Easy Vegan Recipes – Page 2

Scones

September 9, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

However you pronounce them (scowns, sconns, scoons…) these little pieces of baking magic are ever popular on the afternoon tea scene. Whether you put jam on them (as I like to) or vegan cream, olive spread, or a mixture of these, there’s something comforting about tucking into a home baked scone.

These are plain, wholemeal ones, but feel free to experiment. You can use white flour, add sultanas or chopped dates to the mixture or even try some vegan cheese in there, saving a little to sprinkle on top.

This is the basic recipe and the one thing to remember is not to roll the dough too thin. I’ll admit I went a shade on the thin side for these, so was just over the bakers’ dozen, but don’t do as I do, do as I say…

Makes 12 (if you do it properly…)

Ingredients

Soy cream is easy to get in the supermarket

115g Vitalite or other vegan buttery spread

115g Caster Sugar (unrefined if you can get it)

665g Plain wholemeal flour

35g Baking powder

(120g of dried fruit, if you’re going down that route)

250ml soy cream

150ml almond or other non-dairy milk plus a wee bit extra for brushing

Try to find unrefined caster sugar if you can

Here’s how I do it:

Preheat your oven to 180 degrees or Gas mark 4 (you might want it between 150 and 160 if you have a fan oven)

Cream the Vitalite and caster sugar together until they’re totally blended and have a light consistency.

Rub in the wholemeal flour and baking powder with your hands till it looks like breadcrumbs.

(If you’re adding dried fruit or whatever, do it at this stage.)

Mix the milk and cream together in a little measuring jug and pour it into the mixture a bit at a time, working it slowly into a nice, soft dough.

If the dough isn’t coming together as you’d like, just pop in some milk, a few drops at a time, to get all the crumbs to come together.

Turn out the dough onto a floured surface and roll it out till it’s 2cm in thickness. (Remember what I said, don’t go too thin or you’ll end up with biscuits. 2cm is about the width of two of your fingers together, although of course it depends what size your hands are…)

Cut out twelve, or at the most thirteen scones with a 6cm pastry cutter and place them carefully on a large baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Bear in mind that they will grow slightly, so be sure to give a good centimetre or so between them.

Brush the tops with a little almond (or whatever) milk and then let them rest for ten minutes before popping them in the oven.

Bake for 14-17 minutes, until they’re slightly browned on top.

Pop them onto a cooling rack and then serve with your preferred choice of preserve.

Risotto

August 3, 2015 by Tofu Temptress 1 Comment

The recipe below is for mushroom and green bean risotto, but feel free to get creative. I’ve used a combination of mushrooms and chopped leeks for example, or peas, peppers, even broccoli chopped up small – whatever easily/quickly cooked veg I have lying around really.

Nutritional yeast is probably an ingredient you haven’t heard of unless you’re vegan, but never fear. It’s not 100% essential that you use it, but it does give the dish a nice savoury flavour (parmesan is used in non-vegan versions). It’s available in good health food shops or online.

Have inexpensive wine around the house for risotto

I won’t lie to you, there’s a lot of stirring in this recipe, but it is worth it. Use the time to stare into space and plan world domination, or just sip the rest of the bottle of wine to keep you amused…

Tinned mushrooms are often more convenient than fresh

Serves 4

Ingredients:

250g mushrooms

Handful of green beans

Tablespoon light soy sauce

Onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

250g risotto rice

3 tablespoons dry white wine

Sometimes just called Risotto Rice, Arborio is the stuff to use

1 litre vegetable stock

Tablespoon nutritional yeast

(Salt and pepper to taste and parsley to garnish if desired)

Here’s how I do it:

Cook the mushrooms and green beans(or whatever you’re using, see note) in the soy sauce and 4 tablespoons of water for 5-10 mins till soft. Season to taste and set aside.

In a separate pan, cook the onion and garlic in 2 tablespoons of water until they start to sizzle. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins. Add more water (a tablespoon at a time) if it starts to dry out.

Make sure stock is absorbed before adding the next lot

Add the rice and wine to the onions and cook for 2 mins. Pour in a quarter of the stock and bring to the boil. Stir constantly.

Sainsbury's wine is handily labelled as vegan — Sainsbury’s wine is handily labelled as vegan

When the stock has been absorbed, add another cup of stock and continue to do this (add stock, stir, absorb…) until the rice is tender. Don’t be tempted to rush this bit. Constant stirring helps it get all nice and creamy. Make sure the stock has been absorbed fully before adding the next one.

Once all the stock is gone, mix in the mushrooms/green beans mixture and nutritional yeast. (If you only have dried parsley, you can add in a shake at this stage.) Stir until well combined, and then serve into pre heated bowls. If you’re using fresh parsley, pop a large sprig on top and enjoy.

Bruschetta

July 31, 2015 by Tofu Temptress 1 Comment

Easy, quick, yummy, hardly any ingredients and the ones there are, are easy to get hold of anywhere. This recipe has it all. Plus, you’ll kind of feel like you’re in your own little Italian restaurant by the time you’re finished.

Ingredients

500g (approx.) tomatoes, cut small (I quarter baby plum tomatoes, ooh, Mediterranean!)

4 tsp (or as much as you like) dried basil (although if you have fresh 4tbsp would be grand.)

Salt – just a touch

Olive oil – a couple of tablespoons or so

Four cloves of garlic, minced (depending on how garlic-y you like it)

Onion, diced

4 Fresh ciabatta or other yummy bread that’s easy to balance on a grill

Toast your bread on the side you're not going to cover in topping — Toast your bread on the side you’re not going to cover in topping

Here’s how I do it:

Preheat a medium grill.

Small tomatoes like cherry or baby plums work well

In a bowl, put your tomatoes, basil, salt oil, garlic and onion and give them a good old mix around. If you’re feeling fancy you could even add a few chopped olives or roasted peppers.

Cut your bread into thick, wide slices, big enough to accommodate a fair amount of topping. Place the slices either directly onto the grill if you’re feeling confident, or do as I do and find a baking tray that fits on top of your grill and toast them that way.

I put them on a baking tray in case bits fall off!

Once the bread is slightly browned on one side, take them out and flip them over. Spoon some tomato mixture onto each until they’re covered to the edges (see the need for the baking tray?) and pop them back under the grill.

Once they’re nicely toasted, place the slices carefully onto some plates using a spatula and devour, as the gorgeous smell will be driving you crazy by now.

Roast Pepper and Avocado Sushi

July 30, 2015 by Tofu Temptress Leave a Comment

If you thought sushi was all about raw fish, then you’re clearly living in the eighties. In the twenty first century it’s all about the plants, so although I’ve used peppers and avocado here, you can fill your sushi with anything you fancy really. Asparagus is great, as is carrot or anything else you can cut into long strips. Marinated tofu works really well, and if you can’t be bothered marinating your own, Cauldron make a fab pre-packed version. All my sushi stuff is from the Yutaka range, because it’s readily available in supermarkets and is easy to divide up into portions. Experiment with fillings and combinations and you’ll soon have your own go-to sushi recipe.

Ingredients:

One ripe medium avocado

Two peppers, whatever colours you like

Half a packet (250g) of Yutaka sushi rice

One pack (5 pieces) of sushi nori

Soy sauce and pickled ginger to serve

Special equipment – Sushi Rolling mat (found in supermarkets next to the sushi stuff)

Here’s how I do it-

First of all, roast your peppers. To do this, slice up a couple of peppers into four (getting rid of the seeds and stalk) grab a roasting tin (or baking try, whatever you have) pop a bit of water in it (enough to just cover the bottom) and place the pieces shiny side up onto it. Now, some people use oil, but I figure, water is free and if you wet the tops of the pepper pieces it stops them from drying out. It basically does the same job, minus the fat. Stick them into a pre heated oven (150 degrees/Gas mark 3) for around 30 mins.

While the peppers are roasting, measure out the rice. You’ll need to wash it, so what I normally do is just put it in a sieve and run it under the cold tap till the water goes from cloudy to clear. Give it a good swoosh around to make sure. Put the rice in a pan that has 330ml of water in it and bring to the boil. It’ll bubble and froth a bit when it’s boiling, but don’t take the lid off, just turn the heat down and let it cook for ten minutes. Once ten minutes has gone by, turn off the heat and let it sit for half an hour WITH THE LID ON.

Once your peppers are roasted (they’ll be browning slightly) take them out of the oven and let them cool.

When your rice is ready, take the lid off and let it cool too.

Prep your peppers and avocado by slicing them up into long thin strips, as shown.

Once the rice has cooled a bit, I normally divide it into five sections using a wooden spoon, just so I know I’m going to put equal amount of rice onto each nori.

Take your first sheet of nori and place it onto the rolling mat. Take a fifth of the rice and smear it on, leaving gaps at the top and bottom, as shown. Next, take a few strips of filling and line them up horizontally on the edge of the rice that’s nearest you (see picture.)

Now, there is a diagram on the back of the nori packet on how to roll the sushi. I generally just take up the nori and the mat in my hands and, with my fingers, squash the filling in as I roll so the rice surrounds it. At the edge, I moisten the remaining nori with water, and sort of ‘glue’ the two layers together. Seriously, just follow the diagram or just roll it any way that works for you – it won’t impair the flavour!

With the filling in place, you're ready to roll — With the filling in place, you’re ready to roll

Repeat this process until you have five long rolls. If you like you can put them in the fridge for a while to make them more solid and easier to work with, but if you’re starving then line them up and with a sharp knife (I find a bread knife works best) slice them into eight. The ends won’t look too pretty, but unless you’re serving a dinner party, this doesn’t matter much. The middle sections should be scrummy little morsels of yummy-ness.

Serve arranged on a plate with soy sauce for dipping and some ginger to refresh the palate.

This recipe makes 40 pieces, which should serve two to four people, depending on how hungry you are!

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