Courgette Nests with Sun-dried Tomato & Sesame

Courgette Nests with Sun-dried Tomato & Sesame

We’ve just finished watching all of the TV series ‘Hannibal’ and it really makes you want to cook (In almost every episode there is a dinner scene of a very fine dining nature - admittedly very non vegetarian but it's the idea of fine dining nonetheless). So we decided with all these urges to cook to go all out on a fancy meal. This is the starter in our dinner (Cashew & Tomato Savoury Strudel main, Lemon Macaroon Cream Pie dessert).

Ingredients:

1 courgette

4-5 sundried tomatoes

1/3 cup toasted sesame oil

1/4- 1/3 cup sesame seeds

(cocktail sticks)

Preheat oven to 180°

1. Cut the courgette into fine slivers. The best way to do this is with a potato peeler – preferably a wide one. Chop up the sundried tomato.

2. Mix sesame oil and sesame seeds together in a little container. Once done, dip a courgette sliver in and then wrap in a circular fashion. While wrapping, add a bit of sundried tomato in. Around the first sliver wrap another (first dipping it in the sesame mix) until desired thickness (I used about 3-4 slivers per nest). To hold it together, insert a cocktail stick at the base. 

I found that once I had this done, I inserted a tiny rolled bit of courgette sliver in the centre now that it held together.

3. Put in oven for about 10-20mins or until lightly browned. 

Such a lovely easy but pretty starter!

With some Chianti (but no fava beans admittedly) of course.

Spinach & Walnut Gnocchi in Garlic Sauce

Spinach & Walnut Gnocchi in Garlic Sauce

More spinach! In a big cooking mood and haven’t ever made gnocchi before so here we go.

Ingredients

750g potato (1 bag of baby potatoes or equivalent of large)

1/4 bag spinach (1/3 cup when blended)

1 cup flour (and more for dusting)

1/2 cup walnuts

Rosemary

Garlic sauce: 2 tbsp butter, 1/3 cup flour, 3-5 cloves garlic (to taste), 2-3 cups dairy free milk

1. Peel and boil potatoes. When done, mash up without adding liquid (or use only a spoon or two of dairy free milk).

2. Put walnuts and spinach in a blender. Add to the mashed potato. Add flour.

3. Roll dough into long snake like shapes about two fingers thick and cut off small bits (as shown). Flatten with fork or other to make a design.

4. Boil a pot of water, and when boiled, add the gnocchi in 5-6 at a time. Watch until they rise, then remove immediately with a spoon with holes in it (or equivalent). Continue to do so until all boiled.

5. For the garlic sauce, melt butter on a low heat in a pot and sprinkle the flour in while stirring. Add dairy free milk slowly and break any clumps. Add chopped garlic and then boil off until desired consistency on a low heat. Add to gnocchi and sprinkle with rosemary.

We ate them with a falafel salad.

Black Eyed Bean & Spinach Kievs

Black Eyed Bean & Spinach Kievs

Haven’t made any kievs since the kidney bean kievs last year (http://vegannyomnom.blogspot.ie/2012/05/kidney-bean-kievs.html ) and have had a hankering for them. So here’s an alternative little idea for them! : )

Ingredients:

1 can black eyed beans

1 can chickpeas (or 2 cans black eyed beans)

1 (red) onion

1/3 average bag spinach (~75g)

2/3 cup coarse wholemeal flour

1/2 cup soya mince & 1 stock cube (optional)

Spices/herbs: coriander, paprika, rosemary, black pepper (to taste)

2-3 tbsp olive oil (or other oil)

Garlic butter: 3-4 tbsp dairy free butter + 3-4 cloves garlic (to taste)

Breadcrumbs: 4-5 slices bread (we used brown) + 2-3 tbsp olive oil (or other oil), rosemary, flour

1. If using soya mince as an added taste, boil up 1/4 cup water and dissolve stock cube and add to soya mince. Leave to soak. Make the garlic butter – chop up garlic and add to butter.

2. Put beans, chickpeas, chopped onion and spinach in a blender. Add spices, oil, flour and soaked soya mince.

3. Make breadcrumb mix: crumble bread slices, add rosemary, olive oil and 2 tbsp coarse flour.

4. Take 4-6 tbsp of the bean mix and on a floured surface make into 2 flattened ovals (or other desired shape – or less tablespoons if you desire smaller ones). Onto one oval, add 1 tsp of the garlic butter.

Flattened the other oval atop this first oval and secure the edges. Roll in the breadcrumb mix.

Repeat until mixture is used up.

5. Cook in oven at 180° for 30-40mins.

This makes about 4-5 big kievs, but you can make them any size that is convenient for you. These are breaded ones of course, with coarse breadcrumbs but you can top them with finer breadcrumbs or just coat them with a little oil and leave them without.

Orange Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing

Orange Cupcakes with Chocolate Icing

The heat apocalypse in Ireland has temporarily subsided it seems! Or at least the sunshine element has, it is still very warm (for the past six days we’ve had temperatures nearing 30°, and it was hotter than Ibiza even at least once! Same forecast for the next week!) So now that it is beautiful and cloudy and yet still warm, it’s time to attempt going outside again for a picnic.

A super simple recipe, with the only things that take any time is grating the rind off the orange and icing the cupcakes.

Ingredients:

Rind of 2 oranges (1 big orange or 2 mandarins)

½ cup orange juice (from the squeezed rinded orange or from a carton)

1½ cups self raising flour

1 cup sugar

1/5 cup oil

1 tsp. vinegar

3/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 180°

1. Mix flour, sugar and orange rind.

2. Add orange juice, water and oil. Add vinegar.Mix.

3. Bake for 15-20mins or until lightly browned.

We decorated it with chocolate icing (icing sugar + cocoa powder + a little bit of butter), but another good idea is to melt some chocolate and dip the top of the cupcake in to make a nice chocolate topping.

Alternatively, to make chocolate orange cupcakes, add about 2-3 tbsp of cocoa powder to the batter.