tofish & chips

serves 2-3 

Memories of Friday night on the lounge room floor watching a special feature film like The Wizard of Oz, plates scattered around and sauce bottles being handed in front of the TV screen. Isn’t it amazing what memories attach themselves to food?

tofish

250 gram block of firm tofu, sliced in half widthways then sliced further into three triangles (or however you wish)

marinade

2 teaspoons kelp powder

2 teaspoons garlic powder

½ teaspoon paprika

2 teaspoons salt

Splash of olive oil

batter

1½ cups plain flour

375 ml beer

Oil for frying

1. Marinate tofu for a few hours.
2. Whisk plain flour and beer together.
3. Heat oil (medium to high) in a shallow frypan.
4. Quickly and lavishly cover tofu with batter and place in heated oil. Turn over when golden, crispy and heated through.
5. Drain on paper towel before serving.
6. Serve with chips, onion rings (use residual batter) and tartare sauce.

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a mushroom must

serves 4

This dish is a vegan version of osso buco and a firm favourite of anyone that tries it. Simple and rich in flavour, it goes well on a bed of mashed potato and some fresh crusty bread. This was one of the first mushroom dishes I created that quickly became a staple.

1 red capsicum, cut into strips

1 onion, chopped

600 grams cremini mushrooms, halved

Spray on oil

2 tablespoons olive oil

½ cup plain flour for dusting

2–3 tablespoons margarine

½ cup white wine (can eliminate and increase vegetable stock)

1 cup vegetable stock

400-gram can of diced tomatoes

½ cup chopped parsley

Salt and pepper to season

1. Heat oil in a heavy, non-stick pan. Cook capsicum and onion until translucent, and then remove with a slotted spoon and place to one side.
2. Give the mushrooms a brief spray with oil, place in a sealed container with flour and toss until coated. Discard excess flour.
3. Add margarine to pan and heat until melted. Add mushrooms and cook until brown (add more margarine if you feel it is needed).
4. Stir in wine and stock and bring to the boil. Lift sediment off bottom of pan and cook until liquid is reduced by approximately half by reducing the heat a little but still maintaining a boil.
5. Add tomatoes and return onion mixture to pan. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Season with salt and pepper and stir though parsley.
7. Serve on a bed of mashed potatoes.

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mexican lasagne

serves 6

This recipe has undergone several facelifts from its original conception many years ago. Such an incredibly popular dish I have to take it off the B&B menu every now and then to give myself a break from making it. I make mine the day before to save time when needed.

6 tortilla wraps

2 avocados, sliced

2 green capsicums, deseeded and sliced

300 grams sour cream

½ cup nutritional yeast flakes

Paprika to garnish

Olive oil to drizzle

filling

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

3 teaspoons crushed garlic

1 teaspoon dried thyme

400 grams cremini mushrooms, put through a food processor until finely chopped (not pureed)

400-gram can of cooked brown lentils, rinsed thoroughly

2 tablespoons plain flour

1½ cups faux beef stock (can substitute with vegetable stock)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

Salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons of taco

seasoning or to taste

For filling:

1. In a large heavy skillet, heat oil and sauté onion for 2–3 minutes until soft.
2. Add garlic, thyme, mushrooms, salt and pepper, and cook until mushrooms soften and start to brown. Add an extra drizzle of oil if the pan is too dry.
3. Add lentils and cook for 1–2 minutes. Stir through taco seasoning until everything is coated.
4. Sprinkle in flour and add stock and tomato paste. Simmer, stirring until sauce thickens. 
   

note: If sauce is too runny, add more flour. If sauce is too dry, add more stock. 

For lasagne:

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
2. Lightly oil a lasagne tray (28 cm x 20 cm). Cover base with a thin layer of lentil mixture. Lay tortilla bread over the top of mixture, cutting to shape and size (can overlap).
3. Spread with a layer of lentil mixture. Scatter with green capsicum.
4. Repeat until last layer of tortilla bread is used.
5. Spread top layer with sliced avocado. Cover with sour cream.
6. Sprinkle heavily with nutritional yeast flakes. Sprinkle lightly with paprika. Drizzle with olive oil.
7. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes.
8. Remove foil and bake for a further 20 minutes.
9. Remove from oven. Allow to sit for 10–15 minutes before slicing.
   

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mushroom stroganoff

serves 4-6

You can serve this on just about any type of pasta, and it is great in summer or winter. Another option is to thickly slice some cauliflower, partially steam it and then fry it. The sauce from the stroganoff goes well with cauliflower steak.

500 grams sliced cremini mushrooms

1 large green capsicum, deseeded and sliced

1 chopped onion

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 teaspoon chopped sage, dried

2 teaspoon chopped thyme, dried

1 cup vegetable stock

¾ cup white wine (can substitute with apple cider)

1 cup soy milk

2 tablespoons plain flour

Oil to fry in

Salt and pepper to taste

1. Fry the onion, garlic, mushroom and capsicum until slightly browned and softened.
2. Add sage, thyme, vegetable stock and white wine. Stir through.
3. Mix flour with soy milk to make a paste and add to pan. Stir and heat until thick and creamy.
4. Serve on a bed of pasta.

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creamy penne with veggies

serves 4-6 

Meat free, dairy free and easily gluten free this recipe is creamy, simple and tasty. Due to the flexibility of this recipe you can use it to clear out your vegetable crisper at the end of each week or plan it around the tastes of family and friends. Roasting small chunks of pumpkin beforehand offers a sweet burst of flavour, as do peas and corn. Do not underestimate this meal. It is filling and reheats beautifully for lunch the next day.

500 grams penne (can be purchased gluten free)

2 cups of vegetable stock

1 can (400 ml) full fat coconut cream

½ cup Nuttelex margarine

2 tablespoons curry powder

2 heaped tablespoons of cornflour mixed in

¼ cup water

Suggested vegetables (feel free to mix things up)

1 tomato chopped into chunks

1 onion cut into moon crests

1 bunch asparagus chopped into chunks (ends discarded)

1 small head broccoli broken into florets

1 yellow squash chopped into large chunks

4 mushrooms sliced

Oil to pan fry vegetables

Parsley to garnish

1. In a large saucepan cook the pasta as per the instructions on the packet.
2. Whilst the pasta cooks, in a separate saucepan heat the vegetable stock, curry powder and margarine. Whisk to combine.
3. Once margarine has melted add coconut cream, cornflour and whisk until thickens. Place to one side.
4. Heat oil and pan fry all the vegetables apart from the tomatoes until they have started to brown. Turn off heat and toss through tomato.
5. Drain cooked pasta and rinse with boiling water.
6. Return pasta, sauce and vegetables to large pot and heat through for 1–2 minutes.
7. Serve garnished with parsley and/or parmesan cheese (dairy-free parmesan cheese available from 7 Creeks Bakery, Shepparton).

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jackfruit ragu

serves 4

Our friends Mike and Mel introduced me to this weird little fruit. I’d never heard of it before and can only get it in a can from our nearest town. As versatile as tofu, I find it adopts introduced flavours quite well, including my marinara seasoning for paella.

2 280-gram canned jackfruit

2 tablespoons smoked paprika

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon dried oregano

2–3 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup soy sauce

¼ cup tamari

¼ cup rice malt

4 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1. Prepare jackfruit: drain, cut husks out, remove seedpods, squeeze out excess liquid, and shred with your fingers. Set aside.
2. Combine paprika, cumin, oregano and oil in a large bowl.Toss fruit through to coat.
3. Dry fry (there is oil in the mixture) in a deep-sided frypan for a few minutes.
4. Mix soy and rice malt together.
5. Add soy and rice malt mixture, tamari and vegetable stock to the pan. Bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour.
6. Cool slightly and strain through a colander over another bowl. Reserve 1 cup of liquid. Discard remainder.
7. Return the liquid to the pan, add maple syrup and bring to boil. Simmer and add fruit.
8. Serve on a bed of garlic and herbed mashed potatoes topped with tomato crests and slices of purple onion.

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pumpkin casserole with herbed dumplings

serves 4

Another ‘old faithful.’ Created in the early days of going vegan to bring variety to the table. A winter comfort food that brings warmth and contentment on nights when the wind is howling and the rain is belting down. Can you picture it?

note: Cook this casserole in an ovenproof dish that can also be used on the stove.

500 grams to 800 grams pumpkin, cut into chunks

2 large onions, cut into moon crests

200 grams string beans sliced into 2 cm pieces

2 teaspoons powdered sage

3–4 tablespoons oil

1 heaped tablespoon LSA (can use any flour as an alternative)

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

⅔ cup white wine

400-gram can of corn kernels, drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons tomato paste

400 ml vegetable stock

dumplings

200 grams self-raising flour

100 grams margarine

2 teaspoons dried mixed herbs

Water – add 1 tablespoon at a time to make dough (approximately 2 in total)

1. Heat oil over a medium to high heat on the stove and sauté onions and garlic for a few minutes, and then add pumpkin and beans. Sauté again for a few minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients (apart from dumpling ingredients) and mix until combined, and then cover.
3. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30 minutes. Check at the 20-minute mark. If too much moisture, mix 1 teaspoon of cornflour with 1 tablespoon of water, and then add to casserole and stir through.
4. To make dumplings, add all the ingredients together and combine until you have soft dough. Shape the dough into 8–10 balls. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
5. Once casserole is cooked on stove top, add dumplings by placing them on top of the casserole. Then place in oven and cook uncovered for a further 20 minutes. 
   

note: I have tried covering and cooking on the stove top, but I find the dumplings don’t cook as well. You might have better luck.

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mini glazed nut loaves

serves 3-6 

These are one reason I always have a bag of mixed nuts in the pantry. Now, whilst you could make extra glaze to pour over the nut loaves, I love my roasts with gravy. The three flavours work fantastically together.

250 grams mixed nuts

1 onion, finely chopped

2 tablespoons apple puree

125 grams grated tasty vegan cheese

1 tablespoon mixed dried herbs

1 tablespoon freshly

chopped parsley

glaze

¼ cup BBQ sauce

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons water

1.  Preheat oven to 180°C or 160°C for fan-forced.
2. Grease a 6-hole mini loaf pan (1 cup capacity).
3. Process mixed nuts through a food processor until roughly fine. Pour into a bowl and add onion, apple puree, cheese, mixed herbs and parsley. Mix until well combined.
4. Divide the mixture amongst the mini loaf pan. Bake for 20 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, line a baking tray with foil.
6. Combine all the glaze ingredients together in a bowl and whisk until combined.
7. Invert nut loaves onto tray. Brush generously with glaze.
8. Bake for another 20 minutes until brown.
9. Serve with salad or roast vegetables.

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mushroom & fetta stuffed rice balls with a spicy sauce

makes 12-14

As much as I love the mushroom and fetta stuffed rice balls, the sauce is what I can’t get enough of. I use this sauce for other recipes too, like over polenta.

rice (prepare first)

1 finely chopped onion

2 tablespoons olive oil

¼ cup white wine (or applecider to increase stock)

4 cups hot vegetable stock

1½ cups Arborio rice

Bread crumbs as required*

Vegetable oil for frying*

Basil leaves for garnishing*

*used in preparation

mushroom filling

2 tablespoons margarine

1 finely chopped onion

150 grams button mushrooms, finely chopped or quickly put through a food processor

½ cup fetta

¼ cup pumpkin seeds, roughly ground with a mortar and pestle (can substitute with pine nuts)

1 teaspoon dried mixed herbs

Salt and pepper to taste

spicy sauce

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 finely chopped onion

2 teaspoons crushed garlic

690 grams passata (tomato puree)

1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

2 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

2 teaspoons sugar

2 teaspoons dried basil

Salt to taste

For rice:

1. In a large pot over a medium heat, heat the oil and sauté the onion until soft. Stir through rice.
2. Add wine, mix and allow it to evaporate.
3. Add stock, allow to boil, and then immediately turn down heat to simmer. Cover rice and simmer for 30 minutes or until liquid is absorbed.
4. Allow to cool then place in fridge until ready for use (ensure it is cold before making balls).

For mushroom filling:

1. Melt margarine in a frypan. Sauté onions and mushrooms together until soft.
2. Add herbs, salt and pepper, and mix through to combine.
3. Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly.
4. Stir through fetta and pumpkin seeds then place mixture in fridge until ready to use.
   

To make balls:

1. Once the rice is cooled completely, take a firmly packed ¼ cup of rice and halve it. Flatten both halves.
2. Place one of the halves in the cup of your hand and create a small indentation with your thumb. Scoop 1 heaped teaspoon of mushroom mixture into the centre.
3. Place other half on top and, using the palms of both hands and fingers, seal the edges and create a ball shape. Roll in breadcrumbs and place to one side.
4. Repeat until all the mixture has been used. This should make between 12–14 balls.
5. Heat enough oil in a small saucepan to fry one or two at a time until brown and crispy. (A medium heat will brown the breadcrumbs and warm the contents.)
6. Drain on paper towel. (You can keep balls in an oven on a very low setting whilst cooking the others if you want to.)
7. Continue this process until all balls are fried. 8. Serve on a bed of spicy sauce and garnish with basil leaves. Suggested serving: 3 balls per 1 ladle of sauce.
   

For spicy sauce:

1. Over a medium to high heat, warm olive oil and sauté onions and garlic until soft. Add passata and stir.
2. Add remaining ingredients and allow to simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Use immediately or store in fridge until ready for use.