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Onigirazu

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This is the perfect lunchbox food. Try it if you don’t believe us!

Ingredients: 
1/2 cup sushi rice, cooked according to package directions
100g mushrooms, sliced
1 clove garlic
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 spring onion, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/4 red bell pepper (if following the plan, then take the slice from from the side of the pepper and leave the rest of the pepper uncut; we’ll be using it tomorrow), sliced thinly
4-5 sheets nori

Optional: 
2 tbsp vinegar (rice vinegar, preferably, but cider is also acceptable)
1 tbsp liquid sweetener (we used maple syrup)
Pinch salt
1/2 tsp freshly grated ginger
Sweet chilli sauce
Soy sauce

Method: 
1. If you wish to season the cooked rice, heat together the vinegar, sweetener, and salt. Stir through. 
2. To cook the mushrooms, fry over a low heat with the garlic until the liquid that they release has been evaporated. You can also add ginger and some soy sauce if desired. 
3. To assemble the onigirazu, lay a sheet of nori on a piece of cling film. Spread with a little sweet chilli sauce if desired (although they taste great without!)
4. Moisten hands to put a square of rice in the middle of the nori. Top the rice with some of the cooked mushrooms, carrot, spring onion, avocado, and bell pepper. 
5. To fold, bring opposite corners in to just past the centre point, keeping the parcel nice and tight. Repeat with the remaining two corners. 
6. Wrap the parcel in cling film and leave for a few minutes to allow the nori to soften. 
7. To serve the onigirazu, cut through the centre with a sharp knife, cutting through the cling film. 
8. Unwrap to serve, and enjoy.

Sweet Chilli and Lime Yuba

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A very easy, quick, and cheap lunch that serves 4. If you don’t have a spiraliser, you can use a vegetable peeler to create ribbons with the vegetables and cook them in the same way. 
 
Ingredients:
500g yuba (tofu skin, fresh or rehydrated)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch piece ginger, grated
4 courgettes, spiralised
2 carrots, spiralised
1/4 cup sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
1/4 tsp Chinese five spice
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
 
Directions:
1. Heat a nonstick frying pan over a medium heat, and coat with some spray oil. Fry the yuba until it starts to brown.
2. Add the garlic, ginger, and spiralised vegetables, and season the mixture lightly with salt. Continue to fry until the noodles are soft.
3. Meanwhile, mix the sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, lime juice, five spice, and cornflour.
4. When the noodles have softened, add the sauce to the pan and cook until thickened. Serve hot.

Ginger-Miso Cabbage Salad

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Perfect for packed lunches or picnics, this is even easier to put together if you can use the shredding attachment on a food processor.

Salad:
200g red cabbage, shredded
150g white cabbage, shredded
1/2 red onion, finely sliced
1 large carrot, shredded
2 tbsp golden raisins or cranberries
2 tbsp sesame seeds, toasted in a frying pan until golden

Dressing:
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tbsp soy sauce
pinch dried ginger
1 heaped tsp yellow miso

Directions:
1. Mix all of the salad ingredients.
2. Mix all of the dressing ingredients.
3. Mix the dressing into the salad.

Vegan Sushi

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You won’t believe how easy this is to make until you try it. If you’re not used to rolling sushi, we recommend you watch an online tutorial.

Ingredients:
1.5 cups sushi rice
3 tbsp rice vinegar
2 tbsp maple syrup
large pinch salt
1/4 cucumber, cut into batons
1 carrot, cut into batons
1 bell pepper, any colour, cut into batons
4 sheets roasted nori

Directions:
1. Cook the rice according to package directions.
2. Heat the rice vinegar, maple syrup, and salt in a small saucepan until combined.
3. Lay a sheet of nori on a clean kitchen towel, shiny side down. Wet a spatula and layer rice evenly across the nori, leaving an inch of nori free from rice at the top edge.
4. Make a line each of carrot, cucumber, and bell pepper down the middle of the nori.
5. Use a towel to roll the sushi tightly from the bottom up. Wet the top edge with a pastry brush dipped in water, and seal.
6. Cut with a sharp knife, wetting it between cuts.

Carrot and Red Lentil Soup: Budget Recipe

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This soup costs €0.18 per portion and takes about 20 minutes to prepare. The recipe is very easy, but we’ve written it out in lots of detail in case you’re new to cooking. We’ve used a blender to make it smooth, but it’s equally delicious chunky.

Ingredients (for 2 servings):
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 l vegetable broth*
2 carrots, washed, topped and tailed, and sliced (no need to peel!)
80g red lentils, picked over to make sure there’s no grit
1 tsp mixed herbs
1 tsp smoked paprika

Directions:
1. Heat a stainless steel saucepan over a medium low heat until hot. Reduce the heat slightly, add the onions and keep stirring until the onions start to take on a little colour and release their aroma (about 2 minutes). Turn the heat right down to low before adding the garlic for about 30 seconds.
2. Add the broth, carrots, and red lentils. Crumble the herbs between your finger and thumb, if desired, so that they release more of their fragrance.
3. Raise the heat to high until bubbles start appearing around the sides of the pan. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every 3-4 minutes to make sure the lentils aren’t sticking.
4. Add the smoked paprika, and stir.
5. At this point, you can blend the soup with an immersion (stick) blender or in a jug blender, following the instructions that came with your blender.
6. Serve, and enjoy.

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.

Creamy Broccoli Soup

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This speedy Creamy Broccoli Soup takes under 20 minutes, is oil-free, and serves 2 (generous portions) and is great for those on a tighter budget. The spices create an interesting flavour profile with just a tiny bit of heat.

Ingredients

1 onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
2 tbsp wholemeal flour
1 large head broccoli, roughly chopped
4 cups vegetable broth
3/4 cup coconut milk
1 tsp suitable-for-vegans yellow or Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
pinch white pepper

Directions

1. Heat a soup pan or large pot over a medium-low heat. Add the onion, celery, and carrots, and cook, stirring frequently, for about 5 minutes, adding a splash or two of water if the vegetables start to stick.
2. Mix the flour with 1/4 cup vegetable broth from the 4 cups. Add to the vegetables and cook stirring, for 1 minute more.
3. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
4. Blend the soup with an immersion blender, or in batches in a jug blender. Season to taste, and adjust the seasoning if desired.

Butternut Squash and Carrot Soup

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With only a few ingredients, this budget recipe is relatively fuss-free, and produces batch of flavoursome and healthy soup that will serve 6.

Ingredients

2 onions, chopped
1.5 litres vegetable broth
1 butternut squash, peeled and cubed
4 large carrots, peeled and sliced
Salt and pepper to taste

Method

1. Dry sauté the onions over a medium-low heat until caramelised, adding a splash of water if they start to stick.
2. Add about 1/4 cup vegetable broth to deglaze the pot.
3. Once the bottom of the pot looks clean, add the butternut squash, carrots, and the rest of the broth.
4. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover, and allow to cook for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are fork-tender.
5. If you have a blender, you might like to try the soup smooth. If not, it will be just as delicious with the vegetables in chunks. Season to taste.

Carrot ginger soup with Thai chili oil, lentils, kale and potatoes

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A lovely fall soup soup with some additional texture, flavour and colour added by a layer of roasted kale and potatoes and sweetened Thai chili oil. This is a great use for left over lentils, and brown will look just as good.

For the soup
1T of cooking oil
1/4 of sea salt
1T of ginger, grated
2 heaping cups of carrots, chopped
2 cups of vegetable stock
1T of arrowroot powder whisked with 2T of water
Sea salt to taste

For the garnishes
1/4 cup of cooked beluga lentils*
1T of minced chives

1 cup of kale, chopped
2t of cooking oil
1/4t of sea salt
2T of nutritional yeast
Sea salt to taste

2 small white or yellow potatoes in 1/3″ dice (about 3/4 cup)
2t of cooking oil
1/4 of sea salt
1T of minced chives

1T of agave nectar
1t of red Thai chili paste
2t of olive oil

Start the garnishes, and then make the soup.
Preheat the over to 400F
Whisk the agave nectar, chili paste and olive oil, and then set aside.
Toss the potatoes in the oil, sea salt and chives.
Add to a well-oiled baking sheet and roast for about 10-15 minutes, turning frequently.
Toss the kale in the oil and sea salt.
Add to the pan with the potatoes and roast another 10-15 minutes (or until the kale and potatoes are lightly browning and the potatoes are fork tender).
Ovens vary and the size of the dice and the freshness of the potatoes will influence the cooking time; use the colour and consistency as your guide and if you have to remove the potatoes and kale separately, do so..
When done, remove from the pan, toss the kale in the nutritional yeast a and set the kale and potatoes aside.
Season to taste.
While the kale and the potatoes roast, make the soup.
Bring the oil to heat on medium high in a pan with a lid.
Add the ginger and the sea salt and saute for 1 minute.
Add the carrots and saute for 3-5 minutes.
Add the stock, cover and simmer on low until the carrots are fork tender (about 10-15 minutes).
Remove from heat and puree the soup until smooth.
Whisk the arrowroot with the water.
Return to heat and bring to a light simmer.
Whisk in the arrowroot mixture, stirring continuously until thickened.
Remove from heat and let stand 10 minutes before serving.
Season to taste.
To serve, ladle the soup.
Carefully drip the chili oil over the soup.
Sprinkle the kale on top in a thin layer, then the lentils, followed by the potatoes and finally, sprinkle with the chives.

*If you make the lentils from scratch, simmer them in 2 parts water to 1 part lentils covered on low until the water absorbs. I simmer my with kombu.

 

 

Creamy sweet potato, red lentil, and carrot soup

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Garnished with roasted kale, walnuts and sea vegetables, this is a rich, but not overly heavy soup. The recipe will make 2 large bowls or 4 small ones, but easily doubles.

Ingredients

For the soup
2T water
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 scallions, minced (reserve 3″-4″ green for garnish)
1T fresh garlic, minced
1t fresh ginger, grated and minced
4 cups vegetable stock
2 cups sweet potato, peeled and diced
1/2 cup red lentils
1 cup carrots, trimmed and diced
2t tapioca flour dissolved in 1T cold water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the kale
1/2T cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 cups green kale, stemmed and chopped
1T nutritional yeast

For the garnish
2T walnuts, minced
1T black sesame seeds, minced
1t purple dulse flakes
1t green nori flakes
1T plant-only sriracha whisked with 1T apple cider
1 heirloom grape tomato, quartered
Scallion green sliced on an angle (as noted above)

Directions

In a large pan with a lid, bring the 2T water and sea salt to a simmer on medium high heat. Add the scallion and saute for 2 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and saute for another minute. Add the stock, sweet potatoes, and lentils. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

At the 30 minute mark, reheat the oven to 450F. Add the carrot to the soup. Simmer another 10 – 15 minutes until the lentils are dissolving and both the sweet potato and carrot are fork tender.

Toss the kale in the sea salt and oil. On a roasting pan or baking sheet, roast the kale on the middle rack for about 8-10 minutes or until it’s softened and a vibrant green. Remove from heat and toss with nutritional yeast.

When the soup ingredients are ready, remove from heat and puree until smooth. Return the pan to a simmer and add the tapioca mixture slowly, stirring continuously, until thickened.

Remove the soup from heat and let stand about 5 minutes to cool. While the soup cools, mince the walnut and sesame, and then mix with the dulse and nori. Whisk the sriracha and apple cider.

To plate, ladle out the soup. Add the kale in the middle. Sprinkle the kale and the soup with the minced walnut, sesame and sea vegetables. Garnish with the sriracha and cider, the tomatoes and the scallion and serve.