Christmas Lunch

27 12 2011

Meat free Christmases….. I’ve done a lot of them now, and each year try to think of something new to make. The trouble is, having to serve a centrepiece with all the trimmings, etc restricts us somewhat as it just isn’t natural to make meat free food in the same way as meat. That is, to have the meat as the centrepiece and a bunch of accompaniments around the edge of the plate. Anyway, to please the other meat free guests at the table, and having exhausted my variations of nut roasts over the years, I decided on something involving puff pastry. I usually try to avoid pastry as it is so rich and so high in fat, but hey, it’s Christmas. I can go running more regularly in the New Year.

I settled on a giant mushroom, filled with garlicky spinach and pine nuts and a slice of roasted butternut squash. Then encased the whole thing in a big sheet of puff pastry and bake until crisp and golden.

1 butternut squash
6 large flattish mushrooms
1 pack boursin garlic and herb cheese
100g or so pine nuts
2 big bunches of spinach
3 packs of ready rolled puff pastry

Start by roasting the butternut. Take the thin end (without the seeds), peel and cut into six slices about 1cm thick. Drizzle with a little olive oil, season then roast in the oven at 200C for about 20 minutes.

While the squash is roasting, wash the spinach then wilt in a large pan. Squeeze out as much liquid as you can, then chop roughly.

Take a small frying pan and place over a medium to high heat. Add the pine nuts and toss them gently until toasted. remove from the heat and add to the spinach. Now stir in the pack of Boursin, season with salt and black pepper. Leave to cool.

Peel the mushrooms and remove the stems. Divide the spinach mixture evenly between the six mushrooms then top each with a slice of butternut.

Now take the puff pastry. If using ready rolled, cut each sheet in half then place the filled mushroom, mushroom side down, in the middle of half a sheet. Now carefully fold in each corner in the middle ensuring there are no gaps. Turn the filled ball over and place on a foil or parchment lined baking tray.

When all the mushrooms are wrapped, brush the pastry with a little milk, cut a small steam slit in each then bake for about 25 minutes at 200C until browned.

I served this with a platter of mixed roasted vegetables (beetroot, turnip, parsnip, carrot), roast potatoes, peas, sprouts, brocolli and a gravy made from caramelised onions, vegetable stock, marmite and conrflour.


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Leek and Gruyere Stuffed Mushrooms

27 11 2011

Yeh I know, stuffed vegetables….. very retro. There was a time when I could first afford to eat out where the meat free option (yes there was generally only one) was some vegetable or other filled with a bland concoction of rice and diced frozen vegetables then smothered in cheese. I kept the cheese in for this one (it helps everything to stick together) but removed the rice and used a few fresh breadcrumbs to absorb some of the liquid instead. These go rather well with oven chips!

To make four mushrooms – which is enough for four people…

4 large flattish field or portobello mushrooms – peeled and the stem cut out
2 medium leeks – cut in half lenthwise then cut into thin slices
3 spring onions – finely sliced
100g or so of Gruyere cheese – grated. You could use a strong Cheddar here too or Emmenthal would probably work quite well
a few glugs of olive oil – about 4 tablespoons
2 large handfuls of fresh breadcrumbs – about 3 slices worth
a pinch of nutmeg
black pepper
assorted seeds for sprinkling

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan then add the leeks and spring onion, put the lid on and sweat down until tender. This should take about 10-15 minutes. Take the lid off, remove from the heat and allow to cool. Add a pinch of nutmeg, some pepper. Salt isn’t really needed as the cheese has a saltiness about it. Add the grated cheese and mix well.

Place the mushrooms round side down on a lightly oiled oven tray. Divide the leek and cheese mixture equally between the mushrooms, pressing the stuffing down well. Sprinkle some seeds over the top – I used pine nuts and sesame. You could also use pumpkin, sunflower, flax. Drizzle with a little oil then place in the oven at 200C for about 20 minutes until the mushrooms are cooked through and the tops are browning.


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Portobello and Halloumi Burger

10 02 2010

Quick and tasty snack to see me through after two big lunches in two days

For each burger you need:-
1-2 Portobello or large field mushrooms
1 large slice of halloumi
1 large bap – brown or white, whatever takes your fancy
1 piece of grilled red pepper – from a jar is fine
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
ketchup if you fancy
salad leaves

Heat the oven to 220C. Peel the mushrooms and remove the stalks if they are tough. Place on a baking tray, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper and place in oven for about 15-20 minutes until soft.

Place at bottom of oven and heat the grill. Brush the halloumi slice with a little olive oil and grill on each side until browned.

Slice a bap in half then layer on the mayo, pepper, salad leaves, halloumi and mushroom. Add a squirt of ketchup or a splash of tabasco.

Enjoy


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Last night’s dinner

8 10 2009

A little rushed as I got home in the rain at 7:15 with 4 guests arriving at 7:30, but I did it. First course was served around 8:15

Mushroom risotto with a whole roasted field mushroom to start. The mushrooms were topped with a heaped teaspoon of basil pesto and served with pea shoots.

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Followed by involtini (aubergine stuffed with feta, pistachios, bulghar and capers – Thanks to Nigella for this!) with baby new potatoes roasted in olive oil

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Recipes to follow shortly


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Spaghetti with Peas, Asparagus and Mushrooms

21 05 2009

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Simple, quick and summery, but probably didn’t really need the mushrooms as they made it a little heavy.

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
250g asparagus – chopped into chunks
about a teacup full of frozen peas
8 mushrooms – chopped
1 dried red chili – crushed
1 clove garlic – finely chopped
Parmesan cheese
Spaghetti

Bring a pan of water to the boil then throw in the peas and asparagus and boill briefly until just tender. Drain and rinse with cold water to prevent them overcooking.

Cook the spaghetti as per the instructions on the pack. I haven’t put the quantity here as it depends how many you are cooking for and how hungry they are!

While the spaghetti it cooking, heat a large frying pan. Add the oil, garlic, chili and mushrooms. Fry until mushrooms tender, then add the peas and asparagus. Fry on a high heat for a couple of minutes.

Drain the spaghetti, return to the warm pan then add the vegetables from the frying pan. Stir and serve with grated Parmesan.


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Pizza

13 04 2009

My son came home from a school snowboarding trip to Colorado today so I thought I would make Pizza. Yeh I know, hardly original or creative but at least it’s everyone’s favourite so should go down a treat. How was I to know when he got home he would ask for something for dinner with lots of vegetables! Teenagers and vegetables usually don’t mix. Maybe tomorrow night I’ll make a stir fry by which time he will probably have gone off the idea.

It helps if you have a bread machine for this but getting your hands stuck in can be quite satisfying.

Start by making the dough.
If you have a bread machine put 1 cup of water in the pan then add a tablespoon of olive oil, a teaspoon of salt and teaspoon of sugar. Then add three cups of strong white four and 1 sachet of dried yeast. Alternatively you could use a bought white bread mix such as Wrights and follow the instructions on the packet. Set the bread machine to knead and prove, but not to bake. This takes around 1½ hours.

For the topping take 1x400g tin of chopped tomatoes. Empty into a frying pan and cook for about 15 minutes till most of the juice has evaporated. Place the tomatoes in a food processor with fresh marjoram (about 2 teaspoons) and a bunch of fresh basil. You can also add a roasted skinned pepper from a jar if you like or a few sun dried tomatoes. Pulse it to a smooth paste.

When the dough is ready, heat the oven to the hottest setting you can (mine goes up to 280C), roll out the dough onto a large, lightly floured baking tray. Spread the tomato mixture over the dough, then cover with grated cheddar and grated parmesan. Now take one pack of mozzarella, slice and lay the slices over the pizza. Top with a few sliced mushrooms and place in the hot oven.

After about 5 minutes, turn the oven down to 200C and continue to cook until the cheese bubbles and the pizza browns slightly.

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There’s no food, we want a Dominos?”

1 03 2009

I don’t know where it all goes. I go to the supermarket at the weekend and spent a small fortune, get a large veg box delivered and still we seem to run out of food by Wednesday. Determined not to succumb to the kids’ wishes I hunted around the back of the fridge and in the larder and managed to find a block of tofu, just on the verge of going past the use by date, a few mushrooms and some rice.

I managed to rustle up a Tofu and Mushroom Stroganoff with rice and potatoes.

Serves 4 (ish)

Start with the rice and potatoes
enough basmati rice for 4 people – about 2 mugfuls. You could use long grain, but basmati is better
2 medium potatoes – peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm slices
butter

Place the rice in a pan of water and bring to boil. Remove from heat and drain. Put the rice to one side. Return pan to medium heat and add a generous knob of butter. When the butter has melted line the base of the pan with the potato slices. Cut some of the slices to fill the gaps. You shouldn\’t be able to see the bottom of the pan. Add the drained rice, a splash of water and a knob of butter. Cover and leave for 30-40 minutes. the rice will steam and the potatoes will fry in the butter.

For the Stroganoff
2 tablespoons sunflower oil
250g block of firm tofu
1 onion – finely chopped
½ red pepper – finely chopped
mushrooms – I forgot to weigh these but think it was about 20 – roughly chopped or torn
1 teaspoon paprika powder
1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder
½ teaspoon dried thyme
284ml single cream or half cream
salt and black pepper
handful of fresh coriander – roughly chopped

Start by drying the tofu – wrap in kitchen paper of a tea towel and place a small weight on it to squeeze out some of the water. Leave for about 10 minutes then cut into 1cm cubes.

Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan and fry the tofu until nicely browned – about 10-15 minutes. Now add the onions and peppers and fry until soft. Add the paprika, bouillon, thyme and mushrooms. Stir, then cover and cook for 10 minutes until everything is cooked. Remove from the heat and add the cream. Season to taste.

Serve with the rice and topped off with a sprinkling of chopped coriander.


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