Recipe #82 Fried Courgette

Ingredients

1 medium zucchini

1 cup soy milk

1 cup plain flour

Salt and pepper 

Slice the courgette into thin slices. Mix the seasoning into the flour. Then coat the slices in soy milk followed by plain flour.

Fry for a couple of minutes in a pan with around 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil.

Recipe #63 Roasted vegetables with cinnamon

Similar to

Recipe #3 Vegetable Couscous (vegan)

Shopping list (4 portions)

• 1 cup of dry couscous
• turmeric, cinnamon, cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• 2 carrots
• 1 courgette
• 1/2 butternut squash
• 1 onion
• 2 garlic cloves

Method 

I cut the vegetables into big chunks and placed them in a wok with a big of olive oil (+- 1 tablespoon)

Seasoned with salt, pepper, cinnamon (1 teaspoon) and cayenne pepper till they were getting roasted on the outside.  (this pre roasting in a pan or wok gives the vegetables more flavour, you can use whatever vegetables you like: asparagus, cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, etc)
Then I transferred everything into an oven proof dish and left it to roast on 250oC for 30min. At the end I added 1 mug of water and half a vegetable stock cube (optional 1 cup of frozen peas and 1/2 can chickpeas)

In a big bowl I added 1 cup of dry couscous with some turmeric and 1/2 vegetable stock cube. I poured over this 2 cups of boiling water, stirred a bit, not too much as you don't want to loose the steam. Cover this as soon as you can with a cloth or dish and let it be for around 5 min. When this is done you will have nice fluffy cooked couscous.
Serve the vegetables on a couscous bed.

Recipe #40 Zoodles [vegan]

Ever heard of Zoodles? This will change the way you eat your vegetables ! Gluten free "pasta" ! Carbs free meals !

You can get a Zoodle chef online
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zoodle-Chef-Spiralizer-Satisfaction-Alternative/dp/B00LBGOX5U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1412968245&sr=8-1&keywords=zoodle

Just place the vegetable into one end (e.g. courgette/ zucchini) and twist like a pencil being sharpened. You will get nice loooooong slices of pasta-like vegetables. You can place them directly into a wok with 1-2 tablespoons of sesame oil and add other vegetables into this (stir fry mix).

Recipe #28 Vegan Roasted Veggies

Shopping list

• half a cup dry couscous
• half a cucumber
• 2 tomatos
• 1 carrot
• balsamic vinegar
• olive oil
• salt pepper
• lemon juice
• 1 Big courgette
• 8 asparagus
• Dry parsley

Method

[Recipe for 2]

On a ovenproof tray place 1 courgette sliced open in half and the asparagus. Drizzle some olive oil on top and season with salt and pepper. 200 oC for around 20 min should be enough to roast them.

For the couscous: boil water in a kettle and measure 3/4 of a cup.
Place the couscous in a bowl and add the water. Season with salt and pepper and dry parsley (or some fresh coriander or mint 5 or 6 leaves should be enough)
Cover with a plate so you keep all the heat and let it rest 10minutes.

For the salad:
Cut small chunks of tomato, grate the carrot and with a peeler slid very thin slices of cucumber.
Season with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper and some lemon juice.

Take the plate from the couscous, mix the couscous and check if they are fluffy already.
Now get the place ready and organize it with your array of colours: red from the salad, white with your couscous and green from your roasted veggies.
Sprinkle everything with dry parsley.

Recipe #24 Back to basics: vegetable vegan soup 1.01

You may not know how to cook but if you can make soup you'll be just fine ! :) Soup is not 'cooking'. It's chopping vegetables into a pot and getting the right amount of water.

Here's a basic recipe with some greens

3 potatoes

2 carrots

1 courgette 

1 onion

2 garlic cloves 

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon sea salt (reduce it if you need for health reasons)

1/2 tablespoon black pepper (this makes it a bit spicy, add a pinch only if you don't like spicy)

4 big leaves of cabbage

1 tomato (optional)

Cut the potatoes, carrots, onion, garlic, courgette into a big pot. Add salt and pepper and the olive oil. 

Cut one tomato. Cover with water all the vegetables and add another 1/3 of the water you just added.

Cook everything till the vegetables are soft, around 20-30 minutes.

Pure everything thoroughly, now wash and cut some cabbage leaves into thin slices.

Add them to the soup and let it cook for another 5-10 min.

And it's done !

This makes almost over 1 liters of soup !
So the basic for a soup is

- Potato 2

- Carrots 1

- Onion + garlic + salt + pepper and olive oil

No need for man-made stock cubes which are filled with salt and artificial flavors !

All else is optional and you can play around to taste:

Courgette can substitute potato,

Sweet potato for taste or instead potatos,

Green beans instead of cabbage,

Small pasta instead of cabbage,

Red kidney beans in the pure or instead of the cabbage,

Butter  beans in the pure or instead of the cabbage,
spinach instead of the cabbage,
chickpeas instead of the cabbage...

Whatever you like ! Have fun with 'souping' :)

Recipe #19 Veggie, Couscous and Cashew nuts (vegan)

Shopping list

• 1/2 courgette
• 4-5 mushrooms cut in quarters
• 150 gr diced tofu
• a handful of chopped spring onion
• soy sauce
• teriyaki sauce
• sesame seeds
• sesame oil
• olive oil
• salt pepper and garlic powder
• 1 cup of dry couscous
• Cashew nuts to serve
• Juice of 1/2 lemon

Method

First season your tofu. Dice the tofu and season with salt pepper and soy sauce. (you should do this at least 30min or 1h before cooking the rest)

Now make your couscous:
Place a cup of dry couscous in a bowl and add your seasoning (you can use 1 cube of vegetable stock).
Add 2 cups of boiling water and cover the bowl with a dish or a kitchen cloth.
Let it covered for about 5min.

So start the veggies.
Place the diced courgette, tofu, spring onion, mushrooms in a pan with olive oil. Season wel with salt and pepper and teriyaki sauce. Add a bit of sesame oil and sesame seeds and soy sauce. Stir well. When the vegetables are done, serve on a couscous bed and place some cashew nut over the dish.

Recipe #9 Vegetable Pasta

Shopping list

• 1 courgette/ zucchini
• 1 aubergine
• 1 onion
• 1 can of chopped tomatos
• 2 cups of dry pasta
• salt + pepper
• olive oil
• dry oregano
• dry garlic powder
• (cayenne pepper or paprika if you like)

Method 

Cook the pasta until it's al dente, drain the water and add a bit of olive oil and dry parsley.

In a wok heat a bit of olive oil, add one chopped onion and let it fry until it's golden.

Add the chopped courgette and aubergine - season with salt and pepper and add a bit more of olive oil on top if it gets dry. (You can use other vegetables if you like)

When they are cooked add the tomato can and stir. Let the sauce thicken.

Serve on a pasta bed.

(I sprinkled a bit of grated mozzarella but you can leave this out for a vegan version)

Recipe #5 Vegan Indian Curry

Shopping list

• 1 cup of basmati rice
• 3-4 cardamom seeds
• Cinnamon stick
• Olive oil
• 1 zucchini
• 1 chopped carrot
• 1 chopped onion
• 200 gr of brocolli
• 250 gr of mushrooms
• 1 can of low fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tablespoons of Curry Masala (check recipe #69)
• 1 tablespoon of tomato pure
• 1 tablespoon of lemon juice

Method 

For the rice: add olive oil to a saucepan and add the cardamom seeds and the cinnamon stick. Let the flavors blend in and add the rice. Stir well until its a bit crispy. Add 1 + 1/2 cups of water and let it cook. Remove the seeds and cinnamon stick before serving.

For the curry: Add olive oil and the chopped onion into a wok and let it get golden. Add the mushrooms, zucchini, carrot and brocolli to the wok and add more olive oil if you think it's getting dry. Sprinkle your spice mix and stir well everything together. Add the can of coconut milk, tomato pure, lemon juice and keep mixing to blend in the flavors. Once the vegetables seem cooked (but not mushy) serve on a rice bed.

You can use other vegetables too such as cabbage leaves, cauliflower, butternut squash, potatoes, sweet potatoes, leek, asparagus...

Recipe #3 Vegetable Couscous (vegan)

Shopping list

• 1 cup of dry couscous
• 1 + 1/2 cups of hot vegetable stock
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric, dry parsley
• salt & pepper
• Olive oil
• A mix of roasted vegetables (such as asparagus, zucchini,  carrots)

Method 

For this recipe I used asparagus, zucchini, mushrooms, chickpeas and peas, but it works with any vegetable you have at home.
I roasted the asparagus and zucchini and set this aside.
Then in my wok I heated some olive oil and added 1 chickpea can, 1 can of peas and some mushrooms diced in 4. I set this aside.
In a big bowl I added the couscous with some turmeric and parsley. I poured over this the hot vegetable stock and stired a bit, not too much as you dont want to loose the steam. Cover this as soon as you can with a cloth and let it rest for around 5-10min. When this is done you will have nice cooked couscous as a base for your vegetables.
Serve the couscous in a deep dish (add some spoons of vegetable stock if you don't like it very dry), then add some of the chickpeas and peas and mushrooms. And then add the roasted asparagus and diced zucchini half-es.