Vegetarian – Page 2

Wild garlic pudla

03.17.2015 by georgie // 3 Comments

The Hayden household is slowly on the mend. But if I am honest I’m still not feeling tip top and more than ever I need some healing meals. I’ve got a few more days resting up at home and I’m making a conscious effort to up my game on the cooking front. Up until now, I’ve been all about comfort, which is fine for a while but I definitely need some more nutrients in my life. There has been a lot of soup, cheese on toast, and if I am really honest there has been a lot of chocolate (I know, I know, I blame all the Easter eggs in the shops. Tis the season). I’ve been feeling a bit sorry for myself but no amount of chocolate mini eggs are going to make me feel better (they actually make me feel worse! My jeans are definitely feeling a little snug), so it’s all about the fruit bowl and proper cooking from now on; I’ve given myself a good ol’ kick up the backside.

Today my aim was to get as much iron and as many nutrients into my lunch as possible, so I made pudla – an Indian chickpea pancake. Read more…

Incredible roast veg salad with a minty yoghurt dressing

01.23.2015 by georgie // 1 Comment

With life starting to slowly return back to ‘normal’ (ha), I find by Friday I am a little bit frazzled/ broken/ exhausted from all the yo-yoing. Take this week for example: Monday was counselling, Tuesday I was at work, Wednesday we saw our therapist back at the maternity unit, Thursday I had to have some blood tests, followed by a day at work, then last night I didn’t get to sleep till around 4am, but woke up at 7.30am when Peter did. Today – I am exhausted.

It’s a stunning day, the view from our apartment is incredible, London looks gorgeous in the sunshine. However I have decided to stay indoors. If you are good at putting on a front (guilty as charged) then I think people assume you’re fine? That’s ok, I need to carry on ‘carrying on’ and can’t talk about what has happened all the time. However it’s surprisingly tiring. I struggle to concentrate. My time was my own before to think about Archie whenever I liked, where as now I go out, do things, work, see people. Just when I think I’ve got my head around the landscape of my grief it changes and I feel a bit lost again.

So today I’ve gone back to the start. The Archers is on the radio, I’m still in my PJ’s (it’s 2pm) and I’ve made myself some good wholesome grub. We bought some gorgeous baby veg from the market on the weekend and I wanted to showcase them quite simply – something nutritious and healthy, whilst getting the most out of these beauties. So here they are, lightly spiced but not hot, with a refreshing yoghurt dressing. A truly perfect sunny lunch. Delicious.

Now, I’m going to go treat myself to a nice long bubble bath, then who knows, maybe I’ll crochet. I hope you all have a lovely weekend x

Incredible roast veg salad with a yoghurt dressing

INCREDIBLE ROAST VEG SALAD WITH A MINTY YOGHURT DRESSING

This salad is simply gorgeous, not too complicated and great on its on as a lunch or dinner. Or, for something a little more substantial try it with a piece of grilled lemony fish.

Serves 4 as a side, 2 as a main

300g baby carrots, scrubbed
A romanesco cauliflower, trimmed (or just a regular cauliflower if you cant get romanesco)
150g curly kale, washed and stems removed
A drizzle of runny honey
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon coriander seeds
1 juicy lime
4 heaped tablespoons natural yoghurt
Handful of mint leaves
A small cloves of garlic
2cm piece of ginger, peeled
1/2 a green chilli, deseeded
2 tablespoons of dried cranberries

Preheat your oven to 200/400/ gas mark 6.

Trim the cleaned carrots, and halve any larger ones lengthways. Cut the cauliflower into even sized florets and place all the veg in a large roasting tray. Drizzle with olive oil, a squeeze of runny honey, and sprinkle over a pinch of salt and pepper. Bash the cumin and coriander seeds in a pestle and mortar until mostly ground, but with a bit of texture still, and scatter over the veg. Toss everything together, mixing it well and spread out in one layer. Pop in the oven for around 20 – 25 minutes, stirring once or twice, until almost cooked through and starting to caramelise (this will depend on the size of your carrots, if they don’t feel quite ready roast them for a further 5 minutes). Remove the tray from the oven, scatter over the washed and torn kale, toss with a little olive oil and return to the oven for a further 6 – 8 minutes until the kale starts to turn crisp and the veg is cooked through. Remove from the oven and leave to one side to cool a little.

Whilst your veg is cooling make your dressing. Spoon the yoghurt into a mixing bowl and squeeze in the juice from the lime. Finely grate in the garlic and ginger. Finely chop the chilli and most of the mint leaves and add to the bowl. Mix everything together and season to taste. Spoon the dressing onto a large plate and pile the roasted veg on top. Scatter over the cranberries and reserved mint leaves and serve.

Dukkah egg and avo hash

01.16.2015 by georgie // Leave a Comment

What an intro to 2015! There have been lurgies, house hunts, port binges and last week I started back at work part-time. Its been lovely to see friendly faces, and even though it’s a bit scary/ daunting at times, I’m enjoying the routine and sociability of it. I just don’t know how I used to get anything done though! So today I stripped it back, went to the gym and made myself some nice food. Super simple day. It feels good to have time at home again and time to breathe.

I’ve genuinely missed my ‘lunches for one’ over Christmas and New Year. I feel like I’ve nourished myself over the last few months, and taken time out to make myself strong again. It feels like a crucial part of my journey, so it’s been good to get back in the kitchen.

Today for lunch I made myself a bang on trend brunch dish (eggs and dukkah) but with a more substantial base. If you ever come to stay at our house chances are I will make you a hash at some point. I love it. Anything goes and its one of our favourite weeknight dinners. And as a very wise person once told me ‘there is no meal that can’t be improved with an egg on top’ and I actually think they’re right.

DUKKAH EGG AND AVO HASH

Serves 1 (multiply as needed! Simple as that)

350g potatoes (I like to use half maris piper and half sweet potato for a lighter dish)
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
A few sprigs of coriander, leaves picked
1/2 a small onion (or 1/4 of a normal one) red or white, peeled
Red wine vinegar
1/2 tablespoon runny honey
1/2 a ripe avocado, sliced
1 large egg, free range or organic
1/2 teaspoon dukkah, homemade or store bought – see below
Squeeze of lemon juice

Start by giving you potatoes a good scrub (I leave the skins on for added nutrients and texture) and then cut into even sized chunks. Place in a pan of boiling salted water and boil for around 8 – 10 minutes, depending on the size of your pieces, until cooked through.

Whilst the potato is cooking slice the onion as finely as you can and place in a bowl. Cover with a good splash of red wine vinegar and the honey. Give it all a good stir, making sure the onion is covered in the vinegar mix and leave to one side.

When the potato is cooked drain completely and mash the potatoes in the pan (I like to keep the hash a little chunky so mash the veg enough to break them down but not completely smooth). Add most of the coriander leaves, season well and poor a lug of oil into the bottom of the pan and place it back on a medium heat. Fry the the hash for around 8 – 10 minutes, mixing it up and flipping it over now and then, till it is golden and crisp, with lovely crunchy bits throughout.

Half way through frying the hash, place a small pan of water onto boil and poach the egg to your liking – I do mine for 2.5 minutes for a runny yolk.

Plate up! Spoon the hash onto a plate, scatter over the lightly pickled onions (leaving the vinegar behind) and top with the sliced avocado. Squeeze over a little lemon juice, and finish with the poached egg and sprinkled dukkah (and an extra pinch of salt and pepper). Scatter over any remaining coriander leaves and tuck in.

EGYPTIAN DUKKAH

You’ll find dukkah in the spice aisle of most supermarkets now. However if you struggle to get hold of it, or just fancy making your own, it’s dead easy to make. It lasts ages and is fantastic sprinkled on almost anything, especially eggs.

100g sesame seeds
100g blanched almonds or hazelnuts (or a mix)
2 tablespoons coriander seeds
2 tablespoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 heaped teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat your oven to 180. Spread the nuts out in a tray and roast in the oven for around 4 minutes, until lightly golden. Pour onto a plate or into a bowl and leave to one side to cool.

Toast the sesame seeds into a dry frying pan until golden and again, spoon into a bowl, and leave to cool. Toast the cumin, coriander and fennel seeds for a minute or so until they start to smell wonderful and remove from the heat. Once all the nuts and seeds have cooled either grind them in a pestle and mortar, or blitz in a food processor with the salt and pepper until you have a coarse blend. Et voila! Homemade dukkah.