All posts tagged: vegan

Oven roasted mushrooms

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There are no mushrooms in the famous painting  ‘The Fairy Feller’s Master-Stroke’ of the Victorian lunatic Richard Dadd. Given the connotations of mushrooms and their place in folkore or in other Victorians’ eccentric writings, this is somehow unexpected. But we can think that something even stranger happened after the Fairy Feller stroke the chestnut. All  the chestnuts – not just the one he masterly smashed- turned into mushrooms. They spread uniformly like a hypothetical constellation defying the rules of gravity and space-time. Of course they could not be put to use for the construction of Queens Mab’s carriage ( have you ever heard of a carriage made of mushrooms?), so we roasted them with onions.  Queen Mab aside, this makes a great sidedish or – with the addition of some more greens – a good salad. Serves 4 as a side-dish 500g button mushrooms, washed, trimmed, and halved 250g small shallots, peeled and left whole 1 Tbsp rosemary leaves, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 5 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 handful rocket, roughly chopped 2 …

Briam

Briam, a vegan extravaganza

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This briam is made with the last vegetables and the first olive oil of the season. Nikos, who has the best stall with greens and vegetables in the Friday open market, said that those were the last zucchinis of the year (he meant not grown in a greenhouse). Briam is 90% of times boring – to say the least. Vegetables cut in big slices, undercooked, not the best quality of olive oil… Any of that can ruin a dish that depends on the quality of the raw materials and on attention to detail during preparation. We like our briam crunchy and thinly sliced. Serves 4 as main dish, 8 as starter 600g small eggplants, halved lengthways and cut into 1cm slices 300g zucchinis, thinly sliced 350g onions, peeled and thinly sliced 200g red and yellow bell peppers, cut into 1,5cm slices 100g green bell peppers, cut into 1,5cm slices 250g potatoes, peeled and cut into thin wedges 100g small okra, ends trimmed, (optional) 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped 250g very ripe tomatoes, blanched, peeled and pureed (or chopped …

homemade ketchup

Ketchup for our burgers

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Our burgers are a bricolage of Ottolenghi brioche buns, Hawksmoor ketchup and beef from our butcher. To be honest, we are not big ketchup fans, but this is another animal! We feel grateful to the Hawksmoor guys who included the recipe in their cookbook “Hawksmoor at home”, and we can attest that the result tastes as good as the stuff they have in the restaurants. Our touch is that we prepare our own compote instead of using  tinned apples or pears. For the patties we use our butcher’s mix and make brioche buns according to the recipe of Ottolenghi. For the tomato ketchup 1 kg tinned or very ripe fresh tomatoes 250g tomato purée 250 g apple compote or tinned apples 50g onion, peeled and cut in half 200g fruit sugar 1 clove garlic, peeled 50 g Maldon sea salt flakes 200ml white wine vinegar 8 whole black peppercorns 1 whole allspice 1 clove 1 whole star anise For the apple compote 2 apples,  peeled, cored and cut in chunks 25g caster sugar water Start with the apple compote. In a …

chickpeas with leeks

Chickpeas and leeks, a vegan feast

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Chickpeas have existed forever in the Mediterranean. They have been found in Jericho, and they were probably consumed under the walls of Troy by the Myrmidons. They are cheap, nutritious and connected to historical memory (ground chickpeas were used as a cheap alternative to coffee during the big wars of the 20th century). Most bizarrely, roasted chickpeas are eaten as a snack, similar to nuts; I had not had them for a number of years, and thinking about them reminds me of ‘simpler times’. They go exceptionally well with whiskey. To prepare the chickpeas 200g  dry chickpeas, soaked overnight in plenty of cold water 150g onions, finely chopped 800ml water 4 Tbsp olive oil 1 pinch sea salt For the leeks 6 medium leeks, white and pale-green parts only, cut into 2cm pieces (about 700g) 3/4 olive oil 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes (optional) 1/2 cup white dry wine 1 cup grated or puréed tomatoes (fresh or canned) 1 tsp sugar (optional, depending on the acidity of the tomatoes) 3 cups very well drained boiled chickpeas sea salt and …

fanouropita

Lost and found: vegan olive oil cake

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Did you loose your car keys or partner? Did your boss fire you? Are you a shadow puppeteer and business is not going well? No worries – just prepare this cake with seven or nine ingredients, take it to church, divide it to forty pieces and give it away. It is a ‘Fanouropita’, in honour of Saint Fanourios, a martyr that was rediscovered in the 14th century, when an ikon was dug up while fortifying the walls of Rhodes. The local bishop Nilos (Nile) interpreted the icon and concluded that it depicted the passions of a forgotten martyr. So the cult of Saint Fanourios started. The Saint’s name sounds like ‘reveal’, and people started praying to him to ‘reveal’ lost items, persons or jobs. As to why he became the patron saint of the shadow puppeteers, no one knows. Perhaps it has something to do with the odd number ( 7, 9 or 11)  of ingredients required to prepare the cake – or the words that have to be spoken while baking it. In any case it …

Wild Rice Salad

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Healthy and delicious, this hearty salad is great to serve all year round. Makes a perfect light meal or side dish for anything grilled and it’s great on a buffet table. For the salad 2 cups wild rice, uncooked 1 red bell pepper, diced 1 yellow bell pepper, diced 4-5 spring onions, finely chopped 1 cup green peas, boiled in water for 3-4 minutes 1/2 cup black olives without pits, chopped 1/2 cup black raisins 1 cup parsley, stalks and leaves finely chopped 1 cup dill, stalks and leaves finely chopped For the vinaigrette 3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 6 Tbsp balsamic vinegar 3 tsp dijon mustard 1 tsp brown sugar 2 Tbsp chives, finely chopped Add rice and 7 cups of salted water in a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 45-50 minutes. Drain off any excess liquid and place the rice in a bowl. Pour half the vinaigrette over warm rice mixing thoroughly, then set aside to cool. Combine rice with all the other salad …