Minestrone soup

We all get carried away with buying all those vibrant veggies at the supermarket, especially when they are on offer..if this is you, more likely than not, you have had a surplus of fresh vegetables and not enough time in the week to eat them at their peak. Soups are perfect for bringing new life to vegetables that have been sitting in the fridge for a while,  feeling all neglected and  purposeless. 

This is just something I knocked together with my surplus veggies, You can use up pretty   much whatever you have in the fridge, and have a different minestrone every time!

As a general rule, I like to use a mixture of strong flavours such as onion/leek, garlic and celery, a variety of root veg for some body and texture, leafy greens for  nutrition and some herbs (my favourite are parsley and basil, but coriander  could work as well).

 INGREDIENTS

1/2 leek

1 large potato

1 small sweet potato

1 carrot

1 stalk of celery

1 large clove of garlic

1 cup cavolo nero (black kale)

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup cherry tomatoes

2 cup spinach (you can use frozen as well)  

2 tbsp fresh parsley

2 tsp  dry basil (or a handful of fresh basil leaves)  

Salt, pepper and olive oil to taste      

Optional (These ingredients will turn your soup from a side dish to a complete meal)   

1 cup cooked brown lentils or any legumes of your choice 

1-2 cups of cooked whole grains (you can use small pasta shapes, millet, rice, but my personal favourite in winter is barley)

METHOD

1. Slice and chop all your veggies into small chunks.Place the veggies in a large heavy bottomed pan in the following order:

-Leafy veggies, onion, garlic and tomatoes at the bottom, root veggies at the top. 

-Add half a cup of  water, then parsley, tomato paste, salt and pepper. Cover with a lid and simmer at the lowest heat possible for 30 minutes. 

2.Now is a good time to start cooking your barley, as it will take around 50 minutes to one hour to be ready. 

3.After 30 minutes, check the progress of the veggies by piercing a piece of carrot or potato with a fork. It should be tender but not mushy. 

4.Now you can add the lentils and another half cup to a cup of hot water and cook for another 30 minutes. You will have to assess how much water is needed, as this could vary greatly. It is also up to you whether you prefer a thicker soup or a more liquid one. If you do add a lot of water I would suggest adding some vegetable stock to it, as the water will dilute the flavours. 

5.After 30 minutes have passed, taste the soup for seasoning and adjust according to your taste (remember, a bit of salt is your friend and will bring out the flavour of your ingredients) chop and add the fresh basil. This herb is easily spoiled by heat, so I like to add it at the very end of the cooking. 6.Add the barley or other grain directly in your bowl at the time of serving, and top with some extra virgin olive oil to complete the dish.

I like storing any  leftover soup and grains in separate  containers, as  the grains will continue to absorb water from the soup and by the time you reheat it they will turn it into into a mushy mess!   

If you try this recipe, make sure you head over to my Instagram and leave me a comment!

Vegan ragout, bolognese sauce with mushrooms or soy mince

This sauce is so good that once you have tried it, you will want to make it in big batches and store it in the freezer for rainy days, just like I do now. It is so simple to make, but it will take around two hours of your time, if you want it to be seriously tasty. Use it for your favourite pasta dish or lasagne. The secret of this sauce is the long cooking time. Well, 1.5/2 hours isn’t actually that long, if you consider that proper Italian ragu’ was a delicacy served on special days, and is traditionally cooked for up to 8 hours! If you let this cool down and store in the fridge for one day, I promise you that it will get even tastier!

INGREDIENTS

1 large carrot, finely chopped

1 medium onion, finely chopped

1 large stalk of celery, finely chopped

300 g chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped or 3/4 cup soy mince

500 g passata

1-2 tbsp tomato puree

1-2 stalks Fresh rosemary

1-2 fresh sage leaves

½ cup of red wine (I use Merlot or Shiraz as this is what I like to drink)

1-2 tsp balsamic vinegar, to taste

½ tsp baking soda

Salt to taste

1-2 tbsp olive oil

Note: You can either use the mushrooms or substitute them for 1 + ½ cup of soy mince. I make this both ways with excellent results. It is totally up to you! If you do, make sure you use a very neutral tasting soy mince, I find the best one for this recipe is the one from Morrison’s meat free frozen section, both flavour and texture-wise. Also, if you do use soy mince, I would strongly recommend you to let the sauce rest in the fridge for 1 whole day (or even 2) before using it to allow all the flavours to mix together, making it far more enjoyable.

METHOD

1.Start by chopping the carrot, onion and celery finely and gently frying it in the olive oil. Be patient and do this on a low heat for around 10 minutes until the onions and celery are soft and translucent. 
2. In the meantime chops your mushrooms finely. No exact science here but you want them to have the same sort of size of mince when they are cooked, so keep this in mind (consider that they do shrink a little when they cook). 
If you are using soy mince, skip to step 3

3.Once the carrot, onion and celery mid is sufficiently cooked, turn up the heat to a medium to high and add the mushrooms. Cook them on a high flame to prevent them from releasing they water too quickly and becoming soggy. Move them around so they don’t burn or get stuck to the pan. Cook until they have shrunk and look sort of dry. 
If using soy meat, brown nicely until totally defrosted, around 3/4 minutes.

4. It is now time to add half a cup of decent quality red wine (ideally one that you like to drink) and let it evaporate almost fully on a high heat. 
5. Once the wine has almost all gone, you can add your tomato passata, the tomato puree, rosemary and sage, turn the heat to a minimum, place a lid the pan and let simmer for up to two hours. 
6. Keep an eye on it as you will certainly have to add some water regularly in order to keep it from drying out too much and sticking to the pan. I like it quite dense but you can make it as runny or thick as you like. 
7.When the sauce is cooked, you can add salt to taste, the balsamic vinegar and the baking soda, which will bubble up quite a lot but don’t worry! This is a normal reaction and is the sign that the baking soda is taking away some of the acidity from the tomato sauce.

Enjoy in your favourite pasta based dish, including lasagne and cannelloni!

Here is what it looked like in my lasagna dish, recipe up soon!

Farmer’s pie, vegan shepperd's pie

This recipe is a great one to have under your belt for an easy and satisfying vegan version of the classic British dish. You will impress vegans and meat eaters alike, make sure you have enough for seconds, because your guests will likely want more!

Recipe for 2-4 people

For the filling

1 stalk of celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1 onion, diced
2 cups cooked brown lentils
1 cup celeriac, chopped
1 cup frozen peas
1 tbsp rosemary (possibly fresh) chopped
1tsp dry thyme (you will need more if you use fresh)
2-3 tsp vegan worcestershire sauce, or a mix of balsamic vinegar and soy sauce instead
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/8 tsb allspice
2 tbsp tomato paste
1tbsp corn or potato starch
salt and pepper to taste
vegan butter or olive oil, to taste

For the mash

3 large potatoes
vegan butter or olive oil, to taste
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 cup vegetable milk
1 sprinkle of nutmeg

Method

Start by steaming or boiling the potatoes.

In a separate pan, fry your carrot, celery and onion in a little oilve oil or vegan butter, until soft and translucent. Add the chopped celeriac and cook until soft. Add the herbs and spices, the peas and the cooked lentils, the vegan worcestershire sauce and tomato paste. Add water as needed, cover and simmer for 10 minutes. When the liquid is absorbed, add a the cornstarch mixed with 1 or 2 tablespoons of water and cook for  more minute. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Drain your potatoes when they are ready and mash them adding the rest of the ingredients.

In an ovensafe dish, add the  filling to the bottom and cover with the mash.

Grill until the mash turns golden/brown, 4-5 minutes.

Enjoy!