Herb Pancakes with Spinach & Tomato Filling

 

Now is usually the time of year when everything in my vegetable plot looks at it's best but not this year!  Sweetcorn plants are at least two months behind and unlikely to form cobs by the autumn. Even rocket which usually grows like a weed has been struggling to survive the cool, damp, cloudy days which have plagued us this year. 

As well as potatoes which have loved all the rain,  climbing french beans are thriving in the greenhouse.  But, as usual, one of the most reliable crops outside is swiss chard and it shows little sign of slowing down.

This has always been one of my favourite recipes to use up a glut of chard and spinach works just as well.  The pancakes are free from eggs and dairy and contain ground fenugreek and fresh basil but you can use any herbs you like.  Do give fenugreek a try though. It really adds something special to this dish.

For the pancakes

110g plain flour

25g semolina

1/2 tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp ground fenugreek

300 ml unsweetened soya milk

1 tbsp sunflower oil (+ extra for frying)

small bunch chopped basil leaves

For the filling

250 - 300g chard or spinach 

1 medium onion

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 tbsp olive oil

1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

2 pieces drained sun-dried tomatoes (optional)

Method

First, make the pancake batter by placing the flour, semolina, baking powder, fenugreek and some salt and pepper in a bowl.

Whisk in the milk a little at a time until you have a smooth batter, then add the chopped basil and sunflower oil.

Transfer the pancake batter to a jug and leave in the fridge to rest while you make the filling.

Wash the chard or spinach, removing any thick stalks from the chard leaves. Lift the wet leaves into a large pan, add some salt and place over a medium heat. There's no need to add any extra water.

As the chard/spinach start to wilt and soften, use a pair of kitchen scissors to chop up and stir the leaves round so they cook evenly. 

Spinach only takes two or three minutes to cook whilst chard takes a little longer.

Drain through a metal sieve over the sink and press out any excess liquid using the back of a tablespoon.

Meanwhile, peel and chop the onion and saute in a little olive oil in a wide based pan for about 3 minutes. Add the crushed garlic and cook for a few more minutes until cooked but not brown.

Stir in the tinned tomatoes and bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Chop up the sun-dried tomatoes, if using, and stir in.  Then add the cooked spinach/chard and season to taste.

When you're ready, make the pancakes.  Give the pancake mix a stir, then heat a little sunflower oil or trex in a pancake pan or shallow non-stick frying pan.

When the pan is really hot, pour in about a quarter of the pancake mixture and immediately tip the pan from side to side until the mixture thinly coats the surface.

Cook on both sides until golden brown. 

Turn out on to a warm plate and top with a generous spoonful of the spinach and tomato filling.

Roll it up and serve straightaway.
It makes a great lunch dish on it's own or serve with vegetables for dinner.

Mushroom Goulash

Traditionally, a goulash is a meat stew made with beef, tomatoes and onions and spiced with paprika.  This meatless and dairyfree version is full of mushrooms, tomatoes, onions and green pepper in a creamy sauce seasoned with paprika and goes perfectly with tagliatelli, noodles or rice. 

Ingredients                 Serves Four

2 medium or 3 small onions
1 green pepper
350g mushrooms
3 tomatoes, chopped 
(or half a 400g tin tomatoes)
2 tbsp sunflower oil
1 tbsp flour
2 level tsp paprika
Half a vegetable stock cube
Approx 100ml unsweetened soya milk
Salt and pepper

Peel and chop the onions. Heat the sunflower oil in a large casserole, add the onions and saute for about 5 minutes over a medium heat until softened but not brown.

Cut the peppers into quarters, core and deseed, then cut into slices.

Add the peppers to the pan and cook for a few more minutes.

Wipe the mushrooms with a piece of dampened kitchen paper to remove any dirt. Then cut into thickish slices and add.

 

Stir well and cook over a medium heat for about 3 minutes until the mushrooms have just started to soften.

Now add the flour and paprika and cook for a minute stirring continuously.

Dissolve the stock cube in 250ml boiling water and add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes.   Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in enough soya milk to produce a creamy sauce.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve with tagliatelle, rice or noodles.

Optional extras:  Sprinkle with chopped parsley or top with a spoonful of Tofutti Sour Supreme or Alpro plain yogurt.

Pissaladière

This is a classic French Provencal dish that never fails to please and impress! Whenever I've made one of these for a workshop or party,  someone has always asked me for the recipe!

As it's name suggests, a pissaladière is similar to an Italian pizza but with no cheese in sight!  It's traditionally filled with onions, tomatoes and herbs with a lattice of anchovy fillets and black olives on top. The filling can be cooked on a bread base or on a pre-cooked shortcrust pastry base, like I've done here, which has a much lighter texture.  What's good about this recipe is that it tastes fabulous cold so it's ideal for a party as you can make it well in advance and keep it in the fridge till needed.

The pastry is entirely dairy free and made with Trex vegetable fat and Pure margarine. I usually use white flour as it makes the tart lighter though I do use wholemeal flour to dust my work surface before rolling it out.  I usually make the pissaladiere in a round flan tin but it looks just as good in a large square or oblong tin.

Ingredients        Serves 6 - 8

Pastry:
180g plain flour
60g Trex vegetable fat
30g Pure sunflower margarine
pinch of salt
1 level tsp cinnamon
About 3 tbsp cold water

Filling:
5 large onions (about 900g)
3 cloves garlic
5 tbsp olive oil
400g tin of tomatoes
1 tbsp sundried tomato paste
3 or 4 fresh sprigs of thyme and oregano
About 15 black olives
Small jar/tin of anchovy fillets in olive oil
freshly ground black pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas Mark 5. 

Place a baking sheet on the middle shelf.

To make the pastry, sift the flour and cinnamon into a large mixing bowl and add a pinch of salt.  Place the vegetable fat and margarine in the bowl and chop into small pieces with a knife. Using your fingers, rub the fat into the flour until it becomes crumbly and resembles breadcrumbs.  

Add the water a little at a time and, using the knife again, mix together to form a soft dough.   (Alternatively, make your pastry in a food processor if you like)

Bring the pastry dough together with your hands and place on a clean, lightly floured work surface.   Roll out the pastry to about 1/4" thick and transfer to a greased 23 - 25 cm (9 -10") flan tin.  (The best way to do this is to roll the pastry loosely round a rolling pin and then lift it onto the prepared tin)

Ease the pastry into position and make sure no air is trapped underneath.  Gently strengthen the sides with any excess pastry to avoid it shrinking down when baked.  Either cover and leave in the fridge until needed or use straightaway.

Prick the base of the flan all over with a fork, place a piece of foil or greaseproof paper on top and fill with baking beans, dried soya beans or rice to stop the pastry base from puffing up whilst baking.

Place in the oven on the pre-heated baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes, then remove the beans ands foil and place the flan base back uncovered in the oven for 5 more minutes or till completely cooked through but not brown.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Peel and thinly slice the onions. (Done in moments in a food processor and without shedding a tear!)

Peel and finely chop the garlic.  Place the olive oil in a large heavy-based pan (I use a 28cm Le Creuset casserole with a lid) and cook the onions and garlic over a low heat for about 40 minutes until they become soft, stirring occasionally. Don't rush this process. The onions need gentle cooking so they stew slowly rather than fry in the olive oil.

Meanwhile, place the tinned tomatoes in a small saucepan with the sundried tomato puree, thyme and oregano. 

Cook the mixture over a medium to high heat stirring frequently until thick and well reduced. 

Stir the tomato mixture into the cooked onions and season with freshly ground pepper and a little salt.  (anchovies are already salty so don't overdo the seasoning.)

Fill the pre-baked pastry base with the cooked tomato and onion mixture.  Drain the anchovy fillets (reserving the oil for another day e.g. for making a homemade tomato sauce)  Using scissors, cut the thickest anchovies in half lengthways and place in a lattice pattern over the filing. Dot the middle of the squares with the olives and drizzle a little olive oil over the top. 

Bake in the oven for 25 - 30 minutes at 200C/Gas Mark 5.

Serve the pissaladière straightaway, if you wish, though I think it tastes better at room temperature.  Delicious with salad, as a main course or starter.

Smoked Mackerel with Lemon Risotto

Including oily fish in our weekly diet is believed to have some wonderful health benefits. Mackerel, salmon, sardines and herrings are excellent sources of omega-3 which is known to help reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and diabetes, protect us against strokes, lower our blood pressure and our cholesterol levels. 

Mackerel is currently plentiful in the UK when it's in season during the summer months so it's a good sustainable choice.  Smoked mackerel is fantastic too. It's an incredibly versatile food, relatively inexpensive and a great way to boost your health at the same time!   

Even though it's good just as it is served cold with a salad, mashed up in sandwiches or made into a pate, smoked mackerel is also delicious hot, served as a main course with vegetables.  Celeriac and potato mash, fried tomatoes and a green vegetable go particularly well or, for a change, serve it as I've done here with a tangy lemon risotto.

This simple risotto really compliments the rich flavour of smoked mackerel. It's made the traditional Italian way with arborio rice and has a lovely creamy consistency, completely unlike fluffy basmati or long grain rice.  It takes a little longer and needs plenty of stirring but it's well worth the effort! 


Ingredients                       Serves 4

3 to 4 smoked mackerel fillets
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 leek, finely shredded
2 tbsp olive oil
300g arborio rice
2 vegetable stock cubes (e.g. Kallo)
Juice and grated zest of one lemon
2 tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
freshly ground salt and pepper



Begin by heating the olive oil in a large heavy-based saucepan - I use a large Le Creuset casserole dish.  Fry the chopped onion for 3 or 4 minutes over a medium heat, then stir in the garlic and cook for a minute or so before adding the shredded leeks. Carry on cooking for about five minutes until softened but not brown.

Prepare the stock by pouring a litre of water into a saucepan, add the two vegetable stock cubes and bring to a low simmer.

Peel away the skin from the fish and lay the mackerel fillets either on a plate or on a sheet of foil.  Place under the grill and leave on a lowish heat to warm through slowly.

                                     
Add the rice to the leek and onion mixture and stir continuously for a few minutes with a wooden spoon to allow the rice to fry a little in the pan.

Now pour in a ladleful of hot stock and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring well until the liquid has nearly been absorbed.  Carry on adding the stock a little at a time and keep stirring and simmering, allowing the rice to absorb the stock before adding any more.   If you run out of stock, just use boiling water. 

When the rice is nearly cooked and most of the stock has been absorbed which usually takes 15 to 20 minutes, add the chopped parsley, the grated zest and juice of a lemon and some salt and pepper.  At this point, the risotto should still be moist, but not swimming about in a sea of liquid!   Taste the rice to check if it's cooked - it should still have a slight bite to it, (al dente, as they say) rather than be soft and mushy.

By now your mackerel fillets will be hot, though hopefully not cooking! You can either leave them whole and place individually on top of a serving of risotto or alternatively, flake the fish into pieces and mix into the risotto.

Best served hot and straightaway or it's liable to go thick and sticky! 

If you do have any leftovers,  it's very easy to form the cold risotto into rice balls or croquettes.  Roll in some flour or polenta and fry for 4 to 5 minutes in olive oil until golden.

Vegetable Burger

Burgers don't have to contain meat!  In fact there are any number of vegetable-based alternatives to buy these days but it's also quick and easy to make your own.  They're far cheaper, much healthier for you and you can vary the flavour and ingredients to suit your own taste.

This is the recipe I use most often because, apart from the fact that we love them, in the summer when I'm picking courgettes in the garden daily, this is a handy way of using them up!   As well as being full of fresh vegetables, the burgers contain tinned chick peas and are gently spiced with cumin and coriander. 

I usually serve the burgers with a simple tomato sauce (made with an onion, garlic, basil and a tin of tomatoes),  with rice or potatoes and a side vegetable such as leeks and peas. 

Of course, they also go down well in a burger bun! 

Ingredients                        Makes about 10 burgers

1 medium onion
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp cumin seeds (or ground cumin)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 medium courgettes
225g carrots
85g wholemeal bread
400g can chick peas, drained and rinsed
2 tbsp fresh parsley or coriander
2 tbsp crunchy peanut butter

In a large frying pan or saute pan, fry the chopped onion in the olive oil for about five minutes until soft.  Pound the cumin seeds in a pestle and mortar and add to the pan with the ground coriander.  Stir fry over a medium heat for a few minutes.

Finely dice the courgettes and grate the carrot on a coarse grater. 

Add them to the pan with the crushed garlic and fry for about five minutes over a medium heat stirring often. If the mixture looks dry, just add a drizzle more olive oil. Once the vegetables are starting to soften, remove from the heat and leave for a few minutes to cool down.

Meanwhile, in a food processor,  blend the bread into breadcrumbs.   Place them in a large bowl with the peanut butter.   Next,  blend the parsley (or chop by hand) and add to the bowl.   Finally blend the drained chick peas until smooth.

Add them to the bowl together with the cooked vegetables.  Season with freshly ground salt and pepper and mix well.  
Then leave the mixture to cool down completely.

The mixture usually makes about 10 medium sized burgers.   You can either shape them by hand or spoon into rings or large pastry cutters.  I do this on some lining paper saved from a cereal packet to stop them sticking.

Cover and chill for a few hours.    I usually freeze some of the burgers at this point by laying them out on some lining paper on a tray in the freezer.  Once frozen, I transfer them to a large bag.

When required,  fry on both sides in a little olive oil.