Cranberry & Tofeta Cigars

by Liz Child

The ‘dip, dress, sprinkle’ chapter of my book is probably the most useful chapter. It’s one I refer to the most and it’s those little extras, the condiments, crunchy toppings and delicious dressings that really make meals go from ‘good’ to ‘great’. At the end of the chapter is this tofeta recipe which is really simple but incredible! It’s crazy how like feta it is!

Get these ingredients from our shop: tofu x2, coconut oil, cider vinegar, lemon juice, salt.

Tofu is a really nutrient dense, brilliant food, wrongly vilified as bad for humans and the environment, it’s nothing new and has been eaten by healthy cultures for around 2000 years. Most soy grown for human consumption is not grown in deforested areas (unlike the vast majority of soy which is grown for animal feed). If you buy organic tofu like the one we sell, you can rest easy knowing it is not genetically modified and is grown in a sustainable way.

Serve a block of tofeta as part of your Christmas cheeseboard drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds, fresh thyme leaves and black pepper.

Ideas for Using Tofeta in Winter:

Use this tofeta as part of your cheeseboard at Christmas, top a homemade pizza with it (roast beetroot or squash, red onion and tofeta is a brilliant winter pizza topping, especially with wilted spinach or kale in the tomato sauce), layer it in your lasagna, top a moussaka with it, or make my festive cranberry and tofeta cigars. They make a great starter – or make them a little smaller and they are perfect for nibbles on a canape tray with drinks.

Ingredients

Method

Open out a pack of filo pastry onto a clean chopping board or work surface. Most shop bought filo is incidentally plant based but check the label.

Cut the pastry in half (or quarters if you would like smaller cigars) with a large, sharp knife.

Brush one sheet of pastry with olive oil, then spread a tsp (or half tsp if making smaller cigars) of cranberry sauce onto the pastry in a neat line about the size of your little finger, centred but about 5cm away from the left edge.

Place a little finger sized slice of tofeta onto the line of cranberry sauce then fold the 5cm left edge over it.

Fold the top and bottom sides over each other then brush them with more olive oil and roll up the pastry, left to right, into a cigar shape.

Brush the outside of the cigar with a little more olive oil and place it, seam side down, on a lined baking sheet. (I use this compostable baking parchment or a re-usable one).

Repeat until all the pastry is used up. Then sprinkle with some optional sesame seeds and bake at 180C for around 15-20 minutes or until they are golden and crispy. They are lovely served warm or cold.

Warm Winter Salad

by Liz Child

Sometimes in winter, you need a break from all the soups, stews and pies and want something fresh and vibrant. A warm winter salad is the answer. This is less of a recipe and more of a suggestion. I make versions of this fairly regularly and always make more than enough so that we have leftovers for packed lunches.


Simply chop up some winter veg into similar sized pieces (squash, onion, parsnips, cauliflower, carrots, mushrooms, beetroot…), pop them into a roasting tray with a little olive oil salt and pepper. Mix and roast at 200C until slightly charred and soft – this takes around 20-30 minutes depending on how much veg you roast.

Then pile onto some beautiful bitter leaves and dress. A creamy, tahini dressing goes really well here. Mix a couple of tbsp of tahini with a pinch of salt, a tsp maple syrup, 2 tbsp of lemon juice and two tbsp cold water. Once the dressing is well mixed it should be beautifully creamy and pourable. Taste it for seasoning and add more lemon or salt as needed. You can even pimp it up with some crushed garlic or finely chopped herbs like parsley or coriander. Then drizzle it all over the roasted veg.

Sprinkle over some crunchy, fragrant dukka (see my parsnip and pear soup recipe for that) and some sweet little pomegranate seeds. Those jewel-like seeds make everything more festive and are the perfect sweet and sour foil to the nutty, rich dressing. Enjoy!