Vegetarian – Page 5 – The Food Wife

Roasted Butternut Squash and Garlic Soup with Garlic Butter…

24th September 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes approximately 3L

As the weather turns, and the nights draw in, what better comfort than soup. This bowl of sunshine will warm you up and it makes a nice vat of it so you can feed a crowd, or portion it up for the freezer for another day.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (weighing approximately 1kg), peeled, deseeded and cut into 1 inch chunks

500g (approx3 medium sweet potatoes) peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks

1 white onion, peeled and roughly chopped

1 head of garlic, wrapped in foil

Vegetable oil

1.5L Vegetable stock (vegan/gluten-free if required)

Salt and pepper

To serve:

Crumpets (vegan/gluten-free if required)

Butter (vegan if required)

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 180c (fan) and get a large baking tray. Drizzle with a little vegetable oil and toss the squash, onion and sweet potato around, grind some salt and pepper over the top. Make a small hole in the vegetables in the centre of the tray and pop the foil wrapped garlic bulb in there. Roast in the oven for 40 minutes.

Step 2: Towards the end of the 40 minutes, put 1.5L of vegetable stock in a large sauce pan, bring to a simmer. Once the vegetables are out of the oven, add them to the pan along with 5 cloves of the garlic (skin removed) and take off the heat. Use an immersion blender to blend to a smooth consistency. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Step 3: Toast crumpets to serve, and then take a clove of the roasted garlic and smash it together with a little butter (one clove should be enough for four crumpets). Spread over the hot toasted crumpets and serve immediately with the soup.

Any left over roasted garlic can be stored in the fridge for a few days and added to sauces or pasta.

Soft Sugar â€˜Skullâ€™ Cookies

17th September 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 20 cookies

Easily made dairy-free, these cookies have a spooky decoration which is oh-so cute! You want a chilled, firm dough so start making these a few hours before you need them so they can chill in the fridge until ready to bake. Even better, make the dough the day before for a quick bake!

Ingredients:

170g unsalted butter (dairy-free if required)

150g granulated sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

280g plain flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

Jam (smooth/seedless)

Chocolate (dairy-free if required), melted

Step 1: Cream together the butter and sugar until fluffy. Next add the egg and vanilla extract and beat again until combined.

Step 2: Add the flour, baking powder and salt and beat again until you have a smooth dough. This should not take long but you may need to scrape down the sides of the bow to incorporate everything.

Step 3: Take a large sheet of grease-proof paper and tip the dough out into the centre. Roll the dough into a thick sausage shape, about 20cm long and twist the ends tight. Store in the fridge to chill until firm.

Step 4: When ready to bake, prepare a large baking sheet with grease-proof paper and preheat the oven to 180c fan.

Step 5: At this point either keep the log of dough round, to have rounded cookies, or use your hand through the grease proof paper, to create a narrow jaw section to create more of a skull shape. Slice the cookies evenly, about 1cm thick, and place onto the prepared baking sheets about 5cm apart. Use your thumb and little finger to make two indents in each cookie in place of eyes. Fill each indent with a little jam. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Step 6: Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Pipe the chocolate into a spooky smile once fully cooled. Allow to set.

Store in an airtight container.

Salted Pretzel and Dark Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

2nd August 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes approx 1.3kg

Here we go again! The easiest no-churn method for making ice cream, this time with the delightful combination of salted pretzels and dark chocolate. Heaven!

Ingredients:

600ml Double Cream

397g condensed milk

2 tsp vanilla extract

200g dark chocolate, roughly chopped in to small pieces (reserve approx 1/4)

100g salted pretzels (gluten-free if required), crushed in to small pieces (reserve 5-6 whole)

Step 1: In a large bowl,with an electric beater, whisk together the cream, condensed milk and vanilla extract, into soft peaks.

Step 2: Fold through the chocolate and crushed pretzels, keeping the reserved pieces to one side.

Step 3: Transfer into a sealable container (a 2L tub should be perfect) and then sprinkle over the reserved chocolate and poke in the remaining whole pretzels. Seal with a lid and freeze for 5-6 hours or ideally over night.

Broccoli, Apple and Radish Slaw

14th July 2024
by thefoodwife

Well, this was flung together when I realised Iâ€™d forgotten to buy a cabbageâ€¦ everything chopped small with a delicious maple syrup and mustard dressing. Definitely worth revisitingâ€¦

Ingredients:

1/2 head of raw broccoli, finely chopped

1 eating apple, cored and finely chopped

4 radishes, finely chopped

1 spring onion, finely chopped

1 tsp maple syrup

1 tsp Dijon mustard

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp cider vinegar

Step 1: In a large bowl, combine the syrup, mustard, oil and vinegar into a smooth dressing.

Step 2: Add all the chopped ingredients and mix through, serve immediately!

Coconut Ice

2nd July 2024
by thefoodwife

Makes 900g

If there is one thing that takes me back to my primary school fayre it is the little bags of pink and white coconut ice, tied in small cellophane bags that the year 6 children had made. I couldnâ€™t wait until I was old enough to make them to sell. Well, here we are 28 years since I made them for my year 6 stall, and Iâ€™ve made my own (neon!) pink and white morsels.

These are super simple, can be scaled up or down and require no cooking, just vigorous stirring and setting in the fridge until ready to cut into cubes.

Ingredients:

300g condensed milk

450g icing sugar

150g desiccated coconut (unsweetened)

Red/Pink food colouring

Step 1: Combine the condensed milk and icing sugar in a bowl, it will take a lot of mixing and be a very stiff mixture.

Step 2: Divide into two equal amounts in two bowls. Add a drop of food colouring to one bowl and stir until fully combined.

Step 3: Add 75g of desiccated coconut to each bowl and mix again.

Step 4: Line a 7×7 or 8x8inch tin with grease proof paper. Spread one bowl of mixture evenly (you could use a sheet of clingfilm or grease proof paper over the top and press with your hands to create a smooth, flat layer). Remove the clingfilm/paper and top with the next bowlâ€™s contents. Use the same sheet of paper/film to smooth again.

Step 5: Set in the fridge until set (a few hours or overnight) before cutting into squares.

Store in a sealed container (they should last a couple of weeks like this).