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‘Starters/Sauces/Dips’ Category

60 second Beetroot Hummus

May 12, 2012 by peasoupeats

Well it would seem that Spring has finally decided to return to us. Hurrah! I mean a bit of rain never hurt anyone and all that but I sure do love those sunny skies. I even dared to don a dress today when I made a visit to the magnificent Ms.Cupcake bakery in Brixton – more on that at a later date!

It’s on days like these that I need wholesome, simple, goodness. Not that I don’t love to linger in my kitchen because I think we all know very well I do. But there’s nothing more satisfying than whipping up something in a matter of minutes – seconds even.

In this instance that something happens to be a beetroot hummus. Of course, you can use shop bought beetroot (not the pickled kind!), however, I’d already roasted some a few days back, which obviously adds a few minutes onto the whole procedure but lets just gloss over that little detail for now shall we….ahem.

beetroot hummus

1/2 cup chickpeas

1/4 cup chopped beetroot

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 tbsp lemon juice

pinch cumin

pinch smoked paprika

seasalt and pepper

method

put everything in a blender and blitz until smooth!

Category Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan | Tags: | No Comments
Carrot & Ginger Soup

March 31, 2012 by peasoupeats

Finally. Here’s that carrot and ginger soup recipe I promised.

You having a nice weekend?

I’m enjoying every second of mine….

….beers and vietnamese food last night…..

….trip to the auction rooms this morning (didn’t win the hat/bags I bid on but hey, ho, that’s the way it goes!)….

….walked through Greenwich Park….

….raided the Cat’s Protection charity shop (I love cats and thrifted goods so double win!)….

…spent a small fortune in Mark and Spencer’s food hall (including a bottle of vegan red wine – score!)….

….and now I’m chilling in front of the telly watching silly movies on filmfour (just my luck – just what I needed).

I love weekends:)

ingredients

2 large celery sticks

1/2 head fennel

7-8 large carrots

1 large piece of ginger (approx 2”)

1 tsp garlic powder

1 vegetable stock cube

filtered water

1 tbsp oil

salt and pepper

soya cream and hemp seeds to serve

method

heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan.

roughly chop the celery and fennel and add to pan. season with salt and pepper, clamp on lid and allow to soften for several minutes, stirring occasionally.

peel and chop the carrot into medium sized pieces. add to pan along with powdered garlic, stir and allow to soften for 5-10 minutes.

peel and mince the ginger. add to pan and stir to combine. let the ginger infuse a little before covering the vegetables with water and stock cube.

bring to a gentle simmer and cook for around 30-40minutes until the carrots are tender. stir occasionally.

blitz with a hand held blender until completely smooth. it may be a little thicker than desire so thin out with some water. taste for seasoning, heat gently on the stove, stirring frequently but do not allow to boil.

serve with a swirl of soya cream and a sprinkling of hemp seeds.

Category Soup, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan | Tags: | 4 Comments
Curried Cauliflower and Carrot Soup

October 27, 2011 by peasoupeats

As promised, here is the recipe for the (kinda curried – it has garam masala in it!) soup I made yesterday. It makes two generous portions, which meant there was plenty for lunch today – lucky me!

curried cauliflower and carrot soup

Ingredients

1/2 head cauliflower

2 carrots

1 onion

1 heaped tsp coconut oil

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp coriander

pinch paprika

1 heaped tsp vegan vegetable bouillon

1 tbsp garam masala

salt and pepper

boiled water

method

Heat the coconut oil in a saucepan. Finely chop the onion and add to pan, season with salt, stir and lightly fry on a low heat until the onion begins to soften.

Peel and chop the carrot into small pieces and add to pan. Place lid on and allow the carrot to soften for a few minutes before adding the garlic powder, cumin, coriander and paprika. Ensure all the vegetables are coated in the spices, clamp on lid and let the flavours infuse for several minutes more.

Break apart or roughly chop the cauliflower into medium sized pieces and add to pan. Sprinkle over the vegetable bouillon powder and cover with freshly boiled water. You want the water to cover the vegetables with about a centimetre to spare – you can always thin it out later when the soup is blended.

Bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the vegetables are just soft but not mush. Transfer to a blender and blitz until completely smooth. Return the soup to the pan and warm on a low heat.

At this stage you can taste for seasoning and add water to your taste. I like my soup quite thick so I only added about a further 1/2 cup of water.

Serve.

Woah! I’ve never managed to do that before – give a recipe without a load of waffle beforehand.

Have I just gone and ruined it with this little addition?

Nevermind.

Old habits die hard!

Category Soup, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan | Tags: | 1 Comment
Sauteed Kale and Carrot with a Tahini Sauce

October 25, 2011 by peasoupeats

I bought a diary.

Filled it with tasks and reminders.

Now I’m methodically ticking off each task (tick!) and you know what? It feels good. No! It feels great.

It’s been a year since I’ve had a diary and in that time I’d completely forgotten what a useful little tool it can be. I used to be the kind of person who’d note down everything – ‘to do’, ‘shopping’, ‘menus’, ‘recipes’. I’m a lists girl through and through. Somehow though I lost my way and for some reason unbenownst to me, tried to keep everything in my head. Maybe this works for some people but I’ve discovered the hard way, it does not work for me.

As well as tidying up my life I’m also cleaning up my diet. I’ve replaced my usual black tea with soya milk in the morning with hot water and lemon and to my surprise Hubbie has taken to this change rather well. In fact, given the choice this morning, he went for the lemon!

In addition to this, I’ve been craving greens like there’s no tomorrow. Honestly, a bowl of sauteed kale might just be my favourite thing to eat on this planet. With something so perfect in its simplicity, I tend not to mess about with it too much. Here, the grated carrot and tahini sauce are just enough to compliment the kale without overpowering it.

Tahini sauce is bloody gorgeous, in my humble opinion, and I can’t believe it’s been this long since I last made some – it must be months since I last whipped up a batch! I aim to rectify this ghastly oversight by forthwith declaring it a once a week ritual. That shouldn’t be a problem seeing as it goes with just about anything. Except maybe ‘ice-cream’. Although…..

Ingredients

2-3 cups chopped kale

2 carrots

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 tbsp umeboshi plum vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce/shoyu or tamari

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp sesame seeds

¼ cup ‘nooch’ (nutritional yeast)

Tahini Sauce

1 tbsp tahini

1 tsp pink himalayan salt (or rock salt)

Juice ½ lemon

1 tsp umeboshi plum vinegar

2 tbsp filtered water

Method

Heat the coconut oil in a frying pan.

Grate the carrot and add to pan. Stir fry on a medium heat for several minutes. Add the kale and allow to wilt a little before adding the plum vinegar and soy sauce. Stir to incorporate the carrot and kale.

Whilst the kale is wilting further make the tahini sauce. Place the tahini in a bowl along with the salt and lemon juice and mix or whisk until it thoroughly combined. It may seize up, that’s fine, it will become creamy again after adding the water. Next add the plum vinegar and water and stir until creamy and smooth. Set aside.

When the kale has sufficiently wilted, drizzle over the sesame oil and stir through. Sprinkle over the nooch and sesame seeds and stir once more.

Serve the stir fry over freshly boiled brown rice (add a star anise to the pot for beautifully aromatic rice) and top with the tahini sauce. I like to drizzle over a small of sauce initially and add more as I’m eating.

Bon appetit!

Category Pasta/Rice/Noodles, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan, Vegetable side dish | Tags: | No Comments
What I Ate Wednesday

September 7, 2011 by peasoupeats

It’s been a strange week so far and to be honest I’ve been feeling out of sorts. Certainly, I didn’t think on Monday that by Tuesday evening and whilst we lay in bed discussing our future, we’d have made the decision to move back to the big smoke.

London has given us so much but when we left several years ago to make a life for ourselves in Chicago we really thought we’d said our goodbyes and were happy with that. Then Chicago didn’t work out how we’d hoped and we came to Cornwall to heal and now here we are at yet another crossroads.

As with the nature of both our jobs our lives are in constant change – no two days, weeks, months are the same. However, now that I’ve decided to change direction and focus on fashion and styling I realise that staying and indeed working in Cornwall is no longer a viable option. The industry I am trying to break into is in London and no matter how much we adore our Cornish life, right now, we need to be in the hub of things. We’re hoping this will make our future easier and will mean I (fingers crossed) won’t have any regrets.

You see, I’m actually quite an ambitious person and try to be the best at whatever it is I put my mind to. At present I don’t feel that I’ve achieved my full potential and being 30(tick tock tick tock), I’m starting to panic about not having a solid career path – acting is anything but a secure job and that has lost its appeal in recent months.

I could probably get back into the acting game for real when I return to London but I’m not going to. I don’t want to spend any more time on a career that may or may not blossom into something – I don’t have the patience, drive or desire and I need to start earning real money before I even entertain the notion of having a family.

The plan is to move after Christmas, so we at least have a few more months in glorious Cornwall and I’m going to treasure every minute. Right now I’m feeling anxious and scared but also excited. I’m ready to get back in the rat race and make this thing work.

Things I’ll miss about Cornwall

Living by the sea

Walks on the beach

Clambering on rugged cliffs

Incredible sunsets

Nature, fresh air and beautiful light

Family

Things I’m looking forward to in London

Coffee and shopping with my Sister

Cocktails with the girls

Amazing theatre

Fantastic architecture

Meandering around one of the best Cities in the world

Having access to so much vegan food – eek!!!!

Oh yeah, I almost forgot this was a ‘what I ate’ post:

Breakfast mesa sunsrise cereal served with oat milk, sliced strawberries, chopped pecans, flaxseed meal, omega seed mix and amaranth pops

Lunch leftovers from last nights dinner – sweet potato and pearl barley stew

Snack small bunch of seedless grapes and a homemade latte

Pre-dinner appetizer shop bought hummus mixed with lemon juice and black pepper topped with smoked paprika, olive oil and sesame seeds served with jalapeno kettle chips

Dinner toasted burritos filled baby spinach leaves, black bean & sweetcorn salsa and Mexican rice. We had the remainder of the salsa and rice in a bowl

Category Bread, Breakfast, Mexican, Pasta/Rice/Noodles, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan, Vegetable side dish | Tags: | 7 Comments
Pesto Coated Cannellini Beans & Gluten Free Vegan Gravy – two simple sauces for when you’re in a hurry

September 5, 2011 by peasoupeats

No, you don’t eat these together silly;)

Actually, these are just two recipes I’ve made in the last week that were particularly memorable, so I thought I’d share them with you.

The pesto coated cannellini beans were made for a quick lunch, which I served alongside a simple bulgar wheat salad consisting of cubed cucumber, peeled broad beans, spring onions, raisins and chopped parsley. I squeezed in some lemon juice, olive oil and seasoned generously with salt and pepper. Oh, and I almost forgot, I added a little cumin, cinnamon and chilli powder to the bulgar wheat before soaking it in freshly boiled water – I find bulgar wheat can be a little bland if spices and herbs aren’t added at this stage.

Right then. The pesto. I heart it.

Traditional pesto is, of course, made with the inclusion of parmesan cheese, so when I first became vegan I thought my pesto days were over and that was a difficult pill to swallow. As my knowledge of veganism grew I soon learned that pesto need not be off limits and really and truly the parmesan isn’t as crucial as you might be led to believe.

Since then I’ve made a bucket load of the stuff and used it in all manner of dishes. It’s such a great standby sauce that can be whipped up in seconds, so I use it frequently and liberally.

Ditto gravy. Love it, love it, love it.

Coming into these colder months (it’s happening already – ugh) I plan on making a lot gravies and wholesome, hearty meals – perfect for warming those cockles on a blustery autumn evening.

This gluten free gravy was simply outrageous and so incredibly easy – I’m talking a few effortless minutes and et voila, you have a lusciously smooth flavourful sauce that is ideal for use in a multitude of meals. I just so happened to have a couple of vegan schnitzel’s in the freezer and I thought some mashed tatties and boiled cabbage (I’m a sucker for boiled cabbage – don’t judge!) would go nicely – and it did. Oh my goodness, was this tasty. Tas.ty.

Bonus that it happens to be a b12 fest! Nutritional yeast flakes and yeast extract – essential ingredients for your vegan cupboard and lifestyle. Don’t be skimping on that b12 intake, ya hear?!

So, if you’re stuck for time but still want something a bit special, both of these recipes are the perfect way to bring a little pizzazz to lunch or dinner.

pesto coated cannellini beans

ingredients

2 tablespoons pine nuts (you could also use walnuts)

1/4 cup (packed) fresh basil leaves

1 garlic clove

juice 1/2 lemon

3 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups of cooked cannellini beans

Drain and rinse the cannellini beans and set aside.

Place all the pesto ingredients (pine nuts, basil leaves, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt & pepper) into a hand blender and blitz until fully combined – it shouldn’t be completely smooth.

Transfer the cannellini beans to a bowl and season with a little salt and pepper – this will make a difference. Then stir through the pesto ensuring the beans are completely coated. Set in fridge to allow the flavours to amalgamate or eat immediately. I had enough for two lunches.

gluten free vegan gravy

1 heaped tsp vegan vegetable granules or 1 stock cube

2 tbsp gluten free flour (gluten free mix or rice flour)

1 tbsp soy sauce (or shoyu/tamari)

1 tbsp vegan Worcester sauce

1 tbsp marmite or other nutritional yeast extract

1 tbsp agave or other vegan sweetener (except maple syrup)

2/3 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

2 cups water

Place everything into a shallow pan – I actually used a deep frying pan/skillet – and whisk all the ingredients together.

Bring to a gentle boil and keep whisking until there are no lumps. Turn down the heat and allow the sauce to simmer and thicken – this take between five to ten minutes. Stir frequently – whisking if it becomes to thick and clumpy.

The gravy should be ready to serve in 15-20 minutes. If it isn’t thickening how you’d hope then add another tablespoon of flour and whisk vigorously to incorporate. Likewise, if it is too thick for your taste, thin it out with a little water.

Can be used in a range of dishes but especially good with mashed potato!

Category Salad, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan, Vegetable side dish | Tags: | 9 Comments
Two Minute Tapenade

July 17, 2011 by peasoupeats

This is a supremely easy tapenade recipe that I’ve taken from my recent recipe contributions to online magazine BrewDrinkingThinkings. In fact, this selection of recipes is to be my penultimate publication with the mag. Yes, that’s correct, I’ve recently handed in my notice, as I feel I’ve been neglecting other areas of my life including my blog. I needed to regain some balance and I felt this was the best way to do so.

Now I’m free to build my blog and make it better than it currently is. That plus my Marcus Samuelsson gig (Mondays and Thursday’s peeps) is more than enough to be getting on with. I also have my ambitions set on getting published in a wholly vegan magazine that will remain nameless until I’ve finally had my recipes approved – fingers and toes crossed! Also, I’m finally (after a lot of procrastination) going to start work on my recipe book, which I’ve been putting off for way too long. Now that I’ve run out of excuses and distractions I can hop to it and get that sucker off the ground – yippee!!

For now though, I’ll leave you with this tapenade recipe. It’s mega versatile; spread it on bruschetta, use it in sandwiches, stir it into pasta, drizzle on salads, eat straight from the jar. Okay, that may be going a bit far.

Category Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan | Tags: | 1 Comment
Simple Salad

July 8, 2011 by peasoupeats

I feel like I’ve been posting a lot of salad recipes of late. Then again, it is the summer (or so I’m told – bog off rain!) and that’s what I feel like eating most of the time.

So here I am with yet another salad. A simple salad using bits I had in the fridge plus some leftover red pepper mix from the previous days savoury muffins – which have now all been eaten! Yup. All gone.

I’m beginning to wonder if I’m in a food rut of sorts. I’m still undecided. It might just be that i’m in a food groove but for the moment the jury is out. This thought came to be after reading one of the latest posts from Seitan Is My Motor (another fabulous vegan blog – get it on your blogroll!) who seems to experiencing a certain food rut at the minute. It happens to the best of us. I distinctly remember Joy The Baker (how many times have I plugged this site now) having a bit of a food/blog lull not so long ago. Not that I’m putting myself in the same league as either of these wonderful bloggers, mind you, but I feel their pain.

You see, when all you do is make food, photograph food, think about food, write about food, at some point something is going to give. Sometimes that something is inspiration and it can happen when you least expect it. One minute you can be one top of the world, riding the crest of a beautiful wave and the next thing you know you’re being tumbled around like ragdoll in the white water that is every idea, doubt, niggle you had about you, your ability, your validity to the cyber food world. The next thing you know, nada. Completely void of anything interesting to say, make or do.

Now, I’m not saying I’m there at the moment but I can feel it coming so I’m currently warding it off by just making stuff. Anything. Salads. Simple salads.

I’m also distracting myself with fashion – it’s what I do when I need to completely escape from any sort of reality. You might not be aware but I loves me some fashion. I’ve always been a threads freak and have spent my life trying to put together the most unusual outfits that echo what’s going on in the fashion world without looking like I’ve pulled on all the clobber from the display window – there’s nothing worse than a fashion victim. My interest started young because my Mother always ensured we wore the very best and I can remember to this day some of the ensembles I used to strut (okay skip) around in. A certain red velour tracksuit (think cool retro not Juicy Couture) springs to mind – dang, I loved that thing.

My clothes have always been an extension of me – they are a big part of how I express myself. I’m definitely a vintage girl but like to mix it up with new pieces and, of course, now that I’m vegan I don’t buy any animal products such as leather goods (why would you need to with Matt&Nat on the market), suede (makes me cry now), lambskin (really? and aren’t uggs at bit passe now anyways?), fur (no brainer) and so on and so forth.

Just because I can’t partake in a lot of fashion on the highstreet (that’s my budget) doesn’t mean I can’t have fun or enjoy mainstream blogs. Take this one for example. Grasie Mercedes is a stylist, actress, host, blogger and new contributor to HelloGiggles, the collaborative blog/website from Zooey Deschanel (now there’s a girl who know how to dress) and friends. Grasie is fabulous and oozes style. When I first clapped eyes on her blog I was instantly hooked. Even though there is lots of non-vegan fashion on the blog that doesn’t detract from the beautiful and unique outfit’s she pulls together and doesn’t mean I can’t take inspiration – I just put my own vegan friendly spin on it.

People often think vegans walk around wearing ill fitting tie dye t-shirts, flowing long skirts and sandals. Maybe some do but this one right here has her eye firmly on the fashion ball and right now there seems to be a surge in eco and vegan friendly lines even from the big designers. Viv Westwood (one of my all time favs) has been pioneering vegan footwear for a while now after teaming up with vegan shoe company Melissa. I adore all their styles and only wish the price didn’t prevent me from owning every one from the range.

I seemed to have gotten all sidetracked. Back to the salad. This was an unexpected delight. I wasn’t feeling very hungry when I made it and was after a light dish with minimal effort (the red pepper mix, which would’ve been the effort part was already made). Yes, this also has blueberries in it – I told you, obsessed.

One more thing, I awoke yesterday morning to discover two of my recipes were featured on the Huffington Post. THE HUFFINGTON POST, Y’ALL!!! They were two salads (erm…..) I contributed to the ever wonderful Marcus Samuelsson and I was so chuffed to see my recipes selected, as there are a lot of excellent recipes on that site. You can vote for your favourites on the Huffington Post site. Mines are the Superfoods Salad and the Bulgar Wheat, Radish and Watermelon ones. If you have a minute to spare, please please vote. I will be forever grateful.

Here’s the link again – go vote!

simple salad

1/2 head little gem lettuce

1 small cooked beetroot (not pickled)

handful of fresh blueberries

red pepper mix

handful of mixed seeds (sunflower, pine, pumpkin)

dressing

1 tsp dijon

1 tsp cider vinegar

small squeeze agave

1 tbsp olive oil

1 small crushed garlic clove

1 tbsp lemon juice

salt and pepper

nb. the arrangement is crucial….

Roughly chop the little gem and place in a bowl. Roughly chop the beetroot and scatter on top.

Put all the dressing ingredients in an empty jar and shake until it emulsifies. Spoon over the lettuce and beetroot – you may not need to use it all. If there is some left, screw a lid on and keep it in the fridge. It’ll be good for a few days.

Wash the blueberries and place in bowl. Sprinkle over the seeds.

Top everything the red pepper mix – recipe can be found here.

Eat.

Category Salad, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan, Vegetable side dish | Tags: | 7 Comments
Lunchtime Eats

July 4, 2011 by peasoupeats

Back from my travels and raring to go. It’s been a wonderful few days comprising of two nights camping and taking in concerts at the Eden Project, a day at the beach watching the Sennen Surf Rodeo and having a few drinks in the evening where I won a raffle (I never win these things) and bagged myself a lovely fleece and uber cute picture for the bathroom – it has deckchairs in it:)

All the bands playing at the Eden Sessions were outrageous. The Flaming Lips blew our tiny minds on Thursday and then we had a slightly more chilled evening with the Fleet Foxes on Friday. All the support bands were fantastic too from Ok Go, The Go Team through to The Bees and the Villagers – brilliant, every last one of ‘em. We also found ourselves sat beside Badly Drawn Boy, as we were having something to eat in the Mediterranean Biome – weird.

There were plenty of vegan eats to had at Eden and even though we came prepared (I packed everything from hummus to strawberries to raw bars) it was so nice to be able to eat what was available. They were serving a Spanish style mushroom ragout on the first day, which was served with a huge hunk of freshly baked wholemeal bread and the following day we enjoyed a vegan and gluten free savoury danish that was filled with all sorts of roasted vegetables and came with a lovely little side salad. Both dishes were kinda fabulous and both days we washed it down with a cup of their refreshing homemade lemonade – we were very happy campers. Literally.

We were also surprised to discover we could partake in the food served at the surf rodeo – vegetable chilli and chips (fries), yeow! In fact, even though there was a huge hog roast available I noticed it was barely touched and everyone at our table chowed down on the chilli – how unbelievably cool is that?

It’s been two full on weekends and I must say I’m looking forward to taking it easy for a few days. The previous weekend was the culmination of a week of celebration here in Penzance, called Golowan. The Saturday is what is known as Mazey Day and it’s usually chaos, which, because we had to attend Hubbie’s premiere (the cartoon he’s been working on is now airing on Disney Junior – yay!) we managed to avoid – probably a good thing.

On the Sunday we helped ~~break~~ smash (you loose Hastings!) the world record for having the most pirates in the one place – nearly 9000 peeps showed up in their pirating garb. I was pretty lame really but I managed to just about pull it off with a stripey top, head scarf, sword and a lot of tacky jewellery (hence the ring in the photo). Again, the food situation was pretty darn good with a super falafel stall and a we couldn’t resist the dairy free chocolate sorbet from Willy Wallers. What you see in the photo above is the empty tub that I scraped clean – holy smokes it was tasty.

Even though we’ve been eating pretty healthily, it’s nice to be back in my own kitchen, in complete control of what goes into my food. I found these photos on my computer and they are a fairly good representation of the kind of thing I eat during the week when I’m on my own. I’ve not given any recipes because they’re just throw it together dishes but there is certainly a common theme when it comes to the ingredients. Here’s a list of what you might typically find in my lunches:

black beans

sweetcorn

radishes

spring onions

avocado

tomatoes

lettuce

alfafa sprouts

seeds

sea vegetables

beetroot

grated carrot

bulgar wheat

cous cous

quinoa

mung bean noodles

flat leaf parsley

coriander (cilantro)

lemon and lime juice

extra virgin olive oil

oh and hummus, lots and lots of hummus…..

the one featured here is a roasted red pepper one:

Bung two cans of garbanzo beans (chickpeas), a dollop of tahini, 1 or 2 garlic cloves, the juice of 1/2 lemon, 1 large roasted red pepper from a jar and salt and pepper into a blender and blitz until smooth. Season to taste and add more lemon juice as desired. Couldn’t be easier and lasts for days.

I’m not afraid to mix it up and you should do the same. In my opinion you can’t go wrong. Play with dressings, combinations and most of all have fun. Sometimes we take cooking way too seriously. Get down and dirty – it’s the only way.

peace out.

love, love.

come back for more x

Coo’ee!

These are my favourite glasses – you gotta hand it to Viv, she knows a thing or two about design;)

Category Miscellaneous, Pasta/Rice/Noodles, Salad, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan, Vegetable side dish | Tags: | 1 Comment
Superfoods Salad

June 21, 2011 by peasoupeats

I’ve never posted a recipe without feeling the need to add a lengthy foreword, so today I’m trying out something new. I think I can get away with a short paragraph – just enough room to say I had no lemon (meant to buy one when I was out but forgot – doh!). The dressing could’ve done with a little citrus but still tasted pretty good and really complimented the blueberry, mushroom combo. Fruit in salad. It’s all the rage y’know! Had my handblender not been out of action I would’ve been tempted to make a raspberry dressing – double summer fruit action. Yeah baby!

Okay, now the recipe….

superfoods salad

1/2 small little gem lettuce

1 spring onion/scallion

1/4 cup sprouted mixed beans

1 large closed cup mushroom

1/4 cup organic blueberries

handful of mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, pine nuts etc.)

dressing

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 tbsp cider vinegar

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

sea salt

cracked black pepper

1/2 tsp sugar or a squeeze of agave

juice of 1/2 lemon

Cut the little gem lettuce into small pieces, wash and dry. Transfer to a large bowl.

Finely slice the scallion and add to bowl. Toss in the sprouted beans.

Clean and gently peel the mushroom – slice very thinly and add to bowl.

Put all the ingredients for the dressing into an empty jar and shake vigorously until it emulsifies. Taste for seasoning and adjust if necessary. Pour half over the salad and mix thoroughly ensuring everything is evenly coated.

Wash the blueberries, add to bowl along with the mixed seeds and mix. Spoon over a little more dressing, gently toss and serve.

Category Salad, Starters/Sauces/Dips, Vegan, Vegetable side dish | Tags: | 3 Comments

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