Tales from a Veggie Kitchen

I like mushrooms and I like creamy things, so mushroom stroganoff is a winner. Any mushrooms will do, but the darker, stronger ones are best, and if you have any dried mushrooms in your cupboard you can add those for extra flavour. I served mine with spring onion and pea mash, but it also goes well with jacket potatoes, rice or pasta.


Mushroom Stroganoff

Serves 2

Takes 25 minutes


300g mushrooms

An onion

150ml red wine

150ml stock (or mushroom soaking water if using dried mushrooms)

2 cloves of garlic or one heaped tsp of minced garlic

3 tbsp single cream or soured cream

1 tsp dried thyme

Around 1tbsp paprika

1 tbsp Mushroom Ketchup or Worcestershire-style sauce

1 tsp of cornflour, mixed with a little cold water to form a paste


* Chop the onion finely, slice the mushrooms and heat some oil in a large pan over medium heat. Toss the mushrooms in the paprika until coated.

* Put the onions and garlic into the pan and cook for 5 minutes until softened.

* Add the mushrooms and thyme and cook for a further 5 minutes until starting to reduce.

* Pour in the wine, stock, cornflour and Mushroom Ketchup, bring to the boil whilst stirring, then simmer for a further 5 minutes or until reduced to your liking.

* Stir in the cream last, but do not heat afterwards otherwise it (single cream) will curdle.

Note: If you are using dried mushrooms, follow the packet instructions to rehydrate then add with the rest of the mushrooms.

Another soup! I just love soup and it's so easy, plus it's an excuse to eat homemade bread. I was anticipating spring a bit to early with this one, but fancied something refreshing rather than stodgy. The greens used are 'light', spring type greens rather than the heavy leaves of winter.


Creamy Green Soup

Serves 4-5

Takes about an hour if you're speedy with your chopping, took me more like 1hr 10mins


2 Courgettes

2 trimmed leeks

A crown of broccoli

200g french/green beans

3 tbsp green pesto (can adjust to taste)

3-4 tbsp Creme Fraiche

1200ml vegetable stock

2 tsp dried thyme

3 cloves garlic

Salt and pepper to season, although with the pesto, salt isn't too necessary


* Prepare the veg - slice the leek in half lengthways then slice into thin slices (slice, slice, slice). Cut the florets of broccoli off the stem, chop the courgette into small, 1.5cm pieces and cut the beans in half or thirds if you're not blending at the end. Chop the garlic into small pieces.

* Heat some oil in a large pan and fry the leeks, garlic and thyme gently until soft but not brown (about 5 minutes)

* Add the rest of the vegetables and fry for 10 minutes, until just starting to go soft.

* In the meantime make up the stock, then add to the pan once the vegetables have finished their 10 minutes of frying.

* Bring to the boil, then cover and simmer for 25 minutes. This makes the vegetables very soft! If you prefer not to blend your soup and want to keep a bit of crunch to the veg, adjust the cooking times accordingly.

* Stir in the pesto and creme fraiche, then blend in a food processor or using a hand blender.

Orzo is a little pasta shaped like a rice grain. I had some left after using it in soup, so I cast around for a way of using it up. This turned out to be a very filling pasta dish; the packet on the orzo said use 75g-100g per serving and I used 100g. It made a bit much, so today I’ll stick to 75g. The dairy in the dish could be made using whichever you prefer: cream, crème freche, fromage frais… I made this after the indulgent Christmas period so I used 0% Total. Also any pasta could be used, although stiring this all into tagliatelle might be a bit tricky. Oh, and watch out, orzo goes really gooey!

Fennel and artichoke orzo

Serves 4

Took around 45mins to prepare and cook

2 fennel bulbs, sliced

350g drained and chopped artichoke hearts (can be marinated or tinned)

300ml cream

Generous splash of dry white wine

50g Parmesan cheese

125g Spinach (shredded baby spinach is best, but I used chopped frozen)

1 tbsp Dijon mustard

30g butter

Olive oil for cooking

Orzo pasta (allow 75g dry weight per person)

*Saute the fennel over a medium heat in the butter and olive oil until soft and caramelised (around 20 minutes should do it)

*Add artichoke and cook for a further 5-10mins

*Stir in cream, mustard, wine and parmesan and bring to the boil, then simmer for 5mins.

*Meanwhile cook the orzo in a large pan of salted water for about 8-10mins then drain well.

*Add the orzo and the spinach to the sauce and cook until spinach is wilted.

Additional notes: On the second run I added some pine nuts for a bit of variation on texture. I also sprinkled in some dried savory - it really brings out the flavour whilst still being extremely subtle.