Pinto Bean & Chickpea Falafels - Suma Blogger's Network

After recently making refried beans, I wanted to create another recipe which used dried pinto beans, for my latest Suma Bloggers post; pinto beans are great as a cheap, vegetarian source of protein because they don't require pre-soaking.

Although I've always used canned, cooked chick peas for falafels, it turns out that traditional recipes use soaked, raw chickpeas. I didn't have the time or inclination to soak my pulses for 12 hours, so I decided to boil them along with the pinto beans, without pre-soaking. This actually worked really well and I was pleased with the end result, which not only tasted good freshly cooked, but also worked well cold in wraps for my packed lunches.

• 1 cup dried chickpeas
• 1 cup dried pinto beans (from Suma)
• 2 tbsp. olive oil, plus extra for frying
• 1 onion, very finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp. chickpea/gram flour (from Suma)
• 1 chilli, chopped (optional)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• salt and pepper to taste

Rapidly boil the pulses for 10 minutes. Then cover and simmer for a further hour.

When cooked, drain.

Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil for a few minutes, until softened.

Add the spices and cook for a further minute.

Blend the chickpeas with the cooked onion and spices, plus the gram flour, until you have a fairly firm, dough-like mixture.

Roll into 20-24 small balls, using your hands.

Refrigerate for 30 minutes to firm up.

Heat a few more tbsp. oil in a large frying pan on a medium-high heat. Cook the falafels for around 5-8 minutes until golden brown (you can deep fry if you prefer).

Serve in wraps, with salad and hummus.


Top Tip: A word of warning - these vegan and gluten-free falafels are quite fragile as they don't contain egg or breadcrumbs to bind them, so you need to turn them carefully when cooking!

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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Ricotta and Amaretti Cake - Suma Bloggers Network

Christmas is just around the corner, so I wanted to create a new, festive recipe for the Suma Bloggers Network.  I decided on a dessert dish, which had to and taste special enough for the festive celebrations, without being too rich or heavy. As I had some amaretti biscuits from Suma, I wanted to use them in something other than a tiramisu and felt that they would add both texture and flavour to a cake.

My Italian-inspired Ricotta and Amaretti Cake is a cross between a cheese cake and a sponge pudding and has quite a  dense texture. It provides a seasonal alternative to the traditional Christmas pudding, which my daughters are not keen on it.

Serves 10

• 50g/2oz softened butter
• 1x250g/10oz tub ricotta
• 150g/6oz soft brown sugar
• 3 medium eggs
• 150g/6oz self-raising flour
• 100g/4oz ground almonds
• 200g/8oz amaretti biscuits, roughly broken (from Suma)
• 100g/4oz good quality chocolate (I used Montezumas Dark Chocolate, Bean Machine, from Suma), chopped into chunks
• 2 tbsp very strong, cold coffee (2 tsp coffee granules to 2 tbsp. boiling water)

Preheat the oven to 150C/140C Fan/Gas 2/300F.
Grease and line a loose-bottomed 20cm round cake tin.

Put the butter, ricotta, sugar and eggs into a large bowl. Whisk for 5 minutes until thick, smooth and creamy. Then gently stir the coffee, flour and ground almonds.

Fold in most of the chocolate and biscuit pieces, but retain and handful of each.
Pour the cake mixture into the lined tin. Scatter with the remaining biscuits and chocolate and press lightly into the cake mixture.

Bake for around 45 minutes or until golden brown, firm to the touch and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.
Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, before turning out.
Dust with cocoa powder or icing sugar before serving.

Serve warm with cream, ice cream or custard.

Top tips: Swap the coffee for 2 tbsp of  Tia Maria or Amaretto liqueur. For a more traditional Christmas flavour, omit the chocolate and add the equivalent weight of dried fruit, pre-soaked in the liqueur.
Gluten free option: Check that your amaretti biscuits are GF. Swap the flour for GF flour and add some GF baking powder if needed.

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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Mulled Cider with Pumpkin Pie Spiced Biscuits - Suma Bloggers Network

As I've just been given a jar of pumpkin pie spice by a friend, I though I'd better put it to good use and create an autumnal recipe for the Suma Bloggers Network. I've paired the (vegan) spiced cookies with some warming, mulled cider, both of which would be great for Bonfire Night.

For the mulled cider
Serves 2-4

• 1 litre of good quality vegan cider (I used Aspall cyder from Suma)
• 2 pouches of mulled cider spice (from Suma)
• 2 tbsp soft, brown sugar, or a little more to taste

Put the spice pouches into a pan, along with the cider and sugar.
Warm the cider gently on a low heat until the sugar has dissolved and the cider is just starting to simmer (don't boil it!). Turn the heat off and allow to infuse for 10 minutes.
Serve warm.

For the biscuits
Makes 20

• 200g/8oz SR flour
• 100g/4oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 100g/4oz soft brown sugar
• 3 tbsp black treacle/molasses
• 2-3 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/170C Fan/Gas 4/350F
 Blend the spread and flour together using a food processor.

Add all of the remaining ingredients and mix well to form a firm, smooth dough.

Roll the dough into around 20 small balls.

Place, well spaced apart, on greased baking trays.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes, before removing onto a wire rack to cool fully.

Suitable for freezing. 

Top tips: For any North American readers, this recipe uses alcoholic (hard) cider.

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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Baklava (Vegan) - Suma Blogger's Network

For this month's Suma Blogger's Network post, I thought I'd make something sweet. As we're off to Greece for our holidays soon, I decided to make some baklava.

Baklava is a very indulgent Greek and Middle-Eastern treat, which usually contains copious quantities of butter and honey, but I've found that it's simple to veganise without losing any flavour.

• 150g/6oz almonds
• 150g/6oz walnuts
• 150g/6oz hazelnuts or cashews 
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1 pack filo pastry
• 75g/3oz dairy-free spread/butter

For the syrup

• 2 cups Fairtrade golden caster sugar from Suma
• 4 tbsp agave, date or Fairtrade golden syrup from Suma
• juice of 1 lemon, plus a little lemon zest
• 1 large stick of cinnamon, broken in half
• 1½ cups boiled water

Roughly grind all of the nuts in a food processor and mix in the ground cinnamon.

Grease a baking tin with some of the melted butter.
Line the tin with a sheet of filo, letting it drape over the sides of the tin. Baste with more butter and repeat several times until you have used half of the pastry.

Tip in half of the nuts and spread out over the pastry. 
Fold a couple more sheets of pastry and place them over the layer of nuts so they fit snugly in the tin. Baste with more butter.

Cover with the remaining half of the nuts.
Layer the remaining sheets of pastry over, basting with butter each time.
Finally fold the over-lapping sheets in to fully enclose the nuts.
Baste the top with the remaining butter.

Cut the 'pie' into small squares or diamonds, using a sharp knife, cutting through all of the layers carefully.
Bake in a pre-heated oven  at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas 4 for approximately 45 mins, or until the surface is crisp and golden brown.

Meanwhile make the syrup.
Mix all the syrup ingredients together in a pan and allow the sugar to dissolve on a low heat, stirring occasionally.
Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5 minutes. Take off the heat and allow to cool.

When the baklava is cooked, remove from the oven and poor the cool syrup all over the hot baklava.
Allow to cool in the tin at room temperature. Leave to soak in the syrup for several hours, before serving.

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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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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Custard Creams (Gluten-Free & Vegan) - Suma Blogger's Network

My latest recipe for the Suma Blogger's Network is one I have road -tested, by baking the biscuits with 60 five year olds!

Cookery in primary schools is back on the curriculum with the aim of 'instilling a love of cooking'. As I work in a school, I often get asked to come up with recipes or ideas for our food-related activities. We have to be careful with allergens and various other dietary needs, so I came up with this recipe for Custard Creams. I had to make sure the recipe was easy to make, but it also had to be nut and egg-free, so I thought might as well go the whole hog and make it gluten and dairy-free too!

Having not used gluten-free flour before, I found it was made a slightly less-pliable dough, than wheat flour would; therefore you have to handle it more gently. Once cooked, it produced robust, crispy biscuits, which were easy to handle, so were great for the kids to decorate. Taste-wise, the gluten-free flour gave a courser texture to the biscuits, which was slightly gritty.

Makes 8-10 sandwich biscuits

Biscuit dough

• 100g/4oz margarine/dairy-free spread
• 150g/6oz gluten-free flour
• 100g/4oz caster sugar
• 50g/2 oz gluten-free custard powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

• 150g/6oz icing sugar
• 50g/2oz margarine/butter
• 13g/½oz gluten-free custard powder
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 190C/180C Fan/375F/Gas 5
Cream the spread and sugar together, then beat in the custard powder and vanilla.
Mix in the flour to form a firm dough.
Refrigerate for 15 mins.

Carefully roll the dough out on a lightly floured board, until it is about ½cm thick - if it cracks in places, simply smooth over the dough with your fingers.
Cut out around 16-20 biscuits  with a rectangular cookie cutter (or whatever shape you prefer) and place on a greased baking tray.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Cool on the tray for a few minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack to cool.

When cold, sandwich together with the butter cream...

For the filling
Cream the spread, custard powder and vanilla together.
Slowly beat in the icing sugar, adding 1-2 tsp of boiling water, if needed, to make a thick, spreadable icing .
Spread or pipe the icing onto half of the biscuits.
Sandwich together with the remaining biscuits.

Keep in an airtight box for 2-3 days.
Suitable for freezing. 

Alternatives: 

• You can make these biscuits with plain wheat flour if preferred; you may need to add a little extra to make a firm cookie dough.
• If you don't want to sandwich the biscuits together with butter-icing, they can be decorated with glacé icing instead.
• Make larger biscuits and cook for a few minutes longer, to make gluten-free ice-cream sandwich cookies.
• Swap the custard powder (in both the cookie dough and icing) for unsweetened cocoa powder to make bourbon biscuits.

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Black Bean Chilli-Loaded Potato Skins - Suma Bloggers Network

We all love a good veggie chilli, and as I had half a pack of Suma dried black beans in the cupboard, I thought I'd use them up, rather than using tinned beans. I must admit that although soaking and boiling dried beans is a bit of a faff, the texture is superior to that of tinned beans, and the cost is far less, especially if you make a big batch up and freeze half.

If serving to young children, you can leave out the fresh chilli for a milder flavour, and add some hot chilli sauce at the end of the cooking time, after you have removed their portions from the pan.

Serves 4 (double chilli mixture and freeze half, if you batch-cook)

• 4 baking potatoes
• 1 cup dried black beans, soaked over-night 
• 1 sweet potato, diced
• 1 bell pepper, diced
• 1 medium courgette, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 carton of passata
• 1 chilli, finely chopped, optional
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp smoked paprika powder
• 1 tbsp chopped coriander
• 25g/1oz dark, dairy-free chocolate (I used Green & Blacks 70% Dark Chocolate) 
• 50g/2oz of lightly salted tortilla chips, crushed (I used Amaizin Bio Corn Chips Natural)
• 100g/4oz grated cheese or melting vegan cheese

For the salsa

• 3-4 ripe tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
• ½ a cucumber, de seeded and diced
• 1 small red onion, finely diced
• 2-3 tbsp pickled jalapeño chillis, diced
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or lime juice
• 2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• Salad leaves

Scrub the potatoes, rub with a little vegetable oil and bake for around 1 hour at 220C/200C Fan/Gas Mark 8/425F
When soft, scoop out most of the potato, leaving a little to line the skin to soak up the chilli sauce. Retain the potato for another meal.

Mix all of the salsa ingredients together (except the salad leaves). 
Leave to marinate in the fridge, until needed.

Meanwhile, boil the soaked beans for 5 minutes, then reduce to a simmer and cook with the lid on for a further 45-50 minutes until tender but not mushy.

Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and garlic on a medium heat for 2-3 minutes. Then add the sweet potato and cook for a further 5 minutes until starting to colour. Add the herbs, chilli and spices along with the pepper and courgette, and stir well before pouring the passata over.
Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for around 30 minutes.

When the beans are tender, drain them and add them to the chilli mixture, along with the dark chocolate. Stir and then simmer, uncovered for a further 5-10 minutes, or until the sauce has thickened and reduced.

Place the potato skins on a baking tray and fill generously with the chilli. 
Top with lightly crushed tortilla chips and grated cheese/dairy-free cheese. Return to the oven for 5 minutes, or until the cheese melts.

Serve with the salsa and salad leaves.

Short-cut: Use 1-2 tins of drained black beans instead of dried, reduce the amount of passata and heat through in the chilli mixture for the last few minutes before serving.

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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Lubia bi Zeit with Maftoul & Spiced Roast Potatoes - Suma Blogger's Network

These recipes have been inspired by my recent delivery from Suma, for my second Blogger's Network post of the year. When I ordered Maftoul and Lebanese 7 spice, I had no idea what to do with them! After looking through my cook books and Googling for various Middle-Eastern recipes, I came up with this themed meal:

Serves 4

Lubia bi Zeit (Lebanese Green Bean Stew)
This vegan bean stew can be served hot or warm. The mushrooms and peppers aren't traditional, but I think they give the stew more flavour and texture. Serve with pitta, for an alternative, quick meal.

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g/8oz fresh green beans, ends trimmed, cut in half
• 1 medium onion, halved and sliced
• 1 green bell pepper, sliced
• 100g/4oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 1 can chopped tomatoes
• 1 cup water
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp Alfez Lebanese Baharat 7 spice mix (use less if you prefer a milder flavour)

Heat the oil in a large pan.
Fry the onion gently for around 5 minutes, until golden brown. Add the tomato purée and spice mix and cook out for a further 2 minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir together.
Simmer with the lid on for 20-25 minutes, or until the beans are almost tender. Uncover the pan and simmer for a further 5-10 minutes to reduce the sauce.

Maftoul with Chickpeas 
Maftoul, also known as Palestinian couscous, is similar to giant couscous, but is made from sun-dried bulgur wheat which is hand rolled, giving it an uneven grain size. This dish is traditionally made with chicken.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 125g/5 oz/¾ cup maftoul
• 350ml/1½ cups boiling water/vegetable stock
• 1 small onion, diced
• ½ tin of chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained
• 2 tsp  Alfez Lebanese Baharat 7 spice mix
• 1 tsp sweet paprika
• 1 cinnamon stick

Heat the oil in a pan, on a medium-low heat. Gently fry the onion for a few minutes, until softened. Add all of the remaining ingredients and stir.

Simmer for around 20 minutes, with the lid on, stirring occasionally.

7 Spiced Potatoes

• 450g/1lb baking potatoes, scrubbed and cut into wedges or chunks
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tsp  Alfez Lebanese Baharat 7 spice mix
• ½ lemon, cut into chunks

Pre-heat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6/400F 

Coat the potato wedges in the oil and spices. 

Place in baking dish, top with the lemon pieces and cover with foil. Bake for 20 minutes, shaking occasionally, then uncover and roast for a further 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Labneh
Labneh is a basic soft cheese, made by straining yogurt through muslin to remove excess water/whey and then adding flavourings. I didn't bother to strain my yogurt, as I used thick Greek yogurt.

• 7.5cm/3" chunk of cucumber, de-seeded, diced and blotted dry on kitchen towel
• 250ml/1 cup Greek yoghurt, or vegan plain yogurt - strained, if you have time
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped mint or 1 tsp dried mint
• 1 small clove garlic, crushed

Mix all of the ingredients together. Chill until needed.

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Fruit & Nut Bars - Suma Blogger's Network

Here's my latest post for the Suma Blogger's Network, which also ties in quite nicely with Veganuary. 

I currently buy a certain brand of fruit and nut bars for healthy snacks, but they're very expensive, so I thought I'd have a go at making my own. I've made a couple of different varieties so far, and found you can mix and match the ingredients, so long as you keep the fruit and nut ratio roughly the same. I used my Optimum 9400 blender to get quite a smooth textured bar, but a normal food processor or blender should work, if you're happy with a chunkier texture.

Makes 6 bars

• 75g/3oz cashews
• 50g/2oz dairy-free chocolate or raw chocolate - I used Plamil vegan dark chocolate 
• 100g/4oz dried dates (or 50g/2oz dates plus 50g/2oz raisins) - I used Suma pitted dates
• a dash of cinnamon powder, vanilla/mint extract or orange zest to flavour

Blend the nuts briefly, until ground into a fine powder. Remove from the blender. 
Repeat with the chocolate.
Blend the dates with a little cinnamon/flavouring to taste. Scrape out of the blender.
Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix until completely combined into a dough-like consistency.
If the mixture seems very sticky, add more ground nuts, or some unsweetened cocoa powder.

Squeeze together using your hands and place on a sheet of greaseproof paper. Cover with another sheet of paper and roll to approx 1cm thick. Push the edges in with a palette knife to neaten them up.
Chill for 30 mins then cut into 6 bars.
Wrap the individual bars in greaseproof paper and chill until needed, in an airtight box.

Variations: Double the ingredients to make a batch of 12 bars.
Use different combinations of dried fruits and nuts for different flavours and add your choice of flavouring extract. You may need to add more ground nuts, if you use softer dried fruits. If you want to use softer nuts (such as Brazils, walnuts, macadamias or pecans, it's best to mix them half and half with harder nuts such as cashews, hazelnuts or almonds. Toast the nuts gently before grinding for a fuller flavour.
You could also roll the mixture into balls and dust in cocoa powder to make raw, vegan truffles. 

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Chocolate Hazelnut Truffles (Vegan) - Suma Blogger's Network

I know it's a bit early, and you probably don't want reminding that Christmas is only 53 days away, but as it's the 1st of November, I thought I would start blogging some festive recipes! These vegan chocolate truffles are really easy to make, will keep in the fridge for a week or so, and make great home-made Christmas presents. 

This recipe makes Nutella or Ferrero Rocher flavoured truffles, which are totally dairy-free!

Makes around 10-12 truffles.

• 200g/8oz dairy-free dark chocolate (I used Plamil chocolate drops)
• 90ml/6 tbsp Ecomil almond cream (use 75ml/5 tbsp of cream if using liqueur as the flavouring)
• 90ml/6tbsp Meridan crunchy hazelnut butter 
• 1 tsp vanilla or other flavouring extract
• Unsweetened cocoa powder, desiccated coconut, coconut sugar, roasted chopped hazel nuts, grated chocolate etc. to coat.
• 2-4 tsp date/agave syrup to sweeten (optional)*

Heat the chocolate in a heat-proof bowl, in the microwave, until melted - Stir every 10-15 seconds, to make sure it doesn't burn.
Add the almond cream, vanilla and nut butter and mix well - Taste and sweeten* at this point if you prefer a sweeter truffle.

Chill the mixture for an hour or two, until firm.

Remove from the fridge and working quickly, shape heaped teaspoonfuls of the mixture into balls, using your hands.
Roll the truffles in your preferred coatings and pop into sweet cases. Refrigerate until needed.
Wrap in cellophane bags to give as presents.

*These truffles have quite an adult dark-chocolate taste, so may not appeal to younger children. For a more child-friendly option, use a dairy-free 'milk chocolate' and sweeten the mixture with 2-4 tsp date/agave syrup.

Flavour options: Vary the recipe by using different nut butters and flavourings; use 1 tbsp liqueur, 1 tsp flavouring extract or a little grated lemon/orange zest instead of vanilla extract. Try using almond or cashew nut butter instead of hazelnut.

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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Mixed Bean and Basil Hummus - Suma Blogger's Network

Here's my second post for the Suma Blogger's Network. I decided on a variation on hummus using mixed beans rather than chickpeas, and Italian flavourings instead of the traditional Middle Eastern ones. I must say it worked really well and tastes great with crudites or fresh crusty bread.

• 1 tin of mixed beans, rinsed and well drained (I used Suma organic mixed beans)
• a good handful of basil, roughly chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Blend all ingredients, except for the pine nuts, until smooth. Season to taste.

Drizzle with olive oil and top with the toasted pine nuts.

Chill until needed.

Will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container in the fridge. 

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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Triple Chocolate Vegan Cookies - Suma Blogger's Network

This is my first post for the brand new Suma Blogger’s Network, which I'm very proud to be part of.The Network is made up of a collection of vegetarian and vegan bloggers from all over the UK, who will be blogging every couple of months using ingredients from Suma Co-op (wholesale suppliers of a huge range of vegetarian and vegan foods). 

Each recipe will be featured both on the individuals' blogs and on the Suma website.

My first recipe is a slightly indulgent one, but one which will hopefully dispel the myth that vegetarians and vegans live on lentils and spinach! 

Makes 10-12 cookies

• 4oz/1400g plain flour
• 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sieved 
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• a pinch of salt
• 3oz/75g dairy-free margarine/spread
• 6oz/150g soft, brown sugar
• 2 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp No-Egg (egg replacer) mixed with 1 tbsp water
• 2oz/50g white, dairy-free chocolate/chocolate chips (I used Organica vegan white chocolate from Suma)
• 2oz/50g 'milk', dairy-free chocolate/chocolate chips (I used Moo-Free from Suma)
• 2oz/50g dark, dairy-free chocolate/chocolate chips (I used Plamil chocolate chips from Suma)

Pre-heat the oven to 170C/160C Fan/325 F/Gas 3 and grease two baking sheets.

Melt the spread on a low heat and allow to cool.
Cream the spread with the syrup and sugar.
Add the remaining dry ingredients (except the chocolate), the egg-replacer and the vanilla
Mix until you have a fairly firm, smooth dough; if the dough is too crumbly, add a little water or dairy-free milk.
Add the chocolate pieces and mix again to distribute them evenly through the dough.

Take dessert-spoonfuls of the mixture and place them, spaced well apart on the baking sheets.
Do not flatten.
Bake for 10-12 minutes.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool for around 5 minutes before removing and placing on a wire rack to cool.

Will keep for several days in an airtight container. Suitable for freezing. 

Alternatives: Make chocolate-orange or mint-chocolate cookies, by swapping the vanilla extract for orange or mint.

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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