Panforte di Siena

In case you've never heard of it, panforte is a traditional, festive Italian spiced fruit and nut cake, served with coffee and liqueurs after a meal. After watching Antonio Carluccio make a panforte on TV last Christmas, I knew it was something I'd have to try making myself.

The traditional recipe is easy to veganise as the only animal-derived ingredient is honey. I've also adapted the recipe to make it gluten free, contain less sugar and use easy-to-find UK ingredients. The resulting cake is still deliciously sweet and tastes something like a cross between a fruit and nut energy bar and Christmas cake! Having made it once, I reckon it would actually be pretty easy to make a raw version. 

Serves 16-20

• 200g/8oz (combined weight) dried figs and/or pitted dates, roughly chopped
• 50g/2oz each of raisins, sultanas and currants
• 1 level tsp mixed (pumpkin pie) spice
• juice and zest of 2 large oranges and 1 lemon
• 150g/6oz candied fruit, such as glacé cherries, apple, melon, citrus peel etc.
• 100g/4oz almonds, lightly toasted
• 100g/4oz walnuts, lightly toasted
• 4 tbsp agave, date or golden syrup
• 4 tbsp gluten-free flour
• 5 tbsp Vin Santo, dessert wine, amaretto or sweet sherry (I used amaretto)
• Icing sugar to dust

Heat the oven to 150 C/140 C Fan/Gas 2./300 F; grease and line a loose-bottomed 25cm/10" round cake tin, with grease proof paper.

Toast the nuts, cool and then roughly chop or grind coarsely, depending on the texture you prefer.

Chop the figs or dates roughly and put them in a pan with the other dried and candied fruits.
Add the syrup, wine/liqueur, citrus juice, zest and mixed spice.
Stir together and cook gently for about 10 minutes.
Then add the chopped nuts and flour and mix well.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down well.
Bake in the oven for 30 minutes.

Take out of the oven and leave to cool in the tin.
When cold, sprinkle generously with sifted icing sugar.
Cut into thin slices to serve.

Stores for up to a month in an airtight container.

Find my other vegetarian Christmas recipes here.

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Tuscan Vegetable and Bean Stew - Recipe Feature

To me, the name Cranks is synonymous with great tasting, wholesome vegetarian food. You might not know that their first restaurant and deli opened on London’s Carnaby Street in the swinging 60's; those were the days when people were considered to be cranks if they were vegetarian or vegan! Over 50 year later, the brand is still going strong and have a restaurant, Cranks Kitchen, in Devon, published several recipe books, and have recently launched a new, exclusively vegetarian, sandwich range. As a long standing vegetarian, I was amazed and a little humbled that such a well known vegetarian brand would want me to develop a seasonal recipe for them...

This is my economical and vegan adaptation of the traditional Tuscan stew, Pollo alla Cacciatore (hunter's chicken). I know you don't have to hunt very far to find vegetables and pulses in your local supermarket, but I find they work well with the flavours in this recipe and are hearty enough to make this a warming, winter dish.

If you prefer, you can cook this dish in the oven or slow cooker.

Serves 4:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed 
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 200g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered 
• 200g/8oz chantenay carrots, peeled or scrubbed and cut in half vertically 
• 100g/4oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (add 1 tbsp tomato purée if you use economy tinned tomatoes)
• 250ml/1 cup vegan, dry white wine 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 tin cannellini beans, drained
• 50g/2oz pitted olives

Heat  the oil in a large saucepan, on a medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened. 
Remove from the heat and sprinkle in a heaped tsp of cornflour. 

Add all of the remaining ingredients (except for the tinned beans and olives), place back on a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. 
Simmer for 25-30 minutes with the lid on, until the carrots and green beans are almost tender.

Add the tinned beans and olives to the sauce. 

Simmer with the lid off for a further 5-10 minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken slightly 
Remove the bay leaf and sprigs of rosemary before serving. 

Serve with your choice or rice, pasta, potatoes or rustic, crusty bread.

Alternatives: Swap the wine for a vegetable stock, if preferred.

Sponsored Post
I received payment for recipe development and ingredients, from Cranks. All views expressed are genuine.

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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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Indian Restaurant-Style Mint Sauce and Onion Salads

I've been trying to re-create the onion salad or chutney that we get with poppadoms in our local Indian/Bangladeshi restaurants. There are two types; one is quite plain with a bit of cucumber and tomato; the other has a sweet and spicy red sauce. The 'secret' ingredient in both recipes is chopped coriander, which complements the mint.

I've previously blogged my mint sauce dip, but thought I'd add it here too.

Each recipe serves 4-6 with poppadoms, bhajis or samosas. They also go well with vegetarian barbecued food.

Red, sweet onion salad

• 2 medium white onions, diced into approx 1cm pieces
• 2 tbsp tomato ketchup
• 2 tbsp mango chutney (sweet or spicy depending on preference)
• 1 tbsp tomato purée/paste
• 1 tsp unsweetened mint sauce concentrate (Colemans)
• 2 tsp chopped fresh or frozen coriander leaves

Chop the onions and separate the layers.

Mix all of the remaining ingredients together and then stir in the raw onions.

Allow to marinate for an hour or so, in the fridge, before serving.

Plain onion salad (Kachumber) 

• 2 medium white onions, quartered and sliced finely
• 2.5 cm/1" chunk of cucumber, de-seeded, quartered and sliced finely
• 1 tomato, de-seeded, quartered and sliced finely
• ½ tsp dried mint
• 2 tsp chopped fresh or frozen coriander leaves
• 2 tsp lemon juice
• A little red chilli powder, to taste (optional)

Chop the onions and separate the layers.

Mix with all of the remaining ingredients.

Allow to marinate for an hour or so, in the fridge, before serving.

Mint sauce

This is my version of the thin, pourable mint sauce (not the thicker raita), which is normally green and served with poppadoms and onion bhajis. If you want to, you can add a few drops of green food colouring, or a pinch of turmeric to give it some colour, but I don't think it needs it! 

• 1 cup of plain yogurt or dairy-free yogurt
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp unsweetened mint sauce concentrate (Colemans)
• A few dashes of hot chilli sauce
• 1 tsp chopped fresh or frozen coriander leaves (optional)

Mix all of the ingredients together. Chill until needed.

Top tip: If you can't find mint sauce concentrate, either use ½ tsp of dried mint or 2-3 tsp regular mint sauce, strained through a tea strainer to remove most of the vinegar. Adjust the amount of extra sugar added accordingly.

How to cook poppadoms in the microwave...

Traditionally poppadoms are deep fried in oil, but they taste nearly as good when cooked in the microwave and are much lower in fat. Look in the Asian section of your supermarket for brands of uncooked poppadoms, such as Ruby or Natco, as they are much cheaper and better than the big UK brands. 

You can microwave them dry, for a fat-free snack, but they taste better and expand more, when wiped (use a sheet of kitchen towel) or sprayed on both sides with a little vegetable oil before cooking.

Microwave individually for 30-40 seconds on high (no need to turn).

For a main course try my paneer tikka kebabs with mushroom biryani.

I'm adding these salad recipes to this month's No Croutons Required challenge hosted by Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes and to the West Midland's Bloggers linky.

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Mildreds: The Vegetarian Cookbook - A review & give-away

A few years ago, I had a wonderful meal at Mildreds vegetarian restaurant in London's West End. There are no exclusively vegetarian restaurants where I live, so it's always a real treat to be able to choose anything from a menu, without scrutinising it for traces of chorizo or anchovy!

I recently found out that there's now a Mildreds cookbook, packed full of recipes for the sort of homely dishes served in the restaurant, including some of their classic starters, mains, mezze dishes and desserts. These are mainly a mix of Mediterranean, Middle Eastern and Asian-inspired recipes...just the sort of meals I love to both cook and eat.

"An exciting new cookery book from the popular vegetarian restaurant, Mildreds: The Vegetarian Cookbook has something for everyone. Whether you are a vegetarian, or are trying to cut down on your meat intake, the international influences in these recipes promise variety and flavour."

Once I'd had a quick browse, I was really excited to get cooking. First on the list was the vegan chocolate and peanut butter brownies, which tasted as good as they sounded. I then made the halloumi, courgette and mint fritters and the roast pepper and black olive lahmacuns (Turkish pizzas) which turned out really well, as you can see below.

I loved the book and it's one I'll definitely be returning to time and time again. The recipes are clearly laid out, easy to follow and use fresh and seasonal, mainstream ingredients, available from most supermarkets. They're marked with a V for vegan recipes and GF for gluten-free, but most recipes also include a vegan option if they contain eggs or dairy. Due to the unpretentious and fuss-free nature of the recipes, I would particularly recommend this book to new or young vegetarians, meat reducers and vegetarian families, who want to cook simple, quick and tasty, vegetarian food. 

For recipes and news from Mildreds, do pop over and take a look at their blog. 

Mildreds: The Vegetarian Cookbook by Mildreds, Photography by Jonathan Gregson, Published by Mitchell Beazley, £25, http://www.octopusbooks.co.uk/

I have a copy of this fabulous book to give away (UK ONLY). Just tell me your favourite vegetarian meal in a comment below and add your details to the Rafflecopter widget. Competition closes 12:00 am 16th June 2015.

Integrity Statement
I received a complimentary copy of the book to review and one to give-away. All views expressed are my own.

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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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Jealous Sweets - a review and giveaway

I must admit that I've been waiting for a review request from Jealous Sweets for quite a while. Not only is one of their founders a local lad, and went to the same school as my children, but their entire range of luxury sweets is also vegan, halal and gluten-free. 

Founded by old friends Imran Merza and Taz Basunia, Jealous Sweets were created as a luxury vegan/vegetarian/halal brand for adults, as an alternative to premium boxes of chocolates. They are stocked in the food halls of Selfridges and Harvey Nichols and in luxury hotels. They have also been endorsed by celeb. chefs including Tom Aiken and Jamie Oliver.

As a vegetarian, it's great to find a brand of sweets which tastes good, looks good and is free from gelatine, artificial colours and flavours.The range include Yummy Bears, Tangy Worms, Fizzy Friends, Wild Cherries, Grizzly Bears and Sour Beans...

"Naughty doesn't have to mean nasty - Jealous Sweets are full of natural fruit juices, free from artificial colours and flavours. With flavours like Grapefruit & Orange, Morello Cherry & Pineapple and Pomegranate, Jealous Sweets are a firm favourite of chefs such as Tom Aiken and Jamie Oliver, as well as the world’s most luxurious hotels as a mini bar staple. As they’re beautifully presented in gift boxes they also make a very interesting, alternative gift!"

I loved the design of the of the individual 50g (RRP £2.49) boxes, and can see them fitting in very well as mini-bar snacks in boutique and luxury hotels, Eid gifts or even as wedding favours. The taste didn't disappoint either; all of the varieties I tried were delicious, with a real fruity kick. My favourites were the Fizzy Friends, which were an upmarket version of a certain tangy but gelatine filled popular sweet! In case a 50g box isn't enough, there are also 200g gift boxes retailing at £8.99. 

I must admit that these sweets aren't in my normal price range, but I would buy them (or would love to receive them) as a gift. If you can't find a local stockist, you can buy them online here.

You can win a gift bag of Jealous Sweets, by entering below and leaving me a comment. Competition closes at midnight Sunday 10th May 2015. UK Only

Integrity Statement

I received some complimentary Jealous Sweets products to review/give-away. All views expressed are genuine. 

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Spice Kitchen review, plus a recipe for Sri Lankan Cashew Nut & Green Bean Curry

If you're a regular reader of my blog, I'm sure you know that I love spicy food. I'm always on the lookout for new ingredients to try out, so I have really enjoyed testing out some new spice mixes from Spice Kitchen; Spice Kitchen was set up by mother and son team, Shashi & Sanjay Aggarwal in Birmingham, UK...

"Spice Kitchen is an online shop specialising in high quality hand-blended and home-ground Indian Spices. We also sell various cookware that can help you to create authentic Indian food. We specialise in selling authentic Spice Tins, which are known as 'Masala Dabbas' in India. These shiny stainless steel tins contain 7 separate containers for easy access to the myriad of spices that you will need to create perfectly blended Indian dishes and curries.
We source the freshest spices from around the world, hand-blend, roast and grind them and pack them carefully. We promise you that you will never have smelt spices like them (so much so that they smell outside the packaging!)."

I was lucky enough to get to try out  eight of their international spice mixes, which include Sri Lankan, Mexican and Baharat spice blends. I've tried out about half of the mixes so far, and I can tell you that they taste as good as they smell! Apart from my Sri Lankan recipe below, I've used the Mexican mix in my veggie chilli, the Baharat in my bean stew and the garam masala in my shami kebabs. All tasted really flavoursome and authentic.

I was going to mention that I haven't ever eaten authentic Sri Lankan food, but then I remembered that I have! One of my claims to fame is that I once worked with the lovely Karthi Gnanasegaram (now a presenter on BBC news and sports programmes), who's Sri Lankan mother used to send in some of her amazing vegetarian home cooked food for us all to sample.

I wasn't sure what to cook with my spice mix, so I researched various Sri Lankan curry recipes and found lots for cashew nut curry and green/snake bean curry. I thought I'd combine the 2 main ingredients and see what happened! The nuts gave the curry a really interesting taste and texture and the flavours were quite different from those you would expect in an Indian curry.

Cashew Nut & Green Bean Curry

Serves 4

• 100g/4oz cashew nuts, soaked in water overnight
• 200g/8oz green beans, cut into 2cm slices
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil or vegetable ghee
• 1 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• A spring of curry leaves (approx 10)
• 2-3 tsp Sri Lankan spice mix
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 50g/2oz creamed coconut (block), chopped into chunks 
• 1 cup boiling water

Soak the cashew nuts in a bowl of water overnight. Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, heat the oil/ghee in a pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes, then add the garlic, curry leaves and stir.

Once the onions are soft and beginning to change colour, add the spice mix and turmeric and cook for 2 minutes.

Add the green beans, coconut cream and water. Simmer, with the lid on, for around 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, or until the sauce has thickened and the beans are almost tender.

Add the drained cashew nuts and stir to combine. Simmer for a further 5-10 minutes.

Serve with fragrant basmati rice and coconut sambol.

Nut-free alternatives: Use 200g diced paneer/Quorn/meat free pieces, or other vegetables instead of the nuts, if you prefer.

Fragrant basmati rice: Soak, rinse and drain 1 cup of basmati rice. Cover with 1¾ cups boiling water, a cinnamon stick, 1 whole chilli and 2 green cardamom pods. Simmer for 10 minutes, covered and then turn the heat off and leave to steam for a further 5 minutes (lid on).

Coconut Sambol

• ½ cup fresh coconut, finely grated
• ¼ to ½ tsp red chilli powder (to taste)
• 1 small red onion grated, or chopped in a food processor
• 1 tbsp lime juice
•  a pinch of salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients together, adding chilli to taste. Chill until needed.

Integrity Statement

I received some complimentary Spice Kitchen products for review/recipe development. All views expressed are genuine. 

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Mint Chocolate Easter Cupcakes (Vegan)

These cute mint chocolate Easter cupcakes are a variation on my easy vegan fairy cake recipe. I couldn't find any vegan mini-eggs locally, so I painted some mint imperials with dots of brown food colouring. Just be sure to warn guests that the eggs are hard sweets, in case they try and bite into them or give them to young children!

Makes 12

• 150g/6oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 150g/6oz sugar
• 150g/5oz SR flour
• 25g/1oz sifted unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3 heaped tsp Orgran No Egg mixed with 7 tbsp water (or use a similar egg-substitute)
• ½ tsp xanthan gum

Cream the spread and sugar together until light and fluffy.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix gently until combined.
Spoon the mixture between 12 paper cake cakes in a muffin tin, filling quite generously.

Bake at 180C/170C Fan/350F/Gas Mark 4 for around 20 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
Cool on a wire rack.

When cold, top with mint butter cream/frosting...

Vegan butter icing

• 50g/2oz dairy free spread/margarine
• 125g/5oz icing sugar
• ½-1 tsp peppermint extract 
• green food colouring
• 1-2 tsp boiled water

Soften the spread.
Mix in the mint extract and colouring.
Beat in the icing sugar gradually, adding a little boiled water as needed to make a soft, spreadable mixture.
Pipe onto the top of each cupcake, once cold.

For the nests
100g/4oz dairy-free chocolate, melted
40g/1½oz rice crispies
12 vegan mint imperials (check ingredients for gelatine) or dairy-free chocolate mini eggs.
12 mini Easter chicks

Mix the cereal into the melted chocolate until coated. Spoon into a well greased mini muffin pan.
Press the crispies down with the back of a teaspoon and make a slight indent for the egg and chick to sit in. Chill until needed. 
Carefully remove the nests from the tin, using a palette knife, and place one on top of each iced cake.
Fill with a chick and an egg.

Top tip: Warning - do not open the oven to check until at least 15 minutes have passed (unless you can smell them burning!), as the egg-replacer takes longer to set than eggs would. I found this out whilst cooking my first batch and they sunk in the middle!

Alternatives: Make a large chocolate sandwich cake by dividing the mixture between two greased and lined sandwich cake tins and baking for 25-30 minutes. 

I'm linking this post to April's chocolate-themed Tea Time Treats linky hosted by Lavender & Lovage and The Hedgecombers. 

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Hobnob Biscuits

I thought I'd have a go at making home made Hobnob biscuits as they're a family favourite. We were all quite impressed with the results. They actually taste like genuine Hobnobs! 

This recipe is a great one to make with little ones (or big ones!) for Mother's Day, as the cookie dough is very easy to make and can be mixed and rolled by hand, if you don't want to use a mixer or food processor.

Makes around 18-20 biscuits

• 75g/3oz white SR Flour
• 75g/3oz wholemeal SR flour (if you don't have this, use white SR flour)
• 100g/4oz porridge oats (or fine oatmeal)
• 150g/6oz dairy-free/vegan spread
• 100g/4oz granulated sugar
• 1 tbsp golden syrup
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 100g/4oz dairy-free chocolate to top, optional

Pre-heat oven to 160C/150C Fan/Gas 3/325F

If using porridge oats, grind them for a few seconds in a food processor or liquidiser to make your own fine oatmeal.

Rub or blend (in a food processor) the spread/margarine into the flours and oats, until you have the consistency of coarse breadcrumbs. 
Mix in the oats, bicarb. and sugar.
Drizzle the syrup over, and mix or blend well until you have a firm dough. Add a little more syrup, if the mixture is too dry.

Roll the dough into around 18-20 small balls, using your hands.
Place, spaced well apart, on greased baking trays and flatten slightly.

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until dark, golden brown.
Allow to cool on the trays for 5 minutes before removing and cooling on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Suitable for freezing.

Options: If you prefer a softer cookie, bake for 12 minutes, until pale golden brown.
To make chocolate hobnobs, allow the biscuits to cool completely. Melt the chocolate and dip each cookie into the melted chocolate. Alternatively, drizzle the chocolate over the cookies.

I'm linking this post to this month's Family Foodies  baking challenge co-hosted by Eat Your Veg and Bangers & Mash

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Herby Salad with Chickpeas and Olives

This simple salad is basically a variation on tabbouleh without the bulgar wheat! It works well as a side dish to accompany a carb-heavy main course, such as pizza or pasta, or as a lunch-box salad served with pitta bread.

• 2 little gem or 1 cos/romaine lettuce, leaves separated 
• 2-3 ripe tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
• 8cm/3" chunk of cucumber, de-seeded and diced
• 1 green bell pepper, de-seeded and diced
• 50g/2oz pitted olives, sliced
• ½ can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 tbsp each of fresh chopped mint and parsley 

Dressing

• juice of ½ lemon
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small clove of garlic, crushed (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste

Put all of the salad ingredients, apart from the lettuce, into a bowl.

Mix the dressing ingredients together, drizzle over the salad and mix gently.

Allow the flavours to marinate for around half an hour before serving on a bed of lettuce leaves.

I'm adding this recipe to this month's No Crouton's Required Challenge, created and co-hosted by Lisa's Kitchen and Jacqueline at Tinned Tomatoes.

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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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Pan-Fried Gnocchi with Garlic & Chilli

Apologies for my recent lack of blog posts. Life, work and a bout of blogger's block got in the way for a few weeks! Anyway, I'm back with a delicious new batch of recipes to share with you...

My first one is for pan-fried gnocchi; I don't often cook gnocchi as Miss O isn't keen on its texture. As she was out with her boyfriend tonight (on her first Valentine's Day date!) I decided to experiment with a new variation of gnocchi, which I came across at a local Italian restaurant. I've never fried gnocchi before, but it gives it a totally different texture.

Serves 3-4 as part of an anti-pasti/tapas style starter. Double recipe to serve 3-4 as a main course, or as a buffet dish for 8.

• ½ pack 250g/10oz of ready made plain potato gnocchi (check ingredients as some brands are vegan. I used Waitrose essential gnocchi which is vegan and only £1.75 per pack)

To coat

• 2 tbsp plain flour
• ½ tsp dried oregano
• ½ tsp sweet paprika powder
• salt and pepper to season

Dressing

• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 mild-medium chilli, de-seeded and chopped finely (I used ½ a red and ½ a green chilli)
• 1 clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley, sage or basil (to serve)

Cook the gnocchi according to the packet instructions.

Drain, rinse in cold water and blot dry on kitchen paper.

Once cool, toss the cooked gnocchi in the seasoned flour mixture. Remove from the excess flour.

Meanwhile make up the dressing, by mixing all ingredients together.

Heat a further 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, on a medium-hot heat.

Add the coated gnocchi, and fry for 5 minutes, tossing occasionally in the pan to cook evenly.

When lightly browned, remove from the pan and place in a bowl.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the dressing ingredients (except the parsley) to the pan.

Cook for around 30 seconds, to de-glaze the pan and cook the garlic and chillies.

Pour the dressing over the gnocchi, stir and sprinkle with the chopped herbs.

Serve warm with a squeeze of lemon juice or a sprinkle of vegetarian Parmesan-style cheese, yeast flakes or toasted pine nuts.

Gluten-free option: Use gluten free gnocchi and corn flour for coating.

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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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