meat free – Page 2

Chickpeas and chard stew

This is an easy and quick summer stew, ideal for a mid-week supper. It goes perfectly with some crusty bread on the side too. The original recipe by Waitrose magazine has you making your own pesto but you can use ready made one for an even easier option.

More with chickpeas: Chickpea, pepper and tomato curry | Sweet potato, ‘Nduja and chickpea hash | Vegan chickpea & squash ‘meat’ balls with vegan mayo

Chickpeas and chard stew

Serves 4 | Prep 10 mins | Cook 30 mins
Easy | Vegetarian | Gluten-Free

Tip: Use free-from pesto for a vegan version.

You’ll need:

1 tbsp olive oil;
1 onion, chopped;
1 garlic clove, sliced;
2 rosemary sprigs;
2 x 400g cans chick peas;
3 large tomatoes, tough core removed, and roughly chopped;
2 tsp vinegar;
200g pack swiss chard, woody stalks removed and leaves roughly shredded;
4 tbsps pesto, to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and cook gently for 10 minutes, until soft and starting to turn golden. Add the garlic plus the rosemary sprigs; continue to cook for 3 minutes. Add the chickpeas and their liquid, the tomatoes and 300ml water; season and simmer briskly for 15 minutes. Break up some of the chick peas with a potato masher.

Just before serving, stir the chard through the stew, wilting for a couple of minutes. Stir in the remaining 2 tsp vinegar, then ladle into shallow bowls and top with a table spoon of pesto. Serve with crusty bread, if liked.

Modified from this recipe by Waitrose Magazine, Issue August 2018, available online here.

2 posts have been published to the site Food Notes on Jul 30th in previous years:

== 2018 ==
* Lentil, squash, halloumi and bacon salad
* Yotam Ottolenghi’s Caramelised Onion Crostini

Chipotle black bean chilli with guacamole

This is a lovely recipe for a quick and easy vegetarian meal. I love the smoky flavour of chipotle chillies and they work perfectly in this black bean chilli. I’ve made some subtle changes to the original recipe from Delicious magazine – using ground cumin instead of cumin seeds and not adding milk to the chilli (though if you don’t like heat then do add 2 tbsp milk when adding in the vinegar).

Serve with rice and/or tortilla wraps, sour cream and grated cheese on the side.

More with beans: Emilia’s Bulgarian Bean Soup | Speedy Pepper & Black Bean Chilli | Summer Pork, Fennel and Beans

Chipotle black bean chilli with guacamole

Serves 4 | Prep 5 mins | Cook 35 mins
Easy | Vegan | Gluten and Dairy free

You’ll need:

1 tsp ground paprika;
1 tbsp ground cumin;
1 tbsp olive oil;
1 red onion, finely sliced;
3 garlic cloves, crushed;
2 tbsp chipotle paste or 1 dried chipotle chilli, left whole;
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes;
1 tsp red wine vinegar;
Pinch of sugar;
2 x 400g cans black beans, drained and rinsed;
1 lime, quartered, to serve;

For the guacamole

2 ripe avocados;
Juice of 1 lime;
1 red chilli, finely chopped;
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, plus extra to garnish.

Toast the paprika and cumin seeds in a dry frying pan for 2-3 minutes until fragrant, then set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pan over a low-medium heat, then fry the onion for 7-8 minutes until soft. Stir in the garlic, then cook for 1 minute. Add the toasted spices, chipotle paste/whole chilli, tomatoes, vinegar and sugar. Season, bring to the boil, then simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.

For the guacamole, peel and stone the avocados, then mash with a fork and mix with the lime juice. Stir through the chilli and coriander.

Remove the lid and add the beans. Continue to simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes, then serve with the soured cream, guacamole and lime wedges.

Original recipe from Delicious Magazine, issue June 2013, available online here.

Watermelon, Tomato and Halloumi salad

So picnic weather might be quite hard to imagine for those of us in Scotland right now, but the sunshine is never too far away. This salad is perfect as part of a picnic or served on the side at your next BBQ. I got the recipe from Waitrose Magazine originally but have adjusted it it a bit.

More with halloumi: Lentil, squash, halloumi and bacon salad | Sweetcorn & Halloumi fritters with avocado salsa and poached eggs | Mashed avocado with grilled halloumi & poached egg on toast

Watermelon, Tomato and Halloumi Salad

Serves 6 | Prep 20 mins | Cook 5 mins
Easy | Gluten-Free

You’ll need:

15g basil, leaves only – 1/2 finely chopped and 1/2 sliced into ribbons;
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil;
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar;
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice;
1/2 small watermelon, flesh cubed;
500g mixed cherry tomatoes, halved;
250g halloumi, cut into 1cm slices.

Make the dressing by combining the chopped basil leaves, olive oil, vinegar and lemon juice. Whisk together and set aside.

In a large bowl. combine the watermelon, cherry tomatoes and remaining basil. Add the dressing to the salad, and mix well. Transfer to a large serving platter or leave in the bowl – whatever you preference for serving the salad is!

Heat a griddle pan or a non-stick pan over high heat. Add the halloumi slices and cook for 1-2 minutes on each side until deep golden. Top the salad with the halloumi slices and serve.

Adapted from a Waitrose Magazine recipe, no longer available online.

Apple, Pear and Turmeric Smoothie

We recently replaced our broken blender and with the weather starting to get properly warm and pleasant, we’ve been dying to have some smoothies! I stumbled upon this idea from a Waitorse and partners magazine and gave it a go.

I’ve tinkered a little with it as the original was a little too thick for my liking. I added some apple juice, though you can replace that with water if you want to keep the sugar levels down a bit.

More in breakfast: Anna Jones’ Easy Clementine Compote | Jordan Bourke’s Spelt, help seed and lemon zest granola | Turkish eggs with spinach, yogurt & feta

Apple, Pear and Turmeric Smoothie

Serves 1 | Prep 5 mins
Easy | Vegetarian | Gluten-Free

You’ll need:

1 small apple, peel on, cored and roughly chopped into large chunks;
1/2 small pear, peel on, cored and roughly chopped into large chunks;
1 banana;
3 tbsp Greek-style yogurt;
1/2 tsp turmeric;
4 ice cubes;
50-100 ml apple juice.

Put the fruit bit by bit in a blender or fruit processor and start pulsing until smooth. Add the everything apart from the juice and whizz until smooth. Finally, add enough juice (try a little first, adding more as you go on) until you get your desired consistency.

This is a modified recipe, originally published by Waitrose & Partners magazine, not available online.

Previously posted on this day:

== 2019 ==
* Melanzane Parmigiana with Green Salad

== 2018 ==
* Golden Layer Cake with Buttercup Icing

Pea, avocado and ricotta hot cakes with poached eggs

Up you pancake game with these delicious savoury hot cakes. They make a delicious brunch or a light lunch, served with some salad on the side. Though this isn’t compltely faff free, the airy pancakes are really light and fluffy and very much the little extra effort. We had ours for breakfast with lashings of hot sauce and pickled jalapenos, as you do….

More in pancakes: Bulgarian Crêpe pancakes – Palachinki | Summer Nectarine Buttermilk Pancakes | Large, Fluffy Pancakes with Pancetta & Maple

Pea, avocado and ricotta hot cakes with poached eggs

Serves 4 | Prep 15 mins | Cook 15 mins
A little effort | Vegetarian

You’ll need:

110g frozen peas;
250g ricotta;
1 avocado, ½ roughly chopped and ½ sliced;
100g self-raising flour;
7 eggs, 3 separated;
3 tbsp olive oil;
75g pea shoots, to serve.

Simmer the peas in a large pan of boiling water for 2 minutes, then drain and cool under the cold tap. Drain thoroughly and tip into a small food processor with the ricotta, chopped avocado, flour and 3 egg yolks. Whizz, scraping down the sides, until smooth; season. In a separate bowl, whisk 3 egg whites until stiff, then fold through the mixture – make sure you fold carefully so to not knock the air out.

Heat the oil in a large, non-stick frying pan. Add 2 spoonfuls of the batter for each cake, flattening them slightly, and cook over a low-medium heat for 3-4 minutes on each side, until golden. You might need to do this in batches.

Meanwhile, poach the remaining 4 eggs for 3-4 minutes, until the whites are set. Drain briefly on kitchen paper and serve on the hot cakes with the pea shoots and sliced avocado.

Original recipe from Waitrose magazine, issue May 2017, available online here.

Previously posted on this date:

== 2018 ==
*Steak & Vietnamese Noodle Salad