potato

Vine Post: Super Simple Gnocchi

| Rhiannon

This is possibly the simplest recipe in the world, and I have no idea why it took me this long to try it. I always thought that it must be really difficult to make gnocchi – surely? But as it turns out, it’s so simple you can make it a regular meal staple. It’s delicious to do and you can cut down a lot of time with one simple cheat: buying frozen mash instead of mashing the potatoes yourself.

Sure, it sounds lazy, but it turns a long recipe into something you can do after a day at work with no problem. And that’s definitely a good thing. We have some plans to bring you some new gnocchi variations in future recipes, so definitely give this one a try – you will be amazed at how easy it is. With the extra time that you save from the mashed potato, you can make up a batch of simple green pesto to go with it, too.

Here’s the vine:

And the recipe:

Super Simple Gnocchi
The easiest pasta you'll ever make!
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Ingredients
  1. 500g Frozen mashed potato (defrosted in microwave)
  2. 200g Plain flour
Instructions
  1. Add the flour to the potato and fold in until well mixed as a dough.
  2. On a floured surface, roll out the dough to your desired thickness.
  3. Cut it into strips and roll each individual strip into a tube shape.
  4. Cut each tube into sections around 2-3 cm long.
  5. (optional) Roll the individual pieces to round out the edges if desired.
  6. Use a fork to press down onto each piece, firmly enough to make ridges but not so hard to destroy the shape.
  7. Add the gnocchi to a pan of salted, boiling water.
  8. When they rise to the surface, remove them from the pan with a slotted spoon to drain out any water.
  9. Serve immediately in sauce of your choice.
Notes
  1. Home-made pasta doesn't have to be snobby. Don't worry about the shape of your gnocchi - if it's not quite the same as you buy in shops, who cares?
  2. Make sure to only use plain flour and plain mash - we tried it with cheesy mash and it just didn't work. The same with self-raising flour. It has to be plain when you start, but we'll be showing you some variations to change the flavour soon!
VegBurge https://vegburge.com/
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Waitrose Vegetarian Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers

Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers
| Rhiannon

We’re currently trying to move house (hopefully we’ll have updates on that soon!) and the new place is going to be close by a Waitrose. Basically, this means new hunting grounds for veggie burgers! The first thing we’ve found is the interestingly named Indian spiced bhaji burger. It seems a bit like a contradiction in terms – how can a bhaji also be a burger? – so it was certainly worth a try.

Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers
Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers

First of all, I think it’s fair to say that these are definitely burgers. The name bhaji comes from the ingredients more than anything else, as to be honest they don’t actually taste or feel like bhajis at all. Maybe Waitrose are missing the point a bit with the name – it really should drop the bhaji and have the name curry burger or something similar. I’ve never understood why supermarkets will have misleading product names, as this doesn’t necessarily make it more appealing – what if you love burgers but hate bhajis? You would have missed out on this for no reason.

Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers
Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers

Anyway, after popping it in the oven we tried one each to see what they are like. They’re £2.39 for two, so really  you have to hope for something quite special to justify spending £1.18 per burger – especially when competing supermarkets are likely to sell them at a lower price. I can certainly say they are very interesting, with good Indian flavours that have not been drowned out in the processing. It’s a good looking burger with bright colours, and you can both see and taste slices of carrot and peas in amongst the potatoes. It has a soft, squishy texture on the inside, which is an experience in itself. The exterior is a little more firm, but still soft to bite through.

Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers
Waitrose Indian Spiced Bhaji Burgers

The first thing you notice is the curry flavour, which is also mildly spicy. There’s actually no warning on this for the package, which might concern those who don’t like spice. It’s just an interesting combination overall, and though it would never replace a proper veggie burger for me, it’s good to have something different now and then.

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 7/10

Price – 4/10

Rest of experience – 7/10

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5 Foods You Should Never Refrigerate

Veggie Living
| Rhiannon

It’s time for a veggie living post today! I know we have a bit of a tendency to just shove everything in the fridge to try and keep it fresh, but sometimes that’s actually not the best option. Even if you have some leftovers that you want to eat tomorrow, storing them away in a cold place might not be the right thing to do. Here are five foods that you should never, under any circumstances, be putting in the fridge.

1. Bread

So most people probably don’t put a whole loaf of bread in the fridge – but what about leftovers? Are you guilty of putting last night’s pizza in the fridge to keep it fresh? The truth is, this is the worst possible thing to do with it. The time it spends in the cold will simply encourage the bread to go stale faster, so you will end up with an inedible crust and base in no time at all. If you want to keep it for longer, try keeping it in the pizza box or covering it with foil and leaving it out on the side. Putting in the freezer is fine however as this helps the bread to retain its moisture when thawed.

2. Melons

Melons are fruit, so they should be stored in the fridge, right? Wrong! They will actually do better outside until they are ready to eat. Once you cut them up, you can keep them in the fridge to prevent them from drying out too quickly. Most fruit actually slows down the ripening process in the fridge, so don’t put unripe fruit in there – but once it’s ripe, keep it cool so it doesn’t go off too quickly.

3. Potatoes

When you store a potato in a cold place, the starch starts to break down and convert to sugar. This makes them gritty and sweet, which is not what you want for your mash. They should be stored in a pantry or cupboard, preferably in a breathable paper bag. They want to be cool and dark, but not cold.

4. Honey

Honey has the advantage of being a natural preservative, meaning that you could still eat honey that was two hundred years old so long as it was kept in a sealed jar. You don’t need to do anything special to keep it going. If you put it in the fridge, however, the sugar will start to crystallise. This makes it harder to pour or scoop. If you’re having trouble getting your honey out, put it in the cupboard instead.

5. Tomatoes

Another fruit that can’t sit in the fridge? Yep! Tomatoes will start to form ice crystals when they are kept at low temperatures, which changes their texture – and not in a good way. It’s actually better to keep them at room temperature. This is one of the reasons why they are so good to eat when hand-picked from the vine.

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Vine Post: Avocado and Bacon Potato Hash

| Rhiannon

This recipe is a brand new one to us in many ways – I’d never bothered to cook potato from scratch like this before, as it’s just not something that features in our diet very often. But since trying out this potato hash recipe for the first time, we’ve gone on to make it again just a few days later, proving that it’s a new firm favourite. It’s absolutely delicious, and really moreish. The dressing especially makes this all the more special, though be careful not to use too much as it can overwhelm the taste.

Here’s the Vine, so you can see us making the dish:

If you want to make it yourself, follow this recipe!

Avocado and Bacon Potato Hash
Serves 2
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Ingredients
  1. 550g potatoes
  2. 4 Quorn bacon rashers
  3. 1 red onion
  4. 1/2 tsp paprika
  5. Splash soy sauce, to taste
  6. 1 ripe avocado
  7. 2 tbsp olive oil
  8. 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Instructions
  1. Wash, peel, and roughly cube the potatoes
  2. Parboil them for 10 mins from cold in salted water, then drain and leave to one side
  3. Roughly dice the onion, and peel, stone, and thinly slice the avocado
  4. Heat oil in a frying pan and add the potatoes when it begins to smoke
  5. Fry on all sides until golden and crispy
  6. Grill the bacon or fry as per instructions
  7. Add onion to potatoes and stir for a few mins
  8. Add paprika and soy sauce, thin stir more
  9. Fry until onion is well-cooked, taking care not to burn potato
  10. Pile hash in a mound on two plates
  11. Fan avocado slices on top of the hash, then wrap bacon over
  12. Combine olive oil and vinegar in a container and shake to combine
  13. Pour over the dressing - a few teaspoons per plate is enough
Notes
  1. You can add just about anything you like to the hash. Peppers, cheese, poached egg, other types of Quorn or soya, tofu, whatever you like. Hot sauce is a good choice too.
Adapted from The Hungover Cookbook
Adapted from The Hungover Cookbook
VegBurge https://vegburge.com/
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Berny Riviere – Berny Burger

| Rhiannon

Here’s another burger from our French adventures! This time, it’s from the Berny Burger, a little fast food place serving burgers and pizza. You will find it in the small town of Berny Riviere, and more specifically, on the campsite of La Croix de Vieux Pont. This is an area where you can camp or rent a lodge, so it’s fairly popular for all kinds of holidaymakers. It’s quite open, so it seems that you could walk or drive down here even if you were not staying on site.

The burger itself was not the cheapest one we ate in France – a lot of the prices here are higher than normal, both because you are closer to Paris, and because many people will simply stay on site instead of going out to get food. It was also quite mysteriously just described as a vegetarian burger, so there you go – it was down to me to explore exactly what that meant and what it would contain.

Berny Burger

What it did contain was quite a surprise. There were several layers here: one of what could be closest described as a burger, in the form of a greasy, onion and tomato flavoured mystery patty; one of what I would call a round hash brown, though perhaps a little salty; and finally a fresh tomato with some very greasy, slightly unpalatable onions. It was really an adventure of varying textures – lots of grease against lots of very dry food in the form of the bun and the hash brown. It was quite an odd experience, but I won’t lie – I ate the whole thing.

Berny Burger

If you are going to eat in the area, you might consider one of two options. Either driving a little further afield, or cooking at home. I have some reviews coming up which will tell you all about some French veggie burgers you can buy at the Super U or other supermarkets – keep an eye on my “France” tag for those – and they will both cost less and taste better. Plus, during the off season, most of the facilities in La Croix de Vieux Pont keep unpredictable hours – we went down to the bar one morning to use the WiFi, only to find that it was now suddenly closed every day until 5pm.

Anyway, back to the burger!

On the VegBurge scale, I give this…

Taste – 5/10

Price – 5/10

Rest of experience – 2/10

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Vine Post: Hello Fresh Too Tasty Beetroot and Lentil Salad

| Rhiannon

We’re on to our third and final Hello Fresh week, featuring the meals we had in our free starter box. If you’re looking to try it yourself and get a discount, there’s some money off lurking in that link! Meanwhile, let’s take a look at the last meal, what it was like, and whether we liked it or not. This was the Too Tasty beetroot and lentil salad, and I have to say it’s not something I would have tried myself. I hate walnuts and salad is never a word that makes me feel hungry – I’d rather have a wrap and pretend it’s a full-blown meal rather than a salad in disguise, but we followed the recipe and we had a big surprise.

Hello Fresh Too Tasty Beetroot and Lentil Salad

The recipe contains a lot of variety, which is really great. There were walnuts, new potatoes, lentils, goats cheese, rocket, and onion, as well as beetroot. Now, anyone who has been following this blog will know that I only recently started to fall in love with beetroot, and I’m starting to want it with every single meal, so this was definitely a good start. We both love goats cheese too, so putting our reservations aside, we gave this one a try! The first thing to say is to be prepared for bright red hands, chopping board, surfaces, and generally food, as the beetroot really gets everywhere. That was not necessarily a bad thing however!

Hello Fresh Too Tasty Beetroot and Lentil Salad

When we had it all together, I was really surprised by how tasty and filling this meal was. The potatoes help to make it more substantial, while the rocket gives it a nice zing. The beetroot brings everything together with that warm and sweet taste, matched perfectly by what is quite honestly the nicest goats cheese I’ve ever had. Seriously – we’re hunting this one down in the supermarket as soon as we get a chance. It was so soft and creamy that I had a hard time pulling it into chunks without it just getting stuck to my hands! All in all, this was a really delicious meal, and much healthier than the other two options as well. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Hello Fresh Too Tasty Beetroot and Lentil Salad

Overall, I have to say that the final Hello Fresh verdict is that it’s very convenient and good if you know you don’t have much time on your hands. It allows you to get all of your ingredients delivered and recipes picked out without having to spend time on it. But aside from the convenience, I’m not too sure about it. Would I like to have new recipes and ingredients delivered to my door every week? Yes, absolutely – but if I can’t choose the recipes, I’m not sure I’m a fan. A lot of things were done differently to how I would have done them. For example, if I saw sour cream in a recipe, I would ditch it for a low fat and calorie alternative, or just use something like cream cheese to get the desired effect. If I saw an onion required for a recipe, I would always switch it out for a red onion. With this structure, you don’t have a chance. I’d be interested to see whether they can establish a wider pool of suppliers at some point in the future, and therefore give people a few more options to choose from.

In the meantime, if you fancy making this salad yourself, here’s the Vine of how we did it:

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Tesco Indian Potato Cake

| Rhiannon

The Tesco Indian Potato Cakes sounded interesting enough to take a stab at. Not only that, but they were on offer with most of the frozen vegetarian section, so it seemed obvious to give them a try. We quite enjoy a curry in our house, especially as J has Indian heritage, so combining curry spices with a burger sounded like quite a good idea. We decided to cook them up one day to make burger wraps, one of my favourite lazy meals from university. There’s not much to them – you need a burger, a wrap, some lettuce or other leaf, and mayonnaise. Sweet chilli dressing, sweetcorn, roast vegetables, and etc are optional.

Tesco Indian Potato Cake
We found that the potato cakes just had a mild curry flavour, rather than being a stronger taste as you might expect. They have a quite sloppy and squishy texture which was a bit odd too! They didn’t cut cleanly or crumble when I was putting them into strips for the wraps. They more just sort of smeared everywhere. It wasn’t actually an unpleasant texture, but it just felt a bit strange in the context of a burger or potato cake. There were solid peas and chunks of carrot alongside the potato, but not much else that you could really identify. They were fine, but don’t expect them to be a solid, firm burger.

 

Tesco Indian Potato Cake
All that being said, they were actually the perfect fit for a wrap. Once you had them wrapped up and in your hands, they separated up nicely to ensure that you have a bit of burger in every bite. They went well against the lettuce as well. The eventual wraps were a little thin, but filling nonetheless. You could certainly bulk up by adding more peas and carrots to the mix to complement the existing flavours.
 
On the VegBurge scale, I give this…
 
Taste – 6/10
 
Price – 8/10
 
Rest of experience – 6/10
 

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A Very Vegetarian Christmas

| Rhiannon

Every year, people ask me what it is like to have a vegetarian Christmas. What is it like? What do we eat? Do we have a traditional Christmas dinner or something more unusual? The purpose of this post is to illustrate what a typical meal might be for us at Christmas time, although we always eat something different year on year. My Mum always cooks for us, using a combination of recipes she finds leading up to the date and her own inspiration, as well as a few classics which come back time and time again.

I’m sharing here our Christmas Day and Boxing Day menus, although we also have special meals on New Year’s Day/Eve. I have not included the recipes as I did not make them myself, but I very much enjoyed eating them! Starting with our appetisers, we ate spinach and mushroom open ravioli with sweet potato. It was drizzled with a balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, and olive oil.

Spinach and mushroom open ravioli
Spinach and mushroom open ravioli

This was followed up by a delicious main course, consisting for the most part of a mushroom, chestnut, and ale pie with a stilton crust. It was accompanied by roast potatoes, a Yorkshire pudding, miniature vegetarian sausage, roast parsnips, carrots, mash, and the traditional Brussels sprouts. After this image was taken, we then added our own bread sauce, gravy, cranberry sauce, and apple sauce to taste.

Mushroom, ale, and chestnut pie
Mushroom, ale, and chestnut pie

This was a delicious meal, and extremely filling too. We had dessert later on in the day after we had digested enough to make a little more room! As you can see, a lot of the elements are what you would expect from any Christmas meal – the parsnips, Brussels sprouts, roast potatoes, mash, and pudding would be at home next to any turkey. The only difference is that we get to eat something different every Christmas, instead of having to eat that same turkey dish year after year!

Moving on to Boxing day, we started with a bowl of root vegetable soup. This was carrots, sweet potato, and parsnips, along with cream, garlic, and onion. This is a bit of a tradition for our family at this time of year after the first time we tried it, as it is always so delicious that it just cannot be missed.

Root vegetable soup

Then it was time for the main course. This consisted of a fig, feta, and thyme tart with filo pastry. It was accompanied by celeriac mash, mashed new potatoes, carrots, a chestnut and cranberry stuffing ball, tomatoes, and roast potatoes in orange sauce. We added our own gravy and cranberry sauce as well. This was not quite as heavy as the Christmas lunch, as the tart was very light, but it was still enough to really fill us up for the afternoon.

Fig, thyme, and feta filo pastry tart
Fig, thyme, and feta filo pastry tart

Even if you aren’t able to create your own dishes like this, there are plenty of options that you can buy in supermarkets to replace the turkey – and the best news is that they aren’t likely to sell out before the holidays either. It’s very easy to enjoy a fully vegetarian Christmas, and it can be very rewarding too – bringing down both the cost and the calories of your Christmas meals.

Vegetarian Christmas dinner

 

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