Posts Tagged With: vegan recipe

Mediterranean Vegetable and Chickpea Bake with Za’atar and Vegan Labneh

Posted on May 6, 2020 by leroy watson

Baste with pomegranate molasses, you get a nice crispy layer of melt in the mouth Med Veg, topped with a little Za’atar

A fragrant, rich and flavoursome bake, loaded up with zesty spices and the creaminess of vegan Labneh

We baste the top layer of veggies with pomegranate molasses and olive oil, it makes them extra crispy!

This is the kind of centre piece that gets our appetites raving and the best thing, it’s easy to make and you might even have all these ingredients tucked away in your cupboards.

Vegan food for everyone, that’s what we’re talking about!!

We wanted the flavours of the Med for dinner tonight! It’s been ridiculously sunny up here in Snowdonia, perfect weather for a Med Veg bake in the garden. I was fortunate to visit Palestine recently and brought back some extra special Za’atar from Bethlehem. Palestine was an incredible place to visit, one of the most hospitable places I’ve been, and the food was outstanding. I will do a post about it soon. I must.

Mediterranean Vegetable and Chickpea Bake with Za’atar and Vegan Labneh – Vegan, Gluten-free

You might also like our ‘Wild Mushroom Lockdown Lasagna’ recipe right here

Top Palestinian Za’atar, bought in Bethlehem

Za’atar

Beautifully aromatic herb mix!! But not all Za’atar is created equal. I realised this in Palestine. There are some captivating spice shops and markets in Bethlehem and I was able to try different grades and types of Za’atar. The one we used here was my favourite, lots of toasted sesame, fragrant mountain thyme and a little twist of zesty sumac there too.

I think many Za’atars contain different quantities of herbs, dried sumac, salt and sometimes other spices. Traditionally the mix revolves around lots of green herbs, like oregano, basil thyme, thyme, marjoram and savory. Of course, the best herbs, are harvested wild! Then dried in the sun. You’ll find Za’atar used throughout the Middle Eastern part of the Mediterranean, Iraq and the Arabian Peninsula and some North African countries. The herbs will probably shift slightly as you move around and many of these mixtures are kept as family secrets. Some Za’atar mixes even contain caraway, cumin or coriander.

Za’atar is normally served as a condiment, if you haven’t had it sprinkled over warm flatbread with a drizzle of olive oil, QUICK, you must. I’ve enjoyed this mainly in Lebanon, Man’ouche (Man’oushe…I think it’s spelled a few different ways) for breakfast.

I added it into the lentil and chickpea stew here, it worked really well. Za’atar can also be used sprinkled over hummus, a seasoning on vegetables and salads.

I like Za’atar because it has a distinct flavour and I enjoy the subtle changes in the mix, from Turkey to Palestine, you can taste the different herbs used and when homemade, it’s a reflection of the local environment and conditions.

You can check out some of my Lebanese foodie travels here

Seeking falafel perfection!

Layers of flavour to enjoy in this bake, the spicy stew, topped with crispy pomegranate veggies, sprinkled with za’atar

Tasty bakes like this are ideal for sharing with loved ones and neighbours love leftovers too! Your whole house will be filled with delicious fragrance after cooking this.

Good food shared is soul food!

This is a really comforting dish and loads of fun to prepare.

If you like the look of this, or even better, get to try the recipe out, please let us know below. You can also join us over on Instagram for more Beach House Kitchen news and photos.

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Happy cooking:)

Recipe Notes

Toasting some cumin seeds in a pan and then grinding them in a pestle and mortar or small blender, will really add another dimension to the flavours here. Well worth the extra little bit of effort.

No Za’atar? You can use dried thyme. marjoram or oregano, or a mix of the two. If you don’t have Pomegranate Molasses, try a Balsamic Reduction instead, or something else that’s sweet and sticky. It will help with the caramelisation.

Mediterranean Vegetable and Chickpea Bake with Za’atar and Vegan Labneh

Vegan

The Bits – For 8-10

2 tomatoes

1 large aubergine

1 large courgette

1 tbs cooking oil

6 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)

1 large onion (diced)

1 pepper (diced)

1 large carrot (diced)

3 heaped tbs tomato puree

400g/1 tin tomato passata/ chopped tomatoes

240g/ 1 tin chickpeas (cooked)

225g red split lentils

1/2 tbs turmeric

2 tbs ground cumin

2 1/2 tbs za’atar

1 litre hot water

Sea salt and black pepper

Vegan labneh, thick yoghurt or cream cheese (something nice and creamy)

Topping

Extra Za’atar

1 tbs pomegranate molasses

2 tbs extra virgin olive oil

Do It

Thinly slice your fresh tomatoes and 2/3 of your courgette and aubergine. Get them nice and thin, especially the aubergine, it takes a little longer to cook. Dice the rest of your courgette and aubergine.

I organise the sliced veggies now, it makes it easier later. Stack a slice of aubergine, tomato and courgette together, keep repeating until you’ve used all of your slices. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, add your oil and fry the garlic on a medium high heat for 1 minute. Add the onion and 1 teas of sea salt. Stir, cooking for 5 minutes. Then add your courgette, aubergine, carrot, pepper and tomato puree. Stir and cook for 3 minutes.

Preheat a fan oven, 180oC. Pop a large baking/ casserole dish into the oven to warm.

Now for all your spices and a good few twists of freshly ground black pepper. Add your red lentils, chickpeas, passata/ chopped tomatoes and water to the pan. Stir, bring to a boil and cook for 12 minutes.

Taste your stew and add more salt and pepper to your taste. The flavours should be jumping, if not, time for a pinch more salt!

Top your spicy chickpea stew with generous dollops of creamy vegan labneh or cheese

Remove your warm baking dish and pour in the spicy stew. Top with generous dollops of labneh/ yoghurt. Arrange your sliced vegetables on top of your stew, see the pictures. A nice thin layer which snugly meets the edges of your dish.

Mix together your pomegranate molasses and olive oil in a small bowl and brush on top of your bake. Giving it all a full coating of the tangy mix.

Pop in the oven and bake for 35-45 minutes, until all is bubbling and your vegetables are looking golden and crispy.

Serve sprinkled with more Za’atar and a crisp seasonal salad, warm flatbreads and your favourite glass of something special. I also like a few chilli flakes sprinkled over mine.

Enjoy!! A vegan centrepiece fit for a sunny day

Foodie Fact

Herbs are of course delicious! But they also have a huge range of healthy giving properties. Thyme is a superstar ‘erb. Very high in vitamin C, with loads of vitamin A, K, E and B6, plus LOTS of minerals, like iron, calcium, magnesium AND high in fibre. Even a little protein in the mix too.

“Give me just a little more thyme……!!”

Categories: gluten-free, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Summer, Travel, Vegan | Tags: Palestine, plant-based recipe, vegan bake, vegan recipe, Za'atar | 3 Comments

Pea, Avocado and Kale Soup – Vibrantly Delicious and Vegan!

Posted on May 2, 2020 by leroy watson

The combination of pea, kale and avocado works so well together. Really flavourful and nourishing.

So easy to prepare. A warming, nourishing bowl of green goodness

Beautiful flavours combine with awesome nutrition to make a keeper of a recipe!

The avocado here gives a lovely plant-based creaminess. This recipe is fuss-free and versatile. The soup is delicious as it is, but if you’d like to add spices or herbs, it’s a great base for many different flavour journeys.

We eat loads of pea soups, a myriad varieties, they are one of Jane’s favourites. You might think avocado in a soup is a little weird. It’s not. It’s delicious. The first time I had avocado in soups was in Mexico City and it works! I love avocado in anything and kale is something I just worship.

All Hail Kale!!!

Sorrel sprouting in the Beach House Kitchen

I like sorrel too

It’s that time of year, the ‘hunger gap’ veg farmers call it, but we still have lots of edible ‘weeds’ on offer in Wales. Nettles, sorrel, dandelions, chickweed, clover, wild garlic, burdock, even Japanese Knotweed is tasty!…. So much free food to forage! Even on your one a day, government sanctioned stroll, you might see some of these edibles growing.

We will be harvesting our first nettles and dandelions soon, they’ve been slow to grow this year. But the sorrel is sprouting up all over the place, with it’s lovely, sharp flavour (like fresh green apple) it goes well in a salad of mixed leaves and makes a very punchy pesto!

We spoke to our friends last night on Zoom, which is something we’re really enjoying. We went to Sicily together last year (I will share the pictures for that trip one day!) and before we met, they stayed in a house with mushrooms growing from the floor! That’s surely another level free food. Foraging mushrooms indoors!

There are loads of lovely Welsh poppies this year

We can’t believe all this sunshine we’re having! It’s so beautiful sitting outside and eating. I don’t think I’ve seen a Spring like this in the UK. The plants are loving it, flowers blooming everywhere and our seedlings are doing well, almost ready to plant out. I’ve got the veg patch prepared, using a no dig method this year, we’ll see how that goes. The soil is looking and smelling great. I’ve been using some compost I cooked 3 years ago. Nice and mature!

We’ve also just planted some new trees in the back garden. Elder, Field Maple, Silver Birch, Rowan, Hawthorn and Wild Cherry. They seem to be settling in nicely. With all this sunshine, the trees are filled with blossom (much of it being eaten by the sparrows, why do they do that?!) so we’re hoping for a bumper fruit harvest this autumn. Finger and chopsticks crossed!

I was just out in the garden checking on the new trees (we had some winds last night) and a Peregrine Falcon leaped out of one of the bushes!! Which doesn’t happen very often. It seemed to be gathering twigs. I’m noticing more bird life around here at the minute. We have a couple of resident buzzards that float around us and stone chat is a new addition to the party. I love watching the wrens ducking and diving in the dry stone walls. But having said all that, that Peregrine experience was a bit special!

Cooking is a refuge for me and at the end, WE EAT!

We hope you’re all holding up out there in these strange and challenging times. Our diet can offer us much support and fortitude. Soups like this are perking us up no end. I think with this isolation thing, it’s making me more grounded and connected to where I am. I sometimes have one eye on the next big travel overseas and projects for the future. Now, with all my cooking gigs and retreats etc cancelled, I can just chill here with nature and see it changing. Beginning to notice more and appreciate everything I’ve got. Both the small and big stuff. Have you felt this too? The important things in life have been brought into sharp perspective; good health, love, family, friends, freedom, SOUP!!

We’re posting loads of our other cooking adventures over on

Instagram and our

Vegan Cooking Group on Facebook

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We always love reading your messages and feedback

Recipe Notes

Frozen avocados is sold in many supermarkets and great to have on standby in the freezer for soups, smoothies, a quick guac! attack. It’s also much cheaper bought frozen (for reasons unknown). No frozen avocado? Fresh is also fine, just add it at the end with the kale.

Use any greens you have, but kale is my favourite.

Vibrantly Delicious, Healthy and Vegan Soup – Enjoyed in the front garden in all the Snowdonia sunshine and sorrell

Pea, Avocado and Kale Soup – Vegan

The Bits – For 4 Bowls

2 small onions (sliced)
425g frozen green/garden peas
150g frozen avocado
1.25ltr warm vegetable stock
100g kale
1 tbs coconut oil

Sea salt

Topping
Fresh herbs like sorrel, basil, mint, parsley

Do It
In a large saucepan, warm the oil on medium high heat and add the onion. Cook for 10 minutes, until nicely golden. This gives a flavourful base for the soup.

Add the vegetable stock to the pan, bring to a boil and add the peas and avocado. Cook for 3 minutes.

Add the kale to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Until vibrantly green.

Take off the heat and blend with a stick blender until creamy. Taste and season with salt.

Top with fresh herbs, nuts and seeds. Enjoy!!

If you like this recipe HERE are loads more of our soup recipes

Jane’s arty shot. Last nights sunset from the BHK window.

Foodie Fact

KALE. Is the king, the queen, the jack and the joker all combined! It’s nutritionally sound, probably the most nutritionally dense food on the planet. Loaded with vitamin A, K, C, B1 (Thiamine), fibre and lots of minerals like iron and calcium.

It’s rich in anti-oxidants and could help lower cholesterol, cancer and is anti-inflammatory. Kale even has some Omega 3 fats tucked away it it’s gorgeous greenery.

It’s actually a member of the cabbage family.

Categories: gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Soups, Spring, Vegan | Tags: avocado soup, healthy vegan, snowdonia, vegan recipe | 10 Comments

Lockdown Lasagna – Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto with Chickpea Bechamel (Gluten-free, Vegan)

Posted on April 21, 2020 by leroy watson

Lockdown Lasagna – Making the best of what we’ve got! A simple lasagna filled with BIG flavours and creamy bechamel

This one’s for rockin’ the lockin’!

Lasagna is a celebration of a dish, it takes time and love to make well

Most of these ingredients are from the store cupboard or freezer, but it’s still packed with flavour and nutrition. The sun-dried tomato pesto is a real highlight and adds a zing to the bechamel, making the top especially crispy and delicious. You’ll get all your lasagna boxes ticked, a deeply flavoured sauce with creamy bechamel. Many layers of happiness right here!

I can’t think of a healthier way of making a traditional(ish) lasagna vegan and gluten-free than this one. It’s really tasty and satisfying, full of hearty lentils and mushrooms. I like cooking food for everyone, something great that we can all enjoy, no matter what our dietary requirements. It’s just good food right!

Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Sun-dried Tomato Pesto with Chickpea Bechamel (Gluten-free, Vegan)

Over one our Facebook Cooking Group we decided that chickpeas were the best ingredient ever. So versatile, tasty and nutritious. Chickpea/Gram flour is an excellent flour to keep in your cupboards. It makes delicious crepes and pancakes, can be used to make vegan omelettes or tortillas, add it to cakes. It generally adds a lovely toasty, almost egg-like, flavour to whatever it touches. I use it for breads also. It’s my favourite flour right now.

Why is this a lockdown lasagna? I’ve stripped some of my normal lasagna recipes right back but it’s still a real treat and we all need a bit of that. The pesto is borderline, I took the pine nuts/ almonds I’d normally use out, but I’m still calling it a pesto! I want to make this an inexpensive and accessible as possible, but still comforting and moreish. The process of cooking a lasagna is a labour of love, lots of techniques and time needed to make a something that is such a classic feast.

We love having a basil plant in the kitchen, the fragrance and colour, it’s a little nod towards the Med too. Basil is the only fresh ingredient in this lasagna. This goes against how I normally cook, but these are strange days for sure. Now, more than ever, the kitchen seems like a refuge of sorts. A place we can go to lose ourselves for a while and lasagna is the perfect dish for this, disappear into a world of bubbling pots and spinning spoons.

It may not be fresh but frozen spinach, passata and mushrooms are still filled with great flavour and nutrition. Fresh is best in the BHK, but cooking the cupboards can also give us diverse options for making delicious and tasty food. One thing this situation has focused my mind on is how precious food is; tinned, dried, pickled, a bit shrivelled looking, we can do things with them. Make the best of what we’ve got.

Our Vegetable Peel and Crisps recipe from a while ago is getting loads of visits at the minute. I think it’s down to cooks looking for new ways of using up supposed scraps. Fermented foods are also ideal. You can take a humble cabbage and make something sublime! If you’re into sauerkraut that is. Kimchi too. Fermented foods store for an age, are inexpensive, require no special equipment and are packed with incredible nutritional properties. Fermenting enhances flavours (chocolate, coffee, cheese, vinegar, wine etcetc all fermented foods). Our guts love sauerkraut, kimchi, kombucha etc and they are great for supporting our immune-system and good health generally. Here’s our Beetroot, Apple and Caraway Saeurkraut recipe from good ole’ 2014. I hope to post some new fermented food recipes soon…..

Vegan and Gluten-free Lasagna topped with that sun-dried tomato pesto (which makes all the difference!)

If you get the chance to try this recipe, please let us know below in the comments, it’s wonderful to hear from you. Yesterday we had people stopping by on the blog from Surinam, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Poland, Cyprus, US Virgin Islands (where are they?), your emails of support and encouragement are amazing and keep this blog floating along. Big thanks and shout out to Cyberella in Victoria, Australia! Amazing to know that you’re loving Peace and Parsnips all the way down there.

From our little cottage in Snowdonia, the BHK blog was started simply because we had a passion for healthy food, empowered cooking, good health and living. How they’re intertwined. How the way we cook can change our lives. Cooking is a regular opportunity for me to be mindful and compassionate. We wanted to share this with more than just our little village! 8 years later our main motivation for blogging is still, WE LOVE IT!!

The BHK is just taking it easy at the minute, we’re waiting to see how things pan out and when this blows over, we’ll be announcing new events, collaborations, holidays, demos and retreats. Thanks everyone for getting in touch and enquiring about what’s coming for later in ’20 and into ’21.

Who knows where this is all going to go? I just know that for me, cooking and eating good food makes life more bearable at times of crisis. We’re appreciating, everyday, what we have and focusing on cooking up a life filled with love and peace, staying grounded, energised and vital for the challenges ahead.

Sending you all best wishes, all over the world, from Surinam to Scarborough, hoping that you’ve got some dried mushrooms and gram flour in the cupboard ready for action!

Ciao Bella!! Vegan lasagna fresh out of the oven, all crispy on top and bubbling with flavours

Recipe Notes

Lasagna takes a while to get together, you can start preparing well in advance, cook the lentils, make the bechamel and even finish the sauce. This means that you’ll just need to assemble the lasagna and bake. If you’re making it from scratch, put aside at least a couple of lasagna hours. It’s always time well spent!

Not gluten-free? That’s cool, just use your favourite lasagna pasta sheets. I haven’t tried the bechamel with plain white flour instead of gram, but any bechamel recipe would be brightened up with this pesto.

This recipe makes lots. Plenty for the freezer. Use fresh spinach or other greens if you would like to freeze the lasagna. Otherwise, all neighbours love lasagna! It’s one of those dishes that gets better with age. Not too much age. A few days in the fridge is enough ageing.

If you haven’t made a bechamel before, it’s great. You’re in for a treat. Just keep on top of the lumps. Sound advice there. Stir, keep stirring and whisk if needed. Turn the heat down if it’s all happening too fast. Add you milk little by little, forming a thick paste, then keep adding milk until it thins out gradually. Eventually you’ll have a lovely, silky sauce to enjoy.

If you’re a full-blown pasta lover, you could add another layer of pasta to the lasagna. Just use less tomato sauce and bechamel per layer.

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and vegan recipes

We’re locking down with lasagna!

Wild Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna with Sun-dried Tomato Pesto and Chickpea Bechamel – Gluten-free, Vegan

The Bits – For one large lasagna, 10-12 portions

Sauce

350g dark green or puy lentils (rinsed)

750ml cold water

1 big bay leaf

6 garlic cloves (peeled and crushed)

2 tbs olive oil or whatever cooking oil you fancy

40g dried wild mushrooms (soaked in water)

3 tbs tomato puree

680ml tomato passata (one big jar)

2 teas dried oregano

275g frozen spinach (it normally comes in small or large blocks)

450ml hot vegetable stock

Sea salt and pepper

Chickpea Bechamel

100g chickpea/ gram flour

125ml olive oil

1 ltr plant milk (I used soya milk)

1 big bay leaf

1 – 1 1/2 teas sea salt

Sun-dried Tomato Pesto

190g sun-dried tomatoes (one small jar, drained)

1 tbs oil, from the sun dried-tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

1/2 teas dried oregano

1 big handful fresh basil leaves

2 large pinches sea salt

Gluten-free Lasagna Sheets (or your favourite pasta sheets)

Do It

First thing, get your frozen spinach out to defrost. This can take a couple of hours.

Lentils – Start with the lentils. In a medium sauce pan, add your bay leaf, lentils and water to the pan, bring to a boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes, until just cooked. Take the lentils off the heat and remove the bay leaf. Drain them, using any of the lentil cooking broth instead of stock if you like. It’s full of flavour.

Tomato Sauce – In a large saucepan, add the oil, on medium high heat, fry the garlic for 2 minutes, then add the tomato paste, continue to stir and cook for 3 minutes. Now pour in the passata, sprinkle oregano, seasoning well with sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper. Stir, add the wild mushrooms, along with any soaking water (use a small, fine sieve, there may be some grit in the water). Pop a lid on a simmer for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Towards the end of the sauce cooking, add your spinach and vegetable stock. Warm through.

Taste your sauce. It should be rich and flavoursome, if not, season more with salt and pepper. Leave the lid on and take off the heat. The sauce is best used hot.

Pesto – Place all the pesto bits into a blender and pulse until a slightly chunky, pesto forms. Set aside, the flavours will be mingling nicely.

Chickpea Bechamel – In a medium saucepan on medium high heat, add the olive oil and chickpea flour. Stir and cook through for 4 minutes to make a thick paste. Add a splash of milk and quickly stir. Continue adding splashes of milk and stirring well, add the bay leaf.

It will eventually become smooth, a thick and creamy texture. Keep stirring until you’ve used up the milk. Continue to simmer the bechamel for 10-12 minutes. Taste, season with salt. Remove the bay leaf.

If there are lumps in your bechamel (no probs, it happens!) Blend. Grab a stick blender and blend until it’s smooth. Otherwise, to be honest, a few lumps are not the end of the world!!

Vegan Wild Mushroom and Spinach Lasagna, ready for the oven

Assemble and Bake – Preheat a fan oven to 190oC.

Stir half the pesto into the bechamel until well combined.

In a large, deep baking dish (ours is roughly 12″ long/8″wide/3″deep), ladle in half your warm tomato sauce. Spoon over roughly a third of your bechamel. Top with lasagna sheets, until you have a snug covering, breaking up the sheets to fill the gaps.

Ladle over the rest of your tomato sauce, top with lasagna sheets and spoon over the rest of your bechamel to form a neat layer which meets the edges of the baking dish.

Now evenly spoon your pesto onto the bechamel, blobs are good (see picture). Pressing the pesto down lightly with a spoon and muddling it a little.

Place your casserole dish on a large baking tray lined with baking parchment. This stops drips and saves on washing up/ cleaning. Jane’s idea!

Cook the lasagna for 35-40 minutes, until the top has a nice, dark golden, crust and all is bubbling begging to be eaten!

We like our lasagna served with a crisp, mixed green salad, using flavourful leaves like rocket or endive, raddichio would be delicious too. A citrus, olive oil dressing pairs brilliantly with this dish.

A lasagna anyone will enjoy!

Foodie Fact

Most dried mushroom mixes have porcini in them. Which is one of my favourite mushrooms. King boletus! Also known as Cep, or in Germany, ‘Stone Mushroom’. We’re moving into the age of the mushroom!! The incredible health benefits of mushrooms are now being realised and promoted, plus, they’re just awesomely tasty. Dried porcini are high in anti-oxidants, are good sources of protein and can help with weight loss, inflammation and digestive health.

If you’re at all interested in the amazing fungi world, I’d recommend checking out Paul Stamets.

Categories: gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan | Tags: healthy eating, lockdown recipes, snowdonia, vegan cooking, vegan food blog, vegan lasagna, vegan recipe | 4 Comments

Quarantine Curry – Quick Spicy Tomato Masala with Cauliflower, Mango and Spinach

Posted on April 8, 2020 by leroy watson

Quarantine Curry – Quick Fragrant Tomato Masala with Cauliflower, Potatoes and Spinach – Vegan, Gluten-free

Quarantine cooking. Means simply making the most of what we’ve got!

This was last nights dinner in the BHK,

I can’t think of a much easier, less fuss-free way of preparing a curry.

This was such a hit over on our vegan cooking group, we had to share it. Thanks so much for all the continued support and enthusiasm. Your kind wishes here and on Instagram etc are really inspiring. It sounds like you’re mainly positive about this ‘new normal’ that we’re all finding ourselves in. Most countries around the world are on ‘lockdown’, and most of you are finding time to get cooking at home, which is great. Hang in there!! Let’s eat healthy:)

This is probably not the most enticing of recipe titles, but it’s pretty accurate! What can we do?! Cook with what’s at hand and hopefully this curry does just that, using only ground spices and a few simple ingredients and veg. You can use any veg in fact, the sauce/ masala is the key. Getting it well cooked, nicely spiced, with a nice hit of fruity sweetness to tickle the tastebuds.

We need less than we think to cook delicious food!

We’re loving our walks like never before. Appreciating the awesome mountains where we live. Last nights giant pink moon rising over Mount Snowdon. Spectacular!!

Making the most of what we’ve got

Really, the best way to cook is making the most of what we’ve got. Always. Not just now. So this could be the time we get into some really good kitchen habits. Learning new skills to take humble ingredients and give them a makeover. Make them shine! Good food is not fancy or expensive, it’s cooked with care, with passion and focus.

We very rarely buy anything especially for a recipe, we just cook with what’s local, seasonal and in the cupboard/ spice rack. It’s where I get my inspiration as a cook, a window to get creative and challenge myself. Let’s see these restrictions as a chance to try new things, new flavour combos, new textures and techniques, and always minimising waste.

We love cooking and buying food, partly because it is such a precious resource. I’m lucky, because Jane is a storage expert! An amazing stock rotator and tin stacker!! Never a rubbery carrot wasted in the BHK.

Keep it spicy!

So here we’ve got dried spices, not fresh ginger, onions, chilli or garlic, which is normally where I start most curries. Try to use as fresh spices as you can, but this is quarantine curry, swap and choose as you like. If you’re short of cumin or coriander, sub with a little more curry powder. If you don’t have fenugreek, no probs, just add a little more cumin or curry powder. They’re really the base notes for the flavour and in time, you’ll get your favourite balance, you’re own perfect masala mix.

Keep your spices in airtight containers, out of the way of damp and sunlight. As fresh as you can. Keeping them spicy! If you have whole spices, toasting and grinding your own is the way to go. I realise that’s a bit of a luxury, but you can’t beat those gorgeous flavours.

We’ve been doing lots of chilling, digging and some planting in the garden. But mainly chilling. It looks like all our trees survived the winter up here (which is not a given) and we’ll get a nice little crop of plums, apples, pears and maybe the odd cherry? You never know.

Up on the hill

We’ve had a brilliant weather for the past few weeks and are feeling settled up here on Tiger Hill. We live in a tiny village and people are in their gardens and taking daily walks more than ever, which is really nice to see. Even though we can’t get close, it feels good to just exchange waves and smiles. Bringing the village together. It’s never been truer than now, we’re all in this together!!

Somedays we’re feeling the sheer scale and global suffering relating to this situation, and on others, enjoying the newts and birds in the garden. We’re basing our days around focusing on those we love what makes us feel grounded and inspired. Cooking has always been a place where I can relax, retreat and focus my mind, a release at these times. We will be sharing our wellness tips in a post very soon.

We’re keeping healthy and in a positive frame of mind. This feels like just the beginning of something, so we’re trying to chill, be open minded and ride it out. Good food always helps!

I hope you like these photos, we’ve been taking our walk around the hill at sunset and there’s been many a firework show! Looking out across the Irish Sea towards Ireland. We feel VERY lucky, everyday, to be together up here, with a garage full of lentils.

Sending you all the best of bestest wishes, good health and sensational spiceX

Jane up with the stone circle (now a triangle?!) What a place to stretch your legs!!

Recipe Notes

Chilli! How’d you like it? I’ve gone for mild here, but add another 1/2-1 teas if you’d like to feel the fire.

The same goes for the mango chutney. Many people like a sweeter style curry, it’s one of the tricks in curry houses, making your curries slightly sweeter (and also richer) than at home.

Vegetable wise, you can use any similar quantities of cooked vegetables. Steamed, roasted, pan-fried, however they come. This curry is an ideal home for leftover veg, a good meal for the day after a roast dinner. A banging sauce, pre-made, then add your vegetables and maybe a few more spices and fried garlic or ginger, a little yoghurt/ coconut milk, a sprinkle of fresh coriander…. It’s such an easy way to approach making curry, and the foundation is always a tasty masala sauce. Having a masala sauce ready for action in the fridge is a cooks dream!

Frozen spinach is a great idea. Frozen vegetables and fruits are still filled with nutrition and flavour. We always keep a good stock of frozen fruits for smoothies (they even sell frozen avocado now!) and veg for stews and soups. Fresh is best. Most of the time. But not always. Frozen does have benefits. It’s right there, ready, and like I said, it’s normally picked ripe, so there is even more nutrients than lots of frozen produce.

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Vegan Cauliflower and Potato Curry – Quick and easy using simple ingredients. Ideal for lockdown:)

Quarantine Curry – Quick Spicy Tomato Masala with Cauliflower, Potatoes and Spinach

Vegan, gluten-free, oil free option

The Bits – For 4

Fragrant Tomato Masala
400g passatta or tinned chopped tomatoes
2 tbs tomato puree
1 tbs mango chutney
300ml vegetable stock

4 teas good quality curry powder
1 1/2 teas garlic powder
1 1/2 teas ground ginger
2 teas ground coriander
2 teas ground cumin
1/2-1 teas chilli powder
1/2 teas ground fenugreek
1 teas sea salt

Vegetables
300g frozen spinach leaves
300g cauliflower florets
400g boiled/ steamed new potatoes (cut in half)
2 tbs cooking oil (I use cold-pressed rapeseed oil)

Do It
In a sauce pan, add all of your masala ingredients, bring to a simmer and pop a lid on. Leave to cook gently for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. That easy!!

In a large, heavy-bottomed frying pan, add the oil on medium high heat. Once the oil is hot, add your cauliflower and potatoes and cook for 8 minutes. Turning the veggies occasionally, getting some nice caramelised edges.

Add the spinach to the pan and pour the masala sauce over the vegetables, gently stir, careful not to break up the vegetables. Pop a lid on and leave to bubble for a couple of minutes, cooking until your spinach is soft and vibrantly green. Check seasoning, adding salt and chilli as you like.

Ideally, serve with basmati rice, a simple raita, pickles and warm chapati’s. It’s thali time!

If you’d like to make this recipe oil free, simply cook your vegetables without oil! Steamed vegetables is a great option.

Stunning sunsets, exploding sun. Wandering around Tiger Hill, looking over towards Ireland, Snowdonia (our extended back garden;)

Foodie Fact

Jane’s fav. Potatoes! Spuds are full of good stuff. A sprinkling of good protein and fibre with nice minerals, like potassium, and plenty of vitamin C. Leave the skins on and the nutritional value shoots up. This goes for most vegetables.

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Categories: Curries, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Vegan, Wales | Tags: curry, healthy curry, indian food, quarantine cooking, vegan recipe | 9 Comments

Moroccan Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup with Yoghurt and Ras El Hanout – Fragrant, immune-boosting bowl of orange radiance

Posted on April 3, 2020 by leroy watson

Roasted Sweet Potato, Carrots, Cauliflower and Lentil Soup with Yoghurt and Ras El Hanout – Vegan, Gluten-free

A delicious, radiant bowl of orange goodness

A little spicy with a whole lotta immune-boosting properties

I hope you and your loved ones are enjoying good health. We’re ever sending out love and fortitude during these turbulent times. We’re going to keep bringing the healthy, vibrant recipes to support and nourish our bodies. Plus, for us, cooking is a great time to chill and find a slice of peace with pots and pans.

I created this soup to hit the sweet spot, a fine balance between deliciousness and nutritiousness, with the flavours of the souks, the spice markets of Morocco in mind. This soup is rich and sustaining, creamy and spicy in all the right places.

I wanted to add some of my (maybe your?) favourite veggies that you may have right now; sweet potato, carrot (beta-carotene superheroes) and cauliflower. Also adding warming spices in the Ras El Hanout spice mix (winter chills are still hanging onto Spring up here!), vivid turmeric and richly flavoured paprika. Then a bit hit of fresh ginger for even more immune-boosting ZING! We also roast the vegetables in this recipe to bring out their natural sweetness and flavour.

IMMUNE BOOST!!

Every ingredient here is a superstar

This is immune-boosting from all angles. The yoghurt is full of pro-biotics, helping our gut to stay well, 70% of our immune system is located in the gut. Which also likes lots of fibre and pretty much all of the ingredients are good sources of fibre.

This soup is just what we needed right now! Our bodies crave this kind of sunshine food, which I seem to cook a lot of when we’re back in the Beach House Kitchen (located on top of a mountain in Snowdonia, Wales, for newbies). Putting sunshine colours in our pans and on your plates really works. Eating food this colour means it’s most probably loaded with anti-oxidants and loads of beta carotene too. Edible rainbows of healthy happiness.

Food to keep us shining!

I used to eat thick, lentil soups, something like this one, in the Rif Mountains in Morocco. I settled down for a little while up there a good few years ago. The steaming pots of soup in the morning, with fresh bread and spices, was a great start to the day. I love soup anytime and would dearly like to go back to Morocco when all this blows over. The slow pace of life in the mountains of Morocco is inspiring me right now, patience and finding peace being key to riding this strange time out.

I also stayed with some Berber musicians in a small village in the Atlas Mountains and we basically played music all day, ate together around one big pot and occasionally picked cactus fruits, or went out to play with the goats and kids. It was a very (very) chilled life. Jane and I are mainly playing music, cooking and going out to say hello to the local sheep, so there isn’t that much difference really! Jane’s just remembered that she can play violin, which has opened whole new doorways in our jam sessions. Good time to find that one out.

Back in the kitchen….this is not a traditional Moroccan soup of course, but it’s inspired by some of my favourite spices from Morocco, where they have some of the best spice markets I’ve been to. Tucked away in souks, down tiny, winding alleys, they appear timeless. Not quite the same when you buy them in the supermarket, but if you can, buy your spices whole, then toast and grind them yourself. When I got back from Morocco, it took weeks for me to stop smelling like cumin. The spices are potent in those parts!!

Enjoy this soup and cooking it! I love having more time in the kitchen nowadays at home to really focus on my cooking, every aspect, from buying and preparing the vegetables, to washing up at the end, the whole act of making healthy, homemade food is important to us. It seems like every aspect can affect my life in a positive way, especially when we’re doing it with a smile on our faces.

Be well and say “hello!” below in the comments or over on Instagram or Facebook. We’d always love hearing from you. What country are you in? Cooking right now for us is like travelling without leaving the kitchen. I have my favourite Moroccan tunes on when I cook this, wash it all down with some ‘Berber Whiskey’ aka fresh mint tea with a pinch of gunpowder green tea in there. I haven’t worn my Djellaba in the kitchen yet, but it’s only a matter of time…..

Moroccan Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup with Yoghurt and Ras El Hanout – Vegan, Gluten-free

Recipe Notes

Left thick aka not thinning with hot water, this makes for a nice daal also. I add a little fried garlic and more spices just before serving with rice or warm flatbreads.

Basically, you can use similar quantities of other veggies here if you’re short of any of these. I made this again today (the photos are from a few days ago) and I popped a roasted red pepper in there, which was delicious! The lentils and spices make for a great soup base.

Moroccan Sweet Potato and Lentil Soup with Yoghurt and Ras El Hanout – Vegan, Gluten-free

The Bits – For 8-10 bowls

7 medium carrots

3 medium sweet potatoes

350g/1 small cauliflower

200g red lentils

3 heaped tbs fresh ginger (finely chopped)

1 large onion (diced)

2 tbs ground turmeric

1 1/2 tbs ras el hanout (or other spice mix like garam masala or baharat)

1 tbs sweet paprika

2.5 ltrs vegetable stock

200ml unsweetened soya yoghurt

1-2 tbs cooking oil (I used cold pressed rapeseed oil)

Sea salt

To serve

Chopped parsley and chillies

Soya Yoghurt

Lemon Juice

Do It

Preheat an oven to 190oC.

Roughly chop your sweet potato, carrots and cauliflower. Place the vegetables onto a large baking tray (or two), cover lightly with oil and a little salt. Roast for 25-30 minutes, until soft and slightly caramelised, turning them once during cooking.

In a very large saucepan, the very biggest one you have. Warm your oil and then add the onions and ginger, fry for 4 minutes, before adding the turmeric, paprika and ras el hanout, stirring for a minute.

Now add the lentils and stock, bring to a rolling simmer and leave to cook for 20 minutes. Until the lentils are soft. Add the roasted vegetables and yoghurt, blending all together until smooth using a stick blender. Thin the soup with hot water if needed, have a boiled kettle on standby, for the soup, or tea?

For serving – Stir a little lemon juice into some soya yoghurt. Drizzle over the soup and swirl if you’d like it to look a bit fancy. Scatter herbs and chillies.

Enjoy warm, with a stack of flatbreads.

Foodie Fact

Sweet potatoes bright orange colour comes from the beta carotene content, beta-carotene makes Vitamin A, which makes you see in the dark and through brick walls, like a superhero. It will also give you the ability to scale tall turnips and dodge banana bullets….

Also, sweet potatoes are a good sources of vitamin C, fibre, anti-oxidants (which keep us from rusting), and loads of minerals like manganese, potassium and even copper sneaks in there.

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We’ll be posting more pictures of the Beach House Kitchen soon; the mountains, garden and wild nature of the Snowdonia mountains. The sun has been shining and the sunsets have been dramatic. The atomic mandarin has done us proud. What a peach!

OUR TOP 5 IMMUNE-BOOSTING TIPS ARE COMING SOON!