Basic recipes

Pret chocolate & almond cookies Makes around 18 My favourite high street vegan cookies, and they just published their recipe!! I didn’t have any almond butter, so I had to use peanut butter instead, I only had 50g of chocolate so that’s all I used but I’d recommend adding a bit more - I added the ground almonds and oat milk, and I changed quantities around slightly because I can’t possibly just stick to a recipe…. Make sure you take them out of the oven slightly before you think they’re ready, so they’re soft in the middle and just baked on the edges.  Pret’s recipe says that this quantity of dough makes 8 – 10 cookies but I prefer to make 18 smaller, thicker ones. Ingredients: 40g Caster sugar 110g Soft light brown sugar 1 tsp Salt 30g flaked almonds 80g Dark chocolate, roughly chopped 205g Plain flour 20g Cocoa powder 1/2 tsp baking powder 35g ground almonds 65g Coconut oil, melted 60g peanut butter 100g Golden syrup 35ml oat milk  (add a b...

Black bean & tomato risotto with cashew ‘parmesan’ and homemade no-yeast focaccia Serves 4 We seem to have bought a LOT of black beans in the weeks leading up to the lockdown… which is no bad thing, as they’re fantastic and really versatile, we eat them blitzed in burgers, straight from the tin in salads, in casseroles and chillis, and also in risottos like this one.  Still no yeast, so I made a very basic yeast-free focaccia. We've run out of fresh garlic, so I'm using garlic powder in recipes instead. Risotto: 250g Arborio rice 400g tin chopped tomatoes 400g tin black beans 1 tblsp olive oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 1 large carrot, chopped into 1cm pieces 1 stick celery, chopped into 1cm pieces 1 tblsp dried basil 1 vegetable stock cube, mixed with 1 litre of boiling water 1 tsp chilli flakes 50g finely chopped kale   zest of 1 lemon ‘Parmesan’: 50g cashews (ideally unsalted but, at this point, we’re using bags of...

Vegetable and black bean pot pie Feeds 4 I wanted to make a pie using a puff pastry crust, but I’m out of ready made puff pastry, and I’m not about to make it from scratch. As a slightly different topping, I’ve used an American-style biscuit crust, it’s a bit like having a solid layer of dumpling on the top of your pie, which can only be a good thing. I didn’t manage to get a good picture of the pie, because we were so desperate to eat it that I didn’t get a chance to take a picture of the whole thing, before we’d demolished it! Ingredients: 1 large sweet potato, cut into 2cm pieces 1 red onion, finely chopped 1 large carrot, cut into 1 cm pieces 1 large courgette, cut into 1 cm pieces 1 large red pepper, cut into 1cm pieces 1 tin of black beans 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 2 tsp cayenne pepper 1 tsp chilli flakes 1 tsp ground cumin Large pinch of salt 1 tblsp olive oil Crust: 210g plain flour 4 tblsp coconut oil – cold/solid 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp sa...

Whipped coffee Makes 2 large glasses Whipped coffee/Dalgona coffee/Korean coffee/Frappe coffee…. whatever it’s called, it’s really easy to make, and only really has three ingredients…. my top tip is that the actual whipped coffee itself may look impressive but it tastes disgusting until you actually stir it into the milk, then it’s delicious! Ingredients: 2 tblsp instant coffee 2 tblsp granulated sugar 1 tblsp maple syrup 2 tblsp boiling water Oat milk Ice cubes Method: Add coffee, sugar and boiling water to a LARGE bowl (you need to give yourself enough room to let the air in while you’re beating), and beat - ideally with a hand mixer – until the mixture thickens. It took me around 3 minutes to get a really thick mixture, I think if you’re beating by hand it’d probably take around 8-10 minutes. Once the mixture has thickened, beat in the maple syrup. Fill two large glasses with plenty of ice cubes, then add milk to around ¾ full, and spoon the whippe...

Anzac biscuits Makes around 20 Although I am an Australian passport holder, I have no idea if Anzac biscuits are still Anzac biscuits if they contain dried fruit? Anyway, mine always do, and they are without doubt the best biscuits I’ve ever made! If the thought of a non-chocolate biscuit horrifies you, feel free to dip them in melted chocolate. I’ve a feeling these variations on the theme may get my passport revoked, so I’ll say no more. Ingredients: 100g porridge oats 50g dried mixed fruit 85g desiccated coconut 110g plain flour 50g caster sugar 50g soft light brown sugar ½ tsp baking powder 100ml coconut oil 1 tblsp golden syrup Splash of oat milk Method: Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees celsius and line a couple of baking sheets with greaseproof paper. Mix porridge oats, dried fruit, desiccated coconut, flour, sugars and baking powder into a large bowl. Melt the coconut oil and add golden syrup.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix, adding a littl...