Month: August 2016

Roasted Honey Balsamic Cabbage Chips

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(Gluten Free, Meat Free, Dairy Free | Paleo-Friendly) This week a savoy cabbage popped up in my Nature’s Window Veggie Box, which was a fantastic surprise since I don’t normally buy it in my weekly food shop. Although I had visions of making it into some elaborate dish, my week slipped away, and I needed a quick, tasty side. Savoy cabbage to the rescue! This dish is fast, easy and tastes more like you’re eating yummy crisps (chips) than getting a healthy serving of vegetables. Winning all around!

Ingredients

  • 1 small head savoy cabbage or green cabbage, chopped into chunky pieces
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 2 tsp honey
  • ¾ tsp coarse salt
  • ½ tsp ground white (or black) pepper
  • 1 sprig fresh thyme (or, I just used a tbsp of dried thyme)

Directions

  1. Preheat your oven to 200°F (400°C).
  2. Throw chopped cabbage into a baking dish and add olive oil, balsamic and honey.
  3. Toss cabbage in baking dish to spread balsamic, honey and olive oil mixture evenly.
  4. Season with coarse salt, ground pepper and fresh (or dried) thyme.
  5. Roast until cabbage chunks are tender and edges are golden, 25-30 minutes. They should come out of the oven looking something like this:

Roasted Savoy Cabbage

Tip: Try this side with my Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie.

Note | This recipe is a small twist on Balsamic, Honey Roasted Cabbage Steaks by Eatwell 101

Veggie Nachos with Kale

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(Gluten Free, Meat Free) It’s the weekend, and I have a real hankering for some nachos. Even though I try not to eat too much dairy, I sometimes just have to treat myself! So, here’s the recipe I made up, which sneaks vegetables into a notorious ‘junk food.’ Spoiler alert – kale is one of the sneaky vegetables that found it’s way into this treat! No surprise there I’m sure  -what with the recipe’s name and all 😉 Enjoy!

Ingredients

  • 1-2 tbsp coconut oil or butter
  • 1 onion, chopped (I used red onion)
  • 1 garlic clove, minced
  • 1 green pepper, chopped (or whatever pepper you might have)
  • 100 g (1 cup) roasted vegetables (I had roasted onion, broccoli and potatoes in my fridge leftover but use whatever you have around)
  • 1 can of black beans
  • 1 pack of taco seasoning (Yes, I cheated and used a pre-made pack of taco seasoning, but if you want to be less of a cheat, I’ve added a recipe for taco seasoning below)
  • 3 handfuls of tortilla chips (or, I treated myself and used M&S Montery Jack Refried Bean Chips– YUM)
  • Grated hard cheese (use however much is best for you. I used about 50g of mature cheddar)
  • 2 handfuls of kale rubbed with a little bit of olive oil and salt
  • Salsa (to top with -optional)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 170C (350F).
  2. Saute onion, garlic and pepper for 3-5 minutes.
  3. Throw in roasted vegetables (if you have some) and black beans until hot.
  4. Add in taco seasoning (homemade recipe below) with a few tablespoons of water. Cook for another 5 minutes until sauce is thickened and vegetables are cooked. FYI- You’ll only use about half of this vegetable mixture so throw the rest on some greens with salsa for lunch the next day!
  5. Put one layer of chips on baking tray and layer with 1/4 of vegetable mixture and cheese. Add another layer of chips, 1/4 vegetable mixture and cheese. Top with olive oil-rubbed kale.
  6. Bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted and kale is a little crispy.
  7. Top nachos with some salsa, pop on a flick and bask in the glory of the nachos and the weekend!

Just look these beauties…nom nom nom.

Vegetable Nachos with Kale

What’s that? You want a close up of these sexy nachos? Okay fine! You’re welcome.

Veggie Nachos Close Up

Taco Seasoning

Mix the following ingredients together:

  • 1 Tbsp. Chili Powder
  • ¼ tsp. Garlic Powder
  • ¼ tsp Onion Powder
  • ¼ tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
  • ¼ tsp Dried Oregano
  • ½ tsp Paprika
  • 1 ½ tsp Ground Cumin
  • 1 tsp. Sea Salt
  • 1 tsp. Black Pepper (optional)

Vegetarian Shepherd’s Pie

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(Gluten Free, Meat Free, Dairy Free | Paleo-Friendly ) I get it. This dish is usually a cosy winter treat, but my Nature’s Window Veggie Box was just screaming ‘Shepherd’s Pie!’ Also, the weather in London has turned very English (rainy/cold) the last few days and has become quite chilly- only reinforcing my need for comfort food. I’ve never tried making a Shepherd’s Pie sans meat, but it turned out to be a fun experiment that was a filling, flavourful delight -so enjoy and feel free to try your own twist on it as well!

Ingredients for Topping

  • 10-15 new potatoes (or 4 large potatoes) –you can also easily swap out regular potatoes for sweet potatoes; I just needed to use the potatoes I had from my Veggie Box
  • 2 tbsp butter
  • Heaping ½ – 1 tsp of hot (or smoky) paprika
  • 1 tbsp of garlic powder

Ingredients for Filling

  • 1-2 tbsp butter or coconut oil
  • 1-2 onion(s), chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 4 carrots, chopped
  • 1 courgette (zucchini), chopped
  • 1 small head of broccoli, chopped
  • 6 button mushrooms, sliced
  • 2 handfuls of kale
  • 1 large tomato, chopped
  • Lentils (I only had about 100g (½ cup) of red lentils in my cupboard, so I used those. However, 300g (1½ cups) uncooked brown or green lentils, rinsed and drained would probably be best).
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 3 tbsp tomato paste
  • 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
  • Heaping ½ – 1 tsp of hot (or smoky) paprika
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 500 ml (2 cups) vegetable broth
  • 2 tbsp arrowroot powder or gluten free flour

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 200C (400F).
  2. Throw new potatoes (or chopped large potatoes) into a pot of water and bring to boil. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes or until soft. Drain and place back into pot. Mash with paprika, butter and garlic butter until combined and creamy. Set aside.
  3. Spread 1-2 tablespoons of butter or coconut oil in skillet on medium heat.
  4. Sauté onion(s) and garlic for 2 minutes. Add in carrots, courgette and broccoli; continue to sauté for 10 minutes.
  5. Add in mushrooms, kale, tomato and lentils; cook for 3-4 more minutes and stir regularly to make sure lentils don’t cook to bottom of skillet.
  6. Add bay leaves, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, paprika, salt and pepper; mix.
  7. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
  8. Whisk the arrowroot powder (or thickening agent such as gluten free flour) into the vegetable broth.
  9. Pour the vegetable broth mixture into the skillet with the vegetables; cook for 10 more minutes or until it looks something like this:Vegetarian Shepherds Pie Prep
  10. Pour the vegetable mixture into a 2L (9×13) baking dish (or whatever baking dish fits the amount of mixture you’ve ended up with!).
  11. Spread the mashed potatoes on top of the vegetable mixture until it’s fully covered.
  12. Bake for 20 minutes (or until topping is browned) and pull the beauty out of the oven to cool before serving.

Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

Serving of Vegetarian Shepherds Pie

Notes | Inspiration from Primally Inspired Butternut Squash Sheperd’s Pie