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Butternut squash & yellow split pea dahl

A rainy day in Algarve, so lets make a dahl. You can hear the rain in the background, my feet were soaked as I filmed next to the open door for optimum natural light.

For my dahl, I like to cook the veggies separately in the airfryer because they require less oil and they can be roasting on a high heat (check regularly) whilst I get on with the rest of the dish.

I also cook the split yellow peas separately, as I cook extra to use in other recipes. Once cooked, I keep surplus peas in the freezer in a bag.

Slice onion and butternut squash, drizzle over mustard oil, and roast on baking paper in airfryer for 20minutes on 200°C

Dahl ingredients

  • 1 large red onion – sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves – crushed
  • 1 thumb ginger – grated
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 teaspoon black onion seeds
  • 2 tablespoons garam masala
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 1 small butternut squash – cubed
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon veg stock powder or stock cube
  • 1 tablespoon mustard or coconut oil
  • 1 teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 tablespoon tomato puree.
  • 2 cups cooked yellow split peas
  • 4 plum tomatoes chopped
  • 1 can coconut milk
  • Pinch sea salt
  • To decorate
  • 1 diced mango
  • Coriander or chives

In a pan, put black onion seeds, grated ginger, crushed garlic, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, garam masala with a teaspoon of oil. Warm gently to release the flavours, it’s important not to burn the spices or the garlic. Add the tomatoes, turmeric, tomato paste, garlic powder, veg stock and salt. Cook for a few minutes before adding a cup of water. Simmer for 10 minutes. Then add the cooked yellow peas, roasted veg and the can of coconut milk. Gently heat again to simmer then its ready!

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Leek and pear soup

Leek and pear soup is simple, quick and exceptionally tasty. I’ve used asian flavours, which go perfectly for this sweet and sour soup.

The only way you can ruin this leek and pear soup is by adding too much salt or soy, or by burning the veg so avoid adding too much extra salt, and ensure veg is gently fried on a medium heat. It needs to be soft so that the pear is very soft and coating the veg. The sweetness from the pear balances the salt from the soy, stock cube and salt. . Note that you should add the sesame oil at the end when serving, as this oil is best for flavour, not for cooking. Add the vinegar at the end too, because we don’t want it to evaporate.  

Leek and pear soup ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon Hatcho miso (any miso will do)
  • 1 veg stock cube
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 or 2 star anise
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 1 grated or crushed garlic clove
  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
  • Black & white pepper – at least a pinch
  • 1 small leek
  • 1 pear
  • 1 stick celery
  • 4 scallions/spring onions
  • 1 teaspoon coconut oil
  • Pinch of Piri Piri salt – or standard sea salt
  • 1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
  • Chives or coriander/cilantro

Soup base – stock

Grate the ginger (I keep the root in my freezer) and the garlic. Put the garlic, ginger, veg stock cube, bay leaf, miso, soy sauce, black & white pepper, star anise in a saucepan with roughly 3 cups of boiling water. Leave to simmer whilst prepping the veg.

Leek and pear prep

Chop the leek, pear, celery & spring onions/scallions. Gently fry with 1 teaspoon coconut oil and a pinch of chilli or normal sea salt flakes. Cook until soft. Pour the stock onto the softened (not browned) veg & pear mixture. Add rice vinegar and sesame oil. Serve with fresh herbs or your choice.

Saucepans – 1 or 2 it’s up to you.

You could cook this is one pan, however, I like the stock to have a head start for the flavours to develop whilst I am prepping the veg.

Fussy eaters

If you have fussy eaters in the house, remove the star anise and bay leaf then liquidise the soup. Works for my husband every time – he thinks he doesn’t like leeks!

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Bean Kofta

Black bean kofta – full of protein and flavour.

Before becoming fully plant based, I had been vegetarian on and off for 30 years. I had recreated recipes from all over the world in my kitchen in Devon. To say my husband was a little bit upset at the thought of never eating my Chinese BBQ pork or beef kofta is an understatement. So here we are 8 years later, fully plant based, recreating all our favourite recipes but using only plants.

For my videos I cut and blend most things by hand so there’s no excuses of ‘oh I don’t have a food processor’.  All appliances are different, so cooking times my differ.

Today I am using black beans – mainly for the colour, but you can use any beans you prefer.

For the flat bread

  • 1 cup flour
  • Half teaspoon salt
  • Half teaspoon turmeric
  • Half teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon poppy seeds
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • Coconut milk to bind into a dough.

I don’t give exact measurements for the coconut milk as it will depend on the flour you use and what your environment is like. Start with a quarter cup of coconut milk, mix and add little by little until you get a stiff dough.

Divide into 6, roll into balls and then into desired flatbread shape with a rolling pin. Heat a frying pan – NO OIL. Dry fry one side (about 1 minute) and then flip over.

Bean kofta

  • 1 cup black beans
  • Half stick celery
  • 1 scallion or chalotte or 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • Half a sweet pepper
  • Fresh herbs (I’m using lemon thyme and chives but recommend using cilantro/coriander)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder or chopped fresh garlic
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • Pinch of chilli powder
  • Half teaspoon cinnamon
  • Black pepper and sea salt

Finely chop the fresh herbs and veg. Add the beans in a bowl along with all other ingredients. Use something to squish the mixture into a paste – could be a glass, jar, rolling pin.

Shape into 4 sausages/koftas and drizzle with olive oil. I also threw on some sliced onions. Place in the airfryer or oven on a high heat for 10-15 minutes. I used an airfryer on 180° for 15 minutes, turning once.

For the parsnip chips

Finely slice 2 parsnips, sprinkle on 1 teaspoon paprika, good pinch of sea salt, drizzle over olive oil. Toss the parsnips to ensure they are coated before cooking. Cook in oven/airfryer on 175°C for 10 minutes and check. How long you cook them depends on how crunchy you like them.

To serve, squish the kofta onto the flatbread, add homemade tomato sauce, fried onions, fresh herbs like mint/coriander and some scallions/chives. Tahini is essential for me, although my husband prefers mayo. I mix 1 tablespoon tahini with the juice of one lemon and pinch of sea salt.

I make my recipes up as I go, depending on what fresh ingredients and spices I have on hand. Don’t be afraid to experiment, generally, the only way you can ruin a dish is by adding too much salt or hot spice.

Have a beautiful day!

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Minestrone soup

Minestrone soup is absolutely one of my favourite soups. The most important ingredient for my recipe, is the Hatcho Miso which replaces beef stock to provide an outstanding depth of flavour.

You can use any veg you prefer, but today I used; chives, leeks, spring onions/scallions, red cabbage and carrots. Use any pasta you like, but I prefer to use broken spaghetti and add it at the start of cooking so that I know when the soup is ready, because the spaghetti is cooked.

My measurements are approximate as I don’t measure anything. The only mistake you can make when cooking is to add too much salt, sugar, spice or sourness. If you are using a stock cube, ensure its dissolved before adding any additional salt.

Minestrone soup ingredients

  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 cup chopped red cabbage
  • 1 cup chopped leeks
  • Half cup chopped spring onions/scallions
  • 1 handful chopped chives
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 veggie stock cube
  • 1 bay leaf
  • Black and white pepper
  • Half teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon Hatcha Miso paste
  • Half cup broken spaghetti
  • Extra sea salt if needed.

Place pan on medium heat and add olive oil to the pan. Add all ingredients and cover with boiling water. Simmer until pasta is cooked. The soup will thicken slightly from the flour in the pasta. Taste before adding extra salt. If I am making a big pan I will add two stock cubes.

Thanks for stopping by, have a beautiful day!

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Veg fritters with tahini and fresh lime sauce

I make these veg fritters often when I want to use up fresh veg. It’s a simple batter of chickpea flour (gram flour) salt, pepper and mixed seeds. Use whatever veg you have on hand, and season it how you like it.

If you can’t easily buy chickpea flour, you can either grind your own flour using a high-speed blender, or use a different flour. Lentil flour is a good option, but don’t use coconut flour as it won’t hold together.

Veg fritters ingredients

  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1 tablespoon mixed seeds
  • Pinch salt
  • Black and white pepper (as much as you like)
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder.
  • Enough water to make a sticky paste
  • Cooking oil for frying – coconut oil is a good choice.

Veg of choice, finely chopped – whatever you like, you could also use apple and pear.

Chop all of the veg into small pieces roughly the same size, you want it all to cook at the same time. In the video I am using spring onions/scallions, chives, carrots, red cabbage and leeks.

In a small bowl, mix the chickpea flour with the other dry ingredients with a little bit of water, until you make a good paste.

Stir in the veggies.

Place spoonful of mixture into frying pan containing a small amount of hot oil. Flip over when browned. Drain on kitchen paper to absorb excess cooking oil.

Tahini paste recipe.

The tahini paste is very simple. Use a tablespoon of pure tahini paste straight out of the jar and slowly mix in the juice of 2 limes or lemons. Don’t panic, keep stirring until the juice blends into the paste. Add a little sea salt. You can also add chopped fresh herbs or some spices like cumin, but I like to keep it simple.

The flavour combinations are endless!