Creamy Garlic Shells & Variations

Ok, not much of a photo there and those of you who follow the daily food diary will have seen these all before. This is basically a recreation of an old childhood junk food favourite of mine and one I have been trying to get right for a long time. Growing up I used to love these 'Creamy Garlic Shells' that were by Lipton and sold as part of the 'Sides' range. The idea being you serve this pasta on the side of some meat item and some veg. I loved it so much though I would often just have a big bowl of the pasta on it's own. Most Canadians would probably site Kraft dinner as their favourite "guilty pleasure" boxed pasta dish but for me it was this stuff, I couldn't get enough of it.

It was basically shells in a creamy white cheese sauce, the cheese being powdered parmesan and romano, I know, sounds gross but I really loved it!! I've made several attempts to veganize it, first with cheezly in a roux which wasn't even close, then I omitted the cheese altogether and simply made a roux with vegan milk and a Kallo Garlic and Herb stock cube thrown in and that was pretty darn close. I was happy with that.

But then Chloe Coscarelli's Mac and Cheese recipe came into my life. It's easily the best vegan mac and cheese I've tried and I have stopped even trying other nutritional yeast based ones altogether because of it. Then it dawned on me that I never tried to make this pasta using nutritional yeast to mimic the cheesy sauce. D'oh!

So I based this completely on her recipe, omitting the tomato paste as I didn't want this orange and increasing the ground garlic and adding dried parsley - all features of the original. I seriously cannot thank her enough as this is so incredibly spot on I cannot tell the difference. Mega happy :-)

While I love it with small shells as that's how I remember this the sauce goes so well with other pasta. I made it with tagliatelle with tenderstem broccoli which was gorgeous:

 ♥

Then we had it with traditional macaroni on the side of a store bought disgusting vegan kiev and some tenderstem broccoli. If the kiev wasn't yucky this would have really worked!

It also works perfectly as a creamy sauce in a vegetable pot pie! This turned out so well I've since updated my last Creamy Vegetable Pot Pie recipe with it - just click on the link there for the recipe. Gorgeous!

I further made a variation on this recipe - Creamy Garlic Mushroom Penne - this was beautiful, I've been after a good creamy mushroom sauce for a while now and this is it! I've added sliced mushrooms and replaced the salt with a mushroom stock cube for extra mushroom flavour. Beautiful. Recipe below!

Now, this is usually a traditional roux sauce where you melt the butter then add the flour and stir for 1 minute then slowly start adding the milk mixed with the yeast, salt, garlic powder and parsley, stirring well after each addition then simmering until thick.

However, I've since discovered the "all in one" roux method where you simply add it all to the pot and bring to a simmer, whisking now and again until thick and creamy and you know what? I can't tell the difference, I've used this method the past 4 times making this and it turns out perfect every time with no lumps and is so much easier - especially on the arms! So, if you feel safer doing it the traditional way, go right ahead but I'll post the "all in one" method here :-)


Creamy Garlic Shells: serves 3

225g small shells
30g vegan butter
20g plain flour
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle.
1 tsp EACH salt, garlic powder, parsley, lemon juice and light agave syrup - I've also used Sweet Freedom syrup instead of the agave and it was perfect.

Cook the pasta according to package instructions.

Meanwhile make the sauce: In a pyrex jug measure out the milk then add the yeast, salt, garlic powder and parsley and whisk well. (I hold the whisk between both hands and rub back and forth) Pour this into a saucepan and add the butter and sprinkle over the flour. Turn the heat onto high and whisk until the flour dissolves then just whisk now and again while the butter melts. As it comes to a simmer and it looks smooth switch from a whisk to a wooden spoon and simply stir now and again until thick and creamy. It's a lot easier! Turn off the heat then stir in the lemon juice and agave and pour over the cooked drained pasta and stir over low heat for a couple of minutes until the pasta is well coated with sauce.

While it's great on it's own this can take a lot of veg added: broccoli like I did, asparagus would be nice, as would peas - whatever you like really!

Source: Very much based on Chloe Coscarelli's Mac and Cheese.



Nutritional Information: based on 1 serving

Calories: 387
Protein: 15.7g
Fat: 7.8g
Sat Fat: 1.5g
Carbs: 65.5g
Sugar: 3.9g
Fibre: 3.7g
Sodium: 868.3mg

♥

Creamy Garlic Mushroom Penne: serves 3


225g penne pasta
30g vegan butter
20g plain flour
250g sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soy milk
1 mushroom stock cube - I used Kallo Organic Mushroom
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes, ground to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle.
1 tsp EACH garlic powder, parsley, lemon juice and light agave syrup - I've also used Sweet Freedom syrup instead of the agave and it was perfect.

For this one you will need to make a traditional roux - all in one won't work here I'm afraid :-(

Cook the pasta according to package instructions.

Meanwhile make the sauce: In a small saucepan measure out the milk then add the yeast, stock cube, garlic powder and parsley and stir. Turn the heat onto low and heat whilst stirring just until the stock cube is dissolved and mixed in.

In a large saucepan add the butter, turn the heat to high and when melted add the mushrooms. Fry until the mushrooms are well coated in butter then add a small pinch of sea salt and a few grinds of black pepper. Keep frying until the start to wilt then reduce the heat to low to let them sweat. When almost all the liquid has evaporated but there is still some there add the flour and fry on low for about a minute.

Now slowly start adding the warmed milk mixture, a little at a time and beat well with a wooden spoon until smooth after each addition. When all the milk has been added turn the heat up to high and keep stirring until thick and creamy. Now stir in the lemon juice and agave then add the well drained penne and stir until very well coated in sauce. Serve immediately!


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Garlic Mushroom Pâté

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Pâté is a funny one with me as whenever you think of it you think of meat and I've only ever eaten vegan pâté! I picked up Redwood Foods Mushroom Pâté awhile ago and I did really like it but something about foods like mushrooms and tofu which should always be really fresh sitting in a tube that you squeeze out slightly put me off :-/

So I decided to have a go making my own and am so glad I did. This turned out gorgeous! I don't know how pâté like the texture is to be fair, as I've never had "real" pâté, I suppose this more like a thick houmous, but who cares? It tastes amazing, really nice and garlicky but not overpowering and if you follow my food diary you'll know I just couldn't get enough of this stuff! I will be making this one again and again :-)

I loved it as a snack, simply spread on french bread with some grapes and wine in the evening but my husband also loved it as a sandwich spread. I would imagine it would be lovely in a warmed pitta with a soy burger and sautéed onions - yum!!

Garlic Mushroom Pâté: 

250g / 9oz mushrooms
4 large cloves garlic, pureed
30g / 2 Tbsp vegan butter (I used Pure Olive)
60ml / 1/4 cup white wine
110g / 4oz silken firm tofu
1/4 tsp salt
black pepper
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped fine

My mushrooms were medium in size and I quartered them, if yours are larger you may want to chop them smaller or simply half if using button mushrooms.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan and add the mushrooms, stir, tossing in the butter on high heat for a couple of minutes. Add the salt and a few grinds of black pepper reduce the heat to medium. Fry until all the liquid which comes out evaporates and the mushrooms start to turn golden at spots and just start to stick to the pan. Reduce heat to low and add the garlic and stir just until mixed in well then quickly add the white wine to deglaze and to stop the garlic from burning. Fry until all the wine is absorbed/evaporated and turn off the heat.

Transfer this to a bowl and let cool. Once cool tip it all into a food processor and add the tofu. Process on high until well mixed and there are no longer any large pieces of mushroom. It will still be grainy in texture, you don't want a paste. Transfer to a serving dish and cover with cling film then pop it in the fridge to fully cool and set a little more.

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Nutritional Information: per 100g

Calories: 129

Fat: 8.1g

Sat Fat: 1.6g

Protein: 6.1g

Carbs: 6.3g

Sugar: 1.6g

Fibre: 1g

Sodium: 269mg

Garlic Mushroom Sausage Rolls!

Well, I made the pate again and also had a strip of ready rolled puff pastry in the fridge and thought I would throw them together. These were so good! Although I should stress that with this batch of mushroom pate I made had less tofu than before, I only used about 70g, hence the darker colour and thicker texture which actually suits sausage rolls perfectly. It was accidental as I didn't realise I didn't have enough tofu until it was already made but a fantastic mistake! So if you are making the pate especially for sausage rolls, reduce the tofu to around 70g, then simply spoon some into ready rolled puff pastry, roll it up and pinch the edges sealed with a bit of water.

...........and bake in a 220C oven for about 15 minutes or until golden and puffy :-)

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Chickpea OR White Bean Houmous

Warm Spinach and Artichoke Dip

Warm Portobello Mushroom, Asparagus and Black Eyed Bean Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing

Well, in keeping with my promise to bombard you with asparagus recipes for their short lived season, here's another one for you! Those of you who follow my daily food diary will know I was having this for lunch quite often as I just couldn't get enough of it. I chose to add the black eyed beans simply for some added protein but the flavour and texture is really nice in there as well. That being said you can replace with your favourite bean or just omit them altogether.

As for the oil, lately I've been using this locally produced Virgin Cold Pressed Rapeseed Oil from Donegal and have been really impressed with it. I don't know how much of a difference it's made in the flavour of this dish as opposed to using extra virgin olive oil but it's delicious and I'm now a convert ;-) I particularly love that I can use an oil that's been locally produced as not surprisingly, olive oil isn't produced in Ireland!

Oh, and if you don't like asparagus, you'll be glad to hear this will be my last asparagus post this season :-D


Warm Portobello Mushroom, Asparagus and Black Eyed Bean Spinach Salad with Balsamic Dressing: Serves 1


50g baby spinach
50g black eyed beans, from a tin drained and rinsed.
50g asparagus, sliced into thirds, try and use thin stalks here.
1 large portobello mushroom, sliced
1 large shallot, sliced
1 tsp virgin rapeseed oil, or extra virgin olive oil
pinch of sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
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1 Tbsp virgin rapeseed oil, or extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 clove garlic, pureed
1/2 tsp dijon mustard
1/8 tsp salt
couple grinds of black pepper


First make the dressing by measuring the oil into a small bowl. Slowly add the vinegar, whisking all the while until fully incorporated. Add the mustard and whisk until thick and smooth (no more little mustard dots should appear). Whisk in the salt, garlic and pepper. Set aside.


Measure the spinach and beans into a large bowl and set aside. Heat the oil in a large frying pan then add the mushrooms, shallots and asparagus. Fry on high heat for a couple minutes and add a pinch of sea salt and a couple grinds of black pepper. Reduce heat to low and fry until the mushrooms are cooked and the asparagus is tender. There shouldn't be any liquid left as well. 


Give the dressing another good whisk then pour over the spinach and beans and toss really well. Place in a bowl or on a plate then top with the hot mushroom/asparagus mixture. Serve immediately.

♥

Nutritional Information: using virgin cold pressed rapeseed oil.

Calories: 275

Protein: 9.1g

Fat: 19.1g

Sat Fat: 1.4g

Fibre: 5g

Carbs: 20.5g

Sugar: 3.1g

Sodium: 636mg

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Roasted Red Pepper and Asparagus Almond Feta Flan

♥ Pastry filled with roasted red peppers, dill almond "feta" and topped with asparagus ♥

 Just out of the oven 

 Together with a simple side salad and chilled champagne it made for a perfect Spring inspired Easter Dinner 

So yes! This was our Easter dinner this year and it turned out so beautifully that this AND the Grand Marnier Spiked Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding are going to be the yearly Easter dinner tradition from now on :-) Not that I won't be making other times of the year of course as it's absolutely delicious and would  also make great picnic food. I got the idea for this from the November 2008 edition of Cook Vegetarian Magazine. The recipe was by Michel Roux, pastry chef extraordinaire but was a decidedly vegetarian dish using butter and egg pastry and filled with eggs and cream. I've otherwise kept the concept the same here, a pastry lined flan dish filled with roasted red peppers and asparagus.

It didn't take me long to figure out how I was going to veganize this one. Ever since I discovered that the almond feta can be baked straight from mixing to make a pasta bake like I used in the Greek Style Orzo Spinach and Almond Feta Bake  I knew this would work. For the same reasons asparagus and parmesan go so wonderfully together so does asparagus with this almond feta. For the pastry I've gone uber simple here and used Jus-Rol ready rolled shortcrust pastry (sorry Michel!). It's labelled vegan, is easy to work with and tastes great but if you want to make your own pastry you could use my basic pastry recipe. 

His roasted red peppers were a little more complicated than what I've done here as he made mixed semi-confit peppers, that would be grilled peppers, skinned then left to marinade in a herbed oil. I felt there was no need for that here as the almond feta is so packed with flavour anyway so I simply roasted them using my quick roast method where they are roasted, peeled and chopped.

I kept the almond feta recipe the same but added some freshly ground nutmeg and black pepper and then stirred in some chopped fresh dill. It's my favourite herb and the flavour go so well with the 'feta' and asparagus but you can use whatever herb you like or leave it out altogether. The only change I would make next time is in cooking the asparagus. He boiled his until fork tender then laid them on top and the whole thing was baked. I did this but my asparagus got a little overcooked in the oven. My gut instinct was telling me there was no need to pre-boil them and I think I was right. I would say if you are using large asparagus to par-boil them for a few minutes but if you are using thin asparagus like I did there is no need, simply roast it all together.

We got 6 servings out of the flan and felt they were just right, after all the almond feta is fairly rich and just like with the Greek Style Orzo, Spinach and Almond Feta Flan I served this with a simple side salad - just good quality Irish butterhead lettuce and rocket with some chopped tomatoes, and my favourite mustard-dill vinaigrette. Just like with the orzo dish it's sharp tanginess compliments the richness of the almond feta here perfectly.

Also like the orzo dish, I know this one can be modified greatly to suit your tastes. If you don't like asparagus, tenderstem broccoli would be lovely. Or use zucchini sliced thin and lengthwise to fit the tin. Alternatively you can go for a Mediterranean Flan and fill it with roasted peppers, black olives, spring onion, toasted pine nuts, sun-dried tomatoes and fresh basil in place of the dill. Actually, I think that will be my next version of this, sounds too good not to try!! :-)

♥

Grand Marnier Spiked Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding

So THIS was our dessert on Easter Sunday and it turned out so beautifully I think it will be our Easter dessert every year. I got the idea from BBC Good Food and just thought it was a fab idea - to make bread and butter pudding with hot cross buns = brilliant. To add marzipan to it? Extra brilliant! Me being me and all I had to pour over a good glug of Grand Marnier because, well basically I don't know when to stop :-D

I suppose this is more of a spiced cake with warm boozy custard than how I remember bread and butter pudding being, and for me at least that's a massive improvement! The spice flavours in the cake just went so well with the orange and boozy custard flavours and made a wonderful dessert on Easter. (Our main course was sublime too so watch this space, it's getting blogged next!)

This is also a great way to use up any leftover hot cross buns that are getting a bit dry. If you recall from my last post I made a batch of hot cross buns which turned out too dry, tasted great, but too dry. They then sat on the counter for days as I couldn't bring myself to throw them out, getting even more dry. Well, they were a perfect candidate for this dessert as it all gets soaked in boozy custard then baked. If you are using fresh hot cross buns I would suggest slowly and lightly toasting them just to dry them out slightly.

And yes, my version here does call for Alpro Soy Custard which I know some of you won't be able to buy - sorry about that, but sometimes I just gotta use these ingredients! Also a note on the buns, I used ones that were based on my original hot cross bun recipe, without egg replacer but with apple instead of raisins, brushed with apricot jam and with a maple drizzle like on my newer version hot cross buns. These buns also had cloves instead of nutmeg and that went really well here. So if you were going to make hot cross buns especially for his I would recommend my original recipe with either apple or raisins, or both! :-)

Grand Marnier Spiked Hot Cross Bun and Butter Pudding:

4 large hot cross buns, split in half, preferably a bit dry, homemade are best!
1 x 525ml carton of Alpro Soy Custard
50g or 1/4 cup golden caster sugar
vegan butter, about 20g
50g marzipan
zest of 1 orange
60ml or 1/4 cup Grand Marnier
icing sugar to dust

Heat the oven to 170C and butter a pie or casserole dish, one that you can spread out the 8 hot cross bun halves and has high enough sides for the custard.

Spread vegan butter over the bun halves and place in the dish:

Dice the marzipan up and scatter all over:

In a sauce pan add the carton of custard, sugar and orange zest and just bring to a simmer and make sure the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the Grand Marnier. Pour this over the buns and gently press down on the buns to they are immersed in the custard. Leave this for 10 minutes to soak.

Now pop it into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove and let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. 

Ok, it's not the prettiest, but believe me it makes up for it in taste!!

You can either serve it now by simply scooping some out or do like we did and cut wedges out of it, we got 8 servings out of it. Simply dust with icing sugar and serve. I also made mine earlier in the day and simply reheated the serving in the microwave, turned out perfect. Serves 8.

♥

Nutritional Information: based on 1 serving out of 8.

Calories: 235

Protein: 4.7g

Fat: 4.3g

Sat Fat: 0.7g

Carbs: 41.6g

Sugar: 22.6g

Fibre: 1.4g

Sodium: 78.5mg

Calcium: 102.8mg

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Apple and Cinnamon Pull Apart Hot Cross Buns with Maple Icing

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A Happy Easter / Spring Break to you all!  I've been wanting to revisit my Hot Cross Buns for awhile now as I made my first ones there with egg replacer, something I no longer bake with. You may remember I made those with only raisins in them as I can't stand peel in my baked goods. I mean does anyone really like peel? It's like one of those ingredients we have in Christmas cake and hot cross buns more out of tradition than taste.

This time I decided to go a step further and axe the raisins. I do love raisins in baked goods but my son is not too keen and after I saw some Apple and Cinnamon Hot Cross Buns in Marks and Spencer's the other day that was it. I had to make these! So I first went about making my previously posted hot cross buns without the egg replacer and with apple instead.

So Pretty!!!

Sadly, looks are all these had going for them as they were really dry :-( BUT they did have great flavour....So, it was back to the kitchen for me the next day. This time I couldn't stop thinking about my Pull Apart Rolls and how wonderfully moist and light and fluffy they are. This was a no-brainer - combine the flavours of the hot cross bun with the pull-apart rolls. 

Success!! These taste fantastic and have amazing texture - slightly crisp on the outside and moist, light and fluffy inside. See?

Now, just like I mentioned in my first hot cross bun post I much prefer the cross in icing rather than in dough - it's my sweet tooth :-) The apple and cinnamon flavours in this one just calling out for a hint of maple in the glaze. Combining maple syrup with icing sugar may sound like a sugar catastrophe but trust me it works just fine here as you are only getting a little bit of glaze on each bun and it's just the right amount of sweetness.

If I have any complaint it's only that I would like more apple in them but there is only so much apple you can cram into the dough before it rises and this is pretty much the maximum. Once the dough rises there is a lot more room for apple but then it's too late to add more. You still get the odd nice juicy bit of apple though, so it's all good!

♥

Apple and Cinnamon Pull Apart Hot Cross Buns with Maple Icing:

280g extra strong white bread flour (2 cups)

1 sachet quick yeast - 7g

30g vegan butter (2 Tbsp)

50g brown sugar (1/4 cup, lightly packed) I used light muscovado sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp salt

175ml unsweetened soy milk

1 large apple, peeled and diced smallish

~ you may need up to 1/4 cup or 35g more flour as well ~

Bun Wash: 

1 Tbsp water

1 Tbsp golden caster sugar (or regular sugar)

tiny pinch of cinnamon, I used the end tip of a sharp knife to measure.

Maple Icing:

50g icing sugar (1/4 cup + 2 Tbsp)

1/2 Tbsp maple syrup

1 teaspoon unsweetened soy milk

Add the soy milk, vegan butter and brown sugar to a saucepan and bring to a simmer. When the butter and sugar have melted turn off the heat and add the vanilla then transfer to a measuring jug to cool. I used a thermometer here as you want it to get to between 120 - 130F before adding to the yeast. If you don't have a thermometer you should be able to just leave your finger in the mixture comfortably. Quick yeast needs the liquid to be slightly warmer than active dry yeast which gets dissolved in warm water first.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, or in a large bowl, combine the flour, yeast, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. When the liquid is at the right temperature add to the bowl with the flour and with the dough attachment knead for 10 minutes. If doing by hand stir the liquid into the flour then transfer to a floured surface and knead for about 15 minutes. Either way add some more flour, you shouldn't need more than 35g or 1/4 cup if the mixture is too sticky. When there is a few minutes left remove from the mixer and transfer to a floured surface. Start to add the apple, bit by bit and knead it into the dough. This sounds trickier than it actually is, just take your time and all the apple will get in there! Keep gently kneading until all the apple is in and you have a round ball of dough.

Take a large clean bowl, I like to have hot water sitting in mine to get the bowl warm first, I then dump out the water and dry it well then grease the bowl before adding the dough. Cover with cling film and place in a warm place to double in size for 1 hour.

Remove and punch down the dough, give it a couple of kneads then roll out to a log shape and slice into 8 equal segments. Give each of these segments another little knead then shape into a round ball. You may need a bit more flour here as the apple would have released a little liquid. Slice a cross into the top of each ball with a very sharp knife then place in a greased 7" high sided, loose bottom cake pan, or similar.

Cover again with cling film and leave in a warm place to rise again for half an hour. By then they should have gotten quite bigger and be swelling against each other:

Preheat the oven to 220C / 425F remove the cling film and pop in the oven for 15 minutes. They should be golden brown, risen a bit more and sound hollow if you tap them underneath. 

Remove from the pan, mine was loose bottomed so I just place a can of beans underneath and slid the sides down then used a spatula to remove the whole plate of rolls onto a wire rack.

I also wanted to see how this recipe fared making traditional individual rolls and it worked perfectly. After the first rise and you have shaped them into rolls do not cut them at this stage, just lay them out on a lined baking sheet, cover loosely with cling film and again leave to rise for about 1/2 hour. Now cut the crosses on top and bake as per instructions. Let cool and slowly drizzle the thick glaze over the cut cross.

♥ They also bake up beautifully as individual rolls ♥

Now, I usually brush my hot cross buns just out of the oven with warmed seived apricot jam and that is what I used on the first attempt you see. It does give a nice shiny, glossy finish but can leave them a bit sticky. This time I decided to use the more traditional sugar syrup glaze but with a tiny pinch of cinnamon added. The pull apart rolls may not look very glossy though as I was in a rush and miscalculated the amount of water and essentially just brushed water over and not a syrup! Ooops... As you can see from the individual rolls I made the next day the syrup (done properly) leaves the buns nice and glossy. 

Leave them to cool then make up the maple glaze by simply stirring everything together. It should be runny but at the same time fairly thick. Spoon some of the icing up, let the first blob fall back into the bowl then run the icing over the marked 'X's on the buns. Dont' worry if it gets a bit messy and it is supposed to fall into the gaps between the buns - it all adds to the flavour!

Leave the icing a bit to set then pull out a roll and slice - see the lovely texture?

As with all hot cross buns, these are best toasted and slathered with vegan butter. With the icing on these the best way to do these is in the oven under the grill.

While they are toasting get your tea or coffee ready and enjoy :-)

♥

Nutritional Information: based on 1 bun.

Calories: 208

Protein: 5.3g

Fat: 3.3g

Sat Fat: 0.7g

Fibre: 2.2g

Carbs: 40g

Sugar: 15.5g

Sodium: 112mg

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