Tales from a Veggie Kitchen

I have moved! I'm still largely in the "can't be bothered to be inventive" phase, but I did have a flash of inspiration when we were fancying a salad. This is based on the classic Nicoise salad, which is usually served with tuna but can easily be fiddled with to make vegetarian. I used crumbly cheshire cheese, which is probably an english peculiarity. You could probably use feta, halloumi or any other cheese really, or you can add your favourite meat replacement.


Nicoise style salad

Serves 4

Takes about 30 minutes in all


300-350g bag of mixed salad leaves (depending how leafy you want it)

4 hard-boiled eggs (or you can boil them on the side along with preparing the rest)

750g baby new potatoes

6 medium-sized tomatoes

A jar of black or kalamata olives (you will most likely have spare)

200g green/french beans

Olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing. Flavoured oil goes nicely here.

175g cheshire cheese


* Set the water boiling for your potatoes (and a pan for the eggs if you're doing them now). Chop the potatoes and beans into bite-sized pieces.

* When the water is boiling, add the potatoes and boil for 15-20 minutes. I usually do 20 minutes.

* In the meantime, chop the tomatoes and cheese and add to a large salad serving bowl. Add the olives and stir around a bit.

* Add the salad leaves to the serving bowl and pour over a suitable amount of oil and vinegar fr dressing.

* When the potatoes have 5 minutes left to boil, add the beans to the potatoes.

* When the potatoes and beans are done, add to the serving bowl and toss everything together well. Peel the eggs and slice into quarters lengthways and arrange on plates before serving the salad.


If you want the salad completely cold the eggs, beans and potatoes will have to be cooked much further in advance. You can also add some chopped fresh herbs, such as chives and parsley. You can serve with a couple of slices of ciabatta bread, but you probably wont't need it!

I originally made this as a cooked meal, but was so hot and frazzled the other day that I couldn't face standing around a cooker. In my opinion it actually made a better salad, with fresher flavours, more juice and more filling. I even had some left over for lunch the next day.


Peperonata pasta salad 

Serves 2-3

Takes 20 minutes


2 sweet peppers (I usually use one yellow and one orange)

2 large 'beef' tomatoes

Half a red onion

A handful of kalamata olives each

100g crumbly salad cheese

170g brown spaghetti

A handful of torn fresh basil leaves

Olive oil and vinegar for seasoning


* Put some water on to boil for the pasta and slice the peppers and onion into very thin slices. Slice the tomato as finely as you can, but don't get rid of any juicy bits. Slice the cheese into small chunks and prepare the basil leaves.

* Once the water is boiling, drop the pasta in and cook as per instructions (mine said boil for 9-10 minutes).

* Put all the other ingredients into a bowl and toss with a little of the oil and vinegar (don't forget the olives!)

* When the pasta is cooked, drain and either add to the bowl and drizzle with the rest of the oil and vinegar or leave to cool a bit first. Toss in with the rest of the ingredients and serve.

This doesn't need anything else with it as the pasta and raw veg are really quite filling.

Well this was much more of a stew than a soup! It wasa thick and warming and a strange combination of summer-y flavours and winter-y textures. A good soup, then, for spring or autumn! It was tasty although the curry and tomato overpower the rest (I did not use harissa, as I don't like hot food). The bread wasn't really necessary to mop anything up; I would use more stock if you want to make it into a proper soup.

Here is the recipe:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/527628/spiced-tomato-and-couscous-soup-

There's lots of room for variation; a couple of comments suggested leeks instead of celery, you could use different spices instead of harissa (I used a Moroccan spice rub by Schwartz), you can add a dollop of yoghurt or creme fraiche... experiment!

Oh, and if you leave it overnight it will suck up all the moisture. This actually makes it quite a good thing to take to work for lunch.

It's May. I dislike May because that's when I have my yearly medication for arthritis that knocks me out. I don't do an awful lot of cooking in May, but I have saved a couple of bits from the previous month. Also on top of that June/July will most likely be moving house month (our first house!) which will involve lots of upheaval and decorating, not to mention I'll be using a gas cooker for the first time.

So really that's a long way of saying that I won't be posting much this summer!


Here's something in the meantime - my favourite side salad, which I like to serve in huge amounts next to a small main portion. Here it is next to a red pepper and cheese omelette. The amounts listed make 2 times this amount and a bit extra.


Mega side salad!

Serves 2 as a main or 4 as a side


Half a cucumber

3 large tomatoes

100g sweetcorn

Black olives - I usually make sure I at least have 8 olives per person

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs of your preference - I have used chives and dill so far, and thyme and lemon thyme will also work well

1 tbsp olive oil, preferably flavoured like basil

2 tsp Balsamic vinegar


* Chop it all up to desired size and mix it all up in a bowl!

A picture-less couple of posts as there isn't really a lot of time or thought for pictures when you're serving up a meal for guests! I might have a picture somewhere of the trial run I did for the soup though.

This tomato soup recipe I adapted from the recipe at Nigella's website, and the main change was to make it serve 5 people and be a bit more peppery. Here is the original:

http://www.nigella.com/recipes/view/roasted-tomato-and-red-pepper-soup-3238

This is a brilliant soup to make if you have friends over, because once the chopping is done you just stick it in the oven for 40-45 minutes and blend it with some stock in the end. It leasves plenty of time for socialising outside of the kitchen! I made bread rolls the day before to go with it with my usual bread machine method.

The soup itself is quite textured; if you don't like the skins on the tomatoes and peppers you can peel them afterwards by sticking them in a sealed plastic bag for a few minutes and letting the skins steam so they can easily peeled off. It's a lot of effort though, and probably best done with just the peppers. You can add cream/creme fraiche/soft goat's cheese as the end to make the soup a bit richer.


Roasted tomato and pepper soup

Serves 5

Takes around 1 hour and 10 minutes to complete totally


800g vine tomatoes

3 peppers (red is good for colour, but any can be used; I used 2 red and 1 orange)

2 small red onions

5-6 cloves of garlic

650ml stock

1.5 tbsp Mushroom ketchup/soy sauce/Worcestershire sauce

Olive oil and seasoning

The recipe on the website includes tabasco which I didn't use as I'm not a spice fan, but would go very well.

Preheat oven to 200C (180C fan)


* Prepare the vegetables - Cut the tomatoes into halves or quarters (depending on size), the peppers into quarters, the onions into chunky wedges and separate the garlic cloves but keep the skin on.

* Put all the vegetables into a large roasting tin, season and drizzle with your preferred amount of olive oil. Mix well.

* Roast the veggies for 40-45 minutes so they become soft and slightly blackened.

* A few minutes before the veggies are due to come out make up the stock and keep it hot it in a large pan.

* When the veggies are out, first squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins into the stock and add the mushroom ketchup. Then plonk in all the veggies and mix around a bit. Heat if required.

* Whizz up with a hand blender or in a food processor.

Soup done!

This applies mainly to Italian style tomato sauces, as the flavours might be a bit out of place in curries or mexican. That said, there's no harm in experimenting! I use a variety of ingredients to add flavour to tinned tomatoes to make a rich sauce for pasta, baked dishes etc. Here are some that add that extra punch:


Red wine -
This is the one ingredient that I believe adds the most flavour and a sort of dry tang that cannot be provided by lemon juice or tomato paste. It's best added at the beginning with the quorn (if using) and onions/garlic/herbs and left to bubble away and evaporate for about 10 minutes or until it's noticibly reduced.

Sun dried tomato paste -
Richer and not as tart as normal tomato paste, this also has a more full-bodied flavour. Use sparingly, perhaps a tablespoon in a sauce for 2 people. If you can't find the paste, then finely chopped sun dried tomatoes should be fine, or if even those are tricky, roast some cherry tomatoes with a bit of sugar until sticky and whiz them up in a blender (or dry your own, but I don't know how to do that!).

Balsamic vinegar -
If this is used, it is important to use a good quality, and most likely expensive, vinegar otherwise it'd make the sauce too sour. It should be reasonably thick and sweet. It can be used as just that little extra something a sauce might need, and to added sweetness. Add about a tablespoon per 2 people.

Treacle -
A bit of a strange option, and certainly not something you would buy especially for some sauce. If you don't have any lying around then dark, soft brown sugar will do, but if you do then don't afraid to add a couple of teaspons per 2 people to add sweetness and a layer of curious flavour.

Mushroom ketchup/Worcestershire sauce -
Salty and light, this is a good option to use instead of actual salt if you have it. This is very much a personal taste thing, but I usually use just over a tablespoon per 2 people.

Marmite/yeast extract -
You love it or you hate it. If you love it, I'm sure you've probably tried putting it in about everything, and tomato sauces are no expection. Giving a savoury tang similar to wine, it's easy to overdo and end up too yeasty. Just a teaspoon should be enough.

Herbs -
Don't forget your herbs! Fresh or dry, never give up the opportunity to season a sauce with their particular flavours. Basil and thyme go well with tomato, unless you are making a northern-type dish like meatballs, in which you may wish to use dill. Rosemary goes well with british dishes.

Almost a month has gone, wow. Lost the cooking flare a bit, but am getting more into now the weather has well and truly changed.
Beetroot soup! There are lots of things you can change in this recipe to suit your tastes, including swapping out the goat's cheese for something like feta or cream cheese and changing the herbs around. But here are the basics, and flavours which I believe work well together. It makes a thick, earthy soup that's tasty but not too rich. It's so easy to make, yet looks so sophisticated. You just can't beat (har har) that colour.

NOTE: Be very careful as beetroot is a potent dye. Clean up any spills immediately.


Beetroot, tomato and goat's cheese soup

Serves 4

Takes about 40 minutes


A ~550g bunch of beetroot

1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

1 medium red onion

150g goat's cheese

600ml good stock

2 cloves of garlic (chopped) or 2 tsp of minced garlic

2 tsp dried savory


* Peel, trim and chop the beets into small chunks. Chop the onion into small pieces

* In a big saucepan fry the onions and garlic for 5 mintues or until soft

* Add the beets, savory and stock and bring to the boil then simmer fr about 20 minutes or until your beets are soft. Season.

* Stir in your cheese (if it's creamy, stir until it's melted) then add the tomatoes and heat through.

* Use a hand blender or a food processor and blend, then serve. I usually don't blend my soups, but this really needed it.

I'm back from holiday now and can cook what I want! These tarts are so simple, tasty and look amazing. A good piece for if you're cooking for others. I've listed the ingredients on a per tart basis, to make it easier to scale up. These are quite large and I can only fit 2 comfortably on a baking tray.


Mozzarella, tomato and olive puff pastry tarts

For 1 tart

All in all time taken was around half an hour


1 medium tomato

Half a ball of mozzarella

125g puff pastry (I used 1/4 of a block of Jus roll all-butter puff)

Olive tapenade or sliced olives (Your choice of type, I used kalamata tapenade)

A few basil leaves to sprinkle on top

Optional - egg or milk to brush the edges

Preheat oven to 220C (200C fan ovens)


* Roll out the pastry on a floured surface until nice and thin and vaguely a squat rectangle shape

* Score a rectangle inside the edges; this is where your crust will puff up at the edge of the filling

* Spread/lay the tapenade/olives inside the scored area

* Slice the tomato and mozzarella and lay these down in an alternating pattern on top of the olives

* Sprinkle some basil leaves on top. If you want, brush the edges with egg or milk

* Bake for 15 minutes or until the crust is golden

I served this with minted new potatoes and a salad. Yummy!

A simple, tasty and nutritious curry which is a bit different to the standard curries you get from the shops or restaurants. When was the last time you saw an egg curry on the menu? The spices can be varied according to taste; I make it very mild and don't use any chillis at all.


Egg curry

Serves 2

I can't remember how long this takes, but not very long once you've boiled the eggs. About 20 minutes.


3 hardboiled eggs, peeled

1 400g tin of tomatoes (try and get pre-flavoured ones, such as garlic)

3 tbsp yoghurt

1/2 a small tin of sweetcorn (vary according to taste)

1 small onion or escallion shallot

2 cloves of garlic

1 generous tsp of minced ginger

1/2 tsp garam masala

1 1/2 tsp tumeric

1 tsp mild curry powder


* Gently fry the onion, garlic, ginger and spices together until the onion begin to soften.

* Add the eggs cut face down and fry for a further 5 minutes until they brown a bit.

* Add the tomatoes and sweetcorn and bring to the boil, then set to a simmering heat. You can also add a bit of spinach here, if more veg is wanted!

* Lastly stir in the yoghurt and cook until heated through.

* Best served with basmati rice.

A rich, warming and ultimately quite healthy meal (if you ignore the sugar content) which is light enough to be followed by a dessert (less healthy). There are probably hundreds of recipes telling you how to bake your own beans, but this is one I liked. Cooking time varies enormously according to what equipment you use. I didn’t have the preferred casserole dish with a lid, so that cut the cooking time down by at least half. Also note that as well as being sweet, it’s also quite acidic due to the concentrated tomato. But don’t let that put you off too much – it’s delicious!

Home baked beans

Serves 4
Cooking time varies a lot – done my way it took 1.5 hours


2 x 400g tins of borlotti beans, drained

300ml passata (sieved tomatoes)

450ml vegetable stock

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

2 tbsp molasses/black treacle

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp sun dried tomato paste (optional)

2 generous tsp of dried savory (optional, but yummy and an old remedy for
flatulence!)

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 160C


*Put all ingredients in a pan, cover and bring slowly to the boil on the hob.

*Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour (if using a covered dish, 1.5 hours covered and an extra 30mins uncovered). You want the sauce to be thick.

*Serve with hot, buttered toast, maybe with a sprinkling of cheese.