Article and all recipes by Greg Dundee. Thank you so much, Greg!
Roast Vegetable Tart
Sauce:
½ small onion, very finely diced.
2 cloves of garlic, crushed.
½ teaspoon tomato puree.
1/3 3 tin chopped tomatoes.
½ sweet potato (peeled and cooked)
Fry the onions, then add the garlic and tomato puree. Pour in the tinned tomatoes, sweet potato and some basil. Whilst over the heat, mash the ingredients into a sauce consistency and simmer until it is reduced to a thicker paste-like sauce.
Roast some vegetables of your choice (I used red onion, courgette (zucchini), carrot and mushrooms).
Layer sheets of filo pastry (I used shop bought) into a tart tin, brushing oil between each layer (6 to 8 layers is good). Roll the edges up to form an outer ‘rim’.
Spread the sauce evenly onto the top layer of pastry. Arrange the vegetables on top, pressing them gently into the sauce. Bake in the oven on a medium heat for around 25 minutes, or until the pastry is nicely golden.
Serve with your choice of vegetables.
Vegan Lasagne
Lasagne Filling:
½ onion, finely chopped.
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
1 teaspoon tomato puree.
1 tin chopped tomatoes.
1/3 cup of red lentils.
Italian herbs (basil, oregano etc.)
Fry the onion and then add the garlic. Pour in the tinned tomatoes and add the puree, red lentils and herbs. Cover with hot water and leave to simmer until the mixture has reduced and the lentils are cooked. Add seasoning to taste (you may wish to add a small amount of sugar or other sweetener to offset the sharpness of the tomatoes).
White sauce:
½ cup non-dairy milk.
1 Tablespoon of plain flour.
2 teaspoons of nutritional yeast.
½ teaspoon mustard powder.
¼ teaspoon garlic powder.
Pinch of salt and pepper.
Combine and whisk the ingredients over a low heat until they thicken to form a sauce.
Then:
Layer roasted vegetables of your choice (I use courgette/zucchini and red peppers), shop-bought lasagne sheets and the tomato sauce into a baking dish. Once you have several layers, press down on them to remove any air bubbles. Top with the white sauce and bake in the oven for around 45 minutes on a medium heat.
Stuffed Courgettes with Hot Tomato Sauce
Ingredients:
2 good sized courgettes (zucchinis)
For the stuffing:
2 oz chick peas (tinned is fine. If using raw/dried then they will need to be soaked, drained, rinsed and cooked first).
½ onion, peeled and chopped.
1 clove of garlic, crushed.
2 oz button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced.
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley.
Pinch of salt and pepper.
Splash of lemon juice.
Wash the courgettes, then cut them in half lengthways and scoop out the insides, leaving a ‘shell’. Place onto a baking tray. Chop up the courgette flesh that you scooped out. Fry the onions and garlic and around 3 minutes, then add the chopped courgette flesh and mushrooms and cook for a further 5 minutes. Mix in the chick peas and parsley, plus lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Pile the mixture into the courgette shells and bake in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the courgettes are tender.
For the sauce:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped.
1 fresh chilli (adjust and/or deseed according to preference).
½ tin chopped tomatoes.
Fry garlic lightly, and the chilli and tomatoes. Simmer until reduced, and season to taste.
Then:
Serve the stuffed courgettes with your vegetables of choice, and top with the hot sauce.
Chestnut and Mushroom Pie with Cranberry Sauce
For the pie:
1 tablespoon sunflower oil.
1 small onion, finely chopped.
1 clove of garlic, crushed.
4 oz mushrooms, chopped.
1 medium carrot, finely chopped.
1 tablespoon soy sauce.
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast.
½ teaspoon dried thyme.
¼ teaspoon dried sage.
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley.
4 oz unsweetened chestnut puree.
4 tablespoons vegetable stock.
1 block shop-bought puff pastry.
2 tablespoons of soya milk.
Sesame seeds (to sprinkle on top).
Heat oil in a pan, add the onion and cook over a medium-high heat for 5 to 7 minutes until it is soft. Add the garlic, mushrooms and carrots. Cook for 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, yeast, herbs, chestnut puree and stock, cook for 5 minutes then leave to cool.
Roll out your pastry to the size and shape you wish, I usually make one large pie to share, but you may wish to make smaller individual ones. You will need to roll out enough pastry for each pie so that you can fold it over and seal it once it is filled. Place the chestnut and mushroom mixture onto the centre of your pastry, or pastries if you are making multiples. Brush the edges of the pastry with water, then fold over and seal. Push down on the edges with a fork to ensure a good tight seal. Brush the pastry with soy sauce and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Pierce the top of the pies with a knife prior to cooking to avoid them splitting. Bake the pies in the oven for around 20 minutes, or until the pastry is puffed and golden brown.
For the cranberry sauce:
8 oz brown sugar (can be replaced with alternative sweeteners).
4 fl oz orange juice.
8 oz fresh cranberries.
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon.
Place the sugar and orange juice into a pan, bring to the boil then stir in the cranberries and cinnamon. Cook for about 8 minutes until the cranberries are soft but still holding their shape.
Serve the pie and sauce with your choice of vegetables.
Besan Cheela (Indian eggless omelette).
Ingredients (12 small pancakes):
1 cup chickpea flour.
½ small onion.
¼ medium tomato.
3 button mushrooms.
¼ green bell pepper.
1 teaspoon grated ginger.
2 cloves garlic.
1 teaspoon red chilli powder.
¼ teaspoon turmeric (optional).
Salt.
¼ cup of fresh coriander leaves.
Put the onion, tomato, mushrooms, pepper, ginger and garlic into a blender and pulse to mince (you don’t want to turn it into a slurry, you want to retain some texture, but have the ingredients very fine. You could finely chop them if you don’t have a blender).
Combine the minced ingredients with the chickpea flour and coriander in a bowl and add a pinch of salt. Leave for a few minutes, as the salt will draw some of the water out of the vegetables. After 5-10 minutes, gradually add and stir in some water (around 2 cups) until you have a mixture which is slightly runnier than pancake batter.
Heat a pan and spray lightly with oil. Pour about ½ cup of the batter into the centre of the pan and spread evenly – the pancake should be about 5 inches in diameter. Cook on a medium heat until the underside is golden brown, then flip and repeat on the other side.
These are nice served with a mango chutney, or some curried vegetables which can be made as easily as cooking potatoes and greens with shop-bought curry spices if you don’t know how to make your own curry from scratch.
