Lentil & Sweet Potato Loaf

Good alternative to a Sunday roast! The main ingredients are lentils, sweet potatoes, veggie broth and oats - except for these, you can experiment with different vegetables and spices.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup green lentils (that require short or no soaking)
750 ml instant vegetable broth (strongly flavoured)
a couple of bay leaves and allspice peppers for the broth
2 cups grated sweet potato
1 cup rolled oats
2 cups chopped mushrooms
1/2 chopped onion
2 chopped carrots
2 tbsp olive oil
half tsp chilli powder
salt and pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
2 tsp paprika
a little plain flour

Prepare the broth and add the allspice and bay leaves. Heat the oil in a large pot or a wok and sauté the mushrooms and onions until soft. Add the lentils, sweet potatoes, carrots and broth (take out the bay leaves and allspice before you do, they will be harder to find later). Add the spices (be generous, without the right amount of seasoning it can turn out quite bland). Cook the mixture on medium heat until the broth has absorbed and the lentils are soft - it can take 30-45 min.

Once it's ready, stir in the oats. The texture should be thick but pliable, you can add a teaspoon or two of plain flour to make it a bit thicker. Place the mixture into a loaf pan and bake at 250C for about 45 min or until it's firm. If the top gets too brown, cover the loaf pan with foil.

You should be able to cut the loaf into slices, but it gets a lot firmer when you let it sit for a couple of hours and then reheat.

Fennel & Mushroom Risotto

Serves 2
(For more portions you can use the same amount of vegetables, just add more rice and stock.)

Ingredients:

half a large cup risotto rice
0.75 litre vegetable stock
2 handfuls dried mushrooms (soaked for about 30 min, blended into paste and salted)
2 handfuls fresh mushrooms
1 fennel (peeled and sliced into thin strips)
half a cup green peas
250ml dry white wine
half medium onion (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
ground black pepper
optional: grated hard cheese

Fry the fresh mushrooms and fennel for about 5 minutes, then add the onions and garlic and fry on medium heat for a few more minutes. When the fennel starts to look a little crispy, add the rice followed by the white wine, peas and blended dried mushrooms.

Stir until the wine is fully absorbed, then start adding ladlefuls of stock. Keep stirring frequently and allow each ladleful to be absorbed before adding the next – this can take around 15 min.

Leave to sit for a couple of minutes before serving. Sprinkle the black pepper and, if required, grated hard cheese on top. 

Squash & Crispy Kale Pasta

Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients:

250g pasta
1 x large butternut squash
200 ml soya milk
1 tbs coconut oil
1 cup green peas
a few pieces of sundried tomatoes
2 tsp vegetable bouillon powder (alternatively, 1/2 vegetable stock cube)
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tbs dried coriander
salt and freshly ground pepper

For the crispy kale:

100g kale
1 tbs olive oil
1 tsb sea salt flakes

Preheat the oven to 200C. Halve and deseed the squash. Place it in a roasting dish, flesh side down, and pour in 150ml water. Bake for 1 hour (or until the flesh is soft). When it's cooled down, scoop the flesh out with a spoon.

Place the squash and green peas in a saucepan and stir with the soya milk to a purée. Pour it into a saucepan and simmer. Dissolve the bouillon powder/vegetable stock in a bit of hot water and add it in with all the seasoning and chopped sundried tomatoes.

Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water.

While cooking the pasta, rub olive oil over the kale (torn into bite-size pieces). Spread it out on baking foil, sprinkle the sea salt flakes over the top and bake for about 10 min (in 150C) or until it's crispy.
Pour the squash sauce into the pan of drained pasta. Stir and cook on low heat for a couple of minutes. Serve with crispy kale on top.

Potato Cakes

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

Potato cakes:

6 large potatoes
1 egg
4 tbsp plain flour
salt and pepper
vegetable oil for frying

Sauce:

10 mushrooms
one large red pepper
1/4 medium onion
1 tbsp crème fraîche
salt and pepper
vegetable oil 
50g cheddar cheese (optional) 
mixed salad

Peel and grate the potatoes. Add the egg, flour, salt and pepper. Heat 1-2 tbsp of oil in a frying pan. Once hot, drop spoonfuls of the mixture into the oil and fry for about 2 min each side (until golden and crisp on each side).

 
For the sauce, chop the vegetables and heat up one tbsp of vegetable oil in another frying pan. Add the onions, mushrooms and peppers. Once the vegetables are soft, add the crème fraîche, 2-3 tbsp of water and salt and pepper to taste. Cook for one minute. 

 
Keep the potato cakes warm while you cook the rest. Serve with cheese and sauce. Goes well with mixed salad.