Tag: Vegetarian

haloumi and green vegetable fritters
Gluten Free, Meal, Savoury, Spring, Summer

Halloumi and Spring Vegetable Fritters

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Often I crave large helpings of green vegetables.  Today after melting in the heat yesterday the weather has changed to damp and dreary so something a little comforting seemed in order.  Fritters fit that comfort food bill every time, and these do it leaving your conscience in a good place too. Although the weather is dreary my little vegetable patch is starting to yield a few goodies and add to that the wonderful array available in the market and the choice is there to play.  You can make this with pretty much whatever greens  you have in your fridge and or garden.  Recipes like this make me happy because I get to use the whole vegetable, I love the fact that I can grate the broccoli stalk and any other stalks into the allocation of of vegetables.  It is also a good way of clearing out all those odds and ends that accumulate in your fridge at the end of the week.  The flavours I have used here are more of a mediterranean bent, and so choose your herbs accordingly, parsley, mint, and even basil if you should be so lucky. Haloumi and Green Vegetable Fritters 3 eggs 3 tablespoons brown rice flour (you can use any flour you like here it is just to add a little thickening and body) 1 teaspoon salt pinch pepper 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (optional) Chilli or chilli flakes to taste (optional) Approx 100 grams halloumi 5 cups fairly finely chopped and grated green […]

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involtini and kale salad
Meal, Salad, Savoury, Spring, Summer

Spring Involtini

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Involtini is an Italian word for a small bite of food consisting of some sort of outer layer wrapped around a filling. It seems the market is awash with lush spring vegetables calling to me to get to the kitchen. This is a delicious little spring starter, light dinner,or side dish. A little bit of effort, involving a bit of slicing and standing over the chargrill pan, but then it’s all fun and as creative as you want to be.  I teamed this with a kale salad, but any simple salad would go just as well.  The ingredients and vegetables I used are really just a rough guide, though the eggplant and courgettes make for good sturdy wrappers.  The cheese could just as easily be feta or haloumi for these. I felt they were equally delicious as they were straight after wrapping ( this keeping them a bit light and fresh) or,  given a hot fast bake to meld and melt all together.  Left to sit for a while  the tomato juices and combined flavours start to run a little, and are delicious served with a slice of toasted ciabatta to mop it all up.   Ingredients on the day[ enough for 4 starters or 2 main course) 1 mozzarella ball, equivalent amount of feta or haloumi. 1 eggplant bunch fresh basil 3-4 courgettes 1-2 red peppers 1 red onion 1/2 bunch asparagus 1 punnet of cherry tomatoes sticks or skewers to secure involtini Optional extras or substitutions such as […]

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brussel sprout, blue cheese fennel and walnut salad
Salad, Savoury, Winter

Two Salads for Winter and Early Spring

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This is all about Brussel sprouts.  I know that they aren’t a lot of people’s favourite vegetable. Big love to those people who are fans, I like to think we are very sophisticated! Haha not so much me.  They are a seasonal and affordable vegetable for winter so that makes them worthy of my attention and despite the cold sometimes I still need something fresh, raw and crunchy in the winter.  I think that there is enough flavour and good things in these salads for even the most hardened sprout haters and I would love it if you would give them a go. I have been playing with these two salads using Brussel Sprouts this winter and even though I am hopeful that spring and its new vegetables are nearly with us I don’t want to forget these winners of this winter. I hope that you will give these a try, but if your thoughts have moved on from winter vegetables (yes I know me too), we will have these recorded now for next winter and I will remind us of them then.  Having said that they are still good eaten simply as is for lunch or for a meatier meal team well with pork.  Think about quality pork sausages or chops and mash, or a juicy pulled pork slider or simply as a side at a barbecue.  Both of these salads taste equally good the next day, even the apple will keep its colour, flavour and texture if passed through […]

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Matcha Green Tea and Coconut Truffles
Sweet

Matcha Green Tea and Coconut Truffles

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Motivation for these comes from the lovely and slightly exotic seeming tin of Matcha Green Tea Powder I bought a couple of months ago.  I was very excited as I had seen lots of ideas using it on the internet and had trouble finding it, as is always the way it was instantly everywhere after that point. But, I the end I did have my tin and since then I have been inventing new ways to add it into my recipes These delicious little truffles are filled with goodness, but not the easiest for an amateur photographer to get the best pictures of.  I’d like to add that the slight green colour from the Matcha powder didn’t look the best in all settings! Life is great though and I did have fun and learned some new tricks. In the end it was the colours that mattered and putting them against pastel background colours worked for me. These are so simple with just a few ingredients and taste delicious. I used Coconut Nectar as the sweetener because I felt the flavour reflected and didn’t compete with the ingredients, but you could use rice syrup (I didn’t have any), maple syrup or honey.  You could easily cut back a spoonful of sweetener but I chose to keep these fairly sweet so they would have a wider appeal in my family Ingredients Truffles Coating I added the truffle ingredients to the food processor and blended briefly to bring together, then rolled them in […]

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Savoury

Fabulous Falafel

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Falafel, I love them! My love affair with all food Middle Eastern began nearly twenty years ago when my husband and I bought the most amazing little Lebanese Kebab and Vegetarian café in Queenstown.  Habebes, a little café with a big attitude and the most amazing array of foods, not the least of which were the fabulous little falafels.  We owned and ran Habebes for twelve years through floods, relocations and good times, that is history now but the great memories and my love of Falafels live on. The method we used to make the falafel at Habebes was very specialised and not something I was able to do at home until, through the genius of the internet, I chanced upon the idea of making them in the waffle press.   The perfect solution for a mix that is at its most delicious slightly loose and in need of pressing into shape. The recipe for the Felafel we made at Habebes is top secret so this is a version that I have made to satisfy my cravings at home.   The little falafel are very versatile, great for a mezze type platter, in a salad wrap or as a side to as simple or complex a salad as you care to make. Served with hummus, tahini, yogurt or chilli, they are satisfying and delicious.  Add that to the fact that you have avoided any need to deep fry and these are definitely all good. The recipe for these is as follows INGREDIENTS […]

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