Monthly Archives: May 2017

Lentil, Mushroom, Walnut, Quinoa & Black Bean Taco filling

This has been a long work in progress. Our family loves Mexican food and we usually make burritos or tacos but I have been looking for a dryer taco “meat” which doesn’t make them soggy.  After trying lots of variations I’ve come up with a winner!  Topped with avocado, salsa and spring onions, these tacos are delicious!

Lentil, Mushroom, Walnut, Quinoa & Black Bean Taco filling
 
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Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Mexican
Serves: 8
Ingredients
  • 1 red onion, finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed or finely chopped
  • 3 cups finely chopped mushrooms
  • 1 teaspoon each of coriander, cumin, smoked paprika and dried oregano
  • 3 T tomato paste
  • 1 can lentils or 1.5 cups home cooked
  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 packet cooked red quinoa, or 1.5 cups of home made
  • ½ cup chopped walnuts
  • 1 cup frozen sweetcorn - defrosted
  • Salt & pepper
Instructions
  1. Fry off the onion, spices then add all other ingredients.
  2. Add a splash of water and keep stirring from time to time until it dries out a little - should be fairly dry
  3. Toast corn tortillas in hot pan with lid so they steam and crispen.
  4. Spoon 2-3 dessertspoons in each taco and top with your favourite toppings - fresh salsa and diced avocado, hot sauce, coriander and lime juice!

 

Mushroom Nasi Goreng

I’ve always loved this spicy Indonesian rice dish but until now I just couldn’t seem to infuse the flavours into the rice without using oil.  Finally I seem to have found a solution!  Hope you love this as much as my family did.


Mushroom Nasi Goreng
 
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Brown rice scented with garlic, ginger, citrus and chilli with plenty of mushrooms and finely shredded cabbage.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Indonesian
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 4 cups cooked long grain brown rice
  • - SAUCE:
  • 3 cloves garlic, micro-planed / finely chopped
  • 3 tablespoons lemon and or lime juice
  • 2cm piece ginger, finely chopped - a heaped tablespoon
  • 1 tsp lime zest
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 1 heaped teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1 teaspoon chopped chillies - from a jar (add more if you like it really spicy!)
  • 1 heaped tablespoon tomato paste
  • 4 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
  • VEGETABLES:
  • ¼ green cabbage, cored and finely chopped
  • 400g grams diced mushrooms - about 3-4 cups
  • 2 medium carrots, finely diced
  • 1 cup frozen / canned sweetcorn
  • To serve:
  • Toasted peanuts
  • Chopped fresh coriander
  • Limes - quartered
Instructions
  1. Put on your rice to cook if not already available. (This may delay your serving time).
  2. Finely chop, crush or microplane the garlic, place in a small bowl and pour over the lemon and or lime juice and stir. Soak the garlic in the lemon juice for 5 mins.
  3. Add all other sauce ingredients then mix well and allow to sit whilst you prep the vegetables.
  4. Sauté the onion, cabbage, mushrooms and carrots in a large deep frying pan with a lid. Once softened - about 5-7 mins - add the paste, stir thoroughly and keep stirring for a few minutes to , thoroughly distributing the sauce through the veg.
  5. Add the cooked rice and mix well, then add a cup of water and the sweetcorn. Stir well and allow to heat through.
  6. Put on the lid, turn the heat down to low and cook for a further 5-7 mins until the carrots are tender and the sauce is absorbed into the rice.
  7. Turn off the heat and allow to sit whilst you get ready to serve.
  8. Serve each bowl with a quarter of lime, and scatter with coriander, peanuts and hot sauce.

 

Spinach & Tofu Cannelloni


Spinach & Tofu Cannelloni
 
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You might look at the name of this recipe, or the photo and think you haven't got time to make this, but you'd be wrong! With a food processor and using wholewheat square wraps instead of pasta this can be on the table inside an hour! This is in regular weeknight rotation in our house and everyone always wants seconds! 🙂
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: Italian
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 4 square wholewheat wraps, cut into ¼ to make 16 squares
  • 1 500g jar pasta tomato & basil style sauce
  • Topping:
  • 1 slice wholemeal bread, torn into pieces
  • ¼ cup walnut pieces
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Filling:
  • 350g baby spinach
  • 350g firm plain tofu, broken into pieces
  • 1 shallot / very small onion, chopped
  • 75g hummus
  • 1 tsp onion powder
  • 1 tsp Italian herbs mix
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
  2. Place the topping ingredients into your food processor and pulse until you have a regular crumb with no large pieces. Tip into a bowl and set aside.
  3. Place the baby spinach into a large bowl and cover with boiling water, pushing it down so all the leaves are submerged.
  4. Take your lasagne dish and pour about ⅓ of the jar of sauce over the bottom and tilt the dish so there is an even cover across the whole surface.
  5. Tip the spinach leaves and water into a colander over the sink, and run cold water over the spinach. Taking handfuls at a time, squeeze as much as the water out as you can, then roughly chop each handful into a few pieces, break up the clumps, and pop into the food processor (no need to clean out after breadcrumbs).
  6. Place all the other filling ingredients into the food processor with the spinach and pulse until it is well mixed and in tiny pieces, but not a puree.
  7. Take one square of wholewheat wrap, spoon 1 heaped tablespoon (about the size of a golf ball – around 35-40g in weight) of filling along one side. Roll up to create a sausage shape and place it in a corner of the dish. Keep going until you have used up all the filling and your dish is packed full.
  8. Pour the rest of the sauce over the top of the rolls and make sure all the bread is covered.
  9. Sprinkle the topping over the rolls and bake for 30 minutes. Cover with foil during the last 10
  10. minutes if your breadcrumb topping is starting to catch.

 

Pressure Cooker Savoury Lentils (with a no-PC option)


Pressure Cooker Savoury Lentils (with a no-PC option)
 
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A quick and easy version of shepherdess pie filling. If you do not have a pressure cooker, follow the same procedure in a casserole dish or large saucepan with a lid and either bake in the oven for 45 minutes or simmer on the cooktop for 30 minutes.
Author:
Recipe type: Main
Cuisine: English
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 1 large onion - finely diced
  • 2 sticks celery - finel diced
  • 1 very large or 2 medium carrots - finely diced
  • ½ cup Puy (french) lentils
  • ½ cup red lentils
  • 2 heaped tablespoons tomato paste
  • 1 heaped tsp chicken style stock powder
  • 1 cup passata or chopped tomatoes, blended
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 tsp granulated garlic
  • 1 tsp mixed herbs
  • 2 large bay leaves
  • ½ cup frozen corn
  • ½ cup frozen peas
Instructions
  1. Assemble and measure out all your ingredients first.
  2. Sauté the onion, celery and carrot in your pressure cooker, on the sauté or brown function for a few minutes.
  3. Then add the rest of the ingredients and set to cook on high pressure for 13 mins
  4. Release pressure
  5. Stir in the corn and peas.
  6. Close the lid and keep on warm function until potatoes or rice / pasta is ready