Gingered fennel, spinach and butterbean bake on a cauliflower crust

If at first you don’t succeed, try, try and try again. When cooking, perseverance can sometimes be challenging. You pour your energy into creating a dish which turns out to be an utter failure. Next time you’re in the kitchen and you are wondering what to cook, “that thing that didn’t turn out how I wanted it to at all” isn’t necessarily the first thing that leaps to mind. However, given how many unlikely dishes have been created that so easily go wrong this perseverance in the face of failure is something that many cooks over the years must have done. There is also a stubborn streak in me that, once I get an idea into my head, likes to keep going until I get it right. This idea was a fusion of two different dishes my parents cooked for me. The first dish that inspired me was one my mum cooked trying to recreate a meal she had enjoyed in a restaurant consisting of butterbeans, fennel, ginger and spinach all stir fried together, which I thought was delicious. The second was my dad’s favourite way of roasting pork: stuffed with sichuan pepper and fennel which go together beautifully. The linking factor of fennel made me want to introduce a note of sichuan pepper to my mum’s dish. When mum cooked the butterbeans for me there were a lot of leftovers which I took home, and served to my husband the next night as a topping on a tortilla “pizza” with tomato sauce and cheese. I thought this worked well and wanted to experiment with other variations. I was fascinated by the concept of a cauliflower pizza crust and wanted to try making my own version. Most cauliflower crust recipes I found contained a lot of cheese but I wondered if I could use something non-dairy to bind it together. My first attempt was using 40g oatmeal cooked into a porridge like mixture then stirred into the raw grated cauliflower. However, this was far too damp and just fell apart. For my second attempt, I cooked the cauliflower to get rid of some of the moisture. This was better, with nice and crispy edges, but still didn’t really set. For my third attempt I gave up on oatmeal and replaced it with wholemeal flour, plus a bit of grated vegan cheese to help bind it all together. Although the result wasn’t particularly pizza like it held together and tasted good, so I am glad I tried again rather than listening to the comic paraphrase: “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again, then quit. There’s no use being a damn fool about it”.

Gingered fennel, spinach and butterbean bake on a cauliflower crust

Cooking time: 40-60 minutes

Dietary info: vegan

Serves: 2-3

• 100g dried butterbean, cooked as per packet instructions or 200g ready cooked butterbeans
• 175g cooked spinach, fresh or frozen (defrosted if frozen)
• 30-35g fresh ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 1 large bulb fennel (about 300g), finely sliced

Cauliflower base

• 40g wholemeal flour
• 25g vegan cheese, grated
• 50ml water
• 1 tsp baking powder
• ½ a cauliflower, grated
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp ground sichuan pepper
• 1 tsp salt

Tomato sauce

• 500g passata
• 1 tsp ground fennel
• 1 tsp ground sichuan pepper
• 1 heaped tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• Extra salt and lemon to season if wanted

1. Cook the grated cauliflower in a non stick frying pan until if has softened and lost some of its water (about 5-10 minutes)
2. Mix together the flour, water, baking powder, salt, sichuan pepper and fennel to a smooth paste then stir in the cauliflower and cheese
3. Spread the cauliflower mix about 3-5mm thick on a non-stick baking tray and cook at 160C fan for for 20-30 minutes until crispy but not burning at the edges. It may still be a little soft in the middle but don’t worry about that
4. Mix all the sauce ingredients except the seasoning salt and lemon together in a saucepan and heat until bubbling then season
5. Put the ginger and fennel in a non-stick saucepan with a splash of water and cook for 3-5 minutes, until the fennel is starting to soften. Then stir in the spinach and continue to stir until it has wilted (if fresh) or heated through (if frozen) and finally stir in the butterbeans
6. Cover the base with a thin layer of tomato sauce (4-6 tbsp) then top with the fennel / spinach / bean mixture
7. Return the bake to the oven and cook until the top is starting to crisp (about 15-20 minutes)
8. Serve with the remaining tomato sauce and some steamed vegetables or salad

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A few tips to prep ahead

• If using dried butterbeans put these on to soak 2 days before you want to cook the topping, and cook them the night before you want to make the topping then store them in a sealed container in the fridge until you need them
• Make the tomato sauce and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 6 days
• Make the topping mixture (fennel / spinach / beans) and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 6 days
• Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and spices for the base and keep, covered, at room temperature for up to a week
• Grate and cook the cauliflower and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days
• On the night, grate the cheese, mix together the base and bake it, top it then finish it off in the oven
• If you have enough space in your fridge you can even make and cook the base the night before then keep, covered in the fridge overnight. Then all you need to do on the night is top it and cook it in the oven

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Some tasty little twists…

• Replace the butterbeans with chickpeas, or green lentils
• For a lighter version, just serve the fennel / spinach / bean mixture with the tomato sauce, or put the fennel / spinach / bean mixture in an ovenproof dish, drizzle with a few tablespoons of the tomato sauce and bake for 15-20 minutes for a bean bake
• Experiment with different toppings for the base and flavourings for the tomato sauce e.g.
  • Cook sliced peppers, aubergine and chickpeas with a splash of water and seasoned with paprika, pepper and salt, and replace the spices (the fennel, sichuan pepper and ginger) in the tomato sauce with garlic powder and paprika.
  • Replace the fennel in the bean mix with sliced oriental greens such as pak choi or bok choi and replace the fennel in the tomato sauce with ground star anise
  • You can also sprinkle some grated cheese (or vegan cheese for a vegan version) on top of your chosen topping for a more pizza like meal
• Use the sauce as a pasta sauce: cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, drain and heat through with enough sauce to coat and your choice of cooked vegetables e.g. spinach, roast peppers, grilled aubergine etc.

Avocado, garlic and pea spaghetti

In the UK avocados did not become widely available until the 1960s but have since become very popular, and I recently found out that they are one of the top-selling products at our local supermarket. Social media sites are full of pictures and stories extolling the virtues of the avocado: its high levels of “good (monounsaturated) fats”, as well as vitamin C, vitamin E, iron and potassium. It feels almost sacrilegious to admit it, but I have never much liked avocado: I find the taste a bit odd and don’t like the texture of big lumps of it. Until recently the only way I’d found that I really liked to eat it was as guacamole alongside a nice chili. However, I am trying to increase the amounts of good fats in my diet so I thought I should give avocados another go. With so many avocados being sold I started to wonder what they were all being used for. After reading up about uses worldwide I was interested to find out that they are popular in both savoury and sweet dishes, though usually not both in the same country: from salads, sandwiches and dips, to ice-creams, desserts and smoothies most of their uses emphasised their soft creamy texture. This started me thinking about where rich textures work well using traditional creamy dairy ingredients but the avocado could step in instead to make a creamy dairy free dish. My favourite idea was creamy garlic pasta sauces. I wanted to build on the striking green colour of the avocado with other greens, have some rich cooked flavours in there but without cooking the avocado as this can make it bitter, and introduce some crunchy texture in to contrast with the silky smooth avocado. After playing around with a few ideas I came up with courgette and peas for the green, roast garlic for the depth of flavour and roasting the peas for a crispy texture. I was surprised how much I liked the final dish and will definitely be using avocadoes more in similar ways in the future.

Avocado, garlic and pea spaghetti

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Dietary info: vegan, for gluten-free versions see the tasty little twists

Serves: 2

• 1 courgette, spiralized, grated or cut into fine ribbons
• 50g dried wholewheat spaghetti, or 100g fresh spaghetti
• 100g peas, fresh or frozen

Avocado sauce

• 1 small avocado
• 2 cloves garlic, whole and left in their skins
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 50-100ml water for consistency
  

1. Put the peas in an ovenproof dish and roast at 160C fan for 15-20 minutes until they are starting to brown slightly and get crispy but haven’t completely dried out. Also put the whole garlic cloves in the ovenproof dish and roast until they feel soft and squishy
2. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions until al dente (usually boil in plenty of water for 8-15 minutes for dried, or 3-5 minutes for fresh), drain and rinse with cold water to prevent it getting overcooked or sticking together
3. Cut the avocado in half, scoop out the flesh and discard the skin and stone
4. Peel the skins off the roast garlic cloves and discard the skins
5. Mash the avocado flesh with the roast garlic, salt, pepper and lemon (you can do this in a food processor if you have a small one that is suitable for this). If you are mashing by hand I find it best to use a pretty ripe avocado and use two forks to mash the avocado in a wide flat-bottomed bowl or plate: use one fork to hold the piece of avocado still and the other to mash it, then finish the mashing with a spoon to cream everything together. If you are mashing by hand I also find it easiest to mash the avocado on its own first then mash in the other ingredients once the avocado is smooth
6. Stir in enough water into the mashed avocado mixture to make a smooth sauce with a consistency like thick double cream
7. Put the spiralised courgette into a non-stick frying pan and cook for about 3 minutes until it starts to soften but isn’t going mushy. Stir in the spaghetti and peas to warm them through then take off the heat, stir in enough sauce to coat the pasta and courgette (about 4-5 tbsp) and serve with the extra sauce and some steamed green vegetables or salad dressed with lemon juice and/or olive oil on the side

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A few tips to prep ahead:

• If you have time I think this is best prepared on the day so everything is at its freshest and it doesn’t take too long to make
• However, if you are going to be short of time on the night, roast the peas and garlic and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days
• You can spiralise the courgette the night before and keep in a sealed container or bag in the fridge until you need it
• You can also make the avocado sauce the night before and keep it in a sealed container in the fridge until you need it, but its bright green colour will fade if it isn’t fresh as it is prone to browning when exposed to air
• If you have done these prep ahead steps, on the night you need to cook and drain the pasta, heat the courgette in a frying pan then stir everything together in the frying pan to heat everything through

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Some tasty little twists…

• For a lighter meal you can replace the spaghetti with another spiralised courgette, or double the spaghetti for a more substantial meal
• For a crispier texture, you can bake the whole dish except for the avocado sauce for 10 minutes in the oven in an ovenproof dish instead of heating it through in the pan, then serve with the uncooked avocado sauce on the side
• You can replace the spiralised courgette and/or spaghetti with other spiralised vegetables such as sweet potato, butternut squash or broccoli stems (cook for 2-4 minutes longer than the courgette), cucumber or carrot (no need to cook)
• For a gluten-free dish, use gluten-free spaghetti, replace the spaghetti with more spiralised vegetables, or  stir in 50-100g cooked quinoa instead of the spaghetti
• Replace or augment the peas with other vegetables such as sliced sugar snap peas, mangetout, chopped green beans, tenderstem broccoli (florets and stems separated, stems sliced lengthways), sliced peppers or grated carrots. There is no need to bake any of these additions:
  • For the sugar snap peas, mangetout or green beans, stir them in with the courgette when you start to heat it
  • For the tenderstem broccoli cook the stems for 4-5 minutes before adding the courgette and florets
  • The carrot can be stirred in raw with the avocado sauce
  • The peppers can be done either like the sugar snap peas or carrot
• For a quicker version, there is no need to bake the peas, just stir them in with the courgette. They won’t be crispy but they will have the same lovely flavour
• Another time saver is to not roast the garlic: chop finely and cook for 3-4 minutes in a small pan with a tsp olive oil before adding to the mashed avocado
• The avocado sauce can be used as a dip like guacamole, or spread on toast like a spread, or used in sandwiches or wraps instead of butter or mayonnaise

Steak and/or beetroot patties with balsamic raspberry dressing

Even if you wanted to forget about Valentine’s day it would be hard with the number of special Valentine’s day offers and menus, trying to pressure people to spend unnecessary amounts of money on cards, flower, chocolates and meals out that they wouldn’t normally like to prove they are romantic. Maybe I’m being cynical but I rather object to the idea that there is a formula for “romance”; it should be about showing that you love someone in a personal and thoughtful way. A stranger overhearing my husband declare last time we went to the supermarket “I wasn’t going to buy you any chocolates or anything for Valentine’s – they will be much cheaper next week” might have had him pegged as unromantic, but both of us love getting good value and big romantic gestures leave me feeling a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable so it shows that he actually knows me. For me, a romantic gesture shouldn’t be confined to one day a year, and shouldn’t be what you’re meant to do to be romantic: it should be something that is special and tailored to the person you love. Therefore, this is not meant to be a generic Valentine’s dinner recipe, this is me trying to create a meal that suits my husband, though I must admit I have added a few little Valentine’s cliches because every now and then I can’t resist being a bit soppy.  My starting point was steak, as my husband loves this and only has it occasionally as a treat. Then I added a raspberry sauce because raspberries as his favourite fruit. Strawberries go really well with balsamic vinegar so I thought raspberries would too and the vinegar made me think of the delicious balsamic vinegar marinated grated beetroot my mother in law makes. I wanted to make a side for the steak (preferably one I could make look suitably Valentine’s-y) which would also be a vegan alternative to the steak so decided on heart shaped beetroot and bean patties. As I love bean patties this seemed like a good way to make both of us happy. 

Steak and/or beetroot patties with balsamic raspberry dressing

Cooking time: ~40 minutes (~10-20 preparation and 20-30 minutes cooking on the night), excludes time to cook the butterbean if you are using dried beans

Dietary info: dairy free, gluten-free, vegan if you exclude the steak and just have the beetroot patties

Serves: 2 if you just have the steak or beetroot patties, 2 (very generously) – 3 if you have both

• Enough steak for 2 (about 2 medium steaks) (optional – you can do the steak or patties, or both)
• Rocket salad or tenderstem broccoli to serve (optional)

Beetroot patties (optional – you can do the steak or patties, or both)

• ~200g beetroot (about 1 large or 2 small beetroot), either scrubbed or peeled and grated
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 50g dried butterbeans cooked as per the packet instructions (usually soaked overnight, boiled vigorously for 10 minutes and simmered for a further 50-60 minutes), or 100g cooked butterbeans
• 1 red onion, finely chopped
• ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• ¼ ground cardamom
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp cornflour

Balsamic raspberry dressing

• 150g raspberries, fresh or frozen (defrosted if frozen)
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cardamom
• ½ tsp coarsely ground black pepper
• Juice of ½ a lemon

1. To make the beetroot patties, mix the grated beetroot with the balsamic vinegar
2. Put the finely chopped onion, cardamom, pepper and salt in a small saucepan with enough water to cover and simmer until the onion is soft and most of the water has evaporated
3. Blend the cooked butterbeans and half of the onions to a smooth paste, adding a splash of water if needed to get a smooth consistency
4. Stir the remaining onion, grated beetroot and cornflour into the butterbean paste and mix until the beetroot is thoroughly coated with the butterbean paste
5. To make heart-shaped patties, put a heart shaped cookie cutter on a non stick baking sheet, press enough mixture into the cutter to make a patty about 5-10mm thick. Carefully remove the cutter and repeat with the rest of the mixture
6. Bake the patties at 160C for 20-30 minutes until crispy on the outside but soft and juicy on the inside
7. Mash the raspberries with all of the other raspberry sauce ingredients until the raspberries are broken down into a smoothish sauce. You can heat for a minute or two in a small saucepan or the microwave to help the raspberries break down if you want. You can also add a bit of water to make a thinner sauce, which can make a better dressing if you are putting it over salad
8. Heat a griddle pan over a medium heat until it feels hot when you hold your hand about 5mm above the surface. Cook the steaks for 2-6 minutes each side depending on how rare you like it and how thick the steaks are
9. Serve the steak and/or beetroot patties with the raspberry dressing and a rocket salad dressed with balsamic vinegar and olive oil or extra raspberry dressing, or steamed tenderstem broccoli on the side

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A few tips to prep ahead:

• Make the beetroot patty mixture and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days
• Make the raspberry dressing and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 2 days
• On the night, shape and bake the patties, griddle the steak, prepare the rocket or broccoli if using and serve

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Some tasty little twists…

• For quicker, and less Valentine themed, patties just spoon tablespoons of the patty mixture into rough circle or oval shapes on a tray rather than making heart-shaped ones. Alternatively, you can use different cutter shapes to make them suitable for different occasions e.g. Christmas trees, stars, Easter eggs or bunnies etc.
• For a more substantial vegan version serve the beetroot patties in wholemeal buns with the dressing and salad to make beetroot burgers, or serve with cooked quinoa. To make pink quinoa, stir a few tbsp of extra balsamic beetroot or a tbsp of the raspberry dressing through the quinoa before serving
  • For a lighter beetroot burger, replace the wholemeal buns with 4-8mm thick slices of grilled aubergine or portabello mushrooms
• If you don’t have a griddle pan, either fry the steaks in a non-stick frying pan or cook them under the grill
• Serve the steaks with beetroot chips as an alternative to the beetroot patties:
  • Either scrub or peel the beetroot and cut into wedges or thick batons
  • Steam the beetroot until it is starting to soften to the touch
  • Toss the chips with a tbsp olive oil and spread out on a non-stick baking tray and bake at 160C until crispy on the outside but soft on the inside (about 15-25 minutes depending on how soft they were after steaming), turning half way through
• The balsamic beetroot is a lovely addition to salads (and makes the whole salad an amazing shade of pink) or side dish, so make double or triple quantities of the grated beetroot mixed with balsamic vinegar and keep for up to a week in a sealed container in the fridge, adding to your meals as you want.
• The raspberry dressing is a lovely addition or a wide variety of salads, and adds a pleasant fresh kick drizzled over grilled meat or fish

Miso tamarind edamame and sweet potato chip handrolls

This recipe is a complete indulgence for me: a kind of supergroup formed out of load of the ingredients that I would normally introduce with the words “I’m a bit obsessed with….”.  They are flavours and cooking methods I come back to again and again and never seem to get tired of. The miso and tamarind sauce came into being because I really wanted to make a tamarind sauce and a miso sauce and couldn’t choose between them so decided to go for both at the same time. The presentation was inspired by my love of handrolls – probably the easiest of the sushi family to make at home. However, I sometimes find the rice in the handroll a bit boring so wondered whether I could replace it with a flavour that I find more interesting. The handroll shape reminded me of the paper cones of chips you sometimes get from a takeaway shop or van in the UK so I thought it might be a fun way to present sweet potato chips. The chips then needed a partner to turn them from a snack into a meal. To fit with the Japanese elements of miso and nori I decided to try edamame beans, but made into little patties because I can never resist a bean patty. The result may not be an authentic Japanese handroll and have originated from a random assortment of ideas, but I really enjoyed the fusion of a tamarind, miso, nori, sweet potato and bean patties all into one tasty little bite. To quote Mae West, too much of a good thing is wonderful.

Miso tamarind edamame and sweet potato chip handrolls

Cooking time: 30-40 minutes

Dietary info: vegan

Serves: 2-3

• 1 sweet potato, cut into chips
• 1 tbsp olive or vegetable oil
• 4-5 sheets nori

Edamame patties

• 150g shelled edamame beans, fresh of frozen (defrosted if frozen)
• ¼ medium cauliflower (about 120-150g), grated
• 2 tbsp of the miso tamarind sauce (see below)
• 1 heaped tbsp miso paste

Miso tamarind sauce

• 1 heaped tbsp tamarind
• 1 heaped tbsp miso paste (make sure this doesn’t have bonito added if you want to make the recipe vegan)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 4 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp ginger powder or finely grated fresh ginger
• 50ml hot water

1. Toss the sweet potato chips in the oil and spread out over a non-stick baking tray and bake for 20-30 minutes at 160C fan, turning half way through until the chips are crisp and starting to brown on the outside and soft on the inside
2. To make the miso tamarind sauce, mix the miso, tamarind, chilli, garlic and ginger together to a smooth paste in a small saucepan
3. Gradually add the liquids (soy sauce, vinegar and water) to the miso tamarind paste, stirring regularly to avoid lumps, to make a smooth sauce
4. Heat the miso tamarind sauce over a gentle heat for 1-3 minutes until it is warmed through, but try to avoid bringing it to the boil to make the most of the probiotic properties of the miso
5. Blend the edamame beans in a food processor until they are in little pieces. If you don’t have a food processor chop the edamame beans very finely and mash a little with a fork to break them down further
6. Mix the edamame beans with the grated cauliflower, miso paste and 2 tbsp of the miso tamarind sauce
7. Form tablespoons of the edamame mixture into rough patties on a non-stick baking tray and bake at 160C fan for about 20 minutes, or until the patties are starting to brown on the outside and the cauliflower is soft enough to eat. The patties will still be quite soft and delicate so it is easiest to take them off the baking tray with a fish slice or similar, but don’t worry if a few fall apart, you won’t notice once they are in the handrolls
8. To make the handrolls have the chips, patties, nori sheets and miso sauce handy:
   1. Fold one sheet of nori in half and tear along the fold so that you have two rectangles.
   2. Take one of these rectangles and place it in front of you, the long edge parallel to you.
   3. Put 3-5 sweet potato chips in a diagonal line between the top left corner of the rectangle and about halfway along the bottom edge of the rectangle
   4. Top the chips with a pattie and a drizzle of the miso tamarind sauce
   5. Fold the bottom left corner up at a diagonal to meet the top edge of the rectangle to make a cone around the filling and pick up the hand roll. Then fold the rest of nori rectangle down to enclose the filling and continue to wrap around the filling to complete the cone
   6. For pictures of how to make a handroll see my recipe for salmon and ginger hand rolls with miso sauce but put the chips on a diagonal like the filling is shown in the picture for that recipe with a patty on top

 

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A few tips to prep ahead:

• Mix together the ingredients for the miso tamarind sauce and keep in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 5 days
• Make the edamame patty mixture and store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days
• Chop the sweet potato into chips the night before and keep in a sealed container or bag in the fridge until you cook them
• On the night, toss the chips in the oil and cook them, make the edamame mixture into patties and bake them and heat through the miso tamarind sauce

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Some tasty little twists and extras…

• Add extra vegetables to your meal by putting some steamed beansprouts, shredded lettuce or grated carrot into your handrolls as well as the chips and patties
• If you don’t want to spend time shaping the edamame mixture into patties, simply spread it out on a baking tray about 1cm thick, bake until it is  crispy on top and the cauliflower is soft enough to eat, and break it up into chunks to put in your handrolls
• Try replacing the edamame beans with cooked aduki beans or the grated cauliflower with grated mooli
• If you have a low fat fryer, cook your chips in that instead of the oven (we have one where the chips still only need about a tbsp of oil and are blasted with hot air while being moved around to cook them)
• If you prefer something a bit closer to the sticky texture of sushi rice, steam the sweet potato and roughly mash it instead of making chips
• If you don’t want to make handrolls, simply serve the patties with the chips, a drizzle of sauce and some steamed vegetables or salad
• For a non-vegetarian version that is a fun twist on fish and chips, replace the edamame patties with 200g of fresh tuna or salmon, cut into chunks, coated in a few tablespoons of the miso sauce (if you have time, leave it to marinate for 15-20 minutes) then cooked in a non-stick frying pan until they are just opaque all the way through (3-5 minutes)