Category Archives: vegan

Spicy Vegetable Stew

September 17, 2020stew, vegan, Vegetariansweet potato, vegetable stew, veggie stewCorto Maltese

Now that summer is coming to an end and we’re witnessing some wild thunderstorms it is time to change tack to more heartwarming invernal concoctions. This stew balances the bite of chili and ras il-hanout with the sweetness of sweet potato. I served it with rice but spelt could be a nice alternative.

Serves 2-3

Ingredients:

1 Onion chopped

1 large clove Garlic chopped

2 Green Peppers sliced

1 Sweet Potato cubed

2 Zucchini cubed

250g Peas

2 bird’s eye Chilies

2 Tomatoes chopped

1tbsp Tomato Purée (Kunserva)

2 Bayleaves

1 tsp Ras il-Hanout

1 tsp Coriander powder

1 cup Water

Salt

Method:

Sweat the onion with a 1/4 tsp salt till it starts to soften. The salt helps draw out the moisture and cooks it faster. Add green peppers and stir for a few more minutes. Add garlic, chili, coriander powder and ras il-hanout. Add tomato puree and stir for another minute. Add tomatoes sweet potato and zucchini. Add a cup of water and lower the heat to a simmer. Add peas and bay leaves. Cover and simmer for half an hour. Meanwhile prepare rice or spelt

Chilli sin Carne

May 3, 2020vegan, VegetarianCorto Maltese

This is a vegetarian take on the Mexican favourite Chilli con Carne. This basic sauce can be served with nachos or rice, wrapped in a large tortilla sprinkled with cheese to make a Burrito or in a smaller tortilla to make a Chilli Taco. I tend to use quorn mince but soya mince works as well

Serves 6

Ingredients:

1 Onion peeled and chopped

2 Cloves Garlic

2 tbs Olive Oil

2 Red Peppers deseeded and diced

1 tsp Cumin Seeds

1 tbs Tomato Puree

1 Chipotle Chilli soaked in hot water for 20 minutes and chopped if available

1 or 2 Red Chillies to taste chopped

400g Quorn or Soya Mince

500g Cooked Red Kidney Beans or 2 cans

2 Cans Polpa

1/2 Bunch Fresh Coriander chopped

Method:

Heat the olive oil in a saucepan on medium heat and add the onion, peppers, cumin seeds and 1/2 tsp salt for five minutes. Add garlic, stir and continue cooking for another two minutes. Add the kuorn and stir for two minutes. Add tomato puree for another minute and add the tomato polpa. Simmer for 15 minutes. Stir in the beans and leave for another five to ten minutes.Taste for seasoning. Make sure it is not too liquidy. Stir in the coriander leaving some for garnish.

Chickpea and Spelt Risotto

April 3, 2015spelt risotto, vegan, Vegetarianchickpeas, Spelt, Spelt risottoCorto Maltese

A staple grain used since neolithic times, spelt has a wonderful consistency and texture which does not tend to get soggy in liquid and keeps better than rice. I have taken to experimenting with it lately and this is one of the results.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

1 cup Spelt

3 cups Vegetable Stock

1 onion chopped

1 Carrot chopped

2 sticks Celery chopped

1 clove Garlic chopped

1 can Chickpeas

1 tsp Tomato Puree

2 tsp Ras el Hanout

1 tbsp Olive Oil

1 tsp Chilli Oil

Method:

Fry the vegetables in the oil till the onions are soft, about 6 minutes. Add the spelt, tomato puree and the spices and cook for a further 2 minutes. If you don’t have Ras el Hanout, a popular Moroccan spice mix, substitute ground cumin. Add stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 50 minutes stirring occasionally. Add chickpeas and cook for a further 10 minutes. Leave to rest for 5 minutes.

Easy but very tasty mmm…

Broccoli and Barley Broth

March 2, 2015BROTH, Soup, vegan, VegetarianBarley, Broccoli, BrothCorto Maltese

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 Onions chopped

3 Carrots sliced diagonally

3 celery sticks chopped

1 head Broccoli

4 small potatoes scrubbed, cut in half

100g Barley rinsed

1 small chilli (deseeded if you don’t want it very spicy)

1 litre Water

Olive Oil

2 tsp coarse Sea Salt

1 tbsp Pumpkin Seeds

Grated Parmesan

Method

Sweat the onions, carrots and celery in a little olive oi for 5 minutes. Meanwhile cut the broccoli into small florets and set aside. Add the stalk of the broccoli, chili and the potatoes to the pot for another couple of minutes. Add the boiled water, the salt and the barley and simmer for 45 minutes making sure the barley is tender. Remove the stalks and add the florets and pumpkin seeds, simmering for another 10 minutes. Serve with grated parmesan

Black Eyed Beans Stew with Sweet Potato, Squash and Spinach

March 1, 2015stew, vegan, VegetarianBlack Eyed Beans, Spinach, Squash, sweet potatoCorto Maltese

Ingredients

500g Black Eyed Beans soaked overnight and cooked till tender (usually around 1 hour)

1 Large Squash

1 Large Sweet Potato

1 Red Pepper chopped

500g Spinach

6 Onions thinly sliced

3 Cloves Garlic chopped coarsely

4cm Ginger Root

1 tsp Ground Coriander

1/2 tsp Ground Ginger

2 Bay Leaves

500ml Vegetable Stock

2 tsp Hot Chilli Oil

Sunflower Oil

1 Tin Tomatoes Polpa

Salt and Pepper

Method

Preheat oven to 180°c

Peel squash and sweet potato and cut into bite-sized chunks. In a baking tray mix with a little oil and season with salt and pepper, ground coriander and ground ginger. Bake for around 30 minutes, stirring once half way through, until they start to speckle with gold.

Meanwhile saute the onions, garlic, pepper, bay leaf and chili oil and grate the ginger. When it starts to get fragrant ( a couple of minutes) add the stock and simmer for 40 minutes. Add the tinned tomatoes cooking for a further 25 minutes.

Add the squash and sweet potato and simmer for 5 minutes.

Finally stir in the beans and the spinach, simmering until the spinach wilts and the flavours blend, around 10 minutes.

This is one of those dishes that taste even better the next day as the flavours blend so keep any leftovers.

Falafel Burger with Spicy Salsa

November 21, 2014vegan, Vegetarian, veggie burgerfalafel burgerCorto Maltese

This deliciously healthy burger will only take a few minutes of your time. And it is worth every second!

Falafel Burger: 8 Patties

Ingredients:

800g Chickpeas ( Tinned are fine)

2 tbsp Garam Flour (Chickpea Flour)

1 tbsp Tahini

2 tsp ground Cumin ( grinding at home from toasted cumin seeds achieves superior result)

Generous pinch Cayenne Pepper or Harissa to taste

1 large clove Garlic finely chopped

Handful finely chopped Coriander Leaves

Olive or Sunflower Oil

Method:

Combine all ingredients and blitz in a food processor

Form patties by hand. Mixture should be quite stiff.

Lightly cover the bottom of your frying pan with oil and fry patties 3 minutes on each side until golden brown.

Spicy Salsa:

Ingredients:

400g Tinned Tomatoes

2 tbsp Olive Oil

Juice from 1 Lime or Lemon

1 tbsp Jalapeno Peppers from jar with some of the juice ( make sure it has some bite to it)

1/2 tsp salt

1 small Onion finely chopped (optional)

1 Clove Garlic finely chopped

1 tbsp chopped Coriander Leaves

Method:

Combine ingredients and and emulsify the oil into the salsa using a potato masher. A hand blender can be used as well.

Serve with wholemeal warm pitta bread and green leaves.

Ratatouille

October 1, 2014stew, vegan, VegetarianMediterranean cuisine, Provencal, Ratatouille, vegetarianCorto Maltese

Ratatouille

I made this traditional recipe for some very special guests. I will introduce them in good time. Ratatouille is a stew of the vegetables that are so prevalent in the Mediterranean in the summertime; aubergines, courgettes and sweet peppers, which originated in Nice and has been adopted by the Provence region. The circumstances dictated that I prepare a copious amount of the stuff, roughly enough for twelve portions but it is easy enough to calculate how much you want to prepare. Just keep in mind that you need approximately an equal amount of all the vegetables, maybe slightly less tomatoes.

The secret of a good ratatouille is to cook the vegetables separately so each will taste truly of itself.
—Joël Robuchon, The Complete Robuchon

Ingredients

Aubergines 1Kg
Italian Zucchini 1Kg
Green and Coloured Peppers 1 Kg
Onions 1 Kg
Tomatoes 900 g
Garlic one head
Olive Oil 300 Ml
Basil a bunch
Salt 2 tsp
pepper 1/2 tsp

Method

Wash the vegetables and cut them into 2.5 cm cubes. Start sauteing the vegetables one by one on a high heat in a large skillet or wok. Start with the aubergines,

brown them in some of the oil and move them with a slotted spoon to a casserole dish or a large pot. Repeat the process with the courgettes, making sure there is enough oil as the aubergine absorbs a lot of oil. Repeat with the peppers and onions together.

If your skillet or wok is too small do them in batches so you can get enough heat. Once these vegetables are all in the pot add the tomatoes, peeled Continue reading Ratatouille →