Category Archives: Main

Vegan meatballs, amazing texture.

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These vegan meatballs are the perfect base for all your favorite dishes. This recipe is without sauce or gravy  because they are meant to be as a base for other recipes, like Spaghetti and meatballs,  Swedish meatballs,  meatball Curry with rice or a great meatball sandwich for instance.

A vegan meatball that has the texture of actual meat. Holds together, not mushy like most, but firm and with bite. I made these one night with mashed potatoes in Swedish meatballs style and the next night I poured a sticky honey chili maple glaze over them and served them over rice.  They freeze well too, you could easily make a double batch and always have a supply for a quick dinner fix.
So whether you’ re a vegetarian, a vegan or simply trying to eat more veggies,  these are a  great option and you really need to try them.

Makes around 24 meatballs.
Serves 4-6. Double if needed.

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup red lentils
1/2 cup tvp* see not (I use pea tvp)
1/4 cup  chopped dehydrated vegetables (mix for soup)**see note
1/2 onion chopped
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled and grated
3 tbsp olive oil
1/2 vegetable stock cube, crumbled fine
1/2 cup chickpea flour
1/4 cup quick oats
2 tbsp pine nuts (optional but delicious)
A dash of liquid smoke
A dash of franks hot sauce
1/2 tsp vegan Worchestershire sauce
Pepper
2 tbsps ground flaxseed plus 3 tablespoons water, or 2 eggs

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cook lentils and tvp in a bit of salted water for around 5 minutes, or until almost soft, but still semi firm. Drain in a colander and return to the pan, add the dehydrated veggies, they will absorb the excess water.  Set aside and let cool.
Cook onion and garlic in oil for 5 minutes until soft. Set aside to cool.
In a large bowl mix, lentil-tvp-veg mixture with onion and garlic.
Add all the remaining ingredients and let sit for 5 minutes,  now grab a ball of the mixture with your hand and gently squeeze to see if it holds.  Add a splash of water if it seems too dry or add a bit more flour if it seems too wet.
Shape into balls, the size of a ping pong ball approximately.
Place in refrigerator for two hours before baking to firm up.
Pre heat oven to 220C/450F.
Place balls on a silicone baking sheet and spray with oil (or drizzle over).
Bake 15 minutes turning halfway.
Use straight away with your favorite sauce or let cool and store in ziplock bag in the refrigerator or freezer for later use.

Enjoy!

  • tvp stands for texturized vegetable protein
    ** Amazon sells a Deluxe Vegetables Soup Blend.

5 minute Romesco Sauce, cheats version

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Romesco Sauce is a Spanish pepper and tomato based sauce from the region of Cataluña, that dates back to the 15 th century, thanks to Christopher Columbus who brought back the Romesco peppers from his travels in the America’s which are the base for this sauce.
You can find Romesco sauce everywhere in Spain, it’s very popular and can be eaten with everything from just bread to grilled fish, grilled meat or vegetables.

The original version is with dried peppers, almonds, some times hazelnuts as well, bread, garlic etc…
I have come up with a cheats version that can be done in 5 minutes and it is addictively delicious.

INGREDIENTS:

6 tbsp. Olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and chopped fine
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
1 jar roasted red bell peppers (15 oz. jar / 500 ml), drained
1/4 cup almond butter (the roasted kind)
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes in olive oil
1/3 cup parsley, roughly a handful
1-2 tsp. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp. salt
fresh black pepper
1 tsp. smoked paprika (preferably the Spanish kind)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Place the sun dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with very hot water. Let sit for five minutes then drain.
On medium heat, fry onion and garlic in two tablespoons of oil, until light golden and just soft. Let cool a bit.

In a food processor, add the pepper, the onions and garlic, almond butter, drained sun dried tomatoes, parsley, vinegar, salt, pepper, paprika and the remaining 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
Turn on the food processor and blend until smooth. That’s it!

I use only one teaspoon of vinegar but you can add more depending on how acidic you like it.

The sauce will keep in the refrigerator for about five days in a glass container or jar, but I can assure you, you will be putting it on everything.

Enjoy!

Pecan Cranberry stuffed Pork Roast

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Pecan Cranberry stuffed Pork Roast is the best to feed a crowd.

If you’re on a budget or if you don’t have a lot of people coming over this Christmas, or for whatever reason (still a lot of restrictions in Europe) a roast Pork is a great idea!

This delicious roast pork is stuffed with sausage meat, onions, pecans and cranberries, all of those wonderful Christmas flavors, so you can imagine how thrilled I am about this easy roast. And also, this way you won’t be stuck with a wheelbarrow of leftover turkey, maybe just enough for a sandwich the next day.

You can serve this with mashed potatoes or roast potatoes and lots of different roast vegetables. Or if you want a super quick side dish you could make polenta, which might even be the best choice, with some butter and parmesan.

INGREDIENTS:

Serves 4 to 6

  • 1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
  • 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled
  • 1/4 cup dried cranberries
  • 1 cup fresh sausage meat, half a pound roughly (Casings removed)
  • 1 tsp. dry sage
  • 1/2 tsp. all spice
  • 1 Pork loin, 2 1/2-3 lbs.
  • a good drizzle of olive oil

For tray and gravy

  • 1 onion
  • 2 carrots
  • 2 celery stalks
  • a few sage leafs
  • a few sprigs of thyme
  • one glass of red wine or port
  • one tablespoon flour
  • 1 cup stock

INSTRUCTIONS:

  1. Fry onion in olive oil over medium heat, add garlic after two minutes and cook gently until golden.
  2. Add dry sage and allspice, give it a stir and remove from the heat, let cool completely.
  3. Cut pork loin open to form a blanket or ask your butcher to do this.
  4. Spread the pork loin out on a cutting board and season generously with salt and pepper, on both sides.
  5. Mix onion-spice mixture with sausage meat, pecans and cranberries. Spread over pork leaving a one inch/2.5cm strip uncovered on the outer end (away from you). Roll up the pork carefully and tie with butcher’s string. If you have difficulty tying, use small pieces of string that fit around once and tie to make a knot. Use 4 to 5 pieces of string, it doesn’t matter as long as it holds together, we will remove the string before serving anyway.
  6. Heat oven to 200 C/400 F
  7. Place pork on a bed of onion, carrots, Celery and herbs. Drizzle with olive oil
  8. Bake for 30 min. Reduce temp to 180 C/350 F and cook for another 45 min. Depending on size or meat. It’s 30 minutes per pound.
  9. For the gravy, remove pork from tray to let rest for 5 to ten minutes, covered lightly with aluminum foil. Remove the strings before serving.
  10. Place tray on the hob on medium heat and scrape the bottom of the pan, add one glass of red wine, or port. Stirring all the time, add a tablespoon of flour and stir it to combine well. Now slowly add chicken or beef stock until desired consistency. Let cook for a few minutes and strain into a sauce boat.
  11. Serve sliced with gravy and your favorite vegetables and potatoes. Enjoy!

Potatoes baked in Salt Crust

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This irresistible dish is a joy for everyone at the table.

New potatoes are cooked buried in a pile of damp salt, which seals them in completely. This intensifies the potato flavor and once cooked the texture is creamy and buttery, like nothing you’ve ever tasted before.

This is a very old cooking method that has been used for centuries, also common for cooking fish and meat. Potatoes however are the perfect dish to start off with if you are new to cooking in salt. It’s spectacular yet surprisingly easy.
Bring the whole dish of salt covered potatoes to the table so everyone can dig out their own potato treasures.

I like to serve them with some Aïoli and butter. This is a true feast for everyone!

Prep time : 10 min
Cooking time : 50 min
Serves : 6
Square / round pan / tin

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 lbs. new potatoes with skin on
• 2 lbs. coarse salt
• Rosemary, about one tablespoon dried or a few twigs fresh
• A few bay leafs
• 1 tbsp. coarse black pepper, cracked or ground coarse
• 6 Garlic cloves, some sliced, some small ones left whole with skin on

METHOD:

Preheat oven to 180C /350F

Spread half the salt on the base of a large baking dish.

Nestle the new potatoes on top and sprinkle with the rosemary, bay leafs, pepper, and garlic then cover completely with the remaining salt.

Using a clean plant spray bottle, spray water on the crust gently without soaking, just a few times is enough.

Place on a rack in the middle of the oven and bake for 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and serve in the baking dish, so everyone at the table can scoop out their potatoes, dust off the salt and enjoy with a little butter or aioli.

If you make these potatoes baked in salt crust, be sure to leave a comment! I’d love to hear from you and if you love it, pin it. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! @thecookingspoonblog or hashtag it #thecookingspoonblog