I make this carrot cake without sugar, it’s based on Ottolenghi’s carrot and walnut cake, but I’ve simplified it. You can make it with sugar, or coconut sugar or xylitol (and you really can’t tell there’s no sugar in it if you go down that route) It’s just as delicious with or without. My friend Ralph took it to work and people couldn’t believe that there was no sugar in it because it was so delicious!
Moqueca is a super easy traditional Brazilian fish stew which is creamy and tangy all at once because it has the brilliant combo of lime juice, coconut milk and chilli. It will warm your cockles even on an autumn evening and take you to somewhere a little bit more exotic if you are not there already. You can also use fresh squid, sea bream, haddock, clams, mussels, scallops, crab or whatever is available or whatever you fancy in it. It’s up to you. Its really delicious with basmati rice or crusty bread if you are not low carbing it. Perfect for a dinner party or just a dinner for two.
I have cooked this simple recipe for a thousand years…it is from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery book. Not only is it the nicest dal recipe I’ve ever tried, it’s my friend Sophie’s fave recipe for dal too. Its thick creamy and tasty, and lentils are fantastic for your digestion, stabilising blood sugar levels and lowering cholesterol amongst many other things.
This Kale curry is really creamy and it’s got pine nuts, sultanas and coconut milk in it so it’s quite rich. I wasn’t sure if it was too rich, but once you put it with plain basmati rice it’s perfect. You could also serve it with roast chicken. It’s also a more complicated recipe than my usual recipes, but bear with it as it’s worth it, and it’s a tasty way to eat kale. My friend Babs tried it when she popped round and she loved it and she normally loathes curries… So if you fancy a healthy, creamy curry this recipe is for you.
Rhubarb cake is really pretty and really delicious and I have made it really healthy. It’s created so you can also do a vegan version with egg replacer from health stores or on-line. It has the great flavours of orange zest and honey in it so it tastes amazing and it’s made with healthier spelt flour. It’s also perfect if you follow an egg or dairy free diet. I love rhubarb and think it should have a renaissance if it’s not already.
This is the ultimate Indian sweet and sour dish and I like the idea of fruit being used as if they were vegetables. This quick and easy recipe would be fab served with other Indian dishes, like tandoori chicken or any meat dish or just with basmati rice and a salad. I converted it to vegan, by replacing the curd in the traditional recipe with creamy coconut milk and I think it tastes just as good. About to get my friends Louise and Nicola to test try it for dinner tonight and will get back to you with their verdict.
They loved it and couldn’t get enough of it. I served it with plain boiled basmati rice, poppadums, garlicky raita, homemade onion bhajis (recipe coming soon) and salad.
I love this bowl of coconutty deliciousness. Laksa is a comforting Thai coconut broth with vegetables and noodles. It’s spicy, creamy and noodley. I find a lot of vegan recipes are trying to emulate meat dishes, which is not great because vegan ingredients can be fantastic and with imagination don’t need to pretend they are something they are not. There are a lot of sumptuous vegan dishes that don’t shout deprivation of any kind. Hopefully you will try my vegan recipes and agree that they are just as good as any recipe using animal products, I try to make them look delicious too, and full of colour and not just a load of beige-ness.
This recipe is my take on a Laksa I hope you like it. It’s healthy and delicious.
Laksa is a creamy coconutty broth which is spicy, delicious and is a very traditional Thai dish. It’s always served in a big bowl with noodles and with lots of garnishes, so it looks scrumptious. You can also make this recipe with whatever takes your fancy, so you can add different seafood to it like squid and scallops or shell fish. It’s up to you and if you omit the noodles you have a very tasty, creamy low carb meal. It’s perfect for date night dinner with your darling, when you fancy something hot and spicy.
I love cooking with cucumber. It’s really delicious cooked and I often put it in a stir fry julienned or just chopped into stick shapes and add it to the pan with all the other ingredients. Cooked cucumber has a subtle, delicate taste which works really well with Asian recipes. I have also added crunchy cashews and a bit of coconut so it has my favourite combo of sweet and savoury with smooth and crunchy and is nice and healthy but super tasty. Perfect for a vegetarian or vegan dinner.
This laksa is my version of the delicious coconutty creamy sweet and sour Thai broth. Although more of a meal. It’s got soft boiled eggs and roasted tomatoes with spinach and leeks. It works because they are all flavours that work well together. It’s perfect for a midweek supper or on a date night. Once you have made the laksa paste you can keep it for a long time in the freezer for future use. The laksa jars in the supermarket aren’t as good and fresh tasting, but they are fine if you can’t be bothered to make it.
