Creamy Red Curry Soup

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This soup couldn’t possibly be any silkier. The beautiful texture is down to the quantity of coconut milk in the recipe, and the flavours are lively and bright. This serves six.

Ingredients

1 onion, roughly diced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 butternut squash, peeled and cut into chunks
1 cauliflower, in florets
2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tbsp Thai red curry paste
2 tbsp soy sauce

Directions

1. In a large soup pot over a medium-low heat, sauté the onion until aromatic and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic cloves, and stir for 30 seconds.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 20 minutes.
3. Blend.
3. Season, taste, and serve.

Spanish Chickpea and Spinach Stew

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Another easy and cheap recipe. Serve topped, if desired, with some roasted asparagus and croutons. Serves two.

Ingredients

4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1 red bell pepper or sweet pointed pepper, small dice
1 can (400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 tbsp sweet paprika or smoked paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Pinch cayenne pepper
2 cups vegetable broth
200g baby spinach
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. In a non-stick or stainless steel pan over a very low heat, sweat the garlic, adding a couple of drops of water if needed, until fragrant but not coloured.
2. Add the red pepper, chickpeas, vinegar, tomatoes, paprika, cumin, cinnamon, and cayenne and stir for about 30 seconds.
3. Raise the heat to medium low and add the broth. Stir, and then add handfuls of spinach to wilt.
4. Season, and serve.

Cannellini Bean and Red Cabbage Stew

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A simple, budget recipe, bursting with colour, and oil-free, this stew is bound to please. Serves 4.

Ingredients

1 leek, sliced
6 cloves garlic, minced
3 carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
250g red cabbage, finely shredded
2 cans tomatoes (400g each)
1 l vegetable stock
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp hot paprika
200g cooked cannellini beans
To garnish, soured tofu

Directions
1. Sweat the leek, garlic, carrots, and celery in a large stock pot over the lowest heat possible for 10 minutes. If they start to stick, add a splash of water.
2. Add the red cabbage, tomatoes, vegetable stock, lemon juice (which serves the function of preventing the cabbage from losing its colour) and paprikas to the pot. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer for 20 minutes, until the carrots are fork tender.
3. Add the beans, and warm through.
4. Serve garnished with some soured tofu, if desired.

Soured Tofu Dip

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Don’t be put off by the mention of “sour” in the title. This is adequately balanced by both sweet and salty notes. Perfect for tacos, nachos, wraps, in soups and stews, and it will show you just how versatile tofu can be.

Ingredients

1 block silken tofu (approx. 350g; more or less than this is fine)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp maple syrup
Generous pinch salt

Directions

Blend everything together. Season to taste, and enjoy.

Consider varying this recipe up with the addition of some herbs or garlic (or both!)

Raw Curried Sunflower Pâté Lettuce Wraps with Purple Cauliflower Rice

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A light lunch for 2 people, this makes 8 lettuce wraps.

Ingredients

For the Sunflower Pâté

1/2 cup sunflower seeds, soaked for 2 hours (or overnight) and then drained
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tbsp curry powder
1 tsp ground coriander
Pinch chili powder
1 x 1 cm slice pineapple, juiced
1 x 2 cm piece ginger, juiced
Pinch sea salt

For the Purple Rice

1/2 cup cauliflower florets
1/2 cup red cabbage
1 garlic clove, minced
1 x 2 cm piece ginger, juiced
Pinch sea salt

To serve
2 tbsp finely diced red bell pepper
2 tbsp finely diced yellow bell pepper
2 tbsp finely diced green bell pepper
1 tbsp finely diced red onion
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds
1 small carrot, peeled and shredded
8 lettuce leaves, washed and dried well
Coconut flakes, to garnish

Directions

1. To make the pâté, place the seeds in a food processor or blender with the spices. Start to blend and add the pineapple and ginger juices little by little, scraping down the sides as necessary, until a firm pâté is formed. Season to taste.
2. To make the rice, place the cauliflower in a food processor with the red cabbage and pulse until the vegetables are very fine, like grains of sugar. Mix in the minced garlic and ginger juice, and season to taste.
3. To assemble, divide the rice and pâté between the lettuce leaves, top with the other ingredients, and enjoy. A squeeze of lime juice is optional.

Creamy Butternut, Cauliflower, and Lentil Soup

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This is an easy budget soup, making four main-meal-sized portions. Don’t let the inclusion of the notoriously difficult to peel squash put you off; there are two options below to make your job much, much easier. As always, use this recipe as a roadmap: try it with the addition of coconut milk and either Thai or Indian spices; add a can of tomato sauce and some Italian herbs. A good base soup can be varied in so many different ways.

Ingredients:

1 red onion, medium dice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 butternut squash
200g split red lentils
1 small cauliflower, in florets (approx. 500g)
1.5 litres vegetable stock
Pinch chilli flakes
1 tbsp fresh sage leaves, minced (or 1 tsp, dried, rubbed between fingers)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 heaped tbsp yellow miso

Directions:
1. Carefully make several slits in skin of the squash with a small sharp knife, and microwave for about 3-5 minutes to loosen the peel from the flesh slightly. Alternatively, slit and then boil the squash whole in a large stock pot for about 5 minutes, until softened. Wait until it’s cool enough to handle, and then peel, deseed, and chop into bite-sized dice.
2. In a stock pot over a very low heat, sweat the onion and garlic, stirring frequently until softened, about 5 minutes. Don’t allow them to take on any colour; if they start to stick, the heat is too high. Lower it, and add a little broth to loosen.
3. Add the cauliflower, stock, butternut squash, chilli flakes, and sage leaves. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover, and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
4. While the soup is cooking, rinse and drain the lentils, picking them over to ensure there are no small stones or pieces of grit among them. Add them to a saucepan with about 400g water, bring to the boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 5-10 minutes, or until softened. Drain and rinse.
5. Add the lentils back to the pot with the butternut squash (cooking them separately ensures that the lentils don’t add any foam to your soup), and mix well to combine. Spoon between a third and half of the soup into a blender jug with the miso paste and blend until creamy. Alternatively, remove the same quantity of soup and use an immersion blender to blend it to smooth.
6. Stir the blended soup back to the pot, warm, and serve in warmed bowls with some parsley, additional chilli flakes, and nutritional yeast if desired.

Fennel and Mushroom Penne in a Lemon and Garlic Sauce

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Delicately fragrant, vivid, and lively, this comforting gluten-free dish is full of nutrients. Eat your fill!

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 leek, finely chopped
250g mushrooms, sliced
1 fennel bulb, quartered and finely sliced
150g tenderstem broccoli (substitute with broccoli florets if tenderstem is hard to find)
5 sage leaves, finely minced
Small bunch each basil and parsley, minced
200g brown rice pasta
2 large handfuls baby spinach

For the sauce

50g white beans of choice
150g silken tofu, drained
Zest 1 lemon
Juice 1/2 lemon
3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1/4 cup unsweetened, unflavoured all-plant milk of choice (soy milk used here)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions
1. Steam the fennel and broccoli until just tender (about 5 minutes).
2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions, drain, reserving 1 cup of cooking liquid, and rinse to remove the excess starch.
3. Sauté the leeks and mushrooms over a medium heat in a non-stick pan until softened (about 5 minutes). Add the sage.
4. Blend all the sauce ingredients. Taste and adjust seasonings if desired.
5. Add the sauce to the leeks and mushrooms vegetables, thinning out to desired consistency with a little of the reserved cooking water. Toss in the pasta, fennel, and broccoli to warm through.
6. Serve the pasta on a bed of spinach, garnished with a little extra lemon zest, more black pepper, and the minced basil and parsley.

Jewelled Greens and Beans Salad

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A simple, filling, and nutritious salad that’s full of flavour and texture. This would work well with miso-ginger salad dressing or even balsamic vinaigrette.

Ingredients (per serving)

1 cup baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup cooked rice
1/2 cup beans of choice
1 cup steamed broccoli
1 carrot, peeled and cut into strips with the peeler
2 tbsp pomegranate seeds

Directions

Use the spinach as a base, top with the rest of the ingredients, and enjoy.

Speedy Chana Saag

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Perfect for novice cooks, this meal is warming, nutritious, and ready in just a matter of minutes. If you wish, you can cook the tomato sauce for longer to reduce it, but it’s delicious as it is.

Ingredients
1 cup vegetable broth
3 cups baby spinach
400g can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup suitable-for-vegans tomato sauce
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp onion granules
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tbsp curry powder (or more to taste)
1/2 tsp turmeric
Pinch ground ginger

Directions
1. Place all ingredients into a heavy-bottomed saucepan.
2. Heat over a low heat, stirring frequently, until spinach is wilted and curry is heated through.
3. Season to taste with salt, lime juice, and extra spices if desired.

Tofu Pesto Spread

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Although this spread is ideal for crusty bread, it also makes a wonderful stuffing for pasta shells. It’s incredibly simple to make: just put all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor.

Ingredients

1/2 block extra-firm tofu (about 170g), crumbled
1 cup toasted pine nuts or raw macadamia nuts
1 cup spinach leaves, tightly packed
Large bunch basil
Juice 1/2 lemon
2 tsp white or yellow miso
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt, or to taste

Method

Pulse all of the ingredients in a food processor or blender, stopping occasionally to scrape down the sides if necessary. Don’t overprocess; you want the finished product to have some depth of texture from the nuts.