Wednesday, 19 October 2016

Spiced Chickpeas with Cumin Spuds

Ingredients: Spuds
3 baking potatoes, peeled and cubed
Oil for roasting
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 clove garlic
Salt and pepper

Ingredients: Chickpeas
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic
1 red pepper, finely chopped
2 red chillies, finely chopped
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed
200ml creme fraiche
Handful of spinach
1 tbsp chopped fresh lemon balm

Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C - season potatoes, and roast in oil - after 10 minutes add the cumin and garlic, shake to mix well, and roast for another 15 minutes until crisp and cooked.
2. Meanwhile, fry the onion, garlic, pepper, chilli, and celery for 10 minutes until nice and soft
3. Add paprika and tomato puree and cook for a further 5 minutes
4. Add chickpeas and creme fraiche, season and warm through, before finally adding the spinach and lemon balm
5. Serve a good spoonful of chickpeas topped with the crispy spuds.

Status
Serves 4 - made a couple of time - very tasty (don't think I've ever added the lemon balm, and have used greek yoghurt or philly instead of creme fraiche).

Wednesday, 12 October 2016

Bavarian Apple Torte

Ingredients: Crust
115g butter
40g caster sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
115g plain flour

Ingredients: Cheese mix
200g cream cheese
55g caster sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients: Apple mix
6 apples, peeled and thinly sliced
40g caster sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Method
1. Preheat oven to 210C
2. Cream butter, sugar, vanilla and flour to form a dough - press mixture into the bottom of a 9 inch flan case - set aside.
3. Blend cream cheese and sugar - beat in egg and vanilla - pour mix over crust.
4. Toss sliced apples in the combined sugar and cinnamon - spread over cheese filling.
5. Bake for 10 minutes - reduce heat to 180C and continue baking for 25 minutes until firm.

Status
Very nice!

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

Ingredients 
2 cans 400ml tinned tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
2 large sweet potatoes
2 aubergines
1 bag of spinach
1 can 400g chickpeas
4 tbsp tomato puree
4 tsp turmeric
4 tsp cumin
1 tsp cayenne
4 cloves garlic
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Cut sweet potato into chuncks and steam for 15 minutes - chop aubergine into bite size pieces
2. Put tomato puree, vinegar, garlic,spices and salt into a pot with some olive oil - heat for a minute until bubbling
3. Add tomatoes, coconut milk, aubergine, and sweet potato to the pot and heat until boiling.
4. Simmer for about 45 minutes, then add drained chickpeas and spinach - cook for a further 15 minutes.
5. Serve with brown rice or quinoa

Status
Should serve 4 - comes out well, and suitable for vegans.