Easy Coleslaw (v)

Very quick and easy to make if you have a food processor, this coleslaw gets better with age so make it 1-2 days beforehand if you have time.

For 6-8 portions you need

1/2 white cabbage

1 onion

2 carrots

6 tbsp mayo

Shred the cabbage and onion then grate the carrot. Mix in the mayo. Told you it was simple. 

Courgettes and Onions with Quinoa (v)

I have a large collection of cookery books. Some might argue too many. And often I admire them in my living room and then head to the kitchen to create something myself. But I am on a mission to cut my shopping bill in half, and to use up everything we buy along with getting out of the food rut we are currently in. My recipe book of choice at the moment is therefore River Cottage Veg Everyday as we are working our way through our weekly veg box and I am already bored with some of the contents (namely courgettes!!).

This recipe is very easy to do and tastes delicious hot, warm or cold. It makes a lovely light lunch on its own, or a yummy side dish. If you're not vegan, add some feta to it for a salty tang. It'd also be delicious served up alongside a lamb cutlet or similar.

For two people you need
2 medium courgettes, sliced on the diagonal in 5mm thick slices
2 red onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2-3 sprigs of thyme leaves (not the stalks!)
juice 1/2 lemon
100g quinoa
25g pine nuts
salt and pepper
large handful of roughly chopped flat leaf parsley

Begin by sauteeing the thyme leaves, onions and courgettes in a pan with the oil. Keep the heat medium so that after 20 minutes or so the onions and courgettes are nicely golden. Add the garlic at this stage and cook for another 2-3 mins.

Meanwhile cook the quinoa in 200ml of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer gently for about 8 mins. Turn off the heat and leave to steam until all the water is absorbed (about another 10 mins).

Toast the pine nuts until golden.

Toss everything together in a large bowl, season to taste and then eat hot, warm or cold. Nom nom nom.

Laab

Lip tingling, tongue searing, tastebud rocketing yumminess! This salad is so simple to make but it sings off the plate. Beware, it is VERY hot! I serve with sticky rice to help calm the chilli burn, but sometimes you need to numb your lips with spice! My sister gave me a packet of laab mix
which is what I used tonight and it was the most authentic tasting one I have made to date. I just cannot get enough of thai food right now!

For two people you need
300g pork mince (use quorn mince if you're veggie or crumbled tofu)
1 packet laab seasoning
1/4 cup water
fresh mint and coriander to serve
as many thai chillies as you want, thinly sliced as a garnish (I used two!)
a thinly sliced shallot or red onion
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
1-2 tbsp fish sauce or mushroom soy sauce if veggie/vegan
Thai sticky rice to serve

Heat a wok and stir fry the protein in the water until completely cooked and hot. Add the packet of laab seasoning and mix well. Turn out onto a serving dish and garnish with the shallot/onion, spring onions, chillies, coriander and mint. Serve with the rice and prepare for a taste sensation!

Indian Salad (v)

I'm sure I have blogged this before, but blogger and google are coming up blanks for it, so in case I haven't, here it is... This is the perfect accompaniment to a fiesty curry. It's tasty, cooling and delicious. Thanks to my mum for the recipe! (the salad is in the top right of the very full plate!! The other recipes are aloo curry and chickpea, red lentil and vegetable vindaloo. And Geetas lime pickle and mango chutney cos a curry isn't a curry without those!).

For 3-4 portions you need
1 red onion, finely sliced
1/2 cucumber, finely sliced
large handful fresh coriander, roughly chopped
2-3 tomatoes, chopped (no need to skin and deseed)
juice of half a lemon
2 tsp dried mint
pinch salt

Place everything in a bowl and mix. That's it!

Orange, Onion and Toasted Almond Salad (v)

A lovely light fragrant salad which cuts through the richness of a tagine brilliantly or is fabulous on its own on a hot day. So not like the weather today then...!

For 2 people you need
1 orange, segmented
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1 tsp dried mint
2 tbsp toasted flaked almonds
1 tbsp argan oil (or use olive oil)

Arrange the ingredients on a plate and leave to infuse for 30 mins or so before serving. Serve at room temperature, don't chill.

Vegetarian Black Pudding and Poached Egg Salad

My boyfriend didn't believe that veggie black pudding would taste very nice, so I created this to prove to him it works. Even tho it's a weird thing to make veggie!

For two people you need
Salad
2 eggs
1 pack veggie black pudding
salad leaves
croutons
1 tsp malt vinegar
1 tbsp vegetable oil

Dressing
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
2 tbsp white wine vinegar
4 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Slice the black pudding into thick rounds (you'll get about 8 slices from one pack). Heat the oil and fry gently for 2-3 mins on each side until crispy.

Meanwhile, poach the eggs on simmering water which you have added the vinegar to.

Whisk all the dressing ingredients together until emulsified. Season to taste.

Arrange the salad leaves on a plate and scatter over the croutons. Place the fried black pudding and egg on the leaves and drizzle over the dressing.

Hoisin Glazed Tofu with Rice Noodles, Carrot & Coriander Salad

This photo got picked up by VeganFoodShare on instagr.am, go me! It really does taste as good as it looks, promise, and is a very easy quick after work recipe to create too.

For four people you need

Tofu
1 pack firm tofu, drained and cut into strips as per pic
1 bottle hoisin sauce

Salad
2 large carrots, coarsely grated
1 small bunch coriander, roughly chopped
1 red onion, sliced
Juice of one lime
1-2 red chillies, sliced (add more or less depending on how hot you want it!)
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
1 tsp sugar
2 cloves garlic, crushed

Noodles
4 bundles rice noodles

Method

Begin by marinating the tofu in the hoisin sauce. This can be done in advance and left in the fridge (for up to 3 days). If you don't prepare ahead of time, leave it to marinate for 15 mins or so.

Place the noodles in a bowl and pour over enough boiling water to cover. Leave to soak.

Put all of the salad ingredients, reserving a little of the chopped coriander for a garnish, into an bowl and mix gently.

Place the marinated tofu in a shallow pan with a little oil and pan fry over a medium heat until the outside is sticky and glazed and the inside is hot.

Once the noodles are soaked, drain and refresh in cold water. Place on a plate and top with the salad. Put the cooked tofu on top and add a little extra of the hoisin marinade. Decorate with some chilli slices and coriander and then scoff. Delicious, healthy and so so tasty!

Side Salad (v)

Yeah, I know, you hardly need a recipe for a side salad right? Well, I was asked to do some simple basic recipes as part of the Vegan MoFo, along with what I normally blog, so here you go :) This is my fave side salad for all sorts of things, but most especially pasta.

For one person you need
Mixed salad leaves
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Red pepper
Red onion
Salt and pepper
Balsamic syrup
Olive oil

Place the lettuce leaves in a bowl and then top with the cucumber, tomatoes, onion and pepper. Drizzle over balsamic syrup and 1-2 tsp oil before seasoning and consuming. Yum.

Thai Cucumber Salad (v)

Every good Thai dish deserves something refreshing, cleansing and tasty to compliment it. And this delicious cucumber salad does just what it should. There's a sour hit from the vinegar but this is tempered with the syrup that sits alongside it. If you don't like your chillies to kick a HUGE punch, then let the salad sit for a while to reduce the fearsome heat. My mouth went numb when I ate this, but that was the idea so it was all good. Sooooooo gooooooooood!

For 2-3 servings you need:
Salad:
1 whole cucumber. cut into quarters, lengthwise, and deseeded, then cut into chunks
1 red onion, chopped
2 inch piece of ginger, julienned
2 large handfuls coriander, roughly chopped
3-4 bird's eye chillies, sliced finely

Dressing:
3 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp caster sugar
4 tbsp water
pinch salt

Bring the dressing ingredients to the boil and simmer till the sugar has disolved. Leave to cool. Combine all the salad ingredients in a bowl and pour over the dressing. Allow to infuse. Eat. Wonder that you could create something so healthy and delicious and easy. Feel smug.

Courgettes with Feta and Lemon

I thought the wonderful Ottolenghi had done a recipe for this but apparently I dreamt it cos I couldn't find it so created this instead to satisfy a craving and a glut of courgettes...

For 2-3 people you need
2 courgettes, cut into 3 inch lengths then thin slices
2 cloves garlic, crushed
juice of a lemon
salt and pepper
2-3 tbsp excellent quality olive oil
1/2 pack feta
1 tub chilli olives

Griddle the courgettes till scorched in places and just tender. Meanwhile place everything else apart from the feta and olives in a bowl. Place the hot courgettes into the dressing to marinade then top with the feta and olives and eat with copious crusty bread to soak up the garlicky juices. Nomnomnom.

Salad of Haloumi and Croutons

A quick and easy salad to throw together from bits and bobs leftover from other days. And a useful way of using up stale bread too.

For 1 person you need:
1/2 pack haloumi cut into slices
lettuce
cucumber
red onion

For the garlic croutons you need:
1-2 slices stale bread
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tbsp olive oil

Toss the crouton ingredients together in a bowl then toast in a hot oven for 5-10 mins taking care not to burn them. fry the haloumi till golden brown then serve with the salad and croutons. Yum.

New Potatoes with Feta, Olives and Garlic

This is a cinch to make but benefits from being made ahead of time to let the flavours develop and infuse. Perfect for a lunchbox :)

For 2-3 portions you need:
1 pack baby new potatoes, cooked till tender
1 pack feta
1 red onion, chopped
1 pack chilli olives
juice of 1 lemon
2 tbsp good quality olive oil
freshly ground pepper
2 cloves garlic crushed

Place the lemon juice, olive oil. garlic, pepper, olives and red onion in a bowl. Mix well. Once the potatoes are cooked cut in half and to the bowl. Crumble over the feta. Leave to infuse then scoff. Yum.

Simple Tomato Salad with Balsamic Vinegar (v)

I never used to like tomatoes, but apparently I do now. But only when perfectly ripe and preferably served with balsamic syrup. This is a lovely light summer salad that makes the most of the last of the perfect tomatoes.

For 2-3 people you need:
2-3 large tomatoes
Couple of handfuls of salad leaves
1 red onion, sliced
basil leaves
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
3-4 tbsp very good quality olive oil
salt and pepper
1/4 cucumber
1-2 tbsp balsamic syrup

Start by making the tomato salad. Slice the tomatoes and onions and lay in a shallow dish. Season with salt and pepper then drizzle over the red wine vinegar and the olive oil. Scatter over the basil leaves. Leave to infuse at room temperature for a couple of hours if you can.

When ready to serve; plate up with salad leaves and cucumber and then add the tomatoes. Drizzle over some balsamic syrup and serve with bread.

Summer Bean Salad (v)

I love haricot beans. I love them as baked beans but they're even better, naked, and centre stage imho. They're smaller than cannellini beans, but with the same creamy inside of a butter bean and just taste so delicious. This salad is quick and easy to throw together and lasts for a couple of days so makes for an excellent portable lunch.

For 3-4 portions you need:
1 tin haricot beans, drained and rinsed
1 small tin sweetcorn, drained and rinsed
handful baby plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 large red onion, finely diced
4" length of cucumber, diced into 1cm cubes
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
salt and pepper
2 tbsp walnut oil
1/2 tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tbsp french mustard

Mix together the dressing ingredients. Toss everything together and slather with dressing. Serve on a bed of salad leaves. Become the envy of the office :)

Haloumi with Melon, MInt and Balsamic Syrup

Yes this sounds like a weird combo, but it's lovely. Honest. The sweet, juicy melon contrasts well with the crisp, salty haloumi and the mint and balsamic syrup add another layer of taste depth to it (oooh get me, how pretentious does that last bit sound <blush>). The balsamic was an addition suggested by my boy and it really works. He loves dipping his haloumi in to it.

For 2-3 people you need:
1 block haloumi, drained and patted dry
1/2 melon cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 tsp dried mint
1 tbsp balsamic syrup
1 red onion, cut into wedges

Cut the haloumi into thickish slices. Place on a hot griddle pan and fry till golden on both sides (about 8 mins). Fry the onions on the same griddle till lightly softened.

Once cooked, place the haloumi onto a plate and add the onion and melon. Sprinkle over the mint, season with pepper and then drizzle over the balsamic syrup.

Greek Salad with Potatoes

Boychild loved this. OMG. He's never eaten Greek Salad before and professed to not like feta but he ate this. And had the leftovers in his lunch the next day. Wonders wil never cease it appears...

For 3-4 portions you need:
1/2 pack new potatoes, jersey royals if you can stretch to them ;-)
1 pack chilli olives
1 pack feta. crumbled into 1cm cubes
2 peppers, cut into chunks
2 red onions, cut into 8ths
2 tomatoes, cut into 8ths and then in half again (so roughly chopped...)
2 tbsp olive oil plus more for roasting
salt and pepper
large handful of fresh oregano, finely chopped
juice of 1 lemon

Cook the potatoes. Toss the peppers and onions in a little olive oil and season. Roast in a hot oven for about 10 mins till tender. Place the tomatoes, olives, olive oil, lemon juice, oregano and feta in a bowl. Add the peppers and onions once cooked. Drain the potatoes and cut in half if large. Add to the bowl. Mix and serve.

Watercress, Rocket & Blueberry Salad with Seeds (v)

Quick; disgustingly healthy; vegan; tasty; filling... what else do you need.

For one person you need:
1 cup watercress
1 cup rocket
1 inch cucumber, diced
1/3 cup blueberries
1/4 cup croutons
1 tbsp sunflower seeds

For the dressing combine 1 tbsp white wine vinegar with 1 tbsp hazlenut oil.

Mix, serve, eat.

Veggie Caesar Salad

I love quorn roast and like to use the leftover bit in a veggie version of caesar salad. Make sure whatever dressing you buy is veggie friendly (or make your own with mayo, a little hendersons relish and some white wine vinegar).







For 1 person you need:
1/2 cup watercress
2 leaves romaine lettuce, shredded
2 inch piece of cucumber cut into matchsticks
2 spring onions, sliced
3 slices cold quorn roast, cut into chunks
handful croutons
1-2 tbsp caesar dressing

Place the lettuce and watercress into a large shallow bowl. Top with the cucumber and spring onions. Sprinkle over the quorn roast and croutons and top with the dressing. Enjoy.

Watercress, Tofu and Orange Salad (v)

This ended up tasting like the king prawn chilli noodle salad I used to love from M&S. But quite by accident, I hadn't intended to make it that way. It's light, refreshing and kicks a punch at the end from the chilli. Add some noodles to it if you want to include carbs.





For one person you need:
1 orange, skin cut off and cut into segments, retain the juice.
1 cup each of watercress, baby spinach leaves and rocket
2" piece of cucumber cut into bite sized chunks
1/2 red onion, sliced into half moons
1/3 block taifun smoked tofu, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tbsp hot sweet chilli sauce

Place everything on a plate and layer up. Scoff. Don't make this with the orange in it the night before like I did cos the acid in the juice will wilt the leaves... Still tasted nice tho.

Simple Tomato and Onion Salad (v)

This is another light and lovely side dish.

For 1-2 portions you need:
2 ripe tomatoes, sliced into half moons
1 red onion, sliced
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Place everything in a bowl, season and drizzle over the oil. Allow to stand for a while before eating.