Vegetarian – Page 17 – The Food Wife

Jazzies

14th March 202228th March 2022
by thefoodwife

Who doesnâ€™t love a jazzy? Little pools of chocolate covered in colourful sprinkles. Living the dream!

These are as simple to make as it gets and I had fun making these with my two little ones.

Ingredients:

100g chocolate (your choice of white, milk or dark)

1-2 tbsp Colourful sprinkles

Step 1: Begin by lining a tray or baking sheet with grease proof paper. Ideally it needs to be able to fit flat inside a fridge or freezer.

Step 2: Melt the chocolate. You can either do this in a bowl over a pan of simmering water (ensure the bowl is not in direct contact with the water) or in a microwave. If doing this in the microwave do it in 30 second bursts to ensure the chocolate does not burn, stirring after each burst.

Step 3: Use a teaspoon to carefully make little puddles of the chocolate on to the lined tray. Leaving a gap between each one to ensure they stay separate.

Step 4: Next sprinkle your sprinkles on to the puddles. Allow to cool (a fridge or freezer is best) and then peel them off the grease proof paper and you have your finished jazzies!

Sweet and Sour Tofu

14th February 202214th February 2022
by thefoodwife

Serves 2-3

It was Valentineâ€™s Day 2022 when the Food Husband asked for seconds of tofu. High praise indeed!

Here is a vegan sweet and sour, which uses tofu in place of the more traditional chicken or pork. Baking the tofu with the five spice really makes a difference. My one year old loved eating the baked pieces when I got them out the oven. He got about three pieces in when I started getting worried about whether thereâ€™d be any left for our dinner!

If youâ€™re not fussed about making this vegan then of course you can use chicken or pork. Simply stir fry with the vegetables, but do add a couple of pinches of the five spice still.

N.b. You can of course add pineapple, just add at the same time as the tofu at the end of the cooking.

Ingredients:

500g firm tofu, drained and cut into large pieces (approx 1.5cmx1.5cmx3cm)

Oil

Chinese five spice

1 tbsp Vegetable oil

1/2 tsp Sesame oil

1 white onion, large dice

1 pepper, large dice

1/2 carrot, peeled and cut into thin rounds

1 salad tomato, cut into wedges

1 inch ginger, peeled, grated or finely chopped

250ml apple juice

2 tbsp tomato purÃ©e

2 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

2 tbsp cider vinegar

3 tbsp soft brown sugar

1 tbsp cornflour

Step 1: Begin by preheating your oven to 180c (fan). Place the pieces of tofu carefully on a baking tray (allow a little space between each piece). Spritz with a little oil and then use a couple of pinches of Chinese five spice to sprinkle over the tofu. Then carefully flip each piece and repeat. Bake in the oven for an hour, turning half way through.

Step 2: In a large frying pan or a wok, add the vegetable oil and sesame oil over a high heat. Stir fry the onion, pepper, carrot, tomato and ginger for a few minutes.

Step 3: Combine the apple juice,tomato purÃ©e, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar and corn flour in a jug and mix until smooth. Add to the vegetables and cook out for a few minutes until thickened. Check the seasoning.

Step 4: Transfer the cooked tofu to the sweet and sour sauce. Stir through until all coated and glossy. Serve with rice.

Mince with Crispy Chilli Oil

15th December 202115th December 2021
by thefoodwife

Serves 4

This will work with any mince you like, meat or veggie. You are bulking it out with three types of vegetables that are all made to be the same size as the mince, so itâ€™s a great way to smuggle veg into a meal.

The crispy chilli oil is a magical ingredient. Talk about addictive!! Two heaped tablespoons might sound a lot, but I figure youâ€™re not going to be making this if you donâ€™t like chilli, and although itâ€™s spicy, itâ€™s not that spicy really. I also garnish mine with slices of fresh red chilli for a pop of colour and a spike of extra heat.

Ingredients:

1 tsp coconut oil

1 onion, finely diced

1 large carrot, grated

1 pepper, finely diced

300g mince (turkey, pork, beef, chicken, soya, quorn)

1-2 tbsp soy sauce (gluten-free if required)

1 tbsp oyster sauce (leave out if vegetarian/vegan) (gluten-free if required)

2 heaped tbsp crispy chilli oil (gluten-free/vegan/vegetarian if required)

Step 1: In a wok, or large frying pan, melt the coconut oil over a medium-high, then add the diced onion, cook for a few minutes, stirring often, before adding the carrot and pepper. Continue to stir and cook for a couple more minutes, then add the mince.

Step 2: Cook the mince until it is browned and dry (any water should be cooked until evaporated) then add the seasoning of soya sauce, oyster sauce (if using) and crispy chilli oil. Continue to cook for about five-ten minutes, stirring often until everything is coated, glossy and tastes delicious.

Serve with rice or noodles. I also like it with a crunchy cucumber salad dressed with lime juice and salt.

Roasted Beetroot and Feta Pasta with Olives, Lemon and…

11th December 202111th December 2021
by thefoodwife

Serves 2

This was a total experiment and although there is something slightly uneasy about eating pink food, it tasted great, so felt I had to share. Itâ€™s easily scaled up, and the feta quantity can be altered too depending on the creaminess/richness factor. I did 100g but wish Iâ€™d done the whole 200g block!

Ingredients:

150g pasta (gluten-free if required) cooked according to the packet instructions (reserve a little of the cooking water)

300g ready cooked beetroot (approx 4)

100-200g feta block

Olive oil

Dried oregano

Chilli flakes (optional)

8 kalamata olives, quartered

1 unwaxed Lemon, zest only

Small bunch of parsley, chopped

Aleppo pepper flakes (optional)

Step 1: Pre-heat the oven to 200c (fan).

Step 2: Cut each beetroot in half, and then each half into quarters. In a baking dish place the feta in the middle (200g for extra creamy pasta, 100g if youâ€™re watching the calories!) and arrange the chunks of beetroot around the outside of the feta. Drizzle everything with some olive oil, then sprinkle a pinch each of dried oregano and chilli flakes on top of the feta. Roast in the oven for 15-20 minutes. While this is cooking get your pasta on.

Step 3: Once the feta and beetroot is out of the oven and the pasta is drained (with a little water reserved), tip the pasta, olives , lemon zest and parsley into the baking dish, along with a splash of the water, and stir to combine everything so it is coated in the feta-y sauce.

Step 4: Divide between two plates and sprinkle a pinch of Aleppo pepper (if using) on to each before serving.

Sourdough Starter

3rd December 20213rd December 2021
by thefoodwife

To make a sourdough starter, all you need is a largish jar, flour, water and a little time. Soon youâ€™ll have a bubbly little friend that will help you to make the most delicious creations.

You can use normal white flour, but in my experience, the best, most active results, come from dark rye flour. It makes a thick paste that expands to make a very active mousse-like starter.

Use an elastic band on the outside of jar to mark the starting point of your mix and then youâ€™ll easily be able to see how much itâ€™s grown.

Leaving the jar on the side of your kitchen, should be enough to get it going. Too much heat and youâ€™ll have an explosive disaster; too little and very little will happen. Once youâ€™ve got it going, keep your starter in the fridge between bakes and bring it out to feed and refresh as needed.

So, hereâ€™s how to make it!

Start with your clean jar, 50g of flour and 50g of lukewarm water. Mix thoroughly (you donâ€™t want any patches of dry flour) then pop the lid on and leave on the side. The next day youâ€™re going to feed it again. We donâ€™t want too much in the jar, so discard half of the mix, then add another 50g each of the flour and water. Mix, cover and leave. Repeat each day, taking 50g of the starter, 50g fresh flour and the same of water, until your starter starts to grow! Once itâ€™s nice and active (you should see it double in height from your elastic band) itâ€™s good to start baking with!

N.b. This is a 1:1:1 ratio of feeding, if you are struggling with a sluggish starter later on, try a 1:3:3 ratio for instance, 20g of starter, 60g or flour and 60g of water.