All tagged vegetarian recipe

Spicy chickpea & butternut squash soup

Butternut squash is one of our favourite winter ingredient as it is so versatile, colourful and filling with its high fibre content. Good quality chickpeas are essential to make this soup insanely smooth and creamy. Ras el Hanout if you don’t know it is an excellent blend of spices bringing warmth without being too “hot” spicy. Very very simple comfort food at its best. Even better if you make double and keep for another lunch or evening.

Store cupboard chickpea dahl

A dahl is a super quick and easy vegetarian one pot that warms you from the inside out. The addition of chickpeas helps to increase the protein content, even if it’s not entirely traditional. If you have a well stocked store cupboard this makes a great meal when the fridge is empty and the prospect of a trip to the supermarket doesn’t appeal. If you need help stocking your store cupboard download our handy shopping list from the Resource section.

Moroccan-spiced squash and lentil stew

We love cooking with lentils - super cheap, high in protein and can be used in so many ways depending on the type of lentil you choose. In this dish we have used green lentils, which hold their shape and are perfect for spiced dishes. We always soak our lentils before using, this helps to remove the phytochemicals which can prevent absorption of minerals such as zinc and magnesium.

Lentil, mushroom and kale stew

Although we are not vegetarians we often eat vegetarian meals especially as we get a bit older. A vegetarian meal with puy lentils and mushroom is perfect for a midweek meal or meat free Monday meal. The mushrooms and miso paste hit the unami spot perfectly in this recipe. For a more substantial meal you could serve with some wild or brown rice - but it’s hearty enough without.

Chilli ginger butternut squash soup

Soups are a wonderful way to pack essential nutrients into a delicious meal. One of my favourite taste combo is chilli and ginger anti teams up perfectly with all the winter root vegetables. This is a treaty soup you can happily eat on it’s own or with a nice slice of garlic grated toasted sourdough. I always add a little crunch with lots of seeds to serve. Leave out the chilli if you have young kids who don’t fancy it. Oh and that little bit of bacon, if you chose to use it, makes such a difference.

Simple and delicious oat cakes

Good old fashioned oat cakes are so so delicious and versatile. They are also super easy to make, as a batch and keep. With the main ingredient being pinhead oats (or steel cut oats) they make the perfect high fibre savoury snack teamed up with our smoked mackerel pâté or French sardine pâté. Another French way to enjoy those is with a little butter, some sliced radishes and a little salt. I like to vary the herbs or spices I mix in them; I have tried and tested rosemary, oregano, garlic, turmeric, curry powder, cumin and paprika. If you want to have them with cheese, I recommend to stick to herbs.

Portobello no bun vegetarian burger

With BBQ season kicking off soon and 2 teens looking forward to make up for lost social time, weekend gathering around food will hopefully be regular occurrence. There seem to be more and more vegetarians amongst my teens’ friends so I am busy creating, planning and testing some new recipes to suit all dietary requirements. This is so so tasty with a nod to my home country with French goats cheese and caramelised red onions! And no processed fake meat in sight!

Watercress and wild garlic soup

This is a such a super quick and easy soup that is spring in a bowl. Wild garlic grows in March and April in shady, woody and wet environments. The smell will probably hit you before you see it. If you are in doubt rub the leaves between your fingers. If you don’t smell garlic then leave well alone.

Butternut squash garam masala soup

Soups always help making lunch quick, easy and healthy. The secret, as always, is in the planning and prepping! If you want your soup to keep you full until supper, you need to make sure it contains some protein and healthy fats. This soup contains coconut cream ticking both boxes. You could always swap for greek yoghurt, but the coconut does work really well with the garam masala spice. Perfect comfort food!
I make this soup using my slow cooker, but you could do in an AGA, or slowly on a stove.

roasted red pepper and quinoa soup

I love a soup for lunch during the colder months - but so many just leave me hungry a few hours later. The reason is they just don’t contain enough protein or fat. We often add lentils to our soups for this reason, but when I had some leftover quinoa in the fridge I decided to use this instead. The result is this delicious soup. So easy to prepare - just put all the ingredients in a roasting tray in the oven and then blend and add the quinoa.

Harissa sweet potato and squash soup

Soups make an easy lunch in the colder months. They are easy to prepare ahead and can be taken into work in a thermos flask. The key to a soup keeping you sustained for the rest of the day is to include some protein and healthy fats. In this soup we have two sources of protein and healthy fats - the coconut milk and the almond butter. If you are allergic to nuts just leave the almond butter out it won’t make this any less delicious.

30mins dairy free mushroom soup

My husband loves a creamy mushroom soup - but we’ve recently discovered an intolerance to dairy so he’s gone dairy free. I have used some coconut milk to give this a creamy feel - but it doesn’t taste too coconutty as I’ve balanced with tamari sauce. You can blitz this smooth - or leave a little chunky it’s up to you.

Easy Chickpea flatbread - Socca

This is hand on heart the easiest flatbread you can make and it’s naturally gluten-free! Socca is a traditional French dish from Nice where I partly grew up. It was probably my favourite street food. Cooked on very hot grills, they were usually served in a cone of brown paper with a sprinkling of coarse sea salt and pepper, maybe thyme or rosemary. It it was one of those South of France classic for which everyone has their own technique for cooking, but the ingredients however are pretty much always the same: equal parts chickpea flour and water, add olive oil, that’s it. That simple!

carrot, lentil & black bean chilli

This recipe came about at the beginning of the 2020 lockdown when suddenly I had a massive surplus of carrots. I needed to get inventive as the family were getting bored of steamed carrots! My husband loved this and it instantly became a great way of using up a carrot surplus! If you don’t have the parsnip or sweet potato, just add more carrots!

mild curried vegetarian chickpeas

I came up with this recipe during Lockdown. My daughter was getting fed up with the amount of meat her brothers were demanding at mealtimes and was begging for some vegetarian meals. Although the title states curried, this is a very mild flavour as my daughter doesn’t like super heat - she’s more of a masala girl! It’s super quick to make and so can easily be rustled up alongside other meals. You can eat this on its own, or add some brown rice for a slightly more substantial meal.

Butternut and black bean spicy one-pot

This recipe is for all of you out there who like a simple tasty one pot that keeps on giving! We all need those one-pot recipes in our busy lives. Simple, yet delicious heart warming, ideal to prep in advance and…packed full of vegetables, plant based protein, fibres and all round goodness. Leave the chorizo out for a vegetarian option. Delicious served with a warm corn tortilla wrap, mashed avocado and soured cream.

Savoury tomato & herbs crumble

If you have never tried a savoury crumble, now is the time with this recipe! This is a fun, really quick and easy vegetarian meal you can put together in the evening for kids. It can be used as a side or as a main dish. Add Oregano as you herb of choice and it will taste like a pizza! Add olives and Herbes de Provence and you’ll find yourself in sunny South of France. I’ve had massive thumbs up and great success with kids with this recipe and you could turn it into a pick and mix where kids make their own veggie choices and share the crumble topping in individual dishes!

Olive, feta and red pepper bake- "cake aux olives"

This is hand on heart the easiest most delicious bake you could ever make ahead and keep for a healthy and balanced lunch.
Growing up, in France, I probably had something like this once a week! The flavour combinations are endless, vegetarian or not, you can go with the flow of seasonal veggies, add spices and even play around with flours. What’s not to like? My favourite is olive with anything.