This hummus takes some effort but keeps well in the fridge and makes a delicious sandwich or dip!
125ml beetroot, cooked and chopped
1 400g tin of chickpeas
60ml tahini
2 cloves of garlic, minced
the juice of one lemon/15ml fresh lemon juice (preserved lemon juice leaves a bitter aftertaste)
5ml salt
15ml olive oil
Add all the ingredients to a liquidiser and blitz until it is smooth and emulsified.
Store in a glass jar in your refrigerator.
I love to bake snacks that can be kept in a glass jar for a few weeks (very optimistic!) and biscotti has a place of honour amongst them. The recipe yields about 36 slices and can be kept for 3-4 weeks when stored in a sealed glass container.
62ml vegetable oil
190ml sugar
10ml vanilla
2 eggs
440ml flour
1,2ml salt
5ml baking powder
125ml dried cranberries
190ml pistachio nuts
Preheat your oven to 160℃ and line two large baking sheets with baking paper.
Add the oil and sugar to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat on high speed until well blended.
Add the vanilla and eggs and beat for another 2 minutes. Set aside.
Add the flour, salt and baking powder to a large mixing bowl and give it a stir to mix.
Run the mixer on the lowest speed and gradually add the flour mixture, allowing time to incorporate between additions.
Remove the bowl from the mixer, add the cranberries and pistachios and mix through with a spatula.
Divide the dough in half.
Wet your hands (the dough is extremely sticky) and shape each half portion of the dough into a log shape about 25cm in length. The logs won’t look wide enough to “become” biscotti, but the mixture will spread during baking and end up being wider than the shaped log.
Place the logs onto the prepared baking sheets and bake for 35 minutes.
Remove the biscotti logs from the oven and allow to cool for 30 minutes.
Turn the oven setting down to 130℃.
Slice the logs diagonally into 1cm thick slices.
Lay the slices flat onto the same baking sheets and dry in the oven for about 50 minutes. Feel the biscotti – it should be hard and shouldn’t give when you press it between your fingers.
Cool the biscotti on a cooling rack before packing them into a glass jar.
This is such a simple dish but it truly delivers on taste!! Delicious as a light meal or as a side to meat.
1 aubergine per person
2 pears
250ml of fresh soft herbs like parsley, basil, thyme, chives and sage
2 cloves of garlic, minced
83ml pine kernels, toasted
1 lemon
60ml olive oil
Preheat your oven to 190℃ and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray.
Slice the aubergine lengthwise into 1,5cm thick sliced, but DO NOT cut the slices loose.
Place the aubergine flat onto a surface, cover with you hand and gently push down on it so that the “slices” fan out. Place onto the baking sheet.
Drizzle the aubergine with olive oil, sprinkle with some salt and place in the oven for about 40 minutes until beautifully soft and slightly charred.
Make the pesto by adding the herbs, garlic, pine kernels, juice of one lemon and 60ml olive oil to a blender (you may use a hand blender) and blitz until it comes together. Put aside.
Peel the pears and slice it into sticks.
Spoon the pesto onto the baked aubergine as soon as you take it from the oven and pile the pear sticks on top.
Serve with a fresh bread or as a side dish to meat.
This is a delicious and healthy meal based on Jamie Oliver’s avocado pastry recipe. The quick pickle elevates this plant-based dish from good to absolutely fabulous!
2 medium avocado pears
400g self-raising flour
ice water
6 eggs
5ml salt
400g frozen peas, defrosted
140g cheddar cheese, grated
200g sugarsnaps, halved
Quick Pickle:
500ml vinegar
500ml water
83ml sugar
30ml salt
10ml mustard seeds
10ml whole black peppercorns
4 cloves of garlic, cracked
2 bay leaves
12 zucchini
Start by making the pickle:
Slice the zucchini into coins/strips and place it in a glass bowl.
Add the rest of the ingredients for the pickle to a saucepan. Place over high heat until tiny bubbles appear at the edges.
Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the pickle onto the prepared zucchini.
Set aside until cold. (The pickle may be bottled at this stage and stored in the refrigerator).
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and spray a 38cm X 25cm oven tray with cooking spray.
Scoop the flesh from the avocados into a food processor and add the flour.
Pulse at high speed until the mixture resembles coarse, wet sand.
Add a very small amount of ice cold water to the mixture while the engine is running. The mixture should come together into a ball.
Line the prepared baking tray with the avocado-pastry by pushing it about 2cm up the sides of the tray as well as covering the bottom as evenly as you can. The pastry is too wet to roll – be patient in pushing/spreading it out as evenly as you can. Set aside.
Add the eggs, salt, defrosted peas and cheddar cheese to the bowl of your food processor and blitz on high speed.
Pour this mixture onto the avocado-pastry and scatter the fresh sugarsnaps on top.
Bake the flan for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and immediately cut into portions.
Serve a portion of the flan with a generous amount of zucchini pickles on top.
Soybean is a complete protein and really delicious when mixed in a salad with crunchy vegetables. I have used black soybeans in this salad but any soybean can be used.
250ml soybeans, cooked according to packet instructions
baby spinach, finely chopped
purple cabbage, finely shredded
pomegranate seeds
feta cheese, crumbled
Dressing:
30ml lemon juice
15ml red wine vinegar
5ml mustard
5ml garlic, minced
15ml honey
60ml olive oil
Add all the dressing ingredients to a small bowl and whisk together until amalgamated.
Add the salad ingredients to a platter or bowl and drizzle the dressing over.
This simple apricot sauce transforms a baked sweet potato into a well-balanced, tasty meal. Easy, quick and utterly delicious!
6 – 8 medium sweet potatoes
250g dried apricots
125ml honey
30ml apple cider vinegar
2,5ml ground ginger
2,5ml ground coriander
a pinch of salt
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and line a baking sheet with baking paper.
Place the sweet potatoes on the baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, until soft. Remove from the oven and keep warm.
Turn your oven onto the grill setting.
Add the apricots to a mixing bowl and sprinkle lightly with olive oil. Mix through so that all of the apricots are covered in oil.
Spread out on a baking sheet lined with baking paper and grill until very lightly charred. Keep an eye on them, they burn quickly!
Add half the apricots to a liquidiser.
Add the honey, vinegar, ginger, coriander and a pinch of salt and blitz to a purée.
Taste the sauce and adjust to your liking. Adjust the thickness to your liking by adding more apricots for a thicker sauce.
Make a slit in the baked sweet potatoes and spoon the sauce over it.
Serve on rocket leaves and the rest of the whole roasted apricots.
Build this salad as large or as an individual portion and keep the dressing in the refrigerator for the next day – it is delicious with anything fresh and crunchy!
mixed lettuce
red cabbage, cut into chunks
apple, sliced or cubed
walnuts
black sesame seeds
Dressing:
45ml mayonnaise
45ml Greek yoghurt
5ml lemon juice
2,5ml salt
Whisk the ingredients together until emulsified.
Spoon on to the salad before serving.
The dressing can be kept refrigerated for 5 days.
This is a nutritious soup with lots of flavour and crowd appeal and is really easy to make. This recipe feeds 6 – 8 people.
45ml butter
2 large leeks, sliced
2 onions, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
800g potato, diced (about 4 -5 large potatoes)
2 stock cubes (I use chicken but if you want to go vegetarian use vegetable cubes)
5ml salt
1,2ml black pepper
1,2 litre water
250ml cream
Preparing the leeks:
Cut off the root ends and thick green parts.
Cut the leeks in half lengthwise and rinse under cold running water.
Pull the layers apart and check that there is no dirt left.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat and add the sliced leeks, onion and garlic.
Cook and stir until the leeks and onion are soft and completely wilted. This should take about 10 minutes.
Add the potato, stock cubes, salt, pepper and water and bring the mixture to the boil.
Lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook gently for 25 minutes until the potato is very soft.
Purée the mixture with a stick blender until completely smooth.
Now add the cream and stir on a low heat for about 5 minutes.
Serve the soup piping hot, sprinkled with croutons.
Making croutons:
Preheat your oven to 180℃.
Cut 4 slices from a day-old bread and slice off the crusts on all four sides.
Cube the bread and spread it out on a baking tray.
Drizzle the cubes with olive oil and give the bread cubes a mix with your hands.
Bake for 5 minutes, shaking the baking sheet halfway through the cooking time, to spread and turn the cubes.
Take the croutons from the oven and lightly sprinkle with salt.
This potato dish is a quick weekday dinner for vegetarians or a substantial side dish to any meat. If you don’t have ricotta cheese on hand, get the recipe from this site and make your own. Yields 6 – 8 portions.
6 large potatoes
350g ricotta cheese
4 eggs, lightly beaten
1 onion, finely chopped
a handful of chives, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
40g parmesan/pecorino cheese, grated
Preheat your oven to 180℃ and grease a 20cm X 28cm baking dish.
Peel the potatoes and boil them until just cooked.
Slice them into 1,5cm cubes and put aside.
Add the eggs to a mixing bowl and whisk together.
Add the chopped onion, chives, minced garlic and parmesan to the egg mixture and whisk together.
Now add the cubed potato and mix through.
Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes until golden.
Serve with a green salad.
My Whisk and I 