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VeganEtcetera

~ Eating healthily easily

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Tag Archives: Dinner

Seasonal Greens & Nettle Soup! Vegan & Gluten Free

24 Sunday May 2015

Posted by Aissa in Gluten Free, Natural Health, Savoury, Superfoods, Traditional, Vegan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Dinner, Gluten free, Natural Health, Nettles, Savoury, Traditional, Vegan

This is the brightest greenest soup I have ever made, I just feel healthier in the glow of it! It only took 45 minutes from start to finish including taking photos! Nettles come in to season in spring and that season lasts until the end of May. They become to old tough and stingy after that! That said they still sting a bit- so handle with care! Traditionally they would be picked in the countryside or out of your own garden. It is the shocking reality of city life that I bought mine, but I am grateful that the McNally organic farm stall realised that urban dwellers would also like nettles! My Dad grew up having this iron and silica rich food in his diet, but my first attempt at cooking them went terribly wrong. I simply over cooked them and the soup became incredibly sour. If cooked for only a minute or so they lend the soup a lovely lemon fruity and green flavour.

Spinach, chard, nettles, chives & wet garlic

Spinach, chard, nettles, chives & wet garlic

Mostly nettle soup would be made with a base of potato, I am not a fan of the starchy spud and I already have enough tomatoes in my diet to cover my nightshade consumption quota! I used a base of organic cauliflower and carrots, my extra seasonal goodies I have young spinach, rainbow chard, chives and wet garlic! If you cannot get your hands on nettles try some rocket, Persian cress or mustard greens!

Lovely spinach

Lovely spinach

Seasonal Greens & Nettle Soup

  • Three cloves of Wet garlic
  • A dessertspoon of raw coconut oil
  • A teaspoon of Yellow mustard seeds
  • A teaspoon of Nigella seeds
  • Half a teaspoon of turmeric powder*
  • Two bay leaves
  • Lots of Black pepper
  • A dash of Mirin – for sweetness
  • Two medium carrots chopped
  • Half a large head of Cauliflower- chopped
  • Two cups of vegan stock- homemade or bought**
  • Approx. 400g of young Spinach
  • I used half a bunch of the Rainbow Chard in the picture
  • Approx. 300g of Nettles ( I used two thirds of the nettles in the pic below)
  • A couple of dessertspoons of chopped chives
  • Half a cup or so of hot water for thinning soup a bit after blending
  • Optional: 100ml/ half a cup of vegan cream
  • Optional: A few dessertspoons of cashews or a ripe avocado instead of the vegan cream!
  • As an after thought I think it would be good with one diced onion
  • Extra chopped chives serving

*Not very Irish but very good for you

**I used half an organic onion stock cube to two cups of boiling water, cubes are of course hydrolysed veg protein free!

Fantastically spiky nettles!

Fantastically spiky nettles!

Method

Start by melting your coconut oil in a deep saucepan on a medium heat. Add your mustard and nigella seeds and let sizzle for a minute. Add in your (onion if using) wet garlic and some black pepper. Let cook for another minute or two, don’t leave the garlic burn or it will be bitter.

Add in your chopped carrots and cauliflower. Pour in your stock. Add your bay leaves and turmeric. Let these simmer and cook for about seven minute, just until the cauliflower is cooked. Meanwhile while you wash your spinach – very well. Throw in your chives and washed spinach. Give it a few stirs, leaving the spinach wilt.

Soup base

Steamy Soup base

Next is the hide and seek game with the bay leaves! Try and find them and take them out before you get to blending. Take the mixture off the heat and then get to blending! A hand blender should be fine. I used a jug one, be careful ladling the mixture into your blender, it will be piping hot!

Pre first blend

Pre first blend

Now magically green!

Now magically green!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If using a jug blender pour the soup back into the saucepan and back onto a medium heat. Add your half a cup of hot water to thin out the soup a little. Add your mirin. Taste to check for seasoning. I added more black pepper, but it didn’t need any salt.

Wash your nettles, take your time, wash them well to avoid gritty bits later! Usually people chop off the tough ends of the stalks, if you are using a hand immersion blender you may want to do this. You would probably be best advised to use gloves, or be careful not to tip of the stinging leaf edges. I didn’t bother removing the stalk ends, I just threw them into the colander and rinsed them in the sink.

Pop them into the saucepan, stir them through so that the are covered by the soup. The leaves will begin to wilt quite quickly. Remember you are only cooking them for a minute or so. You are going to blend it all anyway so any tough stalks don’t matter.

Again with the blending! If using a jug blender and you decide to go for cashews or avocado blend them first with a ladle of the soup. If using an immersion blender use the avocado and just chop it and throw into the soup before blending. Alternatively whiz up your soup just until the nettles are blended and then add in your 100ml of vegan puoring cream of choice and blitz again just to mix it through.

Nettle Soup

Nettle Soup

Serve with a sprinkle of chives and a swirl of vegan cream or milk! TADA! Seasonal Nettle Soup! Hope you try this quite traditional green extravisganza! (ignoring the turmeric! 😉 ) Xs Aissa

P.S more stuff on nettles: Nettles Nutrition, Nettles in Herbalism

Seasonal Iron Rich Vegan Dinner- gluten free too!

29 Sunday Mar 2015

Posted by Aissa in Gluten Free, Natural Health, Savoury, Vegan

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Dinner, Gluten free, Natural Health, purple sprouting broccoli, salad dressing, Savoury, Vegan

So I love my green foods, have them until they come out my ears! Lately though I have found myself having less dark leafy salads because of the cold weather and less seaweed as I have it in my salad! Veggie people are no more likely to suffer from an iron deficiency than meat eaters but is something we should all not be lackadaisical about.

So here is a delicious dinner packed with iron and the vitamin c that will help you absorb it! I picked up the organic leafy greens and herbs at my local organic farmers market and the rest in the health shop I work in. It makes me happy when purple sprouting broccoli comes back into season. 🙂

Yummmm colours

Yummmm colours

Seasonal Iron Rich Vegan Dinner for two!

    • Roughly 4 cups of Purple Sprouting Broccoli it doesn’t fit in a cup!
    • 240g or a cup and a half of cooked Pinto Beans
    • A salad bowl of toren leaves:
    • Organic Watercress
    • Organic Rocket
    • Organic Mustard Leaves
    • A third of a cup of chopped parsley
    • A quarter cup of chopped chives
    • A small red onion- finely chopped
    • Three cloves of purple garlic- finely chopped
    • Half a teaspoon of nigella seeds
    • A quarter teaspoon of chilli flakes
    • A dessertspoon of organic raw coconut oil
    • A dessertspoon of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
    • Black pepper to taste- I like lots
    • A quarter teaspoon of good quality sea salt
    • A squeeze/ teaspoon of fresh lemon juice.
    • Half a teaspoon of powdered dillisk/dulse seaweed & more for sprinkling
    • Optional:teaspoon of basil paste or some fresh basil
    • An avocado
    • Some alfalfa sprouts
    • A red pepper- diced
    • A carrot chopped as you like
    • A few black olives that refused to be photographed
    • A sheet of nori seaweed- to use like a wrap!

Miso Salad Dressing

  • A clove of purple garlic – finely chopped
  • A teaspoon of raw sweet miso paste
  • A teaspoon of chopped parsley
  • A teaspoon of chopped chives
  • Lots of black pepper
  • Half a teaspoon of apple cyder vinegar
  • A dash of mirin (gives a note of sweetness)
  • A squeeze of fresh lemon juice
  • Half a cup of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil

Method:

Grab your broccoli and cut off a tiny bit of the tough stem. Leave the leaves, they all part of the goodness! Give them a rinse and pop them on to steam for roughly eight to ten minutes. Chop your onion and garlic including the garlic for your salad dressing. Melt your coconut oil in a wok or pan on a medium high heat. Once it is heated a bit throw in your nigella seeds, chilli flakes, and a bit of black pepper.

Now add almost all your onion (you are keeping a bit to put in your salad later).Add your sea salt.  Leave cook for a few minutes- the onion will go transparent pretty fast. Add in the garlic- let this cook. Next throw in your pinto beans (also a good source of iron).

While the pinto beans heat through rinse and chop your herbs. Put about half in with the pinto beans and keep half for the salad and salad dressing. Turn the heat down to medium. Add the dillisk/dulse and basil if using. Your purple sprouting broccoli should be ready at this stage. Add this to the pinto beans. Mix everything together and add in your extra virgin olive oil. Taste and see if it needs more seasoning. Remember you will be having it with the salad dressing so be cautious with the salt. I now turn the heat off but leave it on the ring.

Prepare your salad dressing. I make a little jar full as it will of course keep. It is even better the next day as the garlic infuses into the oil and the miso starts working on everything! Having right now on tonights dinner! Put your garlic, herbs, miso and black pepper in a  jar- that you have a lid for (you want to be able to shake it!). Add your oil. Now add your mirin, apple cyder vinegar and lemon juice. Put the lid on and give it a good shake. The vinegar and lemon juice help emulsify the dressing.

Throw all your washed dark leafy greens in a bowl. I like to tear mine rather than chop. Mix in your herbs. Chop your red pepper and carrot and either serve on the plate or add to the salad. I prefer to put the salad dressing on the table and let people take as much as they like. Chop your avocado in two and put alfalfa on it!

Go back to your purple sprouting broccoli dish and squeeze your lemon juice over it and give it a mix. I find the sharp fruity lemon juice really helps bring all the flavours together.

Ready to serve! Delicious and nutritious !Xs Aissa

P.s In tonight’s dinner I discovered that freshly cooked brown lentils are made even more addictive by the addition of half a teaspoon of ume plum puree!!! And that my water kefir looks like pee in this photo! 😉 Though not photogenic it is full of good bacteria, yeasts and enzymes that will help with my digestion.

Tonight's dinner!

Tonight’s dinner! Xs

Vegan French Onion Stew-oup Quick!

24 Saturday Jan 2015

Posted by Aissa in Gluten Free, Savoury, Traditional, Vegan

≈ 3 Comments

Tags

Dinner, Gluten free, Savoury, Traditional, Vegan

This was going to be a light broth-y soup with veggies, but I wanted to make it a bit more hearty and filling with puy lentils and it kinda ended up stew like. Hence “Stew-oup!” It turned out super tasty, if I do say so myself. It is fast to make ,including prep and leaving it cook it took only 45mins.

That said I did cheat. I came in from work, and for various reasons it has been an exhausting week. I had not soaked puy lentils, I did not want to wait forty minutes for them to cook (Here end-th the excuses). O but the joy of organic canned puy lentils! The ones I get are an English brand, they are only in water- no salt, no sugar no preservatives…no waiting!

Vegan French Onion Stew-oup Quick!

  • A dessertspoon of organic coconut oil or peanut oil
  • A teaspoon of nigella seeds
  • A teaspoon of yellow mustard seeds
  • A slice of organic ginger very finely chopped
  • A couple of twists of black pepper
  • One large yellow onion not too finely diced
  • Two small red onions quite finely diced
  • An eighth of a teaspoon of pink himalayan salt or sea salt
  • Half a teaspoon of organic turmeric powder
  • One teaspoon of english style mustard
  • One and a half organic onion stock cubes or Homemade stock*
  • Minimum three to four cups of boiling water (more if needed)
  • Half a medium head of broccoli approx cup and two thirds
  • Four cloves of garlic finely chopped
  • Two medium carrots- I spiralized mine**
  • Two large portabello mushrooms one very finely chopped one thinly sliced
  • A bit more than a cup of cooked puy lentils or a 240g (dry weight) tin of them.
  • Two dessertspoons of cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • An eighth of a teaspoon of pink himalayan salt or sea salt
  • About eight twists of black pepper or to taste
  • Optional: a little fresh parsley chopped

See the bottom of the post for footnotes!

Easy Garlic Toast

  • A few slices of toasted brown spelt bread or rye or your gluten free preference
  • A little organic coconut oil or cold pressed extra virgin olive oil
  • A clove of garlic
  • More black pepper

The quick way is simple. Toast your bread. Cut a clove of garlic in two. Rub the garlic on the toast- it should actual wear down a bit. Scrape on your coconut oil or drizzle your olive oil. Season with black pepper. Ta-Da! Garlic Toast! If you have time you could of course make proper garlic bread in the oven, but this is a quick work night dinner!

Vegan French Onion Stew-oup Method

I have listed the ingredients in the order you put them in. Put your pot on a medium to high heat. Melt your organic coconut oil or let your peanut oil warm up. Coconut oil can be safely heated to 225C and peanut oil can go up to 215C. Add your nigella seeds and yellow mustard seeds ( they should sizzle when added). Add your black pepper and ginger next. Now add your chopped yellow onion. Chop your red onions and add these. Add your salt. After a couple of minutes add the turmeric. At this stage put the lid on to allow the onions to sweat and cook. You need to keep an eye on them and give them the odd stir, they can easily burn. Once they have shrunk down and are lovely and transparent add the mustard. Give it a stir.

The start!

The start!

the onions cooked!

the onions cooked!

Add your homemade stock or stock cubes and water, bring it all to a simmer. Pop in the broccoli. I chopped each of the florets of broccoli in three so that they were nice and thin. This means they cook quickly and are easier to eat if you are just using a spoon to have your “stew-oup”.

Et la broccoli!

Et la broccoli!

plus carrots

 

After a five minutes add spiralized or shaved carrots. Chop your Portabello mushrooms and add these. Add in your cooked puy lentils. Let it all to come back up to a light simmer. Now put in your cold pressed extra virgin olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil has a burning point of 100C. I do not use it on a direct heat, aside from the trans fatty acids the flavour would also burn off! Add the rest of the salt and pepper. Taste your concoction to check the vegetables are cooked and if it needs more seasoning.

Almost ready to serve!

Almost ready to serve!

And almost time to eat! Prepare your Easy Garlic toast and grab a blow. If you have fresh parsley chop a teaspoon and sprinkle on your soup when serving. You should have enough for two or three people.

Stew-oup!

Stew-oup and Garlic Toast!

Hope you try out the “Stew-oup!’ Let me know. O and I am posting on Peanut butter day so in it’s honour here is a link to my Nut Butter Chocolate Pie ! Hope you are having a good one. Xs Aissa

Footnotes!

*the stock cubes I use have no hydrolysed vegetable protein or hydrogenated oil. Homemade stock can be made easily and in advance. Keep some your veg peelings or veg juice pulp for a couple of days in the fridge. You boil these for approx an hour with salt, pepper, an onion, a stalk of finely chopped celery,some herbs of your choice e.g.parsley, thyme, rosemary. A large teaspoon of miso paste is a lovely addition. Taste the broth to see if it is nice. Leave to cool a little and pass it through a sieve. You can use a sterilised kilner jar or passata jar to store it. Pour it in while still reasonably hot and fill to the tip top tip. The passata’s metal top should actually be sucked in a little by the heat and be sealed. When you open it it should make a popping noise like a jar does when you buy it new! This will keep for a good few days in the fridge.

**If you do not have a spiralizer you can use a veg peeler to get long strips of carrot.

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