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Potato, Chickpea & Veggie Cakes

These were a bit of an experiment which turned into a huge success!  We had them for dinner topped with hummus and salsa (or hot sauce or tomato sauce depending on your age!) with some steamed broccoli.  Also were a great breakfast the next day sandwiched into some sourdough with avocado and tomato.


Potato, Chickpea & Veggie Cakes
 
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Creamy mash and chickpeas blended together with gently sautéed veggies and spices, formed into patties and coated with breadcrumbs. A delicious light lunch with salad or for dinner with steamed vegetables.
Author:
Recipe type: Patties & Burgers
Serves: 14
Ingredients
  • 700g potatoes (peeled weight)
  • 1-2 cups dry breadcrumbs (I used a sourdough crust, pulsed in food processor, toasted in oven, then pulsed again into a fine crumb)
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 2 T tahini
  • 1 brown onion, finely chopped
  • 1 leek, halved lengthways, washed and finely sliced
  • 2 cups finely chopped cabbage
  • 100g chopped mushrooms
  • 1 medium carrot grated
  • ½ cup frozen baby peas
  • ½ cup frozen sweet corn
  • 1 tsp mixed dried herbs
  • ½ t paprika
  • ½ t turmeric
  • ½ t coriander
  • 1 T soy sauce
  • 5 cubes frozen spinach defrosted and squeezed dry
Instructions
  1. Peel your potatoes and put into a pan of cold water and bring to the boil.
  2. Meanwhile, prepare your other vegetables (and breadcrumbs if necessary.)
  3. Blend the chickpeas with the tahini in a food processor until mostly smooth, a few chunks is ok.
  4. Put the onion, leek, cabbage, mushrooms, carrot into a large nonstick frying pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring frequently until softened, adding a splash or two of water if starting to stick. Stir in the herbs and spices and soy sauce and cook until very soft and most moisture evaporated. Turn off the heat.
  5. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees and line a large baking tray with paper and place inside.
  6. When your potatoes are just tender, drain well and mash until smooth.
  7. In a large bowl combine the potato, chickpeas, the cooked veggies, frozen peas and corn, and the spinach. The mixture should be very thick and quite difficult to stir. Hands are easier if it's too hard! Can be refrigerated at this stage until you're ready to cook them.
  8. Take large spoonfuls and shape into patties, then coat in breadcrumbs.
  9. Cook a batch at a time in a dry frying pan over a moderate heat for a few minutes until crispy on both sides, then transfer to your baking sheet in the oven whilst you cook the rest. Bake them in the oven for a further 15 minutes. I managed to get 14 cakes.

Featured post

Sushi Brown Rice Salad

Sushi Brown RIce Salad

All the taste of a nori roll without the rolling!  Crunchy veg, marinated tofu, edamame beans and avocado, mixed with strips of nori, sesame seeds, dressed with a sushi seasoning and soy sauce.  If you love sushi you’ll love this.

Sushi Brown Rice Salad
 
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Recipe type: Salad
Cuisine: Japanese
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 250 grams brown rice
  • 2 sticks celery, finely diced
  • 1 large cucumber, deseeded, finely diced
  • 1 red capsicum, finely diced
  • 2 carrots, finely diced
  • 1 cup blanched, podded edamame beans
  • 200g marinated Japanese flavour tofu, cut into small dice
  • nori seaweed sheets, cut into small squares or strips
  • 1 avocado, cubed
  • 4 tablespoons sesame seeds
  • sushi seasoning - vinegar, sugar, mirin blend (I use Obento brand, from the supermarket, or Asian supermarkets would stock a range)
  • soy sauce or tamari
  • radish - optional, finely diced
  • pickled ginger, wasabi, soy sauce - to serve as required
Instructions
  1. Whilst your rice is cooking, finely dice all the crunchy vegetables (and add whatever others you like) and put set aside. Blanch and pod your edamame beans, and dice the avocado. Toast the sesame seeds in a dry non stick pan, until golden brown.
  2. Once your rice is cooked, tip in to a large bowl and sprinkle generously with the sushi seasoning mix, stirring well to thoroughly incorporate. Taste and add more as required. I used about 8 tablespoons. Add tamari or soy sauce to taste. Once the rice is at room temperature, stir in as much of the vegetable mix as you like, portion out into your serving bowls and decorate the tops with the nori, avocado, edamame beans and sesame. Allow it to cool slightly
  3. Serve alongside pickled ginger, wasabi and extra tamari / soy sauce as desired.

Red Pepper Nectar Vinaigrette

Ever since I discovered Red Pepper Nectar (see my Red Pepper Pesto recipe) I have been experimenting with it. It makes a deliciously delicate but aromatic salad dressing.


Red Pepper Nectar Vinaigrette
 
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Recipe type: Dressing
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 5 tablespoons nectar
  • 2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • 1 garlic clove, crushed / microplaned
  • 2½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
Instructions
  1. Whisk together thoroughly.
  2. Will keep in a sealed jar in fridge for 2 weeks or more.

 

 

Mushroom & Tofu Noodle Bowl with a rich miso dressing

I felt like creating a bowl and using up what I had available.  As always, it’s all about the sauce! Feel free to substitute anything; I like a mix of cooked and raw items.  This one uses wholemeal linguine, rocket, shredded red cabbage, quick pickled red onions and then cooked mushrooms and grilled marinated tofu.


Mushroom & Tofu Miso Bowl
 
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Tofu, mushroom, rocket and red cabbage top off noodles with a creamy deeply umami miso dressing.
Author:
Recipe type: Bowl
Serves: -
Ingredients
  • Handful of rocket
  • Handful of finely shredded cabbage
  • Wholemeal linguine
  • Steamed broccoli
  • Marinated tofu, grilled
  • Quick pickled onions (finely shredded, tossed with white wine vinegar for 15 mins)
  • SAUCE: (makes enough for 8-10 servings)
  • ¾ cup soy milk
  • 2 tablespoons miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon grated ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves, crushed / grated
  • 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon tahini
  • 1 tablespoon bottled teriyaki sauce
  • 1 tablespoon caramelised onion relish
  • 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
  1. Prepare the other bowl ingredients (or substitute with your own options).
  2. Sauté the mushrooms whole in a large skillet with a lid until they are tender, using a dash of soy sauce or tamari to flavour.
  3. Marinate the tofu in soy sauce, vegetable stock and a little tomato paste for 30 mins, then cook on both sides in a medium pan, turning twice. I used a grill pan to get the stripes. You can also use a sandwich press.
  4. Whilst the pasta and broccoli are cooking, put all the sauce ingredients into blender and blend until very smooth and creamy.
  5. Arrange items in the bowl, top with the broccoli, tofu and mushrooms.
  6. Serve with the sauce to pour over.

 

Lemon, Soy & Tahini Dressing

Tahini Lemon Dressing

 

I have always loved this tangy, salty, creamy sauce!  Using miso, sesame flour, and soy milk I have managed to significantly reduce the fat in this more-ish sauce.  A little goes a long way, this really packs a punch!

Lemon, Soy & Tahini Dressing
 
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Author:
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 6 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons tahini (preferably Al Kanater)
  • 1 tablespoon sesame flour
  • 1 tablespoon date syrup
  • 2 tablespoons white miso paste
  • 3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • 4 tablespoons soy milk
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients in to a blender and blend thoroughly until creamy and thickened. (or wisk together in a bowl).

 

Sweet Potato Chocolate Ganache

sweet potato

sweet potato chocolate pudding

Having seen the idea on lots of other blogs (most recently Broccoli Mum’s YouTube channel) I decided to have a go at making this “pudding” and I added a couple of other ingredients.  I renamed it as it’s amazingly like a rich chocolate ganache, so much so that you can’t eat very much in one go, I have a tiny ramekin which is about 2-3 tablespoons and that is plenty but really satisfies that desire for a sweet treat.  Will last in the fridge for several days.

Sweet Potato Chocolate Ganache
 
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Recipe type: Dessert
Cuisine: Sweet Potato Chocolate Ganache
Ingredients
  • 1 large orange sweet potato, baked until very soft and caramelised
  • 3 tablespoons cacao powder (I used Pana)
  • 2 tablespoons PB2 powder
  • 1 tsp natural vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional - depends on how sweet the potato is)
  • splash of soy milk (amount will depend on size of potato used) to get blender going
  • optional: 1 dropper of liquid stevia caramel or toffee flavour
Instructions
  1. Put all ingredients into food processor or blender and blend several times, scraping down the sides between each blitz, until you achieve that thick smooth texture.
  2. Also works very well as frosting for a special occasion cake. 🙂

 

Vegan “Egg” Salad

vegan egg salad

When on holiday back in the UK last year I came across a vegan “egg” salad sandwich in Marks & Spencers.. needless to say I had to try it!  It was so good and realistic that I snapped a photo of the ingredients and decided I would try and copycat it, making any necessary replacements when I got back here.  It uses cannellini beans and tofu as the egg replacement.  I had just created my vegan mayo so this was the perfect addition for a sandwich.  The recent royal coronation was a perfect opportunity to try it out.  It has been very well received by vegans and non-vegans! 🙂

Vegan "Egg" Salad
 
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Creamy mayo with mashed white beans, tofu, onion and parsley. If you can find (or grow) cress that would be perfect!
Author:
Recipe type: Sandwich filler
Cuisine: English
Serves: 4-6 sandwiches
Ingredients
  • 400g can cannellini beans drained
  • 3-4 tbsp my tofu mayonnaise
  • (If not using my mayo add ½ teaspoon black salt for that eggy aroma)
  • 200g Macro medium firm silken tofu
  • 2 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 2 spring onions (scallions) trimmed and very finely sliced
  • 1 tablespoon finely sliced fresh parsley (or cress if you have it)
  • 1 tsp salt or to taste
  • black pepper to taste
Instructions
  1. Mash the drained beans in a large flat bottomed bowl with a fork or masher until no whole beans are left. Crumble in the tofu gently into large pieces. Add the mustard, onion, parsley, seasoning.
  2. Add the mayo and stir gently until all well combined

 

Mayo

I have tried every single tofu mayonnaise recipe I could find and didn’t like any of them.  Until I decided to wing it with the amount of other ingredients I added and bingo!  Delicious! Finally I have a low fat mayo that I can dip my potatoes into with abandon!

mayo

Mayo
 
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Light but creamy textured mayo with a lemony hum. If you like add a clove (or more) of crushed garlic to the lemon juice and let it steep before adding in to create more of an aioli.
Author:
Recipe type: Sauces
Serves: 1.5 cups
Ingredients
  • 300g of Macro Slightly Firm Classic Tofu
  • 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 2.5-3 teaspoons American style yellow mustard
  • ½ teaspoon black salt / kala namak (for the eggy aroma)
  • ½-1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice
  • 2 dessertspoons mashed potato flakes
Instructions
  1. Gently drain and rinse the tofu of all its liquid.
  2. If making the garlic variety, crush or microplane the garlic and drop into a little dish with the lemon juice, leave for 5-10 minutes.
  3. Put all the ingredients into a blender (I used a Nutribullet) and blend until very smooth.
  4. If you want a slightly richer mayonnaise add 12 raw cashews to the mix.
  5. Taste and adjust as suits your taste buds.

Mushroom, Rice & Tofu Mini Roasts

I’ve had these on the back burner for a while.  I was trying out some mushroom burger recipes and noticed I had half a block of tofu and some already cooked brown rice that needed to be used up so I added them in and the texture was lovely.  Rather than shaping by hand I used a muffin tray which gave them a nice crispy exterior and made portioning them out really easy.  Just as delicious cold as a light lunch with a salad or hot with mashed potato and gravy!

mushroom rice roasts

Mushroom Rice & Tofu Mini Roasts
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main, Snack
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 small onion
  • 300g sliced mushrooms
  • 1 tsp thyme or mixed herbs / oregano
  • 1 heaped cup cooked brown rice
  • 200g firm tofu
  • 1 tablespoon miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
Instructions
  1. Pulse the onion, mushrooms and thyme in a food processor until finely chopped but not a purée.
  2. Tip into a large frying pan, sauté for 7-10 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. No need to wash out the processor - put the rice, tofu and miso into the processor and pulse until well incorporated.
  3. Tip the contents into a large bowl, stir in the mushrooms and onion and mix really well until all the ingredients are completely combined.
  4. Pack into muffin trays. This makes enough for 6 small or 4 large roasts.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes.
  6. Cool for 5 mins, tip out onto baking tray and put back in oven for 5-10 minutes.

 

Italian Lemon Vinaigrette


Italian Lemon Vinaigrette
 
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Recipe type: Salad Dressing
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 4 T red wine vinegar
  • 1 clove garlic minced
  • 4 T soy milk / plant milk
  • 2 T liquid from roasted red peppers jar
  • 2 t Dijon mustard
  • 1 T fat free vegan mayo
  • 1 teaspoon date syrup / other liquid sweetener
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon dried oregano
  • Fresh lemon zest from one lemon
Instructions
  1. Grate or mince the garlic and put in a small glass jar.
  2. Add the vinegar and leave to steep for 10 minutes
  3. Add the other ingredients and shake well. The lemon and herb flavour will develop ad become stronger over several hours.

 

Garlic Vinaigrette

I am finally getting around to adding my vinaigrette recipes on here!  Sometimes you want a traditional, light dressing for a green salad more reminiscent of those oil and vinegar ones we used to make!  This is the 1st of three I make on a regular basis.  They all keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks with no problem.


Garlic Vinaigrette
 
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Tangy refreshing vinaigrette with a hint of garlic
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Recipe type: Salad dressing
Cuisine: French
Serves: 6
Ingredients
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 4 T vinegar (I used white wine but any kind will work and will change it slightly)
  • 1 T fresh lemon juice
  • 4 T soy / almond milk
  • 2 t date syrup
  • ½ t salt
  • 1 t Dijon mustard
  • 10ml tahini
  • 2 tsp miso
  • Slice onion
  • ½ cup water
Instructions
  1. Finely grate or chop the garlic and put in the blender with the lemon juice and vinegar. Allow to steep for 10 minutes before adding all the other ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined and silky smooth.

 

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Basil Lemon sauce

I have been using this method of roasting vegetables for a little while, which I learned from Chef Julia.  Basically you mix a little tahini into a couple tablespoons of of vegetable stock and use that to toss with the vegetables before putting in a hot oven (around 220 degrees C). I usually mix them up again around 20 mins in and then just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.

The sauce is rather pesto-like but with a more pronounced lemon twist. I used pasta from a fantastic local company who make an amazing wholemeal sourdough pasta range, but substitute your favourite pasta, this works well with any shape.

Roasted Vegetable Pasta with Basil Lemon sauce
 
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Roasted vegetables alongside steamed broccoli, pasta and a tangy creamy pesto-inspired sauce
Author:
Recipe type: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian inspired
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • Sauce:
  • ½ cup cashews
  • 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
  • 1 clove fresh garlic
  • 30g fresh basil
  • 2 rounded desertspoons nutritional yeast
  • 4 tablespoons boiling water
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest
  • salt & pepper to taste
  • Toasted pine nuts (optional)
  • Extra fresh basil, shredded (optional)
  • 1 heaping cup roasted vegetables per person
  • Suggestions of vegetables:
  • Butternut Squash
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • Capsicums
  • Red onions
  • I usually make a big batch once a week and store in the fridge
  • 400g wholemeal pasta - used fusilli
Instructions
  1. Roast your vegetables (see description on my method in opening paragraph)
  2. Meanwhile put all sauce ingredients apart from lemon zest in a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the lemon zest and allow it to sit at room temperature.
  3. Adjust seasoning as required.
  4. Cook the pasta.
  5. Steam the broccoli.
  6. In a large bowl mix together the pasta, vegetables and sauce.
  7. Top with toasted pine nuts plus more shredded fresh basil if liked.