Mediterranean Vegetable Filo Puffs

Filo pastry really is a handy ingredient to have in the fridge, to team with some vegetables and create something quick, delicious and impressive looking.

These Mediterranean Vegetable Filo Puffs tick all the boxes; the pastry is light and crispy and the filling nutritious and full of flavour. The star ingredients are Violife Mozzarella style vegan cheese and some juicy Semi-Dried Tomatoes, from Cooks and Co, both available from Suma Wholefoods.

Serve with seasonal salad and new potatoes.

Mediterranean Vegetable Filo Puffs
Serves 4

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 spring onions, finely chopped
1/4 red pepper, finely chopped
1/4 courgette, finely chopped
1 tsp capers, chopped,
4 cherry tomatoes, chopped
6 Cooks and Co Semi-Dried Tomatoes, finely chopped (available from Suma)
1/2 tsp dried Italian herbs

2 cm block of Violife Mozzarella finely chopped
6 large sheets of filo pastry
Salt and pepper

1. Pre heat your oven to 200C or Gas Mark 6. Grease 4 small metal pie pots or ramekins (I used a pastry brush with oil).
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan, and cook the garlic and onion for a minute, before adding the pepper, courgette, capers and tomatoes.
3. Fry on a medium heat until all the veg are soft. Season with the herbs and salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.
4. Stuff one sheet of filo pastry roughly inside each metal pie tin or ramekin, making a well in the middle for the vegetables, but with some pastry coming up the sides to form a case.
5. Spoon the filling equally between the 4 pie tins, then sprinkle the vegan cheese on the top. Press it all down a little.
6. Crumple up half a piece of filo pastry on the top on each pie to create a broken pastry top. Drizzle with a little more oil.
7. Place on an oven tray and bake for 20 mins, until golden and crispy.
8. Allow to cool slightly, before turning out onto plates with the help of a pallet knife.

Quiche Lorraine Vegan

Quiche Lorraine Vegan
Serves 4
Preparations/cooking time 1 hour
Suitable for vegans

1 sheet of ready-made short crust pastry (most supermarket own brands and Jus Roll are vegan)
1 packet silken tofu
100ml soya milk
Pinch turmeric
3 spring onions, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 bunch British asparagus, chopped
Handful of cherry tomatoes cut in half
4 slices Vegusto Deli-style Sandwich Slices, cut into little pieces
50g Vegusto No Moo Mild Aromatic Cheese or other vegan cheese
Salt and pepper

1. Grease a 9 inch flan dish. Unwrap your pastry sheet and lay it over the top, trim any access and join it together to make the sheet fit across the whole dish, allowing enough overlap to gently push the pastry into the bottom edges. The pastry should cover all of the dish, with a little extra around the top edge, to allow for it to shrink down a bit when it cooks.
2. Blind bake the pastry case by lining it with baking parchment, then filling with baking beans. Preheat your oven to 200C/Gas Mark 4 and bake it for 10 minutes. When the edges are lightly cooked, remove the parchment and beans and return to the oven for another 5 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, steam your asparagus and lightly fry the spring onion and garlic in a little olive oil, so they soften.
4. Set pastry case aside ready to be filled.
5. Place the silken tofu into a mixing bowl and blend until smooth, using a hand blender. Add the soya milk and mustard. Now stir in the other filling ingredients; turmeric, spring onion, garlic, asparagus, tomatoes and deli-slices. Season to taste.
6. Spoon the filling into the pastry case and grate Vegusto No Moo Aromatic (or any other variety) onto the top. Add a few extra tomatoes too if you like.
7. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the filling has set and the cheese is lightly golden. Allow the quiche to cool slightly before cutting and serving with seasonal potatoes and salad.

Mini Sun dried Tomato and ‘Cheese’ Bites

Mini Sun dried Tomato and ‘Cheese’ Bites
Serves 4 as a snack

2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp ground flaxseeds
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp tomato purée
125g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
200g Vegusto No Moo Mild Aromatic, cut into tiny cubes
8 sun dried tomatoes, finely chopped
1 large sprig fresh parsley, chopped
Salt and pepper to season

You will also need a small muffin tin with 12 holes and 12 miniature paper cases to line it.

Method
1. Pre-heat your oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Mix together the wet ingredients in a small bowl; oil, flaxseeds, water and tomato purée.
3. Sift flour and baking powder into a mixing bowl and then mix in the No Moo Mild Aromatic cubes, the sundried tomatoes and the parsley. Now add the wet ingredients.
4. Season to taste, then mix with a wooden spoon to bring the mixture together to form a rough dough.
5. Using your hands, break off 12 ball shapes and place them in the cases in the muffin tin, keeping a rough and rustic look!
6. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes or until lightly browned and set.
7. Cool slightly on a wire rack before serving with a Vegusto dip.

Spinach and Mushroom Calzone

Spinach and Mushroom Calzone

Spinach and Mushroom Calzone
Vegan
Preparation/cooking time over 1 hour
Serves 4

Dough for Calzone

• 1kg ’00’ grade pasta flour
• 1tsp salt
• 2 x 7g quick yeast sachets
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 650ml luke warm water

Filling

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 200g mushrooms, sliced
• 1 large bag fresh spinach
• 100g Vegusto No Moo Melty, sliced
• Salt and pepper
• Optional – Italian herb seasoning

Sauce

• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• Sprig fresh basil
• Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to its top temperature
1. Start by making the dough for the calzone, by sieving the flour and salt into a large mixing bowl and add the yeast and sugar. Combine the liquid in a mixing jug.
2. Make a well in the centre of the flour. Gradually start adding the liquid, bringing down the flour around it using a fork, to combine it into a dough.
3. Knead on a floured surface until it is smooth and springy, then place in a bowl and cover to rise until doubled in size.
4. Next, make the sauce by tipping the tinned tomatoes into a small saucepan. Rip the basil leaves in and season with salt and pepper. Bring to the boil and then turn down to simmer on a low heat while you make the calzone filling. The tomatoes will reduce and thicken.
6. For the filling, heat the olive oil in a large frying pan, then fry the mushrooms until they are soft and shiny. Gradually add in the spinach, wilting down a handful at a time. Season with salt and pepper.
7. The filling is cooked when all the spinach is soft and combined with the cooked mushrooms. Add in a pinch of Italian herb seasoning.
4. After the dough has risen, knock it back to remove all the air and divide into four balls. Flour them, then roll out into 30cm rounds, around 3mm thick. You may have some spare dough to make pizza out of later!
8. Spoon quarter of the filling onto half of one of the circles of dough with a little tomato sauce. Now cut thin slices of No Moo Melty and arrange them over the top of the filling.
9. Fold the dough over and pinch around the edges to form a stuffed ‘pasty’ shape. The calzones are large, so you may want to make and cook just one or two at a time (and cut them in half to serve)!
10. Transfer the calzones onto a floured baking tray and bake for 10 minutes until they are firm and lightly golden. They cook quickly in a hot oven, so keep an eye on them.
11. To serve, drizzle with the remaining tomato sauce, sea salt, some basil and a little olive oil.

 

Amazing Vegan Spinach and Two ‘Cheese’ Cannelloni

Spinach and Two Cheese Cannelloni
Serves 4
Preparation/cooking time 1 hour

2 tbsp vegan margarine
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 large bag spinach
¼ tsp nutmeg
2 tbsp Italian herb seasoning, or dried oregano
2 tbsp soya or other non-dairy milk
2 tins chopped tomatoes
Pinch of sugar
Sprig of fresh basil, chopped, or 1 tsp dried basil
1 packet Vegusto No-Moo Melty (400g)
12 cannelloni tubes
Salt and cracked black pepper
1 packet Vegusto No-Moo Sauce

You will need: 1 square oven dish (of around 10”x8”) and a piping bag with wide nozzle, (or you can use a plastic sandwich bag with the corner snipped off)

1. Preheat your oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.
2. Melt the margarine in a medium-sized saucepan, then add the garlic and cook for a couple of minutes.
3. Gradually add in the spinach, a handful at a time, stirring, so it begins to wilt down in its own moisture. Continue until the whole bag has been added and stir in the nutmeg, Italian seasoning and then season with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.
4. Add the tomatoes to a small saucepan, with the sugar and basil. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring them to the boil, then turn down to simmer for 15 minutes with the lid off, so they reduce and thicken.
6. Turn the cooled spinach onto a board and roughly chop it, before returning to the pan.
7. Crumble the No-Moo Melty into the spinach. Turn onto a medium heat, stirring with a wooden spoon. Mix until the spinach is smooth and creamy, adding the soya milk to thin the mixture slightly. Turn off the heat when all the cheese has melted.
8. Grease the oven dish and then pour in the tomatoes.
9. Spoon the spinach mixture into your piping bag, holding the nozzle flat so mixture doesn’t leak out. Fold the top of the bag down so you can squeeze the mixture down gradually.
10. Pipe spinach mixture into each cannelloni tube, ensuring it fills the entire length of each one.
11. Arrange the tubes in the tomato sauce.
12. When all the tubes are filed and in place, pour the No-Moo Sauce evenly all over the top. You can smooth it off with a pallet knife and top with a few extra herbs and black pepper.
13. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until a knife inserted into the pasta goes in easily and the top is nice and golden.
14. Serve with garlic bread or salad.
Extra option: Top with some grated Vegusto Piquant, or Nutritional Yeast Flakes.

 

Happy Easter from Lots of Nice Things

Hello again Lots of Nice Things. I’m sorry I’ve been so quiet lately! I have started working for two very lovely companies, writing recipes, taking photographs and helping to promote their wonderful veggie food – hence my free time for blog writing has taken a hit.

I’m delighted to have teamed up with producers of the finest vegan cheese, Vegusto, and am producing a recipes for their e-newsletter. As well as making the best vegan cheeses I have ever tasted, they also do a wide range of meat alternatives including sausages, roasts, sandwich slices, sauces and mayonnaise. Sign up to their newsletter to receive my recipes twice a month and they also do regular giveaways so you can sample some of the products for free.

I’m also working with The Parsnipship – who produce gourmet vegetarian and vegan cuisine, sold at farmers markets and food fairs across South Wales. As well as shooting pictures for their new website, I am organising a number of cookery classes at their Cookery School.  So if you fancy learning more about how to cook your own vegan food, using seasonal produce, come along! The Parsnipship is based at Ogmore Vale, near Bridgend, off the M4 in Wales.

Saturday, April 20: The Big Fat Vegan Cookery Course, 10-4pm (£125)
Thursday, May 16: The Healthy Seasonal Family Cookery Course, 6-9pm, (£50), part of National Vegetarian Week

Email me to book a place.

Recipe using Vegusto’s Deli-style Sandwich Slices

 

Wholemeal Rolls with Deli-Style Sandwich Slices and Avocado Hummus
Serves 2
Preparation/cooking time 10 minutes

Ingredients
1 avocado
1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed
200g/ 7oz chickpeas
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tbsp dairy free milk, such as soya or coconut
Sea salt and cracked black pepper
4 wholemeal seeded rolls
1 packet Vegusto Deli-style Sandwich Slices
½ roasted red pepper, sliced (from a jar) or use raw red pepper
Mixed salad leaves, such as spinach, rocket and watercress

Method
1. Scoop the avocado into a mixing bowl, with the garlic, chickpeas, olive oil and lemon juice.
2. Blend the ingredients with a hand blender, or in a food processor, until they are smooth. Add in the dairy free milk to help the hummus become smooth and creamy. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. Cut open the rolls and spread all sides generously with the hummus.
4. Place two Vegusto Sandwich Deli Slices on top of the bottom halves of each roll, followed by pieces of sliced red pepper and a handful of mixed leaves.
5. Bring the four rolls together and serve on a plate with a salad garnish.

How to Make Quick Vegan Pizza

Vegan Pizza

When you’re vegan you don’t have to do without anything. I keep telling people this! Pizza is a prime example. Here’s one I made for dinner the other night. It’s of the thin crust variety, topped with lots of lovely veggies and vegan cheese.

I’ve been having withdrawal symptoms from being able to visit Bristol’s Pepe Nero Pizzeria, which serves up the BEST vegan pizza I’ve ever tasted. So I thought it was about time I made one myself and serve it up with homemade garlic bread and a glass of tasty red wine.

A great pizza time-saver is using something as a ready-made base. I brought some Warburtons Sandwich Thins, which are large, square flat breads that are perfect for the job. I also picked up a jar of Napolina Pizza Topping, although you could just use passata or tomato purée.

Make your garlic bread by mixing crushed garlic into some vegan margarine, spreading it into some nice bread and placing in the oven for the last 5 mins of the pizza cooking.

Quick Vegan Pizza
Serves 2
Preparation/cooking time 20 mins

2 Warburtons Sandwich Thins
½ jar Napolina Pizza Topping
4 mushrooms, sliced
½ yellow pepper, cut into strips
½ red onion, sliced
3 medium tomatoes, sliced
10 green olives, sliced
25g mild vegan cheese (like Cheeze, Sheese or Vegusto), grated
Salt & pepper
Dried basil (optional)

1. Place your flat breads (thins) on baking trays.
2. Spread them evenly with pizza topping.
3. Sprinkle the cheese over the top of them, then arrange the vegetables on top of this.
4. Season with salt, pepper and dried basil.
5. Bake in the oven for 10-12 mins, at 200C/Gas Mark 6, until everything is cooked and melted in.
6. Serve with garlic bread and green salad.