Vegan Onion and Carrot Soda Bread with Rosemary

Following my last post, I still had lots of peeled carrots leftover. Lots. I could've made one of the other million recipes that called for carrots, but I'm enjoying this vegan/dairy free baking lark. And actually I find that (although this may have lots to do with my rubbish oven) using leftover white/rose wine actually gives me bread with a better texture than the thinned yoghurt I've had to use in the absence of buttermilk in London. Strangely, I bought it in Belgium often by mistake- it's easy to get buttermilk there- fresh milk, less so. Still struggling to understand that... But back to the subject at hand. This bread is definitely savoury but not pungent in flavour. It would be brilliant, thinly sliced, with cheese.  

You need:
Two cups whole wheat flour
1/4 cup ground flax
Half cup white/ rose wine (great way to use up leftovers a little past their prime). 
1/2 cup hulled sunflower seeds, soaked in water
Baking soda (I teaspoon)
Salt (I teaspoon)
2 inch sprig of rosemary, chopped finely (or 1/2 teaspoon dried)
One cup finely grated carrot, loosely packed (approx three small carrots)
One onion, finely grated.

1. Sift the dry ingredients into a bowl, making sure you add in the bits too big to go through the sieve.
2. Add the carrot and onion and stir through well
3. Make a well in the middle and add the wine (this will evaporate off and I used up some old wine here). If you need more than the half cup and water until you have a dough where all flour is absorbed but not any stickier.
4. Place in a tray or bowl in the bottom of the oven on greaseproof paper and let it bake until when a life goes in and comes out clean.

In light of the uselessness of my oven, I cooked this at the bottom, in a tray sitting in a tray of water, so that it wouldn't just dry out and burn. I also had to cover the top. I just want a new oven! It would take about 40 mins at 220 in a normal oven. Shove in a spike or sharp knife and if it comes out clean the bread is done :)

Makes one small but action-packed loaf which feeds many more than you'd expect!

Polka-dot beetroot and chickpea soup

Not really a soup, not really a stew, this gorgeous red bowlful of pinkish-orange chickpeas is sweet yet savoury and full of earthy, autumnal flavours.

This was a last minute lunchbox filler, and I think the girl did good! I ran out of the delicious kedgeree I made last weekend on Thursday, so Friday needed a no-effort lunch.

Cue: Beetroot and carrot soup in the fridge. Delicious, but not really filling enough. Aah! But I cooked up and batch- froze a huge quantity of chickpeas with garlic, diced carrot and celery (just enough to flavour). 30 seconds of running the chickpeas under the cold tap and they mixed nicely with my soup (which is almost a puree).

Lunchtime at work- chickpeas are defrosted, add a splash of hot water and microwave for three minutes. Not bad!

How to make the chickpeas.
I don't like the thought of tinned chickpeas-  I am sure cooking them from dry is much healthier as there are no preservatives to worry about.
I used 500g dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans) which I then soak with two cloves of crushed garlic for eight hours or overnight to plump back up.
Drain them and wash.
I cooked these with a diced carrot, and one diced stick of celery, 2 large bay leaves and some more crushed garlic, so that they would take on good flavours, and not just taste earthy and boring- something which is often labelled at these useful pulses.
I froze these in small batches.
Perfect to add to soups, stews, curries etc- food for thought!

Prawn Fridge Buster

This is one of the yummiest things I've cooked in a while. I had frozen prawns in the freezer. Everything else was from my store or left overs.

I first tried Afghan rice with carrot and raisins years ago and it seemed like a perfect opportunity to use up the last carrot and get some extra vegetables. I am also a huge fan of Vietnamese food. This is an incredibly irreverent take on those influences!!!

This recipe makes enough for two.

For the rice

• one carrot, grated
• one cup of rice
• garlic glove, diced or crushed
• a fish stock cube

For the prawns

• olive oil
• quarter teaspoon dill
• quarter teaspoon chilli flakes
• quarter cup of grated/ creamed/ ground coconut
• two small onions, diced
• teaspoon dijon mustard/ rice wine vinegar
• 200g  prawns

Method

1. Put the rice, carrot, half the garlic and half the fish stock cube in a pan with enough water for the rice (about 2 cups of water) and cook until done
2. Whilst the rice is cooking saute the onions with the coconut, herbs, remaining garlic, and chili. When the onions are soft add the prawns, mustatd and remaining fish stock cube dissolved in half a cup of boiling water.
3. Once the prawns are cooked/ warmed through, serve hot!

This was crazily good reheated as egg fried rice with a couple of eggs beaten into it (I greedily ate most of the prawns in the first serving!)

Carrot Curry

I learned how to make carrot curry from a Sri Lankan Tamil friend. It quickly became a favourite of mine, and went down a storm with guests. Her recipe was for a vegetable accompaniment- something to go with rice, lentils (dal) and a meat curry. This recipe has the potential to stray quite far from the authenticity of the original (apologies), but with tasty results. You could also use this method with grated potato, parsnips, swedes and other root veg, or with boiled/ steamed broccoli, cauliflower etc

Basic recipe:

• one small onion, diced
• 6 grated carrots
• garlic clove
• cumin (jeera)
• mustard seeds
• curry powder (not garam masala- madras would be good)
• garlic
• oil

1. Put the oil (groundnut oil is best, but I usually use olive oil as it is at hand and it is still delicious) into a large frying pan. Add a teaspoon of mustard seeds and the same of cumin seeds. Let them cook for around a minute, but not until black.
2. Add the diced onion and sweat/fry them until transparent. Sometimes I like the onion crispier- it doesn't matter. With this curry it is never quite the same twice as there is so much room for experimentation.
3. When the onion has cooked, add the grated carrot and diced garlic. You must remember to stir often. It will take around 15-20 minutes on a medium heat to cook.
4. Authentically, this curry should be quite al dente but I like mine softer and possibly a bit crispy- for this to happen you will have to wait until the water (that will come out of the carrots) evaporates.
5. Towards the end add some curry powder (to taste). It always tastes better cooked with some oil or butter- add a drop of oil and add the curry powder on top, allowing it to sizzle before stirring it in. Add salt to bring out the flavour!

Alternatives and waste busting

• Also delicious if you add the juice from a thumb-sized piece of fresh garlic towards the end.
• Sometimes I like this as a main course on its own. It is wonderfully colourful. If I was doing this I would usually toast some peanuts (raw, with shells) in another frying pan and mix at the end. This is really simple and very tasty, and adds protein and substance.
• For a lazy, after work version I might stir in a couple of spoons of peanut butter. This is also great if you are microwaving leftover curry the next day or for a packed lunch. Tasty with leftover rice, or even in a tortilla/ chapati or naan.
• Use up left over carrots. The original uses grated carrots, but why not use leftovers instead? It would also be great with leftover broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, and other root veg
• For a wetter curry, add some coconut milk (100-150ml) when the carrots are almost cooked. You could even just add cows' milk.

bottom photo (of cumin seeds) with thanks to niznoztop photo with thanks to hanacy

Luscious Lentil Casserole

This is cheap, colourful and tasty. You can make a big pot and freeze half, or it will keep in the fridge for up to 3/4 days. It can all be cooked in one, large, heavy bottomed pot. So simple.

It can be made vegetarian, but I love the flavour that even a little chorizo or Italian salami bring to this.

You need:

Lentils/ beans

Red lentils are the easiest. They don't need soaking. You can make this just with red lentils, but for depth of flavour and texture I like to use a combination. Brown lentils would need to soak overnight, as do chickpeas (garbanzo beans) and lima beans. Basically, you could use any dried bean in this. A cup of red lentils, and half cups of chickpeas, brown lentils (or any other lentils) and lima beans would give you loads. When soaking, they need lots of water- they will expand up to three times their dried size.

Onion

Onions and shallots give flavour to this. I would use what was on hand- If I was making lots I would probably use a medium-large white onion, a shallot and a small red onion, but then I love onions. They add flavour and texture to this.

Flavours

Chorizo or Italian salami are delicious. You only need 50-100g in a large pot of beans so it is actually very economic. You could also use smoked bacon, or sausage.

Chili flakes

Garlic

Chicken stock

Thyme, Marjoram, bay leaf

Bell pepper, chopped.

Add chopped carrot for some sweetness

Tomato

Tinned, Puree, Passata or fresh

Garnishes

Baby spinach, olive oil

To make:

1. Saute the chopped onions, and any chopped meat on a low heat, in a big, hevay bottomed pot. It should be chopped into small pieces because it's flavour needs to get out into the rest of the dish/. I would usually use olive oil, or a mixture of butter and olive oil for maximum flavour.
2. Drain any soaked lentils and rinse.
3. If you are using stock cubes, make up the stock.
4. When the onions are transparent and the meat is cooked add the lentils.
5. You need to cover it with liquid plus an inch. This liquid could include tomato passata, or tinned tomatos, stock, or just water.
6. Add herbs, spices, chopped vegetables, peeled garlic cloves.
7. Simmer for an hour or until cooked, with the lid on making sure that it doesn't dry out. If there is lots of water left towards the end, take off the lid and let some of it evaporate.

To serve:

• Sometimes I like to stir in some baby spinach as I serve- it will wilt, adding nutrition, flavour and colour.
• It is delicious if you add some crispy fried salami/ bacon/ chorizo (whatever you used) and onions on top at the end, as a texture/ garnish
• If there is a lot of liquid, put 5 minute cous-cous into each bowl for serving, put the casserole on top and wait 5 minutes. The slightly sweet couscous will absorb the "gravy".
• On its own, with a drizzle of virgin olive oil, and some fresh bread to mop us the juice.

photo thanks to Dey

Carrot Halva

Halvas are eaten from Bosnia to Bangladesh, and as far South as Somalia. This is a recipe for a delicious sweet dish, known as Gajor Halua in Bangladesh. This is an exciting, cheap, fairly healthy, gluten free pudding.

You need:

• 1 kg carrots/ 2.2lb
• 1 litre/ 2 pints milk
• 1 teaspoon cardamom seeds
• 3/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter)
• 2 tablespoons raisins 2 tablespoons almonds (blanched& flaked)
• 2 tablespoons pistachios450 grams/ just under 1lb Sugar

To make it:

1. Soak the raisons in water for about half an hour
2. Prepare the carrots: wash, peel and grate them.
3. Bash the pistachios, in a plastic bag, into small pieces with a rolling pin.
4. Put the water into the pan. When it starts to boil add the carrot. Cook for 6 mins.
5. Pour in the milk and cook gently for one hour. You will need to stir it now and then
6. Add the sugar, mix thoroughly, cook until all of the sugar has dissolved and the milk is absorbed by the carrot.
7. Add the ghee (clarified butter). Simmer for 2 or 3 mins.
8. Add the crushes cardamom (or powder) and the soaked raisins. Mix again.
9. Remove from the heat and put into a serving dish.
10. sprinkle the nuts on top.
11. You can serve this hot or cold

Alternatives
There are many other types of halva, and hopefully we will be able to share some more here. To give this sweet an amazing (and natural) colour, why not add sliced beetroot, which you can remove before serving, to the milk?

Photo with thanks to Peter Rivera