Creamy Carrot and Miso Sauce

The perfect sauce to go with any pasta dish, it is light and super creamy and will keep in the fridge for 5 days and freeze well if you want to make a big batch.

This recipe makes 4 servings

Equipment needed: blender, chopping board, chefs knife, wooden spoon, saucepan

TOTAL TIME: 10 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 shallots, rough chopped (or 1/2 an onion)
• 4–6 garlic cloves, rough chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 large carrots, thinly sliced
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup raw cashews
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons White Miso Paste

Method:

1. Heat oil in a medium pot, over medium heat. Sauté shallot and garlic until fragrant and golden, about 5 minutes, stirring often. Add carrots, cashews, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat to low and simmer gently until carrots are fork-tender, about 15 minutes. Stir in the 3 tablespoons of miso ( it doesn’t need to dissolve fully) and let cool for 5-10 minutes.
2. Once the carrots are tender and slightly cooled, place all in a high-speed blender, covering tightly with a kitchen towel, blend on the lowest setting, gradually increasing speed, until fully blended, creamy and silky smooth about 1- 1 1/2 minutes. Take your time here and get it SMOOTH!!!

Classic Baked Vegan Carrot Cake

The challenge with a vegan carrot cake is to replace the eggs without ending up with a dry, crumbly sponge. This recipe uses psyllium husks (the incredibly high-fibre shells of tiny seeds) to help bind the batter and keep everything deliciously moist. When making the cream cheese frosting be sure to use a brand of vegan cream cheese which isn’t too savoury.

Makes 1 whole cake (12 slices)

Equipment needed: 2 x round cake tins, oven, baking paper, mixing bowl x 2, whisk, measuring jug, sieve, grater, cooling rack, chopping board, chefs knife

TOTAL TIME: 1 hour

Ingredients:

• vegetable oil 125ml
• soft light brown sugar 175g
• vanilla extract 2 tsp
• orange ½, zested
• soy milk 300ml
• apple cider vinegar 1 tsp
• psyllium husks 2 tsp
• plain flour 325g
• baking powder 2 tsp
• bicarbonate of soda 1½ tsp
• ground cinnamon 2½ tsp
• ground nutmeg 1 tsp
• ground ginger 1 tsp
• fine sea salt ½ tsp
• walnuts 110g, roughly chopped
• carrots 300g, grated

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4 and line two 18cm cake tins with baking paper.
2. Whisk together the oil, sugar, vanilla and orange zest in a large bowl, until the sugar begins to dissolve.
3. In a measuring jug, combine the soy milk and the cider vinegar. Whisk well and set aside (the milk will appear to split or thicken but don’t worry if it does).
4. In a small bowl, mix together the ground psyllium husks and 3 tbsp of water. Allow to thicken for 20 seconds before adding to the brown oil and sugar mixture. Whisk well for 30 seconds – the mixture should come together and the oil should no longer be separated from the sugar.
5. Little by little, add the thickened soy milk to the oil and sugar mixture, whisking all the time. In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, bicarbonate, 2 tsp of the cinnamon, and all of the nutmeg, ginger and salt. Stir together.
6. Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture along with the grated carrots and 70g of the chopped walnuts. Mix until just combined.
7. Divide the batter between the two prepared cake tins and bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes. Before removing from the oven, test with a toothpick in the centre of each cake – it should come out clean. Allow the cakes to cool completely in their tins on a wire rack.
8. While the cakes are cooling, make the frosting. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment or in a bowl using electric beaters, beat the vegan butter and cream cheese until smooth and fluffy. Add the vanilla bean paste and beat again to combine.
9. In another bowl, sift the icing sugar. With the stand mixer on low, add the icing sugar a heaped spoonful at a time (if you add it all at once the frosting will split). You may not need to add all the icing sugar, so keep adding until the frosting is thick, smooth and whipped. The more sugar you add, the thicker the frosting will become.
10. To assemble the cake, remove the cooled cake layers from the tins. Carefully apply a generous layer of frosting on top of one layer. Top with the second layer, followed by the remaining frosting, then use a pallet knife to lightly ice the sides of the cakes, leaving a ‘naked’ finish, with the sponges still slightly exposed. Before serving, sprinkle the cake with the remaining ½ tsp of cinnamon and the roughly chopped walnuts.

Celeriac Steaks With Butter Beans And Kale

Looking for a veggie midweek meal? Try our vegetarian celeriac steak recipe for a super easy low-calorie meal for three

Makes 3 servings

Equipment needed: large saucepan, wooden spoon, chopping board, knife, small skillet/frying pan

TOTAL TIME: 45 minutes

Ingredients:

• celeriac 1, peeled
• unsalted butter 25g
• vegetable oil 1 tbsp
• garlic 2 cloves, bashed
• thyme a few sprigs
• white wine 100ml
• vegetable or chicken stock 150ml
• kale 100g
• Butter beans 660g jar, rinsed (see cook’s notes below)

Salsa Verde:

• flat-leaf parsley a small bunch, finely chopped
• mint a small bunch, finely chopped
• baby capers 1 tbsp, rinsed and finely chopped
• Dijon mustard 1 tsp
• red wine vinegar 1 tbsp
• extra-virgin olive oil 3 tbsp

Method:

1. Cut the celeriac into 3 steaks, each about 2cm thick (keeping any leftover for stocks and soups). Heat the butter and oil in a frying pan and, once foaming, add the celeriac. Cook one side for 5 minutes until really golden. Flip, add the garlic and thyme, and cook the other side until golden, basting with the butter. Pour in the white wine and reduce by half, then pour in the stock. Simmer gently for 15 minutes until very tender and a knife pierces them easily, then remove to a plate. Add the kale and 100ml of water to the pan, and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the beans and heat through.
2. To make the salsa verde, put all of the ingredients in a bowl with some seasoning and mix well.
3. Serve the beans and kale with a celeriac steak on top and a drizzle of the salsa verde.

Chilli Garlic Mushrooms

If there’s one dish that can be made in a jiffy (just 15 minutes) and can be served as a starter, an appetiser and a full-blown main dish, it is this Chilli Garlic Mushroom. Its simple recipe comes together so effortlessly quick that it’s a perfect ‘surprise guest visit’ snack.

SERVES 2

Equipment needed: large frying pan, chopping board, chefs knife,

TOTAL TIME: 20 MINUTES

Ingredients:

• 1 cup mushrooms
• 2 tbsp Sesame Seed Cooking Oil
• An onion, finely chopped
• 6–7 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 tsp salt (or as per taste)
• 1 tsp black pepper, finely crushed
• 1 tsp red chilli powder
• 1 tbsp White Vinegar
• 2 tbsp Sweet Chilli Garlic Sauce
• 1 tsp Soya Sauce
• 2 tsp white sesame (til) seeds
• ¼ cup coriander (dhaniya) leaves

Method:

1. First, add oil in a frying pan on low to medium heat. Add finely diced onions, garlic and saute until golden brown and translucent.
2. Then, add vinegar, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce. Mix well and cook on low heat.
3. Next, add mushrooms* and stir so that the sauce is evenly coated on every mushroom. Keep cooking on low heat.
4. Further, add salt, red chilli powder, black pepper powder and mix well.
5. Then, cover the pan and cook on low heat for 5-7 minutes.
6. Finally, garnish with coriander (dhaniya) leaves, sesame (til) seeds and serve Chilli Garlic Mushroom hot.