at lunchtime

1/2 tin of braised tofu

Wholemeal pita bread

1/2 cup of bulgar wheat

A handful of fresh coriander

A handful of fresh basil

Balsamic Vinegar

A handful of unsalted peanuts

Olive oil

Agave syrup

Salt 

Pepper

1. Cook your bulgar wheat as instructed by packet...

2. Chop basil & coriander, mix with cooked bulgar wheat

3. Add balsamic vinegar to taste

4. Crush peanuts in pestle & mortar, add a glug of virgin olive oil, a squeeze of agave syrup & a pinch of salt. MIX.

5. Add peanutty concoction to the bulgar wheat. MIX! Add salt & pepper to taste.

6. 'Unroll' your Braised Tofu (you'll see what I mean when you open the tin..) No need for oil, griddle or fry the tofu for 2 minutes on each side in a frying pan.

7. TOAST YO PITA BREAD. VEGAN 'BUTTER' THAT SHIT UP.

Stuff your Vegan pita bread with Bulgar Wheat & Tofu combo.

CONSUME YOUR TOFU.