The idea for this came after making a glut of garlic oil for my first Food Network Friday post and discovering its awesomeness. I wanted a slightly more simple and fast way to achieve a similar result, so rather than cooking the cloves whole I smashed a couple and popped them in the warm oil for ten minutes. Close enough, right? Also this might be the first time I’ve used oil and not ruined whatever it is I’m wearing that day (seriously, I don’t have a single pair of pyjamas that aren’t grease stained).

I first made this recipe with pumpkin and potato and am confident you could mix in all sorts of different veg (think root veg mainly). The measurements don’t need to be precise, but rather within reason and according to your personal taste. It’s relatively fool-proof.

As far as what to serve the mash with, grab a few large field mushrooms and brush all over with a mixture of juice from 1/2 lemon, a tablespoon or two of olive oil, some salt, a clove of minced garlic, and some fresh thyme (pound it together with a pestle and mortar if you’ve got one). Pour any remaining juice into the open cups and bake at 175 C (350 F) for 15-20 minutes. Throw some minted peas on the plate and you’ve got a meal.

I was just finishing a batch of this as P, the husband, came in the door for lunch. “It’s good,” I said, “but it’s not going to interest you because it’s salad dressing.”

“I like salad dressing. I just don’t like the salad,” was his reply.

Before you go judging him for being saladist, you must understand the English concept of salad has come leaps and bounds in the past 8-10 years. This is not as complimentary a statement as it seems. Instead of quizzical looks from restaurant staff and the concept of salad as a piece of lettuce with a slice of tomato and cucumber, a decorative side to your main meal, you might now get 3 pieces of lettuce and perhaps even some oil and vinegar. If you’re lucky, an onion and a slice of pepper or two might be thrown in.

This is not as salad-friendly a country as the United States.

Recipe Notes

This is reminiscent of a thick creamy Italian dressing, the sort made with hard fat cheese (think Olive Garden), only there’s no cheese and it’s completely cruelty free.

It can be consumed straight away, but like with many dressings and sauces the flavour develops if left for a little while before use. It’s tasty on pasta dishes, too!

I used okara in this because I like the added grainy texture, but that’s not an obligatory ingredient. In fact it’s a perfectly good dressing without any of the cheesy components either, but it does add a nice bonus if you can include them. If you don’t use okara, you can leave the tablespoon of water out if you’d like. Nobody will suffer either way, I promise.

Finally, I apologise for my vagueness in how much this recipe makes. What I got out of it was around 110ml, but I also lost a whole lot to the counter, floor, and my body due to unexpected flinging issues. Thus I suspect it’s possible to produce more if you can manage to keep it all in one place.

In my Riverford box last week came a treat of which I had not yet heard, let alone tried: wild garlic leaves. Unsure of how to use this potently tasteful leaf, I took to the interwebs. Should I use it to add delicate flavour to a risotto, to steam-wrap a veggie protein, to garnish a salad? How about pesto! Alas, it seems that was not a unique idea as many a foodie presented a recipe.

“But they aren’t vegan and I can do something different,” said I. Thus I gave myself the task of creating a tasty vegan version.

Recipe Notes

Pesto generally contains a hard fat cheese like parmesan or pecorino (which are not vegetarian- you need to find a specially made hard fat veggie cheese like Twineham Grange). As this is a vegan recipe, I used a mixture of nuts as replacement. If you don’t have the exact mixture I chose, feel free to experiment with what’s in your store cupboard!

I generally start the process by chopping the leaves up finely first and slowly adding more to the mortar as the leaves are pounded down. This is because my pestle and mortar is quite small and if I do it any other way then bit spill over the side, furthering my already terrible reputation as a messy cook. If you have a great big pestle and mortar then this won’t be a big issue, or if you don’t want to bother with it then a food processor works too. I personally like to take my anger out on things with this particular kitchen instrument, but that’s just me.

Oh, and don’t fear if you’re using almonds which still have skins. The easiest way to de-skin almonds is to simply place them in boiling water for a few minutes. After you drain them you’ll see the almonds pop easily out of their skin. Be careful not to shoot them across the kitchen, however, a warning I must impart based on personal experience.