Tales from a Veggie Kitchen

This is one of my easy, throw-together dishes when I fancied something with a really healthy kick. It makes generous portions and is filling in all the right ways. You can use the meat replacer of your choice or even use scrambled egg instead to fry with the rice. If you're feeling fancy you can even make your own pesto!


Green pesto rice

Serves 4

Takes around 40 minutes


1 crown of broccoli

2 courgettes

150g fresh shelled peas (petis pois are nice here)

300g Quorn chicken

500ml stock

2 x 250g packets of ready-cooked brown rice (I used Tilda brown basmati)

A jar of pesto of your choosing

3 chopped garlic clove or 2-3 tsps of minced garlic

1 tsp cornflour

One lemon


* Heat some oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Separate the broccoli into small florets and chop the courgette into small pieces.

* Fry the meat replacer a bit first, with the Quorn chicken just 5-7 minutes at the start to brown should be fine. Then add the garlic, courgettes, broccoli and peas and fry for 10 minutes.

* Once the veg is ready, prepare the stock and pour over. Make a paste with the cornflour and a small amount of cold water and add to the pan and stir. Bring to the boil while stirring then lower the heat to simmer for 10 minutes.

* Just before the veg is ready, heat the rice in the microwave as per instructions on the packet. When done, add to the pan and stir in.

* Make sure the mixture is heated through thoroughly, then add 3 tablespoons of pesto (can vary amount according to taste) and squeeze the lemon over to add a fragrant tang. Stir well and serve.

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.

So named because it uses green pesto and green vegetables! Ever since I tried pesto pasta in a Bella Pasta restaurant I've been hooked on pesto stirred through pasta. In my opinion the best pasta for this is spaghetti, but any can be used. For a healthy kick use wholewheat pasta. I'm afraid I've drawn a blank when it comes to remembering the exact amount of ingredients that I used, but in this sort of thing it's easy enough to wing it!

When I was shopping for this the vegetables in my local supermarket were buy one get one free, and had the last broccoli grabbed from right under my nose, so had to make do with what else they had, which were packs of tenderstem broccoli and baby courgettes together. It worked just fine. I also made the addition of low-fat cream cheese mainly to add some protein. It doesn't alter the taste, only makes the texture less 'slippery'.


Green Pasta

Serves 2

30 minutes cooking time if you're organised!


150g of dried spaghetti (75g per person is usually a good guide)

A jar of green pesto with enough for 2 generous tablespoons

Around 6 baby courgettes (I'm sure one large one will do fine)

A handful of tenderstem broccoli or half a crown of standard broccoli

100g of baby spinach

A clove of garlic, finely chopped or a teaspoon of minced garlic

150g low-fat cream cheese (optional)

A jar of sweet, pickled hot peppers for garnish (optional. Can also use pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes...)

Cheese for sprinkling on top (optional)


* Chop the broccoli into florets and courgettes into 1cm slices. Cook according to preference (I used a steamer)

* Bring a pot of water to the boil and add the spaghetti, cooking as per packet instructions (usually 8-10 minutes)

* When the pasta is cooked, drain in a colander and refresh under cold water. Set aside while heating some oil in a pan (if you haven't frid the veg previously). You can use the same pan that the pasta boiled in

* Lightly fry the broccoli, courgettes, spinach and garlic for a few minutes. Whilst frying, if you're using any garnish such as the peppers these can be chopped to the desired size

* Stir in the pasta and 2 tablespoons of pesto, ensuring the pasta is heated through. Then, if using, stir in the cream cheese and garnish

Recipe found here http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1039650/roasted-chestnut-and-herb-pesto-pasta-with-mushroo

I used linguine as the pasta for this, which is one of my favourites.

Usually I dislike getting out the food processor, as it means a lot of fiddling and washing up to do, and usually a lot of mess, but making my own pesto was oddly satisfying. And having it taste like pesto in the end was a real boon! Having said that, it lacked the tang and punch of shop-bought pesto, which is probably to do with A) my parmesan being rather weak and B) the presence of the chestnuts.

Chestnuts are sweet, and the pesto very smooth tasting with a nutty sweetness not usually present. Also I didn't have quite enough olive oil, so the texture overall with the chestnuts was rather firm. It tasted good though, and I think benefitted from the addition of extra herbs. It was just different to what you would be used to.

I love mushrooms in any form, so not much to say there. I don't think I made any changes to this recipe, except being more generous with the basil than the other herbs. All in all it was enjoyed and I would make it again.