Snacks and breakfast

Tofu Scramble and Mushrooms

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This is an ideal breakfast dish for the weekends or days when you want something more filling than oats. You can use different tofu flavours like smoked tofu or nut tofus  or even a softer tofu but I used plain, hard tofu here as it crumbles well and takes on the flavour of the onions and peppers well.

Ingredients

Serves 2 with toast and fried mushrooms

Half a block of hard tofu crumbled

Half a red pepper thinly sliced

Half a large onion very thinly sliced

A quarter clove of garlic crushed

A sprinkle of dried oregano or marjoram

A tablespoon of olive oil

Salt and black pepper to taste

Heat the oil gently in a frying pan and add the onions, peppers and garlic. Sweat down for about 5 minutes then add the crumbled tofu, herbs and seasoning. Meanwhile make the toast and fry the mushrooms in a separate pan. Cook the scramble until the vegetables are soft. Spread the toast thinly with non-dairy spread or hummus and serve with the tofu scramble and mushrooms.

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Avocado, Spinach and Tahina Wrap

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This is a lovely soft and crunchy wrap  that is full of nutrition and tastes really delicious. You can use basil or coriander, spinach or rocket, hummus or tahini and add more chilli or leave it out.

Preparation Time 10 minutes

Serves one

A large, fresh wrap

A few leaves of baby spinach

A few leaves of chopped fresh coriander

Chilli sauce to taste or fresh chilli

Half a tablespoon of tahina

Half an avocado

Salt and pepper to taste

Spread the tahini over the wrap. Add the spinach and then slices of avocado, coriander, onion and chilli sauce. Season to taste.

Half a spring onion finely chopped

Romesco Sauce

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This sauce originates in Spain and is a little like a pesto. The authentic recipe combines almonds and roasted red peppers but I used tomatoes as they are so delicious and plentiful at the moment. Like with pestos, you can use other nuts like pinenuts or walnuts or even seeds. You can use this for just about anything. It is great as a pasta sauce, as a chutney inside wraps with tofu, as a dip or a sauce with roast potatoes.

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 10 minutes

Makes a small bowlful

Ingredients

15 cherry tomatoes roasted in the oven for 10 minutes

2 handfuls of toasted,whole almonds

A clove of garlic roasted with the tomatoes

A tablespoon of olive oil

Half a red chilli

A tablespoon of balsamic vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the ingredients into a food processor and blity to a smooth paste. This may take a while to get the right consistency. Season to taste.

Super Food Quinoa Salad with Walnuts, Pomegranate and Cranberries

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All of the ingredients in this salad are highly nutritious and it is super tasty. I am impressed with the versatility of quinoa and it is so easy to prepare. Walnuts, pomegranates and cranberries are all great foods for the Autumn. This dish is a complete meal but and it could also be served with a casserole when you want to impress or inside a wrap with some baba ghanoush as a snack.

Preparation time 15 minutes
Cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients
Makes a large bowlful
100g of quinoa
A handful of toasted walnuts roughly chopped
Seeds and juice from half a pomegranate
A tablespoon of dried cranberries
2 spring onions chopped
Juice of half a lemon
Half a tablespoon of olive oil
A handful each of fresh coriander, fresh mint and fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste

Rinse the quinoa in cold water. Place in a pan with enough water to cover the quinoa plus 2cm. Bring to the boil and turn to a simmer. Cover with a lid and cook for about 7 minutes until the quinoa is half cooked. Turn off the heat and leave for another 5 minutes till all of the water has been absorbed. Leave to cool.

Place the cooled quinoa and all of the other ingredients in a large bowl and combine.

Herby Lentil Koftas

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These lentil balls are made fresh tasting with the addition of loads of fresh mint and coriander. They go really well inside a wrap with hummus or romanescu sauce or served with the Immunity Booster Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate and Cranberries. As I have said before, the secret to making burgers or koftas that hold together without egg is to make a paste with a tablespoon of ground flaxseeds and water and add this to the mixture before forming the balls.

Preparation time 20 minutes
Cooking time 20 minutes if using cooked lentils

Ingredients
Makes 12 koftas

200g of dried red lentils cooked until just soft
A large onion cut into large pieces
A handful each of fresh mint and fresh coriander
2 teaspoons of paprika
Half a teaspoon of chilli flakes
A clove of garlic
Salt and pepper to taste
A tablespoon of ground flaxseeds made into a paste with water
A tablespoon of gram flour
Olive oil to cook

Place all of the ingredients into a food processor and blitz until it has formed a dough-like consistency. Shape into balls. Place on a baking sheet and lightly coat each ball with olive oil. Cook at 180 degrees Celsius for 20 minutes.

Mushroom and Red Pepper Quiche

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I love the smell of this baking in the oven. It is really delicious and equally good hot or cold.
This is only the second vegan quiche I have made and I was pleased with the progress I have made since the first one. Like last time, I used a packet mix for the pastry adding olive oil instead of margarine or butter. It works really well. I do not like vegan cheese much but it works well in this.

Serves 6
Preparation time 15-20 minutes cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients
Enough vegan pastry to line a quiche dish
200ml of soya cream
A packet of firm tofu
125g of vegan cheddar cheese
5-6 chestnut mushrooms gently sauted
Half a red pepper roasted in the oven
A teaspoon of fresh thyme
Salt and pepper to taste

Line the dish with the pastry. Spoon over the mushrooms so they cover the base of the quiche. Add the cream, tofu and cheese to a blender and blend till smooth. Add the thyme. Season to taste. If it is too thick, you can let it down with a little soya milk. Pour the mixture over the mushrooms. Slice the roasted pepper into finger and use to decorate the top of the quiche. Cook the oven at 180 degrees until the pastry is golden round the edges and the filling has risen and firmed.

Spicy Carrot and Peanut Soup with Coconut Milk

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It started to feel a little autumnal this morning and it was slightly chilly indoors, making me want to eat something warming. This soup has Asian influences but also reminds me of Africa where lots of peanuts are grown. This could be made with pumpkin, butternut squash or sweet potato, all of which would be delicious. As this is a blended soup, you do not have the chop the ingredients small and this saves on preparation time. I used pearl barley to thicken this but you could add red split lentils instead.

Preparation time 10 minutes
Cooking time 30 minutes

Ingredients
3 medium carrot coarsely chopped
Two large shallots coarsely chopped
A clove of garlic chopped
750ml of boiling water
Two vegetable stock cubes
A large handful of pearl barley
100ml coconut milk
A handful of toasted peanuts finely ground
A handful of fresh coriander chopped
Half a teaspoon of cumin seeds
Half a teaspoon of chilli flakes
Salt and pepper to taste

Place the carrots, shallots, garlic, cumin, chilli, water, barley and stock cubes into a saucepan. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 minutes until the carrots are soft and the barley is cooked. Add the coconut milk, half of the coriander and a dessertspoonful of the ground nuts and cook for a further minute. Blend the soup. Serve in a bowl garnished with more coriander, ground nuts and chilli flakes.