Sauces and Dressings Archives - A Vegan Obsession

Rich Lebanese Recipes. Red Muhammara Sauce. [+ cookbook review]

July 18, 2013 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

Inspiration for meal ideas can often come from the shelves of cookbooks we have, waiting patiently on our shelves to be noticed, thumbed and covered in sticky ingredients. This inspiration was from a cookbook launch party, held in Battersea, London at the Food Blogger Connect conference.

I’ve long had a love affair with Middle Eastern food. It rarely disappoints and the ease with which you can create quite dramatic flavours always amazes me. Do you go through phases with food? I do. Sometimes the slowly simmered foods from India are my kitchen rave. Other times it may be avocado and cilantro (coriander) that line my windowsills which mingle and merge with spritely jalapeños and a conveyor belt of freshly made corn tortillas. Right now, as the sun shines with close to Arabic effort, I am feasting on the delights of the Lebanon.

Aubergines (eggplant) are being roasted in the oven, alongside plump red peppers doused in oil. Pinenuts are releasing fragrant oils from gentle toasting. Supermarkets are being plundered for the ruby jewels of the pomegranate and soy yogurt is being transformed into a lemony, garlicky cool white dip. You can almost hear the hypnotic, rhythmic music curling in the air with the scent of smokey paprika. Where’s my jangly coin, belly dancing belt?

Once the eggplant/aubergine was roasted and delicious (you know how it goes all silky..ooh, I love that) I spooned over rich red muhammara sauce.

Here is the recipe, I adapted from Bethany Kehdy’s blog. The girl who reminded me of the food of the Lebanon.

Her book is out now. The Jewelled Kitchen The book is packed with recipes (it is not a vegan cookbook) the most gorgeous photography by Sarka Babicka. I am in awe of her outstanding talent.

This recipe is gluten free and totally vegan.

red muhammara sauce

1/2 cup toasted almond flour (to sub for bread crumbs)

2 garlic cloves

1/2 cup walnuts (I’ve also made a toasted pine nut and walnut combo 1/4 cup of each..yum!)

2 bell peppers, charred with seeds and skins removed. Use any of the juice they produce.

30 ml pomegranate molasses (didn’t have so I used 1 tsp of sumac for the touch of tartness)

1 tbs extra virgin olive oil (or walnut oil for a richer flavour)

a strong girl squeeze of fresh lemon

1 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 tsp chill powder or cayenne

salt and fresh black pepper to taste

You can go messing around with putting the charred red peppers into a plastic bag to make them sweat and so easier to peel away the skin, do this if you are in a hurry (don’t hurry) or just remove from the oven and wait for it to cool down. It will be easy to peel.

Put all the ingredients into a small blender and blend until smooth. Test for seasoning. If it is ok then put in an appropriate serving dish and scatter with crushed walnuts or toasted almonds.

Do a few hip rolls and a shimmy or two, to build up an appetite..and then feast.

Mayonesa de Zanahoria - Carrot Mayonnaise - simple, versatile & delicious

January 29, 2013 by India Leigh 6 Comments

I happened across this recipe whilst shopping in a community market in Buenos Aires. Rows of jars, bright and golden on rustic shelving. The name was so exotic zanahoria de mayonnaise. Translated as carrot mayonnaise. I bought a jar and teased the ingredients from the artisan seller.
I jotted them down. Ready, one day for its assimilation in my kitchen. One try and it shone. It is that simple.

I now share it with you.

Mayonesa de Zanahoria - Carrot Mayonnaise

Ingredients

1 1/4 cup carrots. Thinly slice and drop into a shallow pan of boiling water just covering the carrots. When beginning to go soft, remove the boiled carrots. Allow to cool. Retain water.
squeeze lemon juice
2 Tbs good olive oil
1/2 small clove garlic - minced
1 tsp pink salt
*optional 1 tsp mustard - I use Carley’s Organic Mustard - it’s subtle and a little sweet

Method

1. pop the cooled carrots and lemon juice into a blender or processor. I used a mini processor for this amount. Blitz until smooth. (Use some of the retained cooking water if it needs some help to blend. Go easy. Just a little at a time). The oil in the final step will help a lot to make it smooth and creamy.
2. add the garlic, salt and *mustard. Blitz again.
3. add the oil. slowly. a small amount at a time so it emulsifies and transforms the carrots into a sweet and gently peppery mayonnaise.

Pop into a jar and refrigerate. Will keep for 4-5 days. Or use it immediately. Spooned onto bread and coupled with avocado and argula, or a baby leaves. Or any way you like. And you will like. Promise.

This recipe could be made raw also. Miss out the cooking of the carrots. If you have a blender (lucky you!) it will work a treat. I think the texture benefits from cooking if you haven’t got one and are making do with a food processor. Give it a try. Let me know what you think.

Be well,

India xx

Versatile Rich Tomato Marrakech Relish (no cook)

September 10, 2012 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

No cook Versatile Rich Tomato Marrakech Relish

Don’t run off at the sight of a long ingredients list. Its predominance mostly spices. Simple to prepare and so flavoursome. I promise you’ll be pleased you made it and it really only takes a few minutes. I’m always ridiculously proud when I make something a store would have you think impossible to us mere mortals.

Sometimes I will go into a store or restaurant and experience a recipe so striking that I have to go home and make attempts recreate it. It is a challenge I heartily accept. Nowawdays, I usually push my trolley right on by the shelves stacked with jars of pre made sauces and condiments but last week, a little jar caught my eye and beckoned me hither. A tagine paste. I accepted it’s silent call and grabbed it from lofty height. Automatically, I turned the jar over in my hand and inspected the ingredients. Wow! no unnecessary fillers or scary E numbers. I gave it place among a soft bed of spinach and pushed my trolley onwards. It was a treat! I set about mimicking it.

One of the things I love about cooking is the guess work involved, along with the measuring, sprinkling, mincing, smelling and even in a funny way the annihilation of my clear zen worktops to transform to something akin to a struck bomb, with open jars, splattered liquids amid the perfume of garden herbs. I suspect a failure to take up science and a soul that is caressed by evocative food memories is behind my kitchen puttering.

I cracked this on the second hit. The flavours are lusty and robust. Statisfying in a way that necessitates only a few brimming spoonfuls to satiate.

Ingredients (makes one jar or about a cup full)

1/2 cup soaked sun dried tomatoes (the dry kind and not in oil…if you have the oiled type then omit the sunflower oil part of the recipe)
5 garlic cloves - minced
1/2 red pepper - chopped
1 small shallot - minced
1 roughly chopped red chilli pepper (deseeded if it is a hot number)
1/4 cup roughly chopped sun dried tomato soak water (you may need less or even none at all, depending on the consistency of your tomatoes…your judgement is needed)
1/2 juice of squeezed lemon
2 Tbs finely chopped fresh mint (remove the stalk if it is woody)
1 Tbs finely chopped fresh parsley (remove the stalk it is a bit woody)
2 1/2 tsp cumin powder - I roast seeds and grind them myself so I can enjoy the smoky aroma whilst grinding in my pestle
1 tbs coriander powder
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp ground caraway seeds
1 Tbs truffle (or walnut/olive) oil
1 Tbs sunflower oil
1/2 tsp salt (this should be enough but add sparingly according to how salty your sun dried tomatoes were)
grinding of black pepper

Method

1. in a blender, blend the tomatoes with the red pepper to a rough paste.
2. add all the other ingredients and pulse until mix is of a thick, slightly coarse consistency. I love to leave little nibs of garlic, onion, chilli pepper and fresh herbs suspended in the paste. It adds depth and excitement in each spooned bite.
I am slathering it liberally on almost anything at the moment. I cannot get enough. Baked poppadoms are peppered with it, Raw Garlic Bread it loaded with it and veggies are turned scarlet with generous lashings of the stuff. Beans are delicious bathed in it. Avocado, potato….I could go on. I won’t.

I hope you like it as much as I do. You can also try and change up the spices to match an alternative country. Its base could be the foundation for the flavours of Italy, Mexico and Spain too. Add some pickled lime and it could whisk you away on an exotic trip to India.

Please enjoy.

India Leigh x

Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Hummus - Recipe

September 5, 2012 by India Leigh 5 Comments

Raw Sprouted Buckwheat Hummus

I have a friend who calls chickpeas ‘devil food’. The force of her wrath is due to the ‘fall out’ after-effect of the ubiquitous legume. Mindful of this and needful of dip, I hunted around for alternatives. I’d not soaked any almonds so that was out. My stock of pre-cooked black beans were frozen solid. Oh dear, I had nothing to ‘hummus’ but I craved it so!

In a moment of inspiration I grabbed my dish of buckwheat, happily going about its business of sprouting on my windowsill.
I paired it will all the usual ‘hummus’ suspects, and crossed my fingers as I stood and watched it quickly blending into a thick, pale cream.

I slathered it thick on a wedge of sweet potato, hot and steaming, fresh from the oven and eagerly bit into it like an open-faced sandwich. Verdict? It is really rather tasty! Hunger abated and full of delight that my experiment had worked I roasted some cumin and bashed the smoking seeds with a pestle to release the flavours, and the together the two became firm friends.
I then dug around in my cupboard to fish out my mandolin (not the instrumental kind..though that would of been fitting!) and sliced some delicate rounds of beetroot to create an easy starter. More about that after I’ve shared the basic recipe with you.

First, sprouting the buckwheat. Buckwheat is not a grain but a seed, related to the rhubarb family. It is full of amino acids (one of most complete sources on the planet) and is gluten free. It is a ‘healthy’ starch and after soaking in water for 20mins (some say longer but I’ve heard it can spoil quickly), it gives off a gloupy gel like substance that needs to be rinsed vigorously. Once rinsed pop into a sprouter and rinse 3-4 times a day. You should see the little sprout tail emerge after a day or two. Rinse, rinse and rinse again, and then you are ready to turn it into moreish (and Moorish) hummus.

Ingredients
2 cups raw sprouted buckwheat
1 plump clove garlic
1/2 tsp salt (pink preferably)
1/2 lemon juice (2 Tbs)
1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar or ume plum seasoning (to lift)
1-2 Tbs tahini (raw if that is your bag) I used 1 Tbs and it was delicious. See what you think.

Method.
1. pop all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth and creamy. Check for seasoning. Is it ok? You may like more lemon or more salt. Try it.

Nutrition (source Food Matters)

Sprouted buckwheat is an amazing food because it tastes like a grain but is actually gluten and wheat free and not a grain at all. It is one of the most complete sources of protein on the planet, containing all eight essential amino acids. This makes it perfect for diabetics and those who want to cut down on their sugary carbohydrates and to balance their blood sugar levels. It is also known to lower high blood pressure.

Sprouted buckwheat also cleanses the colon and alkalizes the body. Buckwheat is a wonderful super food for people who have varicose veins or hardening of the arteries. One of the reasons is that it is full of rutin, which is a compound that is known as a powerful capillary wall strengthener. When veins become weak, blood and fluids accumulate and leak into nearby tissues, which may cause varicose veins or hemorrhoids.

This healing food is also rich in lecithin, making it a wonderful cholesterol balancer because lecithin soaks up “bad” cholesterol and prevents it from being absorbed. Lecithin neutralizes toxins and purifies the lymphatic system, taking some of the load off of the liver. Sprouted buckwheat is also a brain boosting super food. 28% of the brain is actually made up of lecithin. Research suggests that regularly consuming foods rich in lecithin may actually prevent anxiety, depression, brain fog, mental fatigue and generally make the brain sharper and clearer.

Buckwheat is high in iron so it is a good blood builder. It also prevents osteoporosis because of its high boron and calcium levels. Sprouted buckwheat is high in bio-flavonoids and co-enzyme Q10. It contains all of the B vitamins, magnesium, manganese, and selenium, as well as many other health giving compounds.

Wow! AND it makes great hummus. Also, when teamed with mint, fresh raw beets, cumin, lemon oil and my homemade Marrakesh Relish….it is heavenly!

Enjoy!

Be well

India Leigh x

p.s another raw buckwheat recipe you may like caramelised onion tart

p.s.s it is an excellent substitute for oats too. Try it for breakfast.

How to make dukkah

October 20, 2011 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

Dukkah is an Eyptian spice and nut seasoning. It tastes similar to gomisio but a bit more involved to prepare. I used it to pair with a recipes I was testing out (one of them - roasted-aubergine-and-carrot-on-bed-of-lentils-with-date-and-lemon-chutney. As with most things the recipe has been tampered with over the years and many versions exist. I found this by Alice Hart from the Telegraph magazine. I tweaked the ingredients slightly to suit what I had in my cupboards and simplified the method.

2 tbs sesame seeds

1/4 cup pistachios roughly chopped

1 tbs coriander seeds

1 tbs cumin seeds

1 tbs black peppercorns

1 sprig thyme, leaves picked

1/4 tsp salt (omit if the pistachios are salted)

1 tsp ground sumac (a citrusy Middle Eastern spice)

Method - Authentic Dukkah would be hand ground. I’m sure it would be more satisfying but I couldn’t spare the time.

1. in a small pan roast the nuts until starting to brown. Add the sesame seeds and the coriander and cumin until then start to give off their fragrant oils.

2. take the mix off the heat to halt the cooking process (burnt is not good!) and put into a coffee grinder. Add the remaining ingredients and grind to a coase powder.

3.transfer to a jar. Will keep for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

CELERIAC GRIDDLE SCONES with roasted leeks and creamy caper sauce - Gluten free

September 28, 2011 by India Leigh 1 Comment

These scones are not like oven scones, they get a really nice golden crust and a richer, more robust flavour. I took the inspiration from one of the books I’ve been flicking through the pages of, at night before I slumber. The book listed potato scones but I preferred the idea of flavourful celeriac instead.

Celeriac Griddle Scones - makes 6

500g (small) celeriac - peeled and cut into 2inch (ish) cubes

1/2 cup sorghum flour (juwar)

1 tbs garbanzo flour

1 green (salad) onion finely chopped

1/2 tbs finely chopped rosemary

1/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/4 tsp fine ground white pepper

1tbs oil for frying

Method

1. steam the celeriac until soft (retain a little of the cooking water if needed to bind the mix). mash

2. add all the other ingredients, through to the oil for frying, and mix well to form a ball of ‘dough’

3. roll out on a floured surface (or grease proof paper…easier to clean up!) to 1/2 inch thick

4. use a pastry cutter or a glass to cut into rounds

5. in a heated and lightly oiled skillet, cook the rounds on each side until lightly browned

6. serve immediately

The scones freeze well. They are also very nice as a lunch with one of my fabulous-hummus-sisters or as a lid for a vegan pie.

I served with roasted leeks and tomatoes - simply drizzle with a good oil, season and roast. Simple, silky, and the flavour is intense.

I made a quick caper sauce to pour over my leeks and scones and bring the dish together.

1 tbs vegan butter

1 tbs brown rice flour

1/2 cup vegan milk (I used unsweetened hemp)

2 tbs capers

season with salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. melt the butter in a pan and add the flour.

2. stir until the flour is melted ensuring it doesn’t burn.

3. slowly pour in the milk whilst stirring constantly

4. simmer for 3-4 minutes. If it thickens too much add a little more milk.

5. add the capers and heat for a further 30 seconds

6. season to taste

‘buttery’, crumbly loveliness…

Hot ‘n’ zesty sriracha tofu - Secret Recipe Club challenge

September 12, 2011 by India Leigh 29 Comments

September already! In an attempt to push out any thoughts of the oncoming British winter (brrr) I got busy delving around on the blog of This Mama Cooks, my 2nd project for The Secret Recipe Club. My first is here to get you up to speed on what the SRC is all about.

After poking around her website a bit I was a quite in awe of Anne-marie Nichols of This Mama Cooks, and her many years of freelance food writing credits. Wow! Kudos to her ability to make her PASSION work for her. It was a bit of a challenge for me to find a recipe to play with as she, by her own admission, is all about the meat. Being a torch barer for healthy eating and low-fat eating though, she had a few vegan dishes on her website but I wanted to try something new, so I rang a circle around one of her husbands favourite dishes and set to work veganizing Anne-marie’s sriracha chicken skewers

The Internet availed me with a couple of recipes for the Sriracha sauce (my, by the looks of it you Americans love your sriracha sauce..there’s even a dedicated cookbook!). Bonzai Aphrodite had a recipe for a raw vegan version and Viet World Kitchen ‘fast’ and ‘fermented’ versions> I learnt that basically the sauce is named after the Thai town it hailed from and it is a hot sauce, typically made from sun-ripened chili peppers, vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt.

Can I be honest? I’ve never tried sriracha sauce, so I’ve no idea what it tastes like. I tried hard to imagine what This Mama Cooks (but tofu’d)…this is my virgin foray into the hot world of sriracha. This Mama Cooks’ original recipe here. I adapted different elements from her recipe, and incorporated some of the ideas from the sauce recipes I mentioned above. The recipe is low-fat, vegan, sugar and gluten free. Green lights all round!

Sticky, zesty Sriracha tofu

2 medium heat red chili
1 red bell or long Romano pepper
1/4 cup fruit syrup
2 prunes (for depth)
3 tbs tamari sauce
2 cloves garlic
juice of 1/2 lime
3 tbs apple cider vinegar
1/2 tsp Himalayan salt

450g extra firm tofu
3 tbs sesame seeds
1 tsp arrowroot
zest of 1 lime

4 - 6 prepared BBQ skewers (soaked)

Preheat oven 350 degrees

1. I tested the heat of the chili and decided to keep the seeds of one and discard the seeds from the other (I don’t like ‘blow the doors off’ heat). Bonzai Aphrodite offered a tip and advised keeping the crown of the chili (omit the stalk) as it adds depth of flavour. I roughly chopped and put it along with all the other ingredients, through to the tofu, into the food processor.

2. Prepare the tofu by wrapping it in kitchen towel and pressing it between two plates for an hour to reduce the water content.
3. cube the tofu and marinate in 4 tbs of the sauce (keep the rest in a to use for other recipes) for 1 hour
4.Place tofu on an oil baking tray and pour the marinade into a saucepan
5. heat with the arrowroot. Remove immediately once reached boiling (it will thicken. But if overcooked the arrowroot will loose its thickness)
6.coat the tofu in the sriracha and then sprinkle over the sesame seeds.
7.slide onto the skewers and bake for 40 mins or until the tofu is firm and the coating sticky.
8. garnish with zest of 1 lime.
9. I served with brown rice cooked with coconut milk, coriander and lime zest.

I loved the sauce and the recipe left me with 1/2 jar of the stuff to use on other recipes. I’m thinking poured over a kale stir fry, spooned onto a baked sweet potato with Daiya cheese or for dipping. I think I’d try this recipe with tempeh too.

What other ways do you use with your sauce?

I’d love (love, love) to hear from you your views on how my recipe compares to the ‘real’ thing.

The Secret Recipe Club is such a fun way of getting to know other food bloggers and set yourself a challenge once a month. If you want to join us then sign up here

A week of VEGAN - Meal plan - DAY 1

July 11, 2011 by India Leigh 1 Comment

So what does a vegan eat? Well, that is like asking Londoners what does a Londoner eat and expecting the answer to be the same. What I am going to tell you is what this vegan eats or, to be more precise, what she is eating this week.

Ta da! My 7 day window into whats cooking in my kitchen. I’ve chosen this week because a) I just thought of it , and b) I’m not planning on eating out this week.

So, day 1 - I started without you…sorry. Yesterday was day one but I was busy cooking/eating it so I didn’t post it on my blog.

For lunch I prepared a bowl of Cauliflower & lime pickle soup.

This recipe is so simple ANYONE could make it. You basically CHOP & POP it all into a pot.

This recipe is for 2. To make it for 4 just double the ingredients.

1/2 Cauliflower
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup white beans
1/2 onion ( I used a large shallot)
2 sticks celery
1 clove garlic
1 tsp roasted and ground cumin (fresh is best)
3 cups water (this will differ depending on size of cauliflower, make sure you add just enough to cover ingredients)

salt & pepper to your liking

CHOP & POP into the pan. Boil until soft….approx 20mins. Blend. Serve with 1 tsp of lime pickle per bowl. If you swirl it in you get lovely ripples of tart flavour and a backward kick!

True to form I was thinking about dinner whilst eating lunch (Should I serve some therapy with that?) and I decided on mushroom risotto.

I like to use carnaroli rice. I think it ‘creams’ really well.

To make the risotto I used

200g carnaroli rice
150g sliced mushrooms
1000ml (approx) vegan stock
50 ml white wine or apple cider vinegar (I used acv as I like the acidity and it is supposed to be great for you)
1 finely chopped shallot
2 finely chopped cloves garlic
2 tbs fresh chopped parsley
2 tbs fresh chopped thyme or tarragon (remove leaves from stalks)
1/2 tbs olive oil for mushrooms
1 tbs olive oil for scallions

I LOVE making risotto. I turn on the radio and listen to some great music or a play and then happily get chopping and stirring. Cooking for the soul…

1. heat oil in a pan and add sliced mushrooms along with herbs and fry until soft.

2. remove from pan. Finely chop half of them and leave the rest as they are.
3. heat oil in a pan and saute scallion and garlic until soft.
4. add rice and fry for about 2 minutes
5. add wine or ACV and cook until absorbed (this helps to open the grain and for it to release its starches to make your risotto creamy)
6. add a ladle of stock (ensure the stock is kept on a low heat so it is hot when added) and the fine chopped mushrooms and stir until liquid is absorbed

7. keep adding a ladle of stock at a time and gently stirring.
8. when all the stock is absorbed and the rice is soft (but not mushy) add the remaining mushrooms and heat through.
9. Serve. You can add an extra smattering of chopped parsley to lift the flavour if you wish.

There are some many tasty combos you can use for risotto…another fave is butternut squash and fried sage risotto…What is your favourite?

Sorry the pics are a bit dark..one of those large unwieldy silver disc things is on the wish list….

For pudding/dessert/sweet call it what you will I had vegan yogurt and banana. I didn’t photograph it as I was sure you wouldn’t be interested in that!

Hmm, now what shall I do for DAY 2?…..

Introducing the fabulous HUMMUS SISTERS!

June 22, 2011 by India Leigh Leave a Comment

I am addicted to hummus. I am a Gemini. I get bored. I like to be creative (OK so my veggie drawing skills need some work! and YES that is what the inside of a tomato looks like). The equation A+G+B+C = solution…THE HUMMUS LAB.

My kitchen looked like a bomb site after I’d put all these together, and I did spin around on the spot wondering what I was doing more than once. But I managed to pull it off.

Isn’t it beautiful written in Arabic… حمّص بطحينة

For the basic hummus I used

1 can organic chickpeas - drained

1 tsp tahini

1 large garlic clove

juice of half a lemon

1tps salt

*note: this is quite a low fat recipe. Make it to your taste, you can add more tahini or a swirl of olive oil on top too to make it more unctuous**

Once you have the basic recipe you can then get creative with your flavours. I made 3 alternatives here today. I’ll be your muse and suggest a few others at the end (of this post, not the end of time…that would be silly).

the dazzling hummus sisters

Ms Sundried tomato hummus

To make sundried tomato hummus just add as many as you like (the type in oil in a jar are best). For a smokey flavour you could add smoked paprika.

Miss Carrot & Cumin hummus

To add a colourful twist to your basic recipe add a carrot and blend (add more tahini as the carrot will add moisture and make it a bit ‘wet’) and decorate it with freshly ground roasted cumin. It is sweet, aromatic and delicious.

Miss Olive Noir Hummus

Yes, you did guess right…add olives, BUT for this recipe I also added a spoon of raw black tahini with is coarse and adds a interesting dimension.

Other suggestions - mustard, chili spiked or wasabi hummus. You know you can use other white beans too, and even omit the beany element altogether and use zucchini instead.

For a whole wealth of of hummus factoids for you beany paste geeks…..here is the Wikipedia low down.

How do you hummus?

SILKY, MOUTHWATERING MOUSSAKA - moo-less and vegan!

June 17, 2011 by India Leigh 2 Comments

I dragged out the contents of my fridge. Stared hard at a huddle of vegetables of varying shapes and colours. Let out an audible hmmmm. The aubergine (eggplant…and a few other aka’s as Wikipedia now explains) seemed to sing out among the crowd, ‘use me, use me’. I wanted to make something filling, deeply satisfying and with layers of flavour…… Of course! Obviously, a deep, deliriously tasty moussaka! Well bop me on the head with an large member of the night shade family.

I escorted the aubergine and its other bed-fellows for this dish, to the chopping board. Here is what happened next…

Aubergine…the love story. Moussaka with polenta crust. In 4 acts; the tomato layer, the white sauce, the polenta crust and the grand finale.

SERVES 4

The cast

1 large aubergine

1 large onion

5 large tomatoes

1 small celeriac (understudies could be a large potato or jicima)

1 zucchini (courgette)

1 tbs red wine vinegar

2 large cloves of garlic

1 tsp fresh mint

1 tsp fresh rosemary

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp cinnamon

2 tbs arrowroot

1/2 pint unsweetend vegan milk (I used rice milk)

1 tbs vegan butter

1 pinch of grated nutmeg

1 bay leaf

2 tbs quick cook polenta

1 tbs vegan cheese (I used Vegan Parmesan..I think it’s best)

salt & ground black or white pepper

*Note; the polenta crust is optional, you could just sprinkle with cheese or breadcrumbs. add libbing is welcomed.

Pre heat your oven to 200 degrees and let the play begin…

Slice the aubergine 1/2 cm thick and brush with olive oil (some recipes say to salt them and leave to draw out the moisture… trust me, it isn’t necesary) Place under the grill (broiler) until slightly browned on both sides. Slice (lengthways), oil and grill the zucchini too. Slice the celeriac 1/2 cm. Steam until cooked. Set aside. These are your layers.

The tomato sauce;

Score a line around the top of the tomatoes and put them in a bowl. Cover with boiling water. After 10 mins or so take them out of the water and use a knife to peel the skin off. Chop and set aside.

Finely chop the onions and garlic. Fry the onions until becoming golden and then add the garlic, careful not to burn. Add the chopped tomatoes, red wine vinegar, and 1 bay leaf, the herbs, cinnamon, a good pinch of salt and pepper stir and simmer for 15mins. Set aside.

The white sauce;

In a saucepan add the vegan butter, arrowroot, 1/2 tsp ground black or white pepper and bring to the heat. Stir/whisk until butter is melted. Slowly incorporate the vegan ‘milk’, whisking vigorously to prevent lumps. Bring to the boil and then remove from the heat. Grate over a generous pinch of nutmeg. Stir and set aside.

The polenta parmasan crust;

Simmer 2 cups of water and slowly pour in the polenta whilst stirring. Add the Parmesan. Bring to boil and nicely thickened. Season to taste. What’s next…you guessed it…set aside.

The finale;

Grab yourself a beautiful, oven-proof dish. Time to layer. On the bottom place one layer of celeriac and then proceed with the stack; a layer of tomato sauce, layer of aubergine, tomato sauce, celeriac, tomato sauce, zucchini, aubergine, tomato, celeriac, tomato and finally zucchini. Pour over the white sauce, it should be quite thick and then the final polenta.

Place into the oven and bake for 25-30mins. Serve. I found it’s is even better if you prepare the night before (to completing the stacks stage) and bake just before serving.

It such a tasty dish and has lovely textures, and all the spices and herbs work so well with the veggies. The white sauce layer and the tangy, cheesy crust and chewy and divine! There does seem to be a lot of ingredients but they are in the most part, standard store cupboard ingredients and…honestly it’s worth it, you will be whooping with pleasure at each silky mouthful!

I’d be interested to know how yours turns out. I LOVE comments….don’t be shy!