Ratatouille Chutney

Super easy chunky ratatouille chutney, packed with flavour and a great way to add a few more vegetables to meals.  Serve with salad, bread, or as an accompaniment to hot food.

Ingredients:

• 1 aubergine, chopped
• 2 courgettes, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 red pepper, chopped
• 1 yellow pepper, chopped
• 1 apple, chopped
• 1 carrot, chopped
• handful of sultanas
• 1 tin tomatoes
• 200ml apple cider vinegar
• 150g muscovado sugar
• 4 cloves garlic, grated
• tomato purée
• 2 tsp black mustard seeds
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 1 tbsp paprika
• chilli flakes to taste
• rapeseed or olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

 

Method:

Sauté the aubergine, courgettes,carrot, onion, and peppers in the oil until softened.

Add the apple, tomatoes, sugar, garlic, vinegar, tomato purée, sultanas, mustard seeds, fennel seeds,  chilli flakes and paprika.  Bring to the boil then simmer, stirring regularly.

When the mixture is starting to thicken, add salt and pepper to taste.

Continue to simmer and stir until the chutney has thickened to the consistency you want.

Decant into a large sterilised jar and store in the fridge.

 

Brownies

One thing that bothered me about my old recipe for brownies was the use of  margarine. After some experiments I’ve managed to improve the recipe using olive oil, making the cake lighter and richer.  They freeze well for enjoying later, served with sieved icing sugar and strawberries.

Ingredients:

• 225g sugar
• 1/4 cup mild olive oil
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 75g cocoa powder
• 3 eggs
• 150g ground almonds
• 1 tsp baking powder
• icing sugar (optional)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 °C and grease a baking tray.

Beat the sugar, olive oil and salt into a smooth mixture.  Add the vanilla extract and cocoa, then slowly add the eggs and mix until shiny.

Blend the ground almonds and baking powder.

Pour the batter into the baking tray, spreading it to the edges.

Bake the brownies for 30 – 40 minutes until the top is set and a knife inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let the brownies cool and cut into squares.

 

 

Tomato and Basil Soup

My childhood favourite soup was a very famous brand of cream of tomato but a few years ago I discovered that dairy was one of the triggers of my eczema.  The choice  was to continue eating it and using steroid cream or giving it up.  Not a difficult choice, and strangely I not only don’t miss it but feel healthier for it.

I started making my own super easy, tasty version that freezes really well.  It makes great, healthy lunches, especially now the colder autumn days are nearly here.  Crumbled fröknäcke is optional.

 

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 carrots, sliced
• 3 sticks of celery, chopped (including the leaves)
• 2 cloves of garlic, grated
• 4 tins of tomatoes
• 2 bay leaves
• fresh basil leaves
• 1 litre stock – I use marigold bouillon stock powder
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, carrot and celery until the onion is translucent.

Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two.

Add the tomatoes, bay leaves, basil and stock then simmer.   Leave to cool before blending.

Re-heat, add the seasoning and serve.

Marrow Stuffed with Curried Rice and Chickpeas

I made some rice and chickpeas as a stuffing for marrow but made too much so had it for lunch.  With some more vegetables added, the rice would make a delicious meal on it’s own.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 marrow, halved and the centre (with the seeds) removed
• 1 onion, diced
• 6 sundried tomatoes, soaked and chopped
• 4 portions of frozen spinach
• a few mushrooms, sliced
• handful of sultanas
• 1 tin chickpeas, drained
• 1 – 2 teaspoon curry powder or garam masala
• rapeseed oil
• rice for 4 people, rinsed
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180°C.

Put the marrow on a baking tray and bake the marrow in the oven until soft.

Boil the rice in salted water.

Meanwhile sauté the vegetables in the oil.  When they’re soft, add the chickpeas a curry powder or garam masala and mix through the vegetables.

When cooked, drain the rice and add the chickpeas and vegetables.  Season to taste.

Put the rice and vegetables into the centre of the marrow and return to the oven for a few more minutes.

Enjoy!

Courgette, Pea and Mint Soup

A glut of courgettes and mint in the garden flourishing calls for some fresh, tasty, nutritious soup.

As with all my soups – and most of my recipes – the soup can be frozen and enjoyed later.  This should be done after blending.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 large courgette, chopped
• 1 onion, diced
• 5 handfuls of frozen peas
• 500 ml stock
• 1 garlic clove, grated
• mint leaves
• salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Heat the olive oil and sauté the onion, garlic and courgette until they’re soft.

Add the peas, stock, and mint then simmer.   Leave to cool before blending.

Re-heat, add the seasoning and serve.

Lemon, Courgette and Pea Risotto

I make courgette and lemon pasta and, for a change, was asked to make a risotto version.  So refreshing for the summer!

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 courgette, quartered then sliced
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 handfuls of frozen peas
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• 150g arborio rice
• Grated rind and juice of 1 lemon
• Olive oil
• 500ml stock
• 2 tsp nutritional yeast
• Basil – dried or fresh
• White wine (optional)
• Salt
• Pepper

Method:

Sauté the courgettes, onion and garlic in the olive oil until they’re transparent.

Add the rice and some of the stock, and stir well, continuing to add the stock as the risotto thickens.

When the rice has started to cook, add the lemon rind, lemon juice, basil, nutritional yeast, wine, and peas.

Add more water if the risotto looks too thick.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve and enjoy.

Fröknäcke

Fröknäcke is a Swedish cracker made from seeds, oil and water so gluten free, vegan, healthy, tasty and versatile.  Eat with jam, honey, nut butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, or faux gras, or crumble to use as an alternative to croutons on soup.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sesame seeds
• 1 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup polenta
• 1/2 cup whole flaxseed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 cup rapeseed oil
• 2 cups boiling water

Method:

Preheat the oven to 150 °C.

Line a baking tray with oiled grease proof paper.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir in oil and water.  Leave the mixture for around 15 minutes; it should rise.

Spread the mture thinly on the lined tray and bake in the oven for about 1 – 1½ hours.

Enjoy!

Aubergine Parmigiana

I love aubergine parmigiana but find frying the aubergines makes the dish too oily so grill them instead.  Adding sugar, red wine vinegar and a bay leaf to the tomatoes gives the sauce a lovely rich flavour.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 2 aubergines, cut into 1/2 cm slices
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, grated
• Olive oil
• 1 heaped tsp oregano
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp red wine vinegar
• Bay leaf
• 2 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper
• Mozarella, torn (optional)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 200°C.

Put the sliced aubergine on an oiled baking tray, drizzle some oil on the top and grill until the top is brown.  Turn and grill on the other side.

Meanwhile sauté the onions, garlic and oregano until the onions are soft.  Add the tinned tomatoes, bay leaf, sugar, vinegar, salt and pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens.  Remove the bay leaf.

Put 1/4 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of an oven proof dish then a layer of the cooked aubergines, another layer of tomato sauce and aubergines, then the tomato sauce and torn mozarella.

Bake in the oven until the cheese has melted and turned golden.

Serve with a salad.

 

Pancakes

For me, a perfect Sunday morning starts with pancakes and coffee.  Not the big, thin pancakes but thick, light, fluffy ones served with berries or nuts and maple syrup.

Makes 10 large pancakes

Ingredients:

• 200g gluten free plain flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup almond milk
• 1 tbsp honey (optional)
• oil for frying (optional)

Method:

Mix the dry ingredients then add the egg, almond milk and honey and whisk into a thick batter.

Add pancake-sized quantities of batter to a hot pan (with oil if you’re using it).  When bubbles start to form in the top, it’s time to turn them over and fry on the other side.

Enjoy!

Curried Chickpea Burgers

I’m trying to eat healthily and cut out as much processed food as possible.  Making interesting lunches to take to work can be a bit of a challenge but I find curried chickpea burgers tasty and filling.  It also helps to use up whatever vegetables  I have in the fridge.

Makes 5 large burgers or 10 smaller ones.

Ingredients:

• oil for frying
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 carrot, sliced
• frozen spinach
• any other vegetables, e.g. celery, mushrooms, potato.
• 1 tin of chickpeas
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 3 tsp curry powder
• a pinch of chilli powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic salt – you could use grated garlic
• gluten free checkpea flour (also known as gram flour or besan) – I use Doves Farm.  If you don’t have chickpea flour, plain flour will do but won’t give the same firm texture.
• salt and pepper

Method:

Heat the oil and sauté the vegetables until the onion is translucent and the spinach defrosted.

Drain and add the chickpeas then add the spices.

Mash up the mixture – I use my trusty hand blender – and mix in some flour to absorb some of the moisture, mix and shape into patties.  If using plain flour, coat the burgers in some more flour.  If using chickpea flour, it helps to wet your hands to stop the mixture sticking to them.

Heat the oil and fry until they’re brown.

The burgers can be frozen, defrosted and baked in then oven.  Enjoy!