Mediterranean Lentil & Pesto Soup

Tags

basil, compassionate eating, gluten free vegan, gluten- free, healthy, homemade, lentils, mediterranean, nourishing, nut free pesto, plant based, puy lentils, soup, vegan, vegan pesto, vegetarian

So that soup train i was talking about in my last post? Well, i’m certainly enjoying the ride and if there were to be a proverbial engine, well then, it would most certainly be this stunner.

This is one hearty soup. I could just be me (and may well be) but the flavours are absolutely out-of-this-world addictive. Its nuanced in profile, with just the right amount of licks coming from the fennel seeds and fresh parsley. The chilli and paprika add a soft, warming glow to whole affair, comfortingly circling around the star of the show- the pesto. Fresh but earthy, creamy but not too rich. This is truly a luxurious soup, perfect for sharing with a lover after a bracing walk in the December sun (which continues to be utterly breathtaking), or equally perfect for sharing with yourself, in your pyjamas, listening to this heartbreakingly beautiful documentary about Jeff Buckley (for example).

The pesto is super easy to make and nut free which is aces for all you no-can-do-nuts out there (and also much cheaper than trying to find pine nuts that don’t cost a bazillion pounds). It keeps good for about a week but really, it lasted about 4 days when left with this pesto- eyed goblin.

(Serves about 4)

• 1 Red Onion, diced
• 3 stalks Celery, sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, minced
• 1 Red Chilli, minced
• 1/2 tsp Fennel Seeds
• 1 tsp ground Peppercorns
• 1 Carrot, diced
• 1/2 large Courgette, sliced and halved
• 1 scant cup Puy Lentils (soaked in boiling water for 10 minutes)
• 1 handful fresh Parsley
• 1 cup Kale
• 250ml Passata
• 1 litre Vegetable Stock
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil
• 1-2 tbsp Pesto (+ extra for serving)

1. Heat the oil in a medium pan, add the onions and celery and cook on medium for 5 mins
2. Add the garlic, chilli and fennel seeds, cooking for 3 minutes
3. Add the carrots and courgettes and cook for 5 minutes
4. Add the remaining ingredients and cook at a simmer for 15 minutes
5. Serves with an extra teaspoon of pesto on top

Nut Free, Vegan Pesto:

• 2 cups fresh Basil
• 1/2 cup toasted Sunflower Seeds
• 2 small cloves Garlic
• 1 tbsp Lemon Juice
• 3 tbsp Nutritional Yeast
• 1/4- 1/2 cup Olive Oil
• 1/2 tsp Sea Salt and Pepper

1. Pop the basil, garlic and seeds in a blender and pulse until reduced
2. Add the lemon, yeast and seasoning and blitz for 30 seconds (you’ll probs have to scrape the sides down a few times)
3. Add the oil in stages until you have your desired consistency (I used about a 1/3 cup in the end)
4. Pop into a clean jar and cover with extra oil to preserve.

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Sausage & Bean Cassoulet

Tags

basil, borlotti beans, broccoli, butter beans, carrots, cassoulet, compassionate eating, garlic, gluten free vegan, gluten- free, healthy, hollistic nutrition, nourishing, peas, sage, savoy cabbage, sweetcorn, thyme, vegan, vegan cassoulet, vegetarian, veggie sausages

As we slip into October, i can’t help but thanking the start of Autumn for being so forgiving. The days have been warm and the afternoon sunsets have been long.

The last few weeks have been magical here at Green & Leithy towers. Afternoons of rolling about in fruit laden gardens, magical evening drives through cities and countryside, long mornings relaxing over coffee. Perfect B activities.

But getting colder it most definitely is. And to celebrate the majesty of all things cosy i present my take on Cassoulet. Its quick, cheap and filling. Need i say anymore? Of course i need. The broth is a heady mix of herbs and g.a.r.l.i.c. Coz’ ya’ll know how much i love the stuff right?!?! Then theres a whole medley of groovy veg joining the party, which you can tweak to suit what you’ve got to hand. The beans melt into creamy delightfulness and the sausages bring it up to the final level of awesomeness (though their totally optional).

This is certainly a hearty dish, perfect for warming your wonderful cockles after a good long hike, perfect for making in advance and having to hand after a long day of work (did i mention it tastes even more amazing the next day?). Its full of delicious nutrients and proteins- just what our bodies start to crave and need as we slip into the colder months.

I cook mine on the stove top but i reckon it would be swell to pop it into a real life cassoulet pot and have the oven do the work whilst you busy yourself with all that good stuff life requires. Also, if you beauties have any great recipes for hearty rolls/ dumplings/scones then i would love, love, love if you shared in the comments. Some tasty breaded goodness would finish this dish off perfectly.

Much love and big socks xxxx

Serves 4:

• 1/2 large Brown Onion, diced
• 5 fat cloves Garlic, minced
• 1/4 head Broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1 large Carrot, peeled and sliced
• 1 large handful String Beans, halved
• 1/4 head Savoy Cabbage, thinly sliced
• !/4 cup Peas
• 1/4 cup Sweetcorn
• 1/2 cup Butter Beans
• 1/2 cup Borlotti Beans
• 4 vg/gf Sausages, cooked and chopped
• handful of fresh Herbs, torn (I used Basil, Thyme and Sage)
• 1 litre Organic Vegetable Stock
• 1 tsp Peppercorns, ground
• 1/2 tsp dried Garlic
• 2 tsp Arrowroot, ground
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil

1. Heat the oil in a medium/ large pot and add the onions, cooking on a medium heat until softened
2. Add the garlic and carrots, cook for 4 minutes
3. Add the beans, peppercorns and herbs and cook for another 4 minutes
4. Add the remaining ingredients, except the sausages and arrowroot, bring to a boil then lower to a simmer for 15- 20 minutes
5. Ladle 4 tbsp of liquid into a cup with the arrowroot to create a slurry
6. Turn the heat down to low and add the slurry and the sausages, cook for a further 5 minutes

 

Thai Aubergine & Rice Noodle Curry

Tags

aubergine, basil, chilli, coconut, coriander, curry, ginger, gluten free vegan, gluten- free, healthy, homemade, lemongrass, nutritious, rice noodles, thai, thai green curry, vegan, vegetarian

This dish could possibly be the epitome of what good, fun, cooking is to me- a cauldron of beguiling, heady scents, a symphony of textures. Cooking where you have a recipe but chance to throw caution to the wind; not focusing on chopping that ingredient just so, nor adhering to exact quantities.

This is a hearty feast of a curry. Spiked with the classic Thai flavours and coddled in the majesty that is rich coconut milk. The aubergine cooks down into fleshy perfection, and the noodles add that irreplaceable joy that comes from slurping perfectly spiced broth.

I’ll give you my take on Green Thai Curry paste but totally take the invitation to tweak to your own tastes, ditch the coriander, no problem, tone the heat down, go ahead. This is just a canvas on which you can personalise to your hearts content. The paste itself has a great shelf life of 2+ weeks once in the fridge, though you can always portion up and freeze the remainder to have to hand for a quicker but still outrageously delicious green curry.

(Serves 2)
Green Thai Curry Paste:

• 4 cloves Garlic
• 1 thumb fresh Ginger, peeled
• 4 small green Chillis, deseeded or not
• 1 small Onion
• 1 stalk Lemongrass, roughly chopped
• 1 generous handful of both fresh Coriander and Basil (Thai Basil if available)
• 1 tbsp Tamari
• zest and juice 1 Lime (or 2 Kaffir Lime leaves)
• 1/2 tsp ground White Pepper
• 1 tsp both Coriander and Cumin Seeds
• 1 tbsp Coconut Milk
• 1/2 tsp Chorella/ Spirulina Powder (optional and mostly for colour)

1. Blend all ingredients until fairly smooth

Aubergine & Rice Noodle Curry:

• 1/2 Aubergine, cut into 1inch cubes
• 1/4 cup Green Thai Curry Paste
• 1 Onion, sliced
• 3 cloves Garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/2 thumb Ginger, cut into matchsticks
• 6 small dried Red Chillis (or to taste)
• 1/4 head Broccoli, cut into small florets
• 1/2 cup Broad Beans
• 1 Carrot, peeled
• 1/4 cup Cashews, toasted
• 2 Radish, finely sliced
• 400ml Coconut Milk
• 200ml Water
• 1/2 Organic Stock Cube
• generous handful of Flat Rice Noodles
• 1/8 cup both of fresh Coriander and Basil
• 1 tbsp Coconut Oil

1. Marinate the aubergine in the paste and leave for 1 hour (or overnight if you have time)
2. Use a mandolin or a peeler to finely slice the carrot, set aside with the radish and cashews
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and add the onion, cook until softened then add the aubergine and cook for 5 minutes
4. Add the garlic, lemongrass, ginger and chilli and cook for a further 5 minutes
5. Add the remaining ingredients, except the noodles and bring to boil, lower the heat and cook for 20- 20 minutes
6. Add the noodles and cook for 5 minutes
7. Serve the curry and adorn with the carrots, radish and cashews

RAW Countryside Pizza, a la In The Making By Belén…

Tags

basil, chia, countryside, dehydrate, flax, gluten- free, in the making by belén, oregano, pesto, pizza, raw, seeds, sundried tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian

It gives me the upmost pleasure to introduce a wonderful site to you… In The Making By Belén. Belén is not only a a phenomenal photographer, stylist and yogi but she creates the most exquisite meals for us mere mortals to re-create. I honestly can’t convey how much she perfects simplistic beauty- i believe i even went so far as to refer to one of her dishes as ethereal.  Everything from her layout to her parred down recipes are breathlessly easy and more to the point, absolutely delicious.

The most recent of Belén’s recipe i have made is also possibly one of the best to come out of our wee kitchen- Countryside Pizza. Yes, the name reflects the essence of the dish- pure, clean, earthy fayre. I will give you the link to the recipe directly (here) and strongly recommend you make it to her specifications. However, me being me, i had to play around with it a bit. Namely, i kept the entire dish RAW and created my own pesto (mostly because it has been a while since we enjoyed some of the wild garlic and nettles hiding in our freezer).

What i think really makes this dish, the key element i didn’t dare to change, is the base. Rich and moreish but with the remarkable ability to leave you feeling light and nourished. Thats a perfect pizza in my book.

(Serves 2-4, RAW, Vegan, Gluten free)
For the topping:

• 1 Courgette, finely sliced
• 1 cob of Corn, kernels
• 2 handfuls of Kale
• 2 handfuls of Yellow and Red Tomatoes
• fresh Basil and Oregano, to decorate
• juice of 1 Lemon
• pinch of Sea Salt

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl (reserve the tomatoes for later)
2. Massage the vegetables for 5 minutes and leave to soften for a few hours (at least 2)
3. Meanwhile, make the base…

For the base:

• 1/2 cup flax seeds
• 1 cup Sunflower seeds
• 1/2 cup Pumpkin Seeds
• (i also added 2 tbsp Chia seeds- optional)
• 1/2 cup Hazelnuts
• 10 Sundried Tomatoes (soaked for a few hours)
• 1/2 Red Onion
• 2 tbsp Water
• pinch of Sea Salt
• handful of both Basil & Oregano leaves

1. Mix all ingredients then add to a food processor
2. Blitz until fairly uniform
3. Use your hands to press out the “dough” onto a sheet of baking parchment (i used a rolling pin to get an even surface)
4. Dehydrate for 4 hours
5. Spread the pesto onto the base (I just made a simple one with wild garlic, nettles, olive oil and salt, blended until smooth) then arrange the vegetables on top, along with the tomatoes
6. Dehydrate for a further two hours

A Very Green & Leithy Supper…

Tags

basil, broccoli, celery, fennel seeds, garlic, gluten- free, lemon, nut-free, pasta, raw, spinach, vegan, vegetarian

We have an abundance of white pasta in this house. Seriously, theres enough for 20+ portions, and it makes me sad. Sad that i ever bought it in the first place and sad that we have to eat it to use it up. If anyone wants to do an ingredients swap please get in touch. I’m not trying to be preachy- white pasta is cheap, it packs a bunch of carbohydrates and its quick. However, over the last few weeks i’ve been doing more and more research and i guess it was just a matter of time before the nutritional knowledge i’d already accrued came leaping back into my neocortex. I can feel a change growing within me- be it a more sound understanding of vegetarianism or, and i suspect it’s this- a creeping towards veganism, even raw?

 

I’m still very undecided but what i do know is that if i’m going to eat something, i want it to have the highest nutritional content possible. So thats why i’m sad about our pasta situation. Still, until one of you takes it off my hands i won’t let it go to waste, and that (in a very round about way) brings me to tonights dish. I wanted/ needed to add more goodness to the the pasta base and the resulting dish is a mix of raw and just cooked greens. Not surprisingly, this recipe is a fantastic shade of green, in fact, a whole heap of greens and you know if it’s that colour it’s going to be real good for you.

(Serves 2, Vegan, Gluten- free, if you change the pasta, Nut- free if you omit the Almonds)

“Pesto”:

• 1 bunch of Basil
• 4 cloves of Garlic
• juice and zest of 1 Lemon
• 2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
• 2 handfuls of Spinach
• 10 Almonds
• 1/4 teaspoon of Sea Salt

1. Chuck everything in a blender and blitz until fairly smooth
2. This will make enough Pesto for 2/3 meals, so just drizzle a wee bit more oil over the left over and it’l keep in the fridge for a couple of days

Just- cooked Greens:

• all the stalk and 1/4 of the florets from 1 Broccoli
• 1 White Onion
• 1 small Green Chilli
• 1 stick of Celery
• handful of Fine Green Beans
• 1/2 tablespoon of Olive Oil
• 1/2 teaspoon of Fennel Seeds

1. Heat a frying pan/ skillet with the oil and throw everything in
2. Cook for no longer than 4 minutes- just until the onions start to soften

Assemble:

1. Cook your pasta in salted, oiled boiling water for 10 minutes, drain
2. In the pan you cooked the pasta in add 2 tablespoons of the pesto
3. Add the pasta back in and swirl to coat
4. Serve aside some Rocket, Watercress and Spinach
5. Spoon the Broccoli mix over and drizzle a wee bit more pesto on top

 

Super Spicy Ten Bean Chilli…

Tags

balsamic vinegar, basil, beans, carrot, celery, chilli, coriander, garlic, gluten- free, leek, red onion, red wine, spicy, vegan, vegetarian

I wanted a hot, hot, hot Chilli and that’s pretty much it! I used my magic ten bean mix, threw some vegetables into a pot, with a heck of a lot of Garlic, Chilli and Coriander. End result- perfectly hot (if you like your Chillis, proabably far too hot if you don’t). Obviously, feel free to tweak according to your own tastes. A last minute addition came from some Caramelised Onions left over from Pancake Day which rounded off the dish with a gentle sweetness.

(Serves 2 large portions, Vegan, Gluten- Free)

• 1/2 a cup of Dried Beans (soaked overnight they weighed 275g)
• 6 cloves of Garlic, finely chopped
• 3 Bird’s eye Green Chillis, finely chopped
• 1 small Red Chilli, finely chopped
• 1/2 Red Onion, diced
• 2 sticks of Celery, sliced
• 1/2 a Leek, sliced
• 1/3 Red Pepper, roughly chopped
• 1/2 large Carrots, roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch Coriander
• 1/4 bunch Basil
• 1 tablespoon of Paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon of Cumin Seeds
• 1 tablespoon of both Red Wine & Balsamic Vinegar (optional- i like the sweetness)
• 1/2 teaspoon of Caster Sugar (omit if using fresh tomatoes)
• 1 tin Chopped Tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon of Sea Salt & Freshly ground Peppercorns
• 1 tablespoon Olive Oil

1. Soak your beans overnight in plenty of cold, salted water, rinse well the next day and add to a pan with plenty of fresh, salted water
2. Cook for 40 minutes, until there is still some bite, drain and rinse well
3. In a medium pan, heat the oil, onion, celery, pepper, leek and carrot and cook o a medium heat for 5 minutes or until nice and soft
4. Add the garlic, chilli, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper and cook for 4 minutes
5. Pop the beans in and stir to combine, cook for 4 minutes
6. If using, add the vinegar and wine and cook for 2 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half
7. Add the tomatoes, fresh herbs and sugar, Cook for about 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced a wee bit

Sowing the seeds…

Tags

basil, chillis, cress, cucumber, herbs, lemon coriander, lettuce, lovage, mustard, peppers, planting, radish, rocket, seeds, vegetables

A tad ironic that on one of the coldest, snowiest days i decide to commence with planting my herbs and vegetables for the year but i do like a challenge, so here we are…

brushing up on my planting knowledge…

There are numerous lessons i learned from my previous exploits into home- growing, and a few tricks that would probably make seasoned growers recoil in horror, but they worked well for me and i apologise but i’m sticking to them. The main one that sticks in my mind is to do with labour- in that it required far, far too much attention sowing seeds in tiny pots, then moving to bigger, then bigger again containers. Too much effort and too much money, and although i am chancing the fates here i decided just to go straight ahead and sow into medium sized pots- thereby eliminating quite a few extra hours of both re-planting time and money.

The list of what we’ve decided to grow is quite long but it should cover quite a few culinary bases. In terms of herbs we have: Bush Bail, Thyme, Rosemary, Chives, Sage, Lovage, Oregano, Rocket, Lemon Coriander and Mint. For the vegetables we’re going with: Tomatoes, Chillis, Peppers, Cucumber, Radish, Lettuce, Beetroot, Spring Onions, Cress and Mustard. Oh yes, and the Nectarine stone has finished it’s stratification period, so after bashing the heck out of it i managed to retrieve the seed inside and have planted that also. Wish us luck….