Spinach & mushroom lasagne

I love lasagne, but I often end up making either a classic style using vegetarian mince or a tomato based cheesy veggie one. So I thought I’d experiment and make it different this time using spinach and mushroom in a creamy sauce. I used a ‘cheats’ white sauce made from crème fraîche and parmesan, so its super quick and easy to whip up. Like all lasagnes this one is best eaten on the day, but if you have leftovers they’ll still make a pretty good lunch!

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 450g spinach

• 1 large red onion, thin half moons

• 300g mushrooms, sliced

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• 400ml crème fraîche

• ½ tbsp Dijon mustard

• ½ vegetable stock cube

• 200ml water

• 1 tsp sea salt

• A good grind of black pepper

• 250g fresh lasagne sheets

• 100g parmesan, finely grated

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Heat a knob of butter and ½ tbsp of olive oil in a large pan and gently wilt the spinach. If you’re using frozen then either defrost n the fridge overnight or steam for around 8 minutes.

• Put the spinach in a bowl and set to one side. Add ½ tbsp of oil to the pan and fry the onions for 10 minutes on low until softened.

• Next add the mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes, then stir in the garlic and fry for 30 seconds more.

• Add 300ml crème fraîche, mustard, ½ stock cube and 200ml of water, warming through gently.

• Then add the salt and pepper, stirring well.

• Mix the remaining 100ml crème fraîche with 20ml water and 20g of parmesan

• Assemble the lasagne (I used a 20x26cm oven proof dish) by starting with a layer of the spinach mix, a sprinkle of parmesan (approx 1-2 tsp) and then cover with pasta sheets, repeat until the top layer.

• Cover the top layer of pasta with the crème fraîche and parmesan mix, finish by sprinkling over the rest of the parmesan, you may need a little more to do this depending on how much you use in the layering.

• Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. If the top needs to brown a bit more then place under a hot grill - I use pieces of tin foil to cover over any already browned parts, so only the pale bits are browned.

Lentil bolognese

If you’re looking for a vegan alternative to a bolognese sauce this recipe is a good place to start. It’s protein rich and and after testing several times I think I’ve got a good depth of flavour. To do this I’ve used a few extra ingredients, but don’t be put off as they’re all easy to buy and the sauce cooks itself after you’ve fried the onions - I promise!

I always find that you need make a little bit more effort to get the right texture and flavour in vegetarian dishes, so it’s worth having ingredients that bring umami or a deep savoury taste in your cupboard if you want to cook like this more regularly.

Things I keep in stock are: nutritional yeast, veg stock cubes, vegetable bouillon, Marmite, Worcestershire sauce (veggie or normal if you aren’t strict like me!), dried porcini mushrooms, soy, miso, olives, toasted seeds or nuts, capers, plus vinegars or citrus to give dishes a lift before serving. To add zing I use balsamic (which also adds umami), red/white wine or cider vinegar, lemon or lime juice and zest.

This recipe is for a big batch of sauce that you can use in a few different ways. It’s always a win for me if I can get a couple of meals out of one recipe as it saves time in the kitchen and it’s always nice to get ahead of yourself. If you split the sauce in half you can serve it with pasta, courgetti, roasted squash wedges, baked sweet potato, or as a pie topped with cheesy mash, sweet potato or puff pastry. This time I went for tagliatelle and a ‘cottage’ pie with Maris Piper mash, but it would also work really well with sweet potato or squash mash.

And now on to the all important question: how the hell do I get my kids to eat it? Well, my trick is to use a hand blender to blitz either part or all of their portion so they’re not too freaked out by the lentils! Not rocket science and probably not in any parenting manual, but it’s one way to get/trick my (very picky) 15 year old son into eating something that isn’t a/ breaded b/ beige. The other obvious thing to do is serve with a mound of cheese as I find most things become more child-friendly covered in melted cheddar.

Ingredients

Serves 8

• 2 aubergines, 2 cm cubes

• 1.5 tbsp olive oil

• 2 red onions, small dice

• 2 celery sticks, small dice

• 2 large cloves of garlic, grated

• 600g mushrooms

• 175ml red wine

• 250g green lentils

• 2 x 400g tins of tomatoes

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 1 tsp oregano

• 1 vegetable stock cube or 2 tsp veg bouillon

• 1/2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce (vegetarian)

• 500ml water

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• 1 1/4 tsp sea salt

• Handful of fresh basil leaves, stalks reserved and chopped

• Parmesan to serve

Method

• Preheat the oven to 200ºc.

• Put the aubergine on a large tray and drizzle with 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place in the oven for 30 minutes, turning half way and adding a little more oil if needed. Set aside when cooked.

• Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large pan and cook the onions and celery on low heat for 20 minutes then add the garlic for a further 1 minute.

• While the onions are cooking, put the mushrooms in a food processor and pulse until they resemble a rough crumble. I usually do 3-4 quick pulses.

• Turn the heat up a little and add the mushrooms and red wine to the onion mix. Allow to bubble for 5 minutes, to burn off the alcohol and some of the water from the mushrooms.

• Then pour in the lentils, tinned tomatoes, tomato purée, oregano, stock cube, Worcestershire sauce, water and basil stalks; cook with the lid on for 30 minutes

• Add the roasted aubergine and then cook for 20 minutes with the lid on adding the red wine vinegar for the last 5 minutes.

• Add the salt and basil leaves.

• Serve with parmesan or feta.

Mushroom bourguignon

Nothing says autumn like a warming one pot dish and this is a great one to make while mushrooms are in season at this time of year. In normal non-Covid times (remember those?) I host regular vegetarian and vegan supper clubs in Leeds, but as I’ve had to press pause on those, I thought it would be nice to share a few of the recipes from the nights, so you can make them at home while we’re all locked down. If you fancy checking out some of the other menus and photos they’re all in the ‘Events’ section.

This was my main course at last October’s pop up and I served it with served with pomme purée and roasted squash. It would also be lovely with roasted or mashed sweet potato and any green veggie you can think of - we had roasted broccoli with ours last night, but steamed green beans would work well too.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 1 red onion, chopped finely

• 1 stick celery, chopped finely

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 1/2 leek, chopped finely

• 750g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

• 1 large garlic clove, grated

• 2 tbsp tomato puree

• 150ml red wine

• 1 vegetable stock cube (Kallo low salt)

• 150g dried puy or green lentils

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 tsp fresh thyme leaves, chopped

• 2 tsp nutritional yeast

• 400ml water

• 1 1/4 tsp sea salt

Method

• Preheat 1 tbsp rapeseed oil in a large pan. Cook the onions, celery and carrots for 20 minutes on low, stirring regularly, before adding the mushrooms. Turn the heat up a little and cook for a further 10 minutes.

• Stir in the garlic and warm through for a minute or so before adding the red wine, simmer for 5 minutes to cook off the alcohol.

• Then add the tomato puree, stock cube, lentils, bay leaf, thyme and water.

• Cook with lid on for 30 minutes then stir in the nutritional yeast and sea salt.

• Serve with a good grind of black pepper.

Tip

• If you’re using green lentils rather then Puy, make sure that they are small ones that stay relatively firm as the larger tend to break up and are better for dal.

• If you don’t have nutritional yeast, it’s not the end of the world, I think it adds a nice subtle savoury note, but you could substitute with a little marmite instead. Go easy though as it has a stronger flavour.

veggie sausage, mushroom & spinach rigatoni

This is a family favourite in our house and as it only takes about 20 minutes to make it’s a recipe I keep returning to when I want a tasty mid-week meal. We’ve also been trying to gradually reduce our meat intake as a household and this is a dish that my carnivore middle son and my vegetarian daughter both devour. I’d say it’s a vegetarian meal that even the keenest meat eater would (perhaps begrudgingly!) enjoy.

It’s a good one for students too; my son is at uni and he makes this quite regularly as it’s a nice alternative to the classic student tomato pasta - I think that’s all he ate in his first year!

The recipe is flexible in that you can switch (or remove) the vegetables if you don’t like them or want a change. Leeks, carrots, broccoli, kale, peas, sweetcorn or even roasted butternut squash would all work really well, but you would need to adjust the cooking times accordingly. I would sub leeks, carrots, broccoli or other veggies that need a longer cooking time for the mushrooms and then add frozen peas, sweetcorn or roasted squash at the last minute instead of spinach. Kale would need a little longer to cook properly.

Ingredients

Serves 4

• 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil

• 6 Quorn sausages, chopped into diagonal slices

• 1.5 tbsp butter

• 1 clove garlic, grated

• 400g chestnut mushrooms, sliced

• 1.5 tbsp plain flour

• 1/2 vegetable stock cube ( I like Kallo low salt)

• 400ml water

• 200ml crème fraîche (I use half fat if I can find it)

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• Juice of 1/4 lemon

• 1/2 tsp sea salt

• 60g grated parmesan

• 100g spinach

• 320g rigatoni

Method

• Warm 1/2 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil in a wide bottomed pan and add the sausage slices, cook on a medium heat for 3-4 minutes so that they start to brown.

• Then melt the butter and 1/2 tbsp oil in the same pan, before adding the garlic, stir well and then add the mushrooms. Cook on a medium heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

• Fill a large lidded pan of salted water and bring to the boil ready for the pasta.

• Next sprinkle the flour on to the mushrooms and sausage, stir well to coat and then add the stock cube (crumbled), mustard and 400ml of water. Stir and allow to thicken, simmering on low for 5 minutes.

• Start to cook the pasta while the sauce is thickening.

• Add the crème fraîche, and 30g parmesan to the sausage mix, stir and warm through gently on low for 5 minutes while the pasta cooks. For the last minute mix in the spinach allowing it to wilt then finish with the lemon and salt.

• Drain the pasta (reserving a little cooking water) and add to the sauce.

• Loosen with 1-2 tbsp of the cooking water if needed. Serve with a good grind of black pepper and the remaining parmesan.

Tip

• Have all the ingredients prepped and ready to go as the overall cooking time is about 10 minutes so you need to go quickly once you start cooking the sausages.

• If you prefer to use pork sausages then just use the same method, but squeeze the filing out of the casing to create mini meat balls as the skin becomes tough and stringy if you just chop them up.

• I use Quorn sausages or Linda McCartney’s , but they do break up a little bit more than Quorn.

• Vegetable combinations to try: roasted butternut squash & kale, leek & spinach, mushroom & kale, broccoli & sweetcorn (to keep the kids happy!), peas & spinach.

Speedy brunch: avocado, tomato & mushrooms on sourdough

I made this for lunch today with basically what was left in my fridge and thought it would be perfect for a weekend brunch too - add an egg / veggie sausage / bacon or even feta depending on how hungry you are.

Ingredients

• 1-2 slices toasted sourdough

• 6 cherry tomatoes

• 3-4 mushrooms, sliced

• 1/2 small clove garlic, grated

• 1/2 avocado, mashed

• Squeeze of lemon

• Pinch of cayenne

• Small handful of toasted pumpkin seeds

• Salt & pepper

Method

• Mash the avocado with the lemon juice, cayenne and season.

• Fry the tomatoes and mushrooms in a hot pan with a little olive or rapeseed oil until softened and browned, turn down the heat then add the garlic for a couple of minutes, set aside.

• Toast the sourdough half way through cooking the veggies.

• Assemble: toast + avocado + tomato & mushrooms + pumpkin seeds + extra squeeze of lemon

Mushroom, pepper & brown basmati stir fry

Before I made this I decided to do some research online as according to my harshest critics - the kids - my stir fry skills have been going a bit downhill recently. Yes, you heard that right....  I know, I can't believe it either! Anyway, after a bit of investigating and a bit more effort, I think I pulled off a pretty decent one tonight, so here are the main tips I learnt and a recipe for you to try. Let me know what you think!

• Choose: one protein - tofu / quorn / meat; either rice or noodles; and only 3 types of veggies so you don’t end up with too much in the pan and a soggy mess.

• Cook the in batches and set to one side while you fry the veggies - in small batches as well.

• If you’re using meat then try to make sure it is only just cooked through so it doesn't go over once you add it back to the pan at the end to warm through.

• Marinate the tofu / quorn / meat; make enough to heat through and use as a sauce at the end.

• Get the wok hot before adding the oil and then again before adding the ingredients - you don’t want to cook any them for very long, only just enough time to brown.

• 4. Use a high smoke point oil like ground nut, rapeseed or sunflower.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 2-3 tbsp ground nut oil, or sunflower if you are allergic

• 250g tofu / 3 quorn or chicken breasts, diced into bite sized pieces

• 1 medium onion, sliced

• 1 green pepper, sliced

• 1 yellow pepper, sliced

• 4 large mushrooms, sliced

• 360g brown basmati (or white if you prefer)

Marinade

• 1 clove garlic, minced, or finely chopped

• 2cm ginger, minced

• 4 tbsp soy sauce

• 2 tbsp honey or maple

• Juice of 1 lime, and extra to serve

Method

• Start by mixing all the marinade ingredients together in a bowl and add which ever protein you’re using; set to one side while you chop the veggies.

• Cook the rice as per the packet instructions; drain well and set to once side in a covered pan to keep it warm.

• Heat the wok so it is really hot and add the oil; next drain off the marinade from the protein cooking in two batches. If you put it all in at once it will just steam rather than brown as too much liquid will be released when it cooks.

• Fry the protein on a high heat to brown and cook through, this will take about 5 minutes, but double heck a piece to make sure if you’re using chicken. Once the first batch is cooked, put to one side on a warm plate. Fry the second batch and add the the plate while you cook the veggies.

• Next add the onions and peppers, frying on a high heat for around 3 minutes, or until browned and softened a bit. Keep stirring or they'll burn.

• Then add the mushrooms for 2 minutes before turning down the heat and pouring in the remaining marinade heating it through thoroughly especially if it has had raw chicken in it.

• Next put in the protein and cooked rice mixing thoroughly.

• Serve with a good squeeze of fresh lime.