Tofu, Sweet Potato, Chick Pea, Apricot and Spinach Tagine served with Lemon and Coriander Cous cous.

So with Autumn now howling at our doors with the nippiest air and chilliest breezes; I have decided that I definitely need some warming up and as such, last week saw the addition of a fluffy blanket to my bed; the donning of a hat, gloves and scarf set every time I ventured outside my front door and ofcourse the creation of a whole host of amazing Autumnal  dishes to fill my belly. Consequently, I have whipped up a weeks worth of hearty, warming Autumnal meals using all kinds of scrumptious seasonal ingredients to warm you up on the coldest of October nights which, I will be posting the recipes for throughout the coming week. 

We kick off the week celebrating meat free Monday although, as a vegetarian myself everyday of the week becomes a celebration of meat free! Nonetheless, hopefully even the most carnivorous of readers would enjoy this flavoursome dish although, if you are a devout meat eater and absolutely must have meat in your dish then my Mum and Dad do assure me that lamb is delicious in this tagine so, if you've got any left over from your Sunday roast, feel free to pop it in!

I must admit I am not a humungous fan of tofu myself and although I gladly golloped down this tagine with a smile on my face, I would probably make it with Quorn pieces next time just because I prefer their flavour and their ability to absorb all the yummy tastes of whatever dish they are added to. I also can't help thinking that some chunks of veggie or regular sausages in this recipe with a big ol' pile of buttery mash would make a bloomin' beautiful casserole. If you are a tofu fan though then this tagine will be right up your street, no changes needed; it is magnificent; full of flavour and healthy and the lemon and coriander cous cous is wonderfully refreshing, lemony and light and a fabulous contrasting accompaniment to the hearty, rich tagine. Sprinkle on the toasted almonds and you're good to go!

Recipe

Makes 4 portions of scrummy tagine!

For the Tofu Tagine:

1 tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, sliced

2 garlic cloves, crushed

400g sweet potato

2.5cm piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1 tbsp. runny honey

2x 400g tins chopped tomatoes

575ml vegetable stock

400g tin of chickpeas in water, drained and rinsed

100g dried apricots, cut into quarters

300g Tofu, cut into medium chunks (I used Cauldron Marinated Tofu Pieces, available from Sainsbury's) Note. alternatively use Lamb chunks, sausage pieces or Quorn pieces

200g spinach, fresh or frozen

pinch of salt and pepper to season

For the Lemon and Coriander Cous Cous:

300g cous cous

375ml hot vegetable stock

Zest and juice of 1 lemon

3 tbsp. chopped fresh coriander

Extra chopped coriander and toasted flaked almonds to garnish

Method

1. Start by preparing the tagine. Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 5 minutes until softened. Stir in the garlic, sweet potato, ginger, cumin, coriander and cinnamon and cook for a further 5 minutes.  

2. Pour over the chopped tomatoes, runny honey and vegetable stock. Add the chick peas and apricot and season well. Cover with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, adding the frozen spinach and tofu for the last 10 minutes. 

3. Whilst the tagine finishes cooking, prepare the cous cous. Into a bowl, add the cous cous and pour over the vegetable stock. Leave for 5 minutes and fluff up with a fork. Stir through the lemon zest, juice and chopped coriander. 

4. Finally, serve a big dollop of tagine with a mountain of lemon coriander and coriander cous cous and scatter with toasted flaked almonds and chopped coriander. Tuck in!

Thank you for reading!

Onion Bhaji Burger with Bombay Potatoes, Cucumber and Mint Raita, Mango Chutney and Rocket.

As it's National Curry Week I thought why not try a bit of a different style of dish to celebrate with which combines my love of burgers with my favourite accompaniment to a curry - the delicious onion bhaji. As a vegetarian, it's nice to see more and more quirky dishes becoming available on restaurant menus including; a whole host of different veggie burgers in many burger restaurants however, in not many have I seen an onion bhaji burger and boy would they be a welcome addition to the menu as you can pack them full of flavour and texture, just as I tried to do with this recipe. Into my soft, pillowy brioche bun I housed a crunchy, lightly spiced onion bhaji topped with oodles of sweet mango chutney which sat on a bed of refreshing mint and cucumber raita; punchy bombay potatoes and a sprinkling of crisp rocket leaves - well it's always worth attempting to get a bit of a healthy, nutrient rich ingredient in there somewhere but, something about the doughy burger bun, deep fried bhaji and creamy yoghurt raita tells me that there is no shortage of calories in this recipe. Nevermind though, a little bit of what you fancy does you good as my Nana always used to say so with that in mind, if you do fancy giving these onion bhaji burgers a go then please do; please enjoy; please indulge in onion bhaji burger heaven and please let me know what you think!

Recipe

Makes 4 utterly moreish bhaji burgers and without too much faffing about, that's what we like to hear!

For the Onion Bhajis:

2 medium red onions

1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped

100g gram flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

2 tsp. curry paste or powder (this time I used medium curry powder as I already had a pot in the cupboard but, feel free to use any powder you fancy- mild, medium or hot - or any paste as I have also tried these with Patak's Tikka Masala paste and a Tesco Goan Massala paste before and all have been yummy)

vegetable oil for frying

For the Cucumber and Mint Raita:

150g natural yoghurt

2 tbsp. chopped fresh mint

8-10 slices of cucumber chopped into small chunks

For the Bombay Potatoes:

450g potatoes, peeled

15g fresh ginger

3 cloves of garlic

2 large tomatoes, 1 chopped into quarters and one into slim wedges

4 tbsp. vegetable oil

3/4 tsp. cumin seeds

1 tsp. mustard seeds

1 large onion, chopped fairly finely

2/3 tsp. turmeric

2 tsp. ground coriander

1 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. garam masala

1/2 tsp. chilli powder

A handful of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves

4x Brioche burger buns

Mango Chutney (I used Tesco Finest Mango and Apricot Chutney which was delicious)

A sprinkling of Rocket Leaves

Method

1. Start by mixing together all of the raita ingredients with a little salt and pepper to season; then spoon into a small bowl and refrigerate until needed.

Note. Next, begin preparing the bombay potatoes. This recipe is scrumptious however, I am aware that it has a long old list of ingredients so, feel free to empty your store cupboard and trial whatever spices you already have in this recipe and keep trying and tweaking until you are happy as I am sure as long as you have enough spices to give a bit of a kick you will probably not require every single spice that I used but, if you do want to make this recipe in full then the good news is that your spices will keep for a long time in the cupboard so that you can make this recipe as many times as you like!

2. For the bombay potatoes, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil; place in the potatoes and boil until just tender. When cool enough to handle, chop into 2.5cm cubes.

3. Now blend together the ginger, garlic and quartered tomato until smooth.

4. Next, heat the oil in a large non-stick frying pan. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and cook over a medium heat. Once the cumin starts to darken, add the onion and cook for a minute before adding the ginger, tomato and garlic mixture; ground spices and salt. Sauté gently for one to two minutes or until the garlic smells cooked.

5. Add the tomato wedges, stir well and cook for 3-4 minutes before tipping in the potatoes and cooking for a further 5 minutes to allow the potatoes to absorb the flavours. Set aside.

6. Now prepare the bhaji mix. Finely chop one onion and thinly slice the other. Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add the curry paste or powder, chopped chilli and a good sprinkling of salt. Add about 150ml of cold water to make a thick batter and stir in the chopped and sliced onions until they are well coated.

7. Heat about 5cm of oil in a wok or deep pan. Add a tiny speck of batter, if it rises to the surface surrounded by bubbles and starts to brown, then the oil is hot enough. At this point, add a heaped tbsp. of onion mix to the pan to make 1 onion bhaji (feel free to add more if your pan is big enough). Cook the bhaji for a few mins, turning once, until they are evenly bronzed and crisp - about 3-4 mins before draining on kitchen paper and keeping warm until you have prepared all of the bhajis you need.

8. Finally, heat the bombay potatoes through, stirring in the fresh coriander and plate up your burgers. Onto the base of your burger bun- spread 1-2 tsp. cucumber and mint raita and onto the top of your burger bun- spread 1-2 tsp. mango chutney. Now onto the base add your rocket leaves; a small dollop of bombay potatoes and your onion bhaji. Place on the mango chutney covered top and hold your mammoth of a burger together with a cocktail stick. Serve with whatever you fancy- sweet potato chips are a great accompaniment. Last of all, get stuck in!

Thank you for reading!

Thai Peanut, Butternut, Red Pepper and Spinach Curry.

Well, October is now well and truly upon us and my goodness has it turned chilly outside. To warm up last week I tantalised the old taste-buds with this very delicious Thai peanut curry which just so happens to be the perfect autumnal recipe to tuck into over the coming week as it is National Curry Week and there really is no more scrumptious dish to celebrate with. A creamy, subtle peanut sauce packed full of lovely butternut squash chunks, red pepper pieces and bundles of spinach; served alongside Thai jasmine rice and scattered with fresh coriander leaves and crushed salted peanuts. Perfection.

Recipe

Makes one piping hot pan full of Thai peanut curry to dive into and enjoy!

200ml boiled water 

2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tsp. tomato purée
Zest and juice of 1 lime
1 tbsp. light soy sauce 
1 tsp. light brown sugar
Small handful fresh coriander
2 red chillies, halved and deseeded
4 garlic cloves
1cm piece fresh ginger
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
2 red onions, cut into thin wedges
300g butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into chunks (not too big!)
200g red pepper, core and seeds removed
100g frozen spinach
400ml tin coconut milk

salted peanuts to garnish

Method

1. Stir the peanut butter into a jug containing 200ml hot water until it dissolves, then stir in the tomato purée, lime zest and juice, soy sauce and brown sugar and set aside.

2. Remove the leaves from the coriander and set aside as well. Chop the stalks as finely as you can and chop up the chilli, garlic and ginger nice and small too.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a wok or good-sized pan and fry the onions quite briskly for a few minutes, so that they catch slightly. As soon as this starts to happen, add the butternut squash and red pepper and stir-fry for a few minutes. 

4. Stir in the chilli, garlic, coriander stalk, garlic and ginger mixture for 1-2 minutes, then add in the lovely creamy coconut milk. Stir once more, then add the peanut butter mix and cook at a brisk simmer for 20-30 minutes, adding the frozen spinach half way through, until the sauce has thickened slightly, the spinach is cooked and the butternut squash is tender. 

5. Finally, serve alongside some Thai Jasmine rice and garnish with the reserved coriander leaves and some finely chopped salted peanuts. All done and dusted, now sit back, relax, snuggle up under a blanket, stick on the telly and enjoy!

Thank you for reading!