Lemon and raspberry semolina cake (Vegan)

Makes 8-10 servings

Lemon semolina cake

A simple cake with classic flavours. Great for family gatherings or if you just fancy a sweet treat.
The semolina sponge cake resembles the consistency of a Romanian baked cheesecake (pasca); top it with raspberry jam and whipped cream for an irresistible dessert.  
You could also substitute the raspberry elements with cherry jam and cherries, yum!
Let me know if you try this by tagging @apinchofzing on Instagram.

Ingredients

Sponge cake
100g semolina
100g self raising flour
100g sugar
300ml plain yogurt  (plant based)
75ml oil (rapeseed or sunflower)
1 lemon zested and juiced 
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking powder 

Whipping cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Fruity element
1/3 jar raspberry/cherry jam
A handful of fresh raspberries/cherries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 180C. 
2. To make the sponge, use a large bowl to mix the semolina, flour and sugar. Next, mix in the yogurt, oil, lemon zest and lemon juice. Lastly, mix in the vanilla extract and baking powder. 
3. Pour the cake batter in a 10 inch round cake silicon mould . Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 35 minutes.
4. Take the cake out of the oven, remove from the silicon mould and leave to cool down on a wire rack. 
5. To make the whipping cream, add to a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
6. Once the sponge cake is cold, top with a layer of jam and pipe the whipping cream on top. Decorate with fresh fruit. Store in the fridge.

Thanks for the recipe inspiration go to Exceedingly Vegan.

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.

My vegan journey – Vegetarian gone vegan (Part 2)

Being vegan is a journey, not a destination.

I believe my vegan journey started long before I even realised; it started by going vegetarian. This blog post is a continuation of My vegan journey – Going vegetarian (part 1), so check that out for more context.

I started my conscious transition from vegetarian to vegan some time in 2019. There were three main factors that contributed to this shift:

1. I met some vegan people
It was not just a myth, these people live amongst us 🙂
Vegan people were just like you and me, they didn’t have ‘vegan’ written all over them and didn’t make it their mission to preach about it. This opened my eyes to the idea of veganism, which I hadn’t considered before. I started considering what goes in the cakes I made for bake offs at work and tested a few vegan recipes, to be more inclusive. I started reflecting on my own eating habits and realised that some of the food I would usually eat was vegan already.

2. I realised how traumatic animal farming really is for the animals
As a vegetarian I was pretty happy with myself, thinking I am not causing animals any suffering by simply not eating them. After all no cow died from being milked for me to enjoy cheese and milk chocolate; or so I thought. I had never considered that a cow needs to be constantly impregnated to give milk; that her baby is taken away from her so that I can have that milk and how traumatic it is for a mother and baby to be separated; also if the baby cow happens to be a male, it will most likely be shot because it has no value. The harsh reality is that farm animals are exploited like assets and are not treated like the sentient beings that they are. I am not going to go in more detail, because I personally find the graphical details very upsetting, but the Viva! Charity is a good source of information.

3. Vegan food is more accessible than ever
Being vegan takes considerably less effort than it ever did. It is amazing how every food you can think of has a vegan version. You can still enjoy your favourite take away or comfort food, but it comes with the added bonus of being cruelty free. Pretty much every restaurant has vegan options and there’s also the exclusively vegan eateries (dreamy!).

My concerns
Now that I had all this knowledge about the impact of my food choices, I had all these vegan options readily available and have met actual people who were vegan, I felt compelled to at least give it a go. What was the worst that could happen?
> Is a vegan diet and lifestyle sustainable in a world that is not vegan?
I was concerned that a vegan diet may not be sustainable long term. Can I go without ever having cheese or cake again?
> How will my family and friends deal with it?
I still need to function in a non vegan society, where being vegan is not that popular (to put it mildly).

My approach
I wasn’t sure that I can do this or what to expect, but I had to at least give it a go. I told myself it is not all or nothing; reducing the amount of dairy and egg I consume was still going to make a difference.
I started slowly, by replacing the milk in tea and coffee with plant based options; I reduced my egg intake and started to explore more vegan foods like jackfruit, banana blossom and even gave tofu a chance. I had to relearn how to bake cakes without dairy and egg and how to cook dishes with new ingredients. I also made sure to chose the vegan options when eating out, if such options were available. But it wasn’t all plain sailing, I was still finding it it hard to resist my usual chocolate bar treats and snacks.

Committing to a vegan lifestyle
After about 8 months of conscious effort of trying a vegan diet, I was almost there, but I would still be tempted by the odd non-vegan snack. I made the shift in January 2020 by signing up to Veganuary and never looked back. Turns out I can do it! Who knew it? I certainly didn’t. There is more to a vegan lifestyle than a vegan diet and I am still working on all the other aspects. Being vegan is a journey, not a destination.
 “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.

Lessons learnt
I will end this self-reflection with the main lessons learnt during my vegan journey so far:
> Rethink and relearn
Do you think you need protein from meat and calcium from milk? Think again.
Be ready to learn to cook nutritious and delicious cruelty free food. You will find plenty of inspiration and tips on my blog.
> It’s not all or nothing. 
Start thinking about the food choices you make and try vegan/vegetarian dishes or products. Allow yourself to be curious. If you can’t live without cheese – that’s fine, you can still make a difference by ditching everything else that’s not vegan.
> It’s not about perfection
Being vegan in a non-vegan world comes with its challenges, but that doesn’t mean you have to give up this ideal. Sure, you may end up eating something that has milk powder in it without realising, or you will be shocked to find out that most fabric conditioner contains animal fat in it, or you may have a really bad day and give in to a [insert not-vegan craving]; but that’s not the point. What truly matters is that every day you start again and try to be the best vegan you can be, as far as is possible and practicable.

Banoffee Pie (Vegan)

Banoffee pie (Vegan)

The perfect ‘no bake’ summer dessert. Crunchy biscuit base, sweet caramel, banana and cream. Yum!

Having experimented making different versions of vegan banoffee pie, this is my favourite iteration.
The biscuit base in pretty standard; the McVities digestive biscuits are accidentally vegan.
I was surprised how much I like the date caramel. It’s delicious, easy to make and good for you. If you haven’t tried it, I highly recommend it.
The Elmlea plant double cream makes an excellent whipped cream. Top it all up with dark chocolate shavings and you have a winning dessert.
Tag @apinchofzing on Instagram if you make this dessert or leave a comment below to let me know what you think 😊

Ingredients

Biscuit base
400g Digestive biscuits
50g melted vegan spread

Date caramel
8-10 Medjool dates
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
a pinch of salt

2-3 ripe bananas (sliced)

Whipped cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

50g dark chocolate for decorating

Method
1. Use a food processor to pulse the biscuits to a breadcrumb consistency. Pour in the melted vegan spread and combine well. Press the biscuit mixture into the base of a 9 inch cake tin/dish and refrigerate.
2. To make the date caramel, start by soaking the dates in boiling water for 10 minutes. Remove the dates from the water and save the liquid. Add the dates, vanilla extract and a pinch of salt to a blender and whizz until smooth. If the caramel is too thick, you can add some of the liquid the dates were soaked in, to thin it out.  
3. To make the whipped cream, add the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract to a bowl and whisk until thick.
4. Time to assemble the pie. Spread the date caramel over the biscuit base. Place the banana slices on top of the caramel. Pipe the whipped cream on top of the banana layer and grate the dark chocolate over the cream.
5. Place the pie in the fridge and leave to set overnight before serving. Enjoy!

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)

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries (Vegan)

Makes 8 servings

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

Super moist & light milk cake, with sweet vanilla and vibrant raspberries.
An old fashioned treat that tastes like childhood; definitely worth holding on to!

I wasn’t born vegan, so to keep this cake in my life I had to veganise it. I am very pleased with the result and glad to be able to keep this sweet treat in my life. This cake is great served cold on a hot summer day and you only need a few ingredients to make it.  It is a bit like a trifle in terms of consistency: moist, sweet, creamy, with the added textures of fruit and sponge.

Chantilly cream sounds fancy, but don’t be intimidated, it is whipped cream with sugar and vanilla. You can’t go wrong topping the cake with grandma’s raspberry jam and some fresh raspberries.

Such a simple cake, with classic flavours, that should not be forgotten.

Ingredients

Sponge cake
1 tablespoon vegan spread and 1 tablespoon flour for coating the oven dish
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon cider vinegar or lemon juice
2 cups made out of 2 tablespoons fine semolina and the rest plain flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup sugar
a pinch of salt
¼ cup + 2 tablespoons rapeseed oil

Milk
1 pint (568ml) hot soy milk
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Chantilly cream
270ml Elmlea plant double cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For serving
1 jar raspberry jam
A handful of fresh raspberries

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 190C. Lightly grease and coat in flour a 30cmX23cmX5cm oven proof dish.
2. To make the sponge, mix the soy milk with the the cider vinegar. Leave to curdle and move to the next step.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (semolina, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, salt).
4. Add in the wet ingredients (curdled milk, oil and vanilla extract) and gently mix together. Don’t overmix.
5. Pour the cake batter in the ovenproof dish and level. Place on the middle shelf of the preheated oven and bake for 20 minutes.
6. While the cake is baking, heat up the soy milk in a pan with 1 tablespoon of sugar and vanilla extract. Don’t allow the milk to boil, once it starts to shimmer just turn off the flame and set the milk aside.
7. Take the cake out of the oven and while the cake is still hot, pour over the hot milk. The milk will absorb into the cake. Leave the cake to cool down. Cover and chill in the fridge once it’s cold enough to go in the fridge.
8. To make the Chantilly cream, add to a bowl the double cream, sugar and vanilla extract and whisk until thick.
9. Now to the fun part! Decorate the cold milk cake with Chantilly cream, raspberry jam and fresh raspberries. Serve with a large serving spoon in individual bowls. Dig in!

Thanks for the inspiration go our family friend Marcela, who used to make this cake for me as a child.

Milk cake with Chantilly cream and raspberries

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 🙂

Tofu for beginners

Let’s talk Tofu. Let’s keep it simple.
Do you like it? Do you cook it? Do you avoid it? 
I used to avoid it. I had a few failed attempts cooking it and my experience when eating out was also a bit hit and miss, so I started to think that it’s just not for me.
What changed?  I had some amazing tofu dishes at Wagamama and I met someone with more experience on the matter, who gave me some tips and words of encouragement. 
Turns out tofu is extremely versatile. After a few more attempts I think I have mastered the basics and I very much like tofu.
If you too are struggling with tofu, the information I am about to share may come in handy.

Tofu – check your facts
Tofu is a soy based food that comes in a few varieties in UK. There are a lot of myths about soy based foods; the fact is, soy is associated with health benefits. Check your facts using a reliable source, I recommend NutritionFacts.org  
Soy is also a common allergen, so before you sneak a tofu cheesecake to the next family gathering, check that no one is allergic to it.

Not all tofu is made equal
Using the appropriate variety of tofu is crucial. Tofu varieties are ranging between Silken and Extra Firm. I can’t even begin to tell you the pain of trying to fry Silken tofu…

Pressing tofu
Pressing tofu, is apparently a thing.
In my experience pressing Silken tofu is challenging because it literally falls apart. I go as far as draining the liquid and gently patting it down with paper kitchen towels.
As far as the Extra Firm tofu goes, I buy the ToFoo Tofu and skip the pressing step completely. This particular brand of tofu doesn’t need pressing! A small difference that makes a big difference when you start cooking and realise that you forgot to start pressing the tofu the night before (it surely doesn’t only happen to me). If you insist on pressing your tofu, you can buy a tofu press or simply wrap it in kitchen paper towels and place it between two chopping boards with a heavy book on top.

Cooking with Silken tofu  
Silken tofu is usually found on the shop shelves and is not refrigerated.  
I use Silken tofu to make vegan cheesecakes.
Some of my favourite tried and tested recipes are:
Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
Baked no-cheese cheesecake

Cooking with Extra Firm tofu
Extra Firm tofu is always found in the chilled isle.
I use Extra Firm tofu for savoury dishes. I find that the best and easiest way to cook it is to bake it.
Some of my favourite tried and tested recipes are:
Yasai Samla Curry Wagamama (Vegan)
Tofu bacon (Vegan)
Scrambled tofu with spinach & cherry tomatoes from Vegan 100: Over 100 Incredible Recipes from Avant-Garde Vegan (page 43) by Gaz Oakley

Now you know everything I wish I knew about tofu when I started my vegan journey.  
I’d love to hear about your tofu tips 😊

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