dairy free

Ginger and Turmeric Shots

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If you haven’t been buying ginger shots already, you’ve probably spotted these little shots of goodness in many shops.

Both turmeric and ginger have powerful anti inflammatory and anti oxidant qualities, and can boost your immune system. So these are great if you are feeling a little bit under the weather, fighting of a colds or flu, and also help if you’re suffering with a hangover.

The little shots you buy cost at least £2 each. I made 4 shots, enough for 4 days in 5 minutes and about a quarter of the cost of buying them in a shop.

You’ll also see some odd ingredients like black pepper. Peperine found in black pepper helps activate some off the anti oxidant chemicals in the turmeric. I promise you won’t taste it, and you can swap it out for cayenne pepper if you prefer this.

A little oil is added as well. The fat helps your body absorb all the good stuff in the ginger and turmeric. You can substitute it for coconut oil if you prefer. Finally, honey is there for a little sweetness, but to be honest I’ll maybe leave it out next time as the oranges I had were really sweet, so maybe check on the sweetness of your oranges before adding. You can also swap the honey for agave or maple syrup if you are vegan.

Most importantly, these taste really good. Next time I make them, I might even go a little heavier on the ginger. I quite enjoy the heat, but it’s purely up to personal preference. The shots are healthy and delicious. They are quick and easy to make if you have a blender. They also cost a fraction of what you’ll pay outside.

Make 4-5 shots (this can live in your refrigerator for 5-6 days)

Ingredients

2 Oranges (peeled and roughly chopped

Thumb sized pieces of ginger (scrape the skin off with a spoon and then roughly chop)

3-4 cm Piece of Turmeric root (scrape the skin off with a spoon and then roughly chop. If you can’t find turmeric root, then replace this with 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder)

1 Teaspoon Honey or maple syrup

2-3 Grinds of black pepper if using a pepper mill or quarter teaspoon of ground black pepper

1 Teaspoon Olive oil

250 Ml Water

Method

  • Add all the ingredients to a blender or food processor and whiz for 1-2 minutes, or until there are no more lumps
  • Pour the mixture in to a mesh sieve with container below and strain (you can also use muslin or clean tea towel if you don’t have a sieve, the turmeric will stain it yellow)
  • When you have strained the liquid you can transfer the liquid to a bottle/s and chill, or enjoy a little shot of sunshine right away

Crispy Rice Salad

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One of my many faults is a total inability to judge the amount of rice I need to cook, which usually results in making enough rice to feed a small island nation.

As I hate food waste I was left with some leftover brown rice and decided to try a version of a dish I had once when travelling in Asia.  The results were yummy and I keep making this as it’s really versatile and you can swap around the veggies/herbs and protein to stop yourself getting bored with this.

If you’re  vegetarian/vegan you can swap animal protein for tempeh, nuts or tofu. I used a tahini dressing but again you swap this for a yoghurt dressing or just a plain vinaigrette if you prefer.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients

For the crispy rice

200 Grams Cooked brown rice

1/2 Tbsp Soy sauce

1 Tsp Sesame oil

1 Tsp Chilli powder (less if you prefer it less spicy)

Large pinch of garlic or onion powder

For the salad

150 Grams Edamame (soy) beans (I buy these frozen from the supermarket and just defrost them as I need them)

100 Grams Red Cabbage (shredded)

250 Grams Prawns (I used pre cooked frozen ones that I defrosted)

Spinach

1-2 Carrots (grated)

For the dressing

1-2 Tbsp Tahini

1 Clove of garlic (minced)

1/2 Lemon

Method

  • Pre heat your oven to 180 degrees (Celsius)
  • Line a baking sheet with foil (I do this to save on washing up)
  • Add the ingredients for the crispy rice to a bowl and stir well to make sure all the grains are coated. 
  • Transfer the rice to the baking sheet and smooth out evenly and bake for 20 mins.  Stir once or twice (the rice at edges of the sheet will crisp up faster).  The texture should be crispy but with a bit of chew to it (it shouldn’t  be so crisp you feel like you’re eating uncooked rice).  Once cooked, allow to cool before adding to the salad
  • To make the dressing, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl.  I usually add a couple of tablespoons of warm water to loosen the dressing, but it’s up to you, how thick you want the dressing
  • Add all the ingredients to a large bowl, and toss the dressing through and serve immediately

Rice Paper Dumplings

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Everyone loves a dumpling and these are quick and easy.  They are a little fiddly to make at first, but once you’ve made a couple you’ll get the hang of it.

I used pork mince these but you can swap this for crumbled tofu if you’re vegetarian or vegan.  I also used shop bought stir fry vegetable mix, which makes this even quicker and easier.  The filling can also be used for rice bowls, and wraps

Ingredients

For the filling

250 Grammes Pork Mince

250 Grammes Stir fry vegetable mix

1 Red chilli (finely chopped)

2 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped

2 Teaspoons Grated ginger

2 Teaspoons Soy sauce

2 Teaspoons Rice wine vinegar (white wine vinegar will do if you don’t have this)

2 Teaspoons Sesame oil

For the dipping sauce

2 Tablespoons peanut butter

1 Teaspoon Honey or maple syrup

1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce

1 Tablespoon Siraccha

For the dumplings

Rice paper sheets

Method

  • Heat a large wok or non stick frying pan and add the pork to the pan, use a spatula to break down and crumble the pork, stirring until its brown
  • Add the pre chopped vegetables and cook for 2-3 minutes, before adding the rest of the ingredients (except to the sesame oil, add this at the very end), cook for another 2-3 minutes.  Remove from the heat and allow to cool
  • To make the dipping sauce, add the peanut butter and honey/ syrup to a bowl and pour in 2-3 tablespoons of boiling water and stir until you have a smooth sauce.  Add the other ingredients a little at a time (taste as you go to check you’re happy with the flavour)
  • To make the dumplings soak rice paper sheets in water.  I soak them one at a time in a flat wide dish and as I lift out one sheet to fill, I add another sheet to the water so it can soften while you’re making the dumpling.
  • Soak the sheet for about a minute, I think it works best when it’s the consistency of cellophane.  If you soak the rice paper for too long it will get too soft and be difficult to use.
  • When you lift out the sheet, put a dessert spoon of the cooled filling  in the centre of the rice paper.  Fold the two sides of rice paper together and then fold the top and bottom of the rice paper towards the centre (the rice paper should stick to itself).  This will create a little square dumpling
  • Heat a light drizzle of oil in a large frying pan. Cook the dumplings in batches, being careful to leave space between them or else will be assholes and stick to each other
  • Fry for 2-3 minutes each side, and serve immediately along with dipping sauce

Creamy Canellini Beans with Sundried Tomatoes

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It’s comfort food weather, and if like most of us you’re trying to increase the amount of protein you’re eating these are perfect.

I can eat a big bowl of these on their own with some crusty bread, but they also make a tasty side dish.

This is quick and easy to make, using tinned beans but you can use dried beans but these usually need soaked overnight and should be cooked according to the instructions on the packaging.

Ingredients

2 x 400ml Cannelloni beans (drained)

1 Tbsp Tomato puree

125ml Vegetable stock

2 x Cloves of garlic (finely chopped

1 Large sprig of rosemary or 1 teaspoon of dried rosemary

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Onion (finely chopped)

4-5 Sun dried tomatoes

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Heat the oil in a large pan and fry onion gently until it starts to caramelise, stirring occasionally.
  • Stir the tomato puree into the pan and cook for another 2 minutes before adding the beans and vegetable stock.  Stir well and simmer for 10 minutes.
  • With a fork or potato masher gently mash about a third of the beans.  This will release the starch in the beans that will help thicken the beans and give the beans a creamy texture.
  • Stir in the sundried tomatoes and rosemary, and simmer for 5 minutes.  Check the seasoning and add salt and pepper if you think it needs it.

Coconut and Lentil Enthusiasm Soup

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My sister calls this enthusiasm soup (you throw everything you have at it). Meaning its a great fridge raid soup to make when it’s the week before payday and you have to use what you can find at home.

So feel free to make this your own based on what you have in the fridge/cupboards.  I was feeling kind of  lazy and chopped all the vegetables on a food processer which made this even quicker to make.

Ingredients

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Tsp Cardamon seeds

1 Tsp Nigella seeds (onion seeds)

1 Tsp Ground Ginger

1 Tsp Chilli powder

2 Cloves of garlic

1 Onion

4 Carrots

4 Stalks of celery

400 Mil Can of Coconut milk

1 Vegetable stock cube

50 Grams red lentils

Salt

Method

  • Heat the oil in a large pot, add the nigella and cardamon seeds and cook until they start to pop before adding the finely chopped vegetables to the pot and cook for 2-3 minutes
  • Add the lentils, a stock cube, and the rest of the spices to the pot and stir well.  Add 750 mil of water to the pot and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and cook for 10 minutes.
  • Pour the coconut milk into the pot and stir well, cook for another 10 minutes.  Check the seasoning and add salt if you think it needs it.

Serve with crusty bread

Chicken Marsala

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I love a fairly straightforward recipe that tastes so good people think you have spent hours on it.  This is one of them.

I don’t cook with booze that often, but if you get a chance to pick up of Marsala (fortified wine), you’ll be glad you did.

I used tiny little button mushrooms in this, but if you can’t get them just chop larger mushrooms roughly, you don’t need to get too fancy.  You can use chicken breasts for this recipe, but I opted for boneless, skinless chicken thighs became they’re cheaper and i think have more flavour.

Serves 4

600 Grams Chicken thighs

1 Onion or 2 shallots (finely chopped)

200 Grams Button mushrooms

75 Mil Marsala

250 Mil Chicken stock (it’s fine to use a stock cube dissolved in warm water)

Juice of 1 lemon

1-2 Cloves of garlic

2-3 Tbsp flour

50 Grams Butter

1 Tbsp Oil

Salt and pepper

Method

  • Spread the flour on a plate and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper
  • Coat the chicken in the seasoned flour
  • In a large pan, heat the oil and a large knob of butter over a medium heat until the butter starts to foam
  • Add the chicken to the pan and colour until golden brown on both sides. Remove from the pan set to one side
  • Next add the onion and mushrooms to the pan and cook for a few minutes before adding the garlic, stirring occasionally
  • Pour the stock, lemon juice, and Marsala to the pan and stir well to make sure all the yummy crusty chickeny bits on the base of the pan disolve into the liquid
  • Return the chicken and any juices back to the pan to finish cooking and the sauce reduces by about a third and the alcohol has evaporated off
  • Check the seasoning and you can add more salt and pepper if you think it needs it.  I love this with potatoes and greens, but its also great with crusty bread to mop up the delicious sauce

Sweet and Spicy Marinated Tempeh

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While trying to eat less meat I’ve struggled with plant based protein alternatives.  Tofu is s big turn off for me (I’ve given it every chance but it’s just not for me).

I remembered some of the delicious tempeh I had in Bali and gave it a try with a satay type marinade.

If you haven’t used tempeh before, its a soy protein widely eaten in Indonesia and you should be able to find it in the freezer section of Asian supermarkets or some larger supermarkets.

It usually comes in a flat loaf shape and you usually crumble or slice it before cooking.

This is a really versatile dish, you can eat it  straight from the oven with rice or noodles, or it also yummy in salads, budha bowls or sandwiches and wraps.

Tempeh makes a great addition to jar salads with veggies, and rice noodles, perfect for bringing to work for lunch.

Ingredients

500 Grams Tempeh

For the marinade

1 Red chilli (finely chopped or 1/2 Tsp chilli flakes)

Thumb sized piece of ginger (grated, or its fine to cheat and use a tablespoon of the prepared stuff in a tube)

2 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

3 Tbsp Peanut butter

2 Tbsp Soy sauce

Juice of 1-2 limes (I only had a lemon and also worked OK, because what your after is acidity to balance out the salt and sweet in the marinade)

3 Tbsp Maple syrup (cane sugar is traditional but this work well)

Method

  • Defrost the tempeh and slice into  1cm thick slices
  • In a large bowl combine all the ingredients for the marinade and stir well to make sure the peanut butter disolves.
  • Put the tempeh slices into a large dish and cover with the marinade, ensuring all the slices are covered. Cover and put in the fridge for a couple of hours (ideally overnight)
  • Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay the temp slices on this and bake for 20-25 minutes.

‘El Bulli’ Bean Soup with Picada

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El Bulli was one of the most famous 3 Michelin star restaurants in the world.  I don’t claim this was what they served their customers, but apparently they would provide a 3 course meal for staff each day, and this is one of those dishes.

Anyone who’s ever worked in fancy restaurants will you the traditional staff meal can often be a bit ropey to say the least (I worked in a place once that only ever fed us cheap and nasty chicken nuggets).  A cook book based around El Bulli’s staff meals has actually been published called The Family Meal (dropping hints ahead of Christmas, just in case Santa is reading this)

It’s good to see El Bulli fed their staff well, and while it isn’t an extravagant dish, it’s delicious.  The thing that takes it to another level is the Picada (a Catalan version of pesto, made with hazelnuts and parsley).

Do yourself a favour and try to buy ready blanched hazelnuts, it will save a lot of time and effort.

Ingredients

For the soup

1 Onion (finely chopped)

1 Tbsp Oil

1 Clove garlic (finely chopped)

2 x 400 Gram Tins of cannellini beans

1 Litre Vegetable Stock (I used a 2 x stock cubes)

400 Mil Carton of Passata

1 Tsp Rosemary (Finely chopped)

1 Sprig of Thyme (or 1/2 Tsp of dried Thyme)

Salt and Pepper to taste

For the Picada

1 x Large punch of parsley or couple of handfuls (roughly chopped)

1-2 Cloves of garlic

75 Grams Hazelnuts (try to buy the pre-blanched one, as removing the skins is a pain in the a*se)

50-75 Mil Olive oil, (or more if you want the Picada to be looser)

1/2 Tsp Salt

Serves 4

Method

  • For the soup, heat the oil in a large pot, and add the onion and cook over a medium heat until it becomes translucent, add the garlic and cook for 1-2 minutes before adding the rest of the soup ingredients to the pot.  Simmer for over a low heat for 20 minutes.
  • While the soup is cooking you can make the picada.  If you haven’t been able to find ready blanched hazelnuts, heat the nuts in a frying pan until they smell nutty (I know this sounds weird but when you can smell the nut smell it means they are ready),  Transfer the toasted nuts onto the centre of a clean tea towel, bring the edges together and roll the nuts within the towel until the papery outer layer comes away
  • If you have more sense than I did and have bought hazelnuts without skins, add these to a food processer and pulse a couple of times until the nuts have broken up.  Add the rest of the picada ingredients to the food processer and blitz until you have a bright green paste.  I like mine quite chunky and rustic, but you can whizz it up until you get a super smooth paste if that’s your thing. 
  • Transfer the picada to a bowl and wipe the food processer, and you will be ready to transfer half the soup to the food processer and whizz until smooth before returning to the pot and stirring well.  This helps to thicken the soup
  • Add half the picada to the soup and stir well, before serving in large bowls.  Spoon a dollop of the picada in the centre of each bowl, serve crusty bread for a simple but delicious meal.

Hearty Autumn Soup

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Soup is virtually impossible to mess up. So when it’s cold and wet outside its the ideal thing to make that’s cheap and easy. Its also a great filling lunch to bring to work if you’re on a budget.

This soup is vegan friendly, but if you need a meat fix, you can also add some cooked chorizo or smokey bacon and reduce the amount of smoked paprika.

Ingredients

1 Small Leek (roughly chopped)

2 Handfuls of either cabbage, kale or cavelo Nero (shredded)

3-4 Small potatoes (skins left on, and cut into 3-4cm cubes)

1 Vegetable stock cube

1 Tsp Smoked paprika

1 Can Black beans (you can use any type you like)

3 Cloves of garlic (finely chopped)

1 Tsp Chilli powder (optional)

Large sprig of rosemary, or thyme

1 Tbsp Vegetable oil

500ml Carton of passata

1 Tbsp Tomato puree

Salt

Method

  • Heat the oil in a large pot over a medium heat and add the leek. Fry until the leek starts to soften
  • Add the potatoes, tomato puree, chilli powder, rosemary and paprika and cook for 2-3 minutes
  • Add the crumbled up stock cube, pasatta, garlic, 1 litre of water, and bring the soup to the boil. Add your greens and beans, reduce to a simmer and cook until the potatoes are soft
  • Check the seasoning and add salt if you think it needs it.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom Tacos

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I recently grew some lion’s mane mushrooms from a kit. Having not used them before I’d no idea what to do with them.

Terry from Hearty Growers told me their texture was similar to lobster so this gave me a idea. On a previous holiday I was at a very fancy restaurant I had lobster tacos which were devine. This inspired me, I decided to cook the mushrooms in a super light tempura batter for a bit of crunch. If you like fish tacos you’ll love these.

If you haven’t made tempura batter before it’s really simple and suitable for vegans because there’s no egg in it. What makes it super light is the use of ice cold sparking water. The bubbles help makes the batter super light, so make this at the very last minute before frying the mushrooms

Serves 2

Ingredients

  • 200 Grams Lion’s Mane Mushrooms (oyster mushrooms would also work well), cut into 2-3cm slices
  • 6 Small tacos
  • 150 Grams Canned black beans (drained)
  • 1 Avocado (skin removed and cut into slices)
  • 100 Grams Cherry tomatoes (halved)
  • 50 Grams Red Onion (finely sliced)
  • 2 Tbsp Mint or Coriander, or mix of both (finely chopped)
  • 1/2 Lime
  • Salt
  • Finely chopped chilli or chilli powder

Method

  • Heat vegetable oil, about 4-5cm deep on a pot, or use a deep fat fryer if you have one. I don’t have a thermometer, so I judge the heat to be OK if I can drop a small junk of bread and it starts to sizzle
  • Assemble all your ingredients, and evenly distribute the beans, red onion, herbs, and avocado onto the tacos
  • Add the flour and corn flour to a bowl and whisk in the ice cold sparkling water and whisk quickly (the tempura batter should be about the consistency of cream)
  • Dip the mushroom in the batter and then add to the hot oil (don’t add too many at once)
  • Fry the mushrooms until they are a light golden colour. Remove from the oil and drain on kitchen paper before sprinkling with salt
  • Top the tacos with the mushrooms and sprinkle with finely chopped red chillies or chilli powder depending on how spicy you enjoy your food, and a squeeze of lime