The amazing thing about cooking fish and seafood at home is, providing everything goes to plan, you end up with some serious restaurant-standard food. After a number of cheesy, creamy delights, I wanted to cook up something a bit lighter, knowing that what I was putting into my body was doing it some good, so that’s where this octopus recipe came into it.
There’s definitely a risk of over- or undercooking with octopus, both sins leaving you with a chunk of chewy, unpleasant meat, and so the key with a thick tentacle like the one I used is to cook it low and slow – a ‘bring to the boil then turn down to simmer for 45 minutes’ kind of cooking. This also allows you to get on with other things whilst cooking, and so your active time in the kitchen is minimal.
The nicest octopus I’ve ever had was at a restaurant in Lisbon. It was the first time I’d realised that octopus could be that tender, and cooked so simply. Served with some basic potatoes in a garlicky, buttery sauce (more like a light drizzle), it was pretty mind-blowing. Or at least I thought at that time that this was a revolutionary meal – changing the way I viewed octopus. Now, having cooked octopus myself that turned out equally as tender and delicious, I’m no longer under the same pretence that it’s incredibly difficult to achieve this beautiful tenderness. So simplicity here is everything. The kale with garlic and chilli will add all the flavour you need, whilst getting in some greens for a satisfying side dish.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
2 large tentacles
2 cloves garlic (crushed)
butter
splash of white wine
1 red chilli
salt/pepper
100g kale
100g spinach
Put octopus in saucepan, cover with water, bring to the boil then reduce to simmer for 50 minutes until the meat is super tender.
When done, heat butter in a frying pan and add 1 clove of crushed garlic.
When fragrant, add the octopus, white wine and seasoning and cook on medium heat until liquid has reduced and alcohol evaporated.
Put the octopus to one side, keeping it warm all the while, and add more butter to the pan, adding the sliced chilli and other clove of crushed garlic when melted.
After a few minutes, add the kale, cook for a further 3 minutes, then add the spinach and allow to wilt slightly.
Serve the octopus on top of the bed of kale and spinach
The hardest part of this recipe to be honest is getting hold of the octopus tentacles. Once you’ve managed that, you’re pretty good to go. I got mine frozen from Bradley’s online, which I’ve mentioned before in various scallop and clam recipes. They have an amazing range of frozen fish, all of which has tasted delicious when I’ve cooked with it.
This dish looks beautiful and is super healthy, so don’t let your fear of cooking with seafood put you off trying it. You’ll be surprised by how little effort is involved!
Substitutes, hacks and essentials for a delicious and nutritious diet
Before I go on, I want to make it clear that I don’t follow a plant-based diet, in fact, I don’t think there’s anything I don’t eat (except for raw celery, ew…), however, in the past year or so, I have enjoyed testing out a lot more plant-based recipes and ingredients, and am happy to whip up meat-, egg- and dairy-free meals quite regularly, alongside my steaks, chicken curries and seafood dinners.
Here I want to highlight some of my favourite plant-based alternatives and ingredients that you can try out in your own cooking, whether you want to go vegan completely, or are simply open-minded when it comes to trying new things.
A couple of disclaimers before I get stuck in – I’m aware that there are lots of people following vegan diets who have no wish to recreate meat and dairy products, and in some ways may see that as contradictory to their ethical beliefs, however, I do believe that meat substitutes are a great way of being able to replicate textures and flavours that someone following an exclusively plant-based diet may miss. Meat replacements can act as a way of enjoying food to its fullest extent without compromising on your beliefs, but if it’s not for you, then that’s no problem, just ignore those suggestions!
One thing that does frustrate me when I’m discovering new plant-based recipes is when they’re labelled as something they’re not. One primary example that I’ve come across is the concept of a chickpea ‘omelette’. Some people who no longer eat eggs may miss omelettes, and so on seeing a recipe with this title, you’d be forgiven for thinking that chickpeas could be warped into something resembling an omelette. Well, I’ve tried these recipes, and it’s not an omelette. It bears closest resemblance to a thick and heavy chickpea flour pancake, and so misleading titles like this do annoy me. Plant-based food can be so delicious, there’s no need to con people into thinking you’ve come up with a ground-breaking substitute. So, sorry guys, but if you only eat plant-based, as far as I’m aware, omelettes are no more.
NOT an omelette.
Anyway here come the ideas; the food and hacks that’ll make it so much easier to enjoy meat and dairy-free meals.
Dairy
Cream, milk and yoghurt
One of the biggest food groups you may be concerned about is dairy – so many of us adore cheese, many recipes call for the use of cream, and milk is a daily staple. Luckily, the plant-based alternatives are getting better and better. Alpro does a really good cream alternative, which although slightly thinner in consistency, works a dream in dishes that require a little splash, for example a pasta sauce. It’s also got a lower fat content.
If it’s curry you’re in the mood for, go straight for coconut milk. This is often used in non-plant-based curry recipes anyway and so you aren’t compromising on flavour or texture at all. Because it’s so widely used, coconut milk is cheap in comparison to other dairy-free alternatives.
My plant-based butternut squash spinach curry recipe can be found here on the blog
For your everyday milk, there are loads of options on offer. Without making a conscious effort to try everything that’s out there, I’ve ended up religiously buying soy milk. If you want to avoid soy, there’s almond, oat, and coconut milk, to name a few other options. It’s worth experimenting just to see what works best for you, as their nutritional content is slightly different, with some containing more sugars, and there are also subtle differences in flavour. Plant-based milks certainly aren’t as thick and creamy as cows’ milk, but I personally don’t miss it in my hot drinks and cereal, and you’d never know the difference when baking, even if the recipe calls for standard full-fat milk.
Yoghurt and cream cheese alternatives, in my opinion, are not quite as developed as the milk on offer yet, but there’s still plenty out there. Coconut yoghurt is one of the most common plant-based versions, however, I do find that the coconut flavour is quite strong. If you’re looking for a more neutral flavour, soy yoghurt is available, but it tends to lack the sweetness of traditional Greek yoghurt. I would opt for coconut yoghurt to eat on its own, and soy yoghurt for use in cooking and baking.
So far, when it comes to cream cheese, I haven’t seen many options readily available in my local supermarkets, but I’m sure more exist. The only one I have seen is coconut cream cheese, which I haven’t tried. I’m sure this would be ideal for baking, however, if you wanted to use it as a spread, there are other slightly different alternatives, including thick and creamy tofu spreads, or cashew cream cheese which isn’t too difficult to make at home.
Cheese
The final element of dairy to address is hard cheese, and for cheese-lovers embarking on a new plant-based journey, this can often be one of the most difficult parts, as vegan cheese has a reputation for being a pretty poor substitute. Having said that, improvements are being made, and if you’re looking for a plant-based cheese that melts, violife is the one. I absolutely love it – it’s a dream in toasties, or grated and melted as a topping on pastas, and it has a really nice flavour too. Unmelted it’s ok, but I probably wouldn’t choose to eat it that way. If you want plant-based cheese to eat uncooked, it’s worth checking out the emerging small businesses that are making their own plant-based cheeses, mostly from nuts. I bought a few cheeses from I am Nut Ok at a local market – one truffle cheese, one chipotle cheese and a jar of vegan parmesan. Admittedly they don’t taste like your typical dairy cheeses, however, they are quality products, with great flavour that can definitely contribute to filling that cheese-shaped void in your life. The Parmesan is particularly good. La Fauxmagerie is another dairy-free cheese producer that’s worth exploring.
Protein
Vegetable substitutes
When it comes to the protein in your meal, or replacements for meat products, there are so many options. Whether you’re using quinoa and beans in a chilli, aubergine slices as burger patties or butternut squash and sweet potato in soups and curries, veg, beans and pulses are incredibly versatile, and adapt to different flavours really well. One of my favourite discoveries was oyster mushrooms – they have a slightly chewy texture, and very mild flavour and are used as a meat replacement in lots of recipes, from tacos and burritos to stews. They’re not always the easiest to find but they’re definitely worth trying out.
My cream butternut squash soup recipe can also be found in the ‘Recipes’ section of the blog
Pulled Pork replacements
In the past year or two, a food trend that has emerged seemingly from nowhere is the rise of jackfruit. Despite having been a staple in many global cuisines for a long time, the western world has suddenly begun to idolise it as if it were a brand new discovery. Although it is a fruit, it’s most commonly used in savoury dishes, and one of the techniques being splashed all over the internet and in ‘street food’ menus is pulled jackfruit – a replacement for pulled pork. Its stringy texture makes it a strong substitute, and once it’s bathed in various sauces and spices, it barely resembles a fruit at all.
One of my favourite new discoveries that’s also visually (though not texturally or ‘flavourally’) similar to pulled pork, is pulled banana skin. Yes that’s right, the actual peel. I first saw it done on an Instagram story of Nadiya Hussain’s and couldn’t believe the delicious cheesy burger bun image she’d posted was filled with thick, black banana peel. Not one to shy away from a challenge, I thought I’d give it a try, and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to throw banana peel away again. You should keep it refrigerated until it goes super dark, and then use a fork to peel apart the skins, into stringy pieces. What you do next is up to you, but Nadiya throws it in a pan with some onion and garlic, and then adds a load of sweet bbq sauce.
Who knew banana peel could look so good?
Tofu
A controversial vegan staple is tofu. I completely get why people would be put off by it – to say it like it is, it’s the most bland thing you could possibly eat, and the texture isn’t particularly appealing either. So why eat it at all? Well, I guess it can be a pretty decent meat replacement, but you have to know how to cook it. It’s all about seasoning, marinating and spicing it up, maybe even with a crunchy batter or crumb. Personally I don’t think tofu is something we should decide we love or hate – actually, it wholly depends on how you eat it and what you have it with. I’ve had tofu dishes that I haven’t enjoyed, but others that have been great, including tofu katsu and tofu dumplings. One of my favourite uses of tofu was a Rachel Ama recipe where she turns it into a thick, creamy spread with the simple addition of some chives. The recipe can be found in her book ‘Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats’ and is perfect on toast. So don’t judge it too soon – once you find a fantastic recipe, full of flavour, you’ll be able to enjoy tofu too.
Tofu and aubergine katsu – delicious!
Seitan
There are of course, some rather more ‘hardcore’ meat replacements, and by that I mean those that require a little more spending and effort in order to turn them into a tasty meal. The most on trend at the minute is Seitan. Otherwise known as wheat gluten, it’s the thick, elastic gluten leftover when all the starch granules have been removed from wheat flour dough. It’s become super popular as a much more convincing meat substitute than tofu, and has a more pleasing texture. I’ve had seitan wings, seitan burger patties and seitan doner meat to name a few, and I’ve been a fan every time. I’m pretty sure you can buy pre-prepared seitan, but some recipes (like many of Avant Garde Vegan’s) require you to make your seitan patties and bacon from scratch, which is why it requires a bit more time and dedication.
Seitan wings from Temple of Seitan in Hackney/Camden
There is some debate over these kinds of meat replacements in terms of what nutrition they actually provide for our bodies. With meat you’re getting a solid helping of protein, and from vegetable-based meat replacements you take in multiple nutrients, however the likes of tofu and seitan don’t really have much to offer. For me, these types of substitutes are more of an occasional purchase, and ideally it’s much better to cook with food that bears greater resemblance to its original form, i.e. fruit and veg.
Eggs
Moving onto eggs, these are something that you may be struggling to work out how you’re going to live without if you’re considering going vegan. There are various replacement options, depending on the type of egg you’re after. To be honest, I don’t have anything to offer when it comes to fried or poached eggs, however, scrambled are a popular vegan choice. Common replacements include, tofu, mashed chickpeas and ackee (a fruit popular in the Caribbean). I have tried the ackee concept, but am yet to have cooked it successfully so can’t speak on behalf of that one. Tofu scramble can be very nice, providing it’s well-spiced and seasoned. One of my favourites, though, was another of Rachel Ama’s recipes for a chickpea scramble breakfast wrap. I’m not sure the scramble would be as satisfying on it’s own, but certainly as a filling it tasted fantastic, and the texture wasn’t bad.
When it comes to baking with eggs, there are a number of options. To recreate the binding effect that eggs offer, mixing chia or flax seeds with water is a great option, as the seeds expand as they take on water, and you’re left with a thick, gelatinous mixture. Things like apple sauce are a great way of getting moisture into bakes without using eggs, although from the vegan baking recipes I’ve tried so far, as delicious as they’ve been, they never quite achieve the same rise.
Sauces and flavourings
There’s absolutely no reason why plant-based food should be bland, as generally sauces, stocks and spices are in no way off-limits to those avoiding animal products, even if specific vegan versions have to be made. One of the most commonly used flavourings in plant-based meals is nutritional yeast. These flakes can be added to sauces, pastas and even water to create a kind of stock, and they have a distinctly cheesy smell and flavour that otherwise would be missed in a vegan diet. Miso paste, liquid smoke and soy sauce/coconut aminos are other key flavour boosters – you can even buy vegan fish sauce.
It’s also super easy to create plant-based sauces from scratch. Avoiding dairy products, cashews are a key ingredient for whipping up thick, creamy sauces – they just need to be soaked for a few hours then blended along with whichever other flavourings and ingredients you’re craving.
Although standard pesto isn’t vegan (or vegetarian for that matter) due to the use of parmesan, it’s incredibly easy to either leave it out, use a vegan version, or just add a sprinkling of the aforementioned nutritional yeast. Rather than sticking with the same pasta sauce every day of your life, pesto is such a fun one to jazz up, as it can be made with any combination of veg, nuts, garlic and olive oil.
Sun dried tomato pesto pasta from Rachel Ama’s Vegan Eats
Obviously tomato-based sauces never have to be off-limits, but even these can be made more exciting by incorporating sun dried tomatoes or red peppers into the mix. You can try pesto versions of those ingredients, or mix them with soaked blended cashews for a creamy red sauce – much like the equivalent of a little tomato puree swirled through some mascarpone, only with loads more flavour.
creamy red pepper pasta – sauce made with cashews
Baking
Baking is one area in which it can be a bit tougher to convince people of plant-based ingredients’ ability to get the job done. But believe me, I’ve followed a few plant-based sponge recipes now, and they have been delicious. As I mentioned regarding the lack of eggs, you don’t quite get the same rise, but they do still rise enough. Apple cider vinegar is a good addition as it should react with your raising agent (baking powder or bicarb) to generate a slightly more significant rise. For added moisture in your bakes, bananas or apple sauce are decent options, although obviously they will affect the flavour to an extent.
lemon drizzle and pistachio loaf cake
Believe it or not, meringues aren’t off the cards either. Odd as it may sound, aquafaba, which is the liquid you find in tinned chickpeas etc, is the main ingredient in whipping up vegan meringues, although not having tried it myself, I’m sure it takes a fair bit of practice.
chocolate ganache torte using coconut milk and vegan chocolate for the filling
In terms of brunch baking, fear not, because pancakes and French toast are still firmly on the menu. For your French toast egg wash replacement, simply combine plant-based milk with maple syrup and vanilla essence and soak your bread in that. Pancakes can be made equally as easily without eggs – a base mixture of milk, flour, baking powder and vanilla essence will do just fine.
What this post goes to highlight is just how many creative, straightforward and widely shared options there are nowadays when it comes to cutting down on your meat/fish/dairy/egg intake or avoiding animal products altogether. This also applies to the kinds of ingredients you can access in supermarkets, with vegan versions of chicken, mince and bacon now all being pretty common finds. Lots of popular confectionary such as Oreos, Biscoff and party rings are also vegan certified so you don’t have to miss out on the good stuff.
Even vegan doughnuts are on the rise – check out this PB and Jlo doughnut from Doughnut Time…
So whether you love doing your bit for animal welfare and the environment, or you still love a juicy beefburger, there shouldn’t be anything to stop you from being a bit more experimental in the kitchen when it comes to eating well. Buddha bowls, seitan steaks and chickpeas galore, plant-based definitely isn’t something to be feared.
If you told me a couple of years ago that I’d regularly be eating soup for lunch and dinner I would’ve scoffed. Soup is a liquid meal – how can that possibly satisfy you and fill you up? Well, somehow it does, and I’ve now tried so many delicious soup recipes (Ainlsey Harriott’s in his Caribbean Kitchen cook book are fab), that I thought it was about time I came up with some of my own.
Butternut squash soups have always been some of my favourite, and a lot of that is down to the fact that they are never watery. I love a creamy soup, and with squash, you can get that lovely consistency without even having to add cream, and so it can still be a super healthy meal.
My soup recipe below is not only healthy, but also entirely plant-based (pretty easy to achieve with soups), and I’ve kept a pretty thick consistency. If you wanted a smoother, runnier soup, all you’d have to do is add a little more water, and blend more thoroughly.
And as anti-food waste as I am, there’s no need at all to throw away the seeds. They’re delicious roasted, and add a lovely crunchy to finish off the soup.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ squash (plus seeds)
1 carrot
2 ½ tbsp honey
1tsp paprika
salt/pepper
olive oil
1 onion
½ chilli
1 clove garlic
1 stick celery
50ml coconut cream
1 tin chopped tomatoes
100ml water
1tsp nutmeg
1tsp cayenne pepper
1tbsp nutritional yeast
Roast the squash and carrot (both diced) with 1tbsp honey, paprika, olive oil and seasoning until soft and caramelised.
Roast seeds in separate tray with the same honey coating (use ½ tbsp) until golden. These won’t take as long as the veg, so keep an eye on them.
Sweat the onion in a saucepan or deep casserole dish (anything that the soup can happily sit in without overflowing!), then add the garlic and chilli.
Add the chopped celery and seasoning.
When the veg has finished roasting, add to the pot along with the coconut cream, tomatoes and water.
Add the remaining spices, honey and nutritional yeast, and after stirring, bring to the boil then reduce to simmer for 20 mins.
Remove from heat and blend with a stick blender and add a splash of water if the soup is too thick.
Return to simmer for 5 mins then serve topped with the seeds.
This soup is full of flavour, with a little spicy kick to it, and there’s no way you won’t be satisfied after finishing a bowl. You could serve with crusty bread, but as this soup is on the thicker side, I find that I don’t necessarily want any heavy carbs to dip in (with a thinner soup it’s a different story…).
As is the case with most of my recipes, they’re really easy to adapt if you don’t have all the ingredients. Nutritional yeast isn’t essential, it just adds an extra, subtle umami flavour, and I prefer using a small amount of these flakes to a load of vegetable stock. Sweet potatoes would also work really well for the base of the soup, roasted cherry tomatoes instead of tinned tomatoes, and the coconut cream could be replaced by any other cream or coconut milk, or even just left out entirely for more of a light veggie, tomato flavour.
I really do love this recipe, more so than any of the other squash soup recipes I’ve tried elsewhere, so do give it a try.
I love following recipes. When I’m conscientiously working step by step through someone else’s instructions for a masterpiece, I’m learning.
More recently, however, I’ve started to think that although I do love other people’s recipes, the only way to take my cooking to the next level, is to trust myself a little bit more, and take what I’ve learnt, trying to put that into practice to produce my own recipe-less meals.
I had an Indian takeaway the week before last, and realised that my absolute favourite kind of curry is that creamy, thick, slightly sweet sauce. Sort of like a korma, but sweeter. That’s not to say that I’m not good with spice, because I love the heat, but I’m just such a sucker for sweetness.
That creamy takeaway curry that I adore
I don’t think I’ve ever followed a cookbook or internet recipe that has successfully emulated this sweet and fragrant kind of curry sauce, so that’s where my mission came in.
I’m very happy with the paste I’ve managed to produce. It’s so full of flavour, and could be adapted to work with a variety of main ingredients, so if you’d rather try chicken, or wanted to substitute the spinach for chickpeas, etc., it would work.
This curry didn’t end up being as thick and creamy as those I’ve tried and loved in the UK, however, thinking back to my recent visit to India, curries over there really aren’t like that at all. They tended to be either slightly more runny, or towards the other extreme, lacking in sauce and instead focusing on the paste as a sort of coating.
So there’s my excuse for the consistency of this delicious, healthy curry.
As always I come with disclaimers – my oven behaves like a bonfire, and so any recipe that says roast for 40 minutes, in my oven, has to be converted to about 20 to prevent a lump of charcoal emerging 40 minutes later. Therefore, timings may need to be adjusted accordingly to account for differences in appliances. Just use your common sense.
Serves 2
Ingredients:
½ butternut squash + seeds
olive oil
chilli or paprika flakes
1 tbsp turmeric
200ml coconut milk
2 mini packs of raisins
2 handfuls of spinach
small handful coriander
rice of your choice to serve
For the paste:
1 large onion
2 cloves of garlic
2tsp ginger paste or thumb of fresh ginger
1tbsp curry powder
½ tsp cinnamon
1tsp cumin
½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp fenugreek
large pinch of salt
seeds of 1 cardamom pod
large handful of coriander
handful of almonds
4 dates or 2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp water
Preheat overn to 180
Cube the butternut squash then rub the cubes and seeds with olive oil and chilli or paprika flakes
Roast for 10 minutes (ish) or until almost cooked through. Then put to one side.
Heat oil in a pan and add chopped onion and garlic. It doesn’t particularly matter how they’ve been chopped, as they’ll end up blended anyway.
Add all the paste ingredients to a blender and blend to a smooth paste. Don’t worry if the colour doesn’t look particularly appetising; we’ll correct that shortly.
Begin to cook the paste in a pan, adding the turmeric, coconut milk and raisins.
The coconut milk will make the curry very runny so around 20 minutes on a medium heat should allow it to reduce and thicken slightly.
5 minutes or so before the curry has reduced to your taste, add the butternut squash, making sure to reserve the seeds for later.
Seconds before you remove the pan from the heat, throw in the spinach and mix through so that it wilts slightly but not completely.
Serve with rice, sprinkling over the squash seeds and chopped coriander.
This would also be wonderful served with naan to soak up all the delicious juices.
The paste is absolutely the star of the show, so as I said, the bulk ingredients (meat/veg) are pretty interchangeable so feel free to adapt this as you wish.
The lovely thing about making your own pastes and sauces is that you know exactly what’s gone into them. This is definitely one of my favourite things about cooking from scratch – no dodgy added ingredients with long-winded scientific names.
So next time you fancy a curry night, try and give those jarred curry pastes a miss. This time it’s down to you, throwing in as much or as little spice as you need to create your own Indian masterpiece.
¡Comemos! 