Peri-Peri Beanie Burger

This was my attempt at recreating a Nando's beanie burger for my daughter. Apparently, it didn't taste as good as the Nando's one, but she still enjoyed it.

The recipe is packed full of protein from different sources, so this is a good recipe to fill up growing children and hungry adults alike!

Serves 4-6

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
• ½ cup each of frozen peas and sweetcorn
• 2 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tin chickpeas
• ½ tin black eyed beans, or other pulses
• 4 tbsp chopped or coarsely ground pumpkin seeds (or cashew nuts)
• 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mature/sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1-2 tsp fresh or frozen chopped mixed herbs
• Peri-peri sauce to serve

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli on a moderate heat for a few minutes, until softened, but not brown. Add the spices and throw in the peas and sweetcorn. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile blitz the bread in food processor to make the breadcrumbs. Remove and keep to one side.

Add the chickpeas and beans to the food processor and blend roughly.

Add all of the other ingredients (including the onion and pea mixture) and pulse to blend, so that the mixture still has a chunky texture.

Form into 6 large burgers, using your hands or a burger press.

Chill for half an hour to firm up.

Shallow fry for 4-5 minutes each size, or brush generously with oil and bake or barbecue.
Brush with with peri-peri sauce and serve in a bread roll with salad and potato wedges or fries.

Suitable for freezing before or after cooking.

Vegan version: Omit the egg and cheese. Add just enough breadcrumbs to form a firm mixture.

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Courgette, Green Bean and New Potato Salad

It's that time of year again and my home grown courgettes are fruiting in abundance - the yellow variety are doing particularly well.  As I'm not a fan of traditional potato salad, coated in mayonnaise, I devised this recipe instead.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

• 200g/8oz baby courgettes/zucchini, sliced
• 100g/4oz green beans, sliced
• 500g/1lb new potatoes, halved if large
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• a good handful of chopped, fresh tarragon or a mixture of any fresh, green herbs you have to hand (parsley, oregano, basil, mint etc)
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 heaped tsp coarse grain mustard
• Himalayan pink salt to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/190 C Fan/400 F/Gas 6 and heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a baking tray or dish.

Boil the new potatoes for around 15-20 minutes (until tender), drain, then add to the hot roasting dish. Turn to coat with the oil and sprinkle with salt to taste.
After 5 minutes in the oven, add the sliced courgettes and garlic. Roast for  a further 10 minutes, or until beginning to turn a golden brown.

Meanwhile, boil the green beans for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente.
Drain and set aside.

Once the potatoes and courgettes are nicely browned, add the green beans to the baking dish and roast for a further 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Make the dressing by blending or mixing the crushed, roasted garlic, oil, herbs, vinegar and mustard.
Pour over the warm vegetables and turn gently to coat with the dressing.

Serve warm or cold for lunch or with barbecued food.

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Spinach and Cheese Stuffed Mushrooms

It's National Vegetarian Week once again, so here's a quick and easy recipe to show you that being veggie isn't all about lentils, and that life certainly is not too short to stuff a mushroom!

These stuffed mushrooms can be eaten as a starter, lunch or main meal, depending on the portion size and what you serve with them.

Serves 3-4 as a starter or lunch (2-3 mushrooms each, depending on size).

• 8 or 9 large flat mushrooms (Portabello type)
• 200g/8oz fresh spinach, washed
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
•  a little fresh nutmeg
• 50g/2oz vegetarian Brie (rind removed), roughly chopped
• 50g/2oz grated Parmesan-style hard cheese 

Put the spinach into a large bowl. Do not add any water!
Cover with cling film and microwave for 2-3 minutes on high, or until cooked. Allow to cool, then squeeze as much moisture out as possible, and chop or blend roughly.

Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan or griddle and preheat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4/350F.
  
Peel the outer skin from the mushrooms and remove the stalks.
Drizzle the mushrooms with a little olive oil and cook for around 5 minutes on a medium-high heat, turning occasionally. Remove from the pan and place in a dish or on a baking tray.

Chop the mushroom stalks finely.
Gently fry the onion and mushroom stalks in a drop of olive oil for a few minutes, then add the garlic, nutmeg and parsley. Cook for a further 2 minutes.
Then add the cooked spinach and cheeses and stir well to combine all of the ingredients.

Top each mushroom with a tablespoon of the spinach mixture (at this point you could chill the mushrooms and re-heat later).

Pop into the oven for 5-10 minutes to heat through.

Serve with salad and bread. Not suitable for freezing.

Top tips: Cook the mushrooms on a barbecue. Top with the pre-made spinach mixture and warm through. These mushrooms would also make a tasty main course served pasta.

Vegan version: Swap the dairy cheeses for your preferred vegan cheese alternatives.

I'm linking this post to the Meat Free Mondays round-up over at Tinned Tomatoes.

Visit the Kitchen Table!
Celebrate your food, stories and traditions.
National Vegetarian Week 16 - 22 May 2016

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Freekeh Salad with Pomegranate Molasses Dressing - Suma Blogger's Network

This is my first attempt at a superfood salad, and I'm pretty pleased at how well it turned out... It's packed full of protein, fibre and vitamins, but still tastes great!

Thanks to the Suma Blogger's Network, I get to try out lots of weird and wonderful, new vegetarian products. This time, freekeh and pomegranate molasses were amongst my picks. For those of you who don't know, freekeh, pronounced free-ka (young, green wheat which is cracked and roasted), is considered both an ancient grain and a super-grain. It has a high fibre and protein content and is very versatile as it can be served hot or cold in place of other grains such as rice or quinoa.
Pomegranate molasses was a revelation to me, as it was far more tangy and flavoursome than I anticipated (I thought it would be sweet!), and gives a great sweet and sour flavour to a dressing.

Serves 4 as a lunch or side salad; 2 as a main meal

For the salad

• 1 cup freekeh from Suma
• 2 cups veg stock
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• ½ can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• ½ teaspoon lightly toasted cumin seeds, ground, more to taste
• 2 bell peppers,deseeded and cut into chunks
• 2 cups of butternut squash or sweet potato, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup of button mushrooms, halved
• 4 tbsp pine nuts
• 1 garlic clove, crushed
• a small bunch of chopped, fresh mint
• ½ cup crumbled feta (optional)

For the dressing

• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 2 tbsp pomegranate molasses from Suma
• 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6/400F

Put the peppers and squash into a roasting pan and drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil.
Roast for 20-30 minutes until softened and starting to brown.
Add the mushrooms, chickpeas, pine nuts, cumin seeds and crushed garlic and return to the oven for a further 5 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for around 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the freekeh and stock into a large pan. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
Simmer, with the lid on, for 20-25 minutes, or until the grain is soft and just starting to break up.
Drain well and allow to cool for around 15 minutes.

Mix the dressing ingredients together and stir into the warm freekeh.

When the freekeh and vegetables are still just warm (but not hot!), mix together to combine.
Add the mint and feta, if using.

Serve warm or cold.

Keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge; not suitable for freezing.

Vegan option: Omit the feta or swap for vegan feta or halved olives.

Integrity Statement
As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network. 


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Fattoush Salad

I've been cooking a lot of Greek and Middle-Eastern food lately, and after a delicious meal out at a Lebanese restaurant, I thought make a maza (a selection dishes to share). This was one of the dishes I prepared, which makes a nice change to a traditional salad.

Serves 4

• 1 cos or 2 little gem lettuce, shredded
• a good handful of rocket
• ½ cucumber, de-seeded and sliced
• 2-3 ripe tomatoes de-seeded and diced
• a handful of radishes, thinly sliced
• 3-4 spring onions (or ½ red onion), sliced
• 1 large bell pepper, diced
• a small bunch each of fresh parsley and mint, roughly chopped
• 1 large or 2 small pittas
• sumac

dressing

• juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ½ tsp sumac
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed

Brush the pittas with olive oil; and sprinkle with sumac.
Grill or bake until crispy and golden, then set aside to cool. Break into pieces when cold.

Mix the dressing ingredients together in a bowl. Add in the prepared tomatoes, cucumber, radishes, spring onions and herbs. Stir well to coat. These ingredients can be set aside and chilled until needed.

Before serving, mix in the salad leaves and the roughly crushed, toasted pittas.

Top tip: To make this into a delicious, healthy lunch, simply mix in a tin of drained chickpeas and serve with pitta and your favourite dip.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's No Croutons Required Challenge, co-hosted by Jacqui at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. 


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Smoky Baked Beans with Portabello Mushrooms & Halloumi

I've been meaning to blog a home-cooked baked bean recipe for some time now, and never got round to it for some reason. I'm having a bit of a bean phase at the moment, so thought it was finally time to write up the recipe. To make the beans a bit more interesting, I decided to serve them with potatoes, mushrooms and halloumi cheese, but they also make a great jacket potato or enchilada filling.  

As they take a long time to cook, it's worth making a double batch of these beans to make 2 meals. Simply add some extra spices and a tin of sweetcorn to make a tasty chilli.

Serves 4

For the baked beans:

• 1 cup dried haricot beans, soaked overnight (or 2 cans, drained - see quick version below)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 1 or 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 red bell pepper, diced
• 2 tbsp black treacle/molasses
• 1 carton passata
• 1 chilli, finely diced
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• 1 tbsp vegetarian Worcester sauce

To serve:

• A 225g/8oz pack of halloumi cheese, cut into 8 slices
• 4 large Portobello mushrooms, peeled
• 450g/1lb baby new potatoes

Drain the beans from their soaking water. Boil for 10 minutes in fresh, boiling water, then reduce the heat and simmer for 1 hour. Drain.

Whilst the beans are cooking, make the sauce... 
Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Sauté the onion for a few minutes to soften, before adding the bell pepper, chilli and garlic. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
Add the remaining baked bean sauce ingredients, plus the cooked beans. Simmer on a low heat in a covered pan for 30-45 minutes, or until the beans are soft and tender.

Just before the baked beans are cooked, boil the baby new potatoes until tender, drain and drizzle with a little olive oil.
Brush the mushrooms with oil and griddle, bbq or grill/broil for a few minutes on each side. Repeat with the halloumi.

To Serve: Spoon a portion of beans on to each of the mushrooms. Top with 2 slices of halloumi and serve with a few boiled potatoes per person.

Quick version: Use 2 tins of haricot beans instead of the dried beans; Use around two thirds of the passata and cook the tomato sauce for 15 minutes before adding the beans. Simmer for a further 5 minutes before serving.
Camping version: Use 2 cans of baked beans and a tin of ratatouille add 4 tbsp of spicy barbecue sauce and heat. Serve with barbecued Portabello mushrooms, halloumi and garlic bread.
Vegan version: Omit the halloumi or swap it for your favourite dairy-free cheese.
Slow cooker version: Boil the soaked beans rapidly for 10 minutes in a pan, then transfer into the slow cooker with all the remaining baked bean ingredients. Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's Cooking With Herbs linky hosted by Karen at Lavender & Lovage 

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Courgette & Halloumi Kebabs

After a long mild, summer, I'm currently using up the last of my homegrown courgettes/marrows. After appealing for recipes, Natalie via Facebook sent me her kebab recipe, which is so simple to make, but tastes amazing...

Serves 8

• 2 packs of halloumi
• 3-4 medium sized courgettes/zucchini or a marrow, peeled and de-seeded

Marinade

• 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp fresh, chopped mint
• 2 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley 

Make the marinade by whizzing the ingredients up in a food processor, or chopping the herbs finely and mixing together with the other ingredients.
Cube the halloumi.
Cut the courgettes/marrow into similar sized pieces.
Marinade for about two hours (in the fridge).
Thread the cheese and courgettes alternately onto skewers.
BBQ or grill until cooked, turning once or twice. 

Serve with tabbouleh or couscous.

Vegan option: For a vegan version, swap the halloumi for firm, pressed tofu.

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Greek-Style Tortilla/Taco Salad with Halloumi

After making my first ever tortilla bowls a couple of weeks ago, I decided to experiment further and tried making microwaved bowls (see tutorial below). The wraps puffed up slightly, so maybe corn tortillas are a better option, but they went nice and crispy and worked very well as an alternative to toasted pittas with this Greek-inspired salad.

You will need:

• 4 tortilla wraps, microwaved as below and allowed to cool
• 1 pack of halloumi, sliced into 8 and grilled or barbecued
• Your choice of fresh salad ingredients (I used lettuce, tomato, onion, bell pepper and cucumber)

Dressing: (mix all ingredients together)

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• A little black pepper

To make the tortilla/taco bowls:
Microwave one tortilla wrap at a time for 15-30 seconds on high, to soften.
Brush or wipe one side of each wrap with a little oil.
Place oiled-side-down into a heat-proof dish, pleating the wrap gently so that it fits inside the bowl.
Remove from the bowl and dry out the wrap in a medium oven for around 5 minutes, before cooling on a wire rack. 

Fill each tortilla bowl with salad ingredients. Top with the warm halloumi and drizzle the dressing over.

Serve immediately with your favourite dips.

Vegan option: swap the halloumi for vegan falafels.

Alternatives: Vary the salad ingredients and toppings, to make Mexican or Indian-inspired salads.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's No Croutons Required Challenge, co-hosted by Jacqui at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. 

I'm also adding it to June's Family Foodies co-hosted by Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

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Piri-Piri Mushroom & Halloumi 'Burger'

This super-easy meal was inspired by a well-known chicken burger chain. I ate there once. I enjoyed the 'burger' but didn't know how they could possibly charge £6 (that's without any side orders) for something so cheap and simple to prepare. I knew I could make a similar meal far cheaper with better ingredients, so I did...

Assuming you have most of the piri-piri/peri-peri sauce ingredients already, this costs around £1.50 per portion for the 'burger'. For 4 servings, I used: Sainsbury's Halloumi £2.25, large, flat mushrooms £1.40, burger buns 70p, lemon 35p, lettuce 60p.

Serves 4

For the burgers:

• 1 (250g/10oz) pack of halloumi cheese cut into 8 slices
• 4 large flat/Portabello mushrooms, wiped and de-stalked
• 4 burger buns (or make your own)
• Finely sliced lettuce

For the piri-piri sauce:

• 1-2 red chillis - finely chopped (or use 2 tsp frozen chopped chilli, or hot chilli sauce)
• 1 lemon, juiced (add zest for more citrus flavour)
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• A pinch of salt (vegan version only)

Make up the piri-piri sauce, by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl, or whizzing up in a mini food-processor.

Brush the mushrooms with the sauce and either fry, grill or barbecue them until soft and golden brown. Keep warm in the oven.

Repeat with the halloumi cheese slices.

Put a little shredded lettuce on the bottom half of a bread roll.

Layer up with the mushroom and 2 slices of cheese, a little more piri-piri sauce and topping with the other half of the bun.

Serve with grilled corn-on-the-cob and/or home-made seasoned sweet potato wedges.

Mushroom alternative: For fungi-phobes like Miss K, use grilled bell pepper instead.
Vegan alternative: Omit the halloumi and top the mushroom with a good dollop of vegan coleslaw.

Camping alternative: Use ready made piri-piri sauce.

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Baked Corn on the Cob

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This isn't a recipe as such, but I thought I'd share the idea, as this was the best corn on the cob I've ever cooked (or eaten!). I think that cooking the corn in its husk and then wrapping in foil, makes it more moist and juicy.

• 4 sweetcorn cobs in their husks
• 2 tbsp butter, dairy-free spread or olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary

Strip off the outer layers of the husk, until you get to the thinner, softer layers. 

Peel the inner layers back carefully, so they remain attached to the cob.

Lay each corn cob on a sheet of foil.

Spread or brush the marinade over the corn. 

Wrap the husk layers back over the corn, then wrap tightly in foil.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 190C/180C Fan/Gas 5/375F (or in the bonfire embers) for 30-40 minutes. Alternatively grill on the barbecue, turning occasionally.

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Quorn Souvlaki

Having just come back from a fantastic family holiday on Zakynthos, I thought I'd try and recreate a vegetarian version of Mr O's favourite Greek meal - chicken souvlaki. I used Quorn fillets for this recipe, but you could swap them for a vegan alternative if preferred.

Serves 4

• 4 Quorn fillets
• 2 large bell peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 1 onion, peeled, quartered and separated into layers
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Juice of half a lemon
• 2 tbsp olive oil 
• 4 skewers (soak in water if wooden)

Allow the Quorn fillets to defrost for an hour or 2 in the fridge. 

Cut into 1" chunks (I cut the Quorn fillets into 6 pieces each).

Mix the oil, lemon juice and oregano in a bowl.

Add the Quorn and stir to coat, then add the vegetables and stir again. Cover the bowl and refrigerate for a further hour to marinate.

Wrap in foil and cook on the bbq for around 10 minutes, turning occasionally, or bake in the oven at 180C/170C fan/Gas 4/350F. Open foil and allow to brown slightly for a further 5 minutes.

Serve in warmed pittas with a dollop of tzatziki for a lunch (gyros) or with Greek rice or potatoes as a main meal.

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No-Bake Mini Desserts

If you're hosting a bbq, party or buffet and catering for a large number of people, make up a batch of these really simple mini-puddings in advance and refrigerate until needed.

You can buy packs of mini plastic shot 'glasses' from pound stores and supermarkets.

Serves 10 (1 of each dessert per person) - double or treble the recipe to feed more!

For the basic mix

• 250g/10 oz lighter/reduced fat mascarpone 
• 200ml/8fl oz double cream
• 2 tbsp icing sugar

Lightly whip the cream.

Add the remaining ingredients and lightly whisk together.
Divide between two bowls...

Tiramisu

• 50g/2 oz amaretti or chocolate chip biscuits/cookies, roughly crushed
• 1 tsp coffee granules dissolved in 2 tbsp boiling water, allowed to cool and mixed with 1 tbsp Amaretto or Tia Maria
• 1 tbsp Bailey's liqueur
• Crushed chocolate flake/chocolate chips/drinking chocolate powder to top

Evenly divide the crushed biscuits between 10 small shot glasses.
Drizzle around 1 tsp of the cold coffee/liqueur mixture over the biscuits in each glass.
Mix the Bailey's into one half of the cream cheese mixture.
Using a teaspoon, carefully spoon the mixture into each glass.
Top with crushed chocolate flake/chocolate chips or drinking chocolate powder.
Chill until needed.

Alternative:  For an alcohol-free version, swap the liqueurs for cold strong coffee.

Deconstructed Strawberry Shortcake

• 50g/2 oz shortbread biscuits, roughly crushed
• 100g/4oz ripe strawberries, half diced finely, half sliced
• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Mix the vanilla extract into the remaining half of the cream cheese mixture.
Lightly fold in the diced strawberries and crushed biscuits.
Using a teaspoon, carefully spoon the mixture into 10 small shot glasses.
Top with the sliced strawberries.
Chill until needed.

Alternative: Swap the shortbread biscuits for crushed meringue to make Eton Mess.

Not suitable for freezing. Eat within 24 hours of making.

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Paneer Tikka Kebabs

These simple paneer tikka kebabs taste delicious cooked on the barbecue, but can be grilled or baked instead.

• 200g/8oz paneer, cubed
• 2 bell peppers, deseeded and cut into chunks
• 1 large onion, peeled and cut into quarters 

For the marinade:

• 2 tsp tandoori/tikka spice mix or paste
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 heaped tsp fresh ginger, grated
• 1 tsp red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• Zest and juice of 1 large lemon

For the mint sauce:

• 1 cup of plain yogurt/dairy-free yogurt
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp garden mint sauce concentrate (the type you add your own sugar and vinegar to)
• A few dashes of chilli sauce

Mix all of the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
Add all of the kebab ingredients and coat well in the marinade.
Cover and leave to marinate in the fridge for an hour.
Soak wooden kebab skewers in water for a few minutes (to help prevent them from burning), and thread alternate chunks of paneer, onion and pepper onto the skewers.
Grill or bbq for around 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
Serve in a warm pitta or naan bread with salad and mint sauce. 

To make the mint sauce, simply mix all of the ingredients together, adding chilli sauce to taste.

Alternative: Use diced meat-free/Quorn 'chicken-style' fillets instead of paneer if preferred.
For an easy camping version, just swap the marinade ingredients, for a ready-made tikka paste.
Vegan version: Use whole button mushrooms or firm, pressed tofu instead of the paneer.

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Vegetarian and vegan camping dessert recipes

Unfortunately, as the weather was so terrible last summer, our usual camping trips were curtailed, so let's hope we have better weather this year! We don't always have a dessert when camping, but if we do, I tend to prepare something simple, sweet and tasty using seasonal fruits and convenience products. 

Hot

• Camp fire dampers - make up a sweet scone packet mix, reserving a small amount of the dry mix, for rolling. Add just enough water/milk to make a slightly sticky dough. Divide into golf ball sized pieces and roll each ball out into a long thin sausage using your hands and a little of the dry mix. Cover the end of some sticks in foil. Coil the scone mix around the foil covered stick, over-lapping the dough slightly so there are no gaps. Bake over the camp fire or bbq embers for around 10 minutes, turning regularly, until golden brown. Remove from the stick and fill with jam, cream, lemon curd, chocolate spread etc. (see photo). 
  n.b. The thicker the stick, the more filling you'll be able to add - They need to be around 50cm+ long, so that you don't cook your hands! 
• Cookie pancakes - make up a cookie packet mix or buy a tub of cookie dough. Drop spoonfuls of the mixture into a greased frying pan. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes, flip and cook for a further 5 minutes. Serve warm.
• Barbecued bananas - cut a slit lengthwise down each fruit (while the skin is still on). Insert chocolate buttons/dairy-free chocolate along the slit. Wrap in foil and barbecue for around 10 minutes.
• Fruit crumble - add some chopped cooking apples (and sugar to taste) into a pan with a drop of water. Simmer until the fruit is soft. Top with one packet of crumble mix. Cover pan and simmer on a low heat, until heated through.
• Sweet wraps - Warm a tortilla wrap in a frying pan. Put a spoonful or two of jam, peanut butter or chocolate spread in the centre. Top with sliced banana or strawberries. Fold the wrap like a burrito and flip over to warm through.
• Pancakes - re-heat ready-made pancakes in a frying pan, top with jam, chocolate spread, toffee sauce or lemon juice & sugar etc.
• Fruit skewers with a chocolate dipping sauce - Melt some chocolate/dairy-free chocolate in a pan and stir in some cream, evaporated milk or vegan cream to make chocolate sauce. Make some fresh fruit skewers (which you can cook on the bbq if you like) and dip these into the sauce.  
• Mini doughnuts with a chocolate dipping sauce - prepare the sauce as above.
• Shop-bought cake and ready-made custard 
• Barbecued fresh pineapple slices - cook on the bbq.

Cold

• Fresh fruit
• Strawberries and cream/vegan cream.
• Eton mess - simply mix cream (use canned squirty cream, mascarpone or crème fraiche) with crushed shop-bought meringues and fresh strawberries or raspberries.
• Deconstructed strawberry shortcake - make as above but using crushed shortbread biscuits (for a vegan version use dairy-free shortbread and vegan squirty cream).

Do let me know your favourite camping puddings and I'll add them to the list!

Find more camping recipes here.

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Lime and Coriander Quorn Kebabs

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This is another old recipe which I have veganised/vegetarianised...the original recipe used sardines. Use Quorn or any other meat-free alternative such as firm tofu or paneer, depending on which you prefer. This dish went down particularly well with the chicken-eating Mr O!

Serves 8 as a starter/4 as a main course

• 1 pack of Quorn fillets/vegetarian or vegan chicken-style fillets, defrosted if frozen
• 2 limes (or 1 lemon), juice and zest 
• 1 tsp ground sweet paprika
• ½ red chilli, deseeded and very finely chopped or ½ tsp hot chilli sauce
• 2 tsbp olive oil
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp chopped coriander or parsley

Mix the marinade ingredients together in a large bowl.
Cut the vegetarian fillets into large chunks (about 1"/2½cm square)  - I cut each Quorn fillet into 6 pieces.
Add the Quorn pieces to the bowl and turn to coat.
Marinate for a couple of hours in the fridge.
Thread the pieces onto skewers, retaining any marinade (if using wooden skewers, soak them first in water...I forgot to do this, hence the charred ends in the photo!)
Grill or bbq for 10-15 minutes, turning occasionally and basting with the remaining marinade, until cooked through and lightly browned.

Serve with a side salad and a wedge of lemon/lime as a starter, or with rice or a wrap for a more substantial dish.

Not suitable for freezing.

Alternatives: Add whole button mushrooms, sliced courgette, bell peppers and onion to the kebabs. Pin It

Peri Peri Vegetable and Halloumi Stacks

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This is a posh, dinner party version of my roasted vegetables with halloumi recipe. I think it looks much prettier sitting in a stack with a drizzle of home made peri-peri sauce encircling it, although both versions taste good!

Serves 4

For the stacks:

• 1 large aubergine, sliced thickly
• 1 large courgette, cut in half and then sliced into strips
• 2 large bell peppers, deseeded and cut into quarters
• 1 large sweet potato or baking potato, peeled and sliced thickly
• 4 large, flat mushrooms, de-stalked
• 200g halloumi cheese, sliced thickly 

For the peri-peri/piri-piri sauce:

• 1-2 large red chillis - grated* or finely chopped
• 1 large lemon or 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano

Make up the peri-peri sauce, by mixing the ingredients together in a small bowl.

Brush the vegetables and halloumi cheese slices liberally with olive oil and either fry, grill or barbecue them in batches until soft and golden brown; Cook the sweet potato/potato and aubergine slices first as they take longer to cook.
Keep them warm in the oven (on a baking tray) until all the ingredients have been cooked.

Drizzle the vegetables and cheese with half of the peri-peri sauce and return to the oven for 5 minutes. 
Stack the vegetables and cheese slices on four plates.
Drizzle the remaining sauce around each stack.
Skewer with a cocktail stick and top with a sprig of parsley.
Serve with home made bread or mini roasted potatoes and salad.

Not suitable for freezing.

*Top tip: Freeze the chilli and then grate on a fine grater from the pointy end. Once you get to the seeds at the stalk end, discard the chilli.

Vegan Option: Either omit the halloumi cheese or swap for  vegan cheese or firm, drained and fried tofu (marinate tofu in some of the peri-peri sauce before frying). 

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Barbecue Sauce (Vegan)

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This is my tried and tested bbq sauce recipe, which is great for basting and serving with barbecued veggie burgers, kebabs and sausages.

• 5 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp white wine/cider vinegar
• 2 tbsp vegan Worcester Sauce (I use Life Worcester Sauce)
• 1 tsp soft brown sugar (optional)
• ½ tsp dried English mustard powder (or use a pinch of cayenne)
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tsp dried oregano

Mix the dry ingredients with the vinegar and Worcester sauce. 
Add the ketchup and stir well.
Store in an airtight container and refrigerate until needed (keeps for 1 week).

Alternatives: Add different herbs and spices if preferred.

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How to make your own vegetarian chorizo

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I have an admission to make...I've never eaten real chorizo sausages, so my humble attempt at a recipe for vegetarian version of chorizo may be way off. However, it's worth having a go at making them, as they taste good whether they're realistic or not! I've looked at loads of  meaty recipes and I've come up with a combination based on those flavours added to my basic shami kebab recipe.

Makes 8 sausages

• 1 ½ cups vegetarian mince (vegetarian ground-beef style crumbles), defrosted if frozen
• 1 ½ cups fresh wholemeal breadcrumbs
• 1 large onion, finely chopped or grated
• 1 small or medium egg
• 2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 heaped tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp sweet/mild paprika 
• 1 tsp chilli paste/1 fresh red chilli deseeded and finely chopped
• ½ tsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• Black pepper to season
• 1 tbsp tomato purée 
• 2 tbsp wine/cider vinegar

Heat 2 tbsp of olive oil in a pan.

Add the onion and cook on a medium heat until soft, but not brown.
Add the garlic, herbs and spices and cook for a further minute

Stir in the tomato purée and vinegar and heat through.

Remove from the heat.

Place the veggie mince and breadcrumbs in a bowl and mix to combine, breaking up any lumps of veggie mince. 

Add the onion and spice mixture and stir together (or blend in a food processor for a smoother texture -  I did this the second time I made them, and found that they stuck together a little better).

Finally add the egg and mix/blend until combined to make a firm but moist mixture, adding more breadcrumbs if needed.

Place in the fridge and allow to firm up for 30 minutes.
Shape into 8 sausages or 16 meatballs, and fry on a low-medium heat for 10 minutes, turning once or twice. Alternatively, brush with oil and bake in the oven at 200C/180C Fan/Gas 6 for around 15 minutes, or grill/broil/bbq.

Eat hot or cold.
Suitable for freezing.

Alternatives: For a vegan version, replace the egg with a suitable binder.
For a Mexican-style vegetarian chorizo sausage, swap the ground fennel and smoked paprika for ¼ tsp ground cinnamon and 1-2 tsp ground cumin. 

Find loads more veggie recipes celebrating National Vegetarian week, over at Tinned Tomatoes.

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