Crispy polenta crackers

I found myself in a polenta frame of mind this morning, triggered by this chocolate shortbread, of which there is now a gluten free version…recipe coming soon!

It had been so so long since I’d made that shortbread, and I’d forgotten has delicately crisp and crumbly it was.

Anyway back to the polenta. There it sat in it packet on the kitchen worktop, waiting to be buried back inside my baking box, until another recipe then popped into my mind. Another recipe I’d first tried out months and months ago, and I seem to remember at the time the Boy had said, ‘Mmmm, this tastes like crackling’! Er, well I didn’t think it tasted like crackling so don’t worry. But I do understand what he meant…these crackers are super duper crispy, you’d think they’d been deep fried to get that intense crunch, but nope they are simply baked.

The healthy way to a dip chip!

The key is to slice the polenta as thinly as possible and then bake the slices on a lower heat for longer, and then double bake for extra crispiness. You can mix up the seasonings however you wish. I went for a slightly Mexican theme as I teamed these with my veggie chilli.

Recipe: Polenta crackers

Makes one bowlful

Ingredients

½  cup instant polenta

2 cups water

2 tbs nutritional yeast

1 tsp cajun spice mix (chilli, garlic etc)

¼ tsp salt

Method

In a sauce pan mix polenta with water, add remaining ingredients and simmer for approx. 5 minutes stirring continuously until mixture begins to thicken but is still pourable.

Pour/spoon into a small loaf tin, smoothing the top as much as possible and allow to set then firm up in the fridge.

Once set firmly, remove the polenta loaf from the tin and using a sharp knife slice as thinly as possible, laying each slice on a greased/lined baking sheet

Bake at 150C for approx. 20-30 mins depending on the thickness of the slices. If the slices are not yet crispy in the centre but the edges are done, allow to cool and then re-bake for a further 10 minutes or as long as necessary.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Mexican tortilla stack

I love a good old veggie chilli!  Even before I began eating a vegan diet I often preferred to cook up a veggie chilli over a beef one. I think it’s more the textures and flavours of the dish than the actual meat itself that I fell in love with. The spices and the kidney beans are really what make a chilli.

Actually come to think of it, I usually find it’s the textures of a dish and the context of the food that I find draws me in…. for example I always loved my mum’s homemade chicken pie with veg and gravy, but I think I actually just have a thing for gravy smoothed over pastry and veg, I don’t think it really matters so much what the pie contains! Similarly tofu scramble on toast satisfies me just as much as traditional scrambled egg would have done.

(I now can’t get a vision of pie and gravy out of my mind!)

So, whilst a chilli is good… I wanted to change things up a little bit and up the protein count In the process. Beans! Beans! Beans! I also wanted to get a little saucy with a flavoursome cheese-style sauce drizzled over the top. I think the sauce makes a lovely rich complement to the dish but you could always have it without. This dish also reminds me a little of a classic lasagne, with it’s lovely layering!

This is a super simple meal that looks great in the centre of the table, well that is until you cut into it, then it gets a bit messy! This serves 4 but you could easily use large tortillas to serve more, or make your own. I have used regular tortillas here, as I am not gluten free (although I often opt for recipes that are), but you could easily sub these for GF wraps available in many supermarkets.

Recipe: Mexican tortilla stack

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 tbs olive oil

1 onion-finely chopped

1 red chilli- finely chopped (or up to ½ tsp dried chilli flakes)

2 cloves garlic- finely chopped

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tbs ground coriander

400g can black beans

400g can red kidney beans

400g can chopped tomatoes

100ml vegetable stock

A bunch of spring onions- sliced

350g sweetcorn (canned or frozen)

4 wholemeal tortilla wraps (regular or gluten free)

Vegan cheese sauce- see note below

Method

Heat oil in a large pan and gently fry the onions for around 5 minutes until soft. Stir through the chilli, garlic, cumin and coriander and cook for a further minute.

Pour in the beans, tomatoes and stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Whilst this is simmering make up the cheese sauce- see below. Stir through the spring onions and the sweetcorn.

Place a tortilla wrap in the base of a spring form cake tin- approx. 20cm diameter. Spoon over ¼ of the mixture and spread evenly. Drizzle a little cheese sauce over the mixture. Top with another tortilla and repeat the process with 4 wraps in total finishing with a layer of bean mix and cheese sauce.

Bake the stack for 25 minutes at 200C. Slice into wedges to serve.

Note: You can use your own favourite strong cheese sauce recipe. My current favourite is taken from Oh She Glows and has a strong ’cheesy’ mustardy flavour giving a nice flavoursome kick to the tortilla stack.

The original recipe can be found here but is also provided my ever so slightly tweaked version below for reference. I increased the flour (I used cornflour) to 1.5 tbs to ensure a nice thick sauce.

Recipe: Cheese Sauce

 

Ingredients

¾ cup almond milk

6tbs nutritional yeast

1 tbs coconut oil

1 ½ tbs cornflour

2 tsp Dijon mustard

¼ tsp garlic powder

½  tsp salt and pepper

Method

Melt the coconut oil in a small pan over the hob. Whisk the flour and milk together in a separate bowl ensuring there are no lumps. Add the milk mixture plus all remaining ingredients to the pan and whisk well. Simmer and whisk for approx. 5 mins until thick.

Note: this sauce also freezes well so can be made in a batch.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Spicy lentil and chickpea soup

Time for more soup… and more flatbread! I think this flatbread recipe will become my go-to soup accompaniment- made fresh it’s just so good! This time I made it using spelt flour plus baking powder (use 3 tsp baking powder per 200g spelt flour) and it was so soft and fluffy with an amazingly crisp crust.

This spiced lentil soup was lovely and warming helped along by a chilli kick! The lentils and chickpeas also made for a great protein packed meal. If you wanted to bulk it up a little more or didn’t have any bread to hand you could top it with some cous-cous instead.

Soups are so easy to make and I always make sure I cook up a big portion and freeze leftovers for work day lunches. I make all my soups in my Thermomix as it’s perfect for the job as an all-in-one gadget, but I have given the more typical blender method below.

So, after such a virtuous first course….what is for dessert?  May be sticky toffee pudding or chocolate brownie torte? Or if like me this will become lunch at the office, then keep your eyes peeled for my forthcoming granola bar experiments, the perfect fill-you-up, feel good snack to round things of just nicely!

 

Recipe: Spicy lentil and chickpea soup

Ingredients

2 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp olive oil

1 red onion (diced)

150g red lentils

900ml vegetable stock

400g can chopped tomatoes

200g cooked/canned chickpeas

Small handful of coriander

Dollop of or soy yoghurt or swirl of soy cream to serve

Serves 4

Method

Dry fry cumin and chilli flakes for 1-2 minutes. Add the oil and onion and fry for a further 5 minutes. Stir in lentils, vegetable stock and tomatoes then simmer for 15 minutes. Blend the soup with a hand blender to get a rough puree. Add the chickpeas and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the roughly chopped coriander and serve with a blob of yoghurt or a swirl or cream.

Left over portions can be frozen.

For tips and info on recipe measurement conversions, ingredients, substitutions and the methods behind how I do things.... check out my 'baking tips' tab at the top of the page.

Thai green noodle soup

Soups can tick all the boxes....

A hearty substantial meal  or  a light midday snack

A thick warming meal when it’s cold outside  or  a light refreshing dish when it’s too hot for comfort!

Either way, it’s easy to cater for all options and with a rich dish full of spices and veggies its always going to be a winner!

Today was a lovely warm and sunny October day (hang on a minute didn't this happen the last time I made soup!) Perfect autumn day for this soup which has the light creamy base of coconut milk but with a hot and spicy kick, so it’s a bit of a contradiction (a bit like today's weather for this time of year!) The addition of the noodles makes it a more substantial meal- but you could use more or less noodles depending on your preference.

­Feel free to vary the veg in this soup, just make sure you cut the chunks into small similar sized pieces. I haven’t yet tried freezing it, if I was to do so I’d cook it up without adding the noodles and then cook those in a wok separately before adding to the soup once it has been defrosted and warmed through.

Recipe: Thai green noodle soup

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tsp vegetable or coconut oil (not coconut butter)

1 small onion finely chopped

2 tbs thai green curry paste

1 red chilli finely chopped

300g vegetable stock

300ml coconut milk

150g mix of chopped veg suitable for stir frying (I used beansprouts, carrot, soy beans, and kale)

150g sachet rice noodles

Method

Heat oil in a pan and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Stir through the curry paste and half the chilli and fry for another minute. Add the stock and coconut milk and bring to the boil.  Stir through the vegetables and rice noodles and simmer for 5 minutes. Garnish with the remaining chilli.

Spicy polenta with greens and beans

First up- polenta! 

I was pretty happy with my first attempt yesterday so feel it justifies its place on my blog. Simple, versatile, healthy food… what more could I want?

So polenta, or more appropriately cornmeal as that is what it is. Having never cooked this stuff before I set about my research. From what I gather traditional polenta is made from coarse cornmeal stirred slooowly and continuously for a long time, ( about 30 minutes) however the product I came across was instant polenta, by Merchant Gourmet, which cooks in 5 minutes ( however still arm-ache inducing!). For a first timer like me this approach appealed.  From reading various reviews it seems that many now opt for the instant variety (even the Italians to whom it is their tradition) , however the texture and richness may not compare but I guess this largely comes down to personal choice. I will give it a go one of these days with the real thing.

The options for serving polenta seem almost endless, another good reason it appealed to me and is sure to succumb to further experimentation:

Soft and creamy like mash potato or porridge

Formed into a firm loaf and sliced

Cubed and used as ‘croutons’

Spread thinly and sliced into ‘crackers’

Used as a base for Italian bruschettas

Served as pancakes for a sweet or savoury topping

….Then to serve: baked, grilled, fried…. with herbs or a marinade.

 

Choices choices!

Recipe: Spicy polenta with greens and beans

Serves 2 but can easily be doubled

 

I decided to spoon the polenta (once cooked as per packet instructions in a large sauce pan stirring for 5 minutes in 4 times the amount of vegetable stock to polenta) into a loaf tin. Once chilled I cut this into thick slices, sprinkled it with chilli powder and paprika for a bit of a kick and then oven baked the slices laid out on baking parchment for approximately 15 minutes, flipping over half way through. Yummy!  I served this up with a fusion of tomatoes, onion, beans  and spinach.

Ingredients:

1 tbs oil

1 tsp minced garlic

1 onion finely chopped

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 can of red kidney beans

2 large handfuls spinach (or other leafy greens)

Handful of fresh chopped basil (optional)

1tsp mild chilli powder (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste]

Method:

In a large saucepan or wok (I always seem to use a wok for everything as I find it more forgiving for eager stirring of the contents!) heat 1 tbs oil and fry the onion and garlic for 5 minutes until softened. Add the spice (if using), tomatoes and kidney beans and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the spinach and simmer and str fry for 2 mins or until wilted. To serve, arrange the polenta slices around the edge of a shallow bowl (again my favourite form of dish due to practicality!) and spoon the tomato mixture into the centre. Garnish with chopped basil and seasoning.

P.S you can also make a larger batch of polenta and store the cooked (but unbaked) leftovers in the fridge for 2 to 3 days.