Spinach and Courgette Filo Pastry Cups

• Spinach Tartlet Ingredients
  • 1 tsp olive oil + 2 tbsp olive oil and/or vegan butter
  • 6 sheets filo pastry
  • 1/2 medium onion, diced
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 100-150g spinach
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2-3 tbsp cashews, ground to small chunks
  • 1/2 tsp lemon juice
  • 1/2 tsp dried dill

• Courgette (Zucchini) Tartlet Ingredients
  • 1 small(ish) courgette/zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 1-2 tsp oil, to fry
  • 2-3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1-2 tbsp freshly chopped basil

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat oven to about 190 degrees C and lightly grease some cupcake tins.
  2. In a large saucepan, fry the onion and garlic in the 1 tsp oil. After a few minutes add a handful of spinach and mix to coat in the oil. Allow it to cook down and then add another handful. Continue until all of the spinach is cooked down, and they strain away any major liquid quantities. In a medium bowl mix the spinach with all remaining ingredients except the the 2 tbsp oil.
  3. Moving on to the ingredients for the courgette filling, Add the oil o a pan and fry the courgette with the garlic for a few minutes until just soft. Turn the heat off and add salt and basil.
  4. To prepare the pastry, first cut the 6 sheets in half across the shortest length. Stack one on top of the other and make two cuts across the longest length, dissecting the pile into thirds. Stack these and make a cut down the middle and you’ll end up with loads of rectangular pieces of pastry.
  5. Heat the remaining oil or margarine (note that you may need more) so it thins out. Brush a filo square lightly and place another directly on top. Brush again. Place another piece at a 90 degree angle on top. Brush with oil and place another one top. Layer two final pieces at a 45 degree angle, oil on each one.
  6. Gentle press the filo piles into the cupcake tin holes, ensuring you get the dough into the corners as much as possible.
  7. Distribute the spinach filling evenly among half of the tartlets, adding some breadcrumbs and/or non-dairy cheese on top if desired. For the zucchini cups, simply alternate layers of a few slices of zucchini/courgette and a slices of tomato in the remaining pastry cups.
  8. Bake for between 12-15 minutes, or until the pastry is lightly browned. For a crispier bottom, bake the pastry first before adding the filling.
  9. Serve with a nice salad or roast potatoes.

Beer Battered Stuffed Zucchini Blossoms Recipe

• Ingredients
  • 6 zucchini (courgette) blossoms
  • 30g Daiya mozzarella style vegan cheese
  • 6 leaves each mint and basil
  • 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/8 tsp lemon zest
  • Pinch of salt (and pepper, to taste)
  • 1/2 cup lager
  • 1/4 cup self rising flour

• Directions/Method
  1. Heat at least an inch of oil in a heavy bottomed saucepan or wok. Aim for a medium heat, hot enough for a drop of batter to sizzle and turn golden in a minute or two.
  2. Very gently open the courgette flowers and rinse them out to remove any grit inside. Break off the pistils/stamen carefully.
  3. In one bowl mix the beer and the flour to make a thin batter (about the thickness of cream, give or take a few degrees of density). In another bowl mix all of the other ingredients well.
  4. Carefully put about 1 heaped tsp (or, you know, whatever the mix is divided by 6) into the center of each of the zucchini blossoms. My preference is to use my fingers over a spoon so I can push the mix deep into the flower. Twist the top of the blossom to seal (the world won’t end if it’s not perfectly sealed).
  5. Lightly drag each flower through the batter, coating all external surfaces, and place a few at a time into the hot oil (don’t over crowd). Fry for a minute or two, turned over if necessary to fry both sides.
  6. Allow the fat to drain off as much as possible when you remove the courgette flowers from the oil, and place on a tempura rack or paper towels while you fry the remaining blossoms.
  7. Serve hot, with a wedge of lemon.

Vegan Zucchini Bread

• Ingredients
  • 1.5 C flour (215 g)
  • 1/2 tbsp arrowroot
  • 1 tsp cinnamin
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/4 tsp baking soda
  • 1/4 tsp mixed spice
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 C grated courgette (about 1 average sized zucchini)
  • 1 tbsp grated lemon zest
  • 1 ripe banana, mashed
  • 1/4 C oil (60 ml)
  • 3/4 C sugar (150 g)
  • 1/4 C apple sauce (60 ml)
  • 2 tbsp soy milk (30 ml)
  • 1 tsp vanilla (5 ml)

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F) and grease a 9 inch loaf tin.
  2. First grate the courgette and zest the lemon. Set aside.
  3. Sift the flour, arrowroot, baking powder and soda, salt, and spices together in a large bowl.
  4. Mash the banana to a smooth pulp in a large bowl. Add the oil and sugar and mix for 1-2 minutes with an electric whisk (or by hand if you’re a masochist). Add apple sauce, soy milk, and vanilla, and mix again to incorporate. Add the courgette and lemon zest and lightly mix once more.
  5. In two batches, mix (mix, mix, mix! Great word. Hard to find substitutions) the zucchini batter in with the flour. You can use an electric mixer for this, but a big ole’ wooden spoon is my preference. If you do use a mixer, be sure not to over-mix (as in only for 10-20 seconds). A few lumps are ok.
  6. Pour into your prepared loaf tin and bake for about 50 minutes. When finished, remove and leave on a wire rack to cool.

Baked / Roasted Ratatouille

• Ingredients
  • 2 Courgettes (zuchinni), cut into chunks (that’s approx 285g)
  • 1 Red Pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
  • 1 Aubergine (eggplant, diced into 1 inch pieces)
  • 400g Cherry Tomatoes, halved
  • 1 Onion, cut into sixths
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tsp herbs (basil, thyme, marjoram, oregano- your choice)
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1-2 heads garlic

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 175 degrees celcius (350 F).
  2. In a roasting tin combine all of the ingredients except the garlic, if using. Make sure the oil is coating all of the vegetables well.
  3. Place in the oven and cook for about 1 hour and 15 minutes before removing.
  4. If including garlic, peel as much paper from the head(s) as possible and coat with some more olive oil. Put on a tray in the oven for the final 30 minutes of the ratatouille’s cooking time. To make life more simple, clip/cut the top of the garlic bulb to allow the cloves to be easily squeezed out when done.
  5. Add garlic to vegetables and toss together. Server either on its own or with a rice or grain. Top with chopped basil or other herbs if you’d like.

Roasted Red Pepper and Pomegranate Salad

• Roasted Tomatoes
  • 300g cherry or plum tomatoes
  • 1.5 tbsp olive oil
  • 1.5 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • Splash of liquid smoke (optional)

• Lemon and Olive Oil Vinaigrette
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/8 tsp mustard powder
  • 1/4 tsp agave nectar
  • 1/2 tsp fresh herbs (basil, thyme, rosemary, etc…)
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

• Roasted Vegetables
  • 200g Courgette/zucchini, cut into 1 inch chunks
  • 170g Onion, cut in large chunks
  • 1/2 tsp dried rosemary
  • 1 tbsp Olive Oil

• Tempeh
  • 150g Tempeh
  • 2 tbsp Soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • Olive oil for frying

• Salad
  • Several clumps of your favourite salad leaves. You know, enough for two people sort of thing.

• Directions/Method
  1. Heat the oven to 200 degrees celcius.
  2. Put the tomatoes in to roast first as they could take up to an hour. Simply mix the tomatoes with the oil, vinegar, and liquid smoke (if using) and pop in the oven (remember to put them in some sort of roasting container before placing them in the oven). Set your timer for about 45 minutes, but this is dependent on the size of the tomatoes and how gooey or burnt you like them. I like them to be quite well done, so keep that in mind with your own times.
  3. While the tomatoes are roasting, prepare the dressing. With a pestle and mortar, pound the garlic with the olive oil and salt until you have a smooth paste. Add the remaining ingredients, stir, and place in the fridge until ready to use. Note: you could use a blender of some form for this, but it’s a very small amount of liquid so keep that in mind.
  4. Now to prepare the other veggies for roasting. For the courgette, cut into thick 1 inch slices. If it’s a fat courgette, cut lengthways down its centre first so you have 1 inch halved slices. Make sure your chunks of onion are also relatively large (to keep them from burning to a crisp). Generally I will slice one half of an onion once or twice in line with the root, and then again across the middle if it’s a large onion.
  5. Mix the courgette and onion chunks with the rosemary and olive oil and pop in the oven for the last 25 minutes of the tomato cooking time. If these are finished before the tomatoes, however, that’s fine. They’re quite nice a little cooler as it’s a salad and all.
  6. The tempeh should begin its preparation about ten minutes before you’re ready to serve the meal. Begin by pounding the garlic so its juices are exposed, and mix with the lemon juice, soy sauce, and oregano. Heat a grill pan to a relatively hot temperature (this is always hard for me to gauge because I’m one of those unlucky folk who have to cook on electric) with plenty of olive oil for frying. Slice your tempeh into 4 triangles and dip each one into the broth to coat and then place immediately on the griddle (or, if you don’t have one, a frying pan). Fry on each side for about 3-5 minutes, or until crispy and golden grill lines are visible.

Seasoned Tofu in Smoked Courgette Wraps

• Ingredients
  • 1 courgette, sliced longways into thin slices
  • small chunks of firm tofu (same number as there are courgette slices), drained, cut into chunks about the same height as that of courgette slices
  • a mix of middle eastern spices (I used ras al hanout plus a little extra cumin
  • juice of 2 lemons
  • 2 tbsp pomeganate molasses
  • a handful of walnuts
  • sugar (to taste)
  • liquid smoke
  • olive oil
  • ground arrowroot (thickener)

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat your oven to around 200° C (400° F).
  2. Make sure the tofu has been drained and at least some of the water pressed out. You can do this by wrapping the tofu in kitchen towel or in a tea towel, then placing a heavy-ish book or two on top. Cut the tofu into chunks and roll in spices until covered completely. On a skillet with plenty of oil, lightly fry the chunks on all sides until just crispy.
  3. Lightly fry thin courgette slices in a little bit of oil until just soft and flexible, to the point where you can wrap them around the tofu without the courgette breaking. Allow to cool slightly so you don’t burn your fingers when making the wraps! Once cooled, sprinkle slices with a little bit of liquid smoke.
  4. Take a cube of tofu and wrap a slice of courgette around completely. Secure with a cocktail stick (toothpick) and put on a greased baking tray. Do the same with remaining tofu and courgette slices and bake for about 10 minutes.
  5. Meanwhile, place walnuts, pomegranate molasses, sugar, and 1 tbsp lemon juice in a small saucepan over low heat.
  6. In another saucepan, mix the rest of the lemon juice with a desired amount of sugar (I like this sauce to be quite tart, so I go easy on the sugar). Bring to a high heat and, if you want a thicker consistency, add a touch of ground arrowroot powder (tip: mix a little bit of the powder with some cold water in another container, and then add to the lemon sauce).
  7. To serve: Remove courgette wraps from the oven and carefully take cocktail sticks out. Arrange on a plate with a walnut on top of each parcel. Dot lemon sauce around the wraps for dipping.