Recipes | Vegetarian Food Directory

Early in the week, whilst I was doing some research for work (honestly I was), I stumbled on The Best Jollof Rice Competition held in Brixton, London today.  It the UKs first ever Jollof competition, in past there have been Best Rum Cake. Its hosted by The Afrikan Family Works . I  love these grassroots community spirited competitions.  I thought I would compete virtually with my vegan Jollof variation, but I sincerely wish the hosts and the participants the best and hope the event is a success.   For those of you unfamiliar with Jollof.  Jollof rice or Benachin which means 'one pot' originates in Senegal.  Jollof  is eaten all across West Africa and has recently become appreciated alongside the South Indian Pilaf and the Spanish Paella. So here it is my vegan Jollof  rice.  I added peppers, okra and chickpeas to the Jollof rice only because I didn't have an accompaniment with it.  I am no expert at making Jollof, in fact this is ...

Autumnal reds and coppers - so pretty. I made these sweet potato, pepper and kale in a paprika galette last month for Vegan Month.   The galette is filled with a little bit of Cavolo nero aka  black Tuscan kale from my garden.    These were the only stems from my garden that had not been transformed into shredded green 'lace' by the ferocious white cabbage butterflies.  I decided to add some smoked paprika to the galette pastry so that it gave it that faint copper like colouring.  I have done this in the past with turmeric and even spirulina powder, so it also imparts a little flavour too.  The individual galettes are quite substantial like a tartlet, but were served with a side of green salad, though a salad of Quinoa or mixed beans would have been most welcome too.  I am sharing this with Karen and Bonfire Night/Halloween edition of Tea Time Treats a nd also Jennifer at Vegan Midweek Munchies and Vegan Yofo . Here is a close...

It must have been a subliminal message of sorts that got me hankering for a Veggie Sausage Casserole.  For days I went onto D 'I need to pick u some veggie sausages...'  yet always seemed to forget and then I repeated myself all over again 'I have to pick up some veggie sausages', but yesterday - I remembered!   And so here it is, a rich thyme and smoked paprika infused tomato sauce based casserole with kidney beans and Romano red peppers.  It turned out very red indeed. You can choose to use any vegetarian or vegan sausage you like, I am not loyal to any particular brand and like to try them all.  If your not a veggie, of course you can opt the real meat variety.   The smokiness from the paprika was just right, not overwhelming at all.   I served this very red vegan casserole with some crushed roasted new potatoes.  It was grand I tell you and well worth the wait. So some of you may wondering why do I showcase a leek here?!  Well I w...

Yes, I share with you another stew of sorts.  Though I have to admit this is a much lighter stew compared to those features a couple of weeks back. I guess its a sign that Spring is here.   Contrary though, the ingredients are not spring like at all, mostly autumnal.  Squashes, sweet potatoes and red and yellow peppers have been featuring quite a bit on my plate recently, I think its the colours that shout and make me feel all warm and humble.   Or maybe its accidental, as I want a change from the drudge brown-beige and greens.   I normally squeeze some fresh lemon juice when eating dishes made with black eyed peas.  Its something my mother taught me as it enhances the dish and I love it.  This time I decided to add slithers of  home-made preserved lemons  to the dish instead to infuse the nutty black eyed beans. The black eyed peas certainly did take on the zing from the preserved lemons that had almost deteriorated in the pot. ...

This marigold yellow pasta with marmalade coloured roasted peppers and butternut squash was lunch for work - twice, last week.   As I was tucking in, it got some of my colleagues all intrigued and curious 'Gosh, that pasta is glowing'. The pasta is simply infused with turmeric powder.  I've also tried this method with beetroot See HERE .   Although I have used ready made penne pasta here, you could easily make vegan Turmeric pasta from scratch too, just add a teaspoon or half to the flour when your mixing and kneading.  Anyway, the turmeric pasta on its own was a bit bland, so I decided to make make a vinaigrette dressing for it with some Blood Oranges that were mingling with the lemons in a bowl. The Blood Orange Chilli Oil was spicy and quite tasty elevated by the addition of my bottle of Welsh Blodyn Aur Rapeseed Chilli Oil.    Of course, you can make your own Chilli Oil at home and I probably would had I grown my own chillies, but sometimes whe...

The weather has been so changeable today.  Bursts of rain followed by bursts of sunshine and its been like this on and off all day.  On the way back home to the bus stop, I even got caught under the cold sharp hailstones that hurt my cheeks feeling like sharp glass that would cut.  My ears are aching too from the gusty wind.   As you can imagine, I am glad to be finally home.  This Chilli Pickled Sweet Potato Stew was a bit like the weather today.  Bursts of sweetness and then bursts of spice, but it was welcomed.   I have been making  light stew like  dishes and have been drowning in sweet potatoes at home that have been part of my meal most of last month.  So here is another, but this one is infused with a generous dose of Chilli Pickle:  Mr Naga Hot Chilli Pickle to be more precise .  D will eat anything I give him, okra, aubergine and even ... but he draws the line when I present him with a little dish of Achaar aka I...

I know stuffed peppers are considered old fashion vegetarian food, but I do like them, especially when flavoured well.   But I had not planned on making Stuffed Peppers. ... Why?! Well if you look closer, you can see that the peppers are getting a little wrinkly.  Sometimes I would throw peppers beginning to lose their shine and crispness in a vegan Chilli Pot, but this time I stuffed them with Bulgar wheat.  It made for a change. For the recipe follow this Stuffed Pepper recipe and just replace the rice with Bulgar wheat.  I am sharing this with Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Utterly Scrummy Food For Families and Fuss Free Flavour s for the simply reason that this is a frugal recipe and pepper can be stuffed with all kinds of vegetables and grains. Go on get creative. 

I know stuffed peppers are considered old fashion vegetarian food, but I do like them, especially when flavoured well.   But I had not planned on making Stuffed Peppers. ... Why?! Well if you look closer, you can see that the peppers are getting a little wrinkly.  Sometimes I would throw peppers beginning to lose their shine and crispness in a vegan Chilli Pot, but this time I stuffed them with Bulgar wheat.  It made for a change. For the recipe follow this Stuffed Pepper recipe and just replace the rice with Bulgar wheat.  I am sharing this with Credit Crunch Munch hosted by Utterly Scrummy Food For Families and Fuss Free Flavour s for the simply reason that this is a frugal recipe and pepper can be stuffed with all kinds of vegetables and grains. Go on get creative. 

This Greek Vegetable Bake is known as Briam.  Briam   is one of those dishes my Greek flat-mates at University used make and eat after a long day at lectures and tutorials.    In fact, it was not my Greek flat mates that introduced this  Briam  or Moussaka , but another Greek girl staying two floors down that frequented the lads, she realised I was vegetarian and one day brought some over for me to try.  It was delicious and she told me how to make it and I thought, well that is easy.   It is also one of the reasons  I veered towards making it last week during the working week, straight after work.    Briam is Greek, but there is also a Turkish version called Turlu. or Tourlou Tourlou.    Briam and Turlus are both often described as a Baked Ratatouille .  The other reason for making this Briam - Greek Vegetable Bake is that I have an abundance of courgettes and I also had some green peppers. ...

This Griddled Summer Vegetable Tart is made mostly with seasonal courgettes -  zucchini and red and yellow peppers and finished off with slithers of Manchego Cheese. This Summer Vegetable Tart is adapted a little from Cranks Fast Food by Nadine Abensur .   Cranks Fast Food is the one cookbook I have cooked pretty much everything from it.  Its a cookbook I have had with me since my University days and I still continue to fall back on it on days when I want something relatively fast to prepare and tasty to eat.   Manchego cheese is not one I use that often.  Its a specialist cheese that comes from Spain. Its a hard Spanish sheep's milk cheese.  I have seen a recipe that slices manchego cheese and pan fried in a hot pan until a little golden which I am hoping to try, but otherwise I would perhaps not go out of my way to get it again as I am uncertain how to cook with it.   The Griddled Summer Vegetable Tart itself was good to eat, but please d...

Chili is so easy to knock up for a crowd. And here is my Halloween offering for a crowd.  In the past I have stuffed peppers and cut out silly faces in them.  This time for a bit of fun I thought I would have some bobbing up from the chili.  I added them to the pot with the black beans and they cooked slowly on top mostly from the steam. These yellow peppers staring out at me like masks brought a childish smile to my face.  The Chili itself was lovely, of course it was.  We love Chili for its versatility, especially during working weekdays when its easy to serve with some rice.  Halloween  Black Bean Chili   Serves 4 - 6 as an accompaniment Ingredients 250grams Black Beans, soaked overnight 4 tablespoons vegetable oil 3 medium onions, finely sliced 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 celery stalk, thinly sliced 2 fresh red chillies, sliced 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 teaspoon dried oregano 1 teaspoon ground coriander 1/2 teaspoon dried...

I made this Creole style Yellow Split Pea,  Red Pepper and Sweetcorn Soup last month, but I am seriously wishing that I was tucking into it this evening. It is getting proper cold now. This golden Yellow Split Pea and Sweetcorn Soup is enhanced with red pepper and a good dash of creole spice blend and fresh thyme from the garden.  I am sharing this with   Kahakai Kitchen .  Creole Yellow Split Pea,  Red Pepper and Sweetcorn Soup Serves 4 Ingredients 250grams yellow (or green )split peas, soaked overnight and rinsed well until water is clear 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 large onion,s finely sliced 2 teaspoons garlic salt or 2 cloves garlic and 1 teaspoon sea salt 1 tablespoon Creole or Cajun Spice Blend ( Learn about the difference her e)  Optional: 1 teaspoon dried thyme or oregano 1 litre of vegetable stock 1 red pepper, cored and sliced into very small cubes 250grams sweetcorn, fresh, frozen or from tin, rinsed Salt and black pepp...

I made one of my favourite and standby Chili recipes in readiness for the upcoming working week, but for a change I substituted the Black Beans with Butter Bean; and of course with Valentines Day being around the corner, I thought I would adorn the naked butter beans with some Red Pepper hearts. Truth is though, we don't do Valentines - we never really have.  I just like any excuse to bring out my heart shaped cookie cutters and play with them for either sweet or savoury dishes. The recipe is  adapted from my Black Bean Chili which I made last year.  And yes, it was also adorned with  Red Pepper Hearts. I have to say this white Butter Bean version was really, really delicious.  I should make more vegan - vegetarian Chili recipes with white beans.  By the way, I did soak dried butter beans and cook them from scratch for this dish.  You can of course use tinned, I do - but sometimes I find the white tinned beans a bit mushy. This  Butter...