Larder Lockdown: Recipes for the Apocalypse

First kimchi try..

▢ 820 g napa cabbage , (1.8 pounds) Chinese cabbage
▢ 240 g korean radish or daikon radish, (8.5 ounces)
▢ 50 g brown onion , (1.8 ounces)
▢ 40 g green onion , (1.4 ounces)
▢ 2/3 cup rock salt , or Korean coarse sea salt
▢ 1 cup water

Kimchi sauce (mix these in a small bowl)
▢ 1/4 cup Korean chili flakes (gochugaru)
▢ 1 Tbsp minced garlic
▢ 1/2 tsp minced ginger
▢ 1/2 Tbsp soy sauce
▢ 1/2 Tbsp korean fish sauce
▢ 1 1/2 Tbsp sugar (I used raw sugar)
▢ 1 Tbsp toasted sesame seeds
▢ 1/4 cup salted shrimp (saeujeot),finely minced
▢ 1/2 cup water or dashima (dried kelp) broth

Pork belly Bánh mì

INGREDIENTS

3cm piece fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
3 garlic cloves, peeled
8 fresh kaffir lime leaves, roughly chopped
1 tsp Sichuan peppercorns
100ml dark soy sauce
100ml maple syrup
1 carrot, peeled and shaved with a vegetable peeler
100ml rice wine vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
650g boneless and rindless pork belly, cut into 4 equal rectangular pieces
1 tbsp vegetable oil
60g creme fraiche
60g mayonnaise
½ cucumber, cut into batons
2 red chillies,
finely sliced on an angle (deseeded, if you want less heat)
4 soft baguettes
30g fresh coriander, stalks and leaves
40g spring onions, finely sliced on an angle
1 tsp fish sauce
1½ tbsp sesame seeds, toasted

Bánh mì is a Vietnamese street food: it’s a loaded baguette-like roll, often filled with fatty cuts of meat and lots of fresh herbs and pickles for balance.

Heat the oven to 200C/390F/gas mark 6. Put the first four ingredients in a spice grinder and blitz to a coarse paste (or use a pestle and mortar). Transfer to a bowl, and stir in the soy, syrup and 200ml water.
Put the carrot, vinegar and an eighth of a teaspoon of salt in a small bowl, massage together and leave to pickle for at least an hour.
Season the pork with half a teaspoon of salt and lots of pepper.
On a high flame, heat the oil in a large, high-sided, ovenproof and, ideally, nonstick saute pan.
Fry the pieces of pork for four minutes on one side and one to two minutes on all the other sides, until crisp and deep, golden-brown all over.
Pour the soy marinade into the pan, spoon it all over the pork to coat, cover with a tight lid and put in the oven to roast for 20 minutes.
Remove the lid and baste the pork well. Stir 200ml water into the pan juices, put the lid back on, then turn up the temperature to 230C/450F/gas mark 8 and roast for 30 minutes more, basting again halfway through (if the sauce isn’t thick and sticky by this point, reduce it on the stove top later). Take off the lid, leave the pork to rest for at least 15 minutes, then cut into 4cm x 2cm slices.
In a bowl, stir together the creme fraiche and mayo, then refrigerate.
To assemble the bánh mì, drain the carrot, a tablespoon of its pickling liquid. Combine the carrots, cucumber, chilli and reserved pickle juice, add a big pinch of salt and toss.
Spread the mayo over the bottom slice of each sandwich and top with some of the pickle mix. Put some meat and sauce on top, then scatter with coriander and spring onion. Drizzle with fish sauce, sprinkle on the sesame seeds and serve.

Chipotle and maple syrup roast chicken with lentil, sun dried tomato, green bean and blue cheese salad.

Ingredients for chicken

50 g chipotle chilli paste
50 g unsalted butter
50 ml maple syrup
50 g roasted arlic paste
50 g house rub
1 free-range chicken, weighing 1.5kg

Ingredients for lentil salad

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced
1 tablespoon good-quality red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Maldon sea salt
1 1/3 cups Castelluccio lentils, or Puy
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
Black pepper
3 tablespoons chopped chervil or parsley
3 tablespoons chopped chives
4 tablespoons chopped dill
3 ounces strong blue cheese , crumbled
5 sun-dried tomatoes
20 green beans (cooked in water until soft)

Method

Blitz the chipotle chilli paste, butter, maple syrup, roasted garlic paste and house rub in a blender to a paste. Make slashes about one centimetre deep in the thighs of the chicken with a sharp knife, then rub the chicken thoroughly inside and out with the paste, put it into a dish and leave overnight in the fridge. Cook in the oven at 190 degrees for 1 hour and half. When cooked let it rest for 10-15 minutes.



For the Lentils:

Meanwhile, place the red onion in a medium bowl, pour over the vinegar and sprinkle with the sea salt. Stir, then leave for a few minutes so the onion softens a bit.

Place the lentils in a pan of boiling water (the water should come 1¼ inches above the lentils) and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until tender. Drain well in a sieve and, while still warm, add to the sliced onion. Also add the olive oil, garlic and some black pepper and cooked green beans. Stir to mix and leave aside to cool down. Once cool, add the herbs and gently mix together. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

To serve, pile up the lentils on a large plate or bowl, integrating the Blue cheese and tomatoes as you build up the pile. Add shedded chicken on top.

Chipotles en adobo

I finally received my dried chillis, it’s a base for many things.

200g chipotle chillies (dried)
1 large onion, roughly chopped
a whole head of garlic, roughly chopped
3 tbs fresh oregano or a few pinches of dried
1-2 tablespoons thyme leaves
2 bay leaves
1 tsp cumin seeds, crushed
4 tbs olive oil
350ml white wine vinegar
50 ml balsamic vinegar
3 tbs tomato puree
7 tbs demerara sugar
2 tbs salt

Method

Wash the chilies in cold water and drain them. Using scissors cut off the stalk of each chilli (this will let the water in to rehydrate them).

Put the chillies in a pan and cover with water, bring to a simmer for 30 to 40 minutes until they are totally soft. Drain but keep the water. In the colander gently rinse of any excess seeds.

Put the onion, garlic, herbs and cumin in a blender with 200ml of the drained chilli water and a handful of the chillies. Whizz to a smooth puree.

Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based pan until its smoking hot. Add the chilli paste and fry for a few minutes, continuously stirring. Add the vinegars, tomato puree, sugar, salt and another 100ml of the cooking water and cook for a further 5 miuntes

Add the rest of the chillis and simmer for another 15 minutes.

At this point you can leave it chunky or puree the whole thing. I did the latter because I think its easier to dollop it into whatever you’re cooking if its a smoother texture.

Check for seasoning and then pour into sterilised jam jars.

It’s a Thomasina Miers recipe
If you like Mexican food you will like this.

Turkish flatbreads!
One with halloumi, mint, olive and tomato.
The other one with za’atar.
Tried to recreate a Turkish takeaway I get sometimes.

Flatbread ingredients

1 ¼ cups warm water
2 ¼ teaspoons active dried yeast 1 packet
1 tablespoon sugar
¾ cup Greek-style yogurt (I used a slightly sour yogurt for mine)
2 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon kosher salt
3 ¾ cups all-purpose flour

Za’atar ingredients

1 tablespoon dried thyme- crushed
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon sumac
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon or more aleppo chili flakes- optional

Method

Combine the yeast, sugar, and water into a medium-large bowl and stir well. Allow to sit in a warm place for 5-10 minutes to activate the yeast. The mixture will be foamy and bubbly when activated.
Whisk in the Greek yogurt olive oil and salt.
Add flour and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough comes together. Turn dough out onto a well-floured counter and turn to coat. Knead for 3-4 minutes or until dough is no longer sticky and springs back when lightly pressed. Sprinkle more flour onto the counter if the dough is sticky during kneading.
Divide dough into 6 equal pieces, sprinkle lightly with flour, then cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
Preheat a medium saute pan to a medium-low heat. While pan is heating, roll one of the dough portions into an approximately 7-inch circle. Brush the top surface lightly with extra virgin olive oil. When the pan is hot, pick up the first circle with your hand and place in pan, oiled side down. Lightly brush the top surface with oil. Then add either your za’atar or the halloumi, mint, olive etc. Allow to the flatbread to cook for about 1 to 1 1/2 minutes, until top surface is covered with bubbles and underside is golden around the edges and in spots. Then place on to a rack you can put in the oven. I can cook 2 at a time in my oven. Once the halloumi starts to melt it’s ready. 190 degrees for about 6 minutes. Take out of the oven and roll into a wrap.

For the za’atar, it is very simple to make but full of flavour. Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container.
For the most flavor, toast whole seeds ( cumin ,coriander seeds and sesame seeds) until fragrant, then grind.
This will make the most flavorful zaatar. If you don’t have whole seeds, feel free to use ground spices. Cook the same way in the oven but be careful not to burn the spices. This one would take about 4 minutes at 190 degrees.

Borsch (tweaked from the Red Bay Tree Book)

This is a delicious recipe that I have been wanting to make for ages from the Red Bay Tree Book written by Sue Farmer. I made a few wee changes but the soup did not disappoint and was perfect for a lockdown as most of the stuff we had got in a veg box delivery. (It was also a nice opportunity to show off my birthday knife that Dan Schelling-Tisza got me :))

850ml chicken stock
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
I carrot, cut into matchsticks
1 medium beetroot or 2 small beetroot (any colours), cut into matchsticks
2 tomatoes, skinned and cut up, or half a 400ml tin of tomatoes
1 courgette, cut into matchsticks
1/2 small white or red cabbage, shredded
Small handful of spinach
Pinch of chilli flakes
Lemon juice

Garnish:
Spoon of yoghurt
Fresh herbs, chopped (I used a mix of parsley, mint and coriander)
Garlic clove, grated

Heat up the stock in a pot.
Heat some oil in another pot and fry the onion and beetroot in it for 5 mins.
In the meantime, put the potatoes in the stock and start cooking.
Add a pinch of chilli flakes along with the carrot, tomatoes to the beetroot and onion and fry for another few mins.
Then put everything into the pot with the potatoes and stock to continue cooking.
After 10 mins-ish add the courgette and cabbage. Once it has come back to the boil, check that the cabbage has cooked and add the spinach on top. It will steam and wilt into the soup in a couple of mins.
Check that everything has cooked and then add a squeeze of lemon and some salt and pepper. Don't let the soup overcook!
Serve with a dollop of yoghurt or something similar, a sprinkling of the herbs and a good bit of the grated garlic... it makes all the difference so don't skip this part!

Nasi goreng (serves 2)

Ingredients
250g short-grain brown rice
135ml sunflower oil
5 fresh makrut lime leaves, or zest of 1 lime or 5 bay leaves
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 large eggs
6 spring onions, finely chopped
1 lime, cut into wedges, to serve

For the sambal
4 red chillies (or fewer, to taste), pith and seeds removed
1 plum tomato, roughly chopped
10g fresh turmeric root, peeled and finely chopped, or ¼ tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp green peppercorns, roughly crushed
3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
10g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
2 small shallots, finely chopped
20ml lime juice
Salt

Method
Cook the rice. When that is cooking make the sambal, chop everything and add liquids into a container where you can blend everything together. Once rice is cooked drain it. In a pan with a little bit of oil add the finely sliced lime leafs and half of the sambal. Cook for a few minutes and then add your rice. Season with salt and pepper and add half of the spring onions. I hope i don’t have to explain how to cook fried eggs 😌

Note
My Sambal shouldn’t look as dark as it does. I accidentally put the soy sauce in the mix 🤦🏻‍♀️ if it is made properly it should be red in colour. Also when cooking the eggs try to get a crispy bottom. It gives added texture to the dish.

Indian Spiced Crispy Potato and Cauliflower with Dahl

Dahl:
250g lentils (I used chana dahl but red lentils are good)
250g chopped toms (tinned or fresh)
50ml oil
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 medium red onion, diced
5 garlic cloves. crushed
1 tsp coriander seeds or grd coriander
3/4 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
Small bunch of coriander
1 tsp salt
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Rinse the lentils. Add to a saucepan with the tomatoes and 750ml water and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat to a simmer and leave for 45mins to 1hr.
Heat oil over a high heat, then add cumin for 1min and then onion for 3mins.
Add garlic and cook until the onion is brown.
Add the coriander seeds or grd coriander, cayenne and turmeric . Mix with onions and garlic mixture.
Pour over the dahl and stir in with the coriander and salt.
Simmer for another 5 mins.
Then add the lemon. Check seasoning and top with some freshly chopped toms, extra spice and cauliflower/potato mix (outlined below).

Indian Spiced Crispy Cauliflower and Potato:
1 medium cauliflower
500g potatoes
1.5 tsp turmeric
1.5 tsp cayenne
1 tsp cumin seeds or grd cumin
2 tsp grd coriander
1 tsp grd ginger
1 tsp salt
2-3 tbsp oil

Preheat oven to 250C.
Break the cauliflower into small florets. Dice the potatoes into a similar size.
Mix everything together really well with the spices, oil and salt in a big bowl.
Put on a lined tray and stick into the oven.
Reduce oven to 200C.
Roast for 15 mins.
Take out and turn over the cauliflower and potato (tedious but makes all the difference to the crispiness).
Roast for another 10 mins.
When it is nice and crispy, take it out! Check for seasoning.
Great served alongside the dahl with some yoghurt.

I had everything together with some rice, spiced yoghurt and chopped tomato. Would do 6 servings easily.

Duck breast with proper roasted potatoes and braised endive.

Roasted potatoes
800g potatoes peeled and boiled in salt water until half cooked. When half cooked drain the water away and shake in the pot until they get a little fluffy on the outside. Be care not to shake too hard you mite break them. Place a drizzle of oil on a baking tray and add potatoes then add a little oil and salt over the top. Add 2 clove of crushed garlic, add to the tray. Then place tray in a preheated oven and until crispy and golden brown. 190 degrees

Braised Endive
4 endives
300ml white wine
400ml vegetable stock
40g butter

Cut endives in half, cut the root out of the endives. Preheat a pan, once it is heated add the nob of butter. When it is foaming add the endive cut side down. Cook in the butter until golden brown and then turn the endive. Add white wine and reduce by half, then add the vegetable stock and place in the oven for about 30 minutes. You want the cut side of the endive facing up when it’s in the oven, it will help get that nice golden brown colour.

Duck breasts
1 large duck breast or 2 smaller ones

For the duck breast you will need to trim it a little bit. Check the flesh side first for some sliverskin, trim that off, if you leave it on your meat will be tough in this area.. once you do that turn the breast so the skin side is facing up. Trim around the sides taking a little bit of fat off and then score the fat to make diamond shapes.. be carful not to cut through to deep. Doing this will help render down the fat when cooking. Season with salt and pepper both sides. *Important* with duck breast you must start it on a cold pan on a low heat, this will render down the fat so it will become crispy. This will take a little while.. a lot of fat will come out of the duck at this point, once the pan starts to get lots of fat make sure to drain it off. Once your fat has rendered nicely, turn your heat up and then turn the breast flesh side down. Cook for about 4 minutes, it depends how you like it cooked and of course how thick the breast is. 4 minutes for rare is good enough but if you want it cooked more obviously cook more in the pan and then in the oven if you like.. again it’s Important to let your meat rest before cutting or eating..

Sweetcorn fritters with smashed avocado and lime sour cream (I forgot to take a photo of the end dish) 😬

Ingredients
500g sweetcorn
1 and half red onion
1 red chilli
150g flour
1 tsp gram masala
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp baking powder
3 eggs separated
140ml is milk
3 lime, zest and juice
2 avocado
200g sour crème
Small bunch coriander
2 spring onions
Salt & pepper

Method for fritters
Mix flour, spices and baking powder in the bowl, separate eggs and place egg yolks in the bowl with the flour. Add the milk and whisk until mixture is Smooth. Finely dice, 1 red onion, chilli and add to the flour mixture. Slice the spring onions add the corn and chopped coriander. Zest and juice 1 lime. Fold until everything is mixed together. Whisk the eggs whites until they are stiff and fold into the sweetcorn mix ( careful not to mix to much, you want to keep the air inside)
Once it’s ready preheat your frying pan with a little bit of oil, once heated, spoon some of the mixture into the pan to make little cakes. My pan fits 4 at a time! Cook on a medium heat until you get both sides golden brown. Once that is ready I put them in the oven for about 8 minutes to make sure the middle is cooked through. 180 degrees for the oven.

Smash avocado
2 avocado smashed in a bowl
With a fork, dice half a red onion, zest and juice 1 lime and salt and pepper and mix. Taste to make sure seasoning is ok.

Lime sour crème
Sour crème, zest and juice the lime, add pepper and mix.

Note
When making the fritters make sure and test one before you start to cook the rest. You need to try it to check for seasoning and flavours before you cook the rest.

I also added a little bit of left over chorizo to use it up. The fritters would also be good with some Cajun prawns.

It’s such a easy dish to make!

Lentil and Veg Ragu

1 tbsp oil
1 large onion
2 small carrots
2 garlic cloves
200g lentils or a mix of chickpeas and lentils to 200g
600ml stock
2 bay leaves
500g chopped veg (squash, beets, celeriac, parsnip, sweet pot, potatoes) Try to keep the same size, small dice.
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp mustard
Salt and pepper

Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, carrots, bay leaves, some salt and pepper and cook gently for 10-15 mins until soft. Add the lentils and stock, season well, and stir well. Cover and simmer for about 10mins.
Add the veggies and simmer for another 20mins until the lentils and veggies are cooked. Stir in the vinegar, mustard, tomato ketchup and check the seasoning. Probaby needs a good bit of salt and maybe a squeeze of lemon.

Notes: I used some beets in mine which I actually steamed whole, diced and then stirred in at the end. The other veggies can go straight into the pot though.
This is great used as a veggie filling for a veggie cottage pie. You could even stir in a bit of meat if you're trying to stretch out your meat. It is also amazing over a baked potato with some hot sauce. Or served with pasta, rice or as a thick soup/stew.

Anzac biscuits

200g sugar (could be a mix of white/brown or whatever you have)
150g wholewheat flour (or whatever you have)
120g rolled oats
50g coconut (*optional, they are still good without it!)
125g butter
50g golden syrup (or honey/agave/maple/rice syrup)
20g water
1/2 tsp baking soda

Notes: I didn't have coconut so I used a mix of cocoa nibs and curarnts.. basically what I had in the cupboard,,, but you can change it up with what you have. It could also be good to throw in a teaspoon of spice, cinnamon, ginger or mixed spice could work well.

Preheat the oven to 160C.
Mix sugar, flour, oats and coconut in a bowl.
Combine the butter, golden syrup and water in a saucepan over a medium heat until the butter has melted and the mixture is nice and syrupy. Add the baking soda and mix well. The mixture will fizz a bit but that is all good. Pour the syrup over the dry ingredients and mix well with your hands.
Line 2 baking trays and divide the dough into 12 balls. Flatten each ball until it is about 2cm deep. Space out the cookies on the tray as they will expand when they are cooking
Bake for 10 mins, then turn the trays and bake for another 5. They are done when they are golden brown, if you like them chewy, but you can let them go a tiny bit longer if you like them crispier.

Enjoy!

Moroccan(ish) Harira (Soup!)

130g brown lentils
400g tinned/cooked from dry chickpeas
1 large onion
1 x 400g tin of tomatoes
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 tbsp harissa/gochujang or any chilli paste/sauce you have
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
50g basmati rice or any white rice
2 tbsp plain flour
big handful or coriander/parsley/celery leaves/ spinach
salt and pepper

Soak the lentils in cold water for 1hr and drain.
Drain the chickpeas and put into a large pot with 1.5l of cold water and the diced onion. Bring to the boil.
Put in tomatoes, lentils, cumin, turmeric and harissa/gochujang. Cook until the lentils are cooked.
Then add the rice to the pot and cook until it is ready.
Put the flour into a bowl and add 4tbsp cold water to make a paste. Then add 4tbsp of soup and whisk. Then pour the floury sticky paste into the soup with the lemon juice. Mix everything well together but don't let it boil.
Mix in the herbs or whatever greens you are using and season well... it takes a lot of salt and some pepper, some spice or maybe some more lemon juice depending on your tastes!
Tastes even better the next day and is pretty filling so stretches well.

The floury paste is to make the soup thicker and glossier but can be ommitted if you are gluten intolerant or if in fact you can't be bothered!

Last nights dinner.
Rump steak with homemade peppered sauce, honey roasted parsnips and aligot (mashed potato fondue)

Ingredients
4 parsnips
1/4 bunch of thyme
Tbsp of honey
2 rump steaks
300ml of crème
100ml of vegetable stock
1 shot of brandy
1 an half tsp pink peppercorns
1 an half tsp black peppercorns
1kg of potatoes
150g grated comte
150g grated mozzarella
Couple of nobs of butter
2 garlic cloves (minced)

Method
Roasted parsnips
Cut parsnips into quarters and then cut out the woody part in the middle (you don’t want the woody part) when they are all cut place into a bowl, add salt and pepper, thyme and some oil and mix. Place ontona baking tray and roast in the oven until soft 180 degrees for about 15 minutes. Once soft take out of the oven and add the honey and bake again for about 8 minutes.

Aligot (mashed potato fondue)
Peel and boil the potatoes until cooked.. once cooked mash the potatoes until there is no lumps what so ever, add the butter too at this point. Place back into the pot you used for the potatoes and place on the heat again. Medium heat, then add 100ml crème and mix then add your cheese and salt to your taste.

Peppered sauce
Lightly crush peppercorns and add to a dry pan. Once you can smell pepper then add your shot of brandy. Light it with a lighter to make a flame ( don’t worry there will be a flame but it will burn out pretty quickly) at this point add your vegetable stock and reduce by a 3rd, then add 200ml crème and reduce again until it becomes thick.. add seasoning to taste

Rump steaks
Easy! Season with salt and pepper, make sure your pan is hot but not too hot! Seal the steaks on all sides. I don’t cook mine to long because I want it blue or rare. I don’t like anything over rare but if you want it more cooked you will obviously cook it for a bit longer in the pan. If you want it well done I would suggest you put it in the oven for a few minutes.. it is very important after you cook your steaks that you let them rest. The meat will be more tender if you rest them properly. I usually slice my steaks and add a bit of rock salt and then on to the plate.

Balinese Curry Paste (and curry)

For the paste:

1 medium onion
2 garlic cloves
3cm piece ginger
2 red chillis or 2 tsp chilli flakes/powder (whatever you have for spice)
65g cashews/peanuts or even sunflower seeds.. something nutty basically. You could even use peanut butter if you're stuck.
1 tsp turmeric
Juice of a lemon
Rind 1/2 lemon
1.5 tbsp brown sugar
Bunch of coriander stalks and/or leaves
Little water

For the curry:

Mix of vegetables - Sweet potato, broccoli, carrot, aubergine, peppers, corn - whatever you have really
150g cooked lentils or you could add chickpeas
Tin of coconut milk or 70g creamed coconut diluted in 500ml hot water
1 tbsp soy sauce (to taste)
Fish sauce (optional)

For the paste, you just need to blend everything together in a food processor or blender. It will make DOUBLE THE AMOUNT you need for one curry so keep it wrapped in cling film (turmeric staining) in a jar and the other half will keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks or the freezer for at least 2 months.

For the curry, heat tbsp oil in a deep pot and then add your curry paste and cook it out for a few mins. Then add the 'harder' veg first like carrots and sweet potato. Sweat those down and then add in the other veg and mix it all together well. When things have been cooking for a few mins, add in your coconut milk or creamed coconut combo (whichever you're using) along with the soy sauce. Let everything simmer until the veg is cooked and then add in the lentils or chickpeas. Let it simmer for a few more mins and then check the seasoning. It might need more soy sauce/lemon/sugar or chilli.. just season to your tastes. You can have it with rice or noodles or even as a soup. Top it with a bit of chilli oil, coriander leaves, toasted seeds or whatever you have really.

Notes: Coconut milk has been a bit hard to get because of lockdown so a creamed coconut block is really the equivalent of about 3 tins of coconut milk. You can always add more to your curry if you want more creaminess but a little goes a long way so it's a good alternative to tins of coconut milk.
In the picture of the curry paste, I actually found that the food processor couldn't break up the curry paste as well as I liked so I actually added it to the pot to cook out with a little oil, then added in the coconut milk, heated it through and then put everything in a blender to combine it better. It just depends on the strength of your equipment.

A handy guide for building dressings

Peanut Butter Protein Balls

220g dates (without stones)
48g peanut butter (or any other nut butter)
30g dark chocolate
1 tsp vanilla essence
12g flaxseed (or chia, sesame.. whatever you have)
60g oats

Mash up the dates.
Add oats, chopped up chocolate, flaxseeds, peanut butter and mix together really well.
Roll into ping pong sized balls - should make about 15.
Can be refrigerated for about 5 days or frozen.

You can use a food processor to do this or you can do it by hand. It really depends on how sticky/dry your dates are and the power of your food processor. I have broken a few cheaper food processors making this and have now resorted to doing it using a pestle and mortar or the end of a rolling pin and a big bowl because the dates were nice and sticky and easy to mix! No pics, cause they are all gone! (found one)

You can also mess around with the ingredients and flavours just make sure that the dry to wet proportions are the same. I sometimes add orange oil or cranberries etc.

Bean, Walnut and Chocolate Chilli

1 large onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2 tsp cumin seeds (toasted and crushed)
1 tbsp coriander seeds (toasted and crushed)
2 chillis (red or green, or just use 2 tsp chilli flakes - canalso be adjusted according to your heat threshold)
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp oregano (optional)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 carrot, finely chopped
1 small tin of sweetcorn
2 celery sticks (if you have it! finely chopped)
2 medium sweet potato, small cubes.
2 pepper, diced (any color)
50-100g walnuts, roughly chopped
300g dried mixed beans or 3 x 400g tins - anything will do. I usually use a mix of chickpeas, black beans, pinto beans.. but you can use anything.
2 x 400g tinned tomatoes
2 tsp sea salt (to taste)
20-50g dark chocolate (really depends on your taste and the percentage of your chocolate, the higher it is, the less you should use)
Squeeze of lemon

Garnish: toasted seeds, cheese, chilli sauce, coriander leaves...

Sweat down onion, garlic, chilli and spices.
Stir in peppers, carrot, celery, sweetcorn, sweet potatoes and continue to sweat for 5-7 mins.
Add walnuts, beans, tomatoes, salt and a little water, mix together and bring to the boil.
Reduce heat and simmer for 20mins.
Stir in the chocolate and a squeeze of lemon. Check seasoning and spice levels.

Serve on rice, baked potatoes, on nachos, or on its own and top with your garnishes.

I sometimes keep a wee portion in the freezer to have on nachos at a later stage :)

I don't always have celery and oregano so it's ok to omit things, it really doesn't make much difference. Just use what you have!