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The Vegan Kitchen
Sauces, Sides, Sandwiches and Dips
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 Homemade Ketchup - invented on a day when we lit the barbeque and realised we had no ketchup! Turned out far nicer than shop bought - very real flavours.Ingredients: 3 tomatoes, roughly chopped 1 small onion also roughly chopped 1 clove of garlic 2 teaspoons of sugar 
2 heaped tablespoons of tomato puree 3 tablespoons of vinegar (apple cider best) a little salt to taste herbs make a very nice addition - to the pictured one we added a small bunch of fresh dill Now it's very complicated so pay attention! Whizz it all up in the blender :)
Smoothies Well - anything goes here, but weve got into a smoothie for breakfast routine and this is how we do them :) Banana and mango base and then add what you've got to hand. Ingredients 1 mango 1 ripe banana a cupful of pineapple juice (makes it sweet) any combination of the following: berries such as strawberries, rasps, ripe gooseberries, currants, blueberries... ; kiwis, peeled; superfoods can be added such as a handful of goji berries, apricot kernals, spirulina (add too much an nobody will drink it), silver... ; apples, pears, plums, apricots... you get the very mixed picture ;) water to cover - the more you add the thinner it will be Chuck it all in the blender, cover with water and blend until as smooth as you like :) Another less healthy and maybe not for breafast smoothie is banana, cocoa, soya milk with a dash of vanilla. and a real superfood zinger for four (or one greedy!) is a whole box of Grove Organic Orange Juice, handful of raw chocolate nibs, small handful gojis, teaspoon of suma, one avocado... sheer bliss! Pictured on the right is a banana-mango-strawberry-goji-silver-apricot kernal lovely. Solar light obtained from the ethical superstore (casts little stars on the table at night).
 
Toasted Sandwiches Ingredients: 
slices of bread vegan margarine other ingredients as suggested below: All these sandwiches are fine untoasted too of course. If you have a sandwich toaster or special fitting for a toaster it will be quicker (see our fab Simpsons one on the right!) - this is the grill version! Basic cheese and tomato toastie: Toast your bread on both sides then spread marg. on the insides, cover with thinly sliced cheezly and place under the grill until softened (half a minute or so under a hot grill) - add sliced tomatoes and repeat the grilling until nice and hot - quickly sandwich together and cut into halves or quarters. Other fillings - all made in the same way: 
cheese and onion mushrooms in a light coating of olive oil with garlic peanut butter and banana the snickers - peanut butter and chocolate chips! hummus and avocado - actually better not toasted with mayo sliced smoked tofu with mayo and lettuce 
braised tofu chopped small in mayo with chopped spring onions tomato and basil cheatin turkey or other analogue with garlic mayo sliced olives with hummus marmite or vegemite with beansprouts salad with wholegrain mustard roasted red peppers with avocado vegan sausages with ketchup, mustard and fried onions - nice untoasted in finger rolls anything goes really - use your imagination ;-)
Apple and Ginger Chutney Based on a recipe from The Cranks Recipe Book, we have tweaked it a bit to our liking :) Ingredients 750 ml. cider vinegar 675g. molasses cane sugar (or any very dark sugar) 3 bay leaves (make little tears in them) 1 kg. cooking apples, peeled and chopped 100g of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped 6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed a little seasalt  
Slowly dissolve the sugar in the vinegar in a large pan. Add the bay leaves. Prepare the apples, garlic and ginger and add these also with the salt. Bring to the boil, then turn down to a simmer for 2-3 hours until the excess liquid is gone. Cool and jar. Gorgeous in a cheesly and pickle sarny!
Simple Sushi Ingredients (for four people with two rolls each - quite a lot as that's up to 10 slices, could serve many more, less greedy people!): 8 nori sheets about 300g sushi rice a couple of tablespoons of rice wine vinegar thinly sliced sticks of celery and carrot, lightly boiled spring onions thinly sliced or some chives (optional step) tahini, yeast pate or (correctly but we couldn't find any without additives) umeboshi paste Soya sauce to taste as a condiment   
Cook the rice as per packet instructions, add the vinegar and fluff up with a fork. Leave to cool. Prepare the carrot and celery (you can use other veg if you prefer such as raw cucumber and peppers). Lay out your nori sheets and spread the rice over them, leaving a small space at top and bottom for sealing and making an indentation in the middle with a chopstick (or whatever). Place some veg and chives in the middle with your pate/tahini/paste indentation and roll up, sealing the end with a little water. We found rolling them really easy and didn't use the recommended bamboo mat (didn't have them). Slice up each roll into 3 or 4 cm slices and upend. Serve with soya sauce.
Pesto Ingredients (makes equivalent of a small jar): half a cup of olive oil a small bunch of freshly picked basil 3 cloves of garlic half a cup of almonds, soaked (will work if not soaked too) half a cup of brazil nuts, soaked Place the oil, garlic and basil in a blender and blend until basil is all chopped up but not smooth - add the nuts and blend until desired consistency. We like it not too smooth, still with some nutty texture. Gorgeous mixed into spelt pasta or as a spread in toasted sandwiches.
Big Breakfast Bagel Ingredients (quantities are for four): 1 bagel per person 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil half a cup of sunflower seeds 2 red onions, sliced 1 fairly large punnet of mushrooms, washed and quartered a couple of tablespoons of soy sauce a good handful of alfalfa sprouts for each person small bunch of chives Fry the seeds, onions and mushrooms in the olive oil for a few minutes, add the soy sauce and then split and lightly toast the bagels. Assemble them like; bagel base topped with the mushroom mixture then alfalfa. Put the bagel lid on and arrange whole chives on top. This was inspired by a great breakfast we had in Demuths in Bath - they also had tofu nuggets included which seemed to be deep fried smoked tofu pieces.
Raw Sandwiches Ingredients: Leaves to replace the more orthodox bread either just topped like an open sandwich or rolled up like a wrap - choose from chinese cabbage, romaine lettuce, red cabbage, large iceberg lettuce (large mushrooms can also be used). The pictured ones are chinese cabbage topped with pesto, fenugreek sprouts, tomatoes and hulled hemp seeds. 
mix and match the following fillings: sliced avocados finely chopped tomatoes and cucumbers pesto, as in recipe above tahini is a nice spread guacamole sprouts such as alfalfa, mung bean or quinoa sweetcorn kernels, stripped from the cob hummus (can be made raw by using sprouted chick peas instead of cooked ones) fresh nut butters soaked seeds are good for sprinkling - sunflower, pumpkin and linseed Instructions: put together and eat!
Toasted Panini with Mushrooms, Leeks and Cheezly Ingredients: 4 panini rolls (or 1 per person), sliced open about 5 tablespoons of olive oil for drizzling and frying 5 very large mushrooms (or about 1 per person), cut into quite thick slices 1 leek, sliced into thin round slices about a quarter block of Redwoods Cheddar style Cheezley finely grated (I used a rotary grater) Fry the sliced mushrooms and leeks in about two tablespoons of olive oil for a few minutes until softening. Place open paninis on grill pan and drizzle with olive oil then lightly grill the inside side. Add the mushrooms and leeks to the top of all the rolls and grill again until sizzling - finally sprinkle the cheezly over the top and grill again for a minute or two. Nice served with a mixed leaf salad for luch or a light supper.
Leeks in White Sauce Ingredients: 5 or 6 trimmed washed leeks cut into about 6inch/18cm lengths (though this is entirely adaptable) 1 large tablespoon of vegan margarine 2 heaped tablespoons of white flour about 500 ml. of soya milk
seasalt to taste Place the prepared leeks in a saucepan of boiling water and simmer for a few minutes. While they are cooking prepare the sauce: melt the margarine in a pan and stir in the flour. Gradually add the soya milk on a low heat, stirring all the time until the sauce thickens. You can add some of the water from the leeks if it is too thick and then add the salt. The sauce can be jazzed up a bit with a teaspoon of mustard or a dash of soy sauce or add a tablespoon of tahini for a rich, nutrient dense variation. Place the drained leeks in an ovenproof dish and pour over the sauce. This can be covered and placed in the oven for about half an hour at 180C/360F. Great for preparing in advance and heating up as a side dish a baked potatoe or other dish.
Party Vol au Vents Ingredients: 1 packet of (defrosted if frozen) vegan puff pastry or indeed vol au vent cases ("Jus-rol" is vegan in the UK) a little soya milk to glaze a variety of fillings: the sauce from our mushroom puff recipe use your imagination with the fillings - many leftovers are great in mayo! Redwoods Cheatin range of foods are nice too - try grated cheezly with mayo and spring onions or chopped cheatin chicken with a little curry in the mayo - left over curry is nice in there too. To make the vol au vent cases you need 2 cutters or glasses - one about a cm. smaller than the other. Use the large one to cut out the cases then press the smaller one down in the middle without cutting all the way through. Use a fork to prick the middles to stop them puffing up too much. (Of course buying the readymade cases is easier though doing it yourself lets you choose the size - giant ones are great as a main course) Glaze the outer ring with soya milk and bake in the oven at 190C/380F for 10-15 minutes or until raised up and browning. Push down the middles ready for filling. If using cold fillings let the cases cool first otherwise just fill and serve!
Creamy Mushroom Curry Ingredients: 1-2 teaspoons of curry powder 1 large onion, chopped 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil 1 large box of chesnut mushrooms (or any variety you like!), quartered 1 tin of coconut milk seasalt to taste Fry the onion in the oil for a few minutes and then add the curry powder and stir for a further minute or two to release the flavour. Add in the mushrooms and stir until well covered with the curry and oil. Pour in the coconut milk and stir until well combined and melted down. Bring to the boil and simmer for about 7 minutes. Add salt and there you are! Lovely with rice or a baked potato and salad.
Potato Wedges with herby dip Ingredients (serves about 4 people as a side dish or starter - increase/decrease the number of potatoes as needed): 5 or 6 large potatoes 3 tablespoons of sunflower oil a sprinkling of seasalt (optional) for the dip: 3 large tablespoons of Plamil mayo (or the homemade recipe below) 1 tablespoon of olive oil about 10 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped a few chives, cut quite small Carefully wash the potatoes and cut into nice wedge shapes (ie. cut in half lengthways and then still lengthways into quarters and eighths). Rub them with the oil until well covered and sprinkle seasalt on top if using. Bake in oven at 200C/400F for about 30-45 minutes until soft. Mix the mayo, olive oil and herbs together and serve with the wedges.
Savory Poppy and Basil Pancakes Ingredients (makes about 16 medium sized pancakes): 2 cups of self raising flour 1 and a half cups of soya milk juice of half a lemon 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds a few sprigs of fresh basil, chopped a pinch of chilli powder a little salt to taste Beat all the above ingredients together with a fork or whisk. Grease a frying pan with a very small amount of olive oil and heat to a medium heat. Drop spoonfuls of your batter onto the pan. Turn with a flat spatula once little holes form on the top of the pancakes. These usually take a couple of minutes each side but it will vary depending on how hot your pan is. For sweet pancakes leave out the salt, chilli, basil and seeds and replace with a little sugar.
No Cook Curry Sauce Ingredients: 1 tablespoon of olive oil 1 teaspoon of curry powder 1 tin of plum tomatoes (about 400g) 10-15 dried apricots 3 cloves of garlic half a red chilli 1 green pepper, roughly chopped
Mix the oil and curry powder in a small dish and leave for about half an hour or while you prepare the other ingredients. This brings out the flavour of the spices. Place everything including the oil and curry into a liquidiser and whiz up until smooth. Add a little seasalt if required though it is so tasty and sweet that it doesn't really need it! Lovely over rice and steamed veggies, or even over a salad of sliced avocadoes and olives. A less healthy alternative: dip your chips in it!!
Hummus or Houmous This is a traditional Greek dish - can be used as a dip or a spread for sandwiches (fantastic combined with avacado and the naise below, in a sandwich). For a raw dish you can use sprouted chick peas in place of cooked ones.
Ingredients: 1 can (approx. 400g)of cooked chick peas (or you can soak overnight and cook 1 cup of dried chick peas) 2 Tablespoons of olive oil 1 - 2 cloves of fresh garlic 2 Tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste) the juice of 1 lemon a little water to blend salt and pepper (optional)
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until fairly smooth - you may need to keep adding water bit by bit until you get the consistency you want.
Butterbean, Sage and Lemon Pate Stolen from an idea by Catriona!
Ingredients: 1 tin (approx. 400g) of butterbeans (large limas) 2 teaspoons of olive oil 15 fresh sage leaves (or a teaspoon of dried) the juice of 1 lemon grated rind of half a lemon
Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Guacamole 
We have added a few bits and pieces to traditional guacamole - fantastic as a dip, sandwich filling or served on portabello mushrooms garnished with cucumber like here.
Ingredients: 2 ripe avocados 3 large tomatoes 1 - 2 cloves of fresh garlic quarter teaspoon of chilli powder (or more if you like it hot!!) the juice of 1 lemon 1 finely diced red pepper 1 finely diced green pepper salt and pepper (optional)
Place the avocados, tomatoes, garlic, chilli, lemon juice and seasonings in a food processor and blend until fairly smooth - stir in the peppers and there you go.
Soya 'Mayo' Ingredients: 3 cups of soya milk 1 cup of sunflower oil a little cider vinegar optional extras - garlic, herbs, chilli, curry powder
Place the soya milk in a liquidiser and start machine - add any of the optional extras ie. Garlic for garlic naise. Slowly add the oil while blending. Once it is all well blended add the vinegar (this will thicken the mixture instantly) and switch off the machine. This makes one very large jar, which will keep in the fridge for a few days - reduce the amounts if you wish.
Basic Tomato Sauce for pasta Ingredients: A little olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 - 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 1 can (approx. 400g) tomatoes, chopped 2 Tablespoons of tomato puree 1 or 2 Tablespoons of oregano or mixed herbs 1 cup of veg. stock or water (or even wine, if you like, for a richer sauce)
Fry the onion and garlic in the oil for a few minutes until softened. Add the tomatoes, puree, stock or water and herbs and simmer gently for about 15 minutes. That is the basic sauce - you can add anything you like to it. Any vegetables chopped and added with the tomatoes etc. Soya mince for a more traditional bolognese type sauce. Beans, sweetcorn, peas. A sweet and sour sauce is easy to make also - add a can of pineapple pieces in pineapple juice and leave out the herbs. A little vinegar is added too. This is great with beans and vegan sausages chopped up.
Quick, no-cook, stir in Sauce for Pasta Ingredients: 6 fresh tomatoes and half a cup of water OR 1 tin of tomatoes a good handful of basil (both stalks and leaves) a handful of parsley 2 sticks of celery, cut into chunks half a teaspoon of seasalt dash of soy sauce (optional) 2 teaspoons cold pressed olive oil (leave this out if you want a fat free sauce)
Whizz it all up in a liquidiser or blender until fairly smooth and stir into your favourite pasta - very nice with wholewheat shells and a big salad.
Rich and Chunky Mushroom Gravy Ingredients: 2 tablespoons sunflower oil 1 onion, finely chopped 8-10 large portabello or other flat mushrooms, cut into 3 cm cubes (roughly) 2 cups of water seasalt to taste 1 cup of vegan gravy mix (original Bisto in the UK is vegan - use 3 teaspoons powder for 1 cup of water)
Fry the onion in the sunflower oil for a few minutes and then add the cubed mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms soften (five minutes approx) then add the water and gravy mix - stir until thickened. This is great served on spaghetti, over rice or baked potatoes.
Hot Chocolate Sauce for Ice Cream Perfect placed in a bowl with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (Swedish Glace or Toffuti are great)
Ingredients: 1 cup (approx) of soya milk about 50g of plain chocolate 2 teaspoons of corn flour a teaspoon of sugar
Slowly warm the soya milk in a pan. Add the chocolate and keep mixing until melted together. Remove from heat. In a cup or small bowl blend the cornflour with a little soya milk and the sugar. Slowly pour this into the chocolate mixture, stirring all the time until thick. | ||||||||||
