vegogirl

BLUEBERRY CAKE

This recipe is from a CWA cookbook. I’ve made it twice now and have tweaked the ingredients/measurements a little and I’ve changed the method a little . The original recipe used a food processor but I find the beaters much more effective for this dense batter.

• 1/4 Butter (softened)
• 3/4 cup Sugar
• 1 Egg
• zest of 1 Lemon
• 1/3 cup yoghurt mixed with 1tsp lemon juice
• 1 + 1/2 cups plain flour
• 2 tsp Baking Powder
• pinch of salt
• 2 cups of blueberries (frozen are just as good if not better than fresh for baking)

GLAZE

• 1 tsp softened butter
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 1+ 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 180. Grease or line a 20cm cake tin.

Using electric beaters, cream the butter, sugar, egg and lemon zest in a large bowl. Beat in the yogurt mixture, sifted flour, baking powder and salt then gently fold in the blueberries. Place the batter in the cake tin and bake for 45 mins (depending on the oven). 
To make glaze dissolve the sugar, butter and lemon juice in a small saucepan on a low heat. Brush over the cake in the final stages of baking. 

PUMPKIN AND RICOTTA FILO

• 1/2 Butternut Pumpkin, peeled and cubed (2cm)
• 1tsp Cummin Seeds
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 200g (ish) Ricotta
• 2 Garlic Cloves crushed
• 2tsp Lemon Juice
• 1 cup Parsely leaves
• 6 sheets of Filo pastry (approx)

Preheat oven to 200C. Place cubed pumpkin in a baking tray with cummin seeds, drizzle with olive oil, toss well and bake for about 30min.  When soft/golden remove from oven and set aside to cool.  Grease a spring form cake tin with oil or butter (I used spray Canola because I was in a rush). Line with filo. Press filo gently into the tin with lots of overhang around the edges. Grease each layer as you go. 

Combine ricotta, garlic, lemon and parsley with the pumpkin then spoon into the filo/tin. Fold excess filo over the filling to create top. Grease as you go, including the top. Bake at 200C for approx 30 min or until golden.

BUTTER BEAN STEW

A really filling, warming winter dish. Serve on white or brown rice. 

Ingredients:

• Garlic 2 cloves crushed
• Brown Onion finely diced
• Paprika 1+1/2 tsp 
• Stock 1+1/2 cup
• Potato 3 large diced coarsely
• Crushed Tomatos 400g can
• Cauliflower 1/2 head
• Butter Beans 400g can
• Peas 1/2 cup
• Parsley handful chopped

Soften onion and garlic in some olive oil in a large saucepan. Add paprika and allow to cook for about a minute before adding stock, potatoes and crushed tomatoes. Season, bring to a simmer then turn heat to low and cook covered for approx. 10mins or until potatoes are softening. Stir through the cauliflower and butter beans, replace lid. When potato and cauliflower are tender add the peas and a handful of parsley. Serve when peas are just cooked, garnish with parsley, season to taste

Serves 3ish

PANNA COTTA WITH RASPBERRY COULIS & ROSE PETALS
ingredients:
water 1/4 cup
powdered gelatine 3+1/2 teaspoons
cream 3+1/2 cups (750ml)
icing sugar 3/4 cup sifted
vanilla bean x1 split & scraped

Brush 8x 1/2 cup capacity moulds* very lightly with olive oil. Place water in a bowl and sprinkle gelatine over. Set aside.
Gently heat cream, icing sugar and vanilla (add both vanilla bean and scrapings) for 5 minutes stirring gently with a whisk. Add the now jelly-like gelatine mixture to cream and whisk gently on low heat for 2 minutes. Remove the vanilla bean. Pour mixture into moulds and refrigerate for approx. 4-6 hours. 
To serve, place mould in warm water to loosen it up (don’t overheat). Squeeze cup gently and hopefully it’ll slide out neatly!

Berry Coulis

ingredients: 
Rasperries 1 punnet
Honey 2 teaspoons-ish
Mint leaves coarsely chopped 1 tsp

Squish the raspberries in a bowl with a fork. Drizzle honey and add mint- combine- allow to sit at room temp. or refrigerate overnight.

This was served with the raspberry coulis and fresh raspberries and blueberries garnished with mint and rose petals. But panna cotta is great with whatever fruit is in season- poached or caramelised in winter.


* I used disposable plastic cups as moulds- yoghurt containers could work too or you can buy purpose made moulds at specialist cookware stores. You can also line a glass, mug or even a muffin tin with cling wrap. Just pull sides to remove when set.

WARM MUSHROOM & TOFU THAI SALAD

My boyfriend and I went to a really nice thai restaurant for our 5yr anniversary last week. I’ve been dreaming of this salad ever since. I think I’ve replicated it fairly well with a couple of little changes. I stocked up at the asian grocer; inspirational gold mine.

ingredients:

• semi fried tofu 250g or more cubed (1cm)
• coriander 1/2 cup or more washed
• mushrooms 4-5 small finely sliced
• mixed lettuce handful or two 
• spring onion 1 large finely sliced
• snow peas 4-5 finely shredded

dressing:

• lime 1 squeezed
• chilli 1 small red, deseeded and finely minced
• ginger grated or finely minced (I like to peel thin strips then mince)
• fish sauce -guess (not too much)
• brown sugar 1/4 tsp
• soy or ketjap manis- just a dash

Prepare the dressing first to give it time to marinate. Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Taste as you add the chilli, fish sauce etc. until the flavour is to your liking.

Wash and gently dry the coriander and lettuce mix. Combine with snow peas and spring onion (the original had fine strips of spanish onion, I had spring onion in the garden though- it worked well). Fry the tofu on medium heat with a little vegetable/canola/whatever oil until lightly browned, season with s&p, set aside. Fry mushrooms in a little oil, season. Combine tofu and mushrooms with the green mix. Pour over dressing and serve warm.

Next time I think I’ll play around with some different mushrooms, enoki might be nice or shitake… It’s a super tasty dressing, you could play around with different textures etc. This quanity is good as a side salad for 2 or as a big healthy lunch or dinner for 1. 

LEEK & POTATO SOUP WITH CHEESY CROUTONS

Last weeks autumn weather brought on the inevitable soup cravings. Sad to say goodbye to summer but winter food is awesome. 

ingredients:

• potato 500g ish peeled and diced
• 1 leek
• vegetable stock 1 1/2 litres ish
• garlic 1-2 cloves crushed
• cayenne pepper (with caution)
• water 1 litre ish
• chives
• butter
• crusty bread
• cheese handful grated

Heat butter and a bit of olive oil in a large saucepan and gently cook leek. Add garlic, season. Add a little vege stock and simmer. Add potatoes and the rest of the stock and some water. I like to add a little cayenne pepper to give it a little bit of warmth but be cautious. You can completely ruin it if you go overboard. Add 1/4 tsp and taste from there. Simmer on low heat with lid on until potato is soft. Add water as necessary to get the consistency you’re after. Use a bar mix to puree (Or mash for a more rustic consistency).

Croutons:

Cut bread into large cubes. Place on a baking tray drizzle with olive oil and heat in a hot oven. When the croutons are looking crispy, remove and lightly sprinkle the grated cheese over them. Place back in the oven or under the grill until cheese is melted. 

Serve in soup with croutons and garnish with lots of fresh chopped chives.

PUMPKIN, RICOTTA & SPINACH PASTIES

We have lots of butternut pumpkins left from the garden so I adapted the RICOTTA & SPINACH PASTRY recipe just by adding baked then mashed pumpkin.

• puff or filo pastry (I’ve used puff) 2-3 sheets
• pumpkin 1 cup+ mashed
• ricotta 1/2 cup
• baby spinach 1 cup-ish
• garlic 1-2 cloves crushed
• brown onion finely diced
• rosemary chopped very finely 
• lemon
• milk for brushing

Preheat oven to 180C. Chop pumpkin coarsely, place on baking tray covered in foil or baking paper. Brush with oil and bake until soft (you could steam pumpkin instead.) Mash pumpkin to a puree consistency. Remove required sheets of pastry from the freezer to thaw a little while preparing the filling. Gently cook diced onion in a saucepan with olive oil until translucent. Add garlic + s&p to taste. Add the rinsed baby spinach. Cook until just wilted. Remove from heat and stir through the ricotta, rosemary and give it a bit of lemon juice.  Lay out sheets of pastry. Cut to desired size/shape. Brush edges with milk. Spoon filling onto pastry. Fold and seal edges with a fork. Brush outer with milk also. Cover a baking tray with baking paper, place pastries on and cook until golden. (Mine were really overcooked and crispy.)

This would be lovely with caramalised onion instead of sauteed.

PANFRIED PUMPKIN GNOCCHI IN SAGE BUTTER

This post is just a tease, I’m not going to put the recipe up because it didn’t turn out so great- the gnocchi was on the dry side; too much flour. So I’ll post the recipe when I’ve perfected it.  

KNOCK-OFF HONEYDEW & MINT SOUP

Thanks to  David from 700 Homely Verses for this fantastic guest post:

I had this in a restaurant in Granada last year and cannot find a recipe for it (in English anyway) so I had to make it up.

ingredients

• 1 Honeydew melon
• 3 or 4 cloves of garlic
• 4 spring onions
• Bunch of mint (a commercial sleeved bunch, I can’t grow enough at home – not enough water)
• 1 lemon
• ½ lime

Wash mint then remove leaves from main stems and discard stems. Chop spring onions, including some but not all of the green. 

Place mint and spring onions in blender with the garlic (crushed) and the juices of 1 lemon and half a lime.

When that mixture has reached a paste-like consistency add the seeded, peeled and chopped honeydew. Blend, taste, add salt and pepper, and decide whether you want to add the rest of the lime juice.

Blend again.

I’ve never managed to get this to the uniform green colour that I seem to remember from that dimly lit Granada restaurant.

The colour of my soup is always a slightly mottled green – the dark of the mint flecked through the lighter melon.

I tried adding breadcrumbs once, as the Spanish do in a wonderful cold tomato soup.  I was looking for a creamier texture and achieved it but wasn’t convinced that this made the result any better.

Chill covered in refrigerator until ready to serve.  (Check at the last moment to see if the soup needs a quick whisk to maintain its proper blended state.)