Vegetarian Shepherd's Pie
Serves 3-4
Ingredients
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
225g turnips or parsnips
½ punnet button mushrooms
2 medium carrots
1 medium leek, chopped
1 large stalk of celery, chopped
1 medium cloves garlic, minced
2 sprigs sage, minced
1 sprigs rosemary, minced
2-3 sprigs thyme, minced
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 teaspoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons whole wheat flour
1-2 cups vegetable stock
1kg sweet potatoes, boiled
2 egg yolks
Olive oil
Salt to taste
½ teaspoon black pepper
Method
1. Roast the carrots, turnips, and mushrooms for about 20 minutes
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a pot over medium-low heat. Add the leeks, celery, garlic, and a pinch of salt. Sweat the veggies for 5-8 minutes until translucent. Add the herbs, black pepper, and tomato paste, and cook for 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly so the tomato paste doesn't stick and burn
3. Add the rest of the olive oil and the flour to the pot. Stir and cook for 4-5 minutes. Slowly add the vegetable stock while stirring, starting with about 1 cup. Turn the heat up to medium-high and bring to a simmer, then add more stock if necessary to bring the sauce to a thick stew-like consistency. Remove from the heat
4. Mix together the chickpeas, mushrooms, turnips, carrots, and the filling.
5. Mash the sweet potatoes with 1 tablespoon of olive oil, salt and pepper. Whip the egg yolks until smooth, and add to the mashed sweet potatoes. Mix until everything is combined.
6. Heat the oven to 180°C. Spread the filling in the bottom of a casserole dish. Spread the mashed sweet potatoes evenly on top. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned.
(Recipe adapted from Harvard.edu)
Cauliflower and Broccoli Cheese
Ingredients:
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely sliced
2 tablespoons butter or olive oil
¼ cup flour
500ml fat free milk
500g broccoli, cut into florets
75g mature cheddar cheese
1kg cauliflower, cut into florets
½ cup bread crumbs
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
25g flaked almonds
Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C
2. Lightly sauté the garlic in the butter
3. Stir in the flour for a minute to make a paste, then gradually add the milk, whisking as you go, until it is smooth
4. Add the broccoli and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked through and starts to break down
5. Mash with a stick blende
6. Grate in half the cheese and season
7. Arrange the cauliflower in a baking dish, pour over the broccoli white sauce and grate over the remaining cheese.
8. Mix the breadcrumbs, thyme leaves and almonds together and scatter evenly over the cauliflower cheese
9. Bake for 1 hour, or until golden and cooked through
(Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver)
Spiced Berry Jellies
Serves 12
Ingredients
500ml berry juice
1 cinnamon stick
2 star anise
2 gelatine leaves, hydrated in cold water
125ml blue berries
Method
1. Bring the berry juice and spices to the boil. Remove them from the heat and take the spices out of the pot
2. Stir in the hydrated gelatine leaves until completely dissolved
3. Pour into a bowl together with the blue berries
4. Divide into 12 shot glasses and chill until set (about 1½ hours)
Optional:
Replace ½ the juice with sparkling sweet wine and add 1 extra gelatine leaf