Creamy Mushroom Tagliatelle

I saw a discussion on a food board recently along the lines of ‘If you could only have three vegetables’. It really set me thinking – I’m just not sure I could whittle it down to three.

Well, there’s mushrooms, onions and tomatoes, (yes, I know, tomatoes are technically a fruit but you wouldn’t want one in your fruit salad!) but how could I live without broccoli, butternut squash, sprouts or peppers; and then there’s asparagus and aubergines and green beans not to mention celery and carrots….oooh, and beetroot! I could go on...!

Let’s face it, there’s no way on this earth I could keep to only three veg, which is why I’m glad vegetables are one of the main elements of our meals rather than just an add-on or a side dish.

Mushrooms are one of my absolute favourites - this is a bit of a variation on Mushroom Stroganoff, which we love, plus pasta. What's not to like?

1 tbsp olive oil
knob of butter
2 shallots
300g mushrooms
1 clove of garlic
50ml white wine
200g crème fraiche
1 tbsp chopped parsley
black pepper

150g tagliatelle


Thinly slice the shallots and sauté until translucent in the oil and butter. Thickly slice the mushrooms and add to the onions; cook until all the water from the mushrooms has evaporated then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

Season with black pepper and add the wine; allow to bubble for a minute or two then stir in the crème fraiche and chopped parsley.

Cook the tagliatelle in a large pan of boiling water until al dente. Drain and add to the creamy mushrooms; mix carefully and serve immediately with plenty of grated parmesan-style cheese.

Serves 2

Stuffed Portabella Mushrooms

I know Shirley Conran said some years back “Life is too short to stuff a mushroom”, but I thought it was about time I proved her wrong. Well, I’m definitely no Superwoman and I could be about forty years too late, but better late than never.


We had these nutty, veggie stuffed mushrooms for dinner on Monday, really needing something to cheer us up; it was a Bank Holiday here and it absolutely poured with rain the entire day. I felt so sorry for all those people who had outdoor plans for their day off. Great British weather…don’t you just love it?

Having decided to make these lovely mush I hit a bit of a brick wall over what to serve them with – I ummed and ahhed about creamy mashed potato but I finally came down on the side of lemony herb couscous. Nothing new there, I’d happily eat couscous every day.

Incidentally, I always thought these mushrooms were called Portobello, but it seems they’re now called ‘Portabella’. Amazing…you learn something new every day.

1 medium red onion, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, cored and diced
olive oil
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
50g pine nuts
½ tsp dried oregano
1 crushed clove of garlic
125g grated mozzarella
1 thick slice wholemeal bread, blitzed into crumbs
4 large Portabella mushrooms
1 tbsp pesto

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and chop finely; sauté the stalks together with the onion and red pepper in a tablespoon of olive oil until lightly coloured; add the sun-dried tomatoes, pine nuts, oregano and garlic and cook for another minute then scoop into a large bowl and mix in the breadcrumbs and half the cheese.

Turn the oven on to 180C.

Brush the outside of the mushrooms liberally with olive oil and smear the pesto over the insides; place on a baking tray lined with baking parchment and, using your hands, (it’s easier than a spoon - trust me!) put a quarter of the stuffing into each mushroom.

 

Drizzle with olive oil and bake for 25 minutes then take them out of the oven and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Return to the oven for another 10 minutes until golden.

Serves 2

Warm Roast Vegetable Salad with Feta

This was our dinner on Friday night – it perfectly fitted my Wimbledon food criteria... quick, easy and convenient to eat. I’d spent most of the day watching tennis (Andy Murray’s match was a real nail biter!) and could barely drag myself away from the TV so there was no way I was planning to do anything too tricky foodwise.

I had the laptop, with the BBC's live coverage, on the breakfast bar while I was in the kitchen so that I didn’t miss a ball; I will say that chopping veg is a somewhat hazardous operation, though, whilst watching Andy at set-point to level the match - I don't recommend it at all!

This made quite a decent amount of roast veg and there was some left over so I added the remainder to some garden grown salad leaves, beetroot and tomatoes for lunch yesterday - very nice indeed. It's also good stirred through some couscous along with a couple of spoonsful of dressing to moisten.

......and so we come to today’s match; at 2pm – the Wimbledon Men's Singles final. Ooo-er…missus! I have spent almost my entire life wanting this; will today be the day I’ve been waiting half a century for? I bloody hope so! C’mon Andy!!

Update:
Since I put this post on this morning Andy Murray has won the Men's Wimbledon Singles title!! Magnificent, astonishing, stupendous and every other superlative you can think of...! I never thought it would happen in my lifetime, so I am a very happy camper indeed. There wasn't a dry eye in the Simply Veggie household...it was a privilege and a pleasure to watch.

2 red onions
1 small aubergine
2 Romano red peppers
150g mushrooms
1 medium sweet potato
2 tbsp olive oil
black pepper
few sprigs of fresh rosemary
150g feta cheese

1tsp Dijon mustard
1tsp runny honey
1tbsp sherry vinegar
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp walnut oil

a few snipped chives

Peel the onions and cut them through the root into eighths; chop the aubergine and peppers into chunks about 2 or 3cm square; peel and chop the sweet potato into chunky pieces; if the mushrooms are small leave them whole or halve them if larger. Put all the veg into a large plastic freezer bag (saves on washing up!) along with the olive oil, rosemary and a few grinds of black pepper; hold the top of the bag tightly shut and shake until all the veg are coated in oil.

Tip the vegetables into a large baking tin or two and roast at 200C for 30 minutes until cooked through and starting to char a bit at the edges.

Put the dressing ingredients into a small jam jar and shake like billy-o until the mixture emulsifies.

Once the roast veg are cooked, discard the rosemary and arrange a goodly amount of the veg on two plates; top with the crumbled feta and a sprinkling of snipped chives. Drizzle over a little dressing and serve with crusty bread.

Black Bean and Mushroom Burgers

I’ve been feeling decidedly worse for wear for the last week; Mr Simply Veg and I have both had colds but, looking on the bright side, it’s been a good excuse to stay indoors and watch Wimbledon; not that I need any excuse! C’mon Andy – let this be the year!

Food for Wimbledon has to be quick, easy to prepare and capable of being eaten from a tray whist seated on the sofa in front of the TV – nothing that needs a knife and nothing with a sauce that will end up all over me and the furniture if the match gets exciting…!

On Friday afternoon, while I was waiting for Andy Murray to enter the fray again, I made up a black bean and mushroom burger mix and left it in the fridge to firm up a bit before cooking. It was all a bit “make it up as you go along”, but surprisingly tasty; an amalgam of the best bits of two or three other recipes to which I added a grated carrot and some of our herbs which are growing like crazy. Best of all, the burgers didn’t fall apart in the pan (yes, I know you've been there!) and I have the picture to prove it.
 
I was going to serve them in ciabatta rolls with some spicy wedges but the tennis was getting a tad intense so we finished up just having the patties with some of our new potatoes and Little Gem lettuces from the garden. A nice easy dinner and Andy won...what's not to like?

125g chestnut mushrooms
1 large onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin black beans
100g wholemeal breadcrumbs
125g carrot, grated
2 tsp sun-dried tomato paste
1 tbsp oregano, finely chopped

1 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
black pepper
1 egg, beaten

a little olive oil for frying

Finely chop the onion and mushrooms and fry in the olive oil until golden. Set aside to cool.

Empty the beans into a sieve, rinse and drain well then put them in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until broken down; add the rest of the ingredients and mix well with a fork. Cover and refrigerate for an hour.

Divide the mixture into four or six, depending on how large you’d like them to be, and shape into patties.

Fry for 8-10 minutes each side.

Chickpea, Mushroom and Spinach Korma

It’s still like winter here even though Easter has been and gone – we actually had another light flurry of snow this morning; it’s getting beyond a joke now and I am still cooking winter meals!

Now, I know what you’re thinking... This doesn’t look like any Korma I’ve ever seen; where’s the cream, where’s the ground almonds? That’s what I thought too, and that’s what drew me to it. It’s my vegetarianised version of this recipe by Atul Kochhar. Obviously I didn’t want the fish but I liked the look of the spicy tomatoey sauce served with it, so I used the sauce as a base, played around with it a bit and added chickpeas, mushrooms and spinach.

According to Atul (hark at me, first name terms – anyone'd think I know him!) it’s a Middle Eastern Korma; he uses baharat in it, a spice mix I’ve never come across before but I have led a very sheltered life. Wiki says baharat is a generic Arabic word for ‘spices' - there you go, you learn something new every day...

The smell in the kitchen while it was cooking was divine, I could hardly wait for it to be ready to eat. It was worth waiting for, though – not quite like a curry but spicy with a warm fragrant kick to it. Definitely a keeper.

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions, finely chopped
200m Portobellini mushrooms, quartered
1 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped 
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp Bart baharat
1 tsp ground turmeric
2.5cm piece of cinnamon stick
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
2 loomi (dried limes) or thinly pared rind of 1 lemon
1 tin of chickpeas, drained
200ml stock or water
a couple of handfuls of baby leaf spinach

Heat the vegetable oil in a large lidded pan and sauté the onions and mushrooms over a highish heat for five minutes. Add the ginger, garlic, chilli powder, baharat, turmeric and cinnamon stick; sauté for a couple of minutes.

Add the tomatoes, loomi or lemon rind, chickpeas and stock. Bring to the boil, pop the lid on and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the loomi or lemon rind and the cinnamon stick then stir the spinach into the sauce until it wilts.

Serve immediately with rice or naan.

Porcini and Chestnut Roast

There seems to be 1001 Christmas magazines around at the moment – every one of them promising the “Best Ever Christmas”...! They can't all be right, surely? The only one I’ve bought this year is the BBC Good Food Vegetarian Christmas; it’s OK but there’s nothing in there that makes me go “Wow – I must make that!”

I always pick up any free food magazines when I’m in a supermarket, though, just in case there’s something in there worth trying. There rarely is, actually, so I was pleasantly surprised when I saw a recipe for a Christmas stuffing in a Waitrose mag which looked like it had possibilities. It was listed as a stuffing but I thought it would convert, with a few tweaks and additions, into a tasty nut roast; so I changed some of the ingredient proportions, then added more mushrooms and a smidge of lemon to sharpen it up a bit and this is the result.

We had some for dinner last night with jacket potatoes and a tomato salad and I have to say it was really rather good; not the sort of thing I usually do for a midweek meal but it made a nice change and will definitely go on my list of 'keepers'. It'd be good for a Sunday lunch if served with all the usual suspects and, although I’m planning on serving Nut Roast Wellington for Christmas Day, I think it’s worth keeping this up my sleeve as an alternative.

1 medium onion, finely chopped
150g chestnut mushrooms, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1tbsp olive oil
40g dried porcini
250g ciabatta breadcrumbs
300g vac-packed chestnuts
75g grated parmesan-style cheese
handful of chopped parsley
1 egg
1 tsp Marigold Stock powder
grated zest and juice of half a lemon

Put the ciabatta breadcrumbs in a large mixing bowl. Soak the porcini in 250mls of boiling water for 10 minutes then strain, reserving the soaking liquid; chop finely and add to the breadcrumbs.

Sauté the onion and mushrooms in the olive oil for 5 minutes; add the garlic and cook for another couple of minutes then add the veg to the mixing bowl.

Roughly chop the chestnuts, leaving some of the pieces quite chunky, and add to the bowl along with the cheese and parsley.

Mix the reserved porcini liquid with the beaten egg, stock powder, lemon zest and juice; pour over the breadcrumb mixture and stir really well. Spoon into a lined 2lb loaf tin and bake at 180C for 50-60 minutes.

Allow to cool for 15 minutes before cutting into thick slices to serve.

Leek and Mushroom Pie

Last night’s dinner was a special request by Mr Simply Veg; a few days ago he asked for a pie with a puff pastry top. When I enquired what sort of pie, he said “Leek and something…?” He’s helpful like that…

Now, I have made tarts, flans, quiches, pasties and turnovers; I’ve made mince pies, homity pies and even shepherd’s pies but I don’t think I have ever made a ‘proper’ pie. I am clearly not an experienced pie-maker because I don’t even possess a pie plate/tin/dish/whatever, so off I went to Lakeland and bought an enamel pie tin - the sort of thing that used to be around when Adam was a lad and looked like it meant business!

I looked on the net for some tips, grabbed a trusty roll of puff pastry from the freezer and set to. This was the outcome and, for a first attempt, I thought it wasn’t too bad; just goes to prove even an old dog like me can still pull a few new kitchen tricks. Mr Simply Veg was a very happy chap indeed.

200g chestnut mushrooms, quartered
3 medium leeks, cleaned and chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
350ml milk
25g butter
30g plain flour
1 tsp Marigold Bouillon stock powder
100g cheddar cheese, grated
1 tbsp crème fraiche
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp chopped parsley

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry
a little milk

Sauté the mushrooms and leeks in the olive oil until cooked and barely golden; set aside.

Put the milk, butter, flour and stock powder in a small pan and bring to the boil, stirring constantly; simmer for 5 minutes then take off the heat and stir in the grated cheese followed by the crème fraiche, mustard and parsley. Mix in the cooked mushrooms and leeks then turn the whole lot into a medium pie tin or dish with a rim and allow to cool.

Turn the oven on to 200C. Cut a piece of pastry about 2cms bigger all round than the top of the pie tin; dampen the rim of the tin with water then lay the pastry over the tin and tuck the excess pastry under to form a double thickness rim; cut a couple of slashes in the top of the pastry and brush all over with milk.

Put on a baking tray and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden.

Serve with veg of choice (we had broccoli and carrots).

Aubergine and Mushroom Lasagne

You will see from the second picture on this post why I don’t often make lasagne…apart from making it in individual dishes, (which I don’t have) how the hell do you serve it so that it looks as good on the plate as it does in the dish? Why does it never sit nicely on the plate so that you can see the separate layers? Answers on a postcard, please, because I’m damned if I know!

Despite its slightly iffy appearance this lasagne had a really nice depth of flavour; we both enjoyed it a lot. I love aubergine in any way shape or form; put it together with mushrooms, pasta and a cheesy sauce and I’m a very happy bunny indeed.

Incidentally, there was some of the aubergine sauce left over so I might have a go at making a quesadilla-type thingy for lunch tomorrow; handy to eat whilst watching Andy Murray in the semis at Wimbledon. I’ll be yelling at the television and my nerves will be shredded; definitely not the type of thing to watch on an empty stomach….Come on, Andy!!

1 medium aubergine, chopped into large dice
250g chestnut mushrooms, halved or quartered
1 large red onion, chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
75ml red wine
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano

4 or 5 sheets of fresh lasagne

250ml milk
20g butter
25g plain flour
1 tsp Marigold Bouillon stock powder
75g mature cheddar, grated
2 tbsp grated parmesan-style cheese

Heat the olive oil in a large pan; add the aubergine, mushrooms and onion and sauté over a medium heat for 10 minutes, add the rest of the sauce ingredients, bring to the boil then simmer gently for 30 minutes.

When cooked, put a layer of sauce in the base of an ovenproof dish then cover with a sheet of lasagne; repeat three or four times ending with a sheet of lasagne.

Heat oven to 180C

Put the milk, butter, flour and Marigold stock powder into a small saucepan over a medium heat and bring to the boil, stirring constantly until the sauce thickens; simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and stir in the cheddar; pour the cheese sauce over the top layer of lasagne then sprinkle with grated ‘parmesan’.

Bake at 180C for 45 minutes until golden and bubbling

Serves 2

Mushroom Pâté

I was really quite pleased with this mushroom pâté, it’s one of those things that’s so easy to do but, inexplicably, I’ve always bought it (at ridiculous supermarket prices!) instead of making it.

I used ground almonds to give it texture and a bit more body and chestnut mushrooms to give a more intense flavour. It was really handy to have in the fridge over the festive period. We had some with grilled ciabatta; it was great with rocket in a sandwich and it was also nice with crackers, a few tomatoes and a dollop of red onion marmalade. Multi-talented, easy and inexpensive…what more could you want?

I have to be honest here, this isn’t the pâté I made at Christmas, it’s the one I made this morning! On Christmas Eve I took some nice pics of it on the dining table with the Christmas tree in the background, but somehow I managed to delete the images before I’d uploaded them onto my laptop. Duh…muppet! Anyway, this is such a great recipe it was a good excuse to make it again just so that I could take its picture.

50g butter, divided into two 25g pieces

1 small onion, finely chopped

250g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

1 clove garlic, chopped

100g cream cheese

25g ground almonds

2 pinches of cayenne

¼ tsp of paprika

a couple of grinds of black pepper

1 tsp brandy

a few mushroom slices sautéed in butter

Heat the first 25g of butter in a saucepan and fry the onion gently for 5 minutes; add the mushrooms, turn them in the butter, put a lid on the pan and cook gently for 15 minutes. Remove the lid and cook until almost all the liquid has bubbled away. Take off the heat, stir in the second 25g of butter and allow to cool for 15 minutes.

Put the cooled buttery mushrooms, cream cheese, ground almonds, cayenne, paprika, black pepper and brandy in the food processor and blend until smooth.

Scoop the pâté into two large or four small ramekins and top with a couple of sautéed mushroom slices. Cover and chill for at least 3 hours before serving with ciabatta, crackers, grissini or crudités.

Serves 4

Mushroom and Sherry Sauce

Is it a Sauce or is it a Gravy? Who knows …who cares? All I can say with any certainty is it’s damn tasty and will go very nicely with our Nut Roast Wellington on Christmas Day.

I was planning to do my usual gravy on the big day but I happened to see a recipe by Gordon Ramsey (I really can’t stand that man!) on the net recently which was served with a mushroom sauce. It set me thinking and this is the result; a rich, flavoursome sauce or, possibly, gravy which is perfect for those times when you want something a bit more special to complement the centrepiece of a celebratory meal. Actually, this was so gorgeous, it was all I could do not to eat it by the spoonful!

25g dried porcini

25g butter

1 red onion, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

200g chestnut mushrooms, roughly chopped

1 tbsp flour

500ml stock

3 tbsp sherry

1 dsp tomato paste

½ tsp dried thyme

Soak the porcini in 100mls of hot water for 20 minutes, then drain them over a small bowl reserving the soaking liquor; roughly chop the porcini and set aside.

Melt the butter in a largish pan and sauté the onion for five minutes; add the chestnut mushrooms and garlic and cook for another five minutes. Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes then pour in the stock and the reserved porcini liquor and stir well then add the sherry, tomato paste, thyme and porcini. If the flour goes lumpy, ignore it; you’ll be blitzing it later, anyway. Bring to the boil, stirring; turn the heat down to a simmer, pop a lid on, and let it bubble gently for fifteen minutes. Blitz with a stick blender until smooth, adding a little more stock if necessary to bring it to a consistency you're happy with.

You can freeze this until needed then defrost and reheat thoroughly before serving.

Nut Roast Wellington

I’m planning to do this rather spiffing Nut Roast Wellington as the centrepiece of our Christmas lunch this year. Having never made one before the last thing I wanted was to put the whole thing together on Christmas morning only to find it didn’t work…! Nightmare! So, a couple of weeks ago, before I went down with the dreaded lurgy, I decided to have a trial run.

The thing I was most worried about was the pastry splitting, allowing all the filling to fall out, but I needn’t have worried; it all held together nicely and went surprisingly well.

Although the instructions look lengthy, it’s actually not as fiddly to do as I expected; it sounds much worse than it is. Now I’ve done it I feel quite confident about doing it again; in fact, I’m looking forward to it.

I shall be serving this on Christmas Day with roast potatoes, maple roast roots (parsnips, carrots and celeriac), sprouts with chestnuts and proper homemade gravy. Lovely!

Incidentally, if you're looking for something to serve with the leftover Wellington, can I suggest this Root Vegetable Gratin? It tastes brilliant and it cleverly uses up any leftover roasted roots from Christmas Day.

Nut Roast mixture:

1 onion, finely chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

200g whole mixed nuts

175g fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs

75g mature cheddar, grated

200ml stock

1 egg, beaten

½ tsp Marmite

1 tsp dried oregano

25g dried cranberries

Mushroom Duxelles:

250g chestnut mushrooms, very finely chopped

1 shallot, finely chopped

few fresh thyme leaves

25g butter

500g pack of ready-rolled puff pastry

1 egg, beaten

For the Mushroom Duxelles:

Sweat the mushrooms, thyme and chopped shallot in the butter over a very low heat until all the liquid has evaporated and you are left with an almost dry mushroom pate. Set aside to cool.

For the Nut Roast:

Sauté the chopped onion in the olive oil until golden and set aside to cool.

Grind the nuts in a food processor until reasonably fine, but still with some texture. Place the ground nuts in a large bowl; add the breadcrumbs, grated cheddar, oregano and cooled onion; mix well. (At this point you can put it in the fridge and finish it off next day, if you want.) Whisk the stock together with the beaten egg and Marmite; add this to the bowl and mix with a fork until the mixture starts to hold together. Remove about 1/3 of the mixture to a small bowl and stir in the dried cranberries.

Assembling the Wellington:

Unroll the pastry onto a lightly floured surface and roll lightly with a rolling pin to make it a bit larger.

Put the nut roast mixture with cranberries in the centre of the pastry and form into a rough rectangle about 8cm x 12cm. Spread the mushrooms duxelles over the top, then cover with the remaining nut roast mixture.

Now the fun begins! Fold the edges of the pastry over like a parcel, to completely enclose the nut roast, using the beaten egg to seal all the edges. You may need to cut off a bit of the pastry to avoid the seams being too thick. (I cut some little Christmas trees from the trimmings and stuck them on top but, quite frankly, that was a waste of time!)

Line a shallow baking tray with non-stick baking paper and, very carefully, turn the Wellington over and lay it, seam-side down, on the baking tray. Brush all over with the rest of the beaten egg and bake at 210C for 20 minutes then turn the temperature down to 180C and cook for a further 35-40 minutes until deep golden brown and cooked through. (I have a fan oven so you may need to adjust timings or temperatures a bit).

It looked a bit like a rather gorgeous loaf of bread when it came out of the oven! Allow to cool for about 20 minutes before cutting in thick slices to serve.

Serves 4 with lots of lovely leftovers to pick at later! It's also fabulous cold with chutney and salads on Boxing Day.


Quick update:  Last year I decided to go down the route of making a plait. To be honest, it was much easier and quicker than the original version and it was just as yummy.

All I did was lay the ready-rolled puff pastry on a floured baking sheet, put the same filling as above length-ways down the centre third, then cut the pastry either side into an even number of strips slightly on the diagonal; brush the strips with beaten egg then fold over the filling, making sure you tuck the ends in neatly. Brush the whole thing with more beaten egg and bake as above. 

And there you go - you have yourself a gorgeous golden Christmas Nut Roast Plait!

Autumn Vegetable Cobbler

The weather has been really chilly this last few days; all very autumnal with a promise of winter in the air.

The raised beds in the garden, which were groaning under the weight of assorted vegetables during the summer, are now almost empty and looking a bit sorry for themselves. We pulled up the last of the carrots at the weekend and I also pulled a couple of leeks to see how they were getting on; I’ll leave the rest of them there to use up throughout the winter. I can feel plenty of leek and potato soup coming on…

I’ve been looking for ways to expand my new-found scone know-how (I’m so chuffed with myself…you’ve no idea!) and was thrilled to be able to cook a cobbler for the first time. Along with the handful of carrots and leeks I’d collected from the garden there were sundry other veg in the fridge so I used a few mushrooms, a couple of sticks of celery and a solitary sweet potato to make a rather nifty autumnal dinner that will definitely be making further appearances in future.

**If you’re luckier than me the vegetable casserole base will all stay in the dish rather than bubbling up, running down the side of the dish and burning on the bottom of the blasted oven!

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed

2 medium carrots, peeled and chopped

2 leeks, well washed and cut into chunks
2 sticks of celery, chopped

150g chestnut mushrooms, halved

½ tsp dried thyme

1tbsp olive oil

1tbsp plain flour

350ml stock

2 tsp Worcester sauce

½ tsp Marmite

1 dsp tomato puree

100g self-raising flour

25g butter

½ tsp baking powder

75g grated mature cheddar

½ tsp dried thyme

75ml buttermilk (you may not need all of it)

Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the veg for 10 minutes; stir in the flour and gradually add the stock followed by the Worcester sauce, Marmite and tomato puree. Bring to the boil, pop a lid on and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, for the cobbler topping, mix the flour and baking powder together then rub in the butter until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Stir in the thyme and ⅔ of the cheese then mix in enough of the buttermilk to form a very soft dough. Pat the dough out on a floured surface to form a small circle about 2.5cm thick. Cut out 4 small scones with a 5.5cm plain cutter. Heat the oven to 200C.

When the vegetable mixture is cooked transfer it to a small ovenproof dish and put the four scones on top; sprinkle the remaining cheese on top and bake for 12-15 minutes until golden and risen.

 

Serves 2

Mushroom Stroganoff with Rosti

I make mushroom stroganoff quite a bit; it’s quick and easy for those times when you want something really tasty but you don’t want to faff about too much. No fancy ingredients, just storecupboard stuff; I use crème fraiche because I like the slightly sharp tanginess of it and it’s less likely to split, but most recipes use cream so, if you have half a pot of cream hanging around in the fridge that you want to use up, feel free to sub that instead.

I usually serve stroganoff with rice but the husband requested we have it with rosti because he’d seen a recipe in a magazine. Now, I have a difficult relationship with rosti, they never quite do what I expect them to; although, to be fair, I’m not sure exactly what I do expect. (Incidentally, does the plural of rosti need an 's'?)

These ones were better than any I’ve made previously, but I still think there’s room for improvement. Next time I think I’ll add a small grated onion and just make one large rosti each. I can then serve the stroganoff on top; a bit like mushrooms on toast….without the toast!

25g butter

1 small onion, finely chopped

250g chestnut mushrooms, thickly sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp fresh thyme leaves

4 tbsp crème fraiche

25ml white wine

chopped parsley to sprinkle

2 large floury potatoes

ground black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil

Parboil the potatoes in their skins for about 15 minutes; drain and allow to cool. This can be done in advance or even the day before if you like.

Grate the potatoes coarsely into a large bowl, add plenty of black pepper and mix well; set aside until you’re ready to cook the rosti.

Melt the butter in a large pan and sauté the onion and garlic for 5 minutes; add the thickly sliced mushrooms and cook until almost all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated; add the paprika, thyme and white wine. Stir well and cook for a minute or two then add the crème fraiche. Take off the heat and keep warm while you cook the rosti.

Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan (I used two small pans). Place four large spoonfuls of the grated potato in the pan and flatten slightly with a spatula. Cook for 4-5 minutes on each side until golden.

Divide the rosti and stroganoff between two warmed plates and sprinkle with plenty of chopped parsley.

Serves 2

Roast Vegetable and Pasta Bake

If you happen to go out for a pub lunch or to any High Street chain restaurant there is always pasta and salad on the menu, usually at an exorbitant price! I mean…how much does a cupful of pasta and a few veg cost, for crying out loud! Do restaurateurs think we haven't noticed the outrageous markup? 

In fact, pasta and salad is a meal that I rarely cook – when we sat down to eat tonight the husband said “We haven’t had a pasta bake for ages”, which is quite true and it’ll probably be a while before we have another one. With the exception of the lasagne we had last week at my sister’s it’s at least a couple of months since I had a pasta meal of any description. I’d almost forgotten what to do!

Oh, I must mention the salad leaves were our first from the garden this year; I was so chuffed, hopefully they’re the first of many.

2 tbsp olive oil

1 small aubergine, chopped into 2cm chunks

1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped into large pieces

1 red onion, peeled and cut into eighths through the root

125g chestnut mushrooms, halved

2 cloves garlic, crushed

100g penne

250ml passata

2 or 3 sprigs of basil, chopped
1 slice of wholemeal bread made into breadcrumbs

100g grated mature cheddar

Put all the prepared vegetables into a large roasting tin that will allow them to be cooked in a single layer. Add the crushed garlic, drizzle over the olive oil and use your hands to mix so the veg are coated in the oil. Roast at 200C for 25 mins.

Meanwhile, bring a large pan of water to the boil and parcook the penne for 5 minutes. Drain and return to the pan, adding the passata and basil; mix well then add the roast vegetables, mixing carefully or the veg will break up.

Tip the whole lot into a deep baking dish and sprinkle with the combined cheddar and breadcrumbs then drizzle with a little olive oil. Bake at 200C for 15-20 minutes until the cheese and breadcrumbs have formed a lovely golden crust.

Serve with a leafy salad.

Serves 2

Mushroom and Chestnut Casserole

It’s been funny weather-wise this week, it started off sunny and warm, poured with rain yesterday and today things were very cloudy and chilly; if we'd had snow we could have had all four seasons in one week!

I hadn't intended to make this mushroom and chestnut casserole; it was a bit of a surprise, really. I fancied a curry to warm us up a bit, but I was having a rummage in the freezer (searching for some frozen coconut milk which I never actually found – I wonder what happened to it?) when I discovered a pack of frozen chestnuts left over from Christmas; I also had loads of mushrooms in the fridge so, together with a few other store cupboard bits and pieces, I made a rather unexpected dinner.

I love it when something delicious turns up by surprise; we’ll have the curry another day!

1 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped

2 sticks celery, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

250g mushrooms, halved or chopped if large
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
2 tbsp plain flour

500ml veg stock

100ml red wine

1 dsp tomato puree
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dried thyme
200g chestnuts (vacuum-packed)

Mix the stock, wine, tomato puree, soy sauce and thyme together in a large jug and set aside. Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onions, carrots and celery over a medium heat for five minutes; add the mushrooms, garlic and sun-dried tomatoes and fry until the water from the mushrooms evaporates; stir in the flour then add the wine and stock mixture; bring to the boil, stirring, then add the chestnuts; put the lid on, lower the heat and cook over a gentle heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I served it with tenderstem broccoli and some decent bread to mop up the delicious gravy, but rice or mashed potatoes would also be nice.

Serves 2 with enough left for lunch tomorrow

Vegetable Beanpot Soup

Well, it must have been something I said! No sooner do we get a few days of sunshine, sending my mind wandering to salads and warm weather food, than it turns cold again and I start thinking of soup! The joys of the British weather…

I seem to have been making this soup forever; it’s the one I return to again and again, firstly because we love it and secondly it’s made with standard store cupboard items so the ingredients are always to hand.

Just had a nice bowlful for lunch with some tomato bread – went down a treat…

1 large onion, chopped small

2 large carrots, chopped small

2 sticks of celery, chopped

1 large potato, peeled and diced

10 chestnut mushrooms, chopped small

1 tbsp olive oil

1 dsp tomato puree

1 lt veg stock

1 tin mixed beans, drained and rinsed

1 dsp Worcester sauce (a veggie one, obviously!)

½ tsp curry paste

½ tsp Marmite

Put all the veg into a large saucepan, add the oil and fry over a medium heat for five minutes. Add the tomato puree and the stock and bring to the boil. Simmer gently for 20 minutes.

Put half the beans and half the hot soup in another pan and blend until smooth with a stick blender. Add the smooth soup to the chunky soup then add the rest of the beans, Worcester sauce, curry paste and Marmite. Reheat gently. Eat and enjoy.

Serves 4 and freezes well

Coronation Chickpeas

I know it's not quite summer yet, but we'll soon be there. We had lunch in the garden yesterday for the first time this year - nothing special, just some nice bread, cheese, a few tomatoes and some homemade chutney. The garden table and chairs were dusted off, the grass was cut and the allotments across the road were a hive of activity; it was lovely eating outside again after such a cold winter. A few of our plants look a bit sick because of the snow at the end of last year but, with a bit of sun and some TLC, they’ll probably recover.

Before I went veggie one of my favourite warm weather meals was Coronation Chicken; I still make it sometimes for visiting omnivores but obviously I don't eat it. The thing is, I really like the Coronation sauce, so I've been trying to work out a veggie version and I think I've finally cracked it.

I actually made this last week but forgot to take a picture of it – doh! We enjoyed it so much I made it again for last night's dinner with salad and rosemary potatoes. There's some left over so I think today's lunch is sorted - chunks of baguette filled with Coronation chickpeas and salad. Lovely!

250gm chestnut mushrooms, quartered
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tin chickpeas, drained
50gm salted cashews
2 sticks celery, chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise
2 tbsp natural yoghurt
1 dsp curry paste
1 dsp mango chutney
1 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
1 tbsp coarsely chopped coriander

Mix the mayo, yoghurt and mango chutney together then set aside while you saute the mushrooms in the olive oil until cooked but not browned, add the curry paste and cook gently for a minute or two. In a large bowl mix the chickpeas, celery, cashews and cooked mushrooms together then stir in the mayo and yoghurt mixture. Sprinkle with chopped coriander and toasted almonds before serving

Serves 2 with enough leftover for lunch next day

Mushrooms Provençal

You may have noticed there’s a preponderance of mushroom recipes on here at the moment, owing to the fact that I bought a massive box of them at the market recently for the princely sum of £2!

Mushrooms on toast were delicious; we’ve had a gorgeous mushroom risotto; spaghetti with garlic mushrooms was also very nice and I gave a bagful to my daughter-in-law which left just enough for last night's dinner...

Now, I have no idea whether this recipe is really "Provençal" or not, but I had a mental block and couldn't think what else to call it. It seems to have most of the composite parts of other Provençal recipes I've found online so if I say it's from Provence, then it is!


2 banana shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1tbsp olive oil
400gm chestnut mushrooms, sliced or quartered if large
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
10 green olives, sliced
1 tsp fresh thyme leaves
100ml red wine
chopped parsley to sprinkle

Heat the oil in a very large saucepan (you'll need plenty of room when you add the mushrooms) and saute the chopped shallots until golden. Add the garlic and mushrooms and cook until all the liquid from the mushrooms has evaporated. Add the tomatoes, olives, wine and thyme. Bring to the boil then simmer for about 20 mins without a lid until the sauce has reduced and thickened a little.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve with rice and a green veg.

Serves 2 generously.

Quick Spaghetti with Mushrooms

Early retirement is a wonderful thing - I have as much time as I like to faff about in the kitchen to my heart's content! When I was at work it was a different matter though, I was always on the lookout for superfast meals. By the time I got home, tired and stressed, I could just about manage 30 mins in the kitchen before collapsing on the sofa in a heap!

This is a really good weeknight meal - it's quick, filling and tasty. From start to finish it should take about 20 minutes; nearly as quick as going for a takeaway, but a lot cheaper and you'll know exactly what's in it!

1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 dsp tomato puree
50ml red wine
1/2 tsp dried mixed herbs
1tbsp olive oil
4 shallots, peeled and quartered
200gm chestnut mushrooms, sliced
2 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
200gm spaghetti
25gm pine nuts, toasted
50gm 'parmesan-style' cheese

Put the tomatoes, puree, red wine and herbs in a small pan and bring to the boil; simmer for 15 minutes until reduced and thickened. Fry the shallots and mushrooms in the olive oil until golden, adding the garlic for the last minute or so of the cooking time. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in plenty of boiling water until al dente and toast the pine nuts.

Drain the spaghetti, mix with the hot tomato sauce and divide between two warmed pasta bowls; top with the garlicky onions and mushrooms, sprinkle with the pine nuts and serve with a bowl of 'parmesan' for sprinkling.

Serves 2

Mushroom Risotto...

…the ubiquitous meal offered to veggies at seemingly every restaurant in the land. Is there a vegetarian in the entire country who hasn’t had to plough their way through mountains of indifferent rice and sorry-looking funghi? Sadly, probably not.

However, there is good mushroom risotto and there is bad mushroom risotto. This one isn’t just good, it’s great! In fact, it’s almost as great as the one I had at a restaurant in Venice overlooking the Grand Canal. Unfortunately I couldn’t recreate the view but I guarantee this will give you a little taste of Italy!

There seems to be some debate recently over whether risotto needs to be continuously stirred or whether it can be left to simmer on its own as you would with any other rice. I am firmly in the 'stirring' camp; for me, it's part of the enjoyment of a good risotto....so soothing and therapeutic.



I followed this recipe from Antonio Carluccio but I halved the quantities to serve 2.



I’m thrilled to say my local supermarket has now started to stock veggie parmesan (well done, Waitrose) but if you find it hard to come by you can buy it online from Bookhams.com

My lovely son bought me a gift box of Italian goodies at Christmas so I have him to thank for our dinner tonight.