A vegetarian feast

No photos and no recipes this time, just a list of dishes all based on those found in the River Cottage veg book. If you don't have River Cottage Veg Everyday yet, you should seriously consider buying it. I made slight tweaks to most of the original recipes, some intentional and some because I forgot to add a last minute ingredient. The result was a fabulous vegetarian feast - even the confirmed carnivore Ollie said that this meal was delicious. 

 

To start

Pistachio dukkah

Dukkah is an Egyptian spice mix made with toasted cumin, coriander and sesame seeds with dried chilli flakes and some shopped nuts. The version I made used pistachio nuts, and also a little chopped mint. 

The idea is to dip your bread first in some oil and then into the dukkah. It's pretty good and keeps for ages in a jar. It can also be used sprinkled over salads, roasted veg, grilled meats, anything, really.  

Cannelini bean hummus

This is made the same way as normal hummus but since the beans are very creamy when processed they don't need nearly as much oil. Not sure if I used rapeseed or olive oil in this recipe but both work equally well. 

Flatbreads 

I meant to combine the Jamie Oliver Moroccan chickpea flatbreads (add cumin and coriander seeds and chickpeas) with the HFW half plain half bread flour recipe. But since I didn’t read the recipe through before I started, I left the bread to prove without adding the chickpeas and spices. So I ended up with the River Cottage version with a bit more yeast, salt and sugar added.

I cooked these flatbreads in a hot oven (220 degrees C) rather than in a pan. This was probably a mistake. I took them out after almost 10 minutes by which time they were fairly crisp though had not puffed up as I expected. They tasted OK with the butter bean hummus and dukka though.

To follow

 

Roasted squash and shallots with merguez chickpeas

The trick to tasty chickpeas is to dress them while they are still hot. The ones in this recipe are delicious, and I would definitely make them without the roast veg as part of a tapas selection or to accompany to lamb chops. You can make the chickpeas a few days in advance as they will keep well in the fridge.

I didn't make the couscous or spiced yoghurt that you'll find if you follow the link above. Instead I made a few salads.

Date and orange salad with red cabbage and raw parsnip

Parsnips, it turns out, are an excellent raw ingredient in salads. Who knew?
I couldn't find Medjool dates for this salad so I just used regular ones. 

Sweet potato, puy lentil and watercress salad

The actual recipe for this dish uses roasted parsnips, but since I was using raw grated parsnip in the date and orange salad, I used sweet potato instead. This made the dish quite substantial but it still all got eaten, despite the fact that I forgot to add thin slices of the hard goat's cheese I'd bought to especially for the dish.
 

Tahini-dressed green bean salad and oven-roasted tomato salad

Tahini salad dressing is so moreish, especially if it includes a little honey as this one does. Since I don't like cooked courgettes I omitted them, and didn't replace them with anything. I oven-roasted the tomatoes for a little too long but once combined with the rest of the salad ingredients this didn't really matter. I think I forgot to add the mint at the end. 

Roasted aubergines with feta and pomegranate

To be honest, the dish I made was vaguely inspired by this recipe, but I could hardly say I followed it. I happened to have a handful of new potatoes so added these to some aubergines and roasted with some crushed whole garlic cloves. I added pomegranate seeds and crumbled feta to the dish before serving, but forgot to add the grated lemon zest and herbs. 

To end

Poached pears with chocolate sauce (not from River Cottage book, details to follow. Really.)

Roasted vegetable salad

Roasted vegaletable salad with balsamic dressing and yoghurt on the side

A couple of weeks ago salad club was roasted vegetables. This was the list of ingredients:

• Roasted aubergines
• Roasted mixed peppers and onions
• Roasted squash or pumpkin
• Roasted sweet potato
• Roasted potato
• Sundried tomatoes
• Feta cheese
• Pineuts
• Balsamic dressing
• Yoghurt 

For some reason, the person who was allocated squash/pumkin was unable to find any so brought aubergine instead. (Really? Two weeks before Hallowe'en?? Where was he looking? An aubergine shop?) This means we had 2 lots of aubergine, but no squash.

I invited everyone to tell me how they prepared their vegetables but only received four replies. I love the different styles so have copied them verbatim below.

For the sweet potato (as described by Yuki)

Peeled and chopped sweet potato into bite size chunks.
Place in baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle cinnamon on top.
Put in oven at 180C and roast for 25mins. 

Paula's comment:  as expected from Yuki, practical, no nonesense, easy to follow instructions. 

For the potatoes (as described by Kate)

1lb of new potatoes
handful of chopped fresh dill
enough olive oil to cover the potatoes
Salt for taste

Paula's comment: I think these were then roasted in the oven, though at what temperature and for how long I don't know. I would also suggest that you simply drizzle olive oil over the potatoes, then toss to coat, rather than submerging them in oil.  

For (one of thee ) aubergines (as described by Amber)

we washed the aubergine, then chopped into cubes, put it in a colander and salted them for 30minutes, then rinsed, then tossed with olive oil, salt, chilli flakes, pepper and  italian mixed herbs. we baked it spread flat on a baking tray and placed in the oven at 180 for around 1 hr, checking and turning occasionally. 

Paula's comment: aw, how cute - love how Amber always says 'we' . Rehan (the other half of the 'we') is welcome at Salad Club any time.

For the balsamic salad dressing (as described by Gina)

Leave a couple minutes earlier so you have time to stop at Tesco
Check email to remember what ingredient assignment is
Locate salad dressing isle at Tesco
Spend a few minutes browsing for the best looking bottle of balsamic
Select and remove from shelf
Continue to check out and pay for your item
Store in fridge until salad club begins
Shake well and serve. 


Paula's comment: Top marks Gina, especially given that you subsequently had to miss Salad Club. Again. 

For the yoghurt side dish

This was my ingredient - it's something my Polish sister-in-law often serves with roast vegetables. 

• About half a large tub (200-250ml) natural or Greek yoghurt
• 2 cloves garlic, lightly crushed in their skins
• A handful chopped parsley
• A handful chopped dill
• A small lug of olive oil
• Salt and black pepper

1. Mix all the ingredients together at least an hour before you want to serve to let the yoghurt take up the flavours.
2. Remove the pieces of garlic before serving.

This was a tasty and filling salad, despite the lack of squash and only half the amount of feta since the other half was mouldy. Cheap too.

Sausage and squash or pumpkin salad

Here’s an easy dish that plays on the heavenly combination of pumpkin/squash and sausage. It’s so good I think Tom Archer should include it in his ready meals range. Leftovers make a great lunch, though someone has normally picked out all the sausages, leaving me with a pumpkin, feta and chickpea salad. It’s still a good lunch though. 

Sausage and squash salad

Sausage and squash salad ingredients

• 6 top quality butcher’s sausages
• Half a medium butternut or other firm squash, or pumpkin
• 75g feta cheese (about 3 slices from a 200g pack)
• A small bunch salad leaves
• A teaspoon dried chilli flakes
• Olive oil
• Soaked and cooked chickpeas 
• Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Soaking dried chickpeas

If this seems like a hassle, it really isn’t. I normally make 3 or 4 times the quantity of chickpeas I need then freeze them in individual portions in freezer bags. This seems to work well and they defrost in a matter of minutes. You can of course use drained tinned chickpeas if you prefer, but a bag of dried chickpeas costs about the same as a tin and takes up a lot less space in your cupboard.

How to make sausage and squash salad

Chickpeas

1. Using a sieve or colander rinse the dried chickpeas with plenty of cold water.
2. Tip into a large bowl, cover with cold water and add a teaspoon bicarbonate of soda.
3. Leave to soak overnight.
4. The next day, drain the chickpeas and rinse again in cold water.
5. Empty into a large pan, cover with cold water, and bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer.
6. Simmer till tender – about 45 minutes, depending on the age of your chickpeas.
7. Do not add salt while cooking as this will make the chickpeas tough.

The Magic Number 

Everyone knows that three is the magic number, except in cooking, when its 190⁰C (fan assisted).

8. Heat your oven to the Magic Cooking Number.

Sausages

9. Twist the sausages gently in the middle then cut in half to make 2 short, stumpy sausages out of each one. This makes them easier to eat plus quicker to cook through.

Or just use cocktail sausages which will cook even quicker.

Squash

11. Chop half a medium butternut squash into chunks and place in as large roasting tin with the sausages.
12. Sprinkle over the dried chilli flakes and drizzle with olive or rapeseed oil.Alternatively, drizzle with chilli oil instead of olive oil.

Roast and serve

14. Roast in the oven till cooked through – about 40 minutes.
15. Add some cooked chickpeas for the last 10 minutes of cooking to warm them through.
16. Remove from the oven and toss with any peppery salad leaves such as rocket or watercress and add some crumbled feta.
17. Scatter with toasted pumpkin seeds.

A variation

You could make this more of a lunchimte salad but substituting the sausages with some grilled bacon. A handful of walnuts and a sprinkling of sesame seeds adds crunch and texture.

Squash and satay soup

Here’s a soup that I really do consider free, since it is made almost entirely of leftovers. 

Before you turn your nose up at the idea, let me explain that after I made squash and sausage salad yesterday, I had some leftover Crown Prince squash and sweet potato. This had already been roasted in some rapeseed and chilli oil with a pinch of chilli flakes and ground coriander for the salad, so was ready to use.

Of course my initial thoughts were of turning this into soup, and at first I contemplated playing on another favourite salad by adding chickpeas and feta to a base of onions and vegetable stock.

Then I found a tiny tub of leftover homemade satay sauce in the fridge and hit upon the idea of making satay soup. Although quite healthy, this feels like a decadent soup to have for lunch at work on a Tuesday, so think of it as a reward for being almost halfway through the week. It is also reminiscent of the delectable Bolivian sopa de maní that is only served on Sundays.

Squash and satay soup nigredients

• I medium onion, finely chopped
• About ¼ Crown Prince Squash, roasted
• About ¼ sweet potato, roasted
• About ½ litre vegetable stock
• About 1½ tablespoons satay sauce
• Finely chopped mint leaves, to serve

How to make squash and satay soup

Couldn’t be easier, provided, of course, you have some ready made satay and leftover squash. Otherwise I wouldn’t bother.

1. Heat a tiny amount of oil in a pan.
2. Finely chop the onion and add to the oil.
3. Fry till soft.
4. Add the stock and the roasted squash and potato.
5. Add the satay sauce.
6. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 30 minutes.
7. Either liquidise roughly or smoothly to taste, or simply squash the squash and potato against the back of a spoon.
8. Add a little finely chopped mint.