Category: Student
Mediterranean Veggie Wrap

Mediterranean Veggie Wrap

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I’m officially half way through the term and therefore half way through the year!! I have no idea where that’s gone, all I know is that it’s crazy hectic and I’m having the time of my life. At the moment I’m gearing myself up for a 12 hour get-in in the theatre where I’m working on a play right now. It’s going to be a long week of very little work, very little sleep, but lots of incredible theatre stuff – so quick, wholesome dinners are what  I need to focus on making otherwise I will 100% live off snacks. These wraps are so easy to throw together, can easily be taken to rehearsals/lectures etc and are much cheaper to make yourself than to buy from a sandwich shop!

Recipe

Serves 1

Time: 20 minutes

Ingredients

  • 100g Halloumi
  • A few strips of Aubergine
  • 1/4 Red pepper
  • 1 Brown tortilla wrap
  • 1-2 tbsp Hummus

Method

  1. Put a large frying pan on a medium heat. Slice the halloumi into 1cm wide strips and then fry them in the pan for 2-4 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy. Take the halloumi out of the pan and set to one side.
  2. Then take a peeler and make thin strips of the aubergine. Dry-fry the strips in the pan for 5-8 minutes, until softened and starting to brown. Leave to one side for later.
  3. Slice the red pepper into strips, then you’re ready to assemble!
  4. Put the wrap on a plate and spread the hummus evenly over it. Arrange the aubergine, halloumi and the red pepper on top (I find doing this in a line makes it easier to roll up!). Roll the wrap up and then serve!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Baked Potatoes with a Chickpea Curry

Baked Potatoes with a Chickpea Curry

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ONE DAY MORE!! (You could say the musical bug has bitten me hard in the past few days) Just one more day until I can return to the blissful lands of cheese, chocolate and scrambled eggs. I’m so so set for a good mac and cheese right now! I’ve really enjoyed being vegan, and despite the awkward repeats of ‘I’m sorry, I’m a vegan’ at almost every offer of food, it’s been a fun challenge. However with the frenzy everyday life and the challenge of eating in college, come the 1st Feb I’ll be reverting back to vegetarianism.

With things past comes things learnt, so here’s the 3 most important things I’ve learnt from my vegan month:

  1. Chickpeas are life – I definitely couldn’t have lived without these this month! From hummus, to aquafaba to straight old chickpeas in something like this, they’re a real useful staple in a vegan diet – especially as they’re so versatile.
  2. Flavour is underrated – I’ve also found that it’s really important not to compromise on flavour just because you’re limited to plants. So often I was eating bland vegetables with hummus and pita bread, which whilst delicious does lack an oomph of flavour and it made meals really dull and limp. This does use a lot of spices, which I understand that if you’re on a budget you might not be able to get them all, but even some pre-made spice mixes and paprika can be a really good way of getting flavour punched into your meals.
  3. Food food and more food – Most importantly this month I had to remind myself just to keep eating and that there was a lot more out there that I could eat than I originally thought (Oreos and Jelly Tots are vegan – take note!). In the first few days I was either starving or living on carbs, but neither made me feel at all satisfied. But as soon as you’ve found your niche in the vegan food world you forget your restircted diet and just start getting on with life!

Recipe

Serves 2 (plus extra chickpea mix!)

Time: 1 hour

Ingredients

  • 2 Large potatoes
  • 2 tbsp Oil
  • 1 Onion
  • 9 Garlic cloves
  • A thumb sized piece of root ginger
  • 1 tbsp Ground coriander
  • 2 tbsp Ground cumin
  • 1 tbsp Garam masala
  • 1 tsp Ground paprika
  • 2 tbsp Tomato puree
  • 800g Chickpeas
  • 400g Chopped tomatoes
  • 100g Creamed coconut
  • 100g Spinach to serve

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 200˚C. Microwave the potatoes for 15 minutes on a high heat and then put them into the oven for about 30 minutes until crispy on the outside.
  2. Now make the paste for the curry. Peel and finely chop the onion. Then put the oil and chopped onion into a pan and fry for about 8 minutes until softened.
  3. Spoon the mixture into a food processor and add the peeled garlic, peeled ginger, and ground spices. Then add the tomato puree, onions and a pinch of salt and blitz to a smooth paste.
  4. Transfer the paste back into the pan and cook for a couple of minutes over a medium-high heat, stirring occasionally.
  5. Add the chickpeas and the chopped tomatoes. Stir to mix and then leave to simmer for about 5 minutes.
  6. Add the coconut and 2 tbsp water and simmer the mixture for another couple of minutes.
  7. Serve with the baked potato and spinach!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Crispy fried tofu with sweet potato chips and spicy mexican rice

Crispy fried tofu with sweet potato chips and spicy mexican rice

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Say hello to the big bowl of orange stuff! Yes it’s fairly monochromatic, but who says that a good bowl of food has to be technicolor eh? Since becoming vegan I’ve really missed punchy flavour. So often I end up with just a bowl of veg or a piece of fruit and I think it’s kinda numbed my taste buds. Then I came across Uncle Ben’s rice pouches the other day and it was a true hallelujah chorus moment! They take 2 minutes in the microwave and come out all flavoursome, warm and tasty.

Another sticky point with veganism is the lack of protein sources. I know Huel is a popular choice at the moment, but I’m not that desperate so instead I’ve turned to tofu – a pretty flavourless, jelly-like soy curd. In the past when I’ve had tofu it’s been pretty grim, so I’ve tried my best to get some flavour and texture into it for this dish and I think deep frying it to get a crispy outside is really effective! Especially when served with the rice, it makes a really firey, balanced meal – (And add some sweet potato chips because lets be honest, they improve everything).

Recipe

Serves 1

Time: 25-30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Small sweet potato
  • 100ml Sunflower or vegetable oil
  • Salt and pepper to taste
  • 30g Cornflour
  • 40g Plain flour
  • 1 tbsp Paprika
  • 100g Tofu
  • 1 packet of Uncle Ben’s spicey Mexican rice

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Roughly chop the sweet potato into batons, with the skin on.
  2. Put the potato into a small roasting tin and drizzle with ½ tbsp of the oil. Then season with a little salt and pepper. Put into the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes until starting to brown and crisp. Stir around the tin every now and then to get an even roast.
  3. Now move onto the tofu. Put the cornflour, flour and paprika into a shallow bowl or dish and mix together. Add a little salt and pepper and mix these in.
  4. Cut the tofu into 1cm cubes and then toss them in the flour mixture. Leave the cubes for a couple of minutes whilst you prepare the oil.
  5. Put the rest of the oil into a large saucepan or medium sized frying pan. Place over a medium heat and wait until it gets pipping hot. If you have any herbs to hand you can put one into the oil to check the temperature. If the oil bubbles and spits when the leaf is added it’s ready.
  6. Toss the tofu in the flour mixture again as the moisture from the tofu might have made the flour wet. Then carefully add the tofu cubes to the hot oil and fry for 15-30 seconds on each side until crisp and golden brown.
  7. Transfer the cubes to a plate covered in kitchen roll and then move onto the rice.
  8. Cook the rice according to the packet’s instructions. Then serve with the tofu cubes and the sweet potato chips. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Vegan Banana Bread

Vegan Banana Bread

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I have to admit I’m suffering from a big chunk of writers block at the moment. My life consists mainly of working, going to drama rehearsals, eating, sleeping, and then repeating all that, so writing fun and insightful intros to the world of vegan banana bread is not high on my to do list right now. Essentially all I can say is that (like most recipes on here) it tastes insane, is so so easy to make, and has the added bonus of being the perfect way of using up slightly beyond-their-best bananas!

Recipe

Makes 1 loaf

Time: 10 minutes prep, 40 minutes baking

Ingredients

  • 3 Very ripe bananas
  • 75ml Vegetable oil
  • 100g Light brown sugar
  • 225g Plain flour
  • 3 tsp Baking powder
  • ½ tsp Ground cinnamon

Method

  1. Pre-heat the oven to 180˚C. Line a 2lb loaf tin with butter and baking paper, or one of those easy-to-use liners.
  2. Mash the bananas in a bowl with a fork until it’s a puree. Add the oil and sugar and mix in until smooth.
  3. Add the flour, baking powder and cinnamon and mix in again until smooth.
  4. Pour the batter into the cake tin and then bake in the oven for about 40 minutes until golden brown, risen and so that a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. (Cover the top with tin foil if it starts to burn before being cooked all the way through!).
  5. Leave to cool a little before serving!

Why not try:

  • Adding a handful of chocolate chips to the batter when you add the flour
  • Substituting in 1 tbsp Peanut butter instead of 1 tbsp of the oil to make a banana peanut banana loaf
  • Adding fruit and nuts (like raisins and brazil nuts) to the batter

Thanks for reading!

Emma x
Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

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Is there anything you can’t do with chickpeas? I mean honestly. They make hummus, they’re perfect in currys, and it just so turns out that the juice they come in is also a godsend for vegan baking. Aquafaba, the cloudy water you find in a can of chickpeas, somehow has the ability to be whipped up into a meringue-like substance and therefore can be used to make meringues, macaroons and gorgeous mousses like this.

In complete honesty this doesn’t taste exactly like a normal chocolate mousse. Generally the texture of a normal chocolate mousse is thick and creamy, almost heavy, where as this is as light as a cloud and has the slight watery texture that I guess a cloud would also have. That said, they taste super rich and indulgent, and considering they are made from chickpea water they have an incredible soft, airiness to them! If you haven’t discovered aquafaba for yourself yet then next time you open up a can of chickpeas I beg you to save the water and not pour it down the sink – instead use it to make some of these!

Recipe

Serves 4

Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 140g Dark chocolate
  • 2 tbsp Soya milk
  • 240ml Aquafaba (from a 400g can of chickpeas)
  • 1 tsp Lemon juice
  • 20g Caster sugar
  • Berries to garnish

Method

  1. Put the chocolate and milk into a bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Mix and then leave to cool a little.
  2. Open your 400g can of chickpeas and drain the liquid into a super clean large bowl.
  3. Add the lemon juice to the aquafaba and whisk until stiff peaks form. It can’t be overwhipped so persevere and whisk until the mixture doesn’t slide around the bowl at all.
  4. Slowly add the sugar and whisk in until incorporated.
  5. Check the chocolate has cooled down a little and then fold it into the aquafaba.
  6. Divide the mousse between 4 glasses and then put in the fridge to chill for about 3 hours. Enjoy!

Thanks for reading!

Emma x