Wren's Recipes

Hello my lovelies, here we are again, and this time, I have a veggie selection for you all.

Our family is most definitely meatatarian, however, sometimes we like to have a veggie meal, and we also have veggie friends who we entertain from time to time. So even if you are a confirmed carnivore, it never hurts to have some veggie standbys does it? Plus, in-season vegetables are cheap and plentiful and more environmentally friendly than a meat option. So save the meat for special days, support your local vegetable growers and save yourself money too!

‘So, what are we cooking up this month then Wren?' I hear you cry. We have Roast Seasonal Veggies, Spicy ButterBean Burgers and Kelewele (Spicy Fried Plantains).

Roast Seasonal Vegetables

You will need:

An in-season mix of any of the following:

onions or shallots, any of the squash family, potatoes, carrots, swede, celeriac, kohl rabi, parsnips - practically anything that won't turn to mush during cooking!
2-3 cloves garlic
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp dried oregano
Olive oil
Cheese (optional)

Where necessary peel the veg and then chop it into approximately 1" cubes. Place all the veg in an ovenproof dish. Drizzle a little olive oil over, just enough to coat the veg (you can always add a bit more during cooking, but you'll have a heck of a job trying to take it out if you use too much!). Add some finely chopped or crushed garlic: I use three cloves as we love garlic, but you can get away with two. Mix in the basil and oregano. Finally, I like to sprinkle some cheese over it. Veggie feta or goats cheese is particularly good if you can get hold of it, although this can be a bit tricky to get sometimes. Cook at Gas 3, 325 f, 160c for around an hour. Keep checking it and turning the veg, until it's as you'd like it.

I also like to add a tablespoon of honey and a handful of sesame seeds if I'm using parsnips, as it adds a lovely flavour!

Spicy Butterbean Burgers

1 garlic clove, sliced
1 red chilli, seeded
A handful of fresh coriander
1 tsp cumin seeds
410g can butterbeans, drained
100g fresh breadcrumbs
150g vegetarian cheddar, diced
1 egg yolk
Salt and pepper

Put the garlic, chilli, coriander and cumin seeds into a food processor and whizz until finely chopped. Add the butterbeans and whizz again until you have a coarse puree then add in the egg yolk, breadcrumbs, cheese and seasoning. Pulse until you have a stiff paste. Form into rounds, flatten slightly and shallow fry in olive oil until golden brown.

If you don't have a food processor, you CAN finely chop everything by hand and then mix together in a mixing bowl, although it does take longer!

Kelewele

Now, I KNOW that there is no way you can buy locally sourced plaintains, so apologies, but these are fab! We have a super ethnic supermarket near us, and they stock all sorts of things, including plantains, but they are becoming more readily available on the High Street, they just take a bit of hunting down!

For 4 portions you will need:

4-6 plantains, ripe but not over-ripe, peeled and cut into bite-sized cubes
½ tsp cayenne or red pepper
½ tsp fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp water
oil for frying

Grind the ginger, pepper and salt together and mix with the water. In a bowl, toss the plantain pieces and spice mixture together. I leave them to marinade for about an hour, but they can be cooked straight away if you prefer. Heat enough oil in a deep skillet, or even a wok, so that the pieces can float. Fry them, turning once, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on kitchen paper, and keep warm in the oven until you're ready to serve, but for no longer than half an hour.

So there you are, a veritable veggie feast that not only tastes fabulous but will go down well with your vegetarian guests.

Enjoy, see you next time!

Wren
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photos (c) Sabrina Willekens 2009