Aubergines Treats

It is a bless that puff pastry is vegan, as it saves a lot of time and effort so you can basically "waste" time (it's never a waste when it comes to food) thinking of new ways to use it. When I was preparing the marinated aubergines the other day I remembered that I had puff pastry on the freezer and voila, here's another easy to prepare recipe. This looks good and taste heavenly. I've done big 8 ones, but you can make really small 16 ones to serve as a snack. In each way you will for with no doubt impress your friends.

Ingredients:
1 sheet of puff pastry (I used Jus-roll as it's vegan)
1/2 of the marinated aubergines from yesterday's post

Method:
1 - Cut the each sheet in half
2 - Using a pizza knife, cut each half in four rectangle, you should have 8 at the end
3 - Put two tbsp of the filing in the middle of each rectangle and close it gently
4 - Use a fork to close any open holes to prevent the filing from leaking
5 - Bake it at 180c for 30 minutes or until brown

Enjoy!!

Marinated Aubergines

This is a old recipe that my mom has been making since forever. It is perfect with crackers but you can also use it as filing for pastry (look out for tomorrow's recipe) or with salad. It is always best from the second day on, as if you leave it to marinate on the fridge the flavours blend together and it is just delicious.

Ingredients:
2 aubergines cut in small cubes
3 cloves of garlic
1 onion thinly chopped
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup raisings
1 vegetable cube
2 tbsp olive oil
Black pepper

Method:
1 - Fry the onions and garlic until tender
2 - Add the aubergines cubes, pine nuts, raisins, black pepper and the vegetable cubes and stir for 20 minutes
3 - Turn the fire off, add a bit more of olive oil and let it cool completely

You can keep it on the fridge for about a week.

Cornish Pie

Ok this is my version of a Cornish pie, as off course there is no meat in it. But it's absolutely delicious.
I really like the pastry I use to make quiche and the other day I've done a bit more than needed so I have decided to try something new and create my own version of a traditional recipe. You have to try it!!!

Ingredients:
1 cup of spread
230g flour
1 can of hearts of palm thinly sliced
1/2 onions chopped
10 cherry tomatoes cut in half
4 sticks of spring onions chopped
100ml single cream
1 vegetable cube
2 tbsp Parmezzano
Black pepper

Method:
1 - Using your hands mix the spread and the flour together until it form a smooth dough
2 - In a small pan fry the onions until tender and add the hearts of palm, spring onions, tomatoes, vegetable cubes and black pepper and mix for about 10 minutes
3 - Add the single cream and parmezzano and mix for 5 more minutes
4 - Using a greased papper divide the dough into 8 balls.
5 - You can use a roll to open and dough or your hands, whatever is easier.
6 - Place the hearts of palm in the midle and carefully close the pie. Use a fork to make sure that all the holes are sealed.
7 - Bake it for 35 minutes at 180c

Banana Chocolate Heaven

I have to say this is heaven on a pot, or ramekins. The chocolate gets creamy and smooth and it mix perfectly with the banana and the base. Believe me, there is no way to get this wrong.

Ingredients:
3 digestive biscuits crushed
2 tbsp spread
1 banana thinly sliced
120g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla extract
150ml single cream (I used Provamel)

Method:
1 - Mix the crushed digestives biscuits with the spread to make the base
2 - Divide the mixture into 4 small glass ramekins
3 - Place the sliced bananas on top of the base
4 - Melt the chocolate on the microwave (it's a lot easier then bain marie) and add the single cream and vanilla extract
5 - Mix well and pour the chocolate on top of the banana

Take off the fridge for about 15 minutes before serve. Enjoy!!

Wrap Salad Cups

After a long hot day or a trip to the gym this is the best salad you can wish for. It's effortless and it looks really nice. The fact that you can eat the cup will impress your friends and family.
This recipe serve two, so if you are making this for more people just multiply the ingredients per the number of people you are serving. On the salad you can use basically anything you want. I'll give you the recipe of what I used on mine but feel free to create your own.

Ingredients:
2 Wraps
1/2 tsp spread
1/2 Lettuce ball
10 baby plum tomatoes
50g sun dried tomatoes
10 Dried figs cut in small bits
150g baby leaf spinach
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar
Salt 

Method:
1 - Pre-heat the oven at 180c
2 - Spread half of the spread on the up side down bowl
3 - Using your hands press the wrap (you are going to cook them one at a time) on the bowl so it sticks on the bowl a bit
4 - Cook it for 15 minutes or until it gets a bit brown.
5 - Mix the rest of the ingredients together and put half on one wrap cup

Serve it while the cup is still warm. Enjoy!!!

Tomato and Spinach Quiche

Don't you just love quiche? It is kind of sophisticated without too much work. We love it, so it's something I cook all the time. By just changing the filling you get a complete different quiche and I quite like to try and see which ingredients go together. Spinach is by far my favourite leaf, I basically eat it on top of almost everything. I really hope you like this one.

Quiche base:
150g vegan spread (I used Pure sunflower)
220g flour

Filling:
½ onions chopped
3 cloves of garlic smashed
100g baby leaves spinach 
8 cherry tomatoes cut in half
2 tbsp pine nuts
250ml of vegan single cream (I used Provamel)
1 vegetable stock cube
Black Pepper to taste

Method:
1 - In a bowl mix the spread and the flour until blended together
2 - Divide the pastry into four individual quiche trays.
3 - In a pan fry the onions and garlic until tender and add the rest of the ingredients
4 - Stir for 10 minutes, add the single cream and stir for another 2 more minutes.
5 - Divide the filling into the 4 individual quiche trays and bake it at 180c for 30 minutes.

Enjoy!!!

Quinoa Tofu Salad

Quinoa has become highly appreciated for its nutritional value as its a source of complete protein. It is also a good source of fiber, calcium and phosphorus and if that is not good enough quinoa its also high in magnesium and iron. It is very useful for vegans or people looking for a nutritional and healthy meal. The fact that is so tasty just adds to the list so I have decided to create a (kind of posh) salad of quinoa and orange juice sauce. I hope you like it!

Ingredients:
1 cup of quinoa
2 cups of water
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic smashed
200g smoked tofu (I used Taifun Beechwood Smoked Tofu)
1 orange (zest and juice)
Salt
Black pepper

Method:
1 - In a sauce pan cook the quinoa with the water for 15 minutes
2 - When ready transfer for a big bowl and pour 1 tbsp of the olive oil, the orange zest and put aside
3 - Fry the garlic with the rest of the olive oil
4 - Add the tofu, salt, black pepper and the orange juice and stir for 2 minutes
5 - Pour the mixture on the quinoa the mix together
6 - Leave in the fridge for 30 minutes before serve

Enjoy!

Chocolate Croissant

Want to impress your family and friends with the minimum effort possible? If yes, that is the recipe for you. It takes literary 5 minutes to prepare the croissants (if don’t count the baking off course) and they are simply delicious. So go on indulge yourself.

Ingredients:
80g dark chocolate cut in small bits
2 sheets of puff pastry (I use Jus-roll as it is vegan)

Method:
1 - Cut the each sheet in half. You should have 4 at the end.

2 - Using a pizza knife, cut each sheet into small triangles. Each sheet should give you 4 triangles. I also put the sides together to make extra triangles.

3 - Put the pieces of chocolate on the base of the triangle and roll it.
4 - Using a fork close any open holes to prevent the chocolate from leaking when melted
5 - Bake it at 180c for 40 minutes or until brown.

Vegetable Soup

I know that soup is more of a winter dish, but for me it's always a good call. This is a old recipe that I have been doing for years and although simple is very tasty. One tip on making soup, if you stir the vegetables for about 15 minutes while adding the ingredients your soup will be ready a lot quicker. I hope you like this one.

Ingredients:
1/2 onions chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
400g courgettes sliced
150g carrots sliced
20g flat leaf parsley
1 vegetable cube
10 baby plum tomatoes
Black pepper

Method:
1 - Fry the onion on the olive oil until tender
2 - Add the courgettes and stir for about 5 minutes
3 - Add the carrots, parsley, vegetable cube and black pepper and stir from time to time for another 15 minutes
4 - When the vegetables are soft, cover with boiling water and leave it for 15 minutes. The amount of water will depend on how watery you want your soup to be
5 - Transfer the vegetables with the remaining water to a blender and add the tomatoes
6 - Mix until all the ingredients are blended together

Serve while hot. Enjoy!!

Apple Crumble

If you are following my blog you might have already noticed that although I love to cook I don't like spending hours and hours in the kitchen. That is specially the case when I have friends over for lunch. Apple crumble is not only warm and nice but it's also extremely easy and quick to prepare. The oats and almond slices on this one make the whole difference. Give it a try, you'll love it!

Ingredients:
3 apples, sliced thinly
1 tbsp sugar
4 tbsp water

Ingredient for the topping:
105g spread
170g flour
55g light brown sugar
55g sugar
1tbsp cinnamon
4 tbsp sliced almond
4 tbsp oats

Method:
1 - Mix the apples with the water and sugar and pour the mixture into an ovenproof dish.
2 - In big bowl mix all the topping ingredients together
3 - Pile the crumble on top of the apple mixture
4 - Bake it at 150c for 45 minutes

Serve hot with vegan custard cream. Enjoy!!

Buna Shimeji Mushroom

I absolutely love mushroom, any kind, I am a huge fan!! Buna Shimeji, also known as Brown Clamshell mushroom, has a nutty meaty flavour that is perfect as accompaniment, with pasta, quiche, basically anything you can think of. The only thing is that it has to be cooked as it's bitter taste completely disappear when cooked, which also makes it easier to digest. This simple recipe with spread and basil is delicious and quick.

Ingredients:
110g buna shimeji mushroom
1/2 onions chopped
4 cloves of garlic smashed
1 1/2 tbsp sunflouwer spread (I use Pure)
Salt
Black pepper
10g basil chopped

Method:
1 - Fry the garlic and onions on the spread until tender
2 - Add the rest of the ingredients and stir from time to time for about 10 minutes

Done! Can you believe it was that easy! Enjoy

Potato Cake

Potato cake is delicious but as I don't like to fry food at home, I have decided create my on baked cake so off I went and put a few ingredients together. They might not look as great as a restaurant rice cake but I guarantee that they taste really good. It doesn't take long to prepare and this recipe makes 9 good size cakes.

Ingredients:
4 potatoes thinly sliced
10 cherry tomatoes cut in 8
A handful of olives cut in half
1/2 onions chopped
3 tbsp flour
2 tbsp lemon and parsley seasoning
2 sticks of spring onions chopped

Method:
1 - Slice the potatoes on a food processor
2 - Move the potatoes into a big bowl and press them with your hand to remove the water.
3 - Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well (I used my hands as I found to be the best way). Give another squeeze to remove any extra water.
4 - Put baking sheet on a big baking tray and pre-heat the oven at 180c
5 - Using your hand make the cakes and bake it at 180c for 30 minutes

Serve it to rice and salad. Enjoy!!!

Lettuce Wrap

This dish is perfect for a summer lunch or dinner, the crunchiness of the cold lettuce combined with the hot rice is just perfect. You can wrap it or serve on the lettuce shells. Whatever you prefer, it is just delicious.

Ingredients:
1/2 onions chopped
250g closed cup chestnut mushroom sliced
50g carrots thinly sliced
12 cherry tomatoes cut in half
250g sweet corn (the no added salt and sugar one)
3 sticks of spring onions chopped
400g cooked white rice
Olive oil to drizzle
1 head of lettuce (the amount you are going to use will depend on how big you want the wraps to be)
Salt
Black pepper

Method:
1 - Fry the onions until tender
2 - Add the mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, sweet corn, spring onions, salt and black pepper and stir until they are all tender
3 - Turn off the fire and add the rice, mix it well
4 - Transfer the mixture onto a baking tray and bake it for 20 minutes at 200c
5 - Wash the lettuce leaves on cold water
6 - When the rice is ready, using a spoon place the rice in the middle of the lettuce leaves and wrap it. The amount of rice will depend on the size of the lettuce leaves
8 - Drizzle with the olive oil just before serve.
7 - Serve it straight away

Enjoy!!!

Chocolate Mint Biscuits

I can stress enough how delicious these biscuits are. Let's put it this way, I've done it yesterday and there was not that much left at the end of the day. The mint is not strong, it only leaves a subtle after taste. I've done it a bit flat as I wanted it to be crunchy but you can do it a bit thicker if you prefer. Either way you have to try it! I promise you will love it!

Ingredients:
1 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup spread
3 tbsp almond milk (you can use the one you prefer)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp peppermint extract

Method:
1 - In a large bowl combine all the dry ingredients well
2 - Add the remaining ingredients and knead it with your hands until it comes together and all the flour is incorporated. Add a bit more of flour if needed
3 - Chill the dough in the refrigerator for 1 hour
4 - Pre-heat the oven at 180c
5 - Roll a heaping teaspoon of cookie dough into a ball and place onto prepared baking sheets.
6 - Evenly flatten the dough with your fingertips so that it is about ¼ inch thick and bake for 12-14 minutes.

Enjoy!

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Pesto sauce is delicious and the avocado on this one it makes all the difference. It is smooth and rich. A real treat!

Ingredients:
400g penne pasta
66g fresh basil
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 small avocados, pitted and peeled
1 lime juice
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt
Black pepper

Method:
1 - Cook the pasta as per the package instructions
2 - When the pasta is almost done blend all the ingredients on a food processor and mix with the pasta when ready.

Serve while still hot. Enjoy!!!


Source - Chef Chloe website

Strawberry sauce

This is the base for a jam but if you don't stir for too long it becomes a tasty sauce to have it with ice-cream or any other desert that you think it would get better with the sour/sweet taste of strawberries.

Ingredients:
250g strawberries cut in half
2 tbsp water
3 tbsp sugar

Method:
1 - Combine all the ingredients on a small pan and stir it for about 15 minutes

That’s it! Ready to serve. Enjoy!

Chocolate Cheesecake

This recipe is so good that you won't believe its vegan. Its rich, chocolaty, smooth and heavenly tasty. You can have on its on or as we did at home, pour a strawberry sauce on it (recipe soon to come). I can't express enough how good this is, you have to try it for yourself!

Ingredients for the base:

13 vegan Digestive biscuits crushed
½ cup of spread melted (I used Pure Sunflour)

Ingredients for the filling:
698g silken firm tofu
250g good quality dark chocolate melted
6 tbsp unsweeted cocoa powder mixed with 100ml water (it will mix into a paste)
4 tbsp agave syrup
1 tbsp sugar
Shavings of dark chocolate for topping

Method base:
1 - Break the Digestives on a food processor
2 - Add the melted spread
3 - Grease a 8 inches round spring form baking tray and line it with greaseprood paper 
4 - Spread the mixture evenly into the baking tin and set aside

Method for the  filling:
1 – Place the tofu into the food processor and add the remaining ingredients.
2 – Process until all the ingredients are blended and smooth
3 – Using a spatula spread the filling onto the base and add the chocolate shavings
4 – Cover with foil paper and place in the fridge overnight

Enjoy!

Power Smoothie

With summer always comes the taste for a refreshing drink and at home we switch the hot milk (almond) for smoothies. Have it with toast or bagels for a perfect breakfast.

Ingredients:
1medium bananas
3 tbsp frozen berries
1/2 apple
400ml orange juice
1 tbsp oats

Method:
1 – Blend all the ingredients together on a blender.

Enjoy!

Vegetable Mix

A vegetable stir fry is easy, quick and very nutritious. Is it s perfect combination for rice or noodles. I suggest that you try this one with rice and salad. It's delicious!!

Ingredients:
1 onion chopped
250g chestnut mushroom sliced
1 aubergine thinly sliced
1 courgette thinly sliced
1 tbsp parsley and lemon seasoning
1 tbsp soya sauce
1 vegetable cube
1 tsp sesame seeds
Black pepper

Method:
1 - Fry the onion until tender
2 - Add the chestnut mushroom and cook it for about 5 minutes
3 - Pour the aubergines and courgettes slices and cook for 10 minutes stirring from time to time
4 - Add the seasoning, vegetable cube, sesame seeds, black pepper and stir for about 8 minutes

Enjoy!!