Lentil ragu, neep and tattie mash

Good wholesome, stick to your ribs, comfort food.  I was going to steam some kale for the "leafy green" health benefits - but we're a bit kaled out - and surely this is healthy enough!

Olive oil
onion
garlic
carrots
celery
chilli flakes.
red pepper
lentils
tomato puree

potatoes
swede
soya spread

1.  Sautee onion in olive oil, add chopped celery and carrot and crushed garlic.
2. Add chopped red pepper, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and a handful of lentils (beluga in this case).
3.  Add about a pint of water, stir and simmer.  After a few minutes add a good squeeze of tomato puree - simmer until done - add more water if it looks like its going dry.
4.  Boil potatoes and swede - cut into even sized pieces, mash with soya spread and plenty of black pepper.

Veggie croque monsieur

Open fridge, sigh, shut fridge, ponder ... brainwave! ... open fridge again.

Onion
Garlic
Sundried tomatoes

Cheese
Eggs
Mustard

Bread (rye in our case, low gluten)

Salad leaves
Olives

1.  Sautee chopped onion and crushed garlic in some of the oil form the sundried tomatoes.  When the onion is soft add in sundried tomatoes and cook, very gently, until they are softenned into a paste.
2.  Grate cheese and mix with eggs and a spoonful of mustard.
3.  Toast slices of bread.
4.  Spread the toast with the tomato paste, and top with cheesey egg mixture.  Return to the grill until the top is golden and the egg set.
5.  Serve with salad and olives - delicious.

Mexican wraps

Nothing beats a lovely DIY construction of messy Mexican bits and pieces - some of us enjoyed a lovely mix of meats (or halloumi) refried beans, red peppers and onion, rice and salads snuggled together in a wholewheat wrap ... some of us ... who shall remain nameless - stuffed as much steak and chicken as possible - with a teaspoon of refried beans - into a similar wrap - and scoffed their own meaty concoction with barely an eyebrow raised towards the veg!

Onion
garlic
Olive oil
Kidney beans
Chilli flakes
Cumin seeds
Tomato puree
Lime

Carrots
Red pepper

Avocado
Tomato

Halloumi
Steak
Chicken breast

7 wholegrains - microwavable packet
Salad leaves

1.  Start the refried beans by frying chopped onion, crushed garlic, cumin seeds and chili flakes in olive oil.  Add a drained tin of kidney beans and a bit squirt of tomato puree, with a can of water.  Simmer gently, then crush with a potato masher ... spritz in the juice of half a lime.
2.  Make the guacamole by mixing finely chopped onion, avocado, tomatoes with the juice of half a lime.
3.  Cut the chicken breast into strips and season with cajun seasoning.
4.  Fry onions with strips of carrot and red pepper, adding a pinch of cajun seasonning.
5.  In multiple frying pans cook the chicken strips, the halloumi and sear the steak briefly.  Make sure that you rest the steak before cutting into strips.
6. Bang the grains into the microwave and put everything in the middle of the table, with some salad leaves.
7.  Stand back as the carnevores hone in on the meat!
8.  Eat your wrap, and then beat a hasty retreat leaving the large stack of washing up for someone else :)

Chicken and mushroom pie

... and mushroom and brie pie for the veggie.

We had some left over roast chicken (believe it or not) so I made pie and mash - it was lovely.

The pastry is made with GF flour.  Actually I made 2 pies, one for us meat eaters, and another for the veggie.

GF flour
butter

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Mushrooms
Soya milk

Cooked chicken

Brie

Potatoes
Carrots
Kale

1.  Make the pastry by rubbing butter into GF flour, and making a dough with just enough cold water to hold together - put in the fridge to chill - it's much easier to handle.
2.  Gently sautee chopped onion and garlic, then add chopped mushrooms and cook.
3.  Add a spoonful of GF flour to the mushrooms, stir in, then add enough soya milk to make a sauce, cook until a bit thickenned.
4.  Remove half the mushrooms to a pie dish, top with sliced brie.
5.  Add cooked chicken to the remaining mushrooms and stir into the sauce, move to another pie dish.
6.  Put the potatoes on to boil, steam the veggies on top.
7.  Roll out the pastry, top both pies - brush the top with soya milk, and bake for about 25 minutes.
8.  Mash potatoes with butter.
9.  Serve, scoff

Truffle and vegetable risotto

Autumnal, with a deep foresty almost mustiness - the authentic italian risotto mix was livened up with some fresh onion, red pepper, mushrooms and cavolo nero.

Olive oil
Onion
Garlic
Red pepper
Mushrooms
Truffle risotto mix
cavolo nero


1.  Sautee onion in olive oil until soft, add crushed garlic.
2. Add red pepper and mushrooms and continue to fry gently until they are soft.
3.  Tip in the risotto mix and about a cup of hot water, stir.
4.  When the water has mixed in, add another cupful and stir again - keep adding water until rice is just about done.  Then add shredded kale.
5.  Add another cup of water and stir until rice is done, and most of the water is absorbed.
6.  Turn off the heat and stand for a few minutes, this will allow the rest of the water to absorb, so the dish is silky (and not a watery ricey mess)

Vegetable cheese ... and stuff

Today's unappetising looking pile of mush, was actually extremely delicious cauliflower, squash and cavolo nero with a cheese sauce, with roasty potatoes and spicy chicken for the meat eaters.

Squash
Garam masala
Potatoes
Olive oil
Cauliflower
Cavolo nero
Chicken thighs
Garlic
Blackened cajun seasoning
Soya milk
Cornflour
Mustard
Cheddar

1.  Roast squash in olive oil, sprinkled with garam masala (actually we had this roasted already, so just added it to the other veg before putting in the oven in the cheese sauce, but if you are doing it from scratch if you put it in with the potatoes it should take about 40 minutes, so time enough to add straight away.)
2.  Chop potatoes into cubes, toss lightly in olive oil, sprinkle with salt and bake, for about a hour.
3.  Steam cauliflower florets and shredded kale for about 15 minutes.
4.  Put chicken thighs in an oven dish and massage with olive oil a sprinkling of cajun seasoning - roast for about 25 minutes.
5.  Make the cheese sauce - simmer soya milk, add slaked cornflour and stir to thicken.  Add a teaspoon of mustard and the grated cheese - stir until melted.
6.  Transfer all veg to an oven dish, top with sauce, and a handful more grated cheese, put in the oven for about 20 minutes, until top is golden brown.
7.  Serve, scoff

Sausage and mash, with braised red cabbage

You can't beat sausage and mash, particularly when it's cold and drizzly outside.  Lots of choice of sausages available in Todmorden Indoor market - these are your classic pork sausage - but lot's more available from the three excellent butchers - Bracewell's, Stanfield's and Fielden's.

Also, extras like butter from The Crumbly Cheese, tomato puree and wholegrain mustard from The Mediterranean Pantry, and veggies from Todmorden fruit and veg outside.

There were also veggie sausages fro the veggie.

Red cabbage
Olive oil
Clementine
Chilli flakes
Potatoes
Butter
Sausages
Onions
Tomato puree
Wholegrain mustard
Vegetable stock

1.  Shred cabbage and braise in a little olive oil and a cup of water - I added some clementine juice and a pinch of chili flakes.  Simmer gently, adding more liquid when it looks a bit dry.
2.  Peel potatoes and put onto boil for the mash.
3.  Prick the sausages with a fork and put in the oven for 15 minutes - then turn them.
4.  Make the onion gravy - sautee chopped onion in olive oil until soft, squirt in some tomato puree, add a teaspoon of grainy mustard and a cup of water, simmer.  You might want to add more water/vegetable stock to keep the correct consistency.
5.  Mash potatoes with butter - you could put them in the oven to crisp up.
6.  Serve, scoff

Smoked haddock, colcannon with a poached egg

Friday night is fish night at our house ... and today it was smoked haddock.  This always reminds me of my Mum as, when I was growing up, if ever we were home alone we would have spinach with cheese melted into it, smoked haddock and a poached egg .. nobody else liked it, the fools!  However, today we had kale to use up, so I made colcannon with lots of leek and chopped kale mashed into the potato ... ha!  that was two extra vegetables into the veg dodger with no argument whatsoever.  On the table in 40 minutes easily - and that was giving time for the mash to crisp up on top - could've been done in 20.  All ingredients can be found on Todmorden Market, particularly the fish as Paul has the best fish for miles around.

About £3.50 per greedy portion

Potatoes
Carrots
Kale
Leeks
Butter
Smoked haddock
Olive oil
Eggs
vinegar
Black pepper

1.  Peel potatoes and cut into pieces.., boil for the mash.
2.  Peel carrots and steam above the potatoes,  chop leeks into rings and shred the kale, steam them together above the carrots.
3.  When the potatoes are cooked drain them and mash them with butter.  Beat in the steamed green veg.
4.  Transfer the colcannon to an oven dish and put into the oven for the top to crisp.  Put the carrots in the bottom of the oven to keep hot.
5.  At the same time drizzle the fish with a little olive oil and bake that for 15 minutes.
6.  Poach egg for 2 minutes in water at a rolling boil, with a dash of vinegar - which helps the egg hold its shape.
7.  Serve, scoff - watch veg dodger have seconds of green veg.

Baked potatoes with assorted fillings

I reckon I please most of the people, most of the time, with my culinary efforts - but as we all know it's impossible to please all of the people all of the time - and we didn't actually want dinner to take all night.  So - baked potatoes - always a crowd pleaser , and assorted toppings to suit the carnevore, the lactose intolerant, the vegetarian and the veg dodger ....

Potatoes
Olive oil
Onion
Mushrooms
Garlic
Brandy
Bacon
Baked beans
Tuna
Fennel
Salad leaves
Sherry vinegar
Cheese

1.  Pierce the potato skins with a fork a few times, rub with olive oil and microwave for 20 mintues.
2.  Transfer the potatoes to the oven and bake for a further 20 minutes.
3.  Assemble the other fillings:-
- mix tuna with finely diced onion and fennel, salt and a spritz of lemon juice
- fry 2 lots of chopped onion, one with bits of bacon and the other with garlic and chopped mushrooms.  finish the mushrooms with a splash of brandy, evaporate off the alcohol.
- heat the beans
- put out the cheese
4.  Make a simple salad with salad leaves tossed in a little olive oil and sherry vinegar.
5.  Serve, scoff - everyone's a winner

40 minutes front door to table

Leek and potato soup

It's very wintery again, and I'm on a mission to finish up all the Christmas veg - so leek and potato soup, why not?

olive oil
3 leeks
2 onions
2 cloves garlic, crushed
vegetable stock
wholegrain mustard
marmite
chilli flakes
cream for drizzling (optional obviously)

1.  Sweat down chopped and cleaned leeks and onion.
2.  Chop potatoes into smallish cubes and add them to the onions, when a little soft add crushed garlic and keep sweating down.
3.  Add about a litre of veg stock and simmer.
4.  Add a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard and a teaspoon of marmite, taste for seasoning.
5.  When potatoes are soft zizz and adjust to the right texture.
6.  Serve, drizzle with cream if you wish ... would be vegan without the cream - and is gluten free.