Brown Lentil One Pot Stew

I created this recipe when it was still cold but still useful for using up the winter veg of broccoli and leeks. An earthy, spicey one pot stew incorporating lentils and beans instead of meat, this gravey laden mix fuses Indian flavours with British veg.

Prep time 45 minutes

Serves 4

125g brown lentils

Half a teaspoon of stock (to boil the lentils)

250g leeks, chopped

250g broccoli, chopped

250g mushrooms, chopped

one can black beans, drained

250ml stock

can of chopped tomatoes

tomato puree, garlic puree

curry leaves, garam masala, or cumin

Put lentils on to boil in some water and stock. Chop leeks and fry in a little oil in a large frying pan. Add spices, curry leaves etc to frying pan. Chop broccoli and add to frying pan. Chop mushrooms and add to frying pan. Once veg have been coated in oil and spice, add stock water, tomatoes and purees to frying pan. Add black beans. Bring to boil and simmer. As soon as lentils are cooked – roughly 25 minutes – add to pan and simmer for a further 20minutes. Serve with bread and a generous dollop of tahini.

Spinach and Olive Pasta

Classic Italian vegan pasta dish, in the colours of the Italian flag!

Prep time 20 minutes

serves 3

Drizzle of oil

3 cloves garlic

herbs (mixed, or oregano), salt and pepper

1 can cannellini beans

1 can chopped tomatoes

260g spinach, chopped

15 olives, halved

150g – 180g pasta 

Slice garlic and fry in a little oil, herbs, S & P. Add tomatoes and beans. Bring to boil, simmer for 7 minutes. Put pasta on to boil. Add spinach and olives to sauce, simmer. When pasta cooked, drain and add to sauce in pan. Stir well and serve.

Winter Greens 30 Minute Curry

Spring is coming but the winter veg is still going strong with leeks leftover, and purple sprouting broccoli enduring the cold weather. This recipe uses tarragon and fenugreek to heighten the savoury taste of the vegetables, with coconut milk creating a smooth, creamy sauce. Leeks and broccoli are a fantastic combination, complementing each other in flavour and texture.

Prep time 30minutes

Serves 3

drizzle of oil

250g leek, sliced

50g spring onion, sliced

Fenugreek, tarragon, salt and pepper

200g purple broccoli, roughly chopped

can of white beans

can of coconut milk

couscous (45g each)

watercress salad

crusty bread

nutritional yeast

Drizzle oil into large frying pan over a medium heat. Add sliced leeks, onion, herbs and spices. After 5 – 10 minutes, add chopped broccoli and fry for a few minutes. Add beans from can. Pour on coconut milk. Bring to boil and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes, until broccoli is cooked through. Serve with watercress drizzled in oil, and couscous. Nutritional yeast optional.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

Nothing beats gravy and mash potato. This vegan twist on the traditional shepherd’s pie combines veggie sausages with brown lentils to create the filling, and sweet potato mustard mash for the topping. Served with spinach in tomato on the side, this rainbow coloured dish covers a lot of nutritional bases. Calcium in the sesame seeds and soya sausages, iron in the spinach and its complementary vitamin C in the tomatoes.

prep 1 hour

serves 4

For the topping:

600g sweet potatoes

10grams vegan butter

Splash of oat milk

Spoonful of mustard

For the filling:

250g brown lentils

6 veggie sausages

250g mushrooms

3 clove garlic

Pinch of salt

4 handfuls sesame seeds

200ml stock

Can of tomatoes

On the side:

200g spinach

Leek, sliced

Boil lentils for 25 minutes. Chop potatoes into 2” pieces and put on to boil for 20 minutes. Grill veggie sausages as per instructions. Chop mushrooms and fry in garlic and salt. Add sesame seeds. Once sausages are cooked, chop into pieces and add to mushrooms. Once potatoes are cooked, add butter, milk and mustard and mash. Once lentils are cooked, mix in with mushrooms and sausages to create the filling. Take one pyrex dish, pour in the filling. Mix the stock with half a can of tomatoes and pour over filling. Top with the mash. Place in oven at gas mark 4 / 180 / 160 fan, for 20 minutes. Prepare your side of greens in a large saucepan. Fry the leeks in a little oil, add spinach, then tomaotoes. Place lid on pan and allow spinach to wilt. Serve pie with spinach on the side.

Vegan Tortilla Espanola

Craving omlette? Chickpeas contain all but one of your essential amino acids, and chickpea flour can be used as a n egg substitute. The unique flavour of fried vegetables in an omelette got me experimenting with chickpea flour after seeing a recipe in Stephen Walsh’s book Plant Based Nutrition and Health. I could not find any gram flour in my local shops, so I made my own by grinding dry chickpeas in my nutribullet with their special grinder blade. The taste was an authentic, filling meal that could be eaten as is, or wrapped in bread to make a sandwich: un bocadillo de tortilla espanola, reminding me vividly of my time in Spain.

Prep time 30 minutes

Serves 1

Batter: 100g chickpea flour, 150 ml water

Drizzle of oil

60g Onion chopped

100g sweet potato finely diced

One third of a green pepper chopped

80g spinach

Dollop of tahini

Drizzle oil in a non stick frying pan with a lid. Add onions, sweet potato and peppers and put the lid on. While potatoes are cooking make the batter in a jug. To mix batter, first make a paste with a little water then add water gradually. Once potatoes are cooked, add spinach to frying pan. Drizzle some more oil and allow to heat up. On a medium heat, pour batter over the cooked vegetables in the pan. Shake the pan regularly to avoid sticking. Use a plastic spatula to lift the edges and help avoid sticking. After 5 minutes your tortilla is porbably ready to be flipped. Unless you have a tortilla frying pan, yes they do exist, you will have to flip the tortilla in halves using your large “turner” spatula. The surface underneath should be golden brown. Keep shaking the pan. After another five minutes your tortilla is ready.

Beans and Greens 15 Minute Wrap


Pushed for time, or can’t be bothered to cook, wraps make the perfect slap up meal. Combining beans with greens, mushrooms, garlic and nut butter, the flavours and textures combine to make a satisfying meal.

Prep: 15 minutes

per person:

50g kale

stock (to cook kale)

1 clove of garlic, sliced

60g mushrooms chopped

80g black beans

30g couscous

2 x tortillas

15g nut butter, spread on wrap

lemon juice on kale

3 tsp nutritional yeast (optional)

Chop the kale and put on to boil in stock. Lightly fry garlic. Chop mushrooms and fry with garlic. Add beans to mushrooms. Prepare couscous with boiling water in a bowl. Spread generous helping of nut butter on wrap. After ten minutes, drain kale and place in a bowl, drizzle with lemon juice. Pour mushrooms and beans into the bowl. Bring couscous to the table and prepare your wraps. Either layer couscous, mushrooms and kale, or pre mix the three ingredients in frying pan to make a tasty salad. Build wrap, and add nutritional yeast for nutrient boost and cheese like flavour.

Seitan, Leek and Mushroom Pie

The vegan version of chicken pie, this is the perfect winter warmer. The seitan, half tofu, half wheat, is rich in nutrients, softens in the oven as it absorbs the flavours of the spices. Mushrooms and leek wrapped in white sauce add to the succulence with a touch of clove for an added dimension.

Serves 4

Prep 1 hour

Generous drizzle oil

200g leek or onion chopped

Curry leaves, cumin, cloves, salt and pepper

250g mushrooms

Another generous drizzle oil

225g seitan, shredded by hand into 1-2” chunks

3 tsp corn flour

200ml of oat or soya milk

2 – 3 tbsp nut butter

320g pastry (or enough to cover your pyrex dish)

260g spinach, on the side

can of beans, on the side

Take a large frying pan and add the ingredients in the order listed above, from oil to seitan, over a medium heat, stirring frequently. The time is takes to cut the next veg should be enough time for the previous item to fry. Sprinkle the corn flour over the ingredients and stir. Add milk and gently stir, a thick sauce should appear after a few minutes. Stir in nut butter. Preheat oven to 180 / 160 degrees fan assisted, gas mark 4. Roll out pastry and line pyrex dish. Pour in contents of frying pan. Cover dish with pastry lid and prick holes to allow steam out when cooking. Bake on middle shelf for 45 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown. With 5 or 10 minutes to go, boil your green and beans on the hob, and serve.

I had some green beans left over, see picture, but add black beans for a nutritional medley to accompany your pie!

Vegan Garlic “Mussels”

Inspired by a recipe in ‘Vegan Food and Living’ these garlic mushroom “mushels” are made with shitake mushrooms and plenty of garlic. Rich in B vitamins, serve with beans and kale for an extra health kick. Tarragon adds an umami dimension while white wine and lemon sets off the juice. After over a decade of being vegan, without anything like mussels, this was a real treat.

Prep time 30min

Serves 3

Drizzle of oil

One medium onion, diced

5 – 6 cloves of garlice, sliced

150g shitake mushrooms, sliced

generous sprinkle of tarragon

5 tbsp lemon juice

generous sprinkling of kelp (optional)

can of coconut milk

150ml stock

150ml wine

100g kale

can of white beans

black pepper

handful of parsley (add 5 minutes towards the end)

In a large frying pan, add the oil, onion, garlic, mushrooms, tarragon, lemon juice and kelp. Once the mushrooms and onion are lightly fried add the remaining ingredients in the order listed above, except parsley. Bring to the boil, put on lid and simmer for 10-15minutes. Stir in parsley 5 minutes towards the end. Serve with french bread.

Classic Vegan Spaghetti Bolognese

This classic bolognese made with soya contains all nine amino acids, protein and zinc. I find myself craving the tomato-y richness of the sauce, combined with the chewy texture of the soya meat, and the nuttiness of the wholewheat spaghetti. This version is made with oregano, only, but you can add spices like cumin and cloves for a Meditarranean twist. You should have most of the ingredients in stock, so it doesn’t require much shopping.

prep time 1 hour

serves 4

generous drizzle of oil

150g onion or leek, chopped

250g mushrooms, chopped

sprinkling of oregano

250g soya mince

tinned tomatoes

3 tsp tomato puree

2 tsp garlic puree / 3 garlic cloves chopped

150ml vegetable stock

splash of vegan worcestershire sauce

250g leafy greens chopped

200g wholewheat spaghetti

Drizzle oil in a deep frying pan, on a medium heat. Add leeks/onion and fry until transluscent. Stir in the mushrooms and fry for a few minutes, adding the oregano. Pour in the soya mince and stir. Add tinned tomatoes, purees, vegan worcestershire sauce and vegetable stock. Gently bring to the boil, stirring occasionally. Add chopped greens and place lid on pan. Allow to boil for 10 minutes then turn down to alow heat. Simmer for 30-45minutes. 15 minutes before serving, boil kettle and put pasta on to cook. Serve in your favourite pasta bowl, bread and houmous optional!

N.B. The picture shows this exact same recipe made with green beans, rather than leafy greens.

Lentil and Bean Soup

Bursting with flavour and nutrition, this simple soup is one of my favourites. Lentils and beans are powerhouses of nutrition, with iron, zinc and other minerals. Coconut milk is high in calcium,as are the tinned tomatoes. I could not resist adding some seasonal squash on top, full of carotenoids, and bringing that roasted sweetness.

Prep time 45min

Serves 6

500g red lentils

boiling water

3 tsp spice (tumeric, cardamom)

one tin of tomatoes

one tin of coconut milk

200g chopped kale

two tins of black or white beans

sliced squash, roasted in a drizzle of oil, salt and pepper (45minutes on top shelf of oven at 180-200 degrees)

Preheat oven 200 degrees, slice squash into wedges, place on baking tray, drizzle with oil and season with salt and pepper. Put lentils and cover with boiling water 2:1 in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Boil for 15 minutes until most lentils are cooked through. Stir in spice. Pour in tomatoes and coconut milk, stir well. Add kale, add beans, put lid on. Leave to simmer/steam greens for 20 minutes. Stir every ten minutes to ensure lentils are not sticking. Once greens are softened, soup is ready to serve. Take squash out of oven, slice each wedge and serve on top of soup.