Autumn

Easy Vegan Indian Bowl – Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry, Black Kale Daal and Coconut Rice

Posted on October 2, 2019 by leroy watson

Beach House Kitchen Bowl!

Better than takeaway! Wayyyy better!! Made with only fresh vegetables and spices, this Indian feast is delicious, rich and healthy too. I’ve stripped down the preparation and ingredients, so this need not be a weekend treat. It’s very mid-weekable! Three recipes, served with our favourite condiments and we’re feasting vegan style!

I’m addicted to spice! Can’t live without it for long. When I travel around Italy or France, I’m always packing garam masala. We really fancied a thali today, something colourful, filled with fragrant aromas, dishes to enliven the taste buds. Plus, it’s my day off, what better way to celebrate! We were missing India (see some of our India travels here) and felt like a light and seasonal curry. Lots of it….this is our Beach House Kitchen Thali Bowl!*

Curry in the BHK front garden, where the herb garden has gone a little feral.

It happens at this time of year. The trees are all turning golden and crimson and I begin to ponder dark nights and BIG storms (we live on a mountain side). I love the drama and peace of winter, but I need colours, spice and variety to get me through. I like to get some rainbows cooking in the kitchen when the skies are grey.

We eat curries every week, sometimes even for breakfast (AM curry recipe here). I love giving local, seasonal veggies an Indian twist. I’ve used simple spices and ingredients here, like I said, this is a staple recipe, something I’d like you to find easy to cook. Add and subtract vegetables as you like, whatever is good or in your veg basket/ fridge.

Travelling India, especially in the South, is a moveable vegan’s feast. So many, coconut based options and up North, just ask to hold the ghee and you have a whole host of tantalising options, from street foods to wedding banquets, you’re gonna eat well in India as a plant-based wanderer.

Easy Vegan Curry Feast – 3 quick recipes

The essence of a good curry is fresh spices and a vibrant sauce (or gravy as they sometimes call it in India). Got to be flavourful, it’s the base for soulful and spicy things to happen in your kitchen. You’re creating something very special.

Here we make a simple tomato sauce, that can be used in a whole host of curries. We mix in coconut cream, but it can be served as it is with vegetables. We don’t blend it here, but that will make for a nice smooth sauce.

A portal to Pondicherry…..India we miss you (thanks for the spice!)

This was our lunch, so we ate it out in the garden. I love the autumn up here in Snowdonia, the sunsets are regularly spectacular and there is plenty of sunshine with a nip in the air. Ideal for walking in the mountains and along the beaches. I’ll post some pictures soon.

We’ve been preparing for winter by refining our fermentation skills, Jane is on kombucha, I’m all over sourdough and sauerkraut etc. Packing loads of colours and flavours into big jars and fermenting, it really is magic. You can see some of our Radish Bombs here, with a nice hit of lime and spices. Perfect on most things! We are always inspired by our friend Janice from Nourished by Nature, see Spicy Radish Bomb recipe here. A shining light!

These curry recipes will keep you going this autumn, straight through winter, filled with spicy, rainbow bowls.

Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry, all the trimmings…

Recipe Notes

The curry and daal will freeze well. Make double if you fancy, portion it up into seperate containers and you’re well ahead.

The vegetables can be played with here. No squash, carrots or pumpkin is fine. No kale, use savoy cabbage or spinach. No peppers, try courgettes or aubergines. You get the idea! Mix and match. Play. Enjoy!!

I’m not shy with oil here. It adds richness, but using less will not adversely affect these dishes at all. Stirring coconut oil into these dishes at the last minute is a nice way to finish things.

I roast and grind my own spices before cooking, especially the cumin and coriander. You can’t beat the flavour. Here’s a post about roasting and grinding your precious spices.

This is a mild, lightly spiced curry. If you like spices add more! If you like chillies, go crazy!!

Timing is everything right!

Stage one – Start with your rice, then daal, then roast your vegetables and get the sauce cooking.

Stage two – Leave a lid on the rice (keep it warm), finish off the daal with the fried spices and garlic, add your roasted vegetables to your sauce.

There will be a lot going on here, you’ll need four pans and an oven working in harmony, but that’s the buzz and excitement of cooking like this, pots bubbling away, all action. Once you’ve made these recipes a couple of times, you won’t even need the recipes. You’ll be free-styling and expressing yourselves like true curry champions!!

Do let us know if you like this recipe, or even better, if you try it out.

We love to hear from you below in the comments. Say “hello!”

I’ve also just started posting over on Instagram.

Easy Vegan Indian Feast – Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry, Black Kale Daal and Coconut Rice

The Bits – For 4 big eaters or 6

Coconut Rice

250ml brown basmati rice

500ml vegetable stock

1 1/2 teas cumin seeds

2/3 teas nigella/ kalongi seeds

1/2 teas mustard seeds

1/2 stick cinnamon

5 green cardamom pods (cracked)

4 tbs dessiccated coconut

1 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

1/2 teas sea salt

Black Kale Daal

250g red lentils

850ml vegetable stock

1/2 teas turmeric

125g black kale/ cavolo nero (finely sliced)

1/2 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

3 cloves garlic

2 heaped tbs chopped ginger

1 1/2 teas cumin seeds

1 teas mustard seeds

1/2-1 teas sea salt

Roasted Vegetable and Coconut Curry

2 peppers (chopped)

500g/ 1/2 large butternut squash

1 large onion

1/2-1 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

Sea salt and black pepper

Spicy Tomato Sauce

1 large onion (chopped)

5 tomatoes (chopped)

5 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

2 tbs ginger (finely chopped)

1-2 red chillies (sliced)

150g/ 2 handfuls white cabbage (sliced)

2 teas garam masala

2 teas ground cumin

1 1/2 teas ground turmeric

1 1/2 teas ground coriander

1-2 tbs cold pressed oil/ coconut oil

1 teas sea salt and black pepper

Easy to be vegan!

Do It

Rice

Wash and drain your rice several times. Add the oil to a small saucepan, heat on medium, add the seeds, stir for a 30 seconds, add the coconut, cinnamon and cardamon, stir and cook for a few minutes, until the coconut is golden and fragrant. Add the rice and stock. Stir again and bring to a boil. Lower heat to a slow simmer and pop a lid on. Leave to cook for 25-30 minutes. It will depend on your rice.

Daal

Wash and drain your lentils well. Add them to a medium sauce pan. Cover with the stock, add the turmeric and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to a low simmer, pop a lid on and leave to cook for 25 minutes. Stirring a few times. Once the lentils are cooked, in a small frying pan, add the oil and heat on medium. Fry the seeds, ginger and garlic together until the garlic is golden. Add this mix to the lentils, along with the kale, season with salt and thin out the daal with hot water from a kettle if needed.

Curry

Preheat oven to 200oc. Toss you squash, peppers and onion on a baking tray with oil, salt and pepper. Place in the oven and roast for 30 minutes, turning once. Get some nice colour onto the vegetables, some caramelised edges are very welcome.

While that’s happening, in a large frying pan on high heat, add your oil and cook the onions for 7 minutes, until golden. Add the garlic, chilli, ginger and spices, fry a minute, stirring. Now add the tomatoes and salt. Lower the heat and cover with a lid. Leave to cook for 8 minutes. Take the lid off, add the coconut milk and cabbage, leave to simmer for 10 minutes. Check the seasoning and ensure the cabbage is cooked through.

Your roasted vegetables will now be ready, scrape them gently into the pan and combine well with the sauce.

You’re good to go! On a preferably warm plate/ shallow bowl, add the rice, daal and curry.

Serve topped with sliced chillies, your favourite pickles, crispy onions, radish bombs and we had coconut yoghurt.

Vegan curries all the way! Healthy and delicious, always possible!!

Foodie Fact

Every part of this curry sparkles with nutritional wonders. Because we’re only using fresh vegetables, whole grains and spices, it really is a bowl of healthy happy. Eating a balanced vegan diet, based around fresh fruit and veg is the healthiest way we can fuel ourselves, tasty too! This bowl is filled with a huge range of vitamins, minerals, iron, protein, anti-oxidants, pro-biotic goodness, good energy, good fats, good vibes! This bowl is good for your heart, your mind, your skin, your tastebuds!!

You could even add some steamed broccoli or kale for an ultimate healthy happy bowl.

*PS – A thali is a traditional plate, with loads of compartments for treats. We don’t have one. I’d like one, but I’m trying to minimise my kitchen equipment. It’s amazing what you can do with a few spoons and a pan. No gimmicks. No gadgetry. I’m getting back to the roots of cooking. Except my blender. I draw the old school line there. How do you hand-make a smoothie?

Categories: Autumn, Curries, gluten-free, healthy, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: curry, easy vegan curry, healthy recipes, india, indian food, vegan food | 2 Comments

Smoky Beets, Red Pepper and Chipotle Soup

Posted on October 31, 2018 by leroy watson

Just what we need in late Autumn! Soups with lots of colours and big flavours.

Get a little spicy, plus a little smoky this autumn! This is a radiant soup filled with delicious flavours and fresh, seasonal produce. Lots of beetroot and red peppers, this is exactly what I want to be eating right now. It’s adding a vibrant slice of Mexico to your autumn and all you’ll need are staples most of us have in our cupboards and some chioptle chillies/ chilli paste. More of that a little later…..

I wanted a soup that was hearty and sustaining, so we have lentils, colourful and healthy, so we have red peppers and beetroots, a little creamy, creme fraiche, a little crunchy, pepitas (or pumpkin seeds as we call them), finished with a sprinkle of fresh coriander and you’ve got a very tasty bowl indeed. I’d happily eat soups like this all day, every day, until next May, when things thaw out.

Getting Frosty

We’ve been getting frosty over here in Snowdonia, the first glimpse of snow and ice on the mountain tops, washing freezing on the line, that beautiful early morning frost that makes all the plants look like their draped in jewels. I love this time of year. Lots of sunshine still, so soup in the garden is also doable. I’m thinking winter BBQ’s are on this year! Why not? The first frosts always says to me, “Parsnips!” They’re always bettter after the first frost, as well as sloes.

Smoky Beets, Red Pepper and Chipotle Soup (vegan, gluten-free)

Viva Mexico!

I’m lucky to have travelled Mexico extensively, I drove around it for a while with some friends, from the border with Texas right down to Guatemala. It took about 6 months. I was in my 20’s and, as you can probably imagine, I had a good time! There is so much joy for living and eating in Mexico!!

I had no idea how good Mexican food was until my first few days wandering around Mexico City. I’d been working in fine dining style restaurants and was really into that way of doing things, but my first few tacos in Mexico blew my mind. I was hooked and a new way of approaching food dropped into my world. Sensational food didn’t need white table clothes and weighty price tags, it could be fast and furious on a street corner, or served in the back of taxi mid-traffic jam. Good food is everywhere in Mexico, it is hard to escape, and let’s face it, why would you want to escape it anyway!

I ate some INCREDIBLE soups in Mexico. If a soup can be life changing (if your soup was changed by your life, or vica versa, please let us know, we’d like to hear that story!) I had many in Mexcio. Things I’d never imangine, avocado is soups, soft cheeses in soups, garlic, nachos, smokiness, it really blew me away. Mexcian food is so rich and diverse, lots and lots of new dishes to explore.

Having said all of that, this soup is not a traditional Mexican recipe at all, but Chipotle chillies make anything taste Mexican to me. They were one of the many new flavours I discovered on my trip. The cumin in many Mexican dishes originally came from Spanish immigrants, who picked it up from North Africa via the Moors. I’m fascinated by the way that our food tells us a lot about our history, how our cultures developed over time. It is Day of the Dead tomorrow, this soup would be a perfect addition to the feast!

Chipotle!

Chipotles are dried and smoked chillies, one of many varieities. I remember buying smoked chillies in markets, so many types, big and small, different colours and shades, all with distinct flavours. It was steep learning curve.

Chipotles start off as red jalapenos and are smoked and dried for days, coming out looking a little like the chilli version of a raisin. You can buy them in many ways, powder, flakes, dried whole, in cans or in a potent paste, as we use here. Chipotle’s are used in all kinds of marinades and stews, they give a subtle earthy, smokiness to dishes with a little kick of chilli. Adding one chipotle to a stew or soup can really mix things up. In the UK, they are normally found in paste-form, in little jars, that keep well in the fridge. I like to mix it into mayonnaise, dressings and generally use it as often as possible. I love the flavour. It’s very unique.

I am off to Spain soon, where they do some nice things with smoked chillies, but honestly, no one smokes chillies like Mexicans. Spanish chillies are very mild, they hardly tickle, Mexican chillies however, they can melt things, or just add a lovely spiciness to dishes.

We’re lucky to have loads of organic beetroot at the minute coming from the veg farm

Get Your Beet On!

So get your beet on, gather some lovely veggies and have fun with this soup. Beetroots are the most outrageous roots and I think we underuse them in the UK. The colours, flavours and awesome nutrition (see below) they bring to our table are always very welcome.

Please let us know if you like the recipe, enjoy Mexican food, or anything else really in the comments below. If you try out the soup, why not share your kitchen creation with us all over on Facebook, our cooking group is here.

Enjoy this beautiful time of year (in Australia it’s spring right!?!)

More soups and hearty, healthy, delicious vegan recipes for everyone coming soon…..

Here’s some Mexican inspired dishes we’ve cooked in the paste, from Loaded Nachos to a Cashew and Kale Mole, Pickle your own Jalapenos and Dark Chocolate and Chilli Bronwies.

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Recipe Notes

If you love your smokiness, add a little more chipotle, or add smoked paprika (same time as the cinnamon) for a smoky, but less spicy soup.

No red peppers, any pepper will work fine.

Same goes for the pumpkin seeds, any toasted seed or nut would be nice here, but pumpkin seeds (pepitas) are used quite a lot in Mexican cooking.

If you’re getting beetroots with their leaves on (congratulations!), you can cut them off, wash them and stir them in at the end of cooking, just before serving. You may also like to do this with spinach, kale or any other greens. Adding greens to dishes can never be a bad thing.

Beetroot, Red Pepper and Chipotle Soup

The Bits – For 4-6 bowls

550g beets, roughly 3 medium beetroots (diced)

1 red pepper (diced)

1 medium onion (diced)

200g red lentils (rinsed and drained)

2 teas cumin seeds

1 1/2 teas oregano

1/2 teas cinnamon

3 tbs tomato puree

1 ltr light vegetable stock/ hot water

3-5 teas chipotle puree

Topping

Toasted pumpkin seeds

Vegan yoghurt/ creme fraiche (g.f.)

Freshly Chopped Coriander

Sliced chillies

Do It

In a large saucepan, add 1/2 tbs cooking oil and warm on medium high heat. Add the cumin seeds, stir and fry for a minute, then all the onions, peppers and 1 teas sea salt. Fry until soft and slightly caramelised, 5 minutes will do.

Add the lentils, beetroots, oregano, ground cinnamon and tomato puree. Then pour over the vegetable stock and bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and leave to cook for 35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Allow to cool slightly and blend using a stick blender or pour into a blender and blitz until smooth. Taste and season with salt and pepper, adding more chipotle if you like.

Top with toasted pumpkin seeds, creme fraiche/ single vegan cream, chillies and coriander.

Foodie Fact

Beetroot is a stunning root in more ways than one. Besides the amazing flavours and colours, we’re talking about a contender for the healthiest veg ever! It’s well up there.

Packed with anti-oxidants, plenty of fibre, it is very good for our digestion, and also contains plenty of minerals. Beetroot juice is now drank by many atheletes to improve performance. We love beetroots mixed into juices or smooties with things like apples and carrots. What an amazing way to start the day!

Categories: Autumn, gluten-free, healthy, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Soups, Travel, Vegan, veganism | Tags: vegan food, vegan recipes | Leave a comment

Italian Herb and Sun Dried Tomato Dumplings

Posted on October 27, 2018 by leroy watson

Thanks for your patience everyone, I’ve finally got around to posting this recipe. It’s been a long time coming, but I’ve had a few things on my plate. As they say.

These dumplings are perfect with pasta and a rich tomato sauce, but also ideal served in a wrap, as a canape/ starter.

This is a simple and versatile recipe that has recently become a staple in the BHK. I have noticed that non-vegan really dig these, they taste like dumplings but are made with chickpeas and oats. Easily made gluten-free and can be pan fried or baked. That to me is the hallmark of a staple recipe, something that is not too fussy, that can be whipped up in a short window of time and most importantly, are very delicious.

Italian Herb and Sun Dried Tomato Dumplings – Just add pasta

MIX IT UP

The base of chickpeas and oats can be played around with, you can take the flavours wherever you’d like to lead them; add spices for Indian dumplings, served with a spicy curry sauce; add za’atar and make things more Lebanese, serve in a wrap with tahini; add some chilli, ginger and coriander, serve with noodles and Chinese sauce (sweet and sour, black bean, hoisin…..) So, so many ways to make your dumplings shine!!

The autumnal beach – spectacular Snowdonia!

Jane and I are heading over to Spain very soon, can’t wait! In one way, it’s a shame to leave Snowdonia right now, so much sunshine and last night the mountains got their first little cap of snow and frost. Icy winds, sunny days, I love that about these wintery times. In this climate, I flip into soup mode. Just made a huge pan of veggie broth, old school, like my Nana’s did it. Plus some quinoa bread, not quite the same as Nana-made bread, but I reckon they would have liked it, with plenty of strawberry jam.

These dumplings have been discussed quite a bit over on our vegan cooking group on Facebook. I’ve been meaning to post this and a huge stack of recent recipes, but life has been nice and full recently. Lots of cooking, lots of cool new projects, lots of time hanging out in the mountains. It’s been a stunning autumn.

Thanks to all who have sent messages of support recently, some which say things like “Where’s your new book dude?” It’s coming!

These bookie type things can take a while, but fingers crossed, I’ll have some more news soon. If you haven’t heard, here’s my last cookbook, Peace & Parsnips.

Any ideas about what you like in a cookbook? Do let me know in the comments below. I love to hear your feedback. Really, I write recipes partly for me, but another big part is for you. The readers of the BHK, I wonder a lot about what you’ll like and always listen to your comments.

Other news. We sent out our autumn newsletter recently, if you missed it, just sign up here, it takes a few minutes. We’ve got some cool interviews (are you interested in fermentation, we interview the Queen of Fermentation! Janice Clyne), plus recipes, pictures, news, loads of nice things. Sign up, we’ll send it across.

Recipe Notes

You can see that I like these dumplings with a little colour, from a hot pan. You can cook them on a lower heat if you like, for a longer time.

If you are cooking your own chickpeas, not using tinned, make sure they’re not overcooked or mushy. This will lead to a wet mix, which is not what we want. Remember that once the mix cools, it will get thicker.

Italian Herb and Sun Dried Tomato Dumplings

The Bits – For 16 dumplings

2 medium onions (sliced)

3 cloves garlic (chopped)

2 tins chickpeas (drained)

3 teas dried Italian herbs (a mix of dried oregano, thyme, basil, rosemary, sage)

8 pieces sun dried toms, plus any oil (finely chopped)

125g gluten-free oats

1 1/2 teas salt

A few twists of black pepper

A sprinkle of chilli flakes (or more if you like your chilli)

Cooking oil

To serve

Fresh basil leaves

Do It

In a large frying pan, add 1 tbs cooking oil, warm on medium high heat, add the onions and garlic. Saute for 5 minutes, until soft and golden.

Add the cooked onions and the rest of the ingredients to a blender, with any oil left on the board from chopping the sun dried tomatoes. Blend until smooth-ish. Some chunks are fine. Taste and season if you like.

With slightly wet hands, roll around 2 heaped tablespoons of mix into balls. Place on a plate.

Warm the frying pan again, add 2 tbs oil and warm on medium high heat, add some of your dumplings to the pan, don’t overcrowd. Roll them in the oil and get them well covered, fry them for 6-8, minutes, until golden all over and we’ll warmed through. Set aside. Fry in batches if needed.

Alternatively, preheat a fan oven to 180oC, lightly oil the dumplings and place onto a baking tray, then into the oven. Cook for around 15-20 minutes, until they are hot in the middle.

Serve with a rich tomato sauce, freshly torn basil leaves and pasta of your choice.

Foodie Fact

Chickpeas are a real nutritional powerhouse. They are filled with protein and fibre, also lots of minerals like iron, magnesium and potassium and vitamins like Vitamin C. Chickpeas are also a good source of calcium. Overall, the more chickpeas we can get onto our plates and forks, the better!

Categories: Autumn, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: recipe, vegan food | 2 Comments

Apple Crumble Cookies – Gluten-free, Vegan

Posted on October 2, 2018 by leroy watson

Apple Crumble Cookies – Gluten-free, Vegan. Yes please!

If you’re a fan of apple crumble, you’ll love these! The cookie version.

I wanted to combine the best things about an apple crumble into a cookie, just to change things up a bit. That lovely crunchy crumble and the sweet tartness of the apple sauce.

These cookies are crisp on the outside and very apple-y inside, with that lovely warming cinnamon and plenty of oats. They’re even gluten-free, but you can make them with wholemeal flour and normal oats. I’d just like to invite as many people as possible to the good food party!

These cookies are sweet! But balanced with the tartness of a green apple, I’ve used russet style apples from our neighbours garden, donated, not scrumped (see all our scrumping talk on our last post). I think an apple with good acidity and a bit of bite is what we’re looking for here.

The best things about a crumble, wrapped up in a cookie!

Please don’t worry about us, we’re still eating plenty of Apple Crumbles this autumn. Jane loves ’em too much! But these cookies were a big hit with everyone who’s tried one, even our neighbour Meirion, a man who dearly loves a good crumble, is a fan of the cookie variety. That’s when I knew this was a winner, they got the nod from our Meirion.

We’re just fixing our fire at the minute, autumn is giving us those signals, nice and crisp at mornings and at night. The occasional dramatic storm. I do love sunshine, but I admit that a roaring fire on a cold night is very tempting. Just need to get a big pipe and stick it onto the back of the fire. Some of you know all about my DIY skills, so I’ll probably get the fire man in. I’m better off with the pots and pans!

The North Wales coastline is stunning in Autumn, awesome sunsets

Another bonus of autumn is all the produce, I’m just blown away at the minute. I just got the list through from our local organic farm and it knocked my socks off. As a cook, I almost don’t know where to begin with it all. I feel very lucky to have such problems!!

I’m back cooking at Trigonos this week and I love to create new recipes like this. There are many gluten-free visitors who need catering for, the Trigonos cooks come up with all kinds of gluten, sugar, oil, nightshade, salt etcetc free dishes. I’ve always found it a great challenge, but having dishes which are gluten-free and vegan is a sound start to planning a menu. These cookies can be enjoyed by loads of people! Maybe you’re gluten-free, but I bet you know someone who is. The mystery of gluten-free baking is disappearing as more and more people experiment with new ways of making cookies, cakes, scones and tray bakes.

Chop those apples nice and small

Chopping your apples up nice and small is one of the keys to success with these cookies. Of course, take all the pips and core out, but I leave the skin on. These apples had nice, thin skins and I reckon there’s some nice flavour there when baked. You can see the apples turn a lovely golden brown in the oven, something like apple crisps. They’re good these cookies!

These kind of cookies are going to make this autumn very sweet! Hope you get to try one soon.

Recipe Notes

You can use flax seeds instead of chia seeds. Pop the seeds into a blender and blitz until a fine powder is formed. Then mix that with water until a gelatinous mix forms. It only takes 5 minutes or so to get nice and thick, ready to bind our cookies together. Ground flax and chia are ideal egg replacers in vegan baking.

You can also use light brown sugar in these cookies, although I prefer the texture using the golden caster sugar.

I used a Dove Farm white gluten-free flour mix here. It works really nicely. Gluten-free oats are available in most supermarkets.

I use cold pressed rapeseed oil here, but you can use most, neutral flavoured oils. I prefer cold pressed oils.

For non-gluten-free cookies – Wholewheat flour and normal oats will work nicely here too.

Missing cookies? Has anyone seen these cookies. 15 minutes after leaving the oven, they were never seen again. Another batch coming soon:)

Apple Crumble Cookies – Gluten-free, Vegan

The Bits – For 10-11 small cookies

Dry

125g gluten-free oats

100g gluten-free flour mix

1 ½ tsp g.f. baking powder

1 ½ tsp ground cinnamon

⅛ teas salt

Wet

100ml cold pressed rapeseed oil

3 teas ground chia seeds (mixed with 7 teas cold water)

1 teas vanilla extract

125g golden caster sugar

175g or 2 small green apples (cored and finely diced)

Do It

Preheat a fan oven to 180oC.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. In another mixing bowl, mix together the sugar and the wet ingredients.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Don’t over do the stirring. Fold in the apples.

Line a baking tray with baking parchment, form roughly two heaped tablespoons worth of cookie dough and apple in your hands, roll into balls. Press the pieces of apple into the cookie ball as you go. The apple keeps the cookies nice and moist. Press this ball down gently onto the baking tray, forming a rotund disc shape. Continue until the mix is used up.

Bake for 17 – 20 mins on a middle shelf, until the apples are golden brown and the cookies form a nice crust. Leave to cool for 20 minutes on the tray before enjoying. Remember that the cookies will firm up as they cool, don’t worry if they are a little soft to the touch.

We had ours warm, dipped into vegan creme fraiche. Yes! It was very good.

Just before they hit the oven – Apple Crumble Cookies This was an early attempt, these apple chunks are a wee bit too big. Go for very small pieces.

Foodie Fact

An apple a day keeps the doctor away. Why? Because my Nana told me that, what more proof do we need?!

Apples are a good source of fibre and vitamin C, plus potassium, which is good for the heart.

Categories: Autumn, Baking, gluten-free, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: apples, recipe, snowdonia | 10 Comments

Mushroom and Squash Rogan Josh – Traditional Kashmiri Curry

Posted on September 27, 2018 by leroy watson

Mushroom and Squash Rogan Josh – How to make a proper vegan curry, from scratch (even the spices!)

Make a decadent, aromatic, rich curry from scratch and even make your own spice mix. I’ve cooked this curry, and variations of it, loads recently, but think this version is the best. It does take a little longer, but you just can’t compare the flavours. I’ve given you options to make this a quick curry too, but I’d urge you to give the full version a try. You’re gonna love it!!

The Real Deal

Rogan Josh is a rich, classical style curry made with yoghurt as a sauce base, not onions. It was brought to Kashmir by the Mughal’s as they swept across North India. I’m captivated by Indian history and if you’re not a regular BHK reader, by way of background, I’m in love with India and have been there many times, travelling from the tip down south to the top, the Himalayas! I am yet to visit anywhere that is as enchanting and mesmering and the FOOD, lets just say it will take me this lifetime at least to explore such a vast and tantalising cuisine. This curry is a good start, a staple and as ever, this is vegan food everyone one will love! How could you not? We get all the full flavours of roasted veg and mushrooms and treat it to a very special sauce.

If you make this curry, please let me know, I’d be excited to hear about your spice adventures and how you found the flavour. Once you try this, you’ll never go back to shop bought or jars (unless you were in a real rush!) I love curries, but at this time of year, with it getting colder and darker, I think this style of warming, rich curry really comes into it’s own. A radiant, colourful bowl of big flavours that’s perfectly suited as a winter/ autumn warmer. I get quite passionate when talking about Indian cooking. Does it show?!

Make your own spice mix. It’s quick, easy and totally, very much, better than shop bought spices

Roast your own! Spices

Spices! They bring everything to life. I’ve written so much about spices over the years, not to mention a hefty spice intro (with nutritional benefits) in Peace and Parsnips. I talked a lot about spices in there, they’re so important to my cooking and dare I say, Indian is my favourite way of cooking. No, I don’t! It does depend on how the stars are aligned and what I fancy and all of that, but, we all know Indian food is utterly diverse, vibrant and totally brilliant.

I give you full instructions below about how to toast and grind your own spice mixes, this one is similar to a Garam Masala, a North India spice mix filled with warming spices like cinnamon and cloves, you can see the picture above and you can probably imagine the aroma when all that hits a warm pan. Out of this world!!

Garam Masala – Hot Spice!

Dry toasting spices like this in a pan adds complexity and brings out all the incredible aromas. There are many versions of Garam Masala (‘Garam’ – Hot, ‘Masala’ – Spice Mix). You could add Mace or nutmeg for example. But I think this is a good all rounder. If you don’t please let me know below. If you do, again, let’s talk in the comments. I love chatting about spices and learning new things.

I’ve added smoked paprika and turmeric to this spice mix, they’re not classically ‘Garam Masala’, but I like them in this Rojan Gosh.

You can also use shop bought spices here. See in the recipe below. Keep your spices in a sealed container and use well within the use by date on the packet. Smell them, if they don’t smell of much, they won’t add much to the curry.

Rojan Gosh – filled with influence from the Mughals andPersia, this dish has a fascinating history

We’re going to Kashmir……

Kashmir is a stunning region in the very North West of India, and a very good song of course (click here for Led Zep’s version of Kashmir). Apparently Robert Plant had never even been to Kashmir when he wrote it, just liked the sound of it. Maybe he just loved a good Rojan Gosh? Which loosely translates as ‘Rojan’ – to stew, ‘Gosh’ – red.

The well used BHK Dhaba

Recipe Notes

I’ve gone for mushrooms and squash here because they’re seasonal and I love them. But you can use similar vegetables, carrots, potatoes, peppers, whatever takes your fancy. The key here is the sauce. That’s where the magic is!

I mentioned that this was traditional, that was a small, white lie. It is pretty traditional, but in Kashmir they may use something called Cockscomb Flower to give the curry a more reddish hue. But I’m happy with this colour.

Kashmiri chillies are quite important here. You’ll find them in most supermarkets and especially Indian/ Asian food shops. They are milder than many chillies. We want lots of chillies in the Rojan Gosh masala, but not loads of heat.

If you don’t have dried Kashmiri chillies, that’s cool, go for chilli powder or cayenne pepper, anything to add a little heat to the curry.

Saffron can also be added here, but I think it just gets lost with the other spices and is basically a waste of our precious, and not inexpensive, saffron.

When I mention coconut cream, I mean the cream off a tin of coconut milk. That means, the thick bit. Adds lovely creaminess. Yoghurt is best, unsweetened soya yoghurt, now available in most supermarkets.

Spices, you will have too much here for just one curry, but if you’re going to make your own spice, you may as well make a decent batch I say. Keep them in a sealed container or jar. Label them up, with a date, or give them away as a gift. In my experience, people love the gift of spice!

Mushroom and Squash Rogan Josh

The Bits – For 4-6

1 roasted medium squash, 650g (skin on, chop into chunks, seeds removed)

1 tin chickpeas (drained)

200g or 3 big handfuls mushrooms (chopped)

3 big handfuls or 75g greens (kale, spinach, chard)

5 tbs plain soya yoghurt/ coconut cream

Garam Masala – Spice Mix

½ teas green cardamom seeds (seeds from 10 cardamom pods)

½ stick cinnamon

2/3 teas cloves

1 teas black peppercorns

2 tbs cumin seeds

2 tbs coriander seeds

1 teas fennel seeds

3 bay leaves

1-2 dried red Kashmiri chilli

1 teas turmeric

1 ½ teas smoked paprika

Or use shop bought spice mix like garam masala plus 1 teas smoked paprika

Curry Paste

1 roasted red pepper (seeded, chopped into chunks)

3 garlic cloves

2-4 dried kashmiri chilli

1 inch fresh ginger (chopped)

3 tbs tomato puree

1 teas salt

3 tbs cold pressed rapeseed oil (or whatever oil you use)

3-4 tbs Spice Mix

Garnish
Fresh coriander and sliced chillies

Do It

Preheat a fan oven to 200oC.

On a baking tray lined with parchment, place the red pepper and squash. Toss in a little salt and cooking oil. Roast in the oven for 25-30 minutes, until soft and slightly blackened in places.

For the spices – Place a pan on a medium heat, add all the whole spices and toast for 4-8 minutes or more, tossing them and making sure they’re all toasted and smelling fragrant. They will take on a slightly darker colour and smell ‘toasty’.

Be sure not to burn them, the best way to check this is the smell and the look. You don’t want any black bits at all. Some people prefer darker spices, some prefer lightly toasted. I’d start with lightly toasted. Add the ground turmeric and paprika a minute before you finish toasting the spices.

Place all the spices in a small blender or spice grinder (coffee grinders are also good), and blitz until a powder forms. Use some in the curry and store the rest in an airtight container. Garam Masala is a versatile spice mix.

For the curry paste – Place the roasted red pepper in a blender with the other curry paste ingredients and blend to a smooth paste.

For the curry – In a large frying pan, warm 1 tbs cooking oil and fry your mushrooms for 5 minutes, until they’re soft. Add the curry paste, thinning out with water or soya milk (creamier) as needed. Once the curry paste is bubbling away, spoon in the yoghurt and check seasoning.

Now add the roasted squash, chickpeas and greens. Warm through from 5-7 minutes, then serve scattered with freshly chopped coriander with naan, chutneys and rice.

This would be delicious with our Mango and Papaya Chutney or Cashew and Green Pepper Pulao or even Quick Carrot and Ginger Pickle.

Snowdonia looking stunning in the autumn sunshine. Sometimes the mountains around here remind me of the Himalayas.

Foodie Fact

Squash is bang in season at the minute, there are so many varities. If you’re reading from the US, were of course talking Winter Squashes here. They are a rich source of vitamin C, A and plenty of fibre and minerals. Also remember the seeds, you can clean and dry them and they are amazing roasted in the oven for 10-12 minutes.

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Categories: Autumn, Curries, Dinner, gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, veganism, Wales | Tags: indian food, recipe | 7 Comments

Bilberry and Spelt Scones – Vegan

Posted on September 24, 2018 by leroy watson

Bilberry and Spelt Scones – Vegan

Autumn is settling in nicely and it’s definitely time for a scone. Fresh out of the oven. You know what I’m talking about there. Plenty of jam and whipped cream. Yum!!

We went for a long walk yesterday and it really felt like a touch of winter was in the air, the trees are changing; all those bronze, crimson and golden colours are coming. It’s such a beautiful time of year up here in Snowdonia.

I made these scones using local bilberries, you can use blueberries, mulberries or blackberries here, if you’re not close to bilberry bushes. These berries were picked somewhere up a mountain, near a beautiful lake, in the Welsh mist. My kind of ingredient!

I’ve made the recipes as easy as possible, these scones are served in slices which means very straightforward preparation. They’re a wholesome style, not your light and fluffy sort, but delicious and satisfying. They’re also low in sugar, are packed with berries and contain local cold pressed rape seed oil. I know cakes aren’t supposed to be healthy, but I like to try!

Autumn = Scone time

Every autumn I like at least one new scone recipe. Last year we made Coconut Scones, which are a real treat. I even got invited onto BBC Radio Wales to talk about them. That’s how good they are!! Totally different scone style to these.

Really, this is our Beach House version of a Mabon cake, aka the autumn equinox, we’ll talk more about that on our upcoming newsletter coming out this week. Sign up here (takes a few seconds).

Spelt – A Love Affair

Readers of the blog will know my love for spelt flour, we’ve had a long romance through the years. If I can, I’ll find a way to add spelt or other flours like rye, to my baking adventures. I just love the flavour and texture. I like that some of my friends who struggle with gluten can even enjoy spelt.

I have a similar love affair with cold pressed rapeseed oil. One of my favourite things about the last few years of living and cooking in Wales and the UK. Just a brilliant ingredient on every level, local, healthy, tasty and inexpensive. I buy rapeseed oil from small producers whenever I can. Because small producers are ace! I also wanted to avoid vegan butter/ margarine type things in this recipe. Not a huge fan of it.

Bilberry and Spelt Scones – so simple to make

Bilberries – A taste explosion!

Are a real taste explosions! Much more intense and flavourful than their bigger and more watery relatives the blueberry. Have a look around for a local bilberry bush, they grow all over the UK and are ripe for the picking. You’ll probably find them in wilder places like moors though. Keep your eyes peeled. They tend to grow together in big clumps. They’re not normally city dwellers.

Other berries will be great in these scones too. Maybe blackberries are more local for you? Either way, foraging for these berries is loads of fun and free. Or you can do what we did, get a friend to pick them for you!!

What to serve vegan scones with?

So whipped cream and butter are long gone. Great!! You’ll find some excellent vegan creme fraiche in the shops nowadays, this is awesome with scones. Blended up cashew nuts is also a great idea. Just soak some cashews until soft, then blend, adding a little water to get your desired consistency and sweeten with whatever you like. Just a touch of sweetness will do. Whipped coconut cream is another great, treat option. These all add delicious, and much welcomed, creaminess when tackling a scone. Jam? Grab your finest jar. Jane’s Mum’s Strawberry 2017 is a fine vintage indeed.

Bilberry and Spelt Scones – Full of flavours and ingredients from Wales, with local berries and rapeseed oil

Let us know if you makes these scones in the comments below. If you like the look of this recipe, you’ll find more here.

Recipe Notes

When making scones, try not to over mix. Just enough until things are combined.

Do your best to not pop the berries when you’re combining with the mix. A few popped ones are fine, you can see I popped a few and they give the scones a cool purple look!

You can buy white spelt flour, but I’ve used the organic brown version here.

All flours are different when you’re baking, the amount of liquid can vary depending on many factors. 4 tbs plant milk is a guide here, we’re looking for quite a dry scone mix. Just enough liquid to keep it all together.

No spelt flour, no probs. Use a good quality wholemeal flour instead.

The same goes for rapeseed oil, you can use any cold pressed oil (sooooo much better than refined oils). I’ve been loving cold pressed sunflower oil of late.

Perfect autumn tea time treat! Served with Jane’s Mum’s Strawberry Jam

Bilberry and Spelt Scones

The Bits – For 8 slices of scones

Dry

250g spelt flour

2 teas baking powder

60g light brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet

80g rapeseed oil (cold pressed)

60ml (4 tbs) plant milk

1 big handful (75g) bilberries or blueberries

For brushing

A dash of plant milk and rapeseed oil

Do It

Preheat a fan oven to 180oC.

Place all the dry bits into a mixing bowl, and mix together. Add the wet and stir to combine. Mix into the bilberries, being as careful as you can not to pop them.

Line a baking tray with parchment. Form the mix into a disc shape, roughly 3/4 inch thick. Mix together a dash of plant milk and rapeseed oil in a small bowl, brush your scone with this mix.

Bake on a middle shelf of the oven for 20 minutes, the scone will have a nice golden crust around the edges. Ideally, leave to cool on the tray for 20 minutes before enjoying!

Serve topped with whipped coconut cream and your favourite jam or more berries

Foodie Fact

Spelt is said to have been cultivated since 5000 BC! It is a member of the wheat family and is a great source of energy, the Romans called it ‘marching grass’. It is high in minerals like magnesium, copper and iron and also boasts a load of thiamin, protein and fibre.

Categories: Autumn, Baking, Cakes, healthy, Nutrition, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, veganism, Wales | Tags: bilberries, snowdonia, vegan scones | 3 Comments

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Rice – Lebanese Style

Posted on September 11, 2018 by leroy watson

A simple, stand out dish to spice up your autumn

This is a real centre piece dish which is simple to make and packed with big flavours and colours. This recipe will add a little warming spice and vibrancy to your autumn cooking.

You may not have roasted, or baked, rice before, but it’s an easy way of getting really intense flavours into a rice dish. This is a great base for all kinds of variations, I made it Lebanese, down to the fresh spices I had; bharat, za’atar and sumac, but you could easily make it Moroccan, Italian, Indian, even Spanish, whatever spices and herbs you prefer. The technique is the same, highly untraditional, but tasty non-the-less.

You could say that this is a Lebanese Paella, but maybe that’s pushing things. I have a feeling I’d upset many of my Spanish friends and readers. Paella is a passionate subject!

I’ve never had a dish like this in Lebanon, I know there are a load of rice dishes, but I’ve not tried a baked rice one. I do love a Maqluba though, here’s my recipe from a few years ago Maqluba with Roasted Pepper, Aubergine and Almond.

This was cooked when we were in Spain, so I was making Paellas regularly, mainly because I love them dearly. They are great cooked on a hob in a traditional Paella dish and in the oven, a little variation cannot be bad. I think nailing a paella is important, get one paella that you know and love and your quality of life increases dramatically. Paella is such a satisfying dish, a dazzling centre piece and like I said, is pretty easy when you know how. Practice + a little know how = yums!

Big on flavours and colours.

A baked rice dish goes well on a sunny day, but I think they’re even better in autumn and winter time, when the toasted, roasted, aromatic flavours of this dish really come into their own. There are many layers of flavours and textures, to me, this is what makes vegan cooking awesome. I was talking at the weekend at Ludlow Food Festival, to a tent full of meat eaters, about the very same thing. Most agreed that they’d eat vegan/ plant-based food if it was tasty without any qualms. It’s all about unlocking the deep and stunning flavours in plant-based food. This dish is like a key. Meat eaters will love it, something you can cook for your family or a group of friends, and all will leave satisfied.

CRUSTS

Crusts. They taste good. They’re like a concentrated version of the rest of the dish. The crispy, dark best bit. Many cultures agree with me, those who know a thing or two about cooking rice, I’m thinking Iran and Spain in particular. The crust has a special name and is the prized part of the dish, handed to the most deserving person and polished off with relish. Don’t fear a crust on this dish. It’s a good thing. Scrape it off and serve it as a crispy topping. Of course the art is to discern between a crust and a layer of burnt food. It’s a skill best learned through practice and a keen sense of smell. You can also peek a little when the rice is cooking.

Rice is a source of carbs, which is a good thing. They keep us ticking over. Nothing wrong with a nice plate of carb rich bits like rice mixed with plenty of fresh veggies and legumes in our opinion. They give us the energy to swim and run around. Using brown rice here would make the dish even healthier, slow release carbs, long lasting energy.

I love this dish served with hummus or tangy labeh (yoghurt or sour cream would also be ace), a crisp green leaf salad and some lemon wedges. Maybe even a sprinkle more za’atar and bharat. Now that’s getting my taste buds excited. In fact anything which combines the Lebanese flavour trinity of bharat, za’atar and sumac is exhilarating food. If you haven’t tried these together in a dish, I highly recommend you pop down to the shops and get some. They are widely available. A nice idea is to toast some flatbread/ pitta, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle over these spices/ herbs. Instant Lebanese toast! Serve with chopped tomatoes and cucumber, a nice breakfast there.

Shall we call this a Lebanese Paella? Controversial.

If you’re interested in my travels around Lebanon last year, here are a couple of blog posts:

Seeking Falafel Perfection in Lebanon

I Ate Lebanon!

Or just click on the recipes header (above) for a selection of Lebanese recipes. Surely one of my favourite cuisines with so many vegan options.

If you like this recipe, please let us know. If you make this recipe, maybe you’d like to share a picture over on our Facebook cooking group, click here. Lots of vegan cooks with positive outlooks over there doing amazing things with vegetables. Feel free to share this recipe far and wide!

Happy cooking!!

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Recipe Notes

Top this dish with any veg that is looking good. Autumn is here in the UK, we are spoilt for choice. I used Med Veg because I was in Spain. If I cooked it here I may top this with ingredients like red cabbage, more onions, wild mushrooms, carrots or squash. My point is, feel free to play. Let us know about your amazing creations in the comments below.

Don’t have bharat, use another spice mix like garam masala or ras el hanout.

Don’t have za’atar, use dried thyme with a few sesame seeds mixed in.

Don’t have sumac, leave it out. When you serve this dish with lemon wedges, it adds the citrus kick we need.

Lemon wedges. Yes, I do serve everything with lemon wedges! It adds a lovely citrus lift to this dish.

You can use any type of shallow oven dish.

This dish will vary, mainly depending on the type of rice and dish used. Check after 25 minutes, most of the liquid should have evaporated, remember, the rice will soak up a little liquid when you leave it to rest.

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Rice – Lebanese Style

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetable Rice – Lebanese Style

The Bits – For 6

400g short grain rice (risotto or paella rice works well)

50g green/ brown lentils

1 tbs cooking oil

1 tbs cumin seeds

2 medium onions (sliced)

4 large cloves garlic (sliced)

2 tbs bharat – spice mix

2 tbs za’atar

2 teas salt

650 ml light vegetable stock or hot water

400 ml tomato passatta

1 big red pepper (sliced)

1 small aubergine (sliced)

1-2 tbs olive oil

Toppings

Toasted walnuts/ almonds

Za’atar and sumac

Chopped fresh parsley

Serve

Lemon wedges

Hummus or vegan labneh

Do It

Wash and rinse your rice and lentils with plenty of cold water. Drain well.

Preheat oven to 225oC. Place in your shallow oven dish to warm.

In a large frying pan on medium high heat, add the oil and when warm the cumin seeds. Fry them for 30 seconds and then add the onions and 1 teaspoon of salt. Cook for 12-15 minutes, until nicely golden and caramelised. Add the bharat spices, garlic and za’atar, stir and fry for a minute then pour in the passatta and 1 teas more of salt. Simmer and stir for a couple of minutes. Now mix in the rice and lentils and then vegetable stock, stir well to combine.

Pour the rice mix into your warm, not hot, oven dish. Level it out with a spoon and scatter over the aubergine and peppers and gently press them down with your hand, until they’re roughly half submerged in the stock.

Place your dish in the oven for 30-35 minutes. Check after 25 minutes and drizzle over a little more olive oil to help the vegetables caramelise and add richness.

Once cooked, cover and set aside for 5-10 minutes to cool a little. Then sprinkle over parsley, more spices and toasted nuts. Best served as suggested, with hummus/ labneh and a crisp salad.

Foodie Fact

Aubergine is a superhero of the veg world. Have you tried cooking an aubergine on an open flame until charred. When peeled, the aubergine is smoky and delicious, ready for traditional dishes like Babaganoush, but also makes an amazing burger filling or pizza topping.

Nutrition wise, aubergines are not exactly outstanding. They do contain some fibre, vitamin B1 and minerals like copper and manganese, there are some cool chemicals in the black skin that are really good for us.

Categories: Autumn, gluten-free, healthy, Healthy Eating, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Travel, Vegan | Tags: cooking, Lebanese, Lebanon, recipe | 3 Comments

Gado Gado – Indonesian Seasonal Salad with Kickin’ Zesty Peanut Sauce

Posted on November 6, 2017 by leroy watson

I’m trying to prove that you can eat salads in winter!! The sun is still shining! What a beautiful autumn we’ve had here in Wales. Here’s a seasonal salad with a seriously zesty and creamy sauce, a taste of autumn and early winter given a very Indonesian twist.

Some of the vegetables in Gado Gado can be served warm, which makes it idea for autumn, it is also so colourful and takes advantage of all those incredible veggies that are about at the minute.

Gado gado (or Lotek) is something you find all over Indonesia and basically means ‘mix-mix’, we travelled all over Indonesia last year and found that it changed most times we ate it. We’ve added roasted veggies instead of steamed/ boiled and some of our favourite, colourful local organic veg.

We use what is to hand for this salad, what is seasonal and looking great, with new potatoes and the thick peanut dressing, this seems to be the way things are done in Indonesia too. The veggies may change but the POW of the amazing sauce is a constant.

You can use any mix of veggies really, in Indonesia, potatoes always figure, with things like cabbage, jackfruit, bitter melon, corn, beansprouts, spinach, the list is long and tasty. It’s normally topped with something crispy, like fried rice crackers or deep fried shallots. We’ve kept it super healthy and gone for some toasted pumpkin seeds instead. Not traditional, but packed with nutrition and gorgeous flavour.

SULAWESI STYLE

I think our favourite Gado Gado was in a small town in the North of Sulawesi. One man was making it with such care at a warung (street food stand) and we ate it on the street on a little table with a group of lovely people, all giving us their top Gado Gado tips. It’s one of those dishes that is a real institution and everyone has their favourite quirk and twist with it. I love the way it’s so flexible and easy to make.

Gado Gado is a great option for a vegan traveller around Indonesia, its filling nutritious and will sometimes come with two of my Indonesia favourites; tempeh and tahu (tofu). They are everywhere, on each street corner, you’ll bump into a lump of tofu! We even visited a remote village that was all about tofu, check it out – Visiting Tofu Village – Yogyakarta, Indonesia

It’s fair to say that Indonesia captured our hearts, we loved travelling around and the people were amazingly friendly and hospitable. The food is also sensational and is one of those cuisines that hasn’t really taken off here in the UK, at least not like Thai or Vietnamese food. I would say that it’s a fascinating cuisine to explore and Gado Gado is at the very tip of an intensely tasty tree, and if you’re vegan, Indonesia will teach you all you need to know about making tofu and tempeh taste amazing (little tip, great sauces and marinades).

Recipe Notes

Gado Gado normally comes with the thick sauce poured over the dish, a very generous quantity normally. I like to see the lovely veggies and therefore drizzle the sauce on the base of the plate/ shallow bowl and then have some more around for people to drizzle on top.

We use cooked beans and roasted veggies here, you can serve them warm of cold. The contrast of raw veg and warm is nice and the sauce comes alive even more with a little heat.

If you can’t track down tamarind, just add a little more citrus.

Aduki beans are also really nice with this salad. We use beans to substitute tofu or tempeh when we don’t have any. Nice bit of protein!

Gado Gado – Indonesian Seasonal Salad with Kickin’ Zesty Peanut Sauce

The Bits – For 4

Salad

450g new potatoes (cooked and chopped)

300g mung or other beans (cooked)

4 big handfuls roasted veggies (we used golden and purple beetroot, squash and onion)

1/2 green pepper (sliced)

1/2 yellow pepper (sliced)

2 big handfuls red cabbage (finely sliced)

2 ripe tomatoes (diced)

1/2 cucumber (diced)

4 Brussels Sprouts (finely sliced)

Topping

½ bunch fresh coriander (leaves picked oﬀ) or mint leaves (sliced)

1 hot red chilli (ﬁnely sliced)

4 tbs toasted pumpkin seeds

Extra something crispy – fried wonton wrappers, cassava crisps. (Traditionally prawn crackers (krukuk) are used.)

Peanut Sauce

130g peanut butter (crunchy or smooth is fine)

3 tbs coconut cream (that’s the cream from a tin of coconut milk)

30-40g palm sugar or brown sugar

1 large clove garlic (crushed)

1 tbsp / 1 inch ginger or galangal (peeled and chopped)

1-2 red chillies

2 limes (juice)

2 tbs tamari

1 tablespoon tamarind paste

Salt (to taste)

2 tbsp water (more if needed to thin)

Do It

In a bowl or food processor (easier), mix/blitz the peanut sauce ingredients (except the lime) until a thick sauce forms, adding water if needed to thin it out.
Place sauce in a small saucepan and warm gently. Taste and season with salt if needed then stir the lime juice in. The sauce should be nice and smooth creamy and with a real lime zing.

Spoon the sauce around the outside of the base of a shallow bowl. Arrange all the other vegetables over the sauce however you like it, then sprinkle with all the other toppings, coriander, chillies and seeds and serve.

Foodie Fact

You may know that peanuts are really high in protein, but did you know they are very high in copper?! We need copper in our diet to to help us absorb iron and it also helps with red blood cells, nerves, bones and the immune system. Aren’t we amazing!! They are also a great source of healthy fats and even anti-oxidants.

If you’d like to read more about our Indonesian travels here’s a couple of posts:

Street Eats and Delicious Days – Our Indonesian holiday snaps

Jungle Kopi Culture – Sampling Indonesia’s coffee revolution

Categories: Autumn, Dressings, gluten-free, healthy, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Salads, Travel, Vegan | Tags: Indonesia, recipe | 7 Comments

Simple Black Bean & Pumpkin Curry

Posted on November 2, 2017 by leroy watson

We had this for breakfast! Might not be everyones bowl of morning happiness but Jane and I love curry for brekkie, a pleasant habit we picked up at train stations and little bus stops in India. We wanted the all-time classic ‘Chana Masala’, but we didn’t have chickpeas!? What’s going on there?!! I feel like I have failed our household. Still, it lead to this creation which I was so pleased with, I felt the urge to share and write and celebrate the beauty of a simple curry.

SPICY WAKE UP CALL

We were getting tired of the smoothies and bowls of nuts and fruits and things routine, we wanted some SPICE in our early, sleepy eyed life! When the grey tickles us, as it can at this time of year, we need to put some rainbow flavours and magic into our food. Spices are magic dust right?! Does any food have as much pizazz and down right tastiness as a deep and potent curry? It can enliven the senses. The sheer complexity of flavours mingling and merging, having a massive party all over your taste buds? This curry doesn’t have to be eaten for brekkie, but do let us know if you try. Ditch the fry up this Sunday AM and get spicy!!

I’ve been to India many times, it has become my second home. I love living a life of contrasts, living on a hill in middle of nowhere, slightly mossy, Wales, straight to the honking depths of down town Delhi, thats my kind of contrast. Mix things up. Keep things vibrant and interesting. For me, India is the country with everything going on within its borders, travel there is rich. I know I go on about the food all the time, but, it is incredible. Consistently. Mind boggling in variety. Like I’ve died and gone to a Dhaba.

HIDDEN TREASURES (AND PICKLES)

If you’re looking for the best spices and Indian/ Pakistani/ Bangladeshi/ Nepalese etc ingredients, I recommend a regular visit to your local Asian shop/ supermarket. It’s where all the best ingredients will be hiding and normally for very reasonable prices. I find them a perfect location for spice worship. Eastern cooking treasure troves, designed for real food lovers to disappear into for days, reappearing with carfull’s of fantastic ingredients, pickles and inspiration.

I say, take the afternoon off and have a good luck around, ask for help and guidance. For me they’re like a flavour library for a cook, sifting through the ingredients and always finding something new and interesting to take home and play with in the kitchen.

The curry powder we used here was recommended to us by an Indian man in one of my favourite Asian supermarkets in Newcastle. He wasn’t wrong, its brilliant, fiery and fragrant. Curry powder has a bit of a bad name, but its just the same as any spice mix like bharat, ras el hanout etc. If you buy a decent one, it works well. Of course, making your own is the holy grail of any spice enthusiast. But having the time and means to do that can be a challenge. This is a quick dish, so lets keep it simple.

This is no traditional curry, but its not far off. I’ve made this curry super easy for you, I’d love you to cook and enjoy it! With only two spice mixes, garam masala and curry powder, which most of you will have knocking about in your cupboards and a quick cooking time.

If you don’t have the spice mixes, just try making your own up using things like turmeric, cumin and coriander for the curry mix, adding a little cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom for the garam masala. Could be a very nice experiment! I add red lentils to thicken the sauce up and make things hearty and substantial. I used pumpkin, because its their ultra orange time of year, but use any vegetables you like here and a nice idea is stirring some greens in just before serving, a couple of handfuls of spinach leaves is cool.

In Nirvana, this is breakfast!

Recipe Notes

I like the curry quite thin, more a thick daal than a chunky curry. Better for dipping warm chappatis into! The lentils will just keep sucking up the water, so just keep some warm water handy when cooking, preferably a recently boiled kettle (easier) and top up the water as you fancy.

Mash it up!! Your garlic and ginger and chilli as best you can, blending them or whacking them in a pestle and mortar is best. Releasing all their vibrant potential.

Leaving the curry to cool slighty, let it sit for 10 minutes with a lid on, will help the flavours to mix and mingle, get deep and meaningful.

I’ve gone easy on the chillies because Jane is anti-chilli, but you go wild if you like!

The lemon and coriander to finish are extras, but the lemon especially, will add a lovely citrus twist to the generally sweet curry, it also seems to re-vitalise the spices a little, bring the flavours to some kind of glorious crescendo!!!! Swadishtx

The chickpea chapatis in the photos are made by whisking some gram flour, water and salt together, until a double cream texture forms, and frying in a little oil. Simple, gluten-free, healthy, tasty…….

—————–

Simple Black Bean & Pumpkin Curry
The Bits – For 2

1 small onion (sliced)
1/2 tbs cooking oil

3 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)
1 inch ginger – roughly 1 heaped tbs (finely grated)
1/2-1 green chilli (finely diced)

250g black beans
75g red lentil – 1 big handful (washed)

200g squash/ pumpkin – 2 handfuls (diced)
300ml hot water
2 tomatoes (chopped and mashed)
1 heaped tbs tomato puree
1 teas salt
1 1/2 tbs curry powder

1 heaped tbs garam masala

Roughly 2 teas lemon juice

Handful chopped coriander (optional one for the coriander lovers out there)

Do It

In a large sauce pan, fry the onions until they are texture like sun (golden brown), then stir in your garlic, ginger and chilli, stir and fry for a minute and then add the lentils, beans, tomatoes, tomato puree, curry powder, squash, water and stir together. Bring to a boil.

Cook on a fast simmer for 10 minutes with a lid on, stirring occasionally to stop the lentils sticking to the bottom. Add your garam masala and cook for 5 minutes more. Stir in a little more water if its getting too thick.

Once the squash is nice and soft, stir in the lemon juice, check seasoning and serve. If you like coriander, sprinkle some chopped coriander over the dish. I like it with warm chapatis or chickpea chapatis, dip them in and enjoy! I also served it with some green mango pickle. One of my favs.

Foodie Fact

Pumpkin is full, full of good things. Especially this time of year when they’re bang on seasonal and hopefully quite local. Very orange, means goodness. Lots of vitamin A, one cup contains 200% of your daily need. You’ll be seeing in the dark in no time. It’s got loads of fibre and pumpkin is also said to keep our skin shining. Bananas are famous potassium sources, but pumpkin actually has considerably higher levels of potassium than bananas. Vitamin C, also in the mix somewhere, they’re just one of the best things we can eat at this time of year and throughout winter. Superstars!!

PS – Please don’t throw away the seeds, clean them off and roast them for a while in an oven. You will not regret the slightly time consuming picking orange gloop off them.

Categories: Autumn, Curries, Dinner, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, Organic, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: curry, india, recipe | 3 Comments

Drunken Cherries – Autumnal Livener!

Posted on October 31, 2017 by leroy watson

Surely one of the most delicious ways to warm up! A fruity little livener!! This is a simple method to preserve berries and produce some wonderful flavoured spirits to make winter cocktails.

It’s Halloween and we’re having a big fire and welcoming in the darker, wintery times with some luxury hot chocolate spiked with cherry brandy and some rich chocolate mousse (see recipe here) and drunken cherries. There’s a theme there!! Cherries and chocolate are a match made somewhere very, very nice.

I love an open fire at Halloween, staring into the flames I feel inspired and a real connection to the festival; from light to dark. It’s also just great to be outside at night in the winter, especially with a clear sky overhead and maybe a glass of cherry brandy warming your cockles!! Lighting fires at Halloween (or Samhain in Celtic Traditions) especially on higher ground is said to aid a souls way to heaven.

Samhain was a day set aside for fasting and reflection, but things have changed a little. Halloween is now a big party of course, all about feasting and treats. We’re well stocked for trick or treaters and I’m enjoying Rye flour at the minute, so loaves and cakes are on the way for tonight as well as plenty of squash/ pumpkin in a variety of forms. I might go for a good old school Soul Cake (like a spiced scone really)? We’ll see….

North Wales has been sparkling of late in Autumn sunshine and crystal clear skies. I love this time of year up here, probably my favourite time in these hills. We’ve been out walking, exploring new corners of Snowdonia, there seems to be endless trails and paths that lead to new vistas, lakes and terrain. Soon it will be a bog-fest, many paths transformed into marshes. The walking is still incredible, but you need to get a little more semi-aquatic, and definitely, a whole lot muddier and chilled.

I’m not a huge fan of the dark, long nights, so tonight is a chance for me to celebrate the brighter times of year. October has been so beautiful and November is the turning point where the wet and grey rise up and take control. I’m always reminded of the villages I’ve visited in the high Himalayas, where they are snowed in for many months a year and spend the days with friends and family, drinking local chang (like a watered down moonshine), singing, dancing and telling stories. That’s their approach to living through a really arduous winter. I think we all need more singing, dancing and story telling in winter and lets face it, homemade cherry brandy is way better than chang (trust me)!!

You can use this method (technically it’s called ‘macerating’) to preserve and transform any berries really into something warming and delicious in the winter months. We love to make things like Sloe Gin, Blackberry Whiskey and whatever soft fruits we can get our hands on. I managed to get some tasty cherries a couple of months ago and now we are reaping the rewards! I love preserving the bounty of summer/ autumn and enjoying it in the depths of winter, it seems like such a gift to pop open a jar of jam or pickle and share in the joys of the brighter months. It makes winter slip by a little easier, some summertime sweetness.

Recipe Notes

Berries/ fruits like blackberries, strawberries, loganberries, sloe, plums, damsons, mulberries, blueberries will all be very nice in this recipe.

The longer you leave the fruit to macerate, the more the flavours will develop and change. Taste it regularly and drink it when you like it! It’s a fascinating process!!

———————————

Drunken Cherries

The Bits – Makes enough for one medium kilner jar

700g cherries (pitted and cut in half)

½ bottle brandy

2 handfuls sugar (to taste)

Do It

Place the cherries in medium sized kilner jar, if you’re keeping for awhile, or any large sealable container if otherwise. Pour over the brandy and sprinkle the sugar over. Place a lid on and gently shake to combine the sugar. Now taste. If you like it sweeter, add more sugar. Seal and store in a cupboard.

These can be enjoyed after a few days but are better when left for a few weeks or longer. If there are any cherries sticking above the brandy, either add more brandy or a splash of water.

Use the cherries in desserts and drink the brandy as you like it. It’s nice when served warm, especially in hot chocolate.

Categories: Autumn, Desserts, gluten-free, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: cocktails, hiking, snowdonia | Leave a comment

Vegan Thai Yellow Curry with Squash & Fava Beans

Posted on September 29, 2017 by leroy watson

Thai Yellow Curry with Squash & Fava Beans

This is an ideal, quick and easy, curry at this time of year, using seasonal squash (one of my favs) plus British grown fava beans from Hodmedods and all the beautiful flavours of Thailand in a creamy and rich coconut sauce. It’s one of those dishes that most vegetables will love and mingle into, add whatever combos you love, I kept it simple here.

SQUASH SEASON

There are so many squashes around at this time of year, the one I used here was a Hokkaido Squash which is a great all-rounder for roasting, stew/ curries and grating or slicing into a salad. Hokkaido is lovely and sweet with a brilliant orange colour and is normally quite small, making it ideal stuffing size. You’ll also find loads of Acorns, Kabocha, Crown Prince (I love that one) and if you’re lucky, a Spaghetti Squash, which is well worth seeking out. When roasted and fluffed with a fork, it forms a spaghetti like texture.

A lot of people I meet don’t like squash, strange as that may sound to some of you. It’s normally down to the fact that pumpkin is so popular, the variety we carve strange faces into at Halloween (although we always used a giant swede – the vegetable that is). That type of pumpkin is a little watery and lacking in flavour, not great eatin’, I’d recommend any of the winter squashes way ahead of old scary pumpkin head.

RECIPE INSPIRATION VIA BANGKOK SUBURB

This recipe is based on one of our favourite places to eat in Bangkok, Lemon Farm Organic Restaurant near, well, it’s kind of popped in the middle of a mass of sprawling Bangkok-ness (Chatuchak). It’s an out of the way place if you’re a tourist, a mainly residential area where we had the pleasure of staying with the awesome Kessi for a few weeks. There was really very little to do, so Jane and I did a lot of cooking (using only a rice cooker and kettle) and made a little home on the 13th floor of a tower overlooking the sprawling, buzzing city of Bangkok.

This dish is modelled on something cooked for us by the amazing Buppha, head chef/ manager at Lemon Farm, which was a sweet, rich and coconut-y lentil dish from her hometown of Phuket in the South. I had never tried Thai lentils before and it really inspired me. She made it with red lentils and always shared her recipes generously, but I was normally trying to write them down in a little notebook whilst holding a plate of food and being jostled by crowd of hungry Lemon Tree punters. It got packed at office lunch time you see. So I free styled this recipe and used the best of what was to hand, but the taste is similar, reminders of good times for sure.

THAI-STYLE (EAT!)

Phuket is a foodie centre, which can be said for all parts of Thailand I’ve found, and the dishes there are distinctly chilli-fied! Pow!! Buppha used to wake up at 4am with her team of chefs to prepare the days array of dishes and was very passionate about all things cooking, many of the recipes had been handed down to her by her mother/ grandmother. The food was served buffet style, with a little noodle soup spot in the corner of an organic food shop. It was cheap, very varied, plentiful and many dishes were vegan friendly, using some tofu and lots of interesting veggies. Buppha just loved cooking with vegetables and they even had their own little vegetarian festival. A week of vegetarian cooking that falls between September and October most years, most Thai’s go veggie at that time. This years festival ended yesterday!

VEGAN THAI TRAVEL

Thailand is of course a Buddhist country, but meat is very common in dishes, to the point that eating without planning in Bangkok and all over Thailand can be a challenge. This is just one of those things, the veg markets in Thailand are some of my favourite in the world. In fact the veg market in a little fishing town called Prachuap Kiri Khan is probably my favourite in the world (not to mention they have a vegan restaurant and a couple of vegetarian restaurants, plus an outdoor food market every night). These veggies just don’t seem to surface on restaurant menus though, but this is a gripe of mine all over the world (one you’ve probably heard before). It seems that most veggies are used in the home and meat is a ‘treat’ when people go out to eat. Having said that, Thai’s seem to eat out all the time, everyday, such is the abundance of street eats to be found. No country is like it, most streets have carts, wagons and tables vending all kinds of local delicacies. It’s almost impossible to keep up with what is going on and taste bud overload can occur.

Thailand is not the easiest country to travel around as a vegan, especially when you get off the tourist trail. English is not spoken generally and like I said, vegan options need to be sniffed out and the outrageous abundance of Thai street food is pretty much off the menu. Still, when you do find vegan hot spots, like the tourist friendly Chang Mai or one of the main tourist islands like Koh Samui, you’ve hit Thai food heaven. Thai food is very diverse, much more interesting than I imagined on my first visit. I was ignorant to the geographical differences in ingredients and flavours, styles and approaches. I should have known better really, as this is nothing new in the world of food, most countries have a similarly rich tapestry of dishes and produce as you wander around. Nowadays, when I return, that first Green Curry or Pad Thai Noodles is always a very special moment.

There is such a buzz to eating in Bangkok, eating out really means that, outside, huddled over a table near a main road, or near one of the hundreds of canals (think watery thoroughfare). Theres a bustle and energy to it all, loads of skill and panache in preparing and serving food and you can spend all night walking around, eating tiny delicious portions of things and just keep going until the early hours. It’s one of the highest forms of grazing, snacking at its best, Thai style!

Big Thanks to Hodmedods!

Just for being awesome really!! They have such an amazing array of British grown pulses and seeds, so many interesting things (to me), like Blue Peas, Carelina Seeds, Black Badger Peas, Fava Umami Paste, loads of ingredients that get me excited about cooking, trying new things. If you’re interested, they even do a Big Vegan Box!

Hodmedods were kind enough to send us some of their pulses and bits to cook with at our recent retreats and I think their fava beans are a cut above. Filled with amazing flavour, I love making Fave E Cicoria, a really simple Puglian bean dip. Making it with Hodmedods beans makes a huge difference to the flavour. The dish is simply made with cooked fava beans, garlic and a little olive oil. Doesn’t sound like much admittedly, but with those beans, it’s dynamite!! PS – Well done on winning the 2017 Best Food Producer at the BBC Food Awards. To celebrate they’re offering 15% discount on orders.

Recipe Notes
You can use any lentils you like, red lentils will take considerably less time to cook. Green/ brown lentils, dark green/ puy lentils will all work nicely. Mung beans are also very ace.

Not all coconut milk is equal. Check the cans, we’re looking for plenty of coconut content, if it’s around 50%, its going to be quite weak. Still nice, but not as creamy. We’ve been talking about the differences between Coconut Milk and Coconut Cream over on Facebook in the BHK Vegan Cooking Group. I like this dish really rich and really creamy.

Check that your Yellow Thai Curry Paste is vegan/ gluten-free. Thanks It normally is. The Green and Red Thai Curry pastes in most UK shops are not vegan.

Shop bought Thai curry paste can be high in salt, this effects our seasoning.

I didn’t have any coriander or fresh chilli, but that would have been the perfect addition to the topping of this dish.

Thai Yellow Curry with Squash & Fava Beans

Quick Thai Yellow Curry with Squash & Fava Beans

The Bits – For 4

250g fava beans

900ml water

5-6 kaffir lime leaves

1.5 inches ginger (finely chopped)

4 cloves garlic (finely chopped)

1-2 teas chilli flakes

½ head small savoy cabbage (sliced)

1 small hokkaido squash – 300g (peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks)

1 big handful desiccated coconut/ coconut flakes (toasted is nice)

1 can coconut milk

2 tbs coconut oil

4-5 tbs yellow curry paste (vegan)

1 tbs coconut/ brown sugar (optional sweetness)

Sea salt

Toppings (optional)

A little more desiccated coconut/ coconut flakes

1 red chilli (finely sliced)

1 handful coriander (fresh)

1/2 lime (cut into wedges/ slices)

Do It
Wash and drain the fava beans. Cover with cold water in a large saucepan, bring to a boil, then simmer for 30-40 minutes, until soft. Add more hot water if needed.

While that’s going on, in a large frying pan, add the coconut oil, warm on medium high heat and add the onion and fry for 7 minutes until golden, then add the garlic and ginger, fry for 2 minutes. Add the coconut milk, chilli, desiccated coconut, lime leaves, squash and cabbage, bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes until the squash is soft. Stir in the yellow Thai paste, sugar and cooked fava beans (including cooking broth), warm through for a few minutes, adding a little hot water if needed. Check seasoning.

Serve with warm rice, more toasted coconut, lime wedges and sliced red chillies if you like it hot.

*To add a Thai flavour to your rice, why not add a few lime leaves and a handful of coconut when you start cooking it.*

Foodie Fact

You all probably know that I love my beans! But favas…..they’re almost a different league. PACKED with flavour and so, so good for us. Fava beans were dried and ground down to make bread traditionally in the UK, it was one of our major crops before we went wild for wheat and potatoes. There is a rich history of fava/ broad bean growing in the UK, but growing up, they always seems a little exotic, something from the Middle East maybe, not the Midlands.

Fava/ Broad Beans are rich in shiny things like Vitamin K, Thaimin, zinc, potassium and loads of other minerals. They are full of protein and have no saturated fat or cholesterol. They also contain good amounts of iron and folate (one of the vitamin B bunch), plus loads of fibre.

Categories: Autumn, Curries, Dinner, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Travel, Vegan | Tags: recipes, thailand, travelling | 10 Comments

Homemade Blackberry Vinegar – Free Food!

Posted on October 12, 2015 by leroy watson

Blackberries. You can’t escape them in Autumn!

Its that time of year, when blackberries are everywhere and we need inspiration outside crumbles and cakes. Jane and I try to pick as many as possible, although sometimes its a thankless task. They are not the easiest fruits to harvest (especially wearing shorts!) Braving all those thorns is well worth it though. Blackberries are one of my favourite berries and so versatile. Vinegar may not be the most obvious way to use them but turning fruit into vinegar is wonderfully simple and the best thing about it is, they last for an age. Perfect for preserving our seasonal berry gluts. Fruit vinegar is also quite an expense in the shops so you’re saving a few pennies.

REASONS TO GO BLACKBERRY PICKING

Once you’re out there, it’s actually loads of fun!
Eating blackberries makes our brains work better and also make our skin look younger.
They are FREE!
You can use the leaves of the blackberry plant. We dry them out and use them to make tea. The most tender leaves work best.

FREE-STYLE FORAGER

Its a good idea to have some bags or punnets in your car, when you see a blackberry hot spot, you can leap out and share in the wealth. You can also arrange a family/ group of friends collective forage. This means you can prepare vinegar or blackberry jams or compotes together in big pans. This works out more cost effective and there is something very rewarding about a jar of homemade, foraged jam in the heart of winter. Full of good memories and nutritional vitality.

Blackberry vinegar can be used in salad dressing or drank with some hot water (think a hot cordial) for a vitamin boost on a cold autumn day. You may also like to try roasting beetroots with the vinegar, similar to when we use balsamic vinegar in roasting roots. The results are delicious and are all the more satisfying because you made it! For free! From the hedgerow!!

So get out there with your punnets (or buckets). Free berries for all! That’s (almost) free food!

Beach House Blackberries

The Bits – Makes roughly 300ml Vinegar

250g blackberries
125ml white wine vinegar
150g unrefined light brown sugar

Do It

Soak blackberries in vinegar for 5 day to 1 week. The longer you leave them, the more concentrated the flavour. We left ours for 10 days.

You can use a sieve to support the muslin if you choose to lightly press the blackberries.

Strain using muslin. You can either leave hanging above a vessel for 12 hours or pass through the muslin. The blackberry pulp left over should be relatively dry.

Add the vinegar and sugar to a saucepan and bring gently to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes stirring regularly. The sugar should be completely combined with the vinegar.

Leave the vinegar to cool and the store in a clean bottle with a decent cork/lid.

Bottle it up and enjoy!

Foodie Fact

Blackberries are high in vitamin C and the very dark colour of blackberries means lots of anti-oxidants. One of the highest in fruit. The high tannin content of blackberries helps with intestinal inflammation, it has a soothing effect. The high vitamin K content in blackberries is said to regulate menstruation and aids in muscle relaxation.

Categories: Autumn, Foraging, Healthy Living, Nutrition, Recipes, Vegan, Wild food | Tags: blackberry, cooking, homemade, recipe, vinegar | 13 Comments

Griddled Ruby Grapefruit and Beetroot Salad with Toasted Cobnuts and Aronia Berry Dressing

Posted on September 15, 2015 by leroy watson

Chargrilled Ruby Grapefruit, Beetroot, and Cobnut Salad with Aronia Berry Dressing

We’ve had a real foodie time of it recently and this salad reflects that. Not only have I picked up some amazing produce at Ludlow and Beaumaris Food Festivals, but I have also been inspired by the chefs I’ve met. This is a salad that is caught between summer and autumn, quite apt in September. It’s also caught somewhere between a restaurant table and home kitchen. Do not fear, all of the these ingredients are easily interchangeable and there is only a few, quick, prep steps.

This dish is a looker and is something you could serve at dinner party and it would go down a treat. Its full of bold flavours and the Aronia berry vinegar really lights things up. Like all salads, its a perfect way of expressing gorgeous produce. We have made these portions main course size, but you could easily scale things down and serve as a starter.

Some of the special bits; cobnuts (from Ludlow), organic beetroots from Tyddyn Teg and Aronia Berry Vinegar

Some of the special bits; cobnuts (from Ludlow), organic beetroots from Tyddyn Teg Farm and Aronia Berry Vinegar

I think this is the best way to cook beetroots. Although my mind does change often. I also love charring citrus. Aine Carlin reminded me how cool charring citrus can be with this simple and delicious dessert recipe ‘Cashew Cream and Griddled Oranges’. Check it out on youtube. Aine’s new cookbook is out soon, which is very exciting news.

WHAT’S A COBNUT THEN?

Basically its a hazelnut. This is the perfect time of year to pick them up and when they are fresh and young, they are plump and have a light, creamy taste and a texture similar to coconut. They are lighter than a hazelnut when roasted and something that is well worth a try. Cobnuts were only introduced to the UK in the 19 th century and they are famously from Kent. In this salad they bring crunch and richness. Use them as you would use a hazelnut.

Cobnuts -de-shelled and soaked

ARONIA BERRIES

We met a lovely group of people at Beaumaris, Beri Da, who are growing Aronia berries in the next valley from us. Incredible to think that these things are happening so close and you miss them! We have tried a lot of food and nibbles over this weekend, but some really stand out. Beri Da is certainly one of them. Everything they produce is delicious and something a little different.

Beri Da is a small family ran business and you can read more about their story here. Aronia berries are like blueberries but more intense and packed with even more antioxidants and good stuff. They are native to North America but are increasingly being grown in the UK. They are thriving near Mount Snowdon and the guys have just planted even more bushes at the base of the mountain. A very scenic place for superfoods to grow!

The Aronia vinegar we bought is very intense, fruity and fragrant. A little goes a long way. We also have some chutney made with beetroot which is just too good to eat right now. We need to hide it away and dream about it for a while. Its fair to say that Aronia berries are going down well in the BHK. We are hoping to pop over and help with the next harvest, I’m not sure how many berries are going to make the basket!

These beetroots were so good looking, I love that crazy, deep purple.

I’m going to write more about the brilliant producers we met over the weekend in our next post. I’ll also let you know how our first cooking demo’s and book signings went at food festivals. We started at one of the biggest and surely one of the best, Ludlow. It was a blast!

VEGFEST 2015

If you haven’t voted in Vegfest 2015’s massive vegan poll, tututututututututttttt! There are loads of vegan products, authors, suppliers etc to be voted for. You’ll find ‘Peace & Parsnips’ in the ‘Best Vegan Cookbook’ catergory along with a host of other excellent plant based cookbooks. The Vegfest is like the vegan Oscar’s and we’ll be down there doing a cooking demo. Is going to be HUGE! Exciting stuff.

Lets get cooking……

Recipe Notes:

When frying the beetroots you can use any fruit vinegar, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry etc but all will be different. Some sweeter, some more potent. You just need to taste and adjust accordingly. For frying the beetroots you can also use balsamic vinegar and save your precious fruit vinegar for the dressing.

If you chargrill the grapefruit for too long, they will begin to fall apart. Keep it to roughly a minute each side, we’re just looking for a few nice griddle marks to add a smokiness to the citrus flavours. Its well worth the little extra hassle.

I have added avocado for a little bit of richness, but you could easily use cashew cheese or even well drained and marinated tofu.

Our Aronia berry vinegar is very potent, you may need to add more fruit vinegar to balance the dressing nicely. It should be quite tart with good acidity and a nice twist of sweetness.

The rapeseed oil we use here is good quality, single press, made like olive oil-type stuff. The flavour is sensational and we are loving Blodyn Aur or Bennett and Dunn. Both excellent and part of a new wave of quality rapeseed oil producers in the UK.

This recipe makes just enough dressing. Double the quantity if you’d like extra to be served on the table.

Nicely caramelised beetroots in Aronia berry vinegar – the smell was sensational!

The Bits – For 4
6 medium beetroots (scrubbed and trimmed)
1 small cucumber (peeled and cut in 1/2 moons)
1 ruby grapefruit (peeled and cut into 1cm slices across)
2 handfuls de-shelled cobnuts or hazelnuts (toasted)
8 big handfuls beetroot leaves or spinach/ chard leaves (finely sliced, chop the stems too and keep separate for garnish)
1 avocado (peeled and cut into small chunks)
2 radish (thinly sliced)
2 big handful basil leaves
1 tbs rapeseed oil
2 teas aronia berry vinegar or other fruit vinegar (balsamic will do)

Aronia Berry Dressing
2 teas aronia vinegar (or other fruit vinegar)
3 tbs rapeseed oil
1/2 lemon juice
Pinch salt

Do It
In a saucepan, cover the beetroots with water and add 1/2 teas salt, bring to a boil and lower to a simmer. Pop lid on and cook for 45 minutes. Remove the beetroots with a slotted spoon, keep the cooking broth to drink or use as a colourful stock. Pop the beets back in the pan and pop the lid back on.

Make the dressing by whisking everything together (with a fork if you like) in a small bowl.

Grab a griddle pan and very lightly oil, place on a high heat. When hot pop the grapefruit slices on. Leave to cook for a minute, they don’t take long. Flip them over using a thin spatula and cook for a minute on the other side. Now do the same with your cucumber slices. One minute each side. Set aside.

Peel the skin off the beetroots (you may like to wear clean marigolds or other plastic gloves for this job). Using a teaspoon helps to bring the skin away from the beet. Cut the beetroots in half lengthways and then each half into four even pieces. Warm the oil in a frying pan and fry the beetroots for 10 minutes, turning them regularly. You should get some nice colour on them. Add the vinegar and toss the beetroots to cover with vinegar, this will help them caramelise nicely. Cook for 2 minutes and they’re ready to go.

On large plates, scatter the leaves and top with grapefruit, cucumber, cobnuts, beetroots, avocado, sprinkle over the sliced beetroot roots, radish and basil, drizzle liberally with dressing.

Chargrilled Ruby Grapefruit, Beetroot and Cobnut Salad with Aronia Berry Dressing

Serve
Best served when the beetroots are still warm. We had ours with some steamed whole grains (millet, green lentils and buckwheat) tossed in a little lemon juice and rapeseed oil.

Foodie Fact

Nuts are good for you. Very good for you. Little nutritional powerhouses they are. Cobnut kernels contain 17% protein by dry weight, and about 15% fibre. Cobnuts are rich in vitamin E and calcium. They also contain vitamin B1 and B6. Not bad!

Our foodie weekend salad with all the trimmings

Categories: Autumn, Healthy Eating, Local food, Lunch, Recipes, Salads, Vegan | Tags: Aronia, cobnut, cooking, superfood, vegetarian, wales | Leave a comment

Autumn’s End at the Beach House Kitchen

Posted on November 6, 2014 by leroy watson

A very belated Happy Samhain/ Halloween to you all! We spent it packing up the house, soup bubbling and preparing the garden for winter. Here are a few images of the last days of Autumn, a week ago, in the Beach House Garden.

We have flown the nest again like migrating birds. We’re in Turkey, up to our necks in ancient ruins and scrumptious kebabs and salads. Looking at these pictures makes us feel privileged to live in such a special little corner of the world. More news from Turkey, Spain and India soon…..goodbye Beach House until AprilXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Beach House Garden bracing itself for the Welsh winter

Our Hawthorn tree all red and sparkly

Last of the blackberries, still fruiting into late October!?

Autumn sunset off the Llyn Peninsula

Late Autumn and the chills are setting in. Soup tonic, Pumpkin, Fennel and Leek with Soda Bread

Kindling ready for the fire

Potato patches covered with manure and compost, ready for next year

The source of great potatoes, our neighbourly horse who lives next door.

The source of great potato manure, our neighbourly horse in the next field. Not the friendliest, but quite a quite prolific manure provider

Stash of funky rocks from the beach

Steamy kitchen action, Welsh cottages not cut out for heavy wok action

Steamy kitchen action, Welsh cottages not cut out for heavy saute action

Wake up, 3oC, warm Banana Bread cookie time (recipe to follow)

Categories: 'The Good Life', Autumn, Garden, photography, Wales | Tags: autumn, cooking, food, gardening, nature, photography, vegan, wales | 5 Comments

Quick Tempeh Stir Fry with Buckwheat Noodles, Rainbow Chard and Goji Berries (Gluten Free)

Posted on October 27, 2014 by leroy watson

Autumn in a bowl (if you live in the Beach House that is!)

IT’S TIME THE WORLD TRIED TEMPEH!

Here’s a mid-belter to get the taste buds zinging, full of the things we need with winter just around the bend. When the nights draw in (our clocks have just gone back in the UK which means it gets dark at around 4-5pm already!) we naturally turn to comfort foods rich in carbs to put some padding on for winter. Stir fries are the ideal way of avoiding really heavy, stodgy grub at this time of year and because the ingredients are cooked quickly, at high heat, they retain more of their health giving properties. The winter wok is a star and our bodies need a decent kick start to get us through this physically arduous time of year.

Stir fries are always and intense affair, its at the exciting, adrenaline rich end of the cooking spectrum. You need to be organised, with a very hot pan and trusty spatula at the ready. If you turn around to grab something, things can go horribly wrong! This one it ever-so easy to get together and wok, with the pleasing addition of a few superfood-stylee trimmings. Trust me, the name of this dish sounds far more complex than the cooking.

WHAT’S TEMPEH AND WHY?

Tempeh is so easy to prepare, highly fuss-free and packed with all the protein a vegan needs to sparkle. Soya is best kept wholebean and the thing I love about tempeh is you can actually see the beans (see below). Tempeh originated from the Indonesia area and is eaten extensively as a meat substitute, although it is surely appreciated for just being highly tasty (I prefer this approach). It is whole soya beans, packed together and partly fermented which leads to the health benfits of soya being accentuated. Our body can utilise its goodness more directly.

Tempeh is now relatively easy to track down in the UK and you can of course find it on line. I like to eat it regularly, normally as an alternative to tofu. It always seems like a treat when the tempeh is cracked open. You can buy it frozen in long logs in some Oriental shops/ supermarkets. The tempeh we use here was in ‘log’ form. You can steam this tempeh for 10 minutes to revitalise it before cooking. Frozen tempeh is alot drier than jarred tempeh (which is suspended in brine) so it will absorb much more marinade. Like most of these vegan, pulse based curd-like creations, it does need a nice, slow marinade to impart wonderful flavours. Tempeh and tofu are really just ridiculously nutritious launch pads for high charged flavour rockets!!!! I’ve gone for a straightforward marinade here and 30 minutes should do the trick, marinade wise, on a busy week night, although a couple of hours would be quite awesome.

Soba noodles are well up there in my noodle league. They have a firm texture and loads of nutritional perks. Just check the quantity of buckwheat to wheat if you’re keeping things low gluten. Pure buckwheat noodles are available, but ‘soba’ noodles are normally a mix.

AUTUMNAL ANTI-OXIDANT FIX

Are we all familiar with goji berries? They seem to have been a superfood for at least 3000 years now, originating somewhere in ancient China and always very highly regarded for their potent nutritional properties. Goji’s are the ideal autumn/ winter defence blanket for all kinds of cold/ flu invasions. Highly charged with anti-oxidants and happy chemicals, a handful of goji’s a day, keeps the snotty, coughy zombie man at bay. You can pick them up all over the place now and they are the perfect winter salad/ stew ‘sprinkle’ of choice. If you’re in the UK, try a rosehip as a more local substitute. They have very similar properties, but would have looked a little incongruous on a highly Oriental style stir fry!

We also have peppers in the mix, which are very (very), very high in vitamin C. One of the best sources in the vegetal world in fact. Then we have our friend rainbow chard which is a green and we all know what they do. Anything green and leafy is our bodies best friend, packed with vitamins and minerals (for more chard -based info – See the ‘Foodie Fact’ below).

If you are looking from serious detox properties from this wok wonder, I’d recommend taking it easier on the shoyu and mirin due to sodium and sugar (respectively) contents. Our kidneys and liver are never happy to see high levels of salt and sweetness.

A WORD ON COOKING CHARD

Chard contains some funky acids (oxalic acids), whilst not harmful, it is best to avoid them. Our bodies can absorb the goodness of chard easier when the acids are out of the way. The best way to do this it to steam or boil them for a few minutes. Do not use this cooking liquid for soups or stocks.

Last night, we fancied something like a chow mein style dish, low on sauce and high on noodles. To make this more of a soup, just add some shoyu/ tamari or miso to the water when cooking your noodles (taste the broth to decide how strong you like it) and serve ladled over the final dish.

The Bits – For 2

200g tempeh (cut into chunks, we like big ones, most people go for small 1 cm by 3cm oblong shapes)

1 tbs sunflower oil

1/2 teas toasted sesame oil

Marinade

3 teas tamari or good g.f. soya sauce (ie not heavily processed)

2 teas mirin or sake/ cream sherry with a pinch of sugar

1 1/2 teas sesame oil

4 large stems rainbow chard (finely sliced) – spinach, kale, savoy cabbage etc..any green leaf is cool

1 bell pepper (diced)

1 medium carrot (cut into thin batons, or sliced)

1/2 inch ginger (finely diced)

1 red chilli (if you like it hot)

175-200g gluten-free noodles

1 handful goji berries (soaked for 30 minutes in water)

1 tbs toasted sesame seeds

1 teas lemon juice

Quick Tempeh Stir Fry with Buckwheat Noodles, Rainbow Chard and Goji Berries

Do It

Marinade the tempeh, pour over the ingredients, cover and leave in a fridge for 30 minutes or longer.

I like to start with the noodles, bring 1 ltr of water to a boil and submerge the noodles whole (try not to break them up). Stir with a fork to keep the noodles seperated, adding a splash of oil if they start sticking. Cook them for a few minutes (follow what the packet says), drain them (or make a broth – see above) and pop them back into the warm pan. Shake the noodles gently to make sure they’re all happy and seperated, pop a lid on and set aside.

If you are a highly accomplished wok master you can start stir frying whilst the noodles are on their way.

Warm up a wok/ large frying pan and add 1/2 of the sunflower/ sesame oils, on a medium high heat, add the drained tamari and stir fry for 5 minutes, trying to get your chunks coloured on all sides. Gently play with them as not to break them up. Set aside and keep warm. I put a plate on to of the noodle pan and cover it with another plate, using the heat from the noodles to warm the tempeh!

During the entire stir frying process, the pan can get too hot and leading to burnt bits. Sprinkle a little water into the pan to avoid this, slightly lowering the temperature. Just a s sprinkle is enough, overdoing it will lead to limp veg.

Wipe the pan if it needs it and add the rest of the oil, on a high heat, add the carrots and ginger stir fry until softened, roughly a minute, then add the other veggies and keep stir frying until they are wilted, softened and delicious. Remember we want crunch and vitality with a stir fry, so slightly undercook the veggies (they continue to cook when you are preparing to serve). Add a splash of your marinade ingredients to the pan towards the end of cooking to add a little pizzazz, followed by a little lemon juice to cut through all that salty tamari-style behaviour.

Pour the veggies into the noodle pan and combine them nicely together.

Serve

Pour into warm shallow bowls and top with the tempeh and sprinkles of gojis and sesame seeds.

As an option – mix a little more of the marinade ingredients together and people can season their noodles as they like.

Foodie Fact

Chard is a member of the chenopod family, with beetroot, spinach and surprisingly, quinoa! It is native to the Mediterranean where it has been honoured for its medicinal properties since ancient times, Aristotle even wrote about it!

Chard is packed with phyto nutrients, in fact there are 13 different types of these beneficial chemicals in chard leaves. Abnormally high! They can help the heart and regulate blood sugar levels. Chard is also high in the betalians, like beetroot, the yellow stems have many more than the red and these wonder nutrients help us with detox, inflammation and are a powerful anti-oxidant. Chard boasts many health giving properties that aid the nervous system, especially the eyes (bags of vitamin A). High levels of vitamin K and magnesium mean that chard is also aids strong bones.

Green leafy foliage should make regular appearances on our plates if we are looking for optimum health with minimum fuss/ expense.

Categories: Autumn, Detox, gluten-free, Healing foods, Recipes | Tags: chard, gluten-free, nutrition, quick, stir fry, superfood, tempeh, vegan, vegetarian | 3 Comments

Giant Courgette Hats Stuffed with Walnuts, Sweetcorn & Red Rice (Vegan)

Posted on September 30, 2013 by leroy watson

Ready for a final roast

In the time of harvest bounty my mind naturally turns to stuffing things! I have no idea why, there are so many massive vegetables everywhere that it seems like the logical thing to do, they look so cool served whole and are far, far more interesting when stuffed with something uber delicious like fresh sweetcorn, toasted walnuts and some nutty red rice.

Most cultures love a good stuffing, I read recently that in the Middle East they actually have machines to carve holes in carrots etc, you can buy pre-hollowed vegetables at the market in bags. Now that’s spoiling all the fun (or is it?!) I am not very good with DIY, the thought of getting the Black and Decker out to carve a carrot sets alarm bells ringing. Do I love stuffed veg that much?

Everything is going a very courgette at the moment! They are everywhere and this is a fine way to use up the wonder glut of this delicate fruit. This particular beast is of the golden/ yellow variety and was over a foot long. (This post was written a month ago when courgettes were really hanging out there, now they have finished their shenanigans for another year. Mores the pity. Bring on the roots!)

In fact, the best thing that can happened to a courgette is a good stuffing. Its not every vegetable you can say that about, but a courgette is at it finest full of filling other than its own, it has to be said, watery, slightly mushy interior. Especially when they’re massive like this. Resembling a marrow really. Here we have upgraded the mush with red camarague rice, walnuts, sweetcorn and many other forms of ultra deliciousness. A stuffing to be proud of!

Mighty Golden Courgette Towers

I also like to cut courgettes thin length ways and salt them for a while, then use them as a base for an endless number of bakes and gratins. You can pack alot of courgettes into one of these dishes and the dense nature of a well baked gratin is a wonderful way to serve this normally gentle and light veg. Having said that, simply fried with garlic and olive oil, there’s another real winner.

Courgettes are allegedly easy to cultivate, but we don’t get the heat up here on the hill. We also get wind, which tends to knock them down or drag our mini green house away. We get extreme weather on tiger hill! We get our courgettes from Trigonos, a small organic farm and retreat centre just over the hill in the next valley, Nantlle. I am very lucky to work there at the moment and play with all the produce from the fertile land near the lake. See here, its a magic place,

Jane is going away a lot recently (attending many interesting workshops) and we are making the very most of our short times together. Today has been a rare early autumnal day, fresh this morning, warm in the day and a beautiful sunset, the perfect day for al fresco dining with some bubbles and twilight all around.

We sat on our bench near the stone circle and wolfed these delicious courgette treats with lashings of Russian chard and beetroot leaves. It is that wonderful time of year when every veggie seems to be coming out to play (on the plate) and we are inundated with beautiful produce. The only problem is, what to do with it all? Our veg basket is brimming over and the freezer is filling nicely, anybody fancy coming over for dinner? We feel like gluttons, but are still smiling.

BERRY NICE

One of my favourite things to do at this time of year is berry picking. How cool is that! All these free berries sprouting from hedgerows and footpaths. Leave the berries near railways alone, they use a weed killer-type train to kill all the plants around the railways meaning these berries will be contaminated. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news (again!)

The elderberries on our hill are nearly ready and we fancy making some wine this time around, I have a recipe up my sleeve. The thought of homemade elderberry wine makes us both whoop, and we haven’t even drank any yet!

Camarague Rice filling on the hob

If you can’t get your hands on giant courgettes, normal size ones are fine, but a little more fiddly. They will also cook quicker, take 5-10 minutes off the final roasting time.

This recipe will make a little too much stuffing, but its great cold as a salad or maybe find another vegetable to stuff. Tomato? How about an apple? Serve with a simple, creamy sauce.

Char those bad boys

The Bits – For 4

1 giant courgette (yellow, green…… or 3 smaller ones)

1 1/2 cup cooked camarague rice (or rice of your choice)

1 handful chopped and toasted walnuts

1/2 handful of sunflower seeds (roasted is best)

1 small onion

1 small carrot

1 medium potato (all three finely diced)

1 corn on the cob (kernels off the cob)

4 cloves garlic (crushed)

8 cherry tomatoes (quatered, or one normal sized tomato)

3 tbs tomato puree

1 teas dried dill

1/2 teas dried mint

1/2 teas dried thyme

1 teas all spice

1/2 cup veg stock

1/2 cup raisins (chopped)

Do It

Cook your rice (as you like or follow packet instructions)

Preheat oven 200oC

Warm a griddle pan (not necessary, but looks pretty).

Start by chopping your courgette into interesting shapes with flat bottoms, so they sit up on the roasting tray, like hats. We have gone for bishops, maybe you’d like a crown, or just a flat top?

Rub them with oil, use your hands and pop them on a griddle pan, presentation side first. Leave to char up for around 5 minutes. Be sure not to move them and you’ll get nicely defined scorch marks. Then into the oven for a 10 minute pre-roast.

Why this is going on, get your prep ready for the filling.

In a large frying pan, warm 1 tbs olive oil on med/ high heat and add the onion, saute for five minutes until going golden, then add your corn and carrot, stir and heat for three minutes then add your potatoes and garlic, saute for a further three minutes then add your herbs and spices. Stir well, so not allow any bottom sticking. Add tomatoes and stock. Add 1 tbs of water if the heat is too high and things are getting stuck to the bottom.

Now add your seeds, nuts and cooked rice. Bring to a boil, add a glug of good olive oil, give it a final stir and pop a lid on it. Turn heat off and leave to settle for ten minutes.

Your courgettes should now be ready. Grab them out of the oven and set aside for a moment to cool just a little.

Get a reasonable spoon (dessert) and begin to spoon your hot mixture into to courgettes, packing it down as you go, filling every possible space with tasty filling.

Now pop them back into the oven for a fifteen minute blast and after that the courgette should be softened and the filling piping hot and ready to devour.

Serve

We sprinkled ours with chopped toasted walnuts, a few twists of black pepper, some wilted chard, beetroot leaves and good olive oil.

We would also recommend a nice tangy tomato based sauce or chutney, a creamy sauce is also lovely. These densely packed courgettes are meals in themselves and need little else on the plate to satisfy.

We Love It!

A real decadent dinner treat here, fit for special occasions and Tuesday nights after work. It does take little preparation but the combinations of textures and flavours are worth the modest toil. Get golden courgettes if you can, if they aren’t in the shops, hit your local veg farm and flutter your eyelids a little (always works for me).

Foodie Fact

Technically courgettes are an immature fruit (which sounds a lot like a good friend of ours) and can grow to over a metre long.

Golden/ Yellow courgettes are not only very cool to look at they are also have a higher carotene content than your average green courgettes, they are also good for vitamin C and A with plenty of potassium to boot.

Brit disclaimer – What we repeatedly refer to as a courgette in this post may be known to some of you as a zucchini. We at the Beach House Kitchen mean no offense in the flagrant use of our British-ness and actually prefer the name Zucchini, it sounds like fun and has a ‘Z’ in it, which is always very cool in our world. Maybe we can all just call them Zuch-ettes and bridge our islands vocab gap. Just to add greater confusion to the mix in South Africa they call these beauts ‘baby marrow’.

Categories: Autumn, Dinner, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: camarague rice, courgette, courgettes, gluten-free, healthy, recipes, seasonal, stuffed, vegetarian, zucchini | 10 Comments

Rainbow Chard & Red Lentil Harira

Posted on September 23, 2013 by leroy watson

Harira on the hob

We regularly have an identity crisis with dishes, turning traditional fare on its head, ‘Beach House-ing’ things you could say. We don’t mean it, no offence to the original recipes and food heritage in question, its just we like to play in the kitchen. Here’s another traditional recipe we have messed about with, thankfully the results were rather delicious.

The best harira I have ever had was for breakfast (regularly) in the village of Chefchaeoun, known to many a traveller for its exceptional soup, jalaba (hooded cloak garment worn by most Moroccans) production and wonderful mountain location. Its small winding streets hide many a wonderful eating experience, rows of blue houses (yes blue!) make this one of the most distinctive and stunning villages in that vast old land.

I moved there for a while, took up residence in a room situated on the walls of the Hamam (the communal bath), the warmest room in town. You see its high up there and you wake chilled to the bone and needing a serious bowl of spicy sustenance. Abdullah provided.

He was a wonderful cook, in nothing more than a space between two buildings, a few squat tables and two gas burners with huge steel pots, Abdullah created the authentic Moroccan dining experience for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It was like a French Bistro without the pretense and price tag. My kind of joint for sure.

For a few pennies, Abdullah would dish you up an epic bowl of full-on morning ammunition, sometimes with a tooth-less smile that shifted the early morning fug. This hearty soup fuelled me on many a hike around the Rif Mountains and also on days spent lounging around playing card games with other punks holed up there. It came with a wedge of steaming flat bread, fruity olive oil and a small bowl of freshly ground cumin to use liberally. I sat wearing my Jalaba (the over enthusiastic tourist that I am) eating with the local men in silence, canteen style. No women. In Morocco cafes and restaurants seem to be a male only thing.

Chefchaouen

I like cooking soups, its a soulful pursuit. You don’t have to be to precious, there are rules, but not many, a little like Morocco itself. This is the situation where I feel nice and comfortable.

Recipe Notes

Add just 2 cups of water to make this a hearty stew.

As with all soups/ stews, depending on the quality of your veggies, you many need to add some vegetable stock if the flavour is thin on the ground.

Here’s to you Abdullah. Peace be with you. Hamdullah!

Rainbow Chard and Red Lentil Harira

The Bits – For 4 bowls

1 1/2 cup dried chickpeas (soaked and cooked)

750ml fresh water (or vegetable stock)

1 tbs olive oil

1 1/2 inch fresh ginger (finely diced)

3 cloves garlic (minced)

1 large onion (finely diced)

1 yellow pepper (diced)

3 ripe tomatoes (with flavour)

3 cups chopped rainbow chard (stems separated from the leaves)

1 teas ground turmeric

1 1/2 teas smoked paprika

1/2 teas ground cinnamon

2 teas cumin seeds

3 tbs tomato paste

1 lemon (cut into wedges)

2 tbs gram flour (or flour of your choice)

1 handful fresh coriander leaves (leaves picked, stems chopped)

1 cup red lentils

3 dates (finely chopped)

1 teas fresh ground pepper

2 teas sea salt

Harira bubblin’ away

Do It

Soak your chickpeas overnight in a saucepan. Drain and refresh with new water, well covered. Add 1/4 teas bicarb of soda (this makes them soft and cook quicker), bring to a boil and lower heat. Vigorously simmer for 20 minutes or until chickpeas are tender.

Warm the oil in a thick bottomed sauce pan, add your onions and cumin seeds and saute the onions for a few minutes until glassy, add garlic, pepper and ginger, stir for a couple of minutes and then add all chard stems (add earlier if they are a little tough), flour and spices, stir and warm through for a minute and now add your tomatoes, dates, lentils, tomato paste, warm through for a minute then add your water/ chickpea juice. Bring to a rolling boil and turn down heat to the lowest setting, add your chickpeas and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.

When ready to serve, bring back to just about boiling, add your chard leaves and coriander stems. Re-cover and allow to cook for a few minutes. Check seasoning.

Serve

A lemon wedge, topped with coriander leaves and a good glug of good olive oil. Add green olives and brown rice to the table if you’d like to make this dinner.

For a special touch, we have it sprinkled with roasted and chopped almonds.

We Love It!

With winter lurking up the hill, we are getting back to our hearty soups. Harira is definately one of our fav’s and it is very cool when you have pleasant memories attached to a dish. Food has amazing transporting properties, the sights and tastes so evocative and alive in memories.

Foodie Fact

Spices are much more than just incredible tasting, the vast majority boast some quite brilliant health properties (as long as we don’t burn them in the pan).

Turmeric is a root similar to ginger and in its raw state has very potent flavour, its wonderful stuff. Dried is the best we can normally do on this island. It is peppery and sweet, warm and bitter and has even been likened to orange peel (if very fresh indeed).

Now the nitty gritty and real magic. Turmeric is anti-microbial, anti-flatulent and strongly anti-bacterial. POW!

Heavy plate version with rice, olives, fresh coriander and lashings of olive oil

Categories: Autumn, Recipes, Soups, Vegan | Tags: chickpea, harira, healthy, nutritious, rainbow chard, recipe, soup, travel, vegan, vegetarian | 12 Comments

Chestnut Mushroom and Sage Farrotto with Balsamic Figs and Tofu Feta (Vegan)

Posted on September 5, 2013 by leroy watson

I’m too sexy for my figs

You cannot say that we aren’t good to you, here are two recipes on one plate! It also has to be said that we are quite good to ourselves, this is our Thursday night treat dinner (or ‘tea’ as Jane calls it). A farrotto with the lovely nuttiness of spelt and gorgeously sweet glazed figs topped off with some citrus tofu feta.

Every Thursday, I’m normally off work and Jane gets back early, we head off to the big smoke (Bangor – which is a small town with a big Cathedral) and we pick up our veg box from a wonderful little farm in Bethel and then head to a cafe and maybe pick up some fruit. Today these beautifully plump figs caught my eye, I haven’t had the pleasure of figs for an age and love them with a little balsamic glaze.

FARROTTO?

Farrotto is an Italian dish made with ‘faro’ which can be translated as spelt. Whenever I cook with spelt, it seems timeless. An ancient grain that has been used for centuries in these parts. We normally keep spelt for sprouting purposes and love the chew of the stuff in a salad, it’s always a hearty customer.

This farrotto is simply cooked like a risotto, only for longer. We used some local chestnut mushrooms, fresh garden herbs and giant organic spinach for a classic Italian combo. We also had a little secret ingredient in our umami powder, a mixture of fine sea salt, seaweed and powdered shiitake mushrooms. Add to that bags of garlic and a small pile of onion and we are talking Italy on a plate using Welsh produce. Definitely how we like to do it in the BHK, world food, local bits.

Tofu Feta – looks similar, tastes different

FETA TOFU, TOFU FETA, ARE YOU MAD?

As a a vegan, you must eat tofu. It’s one of the vegan commandments. If you don’t go tofu, you’re sent to work in Mcdonalds by the vegan police. It’s not pretty. Eat tofu!

Tofu feta is a vegan staple and nothing like proper feta but is damn fine and tasty non-the-less. It is a little tiresome with so much vegan food sharing names with the original cheese/ meat produce. Its something we’ll all have to live with, but when trying vegan sausages/ burgers/ cheese etc please do not expect something remotely similar. Approach with an open mind and preferably an open mouth!

As you’d expect from a tofu dish, this is full of powerful plant protein and is superbly lean (no fat in fact). Always opt for whole bean tofu and you cannot go wrong, tofu is amazingly versatile and we even use it in desserts, check it out – strawberry tofu ice cream cake).

Firm tofu will crumble like a nice feta and if you pop this recipe in a blender you have what could be called tofu ricotta. We don’t make the names, just the tasty food.

AUTUMN HARVEST TIME

It is that time of the year when the slight chill of winter is in the morning air and the trees and bushes are ladened with fruits and berries. We had a surprise apple tree spring up a few weeks ago. We thought it was just a little bush and wham! Big green apples all over the place. Result!

We will soon be harvest our potatoes and beetroots, blackberries are everywhere (which is great for walks, no need for a packed lunch!), we will be making rowan syrup soon and bramble jelly. We are also trying to eat as much rainbow chard as possible, it’s irrepressible, which is wonderful news. We are really thankful for a great summer weather wise and the bounty of autumn is a fine time of year to be a cook, I’ve never roasted so many tomatoes. It’s the time of year when spare jam jars become a rare commodity.

We love the British seasons but will be cheating again this year and heading to Spain for a large part of it, we then have plans to go further afield. Eastward. Hoorah! I plan on making a pit stop in the Southern Med for a couple of weeks of eating my way around various countries (Jane is heading to Delhi), then waddling around some fascinating historical sights. I promise to come back inspired with notebooks full of new recipes to try out and a belly full of hummus.

Herb garden raided – My king of bouquet (edible)

The Bits

Serves 2 hungry sorts

Farrotto

2 cups spelt grain, 3 cloves garlic (minced), 1 small onion (chopped finely), 4 cups large spinach leaves and stems (sliced), 1 cup dried chestnut mushrooms (soaked) or 2 cups fresh, 1 teas umami powder or salt, 1 teas cracked black pepper, 5 large leaves fresh sage (chopped finely, 1 teas dried), 2 teas fresh rosemary (chopped, 1/2 teas dried), 1 teas fresh oregano (good pinch dried), 1 cup mushroom soaking liquor, 4 cups good veg stock (kept warm – jug with a plate on top will do, or a covered pan on low temp), 2 tbs good olive oil

Balsamic Figs

2 plump figs (halved from stem down), 1 tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 teas brown rice syrup (or other sweetener), scant pinch of salt and pepper

Tofu Feta

1/2 pack firm tofu (150g crumbled with fingers), juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 teas sea salt, 1-2 cloves garlic minced (depending on how much you love garlic), a few basil leaves (optional – left whole in the feta when marinading)

A couple of handfuls of sharp salad leaves, rocket is perfect.

Some of the bit and the not-so-secret ingredient

Do It

In a medium sized saucepan, warm on medium heat 1 tbs olive oil, add your onions and saute for 4-5 minutes. When softened, add garlic and faro to toast a little, saute for 3 minutes further, then add your umami (salt), pepper and mushrooms followed quickly by the liquor all this whilst stirring well! Intense. You’ll get a nice hiss now, add your herbs and continue to stir well. It’s all in the stir this dish.

When the liquor has reduced down, ladle in some warm stock, one ladle at a time as the farrotto becomes thicker and reducing, intensifying the flavours. Wow, what a thing! Keep stirring gently. Cook on a steady heat for around 40 minutes in total, the faro should still have a little bite to it and the consistency of a loose porridge. Finish with 1 tbs olive oil stirred in just before serving.

The tofu is best made the night before serving to marinade nicely. Crumble the tofu in a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a spoon. Serve at room temperature, like most things, straight out of the fridge is just not cool. It’s a flavour killer.

In a small frying pan, get it hot, add you balsamic and sweetener then your figs straight after, there will be smoke here. Exciting. Move the figs around the pan to get well coated in the glaze, cook for two minutes on high heat then remove from pan. The figs should have a lovely shiny charred look to them.

Figs mid-glaze

Serve

On one half of a dinner plate, pop a handful of leaves sprinkled with some tofu feta (add walnuts or other nuts here for a super special twist) a couple of fig halves, few twists of black pepper.

On the other half (remember this is two meals in one here!) spoon your lovely thick and gooey farrotto, a sprinkle of herbs and drizzle the whole plate with some fine olive oil.

Chestnut Mushroom and Sage Farrotto with Balsamic Figs and Tofu Feta (as you can see, we are not shy with portions in the BHK, no finger food in our kitchen!)

We Love It!

Like eating in our favourite Italian restaurant in the Beach House. Who needs to go out for dinner when the food is this good in the casa and you get your starter and main course on the same plate. Unconventional, but we like it. Great for sharing.

The citrus tofu and sweet figs work well and the farrotto is our new favourite risotto (if you catch our drift),

Foodie Fact

Spelt is a cousin/ neighbour of wheat, but is lower in gluten making it acceptable to some folk who suffer from wheat allergies. Generally its better for the belly than wheat and makes a wonderfully nutty loaf in flour state.

Spelt is said to originate from Iran and is 7000 years old (how do they know these things). Spelt has always been highly regarded and was offered to pagan gods of agriculture to encourage a fine harvest and fertility.

Spelt has a better range of nutrients than the vast majority of wheats, its full of minerals which our body loves. It is a whole grain meaning it has a good level of dietary fibre, remember that grains are not the only soure of fibre, many fruits are full of it. Take raspberries for example which have a comparatively higher level of fibre than oats and brown rice put together!

Categories: Autumn, Dinner, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: balsamic, faro, farrotto, figs, healthy, recipe, spelt, tofu feta, vegan, vegetarian | 7 Comments

Golden Courgette, Cashew and Basil Bake (Vegan)

Posted on October 1, 2012 by leroy watson

This is a blockbuster bake. Layers of golden courgette, chard, green cabbage, onion, tofu and mushrooms, all smothered in a creamy garlic, cashew and basil sauce. Hows that!

This was loosely based on the traditional French dish ‘au gratin potatoes’, but without the cheese, milk, butter, flour, breadcrumbs or potatoes! So I guess it becomes a good, old fashioned bake!! Its a healthier Beach House number after all. I guarantee that no flavour is lost here, no enjoyment. Just different flavours and ways of enjoying food.

We love a good bake, but generally they just turn into a cheese and fat fest. All that oil and the incredible richness just makes us feel a little sleepy and bloated. We fancied something baked and light and this dish hits that nail right on the head.

As usual, the local farm is producing some quite amazing veggies. This dense courgette was over a foot long and weighed a couple of kilos, that’s a proper vegetable. We thought about roasting it whole but then this little idea cropped up and we haven’t had baked anything for an age now.

Ready for a roasting

The tofu was added last minute, to give it a different texture and more luxurious feel. Tofu has a certain cheesiness to it, like a vegetal haloumi. Viva tofu! Our mate Pete gave us a fantastic Japanese tofu book from the 60’s, the entire history and different methods for producing the wonderful white stuff. We shall be experimenting soon. We forgot to add the sweet peppers here. Red ones sliced thinly, that are unfortunately still in the fridge. They would be a nice addition. Next time. This time, it still tastes quite amazing.

One of the best things about this dish is the leftover potential. Tastes better the day after and is even delicious served cold.

This is an interesting little take on an old classic and with Autumn around the corner, its good to have some new ‘bakes’ up your sleeve.

Recipe Note

You can salt and pat dry your courgettes beforehand to get rid of some of their water.

The Bits – For 6 hungry sorts

Layers

1 giant golden courgette (or 2/3 normal sized courgettes/ zucchinis)

1 bunch of chard

1 bunch of spring greens (aka dark green long leafed cabbage)

1 onion

8 mushrooms

1 block tofu (250g-ish, enough for two layers)

1 sweet red pepper (sliced)

1 big handful of basil leaves

Sauce

1 small onion

3 cloves garlic (crushed)

1/2 cup cashews (soaked for 1 hour)

1 handful of chopped basil leaves

1 handful of fresh parsley

2/3 cup soya milk (or nut milk)

1/3 cup filtered water

1 big glug of olive oil,

Sea salt and cracked pepper

Topping

2 handfuls of roasted cashew nuts

Do It

Sauce – In a decent blender, blitz up your cashews until a paste forms, then add the rest of the ingredients and blend until a smooth liquid forms. You may need to scape down the sides of the blender to get it all mixed evenly.

Layer of mushrooms

Layers – Slice all veggies thinly, not quite wafer, but getting there. Remove any thick, chewy stems. Add a little sauce to cover the base of your dish (a good thick rectangular baking dish, glass would be nice to see all the layers), begin the layering. Start with the cabbage, courgette, mushroom, onion, pepper, chard, tofu, courgette sauce (repeat once more). That will be three layers of courgette, it should be the last layer on top and will go nice and brown when baked.

The dish should be piled high, don’t worry it will cook down quite alot. Cover with foil and bake for 40 mins (180oC) then remove foil and bake for a further 15 mins or until the top is nice and golden brown.

Serve

Topped with roasted cashews, we ate ours with our leaf of the moment, a carrot top salad. Rich bakes just crave for a nice crunchy salad.

We Love It!

Hearty winter fare, but light and healthy. Like a normal bake but without the vast amounts of grease and fat.

Yellow Courgette and Basil Au Gratin

Foodie Fact

The gold in these courgettes makes it a great source of flavanoids, a wonderful thing. They scavenge the body looking for baddies and make us look young and keep us disease free. Courgettes are best stored in a plastic bag in the fridge, they dry out easily.

Categories: Autumn, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: au gratin, basil, dairy free, food, golden, healthy eating, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian, zucchini | 13 Comments

Nantmor Shiitake Risotto with Four Herbs

Posted on September 24, 2012 by leroy watson

The ideal warming dish as the nights are drawing in and theres a winter chill starting in the air. Autumn is here and that means it’s time for blockbuster risottos.

I love Italian food, but have never been to Italy. I have been fortunate to have met and cooked with quite a few Italians in the past and can safely say that they are the most pedantic and fussy cooks/ eaters in the world. Everything is how ‘mama made it’ or its no good at all. They are critical of the slightest detail and in this way, great to cook for and with. If you can get an Italian excited about your food, you are doing something very right!

A luxurious risotto for me is a taste of food perfection. The balance of fresh produce, richness and a hint of wine represents all that is amazing in Italian food (not to mention the large hunk of pungent cheese). They of course take it seriously, its seriously good food. Our new chef at work lived and worked in Modena for years and to see him make risotto is to see a true craftsman at work, he gives it such care and dedication. I hope this recipe reflects this passion. I’ve gone for only the finest of local produce and a brilliant wine. All the elements must be selected with equal care, otherwise the risotto will not be a true expression of food heaven.

These Nantmor Shiitakes (Shii – Tree, Take – Mushroom) from the Mushroom Garden are the real highlight in this dish. They’re my kind of mushroom; pungent, meaty and damn pretty too, adding amazing flavour to anything they touch. They are grown on Welsh Oak in the small village of Nantmor, by a local chap named Cynan. The Mushroom Garden now supplies many top restaurants around Britain as mushrooms actually thrive in the mist and damp of Wales. Whenever I find a good mushroom, I always think ‘risotto’, so classic and so good. Due to the Shiitakes being so precious and a little costly, we added some chestnut mushrooms to add a different texture and ensure that we had loads of lovely mushrooms in the risotto.

The Beach House additions is brown rice. I know its not technically a risotto, but humour us! The results are delicious. Vegan parmesan is out there, Violife make an incredible version. Very much like the real thing, we’d recommend seeking some out. Especially for risotto!

Nantlle Shiitake

The brown rice is not as starchy as the proper risotto rice, but we are willing to make that sacrifice. We like the nutty flavour of brown rice. Try and get some really funky organic rice if you can, rough stuff with chaff, good for the belly and you’re guaranteed more flavour.

WELSH WINE!

We bought a wonderful bottle of southern French rose from the local family ran vineyard Pant Du, set in the beautiful Nantlle Valley. Yes, you heard us right, they are growing wine in these parts. Brave souls indeed. The Pant Du Winery has now opened a small cafe and wine shop, Jane and I visit regularly for tea and to soak in the stunning views and happy family vibes.

The wine on sale are from small pockets of Europe, a really interesting selection. This rose was a deep pink beauty. This year at Pant Du has unfortunately been a less than prosperous growing season, but they will still make a few bottles of their German varieties. So a glass of our Costiere de Nimes was sacrificed to the risotto. Really, we should only cook risotto with wine that we would enjoy drinking, it makes a difference to the delicate balance of flavours.

I plundered the herb garden for our herbs; sage, rosemary, oregano and thyme. A brilliant combination, we are so lucky that they thrive in our hedges. Unlike our tomatoes, they seem to like the grey conditions. The courgette came from the farm and they are abundant and delicious at the moment. I couldn’t resist a little more greenery in there.

I think we’re ready for the fun bit now, let’s get cooking!

Beauty Herb

The Bits

Olive oil (for frying)

1 big white onion (finely sliced)

4 cloves garlic (crushed)

2 cups of organic brown rice (roughly 1 cup per person)

1 cup Shiitake mushrooms

1 cup other mushrooms (preferably something like a chestnut)

1 smallish courgette (chopped into small cubes)

2 big handfuls of Violife parmesan cheese (finely grated)

1 glass of decent wine

1 tbs of each fresh sage, thyme, rosemary, oregano (chopped)

1.5 ltr good veg stock

Glugs of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (optional, for added richness at the end)

Do It

You need to be a bit organised with a risotto, have hot stock ready and all your ingredients to hand, things can happen quickly here and timing is everything.

Boil the kettle and make some nice veg. stock, 1.5 ltr should be enough, if you are super cook, you’ll probably make your own stock from scratch. Have a good bottle of wine open and preferably a glass poured for yourself, all that stirring is thirsty work.

Pre-soak your shiitake mushrooms for an hour or so prior to cooking and have all your bits chopped and ready. The key to a good risotto is to never leave its side, keep stirring and giving it love. You will see the difference in the end.

Getting things organised

Begin by gently frying off your onion in a thick bottomed large saucepan, keep them moving, you want them to go glassy but not browned. Once they are getting there, add you garlic and in this case, your courgette and mushrooms (try not to break them up).

Cook for a couple of minutes on a medium heat, stirring all the time, then add your rice. Keep stirring and giving the rice a thorough coating of oil. The pan should be nice and hot, add your glass of vino, which should immediately sizzle and evaporate, being absorbed nicely by the hot rice and meaty mushrooms.

Sweet simmering

Now for some serious, steady stirring action. With a good wooden spoon or a spatula, keep going at it, adding your hot stock one ladleful at a time (we put the mushroom soak juices into the stock), this will loosen any starch from the rice and create a lovely smooth texture. Once the stock has evaporated and the rice is hissing slightly, its time for another ladleful.

The rice should take around 15-20 minutes to cook, you want it ‘al dente’. Just before the rice is cooked (try some between your teeth, it should not be chalky, but still firm in the middle) take it off the heat and stir in your cheese and if you like, glug of nice olive oil and season with sea salt and fresh pepper. This is where the real richness kicks in. Put a lid on and leave for 5 minutes to come together.

Stirring in the Shiitakes

Add a little more stock to thin it out if needed. Risotto must be served and eaten almost immediately. It’s perfect, when its perfect, not afterwards. Your risotto should be liquid, but not liquid enough so that it seeps out around the edges, all should be perfectly combined and blended together, with the rice cooked but not stuck together. Its a fine art! But one well worth mastering.

Serve

Pronto! Hot flat bowls are best. We topped ours with some runner beans from garden, a little more herb.

We Love It!

Risottos are one of my most satisfying dishes. I love cooking them and eating them equally. They are normally eaten in Italy as a first dish but I cannot imagine that, I like it centre stage. Cooking rice is something that the Italians have perfected. Grazie Mille!x

Foodie Fact

Shiitakes are re-knowned for their health giving properties, in Japan especially, they believe the Shiitake to help fight cancer. These mushrooms also boast many medicinal and immune system boosting qualities.