Roasted red onion gravy

I wanted to make a quick veggie gravy that the meat-eaters and the non meat-eaters in our family would like. It’s a pain to prep two gravies when you’re cooking chicken AND a nut roast! So here’s my solution; there’s very little prep time and you get max flavour!

*I added the juices (not fat) from the meat roasting tin in a separate jug for the carnivores.

Ingredients

Serves 6

• 4 med/large red onions, chopped in thick half moons

• 4 garlic cloves, unpeeled

• 2 (flat) tbsp plain flour

• 1 ½ tbsp tomato purée

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard

• 500 ml vegetable stock (I used ½ @kallo low-salt veg cube in 500ml boiling water)

• 1 tsp red wine vinegar

• ½ - ¾ tsp sea salt

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 180°C

2. Put the onion and garlic on a large baking tray, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Mix to coat evenly and place in the oven for 20 mins, turn and put back in for 10 mins until soft and brown at the edges.

3. Put the stock cube in a large jug and pour over the boiling water.

4. Squeeze the garlic cloves from their skins into a large saucepan, mash with a wooden spoon and scrape in the onions.

5. Pour 100ml of hot stock onto the roasting tray, deglaze using a silicone spatula (basically scrape off all the tasty bits that are stuck on the bottom of the pan).

6. Next add the flour and tomato purée to the onions, mix well.

7. Turn on the hob to a medium heat and slowly pour in the deglazed stock stirring well as you go.

8. Then add the rest of the stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 30 minutes.

9. Blitz with a hand blender.

Curiously the kids said the gravy tasted like the Subway Meatballs Marinara sandwich filling. Compliment or no?!

Super quick cheese & red onion galettes

These are the easiest tarts to make and they’re so more ish. They take minutes to prep and taste so good. We had them for lunch with salad yesterday, but they would great for dinner too. When we all get back to socialising you could serve a bite size version of these to guests as appetisers or canapés. Just divide the pastry into smaller rectangles, repeat the steps below with less of the toppings and cook for a shorter amount of time.

I used the red onion chutney I made a few weeks ago, but you could use a good quality shop-bought instead to save time.

Ingredients

Serves 4-6

• 320g packet pre-rolled puff pastry

• 6 tbsp sour cream

• 6 tbsp red onion chutney (recipe here)

• 200g block Comte cheese, rinds trimmed then grated

• 1 egg, lightly whisked

method

• Take the pastry out of the fridge about an hour before you plan to make the galettes, so it can warm to room temperature. Otherwise it will crack as you open it out.

• Preheat the oven to 200ºc.

• Open the pastry out keeping it on the parchment wrapping and place on a large baking tray. Use a sharp knife to divide the pastry into six rectangles (cut right through it).

• Then score each one with another rectangle 1 ½ cm inside the outer edges (see photo steps below).

• Place a tablespoon of sour cream into the middle of each tart and spread out evenly inside the inner rectangle.

• Repeat with a tablespoon of chutney, then top with a large pinch of cheese (approx 25-30g), making sure all the toppings are within the inner rectangle.

• Carefully brush the egg around the outside border making sure the toppings aren’t spilling on to it at all.

• Place in the oven and cook for 18-20 minutes until the pastry is golden brown and has puffed up all around the outside.

• Serve with a crisp green salad or coleslaw.

tip

• You could use any cheese that isn’t too oily like cheddar and melts well, like Gruyère, goats, Gorgonzola, Camembert.

Red onion & bay chutney

We (Ralph) polished off all the tomato chutney from last week, so I thought I’d make some more as it’s quickly become an essential item for us to have in the fridge! This one is absolutely delicious with a toastie, but you can also use it with the same combinations as the tomato relish I made a few days ago: halloumi wraps, quiche, (veggie or meat) sausages/hot dogs or ANY cheese!

When you think of making chutney you probably imagine lots of chopping, a huge pan, faffing about sterilising lots of little jars and then leaving it to mature for a month, but not with this recipe. It’s quick and easy to prep and you’ll end up with a couple of medium sized jars that you can just keep in the fridge for a month.

If you’re feeling more ambitious, you can double or triple the recipe, sterilse and store for a month to mature, but make sure you follow the jar cleaning guide I have linked below though.

Ingredients

Makes 2 medium sized jars

• 6 medium red onions finely sliced

• 1 tbsp olive oil

• 100ml balsamic vinegar

• 100ml red wine vinegar

• 180g soft brown sugar

• 2 bay leaves

Method

• I like to use a food processor slicing attachment to save my eyes from onion chopping, but if you don’t have one, it’s easy to slice in thin half moons.

• Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan and then add the onions, cook for about 30 minutes on low until they are all softened.

• Next add the sugar, bay leaves and vinegar, bring to the boil and then simmer for 40 minutes.

• I keep mine in the fridge, so I don’t bother sterilising the jars, but if you want to store at room temperature you’ll need to follow these instructions on BBC Good Food.

Sweet potato soup with harissa & tahini

It’s that time of year again: soup season. This is in fact the second reason to be happy about autumn, the first I posted about yesterday: pies!

Harissa is one of my favourite spice blends, originating from the North African region of Maghreb, it is full of flavour and works so well with a wide variety of vegetables. Here I have used harissa to balance the sweetness of the vegetables and the lemon tahini adds a little zing and nuttiness. I particularly like the Spice & Green harissa blend made by my friend Melanie Hadida, but you could use a good quality supermarket version or even make your own. Here’s a recipe by Mr Ottolenghi if you want to to give it a try.

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 1.3kg sweet potato (unpeeled)

• 4 red onions, chopped roughly 

• 3 large garlic cloves, grated

• 2 tsp harissa spice blend

• 1 vegetable stock cube (low salt Kallo)

• 1.6L water

• 1.5 tsp sea salt 

• Toasted sesame seeds - optional to serve

Lemon tahini

• 4 tbsp tahini

• Juice of half a lemon

• 75ml water

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180ºc.

• Put the sweet potatoes on a baking tray and roast in their skins for about 45mins-1 hour or until they’re soft right through. This will vary depending on size.

• Heat 1 tbsp rapeseed or olive oil in a large deep pan and add the onions, cook for 20 minutes on low. Peel the sweet potatoes while the onions are cooking.

• Once the onions are softened add the harissa and warm through for a few minutes to release the flavours. Then add the crumbled stock cube, water, salt and sweet potato (break up with a spoon). Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.

• Make the lemon tahini while the soup is cooking. Put the tahini and salt in a jug or jar, squeeze in the lemon, whisk with a fork before adding the water whisking again.

• Turn off the heat and use a hand blender to thoroughly blitz the soup to a smooth consistency.

• Serve with a drizzle of tahini (about 1/2 tbsp) and a good pinch of sesame seeds.

Tip

• Tahini goes very thick when you first add water, keep going it’ll loosen up. Or use a small blender to avoid this problem.

• You might need to add a little water to the tahini each time you use it as it tends to thicken up after being stored for a day in the fridge.

• Sesame seeds toast quickly and easily in a dry frying pan. Just sprinkle evenly and place on a medium heat, watching careful as they will suddenly colour. You want a pale gold brown.

Roasted carrot & quinoa salad with wilted spinach & dukkah

Ingredients

Serves 6-8

• 180g quinoa, cooked as per the packet instructions - usually rinse well until the water runs clear and then simmer for 20 minutes

• 5 carrots or approx 300g, chopped in thick batons

• 2 red onions, sliced in half moons

• 6 tbsp olive oil

• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice

• 2 1/2 tbsp dukkah spice mix (recipe linked here)

• 2 handfuls of spinach

• Handful of parsley or coriander to serve, optional

• 200g crumbled feta, optional

Method

• Preheat the oven to 180°c.

• Cook the quinoa and add 1 tbsp of dukkah spice mix to the water, then drain and put back in the pan with the lid on to keep warm.

• Put the carrots and onions on a large tray, or split between two so you have space between all the veggies to allow them to roast and brown rather than steam. Drizzle with 2 tbsp olive oil and sprinkle over 1 tbsp of dukkah, then mix to coat well. Place in the oven.

• After 15 minutes check the veggies and turn to brown on the other side. Cook for a further 8-10 minutes.

• Meanwhile get a large serving dish and spread out the spinach.

• Mix the remaining 4 tbsp olive oil and lemon juice (or vinegar) into the drained quinoa and then spoon about 1/3 on to the serving dish covering the spinach. Add a scattering of carrots and onions, then repeat until you’ve used everything up.

• You can sprinkle in the herbs while you’re layering or just add a handful on top to finish with the last 1/2 tbsp of dukkah.

• I also love to top this salad with feta as it’s creamy saltiness goes so well and makes it a complete lunch. If you’re vegan you could add some toasted sunflower or pumpkin seeds for extra protein instead.

Roasted butternut squash, red onion with tahini & za'atar dressing

I could literally eat this salad everyday, it is so tasty in only a way that Ottolengi's recipes can be. It is a gorgeous combination of caramelised squash and onions with nutty, creamy, lemony tahini dressing.

Ingredients, serves 6-8

• 1 butternut squash

• 3 medium red onions

• 4 tbsp tahini

• 2 tbsp lemon juice

• 3-4 tbsp water

• 1 small clove garlic, grated

• 30g pine nuts

• 1 tbsp za'atar, or to taste - try it first to see if you like it

• 1 tbsp chopped parsley

Method

• Heat the oven to 220 degrees.

• Chop the squash into large slices, coat with olive oil on a roasting tray and place skin side down.

• Roast the squash for 20 minutes before adding the chopped onions; make sure they have a coating of oil on them as well.

• Mix the tahini with the lemon, garlic and water in a small bowl or jar, whisk with a fork. Add extra tahini or water to get the right consistency; it should be like a thick salad dressing.

• Heat a frying pan and lightly toast the pine nuts.

• To serve, spread the vegetables on a flat platter and drizzle over the dressing before scattering the pine nuts over the top. Sprinkle za'atar and parsley to taste.

• Dig in.

Shown with aubergine chermoula and puy lentil, oven dried tomato & gorgonzola salad