Southwestern Style New Potatoes on a Bed of Lightly Salted Spinach

• Ingredients
  • 500g fresh spinach
  • Around a kilo (2 lbs), give or take waxy new potatoes
  • 1 medium yellow onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup frozen corn
  • 1/2 tsp oregano
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp flaked sea salt
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 spring onions, diced (white and light green parts only)
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • A a few drops of liquid smoke
  • Oil, to fry
  • Your favourite vegan butter
  • Meltable vegan cheese (optional but recommended)

• Directions/Method
  1. If you’re planning to melt some extra cheese on top, preheat the oven to 200° (or stick the grill on- that’s broiler to Americans I think). Otherwise there’s no need to turn the oven on.
  2. Boil the potatoes until done, drain, and then cut them into bite sized chunks.
  3. While the potatoes are boiling, place the spinach in a large saucepan with a tablespoon or two of water. To ensure ensure all the spinach leaves are coated with water, stir occasionally. If you don’t have that large of a pan, just add the spinach in a handful at a time each time the preceeding addition cooks down. Once the spinach is just cooked and wilted, remove from the heat and press as much water out as you can.
  4. Heat a bit of oil in a large pan or wok on a fairly high heat and fry the onion for a couple of minutes, until transparent and lightly browned. Add the corn, oregano, cumin, half of the salt, plus the garlic, and fry another minute or two. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice and liquid smoke.
  5. To put the dish together, layer the spinach on the bottom of an oven proof dish (only if you’re using cheese; otherwise layer this baby up on your dinner plates) and sprinkle with the remaining salt. Top this with the new potatoes and a few healthy dollops of that creamy vegan butter sub before spooning that corn and onion mix on top (the spring onions, too, if you’re not laying some cheez down first). If you’re using the vegan cheese then chuck a few handfuls of that on, along with your spring onions. Bake for just ten minutes or so, enough time for the cheese to melt.

Italian Okara Meatballs

• Ingredients
  • 1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon (40g) vital wheat gluten
  • 1/4 cup (30g) oatmeal, ground to a fine powder
  • 1/4 tsp each oregano, thyme, and celery salt
  • 1/2 cup (60g) fresh okara, as much liquid squeezed out as possible
  • 90g chopped onion (about one smallish onion)
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) vegan worcestershire sauce
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) ketchup
  • 2 tsp Natex or yeast extract spread
  • 2 cloves fresh garlic, smashed
  • 1/2 tsp dijon mustard

• Directions/Method
  1. Mix the dry ingredients, the gluten flour, spices, and oatmeal powder (use a grinder or blender/liquidiser to grind whole oats) in a medium bowl.
  2. Make a paste out of all the remaining ingredients by placing all but the okara in a spice mill or blender. Remove and stir okara in until mixed.
  3. Add the okara mix to the dry mix and stir until all of the ingredients begin to mix. You can also use your hands if you’d like, but be sure not to overknead the dough.
  4. Form into small balls and steam for 25-30 minutes. When you’re ready to eat the vegan meatballs, simply fry them up in a little oil or add to your favourite sauce to serve with pasta!

Vegan Breakfast Samosas

• Ingredients
  • 10 samosa pastry wrappers
  • flour/water paste to bind samosas
  • 4 slices facon (vegan bacon), diced
  • 100g mushrooms, diced
  • 80g medium soft tofu
  • 1 small onion, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1/4 tsp black salt
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • Peanut/groundnut oil, to deep fry

• Directions/Method
  1. Add a splash of oil to a large wok or frying pan and cook the mushrooms and onion over a medium high heat for a minute or so. Add the facon and crumble the tofu into the pan. Continue to fry for four or 5 minutes, or until the mixture begins to look dry and slightly browning. Mix in the coriander, salt, and garlic, cooking for a further 30 seconds. Remove from heat and set aside to cool for 15 or 20 minutes.
  2. Heat a few inches of oil in a wok or deep fryer to a medium heat.
  3. Make your samosas by placing about 1-2 tablespoons of filling in the corner of each strip of pastry, with the basic gist being to roll the pastry into a triangle.
  4. You can fry a few samosas at a time, but don’t overload the pan (nothing should be on top of anything else). Fry until golden brown and crispy (this shouldn’t take very long at all). Drain the best you can and, if possible, place on a mesh or tempura rack while making the other breakfast samosas. You can use paper towels too, but the samosas may not retain their crispness so much.
  5. Eat hot or cold, with your favourite sauces (a mix of ketchup and mayo is good, as is salsa) or plain.

Vegan “Cheese” and Onion Okara Omelette

• Ingredients
  • 60g (1/4 packed cup) pressed okara
  • 3 tbsp non dairy milk
  • 1/2 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 2 tsp flour
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1/2 tbsp corn flour
  • 1/8-1/4 tsp black salt (depending on how strong you like the eggy flavour)
  • 1/8 tsp turmeric
  • More salt, to taste
  • 1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced + oil to cool
  • A handful of your favourite non dairy cheese

• Directions/Method
  1. First combine the wet ingredients, the okara, oil and milk. Also note I use fresh okara, not dried, but I do press it to remove most of the moisture.
  2. Add the dry ingredients and thoroughly mix to ensure there are no lumps of flour. It will be a pretty thick batter, so don’t expect it to pour easily if at all.
  3. Lightly oil a skillet or saucepan and heat to medium high. Pour/scrape the okara batter into the middle of the pan and spread it with an icing spatula, knife, or spoon, until it’s about 6 inches round. Cook for 3-4 minutes or until the top of the omelette begins to look dry (and looks possible to flip without complete breakdown). Carefully flip it over, cooking for a similar amount of time on the second side.
  4. While the omelette’s cooking, heat another pan to high heat, frying your onion in a bit of oil until it begins to brown (you can do this next to the omelette while it’s cooking if you have a large enough pan). This should only take a couple of minutes.
  5. Place the fried onion and a handfull of shredded “cheese” on one half of the omelette and carefully fold the other half over. Cook for a minute or two longer and serve.

Roasted Crown Prince Squash Soup

• Ingredients
  • Olive oil
  • Approx 1175g (2.9 ounces) crown prince squash
  • 2 medium onions, quartered
  • 2-3 heads (not cloves) garlic
  • 2-3 cups water or stock
  • Juice of one lemon
  • 20-30 sage leaves
  • 1 tbsp red wine vinegar
  • 1.5 tsp salt (give or take)
  • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 1/4 cup soy yoghurt

• Directions/Method
  1. Preheat the oven to 200 C (400 F). Quarter the squash and brush the flesh with olive oil. Place on a roasting tray.
  2. Peel as much of the dried skin away from the garlic heads as possible and mix, with a tablespoon or two of olive oil, in a bowl with the quartered onion. Hint: cut half a centimentre or so off the top of each head of garlic so they’re easy to squeeze out once cooked. If there’s room, place on the tray with the squash (if not, find another tray).
  3. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until squash is soft when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 20 minutes.
  4. One cool enough to handle, peel the squash away from the skin and chuck the flesh into a blender along with the onion. To extract the garlic, squeeze each clove and the softened garlic should pop out. Throw this in the blender too, along with all the rest of the ingredients.
  5. Pour blender contents into a saucepan and heat for ten minutes. Serve with an added swirl of soya yoghurt and/or vegan parmesan and pepper if desired. Eat with bread for a full meal.

Caramelised Onion Hummus

• Ingredients
  • 2 medium sized onions, thinly sliced
  • 3-4 tbsp olive oil

  Hummus

  • 450g (15oz) cooked chickpeas
  • 2 tbsp tahini
  • 6 tbsp lemon juice (about two lemons’ worth)
  • 3-4 cloves garlic
  • 1/3 cup (75 ml) cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1/3 tsp salt (or to taste)
  • Extra liquid for consistency

• Directions/Method
  1. Heat the olive oil for the caramelised onions in a skillet over medium to medium-high heat and add the onions. Toss to coat in oil. Stir fairly frequently, for about 20 minutes, or until the onions are evenly browned and lightly caramelised.
  2. In a blender, combine all of the ingredients, including the caramelised onions. If you need extra liquid (I personally like a very smooth hummus) then you can add water, more oil, and/or cooking liquid from the chickpeas until you achieve your desired consistency.
  3. Serve with a thin layer of extra virgin olive oil on top, and throw on a pinch of paprika for awesome points.

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.

Balsamic Smoked Tomato Salsa

• Ingredients
  • 3 tomatoes, diced
  • 1/2 purple onion, diced
  • handul of coriander/cilantro
  • Juice of 1 small lime
  • 1 TBSP liquid smoke
  • 1-2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt, to taste

• Directions/Method
  1. Chop up the ingredients and throw them together. I used a fairly generous amount of coriander, but that’s up to you. Try experimenting with the amounts of both onion and garlic to attain your perfect salsa-riffic texture and flavour.
  2. If you have time, cover the salsa and plop it in the fridge for several hours (as mentioned, I left mine for an entire day). It isn’t, however, going to ruin your salsa if you don’t have time to leave it forever. Just remember that strong elements like the garlic may be overpowering if served immediately, so perhaps eliminate this ingredient if you don’t have time to let it sit for an hour or two?