I promised you easy vegan comfort food, and you can’t get much more comforting than this cosy Colcannon-topped Vegan Shepherds Pie. This would make a perfect Sunday lunch for all the family, served with green peas and tenderstem broccoli. Or why not make a batch and freeze in individual foil trays, so you have some standby suppers for weeknights when you don’t have time to cook?
Continue reading “Recipe: Colcannon-Topped Vegan Shepherds Pie”
Carrot cake must surely be one of the nation’s favourite teatime treats, and there’s absolutely no reason why vegans should miss out, so here’s a plant-based cruelty-free version, with dairy-free cream ‘cheese’ icing to top it off. And it really is easy, I promise. The list of ingredients is longer than I had hoped, but each one is there for a reason, and even if you’ve never baked a cake before, this is a really simple one to put together.
This was actually my son’s first birthday cake, (and yes, I cut out a slice for the purposes of these photographs before he had blown his candle out… poor kid! Well, I won’t get away with it again as he’ll know what’s going on next year when he’s two, so this was my last chance….).
I’m really not a roses and chocolates kinda girl. All the Valentines’ recipes for pretty pink soups and dainty heart-shaped desserts doing the rounds at the moment really aren’t for me. But a heart-shaped vegan sushi platter? Now you’re talking…. (I know, my poor husband…!).
The idea of an ‘easy’ sushi platter might be a bit hard to believe, and I’m not promising this is super-speedy, (you’re probably looking at about 40 minutes prep time, and then 30 minutes assembly of the sushi – you could prep the night before if you don’t have time to do it all in one go). But there’s nothing difficult about making sushi, just follow the instructions and my little videos below, and you can’t go wrong. (Probably).
Mmmmm…. cake alert! I find it hard to resist the temptation to make a slightly-oversized triple layer cake from time to time, and I’m gradually working my way through vegan-ising all the Great British favourites. My Ultimate Vegan Victoria Sponge is one of the most popular recipes on the blog, and if you’re looking for a failsafe rich fruit cake, my Ultimate Vegan Christmas Cake recipe is not far behind, (I’ve just had an e-mail from a reader who is using it as her wedding cake, isn’t that lovely?!).
And today I bring you… the Ultimate Vegan Coffee & Walnut Cake. This one is a keeper, I promise. The coffee buttercream is incredibly creamy and light, and the dark, nutty sponge has just the right level of coffee to be a strong flavour without turning bitter.
Continue reading “Recipe: The Ultimate Vegan Coffee & Walnut Cake”
Just over a year ago I shared the exciting news that my brand new cookbook, ‘Vegan in 15‘ had hit the shelves . Published by Short Books, it is crammed full of speedy (15 minute!) vegan recipes which are easy, delicious and with no weird or whacky ingredients in sight.
And what a year it has been. So many lovely folks tagging me in pictures of their 15-minute dinners on instagram, (search #Vegan In15), recipes from the book featured in The Times, ‘i’ newspaper, Veggie Magazine, Cook Vegan, Vegan Live, Vegan Food & Living, and reviews in HELLO! and lots of my favourite food blogs. A whirlwind of vegan excitement.
Continue reading “Recipe: Black Bean & Avocado Tacos (from ‘Vegan in 15’)”
Happy New Year! I hope you managed to have a restorative Christmas break, with some excellent vegan food and wine (or the elusive vegan Baileys!), and some good company. What does 2018 have in store for you?
If you’re new here, perhaps a Veganuary newbie or experimenting with flexitarianism, a great big welcome to you. Do get in touch via the comments section below each recipe post, or via Facebook, Instagram or Twitter just to say hello, ask questions or let me know how you’re getting on with the recipes. I love hearing from you all, (yes, even the reader who messaged me at 1pm on Christmas Day to ask whether his vegan Christmas Pudding was cooked through….!).
Continue reading “Recipe: Creamy Wild Mushroom One-Pot Gnocchi (Vegan)”
In collaboration with Ciao Gusto
For what will (probably!) be my last post before Christmas, here’s a recipe for a fun and festive vegan baking project. These jammy biscuits could either be served alongside an Italian ice-cream sundae for an alternative Christmas dessert (see below), or if you’ve already consumed your 99th mince pie of the season and just can’t face another, these would be a welcome treat for visiting friends and family in the run up to the big day.
The biscuit dough is actually a shortbread, which makes them melt-in-the-mouth crumbly, and I used some top-quality Italian cherry jam for the filling, (more on that later).
In collaboration with OXO Good Grips
Traditional Christmas sweet things tend to involve quite a bit of dried fruit and booze, which isn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but the traditional French Bûche de Noël (Yule Log) is such a treat for all ages. A light chocolate sponge rolled up with buttercream, (I stirred chestnut purée through mine for an extra festive twist), then covered with yet more buttercream, chocolate this time, and decorated to look like a snowy log.
A traditional swiss roll sponge is made with whisked egg whites, and doesn’t have any fat added. I’ve been meaning to test out the magic vegan ingredient ‘aquafaba’ (the liquid drained from a tin of chickpeas) Continue reading “Recipe: Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Yule Log”
In collaboration with Discover Kale
There are two types of people in the world: those who would read “kale and polenta pastry with a kale nut roast filling” and think ‘why?’, and those who would think – ‘that’s my Christmas Dinner sorted”. If you fall into the second category, read on!
This festive pie makes kale, that bright green, mineral-y superfood, the star of the show, and is just perfect with roast potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings of a traditional Christmas dinner. And most importantly, you can make it well in advance and freeze it, or make the pastry one day, the filling the next and assemble the pie on Christmas Eve with nothing to do but bake it on Christmas Day.
Continue reading “Vegan Christmas Dinner Recipe: Kale Lovers’ Christmas Pie”