Pumpkin Cheesecake

by Liz Child

This autumnal treat is creamy, delicious and totally plant based. We use wobbly silken tofu in place of cream cheese and eggs for a healthy, protein-rich, planet-friendly dessert with that perfect ‘baked cheesecake’ texture. If you haven’t tried silken tofu yet, it’s such a useful ingredient to have in your kitchen. Use it cubed up in traditional miso soups, scramble it like an egg for breakfast or blend it into creamy desserts like this one. To ensure this cheesecake sets while it bakes, we also add corn starch, (we now stock a great organic cornstarch which you can add to your next veg box order). Happy baking!

Liz x

Ingredients

For the base:

  • 150g porridge oats
  • 50g butter (we use Naturli)
  • 50ml maple syrup
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp pumpkin spice blend

For the vanilla swirl:

  • 350g silken tofu
  • 200ml oat milk
  • 3 tbsp corn starch
  • 50g sugar
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp vanilla essence

For the pumpkin swirl:

  • 350g silken tofu
  • 200g roasted pumpkin purée
  • 3 tbsp corn starch
  • 50g sugar
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 tsp pumpkin spice blend

Method

  1. Turn your oven to 175C. Line a loose bottomed cake tin with baking parchment (I use a 23cm one).
  2. In a food processor, pulse together the base ingredients until they resemble a sticky crumb texture. Press evenly into the base of the lined cake tin with the back of a spoon.
  3. Wipe the blender clean then blend the vanilla swirl ingredients together until smooth, pour into a jug. Then blend the pumpkin swirl ingredients until smooth and pour into a separate jug. The pumpkin swirl will seem thicker at this stage, but it all even out in the oven don’t worry.
  4. Pour the vanillia and pumpkin swirl in turns into your cake dish. Swirl together with a spoon to create a marbled effect. Then bake for 50 minutes or until just set and starting to crack on top.
  5. Loosen the sides of the cheesecake from the tine with a knife and allow to completely cool. Carefully remove the cake onto a plate and store in the fridge. Enjoy in thick slices with whipped coconut cream dusted with more pumpkin spice.

Oven Baked Parsnip & Hazelnut Risotto

by Liz Child

Bake your next risotto in the oven to save yourself from standing over the stove and constantly stirring a pot. I promise, the results are just as delicious. We are obsessed with this parsnip and hazelnut version right now as the new season parsnips are just being pulled from the ground. Hazelnuts and parsnips are a match made in heaven and the rosemary in the recipe really rounds off the flavours. Did you know we stock organic risotto rice and hazelnuts (and many more great groceries) in clever compostable bags?

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 onion, diced
  • 3 sticks of celery, diced
  • 400g parsnips, diced
  • 3 tbsp butter
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 250g risotto rice
  • 600ml water, just boiled
  • 200ml white wine
  • 2 stock cubes
  • 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
  • 3 tbsp chopped rosemary
  • 100g hazelnuts, chopped

Method

  1. Turn your oven on to 200C and find a deep baking or casserole dish with a lid. Put the parsnips, onion and celery in the dish along with the oil and butter. Season well with salt and pepper, give it a mix and bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until the veg is soft.
  2. Meanwhile, in a heat-proof bowl, measure out the rice and top with the just-boiled water, stock cubes, garlic and rosemary. Stir to dissolve the stock cubes and then add the glass of white wine. Let the rice soak while the veg cooks in the oven.
  3. Remove the dish from the oven and pour in the rice and all the liquid it has been soaking in. Stir to combine the rice, stock and vegetables and then put the lid on the dish. Place the dish back into the oven to bake the rice. It should take around 20-30 minutes. Check on it after 20, when the rice has absorbed the liquid, it is done.
  4. Once the rice is cooked, remove the lid and stir, add a splash more wine or water to stop it from drying out, then top with the chopped hazelnuts and return to the oven with the lid off for just 5 minutes or so to toast the nuts. Serve in warm bowls and enjoy!

1 Pot – Cauliflower, Coconut & Chickpea Curry

by Liz Child

We love a curry at our house, how about over at yours? This is a simplified, not-very-authentic-but-still-really-delicious *sort of* biryani. In my quest for less washing up, less hands-on time, and more one pot dishes, this is perhaps my favourite. Of course you should feel encouraged to switch up the veg and spices (try pumpkin in the base or romanesco on top – try different curry powder blends – garam masala is gorgeous here), even remove the coconut in exchange for another mug of water of a tin of chopped tomatoes? This curry is simply a case of cooking the base, then layering on the rice and liquid (always add double the volume of liquid to rice, and don’t forget to rinse and drain your rice first), add the cauliflower carefully on top and bake with a lid until the rice has absorbed all the liquid. Yum!

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 1 large white onion, peeled and sliced
  • 1 tin of chickpeas, drained
  • about 8 cherry tomatoes, chopped
  • 1 heaped tbsp of coconut oil
  • 1 tsp each cumin & brown mustard seeds (optional)
  • 6 tsp curry powder (4 in the base, 2 on top)
  • a mug of basmati rice, rinsed and well drained
  • 1 tin coconut milk
  • a mug of water
  • 1/2 a cauliflower, cut into florets
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • herbs eg coriander or mint & mango chutney or lime pickle to serve

Method

  1. Turn your oven on to 200C and find a deep baking dish with a lid (or use tin foil or a baking sheet as a lid).
  2. Mix the onion, tomatoes, chickpeas, coconut oil, cumin & mustard seeds, 4 tsp of curry powder and salt & pepper to taste in the dish. Place this base curry in the oven to bake for 10/15 minutes or until the onions are soft and fragrant.
  3. Flatten out the base curry then sprinkle over the mug of rice. Stir the coconut milk and spoon it evenly over the rice. Then carefully pour the mug of water over the back of the spoon over the rice so as not to disturb the layers. Season the coconut rice layer with a pinch of salt.
  4. Then carefully place the cauliflower florets on top of the liquid and season them with salt, pepper and the reserved 2 tsp of curry powder. Put the lid on the pan and place it back in the oven for another 20-30minutes until the rice has absorbed all the liquid.
  5. Serve in scoops with a sprinkle of fresh herbs and a spoon of an Indian chutney or pickle. Enjoy!

Aquafaba Mayonnaise

by Liz Child

Vegan mayonnaise is so easy to make and is a great option if you don’t eat eggs or don’t want to risk raw eggs. The easiest version is made with soy milk (check out that recipe here) but we don’t often have soy milk in our house so we have perfected this aquafaba version which uses up some of the liquid from a tin of chickpeas. Aquafaba is such a handy, magical ingredient, and we love that it’s practically free! Another way we use it is to make this quick and easy cake, give it a try!

Leave your mayonnaise plain or flavour it with garlic, rosemary, saffron, chilli etc to your liking. I added a tiny pinch of saffron this time because I wanted to eat it with this one tray, Spanish inspired supper. I would love to hear about your versions in the comments below!

Liz x

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp aquafaba (the liquid from a tin of chickpeas)
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 tsp vinegar
  • optional extra flavourings eg a pinch of saffron or a small crushed clove of garlic, or some chopped rosemary…
  • a pinch of salt
  • 200ml of neutral oil eg sunflower or rapeseed

Method

  1. Place the aquafaba, mustard, vinegar, salt and optional flavouring in a small mixing jug or jar in which your emersion blender can fit.
  2. Blend with the emersion blender until frothy, then, whilst still blending, drizzle in the oil slowly. Keep blending and adding oil, you may need to move the blender up and down a bit.
  3. You should end up with perfectly thick and glossy mayonnaise. Taste and if it needs more salt add it now and blend again to evenly distribute it.
  4. Store in a clean jar in the fridge and use within a week.

1 Tray – Smokey Potatoes, Peppers & Chickpeas

by Liz Child

We are currently obsessed with putting together quick and easy, one tray suppers. They’re the perfect solution for mid-week suppers when you are knackered from a long day at work. Just turn on the oven and pop some veggies, some beans and some seasoning in a tray and let it cook while you catch up with the rest of the household. I tend to pick a country or dish and go with those flavours and seasonings I know go well, rather than just bunging in random herbs and spices. So for this dish, the theme was Spanish-ish! I was thinking about paella and potatas bravas, that sort of thing. Smokey paprika, garlic and lemon, finished with parsley… goes so well with peppers, potatoes, tomatoes and chickpeas.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 2)

  • 2 large potatoes (or the equivalent in new potatoes)
  • 1 large red pepper
  • 6 cherry tomatoes (or 2 large tomatoes)
  • 1 tin of chickpeas
  • 1/2 a lemon
  • 2 tbsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tbsp garlic granules/powder (or 2 crushed fresh cloves of garlic)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
  • fresh parsley, salad and mayonnaise to serve (I made this saffron mayonnaise from the aquafaba from the tin of chickpeas)

Method

  1. Heat your oven to 200C. Chop all the vegetables into bite sized pieces and scatter into a baking tray.
  2. Drain the chickpeas (reserve the aquafaba to make mayonnaise or a vegan cake if you like) and add to the tray. Season with the salt, pepper, smoked paprika and garlic, drizzle over the oil and mix well.
  3. Add the lemon in the center of the tray and roast for 20-30 minutes or until the vegetables are soft and starting to take on some colour.
  4. Remove the tray from the oven and scatter over fresh parsley, use tongs to squeeze the hot roasted lemon over everything (roasted lemon is a revelation! It goes extra sweet and juicy in the oven) and enjoy with some salad leaves and mayonnaise!

Sweet, Sticky, Sesame Tofu with Stir Fried Greens

by Liz Child

The best way to get a whole lot of greens into my family is with a simple stir fry. No one can resist them simply seasoned with a splash of salty soy sauce and piled into a bowl with rice or noodles. And for protein? We are really into tofu right now, its a beautiful blank canvas and we are trying to up our soy consumption as latest studies show how healthy is it (cancer and fibroid prevention, also anti-inflamatory and great for heart health – high in calcium, magnesium, selenium, phosphorus, iron, copper, manganese and zinc). Beans as crops are also a brilliant, Earth-efficient source of protein. We love extra firm tofu with our stir-fries, simmered with a sweet and sticky honey-ginger-sesame sauce.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

For the stir fried greens:

  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 small courgette, julienned
  • 1/2 a cabbage, shredded
  • a few large kale leaves, shredded
  • a small head of romanesco or broccoli, chopped
  • a few large handfuls of green beans
  • 1-2 tbsp soy sauce (to taste)

For the sticky tofu:

  • 2 packs of extra firm, natural tofu – drained and cut into cubes
  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • a splash of soy sauce
  • 50ml honey or maple syrup
  • the zest and juice of half a lime
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste
  • 2 garlic cloves, finely grated
  • a thumb of fresh ginger, finely grated
  • 2 tbsp soy sauce
  • 3 tbsp sesame seeds
  • rice or noodles and chopped scallion to serve

Method

  1. Start by mixing the sticky dressing. Gather the ingredients and mix together in a bowl or jug. Taste and adjust the salt level with a bit more soy sauce if needed. Want it tangier? add the other half of the lime.
  2. Cook your rice or noodles and heat up two pans, a large one for the greens and a smaller one for the tofu. Stir fry the greens with the oil until starting to wilt, then add the soy sauce and stir for a couple more minutes.
  3. In the other pan, fry the tofu with the oil until starting to warm through. Add the small splash of soy sauce and stir fry to season and brown the cubes. Then pour over the sweet, sticky sesame sauce and let it simmer and reduce for a couple of minutes.
  4. Serve with the rice or noodles and greens, top with chopped scallions and enjoy!

Broccoli & Sesame Fritters

by Liz Child

Our bumper crop of beautiful broccoli is so tasty. Of course we mostly eat it steamed as a side dish, but there are countless ways to eat broccoli. What are your favourite recipes? Here’s our currant obsession, fritters studded with lots of nutty sesame seeds, savoury seaweed and scallions. Delicious dunked in sweet chilli sauce. Give them a try and let us know what you think. You can add all the specialist ingredients (chickpea flour, seaweed flakes, sesame seeds, sweet chilli sauce…) to your next order. Our range of groceries is always growing. We always source organic, and plastic free and local where possible.

Liz x

Ingredients (makes 14 small fritters)

  • 1 mug of chickpea flour
  • 1 mug of warm water
  • 1 tsp each: garlic granules, ground ginger, chilli flakes, salt
  • 1/2 a broccoli, finely chopped
  • 1 scallion, chopped
  • 6 tbsp sesame seeds
  • a handful of dried seaweed flakes
  • neutral oil for frying
  • sweet chilli dipping sauce to serve

Method

  1. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, garlic, ginger, chilli and salt.
  2. Now finely chop the broccoli and scallion and add to the bowl along with the sesame seeds and seaweed flakes. Stir well to evenly distribute the ingredients through the batter.
  3. Heat a heavy bottomed pan with a generous slick of oil to medium-high, then fry the fritters. Space out spoons of the batter in the pan, fry until golden and crispy, then carefully flip and fry the other side. Keep your eye on the temperature of the oil, make sure it’s not so hot that the fritters burn on the outside and are raw in the middle, but not so cold so they soak up a lot of oil and stay soggy.
  4. Drain the fritters and keep frying in batches until the mixture is all used up. Serve with a sweet chilli dipping sauce and enjoy!

Tofu Fried Rice

by Liz Child

Egg fried rice but using wobbly silken tofu in place of the egg. This is such a delicious mid week, one pan, quick meal. If you ever find yourself with leftover rice, this is the solution! Its a great way to clear out the odds and ends from the veg drawer too. We love it served with kimchi or a squeeze of hot sauce, some scallions and sesame seeds. How do you eat yours?

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4)

  • 2 tbsp neutral vegetable oil
  • 1 courgette, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 1/4 red cabbage, thinly sliced (or any combination of veg you prefer)
  • a pinch of salt
  • 1 tsp garlic granules
  • 1 tsp ground ginger
  • 1/2 tsp chilli flakes
  • 4 tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 block silken tofu
  • 4 portions of cooked rice
  • a big mug of frozen peas (or any tender greens you like)
  • 4 tbsp toasted sesame oil
  • kimchi to serve (or any toppings you prefer eg chopped scallions, hot sauce, toasted sesame seeds)

Method

  1. Stir fry the courgette, carrots and cabbage (or any chopped veg you prefer) with the vegetable oil and a pinch of salt until just starting to soften (around 5 minutes).
  2. Add the block of silken tofu and break it up with the wooden spoon. Drizzle in the soy sauce and sprinkle in the garlic, ginger and chilli and stir fry for another minute or so.
  3. Add the rice and frozen peas (or other tender greens) and stir fry to warm through. Taste and add more soy sauce if needed. Then finish with nutty, delicious, toasted sesame oil and serve however you like. We love ours topped with tangy, spicy kimchi.

Turmeric & Ginger Paste

by Liz Child

I always try to keep a jar of this fresh paste in the fridge. It is so handy for making golden milk in the evenings and I love stirring a spoon through my morning porridge. Turmeric and ginger have many amazing health benefits, I started eating this to help manage my knee pain, but I stuck with this paste because it’s actually very delicious! We stock fresh, organic turmeric and ginger roots in the shop so you can easily add some to your next order.

Liz x

Ingredients (don’t need to be exact)

  • a large thumb of fresh ginger
  • a similar amount of fresh turmeric
  • 1 heaped tbsp coconut oil (this helps your body absorb the turmeric and ginger)
  • 4 or 5 tbsp maple syrup (or your choice of sweetener)
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 a tsp black pepper
  • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
  • a splash of water

Method

  1. As you are using organic turmeric and ginger, you don’t really need to peel them, but if you would like to, use a teaspoon to scrape off the skin and get into the awkward nooks and crannies without wasting too much flesh. Roughly chop and add to a small, strong food processor.
  2. Add the rest of the ingredients and blend into a smooth, thick paste.
  3. Pour the paste into a very clean jar and keep in the fridge. Use within 3 weeks. You can also freeze the paste in ice cube trays to keep it fresher for longer.

How to use:

Add a spoon or two to a mug of hot milk and drink in the evening after a long day, especially if you are feeling achey. I like mine topped with a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Blend a spoon with banana, ice and milk to make a golden smoothie. Kids love these!

Simmer a spoon into your morning pot of porridge. Top with coconut flakes and cinnamon or your favourite fruit and nuts.

  • Do not consume high amounts of turmeric if you are pregnant. Consult a doctor if you are concerned that turmeric will interact with other medication or health problems.

Courgette Involtini

by Liz Child

One of our favourite summer dishes, we love this with pasta or bread and a big bowl of salad. For the filling, use any soft cheese you prefer, mixed with fresh herbs or a big scoop of pesto. We usually use our homemade tofu ricotta (here’s the recipe) but a mix of cream cheese and feta is delicious too. Make your own tomato sauce or use a jar of ready made.

Liz x

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

  • 1 courgette
  • 1 batch of tomato sauce (from a jar or sauté a diced onion and 4 crushed garlic cloves in 3 tbsp olive oil until soft, add a tin of chopped tomatoes and half a tin of water, season with salt and pepper and simmer for 10 minutes)
  • 400g soft cheese (use any you prefer, a mix of feta and cream cheese or vegan versions, we like to use our homemade garlic and herb ricotta)
  • a large handful of chopped herbs or a couple of tbsp of pesto
  • olive oil, salt & pepper to taste

Method

  1. Make the tomato sauce and pour it into an oven proof dish. Pre-heat the oven to 180C.
  2. Make a batch of garlic and herb tofu ricotta or mix any soft cheese you prefer with chopped herbs or pesto.
  3. Use a potato peeler or a cheese slicer to cut the courgette into long, thin strips.
  4. Place a heaped tsp of the herby cheese mixture on the end of a courgette slice. Then roll it up and place it, seam down, into the tomato sauce. Repeat until you have filled the dish or used up all the courgette slices.
  5. Drizzle the rolls with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven until bubbling and golden – around 15 to 20 minutes.
  6. Enjoy with bread or pasta and salads.