Cabbage-wrapped vegan dumplings with tomato sauce

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This one was a merge of several recipes I came across in searching for the wonderful dish I ate at Viasko, a vegan restaurant in Berlin. It was a sort of ‘meaty’ minced thing, extremely tasty, wrapped in boiled cabbage and with a tomato sauce on top. I have no idea what the original recipe was, I didn’t ask the cook and I couldn’t find it online – it may have been tofu or seitan, but I decided to use beans and flour instead as I’m not very used to cooking tofu or seitan.

My dumplings turned out OK in terms of taste, but too hard in terms of consistency – I think because they had too much flour, therefore becoming like a veggie sausage which I could actually slice. Next time the plan is too put less flour, and perhaps some breadcrumbs as well for a spongier texture. Anyway, there are no pictures unfortunately but here it goes: Continue reading →

Chocolate and raspberry tart

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This is a nice vegan dessert, a recipe slightly adapted from another website. For a light version, use perhaps Canderel instead of sugar and light margarine – or reduce the amount of margarine even more, although the original recipe called for 100g which I already reduced and worked fine.

Here already half eaten... I forgot to take a picture before.

Here already half eaten… I forgot to take a picture before.

For the base:

  • 1 cup wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup cacao
  • 80g margarine
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 6 tbsp soya milk

Mix all the solids, then add the cold margarine and the soya milk bit by bit and mix well until it’s an even dough. Press the dough onto the bottom of a baking tray (grease it with a bit of margarine and flour beforehand) and pre-bake it in the oven for 15min at 180 C.

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Poussin with parsnip, carrots and courgette in a rosemary sauce

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Ingredients for the main and side:

  • Poussin with rosemary and parsnip

    Poussin with parsnip, carrots and courgette in a rosemary sauce (the poussin is hiding in the middle)

  • 1 poussin (500g)
  • 1 red onion (130g)
  • 3 cloves of garlic
  • 3 small parsnips, whole (225g)
  • 2 small carrots, whole (125g)
  • 1 green pepper (100g)
  • 20g rosemary
  • 1 chicken knorr cube
  • 1 large courgette (300g)
  • 270g brussel sprouts, as a side
  • 1 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup pear cider
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • salt, pepper, thyme and paprika

Preparation: Use a pressure cooker for speediness and concentrated flavour! Continue reading →

Coley and squid marinara

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This starts a series of light, day-to-day recipes serving 2 people (unless stated otherwise). Some may be more inventive, others are just adaptations. None of them follows strict recipes from memory nor recipe books, so they’re just a combination of several influences and inspirations.

Main – Coley and squid rings marinara

Coley and squid marinara

A small, not too outlandish variation of marinara. For the fish purists, beware that the tomato and the black olives may overshadow the light flavours.

  •  2 coley fillets
  • 175g squid rings
  • 1 medium, ripe tomato (230g)
  • 1 large shallot (100g)
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1/2 green pepper (80g)
  • 420g tomato passata
  • 30g black olives, pitted
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • Salt, cayenne pepper and paprika

Preparation:

Cut the pepper in long, thin strips, the garlic in tiny cubes and the shallot in thin rings. Add 1 tbsp olive oil to a wide frying pan and season the pepper, garlic and shallot for about 5min, stirring well. Add the tomato, cut in small pieces and continue stirring. Continue reading →

Veggie feast IX – Asparagus

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Asparagus main (serves 2)

Asparagus main

Another disturbingly-looking dish.

  • 450g asparagus (after removing the ends)
  • corn on the cob
  • 100g greek yoghurt
  • 100g creme fraiche
  • 2 shallots
  • 2 cloves garlic
  • 3 tbsp white wine
  • 1tbsp flora light
  • salt & pepper

Preparation:
After removing the dry white-ish ends, cut each asparagus in about half its length (spear head + remaining) and put all to steam for 10min. Once soft, separate spear heads and remaining in two different portions. Prepare a small pot with the flora and chop shallots and garlic onto it. Let it season in low to medium heat for about 5min, and add the white wine when it starts to get dry. Continue reading →

Veggie feast VIII – Green beans

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Green beans main (serves 2)

The looks are a bit disturbing, I know…

  • 600g french beans
  • Heinz cream of mushroom soup, 1 tin
  • 250g mushrooms
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • 1/4 cup white wine
  • salt & pepper
  • chilli flakes
  • garlic flakes
  • nutmeg

Preparation:
This one is really plain and not really original. It’s based on a weird recipe I’ve seen repeated online a few times but which I had never tried, and basically consists of tossing lots of french beans and a tin of Heinz mushroom soup into an oven dish. They call it ‘green bean casserole’. Whatever. Continue reading →

Fruity sponge cake, very low calorie & fat

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Diet fruity sponge cake

Diet fruity sponge cake

This is a recipe of a very low in calories and fat sponge cake. I will have approximately 240 KCal/100g or 120 KCal per decent portion. It is an adaptation of the recipe I found at bbc good food web site. The cake does not have any fat at all and uses a light sweetener (red canderel) instead of sugar. It also has very little flour. It is very easy to make, about 20 minutes relaxed preparation and 20 to 30 minutes baking.

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Veggie feast VII – Green peas

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Green pea main (serves 2)

Green pea main

Green pea main

  • 150g petit pois
  • 100g onion
  • 50g frozen, chopped spinach
  • 85g cottage cheese
  • 85g Greek yoghurt
  • 3 medium eggs
  • 25g flour
  • 6 tbsp milk
  • Flora light
  • Salt & pepper

Preparation:
This main consists of crepes with a green pea filling (I’ve used petit pois in this case, which I think are basically very small green peas?..). So, the filling is done in a small frying pan with a little Flora light and/or olive oil. Cut the onion in very small pieces and season it in low-medium heat, until soft. Add the petit pois and the chopped spinach and stir. Season with salt and pepper, and let it become softer and softer in low heat, always stirring well to avoid it getting stuck to the pan. In total, you should let them cook for about 20min, until the petit pois are very soft and its spherical shape is collapsing. Turn the hob off. In a separate bowl,  mix the cottage cheese with the Greek yoghurt and add salt and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Mix this into the petit pois mixture, mixing them well.

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Veggie feast VI – Broccoli

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Broccoli main (serves 2)

Broccoli main

Broccoli main

  • 700g broccoli
  • 1/2 tin sweetcorn
  • 20g anchovies (conserved in oil)
  • 225g king prawns
  • 150g cottage cheese
  • turmeric
  • salt & pepper

Preparation:
Cut the broccoli in large-medium florets and steam it for about 10-15min, until soft. Pour inside a deep oven dish and mash it roughly with a fork. Mix in the sweetcorn, cottage cheese, salt and pepper and turmeric, and when it’s sort of creamy arrange so that there is a hole in the middle. Put the king prawns in the centre, adding some seasoning as well. Finally, dry the anchovies of some of its oil, and put on top of the broccoli mix, around the centre. Bake in the oven for 25min (180-200C), until the prawns are cooked.

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