Sushi, Nigri & Tamagoyaki (Vegan)

Makes 3 servings

Sushi (Vegan)

If you like Shushi, look no further, this is the only recipe you need.
I have done the hard work for you and tried various ratios of sugar, salt and rice vinegar to make the perfect Sushi rice. All is left is for you to have some fun and explore some different variations like Nigri and Tamagoyaki.
What is the secret to a good Sushi? In my experience using special Sushi rice makes all the difference, along with the right seasoning and a bamboo matt to roll the Sushi.
This recipe will make: two Sushi rolls (which cut into slices will make you about 8 pieces of Sushi each), 5 pieces of roasted red pepper Nigri and 5 pieces of tofu Tamagoyaki.
If you only want to make the sushi rolls, that will make 4-5 sushi rolls.
Let me know if you give it a go by tagging @apinchofzing on Instagram.

Ingredients

Sushi rice
250g sushi rice
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar

Fillings and toppings
Sushi rolls:2 nori sheets, 1 small carrot, 1 piece of cucumber, 1 piece of avocado and a little bit of Wasabi
Roasted red pepper Nigri: half a nori sheet, half a roasted red pepper in vinegar
Tofu tamagoyaki: half a nori sheet, 100g tofu, turmeric, salt, pepper and oil for frying

Other ingredients for serving
Soy sauce
Wasabi
Toasted sesame seeds
Pickled ginger

Special utensils
Bamboo sushi mat

Method
Step 1. Prepare the rice
Wash the sushi rice in cold water to remove some of the starch.
Soak the sushi rice in cold water for 15-30 minutes. Drain the rice. Add to a pot with 330ml cold water and bring to boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, cover with a lid and simmer for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for 10 minutes with the lid on.
Mix the rice vinegar, salt and sugar to make the Sushi seasoning.
Mix the Sushi seasoning with the Sushi rice and cover the pot with a damp cloth. Leave to cool down a little bit while preparing the fillings and toppings. Don’t take too long as the rice still needs to be warm to handle.

Step 2. Prepare the toppings and fillings
Chop the carrot, cucumber and a avocado into sticks.
Cut the roasted red pepper in small rectangles.
Cut the tofu in small rectangles. Season with salt, pepper and turmeric. Coat in corn flour and shallow fry on both sides until crispy.

Step 3. Assemble the sushi
I will not go into too much detail here, probably best to watch a video on onlie, but here are the basic steps:
1. For Sushi roll 1: lay a nori sheet on the bamboo mat, layer some warm sushi rice, add a small line of Wasabi and layer with 2 carrot stick and 2 cucumber sticks. Roll and cut into slices.
2. For Sushi roll 2: Lay another nori sheet on the bamboo mat, layer some warm sushi rice, add a small line of Wasabi and layer with 2 carrot stick and 2 avocado sticks. Roll and cut into slices.
3. For the roasted red pepper Nigri: cut the nori sheet in 5 strips; wet your hands with water, put about a tablespoon of rice in your palms, squeeze and shape. Place a red pepper rectangle on top. Wrap around with a nori strip.
4. For the tofu Tamagoyaki: cut the nori sheet in 5 strips; wet your hands with water, put about a tablespoon of rice in your palms, squeeze and shape. Place a tofu rectangle on top. Wrap around with a nori strip.

Serve with soy sauce and any of your favourite serving ingredients. Enjoy!

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Tim Anderson.

Vegan Pancakes

Vegan pancakes

Absolutely delicious pancakes topped with fresh berries and chocolate spread, no one will ever know that they are vegan. Make pancake day more fun by folding them into little pancake tacos.
Have fun with the topping options. In the past I would have gone for Nutella, but now I replace it with Mindful Bites Chocolate & Hazelnut spread, which is vegan and absolutely delicious. Another delicious topping is vegan ice cream with Golden Syrup or Maple Syrup. I hear lemon juice and sugar is a real classic.
Happy Pancake Day!

Ingredients

• 475ml plant milk (I used soy)
• 2 teaspoons lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoon oil
• A pinch of salt
• Vanilla extract
• 250g plain flour
• 2 teaspoon baking powder
• Oil for cooking

Method

1. In a medium bowl whisk together the plant milk and lemon juice. Leave to sit for 5-10 minutes. This will be the ‘buttermilk’.
2. Stir in the sugar, oil, salt and vanilla extract. Sift in the flour and baking powder. Mix until incorporated, but avoid over mixing. Allow the batter to sit for 10 minutes.
3. Heat a pan over a medium heat and carefully wipe it with some oiled kitchen paper. When hot, cook your pancakes for 1 min on each side until golden
4. Enjoy the pancakes hot or cold, topped with your favourite toppings.

Butter tofu curry (Vegan)

Makes 4-6 servings

• 

Such a lovely well-balanced curry: fragrant, creamy and not too spicy.
This is one of my favourite Indian curries; I make it all the time, so it’s time it made an appearance on my blog.
This curry is easy to make and packed with veggies. Once you taste this curry you will never use shop bought curry paste again. Great served with rice and naan bread.
If I am entertaining and want to go all out, I will make my own rice and naan bread to go with it, maybe even some Baked onion bhajis.  However, if I am short for time, microwave rice and shop bought naan bread will do the trick.
Let me know if you give it a go by tagging @apinchofzing on Instagram. I hope you enjoy curry night!

Ingredients

Tofu
280g extra firm tofu
1 tsp liquid smoke
3 tbsp soy sauce
½ tsp Cayenne pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
½ tsp garlic granules

Veggies
1 small broccoli
1 small cauliflower
1 bunch of fresh coriander (chopped)

Butter curry sauce
2 tbsp dairy free butter
1 onion (finely chopped)
1 tbsp tomato puree
2 tsp garam masala
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground turmeric
3 garlic cloves
a thumb size piece of fresh ginger
1 chilli (chopped)
400ml tomato passata
200ml Oatly crème fraiche or Greek yogurt

Method
Step 1. Prepare the tofu.
Press the tofu for at least 30 minutes to drain the excess water or use Tofoo tofu, which is ready to use and doesn’t need pressing. Preheat the oven to 200C. Line a baking tray with parchment. Chop the tofu in bite size cubes and place in a bowl. Add the liquid smoke, soy sauce, spices and mix. Place the tofu cubes in the baking tray and bake for 20 minutes or until golden. 

Step 2. Prep the veggies
Break the cauliflower and broccoli into florets. Add to a pan of boiling water and cook to your liking. You can also steam or roast the veggies if you prefer.

Step 3. Make the butter curry sauce
1. Place a large deep frying pan over medium heat with the butter. When the butter is melted, add the chopped onion and cook until starting to soften (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally.
2. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli to a food processor with a bit of water and whizz until it turns into a smooth curry paste.
3. Go back to the frying pan and mix in the tomato puree. Add the spices and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Add in the curry paste and cook for 3-5 minutes.  Pour in the passata, bring to a simmer, cover with a lid and cook for 20-30 minutes, but remember to stir occasionally.
4. Stir in the Oatly crème fraiche until combined and remove from heat.
5. Stir in the cooked tofu, broccoli and cauliflower. Garnish with fresh chopped coriander and enjoy with rice and naan bread.

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to BOSH!

Butter tofu curry (Vegan)

Egg mayo sandwich filler (Vegan)

Makes 6-8 sandwiches

Too good not to share, this vegan egg mayo is legit; it tastes like the real deal, but it is cruelty free. 

I know it’s hard to believe, but you can make eggless egg mayo in 5 minutes. It’s actually quicker and easier to make than the traditional egg mayo because you don’t  have to wait for the eggs to boil. The secret for the eggy taste is the black salt, also know as Kala Namak. Yes, it’s as easy as that.
I found the black salt in an international food shop, but I am sure you can also find it online.
Top tips:
> the colour of the black salt is not actually black, it looks like regular white salt. 
> black salt is not that salty, so make sure to add regular salt to this dish, in addition to the black salt.
This is now my favourite way to use tofu, so give it a go and let me know what you think. Enjoy!

Ingredients
1 pack of silken tofu
1 pack firm tofu
1 generous teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 generous teaspoon whole grain mustard 
3-4 tablespoons vegan mayo
1/2 teaspoon black salt (Kala Namak)
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 tablespoon chopped chives (optional)
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
Crumble the firm tofu with your hands in a bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix using a wooden spoon, until you get the texture of egg mayo. I like to add rocket and water cress to my sandwich. Even better on sourdough bread, because everything is better with sourdough bread. 
You don’t need to press the tofu for this recipe. 

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to nadiashealthykitchen  

Mushrooms and dill sandwich filler (Vegan)

Tasty sandwich filler with mushrooms and dill.

It may not sound like much, but this sandwich filler is super easy to put together and tasty. Very simple, so don’t cut any corners, every ingredient is important.
The inspiration comes from Romania, where this is fairly common.
To make it even more special, try having it with some fresh sourdough bread. Like many others, I got into sourdough baking during lockdown number 2 and have been eating more sandwiches.

If you are looking for something different to put in your sandwich, give this a go. Enjoy!

Ingredients
2 cans sliced mushrooms in water
1 bunch of dill (chopped)
4-6 tablespoons vegan mayo
Salt and pepper to taste

Method
1. Drain the sliced mushrooms and add to a medium size bowl.
2. Mix in the chopped dill, mayo, salt and pepper. Taste and season again if needed.
3. Enjoy with fresh sourdough bread.

Thanks for the recipe go to my mum.

My vegan journey – Going vegetarian (Part 1)

” my vegan journey started long before I even realised;
it started by going vegetarian “

I’ve been reflecting on my vegan journey for a while and what better time to write about it than Veganuary?
I have split my vegan journey into two major stages: ‘Going vegetarian’ and ‘Vegetarian gone vegan’. This blog post is about about the first stage of my vegan journey: going vegetarian. I hope this blog post will give you the confidence to start or continue your own vegan journey.

I believe my vegan journey started long before I even realised; it started by going vegetarian.
At that time I was about 18 years old and living in Romania with my parents. The decision to stop eating meat seemed odd to everyone around me. Saying that back then the idea of being vegetarian was not popular is an understatement: I knew no other vegetarians, the food in restaurants was not labelled as vegetarian and the concept was completely alien.
Even more, the Romanian culture revolves around slaughtering and consuming animals at every meal and for all major religious celebrations like Christmas, Easter etc. The only saving grace was that for lent Christians in Romania were supposed to stop consuming any animal products, going practically vegan for weeks at at a time as dictated by the religious calendar.

Why did I go vegetarian?
In my mind I just had enough of consuming dead corpses. The idea of eating animal flesh was not appetising, to put it gently. Not to mention that as a child I had witnessed my fair share of animals being slaughtered for food right before my eyes; acts of cruelty that I can’t get over.
I think this had been playing on my mind for a while, until one day when I had the confidence to say ‘no more’ in my head (I didn’t go out shouting about it to anyone). It was not a memorable day, it all happened gradually. I started eating less and less meat, until one day when I didn’t have any and that day turned into a week, that week turned into a month and that month turned into years.
When I went vegetarian I didn’t know how long I would be vegetarian for, I did what felt right at that time. I didn’t make any commitments about being vegetarian and I wasn’t particularly vocal about it. I did it for myself and I didn’t feel that I had to justify it to anyone else.

My family and friends were not particularly supportive; everyone thought that I was just going through a phase, but they respected my decision. For all I know they could have been right, it could have all been just a phase. I didn’t know how my vegetarian journey would pan out, but I was determined to take it one day at a time. At that age I was able to cook for myself, which helped, and my mum who did most of the cooking was very accommodating.

A massive turning point in my vegan journey was moving to UK to study when I was 21 years old. Here I found a world where being vegetarian was fairly common and met other vegetarian people for the first time. There was greater choice of vegetarian food and I didn’t feel like the odd one out anymore. Living in UK made my life as a vegetarian easy, I fitted right in and felt supported to continue with this lifestyle choice.
I never looked back, until the day I considered going vegan, which was about 10 years later. More about this milestone in my vegan journey in a future blog post.

Lessons learnt
I will end this self-reflection with the main lessons learnt during my vegan journey so far:
Don’t be afraid to start. Start thinking about it. Start trying vegan/vegetarian dishes or products. Allow yourself to be curious.
Do what works for you. There is no right or wrong, it’s your journey. You may start with baby steps, or go cold turkey. Go back, go forward, you are in control.
No strings attached. No pressure. This lifestyle change can be daunting. What if you can’t do it? But what if you can? Focus on what you can do, rather on what you can’t. Can you eat more veggies? Can you eat a vegan/vegetarian meal a week? It may take you a year or 10 years to go vegan, or you may never go vegan, but you may incorporate a lot more plant based meals in your diet. Either way, you have nothing to lose, you may just improve your diet and save some animal lives along the way.
Reflect “Veganism is a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and by extension, promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of animals, humans and the environment. In dietary terms it denotes the practice of dispensing with all products derived wholly or partly from animals.” Vegan Society definition of veganism.
You are not alone. Connect with others and go through the journey together. There are so many vegan/vegetarian groups and communities which will support you through your vegan journey. Try some of the recipes I share on my blog, you are guaranteed to at least have a tasty meal, no strings attached 🙂

Oat biscuits (Vegan)

Makes 16 biscuits

Oat biscuits (Vegan)

Simplicity is perfection. Delicate oat biscuits with only the best peanut butter and raspberry jam.
So simple, yet so satisfying. These crunchy biscuits are great with a cup of tea and can be enjoyed plain or with your favourite toppings. Peanut butter and jelly is a classic combo and I simply can’t get enough of the Whole Earth peanut butter. What is your favourite peanut butter?
Made with only a few basic ingredients, these biscuits are far from basic. They remind me of the Nature Valley nut butter biscuits. Who doesn’t like a home made copycat biscuit? 🙂
Give them a go and let me know what you think.

Ingredients

• 75g wholemeal flour
• 75g oats
• 50g sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 75g Flora buttery
• 1 tablespoon Golden Syrup
• 2 tablespoons soy milk

Method 
1. Line two baking trays with baking parchment and pre-heat the oven to 160C.
2. In a medium size bowl, mix the dry ingredients (wholemeal flour, oats, sugar and baking powder).
3. In a small microwave safe bowl, add the Flora buttery, Golden Syrup and soy milk. Microwave for 30 seconds intervals and mix after each 30 seconds, until Flora buttery is melted and turns into liquid. It took me two 30 seconds intervals.
4. Add the melted ingredients over the dry ingredients and mix until combined. I used a spoon to mix the ingredients.
5. Use a teaspoon of batter for each biscuit. Place on the baking tray and flatten (the biscuits will puff a bit during baking). Leave space between the biscuits as they will also spread during baking.
6. Bake for 12 minutes or until golden. Leave to cool down before trying to remove them from the tray. The biscuits will become solid as they cool down.
Enjoy with a lovely cup of tea!  

Thanks for the inspiration go to BBC Good Food.

American style cookies (Vegan)

Makes 12 cookies

American style cookies (Vegan)

The perfect chocolate chip American style cookies!

The recipe is easy, quick and delicious. Perfect for situations when I am pressed for time, but I really need a treat to pick me up.
What’s even better, you can have a fresh batch of cookies in just 20 minutes!
Although incredibly delicious, I have amended the original recipe by reducing the amount of sugar and chocolate in these cookies. I also replaced some of the plain flour with wholegrain and added some mixed seeds. They are cookies, can’t call them healthy, but they are as delicious and as good for you, as cookies will ever be.

No one will ever guess they are vegan! Give them a go and let me know what you think.
If you are looking for a healthier version, check out my Banana and chocolate cookies.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon milled Chia seeds
• ½ cup Flora buttery
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup plain flour
• ½ cup wholegrain flour
• 2 teaspoons cornflour
• 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 2 tablespoons mixed seeds
• 100g vegan chocolate (chopped)

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C and line a baking tray with baking paper.
2. To make the Chia egg, mix the milled Chia seeds with 3 tablespoons of water in a small bowl and leave to set.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and Flora buttery using a stand or hand mixer. Mix until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes.
4. Add in the Chia seed egg and vanilla extract. Mix until incorporated.
5. Mix in the flours and bicarbonate of soda until combined.
6. Mix in the mixed seeds and chocolate chunks.
7. Use a tablespoon full of batter and shape each cookie into a round ball. Place on the baking tray, leaving plenty of space between the dough balls, as the dough will spread during baking.
8. Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool down. The cookies will look under baked to start with, but trust me, they will be perfect once they cool down. Don’t be tempted to over bake them. Enjoy warm or cold.

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Nora cooks vegan and Sally’s baking addiction.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Makes 6-8 servings

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Earthy mushrooms and lentils, topped with velvety mash!

I have been looking for ways to incorporate more lentils in my diet, since reading the book ‘How not to die’ by Dr. Michael Greger. Great book, highly recommended and so is this dish.
Transforming a traditional dish to a healthier version is a great way to transition to eating more plants.
While most pies end up being baked, I chose to keep it simple and just layer the ingredients, without baking the pie afterwards. I am a big fan of mash and I find that baking or grilling the pie makes the velvety mash dry out.
I think this pie would be really nice served in individual pie dishes, so I may try that next time we have someone over for dinner.
I hope you enjoy this delicious and nutritious pie!

Ingredients 

• 1kg potatoes (Maris Piper)
• 1 cup warm soy milk
• A couple of knobs of Flora buttery
• Salt to taste
  
  
• Oil for frying 
• 1 onion – chopped
• 1 teaspoon of lazy garlic
• 1 tablespoon of tomato puree
• 1 chilli pepper – chopped
• 600g mushrooms – chopped
• 1 can of green lentils (400g)
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (400g)
• 100g fresh peas from the pod
• 250ml hot water 
• 1 bunch fresh parsley – chopped
• 1-2 sprigs rosemary – chopped
• A pinch of Cayenne pepper (optional)
• Salt & pepper to taste 

Method

1. Peel and chop the potatoes. Cook the potatoes into a large pan of boiling water until tender. Drain and return to the pan. Add the Flora buttery, soy milk and salt; mash until smooth. 
2. Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onions and garlic. Fry on medium heat until starting to soften (about 5 minutes), stirring occasionally. 
3. Add the tomato puree and chopped chilli pepper; stir until combined.
4. Add the chopped mushrooms and cook until all the liquid released by the mushrooms evaporates.
5. Add in the chopped tomatoes, green lentils, fresh peas and water.  Simmer until the sauce has thickened (about 10 minutes). Remove from heat and add the chopped parsley and rosemary.
6. Pour the lentil mixture into a large dish and pipe the mash potato on top. Enjoy a delicious and nutritious meal!
   Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Tesco Real Food.
   

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Tricolore pasta bake (Vegan)

Makes 8 servings

Tomato and spinach pasta bake

Rich tomato and spinach pasta bake.
I’ve been making this dish since I was a student because it is easy to make with only a few ingredients; and it’s incredibly delicious.

My husband also loves this pasta bake and requests it regularly.
Good thing making this 5 layer pasta bake is no where near as time consuming as a 5 layer lasagne. When I am short for time and have dinner guests, I put all the layers together the day before, store it in the fridge and bake it on the day.

I love this dish because it’s so delicious without using overly processed ingredients and it doesn’t involve making time consuming pasta sauces.

I usually use tagliatelle pasta, but you can use any shape you like. Remember to season every layer with salt to bring out the flavours.
Simple, clean ingredients that come together beautifully! Enjoy!

Ingredients

• 500g pasta
• 1 onion (chopped)
• 250g baby spinach
• 100 curly kale
• 3 x tins chopped tomatoes
• 200g Jalapeno vegan cheese (grated)
• Salt to taste

Method 
1. Cook the pasta al dente and drain the water.
2. To make the spinach and kale puree, wilt the spinach and kale in a large pan with 100ml water and half of the chopped onion. Cover with a lid until the spinach and kale wilt. Season with salt and whizz in a food processor until smooth.
3. Preheat the oven to 180c. Use a large oven proof dish to layer the ingredients as it follows:
Layer 1: a tin and a half of chopped tomatoes, a quarter of the chopped onion, salt and a handful of cheese.
Layer 2: half of the cooked pasta.
Layer 3: the spinach and kale puree and a handful of cheese.
Layer 4: the rest of the cooked pasta.
Layer 5: a tin and a half of chopped tomatoes, a quarter of the chopped onion, salt and a handful of cheese.
4. Bake for one hour. Remove from the over and leave to sit for 30-60 minutes before serving. This will allow the ingredients to set and will cut better.

Tomato and spinach pasta bake