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Sweet Tomato Soup

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If you want a really simple lunch, this Sweet Tomato Soup will remind you of those comforting canned tomato soups that you were served as a child–but with fewer heavily refined ingredients. This makes 2 large bowls.

Ingredients:
1 red onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
400 ml vegetable broth
2 cans (400g each) tomatoes in juice
1 tsp suitable-for-vegans sugar
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
1. Preheat a large stainless steel pan over a medium-low heat.
2. Add the onions and sauté until lightly coloured. Stir in the garlic for 30 seconds.
3. Deglaze the pan with a splash of the broth. Then add the tomatoes and the rest of the broth.
4. Stir in the sugar, and crumble in the dried herbs between your finger and thumb.
5. Allow to simmer, uncovered, on a very low heat for about 10 minutes. Season to taste, and serve.

Two-Tone Pepper Soup

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This fun talking-point for guests is simple to make, and great fun to eat. It serves 4, and you can choose whatever colour peppers you like. We’ve chosen green and yellow for the recipe.

Ingredients:
1 large onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 green bell peppers, roughly chopped
4 yellow bell peppers, roughly chopped
1.2-1.6l vegetable broth

Directions:
1. Preheat two saucepans over medium-low heat. Divide the onions and celery between the two and sauté until the onion starts to become translucent. Add the garlic, and sauté for 15 seconds.
2. Add the green peppers to one saucepan and the yellow peppers to the other. Add enough broth to cover, and bring to boil. Simmer 15 minutes.
3. Transfer the ingredients of the saucepan containing the yellow peppers to a blender. Blend until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a jug. Repeat with the saucepan containing the green peppers, and transfer to a separate jug.
4. Pour from both jugs into a bowl at the same time and at the same speed to keep the colours of the soup separate. Season to taste, and enjoy.

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!)

Creamy Cauliflower Pasta Sauce

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This inexpensive, oil-free and relatively simple pasta sauce is made of blended cauliflower and beans, and when served with a pasta of your choice, it’s filling but not heavy. It serves 4 people with 125g egg-free dried pasta per person, and vegetables of choice.

Ingredients

400g frozen cauliflower, steamed for 8 minutes or until warmed through and tender
1/2 cup white beans of choice
2 tsp mixed Italian herbs (parsley, rosemary, oregano, basil, thyme)
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
2/3 cup unsalted all-plant milk
1/3 cup cold vegetable broth
1 tbsp yellow miso paste
1 tsp suitable-for-vegans Dijon mustard
2 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp onion granules
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Fresh parsley to taste, minced

Directions

  1. Blend all ingredients in a jug blender until smooth. Season to taste and blend again.
  2. Add to cooked pasta and vegetables to heat through. Season to taste again, and stir the parsley through.

Can’t Cook Baked Beans Two Ways

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Baked beans are a British and Irish lunchtime and breakfast favourite, and this recipe will show you two ways to change the flavour profile to create more variety.

Many brands of canned Irish and British baked beans are suitable for vegans; always check with the manufacturer, and repeat regularly to ensure there have been no recipe changes. Other readers may have more difficulty obtaining suitable-for-vegan baked beans, but the import section in the local supermarket may stock some of the suitable-for-vegan European brands.

Pizza Baked Beans

Ingredients

400g can suitable-for-vegan baked beans
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp yellow miso
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions
1. Place the baked beans into a small saucepan over a the lowest heat.
2. Add all ingredients to the beans, and stir through to warm.

Curried Baked Beans

Ingredients

400g can suitable-for-vegan baked beans
1.5 tsp curry powder OR all of the spice mix below

Spice Mix

1/2 tsp onion granules
1/4 tsp ginger
Pinch cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp turmeric
Pinch chilli powder (or to taste)
1/2 tsp garam masala
Salt, to taste

Directions
1. Place the baked beans into a small saucepan over a the lowest heat.
2. Add all ingredients to the beans, and stir through to warm.

Serving suggestion: baked potato and steamed greens, or wholemeal toast.

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.

Smoky Black Bean Soup

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The smoky flavours of this soup pair perfectly with the black beans and sweetcorn in the recipe, and the miso adds umami notes that bring it all together. This is a budget recipe that serves 4, and it takes under 15 minutes to make

Ingredients

1 red onion, chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1l vegetable broth
2 x 200g cans or 4 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed
3 tsp smoked paprika, or 2 tsp smoked paprika and 1/2 tsp liquid smoke
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
2 tbsp tomato purée
pinch cayenne pepper
200g frozen sweetcorn
1 tbsp yellow miso

Optional toppings: more sweetcorn, thawed; bell pepper; avocado; squeeze lime juice, etc.

Method

1. Sauté the onion over a medium heat for 3 minutes, until softened and lightly browned. Add the garlic for another 30 seconds.
2. Deglaze the pan with 1/4 cup of the vegetable broth. Add the rest of the broth, the beans, the paprika (and liquid smoke, if using), coriander, cumin, tomato purée, cayenne pepper.
3. Bring to the boil, cover with a lid, lower the heat, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the sweetcorn and continue for two minutes more.
4. If desired, transfer half of the soup to a blender with the miso and blend to smooth. Transfer back to the rest of the soup and reheat. Do not allow to boil. If not blending, remove from the heat, add the miso and mix well.
5. Serve, if desired, with a squeeze of lime, chopped bell pepper, sweetcorn, and avocado.

Leek, Potato, and Cabbage Soup

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A budget recipe that serves 6. This soup is filling, hearty, and very simple to make.

Ingredients

2 leeks, halved lengthways, sliced, and then washed
1/2 green cabbage, shredded
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 medium potatoes, chopped
1.5 litres vegetable broth
Sprig or 1 tsp each thyme and rosemary
2 bay leaves
Salt and white pepper

Method

1. In a large soup pan over a medium-low heat, sauté the leeks and cabbage for about 7 minutes until softened. Add a splash of water or broth to prevent sticking, if necessary.
2. Add the garlic and sauté for another 30 seconds.
3. Add the potatoes, broth, and herbs. To prevent the herbs getting lost in the pot, you can put them in tea infuser hooked onto the side of the pot, but if you don’t have one, you can retrieve them with a spoon when the soup is cooked.
4. Bring to the boil, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, or until potatoes are cooked. At this point, if you want a thicker soup, you can transfer up to half of the mixture to the blender and blend until smooth.
5. Season to taste, and serve.

Sticky BBQ Cauliflower Bites

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A simple budget recipe that’s a great way to sneak vegetables into those who are somewhat reluctant to eat them, but also a real treat for everyone else.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1-1.25 cups water
1 large head cauliflower, cut into evenly sized florets
1 cup barbecue sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Lay a silicone mat or parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and pepper together.
3.Whisk the water into the flour, starting with 1 cup and adding extra if needed. You should have a thick, pancake-like batter without lumps.
4. Dip each cauliflower floret into the batter to coat evenly, before shaking off excess. Place the florets on baking tray. Reserve any remaining batter.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, and then flip. Cover any gaps in the batter with the reserved batter, and bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove cauliflower from oven, brush with barbecue sauce, flip and brush the other sides. Bake for 10 minutes more.
7. Serving suggestion: mashed potato and a suitable-for-vegan dip.

Miso-Ginger Salad Dressing

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You may not have tried miso before, but its flavour is delicious, it’s incredibly rich, and it adds beautiful umami notes (with a hint of sweetness) to dishes. Because it’s fermented, it’s supportive of a healthy gut. You can find miso in the Japanese section of your supermarket, in your local Asian market, or in a health food store.

Ingredients

2 cloves garlic, minced
3cm piece ginger, minced
1 shallot or 2 tsp red onion, minced
2 tbsp lime juice
2 cups cooked white beans, or one can, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp white miso paste
3 tbsp maple syrup or other suitable-for-vegan liquid sweetener
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1/2-1 cup water, or amount needed to thin to desired consistency

Method

Purée everything in in a blender or food processor. Cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.