lemony carrot and potato dahl

Dahl is one of my go-to recipes for that lovely week before payday when I'm in the depths of financial ruin (like now, ha). It costs so little to make - I usually have all the spices and lentils in my cupboard so all I really need to buy is some fresh veggies to bulk it out with!

I wanted my carrots and onions chopped really finely for this recipe, so I used my mini chopper (this thing) - takes sooo much hassle out of cooking! ♥ it. 

Ingredients

• 1 onion, chopped finely
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 carrot, chopped finely 
• 1 baking potato, cut into small cubes
• 250g of red lentils
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chilli flakes
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 ltr vegetable stock
• Zest of 1 lemon
• Juice of ½ lemon
• Fresh coriander, for serving

Method

Add chopped onions and garlic to a pan over medium heat. Fry until onions begin to soften and turn a golden colour. Add carrot and potato and fry for a further two minutes. Add all spices and fry for a minute. Pour in stock, lentils and salt. Let this simmer for around half an hour, until the lentils are soft and mushy. Once the lentils are cooked through, remove pan from heat. Add in zest and lemon juice and serve with lots of fresh coriander on top. ENJOY :) 

P.s - you can make this into a soup if you add a little more stock and whizz up in a blender!

chickpea and spinach curry

Ohhh chickpeas we love you! Up there with lentils as one of the most versatile ingredients EVAR. Use them in curries, falafel, stews and burgers. Oh, and not to forget HUMMUS. The shining jewel in crown of the chickpea ♥ 

I always try to have a few tins of these in the cupboard for days when I just can't be bothered. Chickpea curry is too easy - just fire it all in the pan and stir occasionally basically. Really cheap to make and tasty and satisfying to eat. Win-win. 

*The ingredient list looks huge but it's mostly spices! Once you have these you'll be good for aaages.

This recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• Thumb sized piece of ginger, grated
• 4 cloves of garlic, grated
• 1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 2 tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp fenugreek
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp chilli flakes
• ½ tsp chilli powder
• ½ tsp turmeric
• Pinch asafoetida
• 2 tins of chickpeas
• 1 tbsp vegetable bouillon
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 tin of coconut milk
• Juice of half a lime
• Handful of spinach
• Water (if needed)
• Chopped coriander, for serving

Method

Add mustard seeds to pan and dry fry over high heat for about ten seconds. Reduce heat to medium and add chilli, ginger and onion. Fry until the onions start to soften and turn a nice golden colour. Add garlic and fry for a minute or two. Add the spice mix and fry for two to three minutes. Pour in chickpeas, coconut milk and chopped tomatoes. Then add lime juice and bouillon and stir well. Let this all simmer for about 30 minutes, adding water if the mixture becomes too thick or starts to stick. If there are any big chunks of tomato remaining, mash them a little. Taste curry and season as necessary. Right before serving add a big handful of spinach and stir well.

Top with chopped coriander and serve with your choice of rice/naan/roti. Enjoy!

easy vegan pizza

I've been craving pizza for DAYS ON END but I'm trying to save for an upcoming trip so struggle to justify the £15+ it costs to have one delivered! This DIY version definitely hit the spot, my best attempt yet - it's super easy to make and costs next to nothing once you have the basic ingredients in the cupboard.

I used plain flour in this recipe but next time I think I'll experiment with half plain, half wholewheat to make it a bit healthier. Usually I forego cheese and use a combo of nutritional yeast and olive oil but I had some Violife Pizza Cheese in the fridge, it melted amazingly and tasted great :) 

Ingredients - Dough

• 350g plain flour + extra for dusting
• 1 tsp yeast
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 200ml warm water

Ingredients - Sauce

• ½ a punnet of cherry tomatoes (I counted - I used 18)
• 4 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp tomato puree
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 tsp oregano

Ingredients - Toppings (use your choice!)

• Violife pizza cheese, grated
• Chestnut mushrooms, sliced
• Green olives, sliced
• Sweetcorn
• Cherry tomatoes, sliced
• Rocket, (add after cooking)

Method

Begin by preparing the sauce. Add all ingredients to a blender and blend until smooth with no lumps. Set aside in the fridge. 

Sieve flour into a large bowl, add yeast and salt and stir. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and water. Begin to stir in the flour and continue until everything is mixed well. Scatter some flour on your counter and begin to knead the dough - if it's too sticky, add more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes until the dough is smooth. Now you can either leave the dough to rise for 1-2 hours (I did - I had something else to do before dinner!) in a covered bowl or continue (only if you want thin crust). 

If you've left the dough to rise, give it a quick knead then split into two balls. Sprinkle some flour on your counter and roll out the dough into two large rounds - try to get it as thin as possible as it will rise in the oven! Lift each round onto a silicon mat. Preheat the oven to 220°. Place two upturned baking sheets in the oven to heat up - we will place our pizzas on top of these, this will ensure the bottom of the dough gets cooked properly. 

Smooth a few spoonfuls of sauce over each base then add cheese. Scatter your toppings and a drizzle of olive oil on then place the silicon mats on top of the preheated baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until crisp. Scatter some rocket on top and enjoy :) 

warm salad of broad bean, courgette and walnut

This dish was inspired by a recipe I came across on the BBC Good Food page and the fact that I had 145845212584 courgettes waiting to be used. It turned out SO tasty - walnut is such a nice addition to  a salad! 

I served this salad with my fail safe baby roasties (recipe coming up soon!) and purple sprouting broccoli, however I think it would go well with most sides - perhaps some homemade garlic bread? YUM.

This recipe yielded 2 portions.

Ingredients - Salad:

• 1 large courgette, sliced
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 pack of fresh, podded broad beans
• A handful of walnuts, chopped roughly
• Chopped parsley to serve

Ingredients - Dressing:

• 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• Salt and pepper to taste

Method

Begin by putting your broad beans on to steam for about 5-6 minutes (or per pack instructions). Whilst the beans are steaming, heat a tbsp of olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat then add courgette slices. Fry courgette until it softens, and begins to turn a nice golden colour. In the meantime, add all dressing ingredients to a bowl and stir well.

Once broad beans and courgette are cooked, add to a bowl along with chopped walnuts. Mix well, top with chopped parsley and dressing. Serve with your choice of side. Enjoy!

green juice

MOAR JOOS! This radioactive looking substance was actually really tasty (swear!) - I made this green juice using the below ingredients:

• 1 bunch of kale
• 2 carrots
• 1 orange
• ½ a cucumber
• ½ a lemon

This made a medium sized glass of juice. Try it out! .. Appearances can be deceptive. Enjoy :)

miso vegetable soup with soba noodles

I made this miso soup last week when I was sick - it's not exactly soup weather but when you're sick nothing else will do! I used loads of fresh garlic, ginger and veggies in the hope that it would fix me. It definitely helped!

You can use whatever veggies you want - I just went for what needed used up in my fridge, plus some frozen peas :) 

Ingredients

• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp ginger, minced
• 5 cups of vegetable stock
• 4 tsp miso paste, I used Clearspring Barley miso
• 200g soba noodles
• Assorted veggies - I used leek, carrot, mushrooms, broccoli, courgette, beansprouts, chinese leaf and  peas
• Spring onions and sesame seeds to garnish
• Optional: Sriracha for serving

Method

Begin by heating the sesame oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add ginger and garlic and fry for a minute to release flavours. Add vegetable stock and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes. 

Add carrots and simmer for 5 minutes. Add soba noodles, leek, courgette, brocolli, mushrooms and peas and simmer for a further 5 minutes. Remove some stock - about a cup - and mix with miso paste, then add this back into the soup. 

Add chinese leaf and beansprouts and simmer for another minute. Garnish with sesame seeds and chopped spring onions. I served mine with a healthy dousing of extra hot sriracha - SO GOOD. Enjoy!

5 ingredient 'Nutella'

This recipe was inspired by a vlog post I watched by The Happy Pear.. If you haven't followed these guys.. do it! They have loads of 5 minute recipes that are seriously great - have a look HERE.

I made a few amendments to the original recipe - I switched sunflower oil for coconut as I have a full jar that needs using, I switched honey for agave nectar to keep it vegan and I left out the vanilla essence as I felt that the mixture was sweet enough.

I'm using an old food processor at the moment as my Nutribullet died (sadface), so the consistency of mine wasn't as smooth as it could have been.. but it still tastes amazing!

Ingredients

• 250g of hazelnuts
• 2 tbsp of cocoa powder
• 100ml agave nectar
• 3 tbsp of melted coconut oil
• ½ tsp salt

Method
Begin by preheating your oven to 175°. Spread hazelnuts out on a baking sheet and bake for 7-10 minutes - this will release the oils in the nuts and make them easier to blend. Remove hazelnuts from oven and add to blender with melted coconut oil and salt. Blitz for 5-15 minutes (depending on the power of your blender) until a smooth paste forms. If you need to add a little water/almond milk to loosen the mixture up at this stage, go ahead. I added a couple tbsp of water and mine came out just fine. 

Remove hazelnut mixture from blender and mix in all of the remaining ingredients - give it a really good stir to make sure everything is blended through evenly! Put your 'Nutella' in a jar and enjoy :) This will last for months and does not need to be refrigerated.