Chunky Minestrone Soup
A quick chunky minestrone soup for an on-the-go snack or as part of a lunch break. It can even double up as a toast topper when thickened – think childhood favourite; alphabet spaghetti. I used Rizopia brown rice pasta shapes in my chunky minestrone soup, but obviously any pasta will work.
Ingredients
- 2 Carrots
- 1 Medium Onion
- 1 Courgette
- 1 Clove Garlic
- 1 Carton Chopped Tomatoes
- 1 Cup Rizopia Brown Rice Pasta Shapes
- Basil Leaves
- 1 Vegetable Stock Cube
- 1 Pint Water
- Salt to season
Directions
Peel and chunk the vegetables, before adding them to a saucepan, along with the vegetable cube, garlic and water – leave the courgette until last as it will take the shortest time to cook.
Bring the vegetables to a boil until they start to soften -15 minutes – and add in the carton of chopped tomatoes, pasta, basil and courgette; proceed to cook until the pasta is soft or to your liking. You may need to keep adding more water. Stir the soup occasionally so that nothing burns or sticks to the pan.
Serve immediately with fresh basil leaves and a slice of bread.
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Vegetarian Herb Pate
Do you have a vegetarian or vegan visiting you over the Christmas period? Are you are at a loss as to what to serve them? I know it can be stressful to cook at Christmas time – there’s just so much to get done – then throw a vegetarian or vegan into the mix and you have yourself a very stressful little Christmas; as you not only have to be extra vigilant with the ingredients, but you also have to be aware of cross contamination too. Continue reading “Vegetarian Herb Pate”
Five – A – Day Scotch Eggs
Scotch eggs were always a favourite of mine when I was a kid, until I learned what they were actually made of and while Quorn do vegetarian scotch eggs, I have to eat the whole pack just to feel satisfied. So, last night I wrote this recipe with monster scotch eggs in mind and they certainly were huge – the size of my palm. Now I know what you’re all thinking, these are going to be complicated with weird ingredients that you don’t have in your cupboards and I would have to disagree with you all because you should have these ingredients in your cupboards and if you know how to use a food processor, you’re half way there.
The reason I called these Five – a- day scotch eggs is because they are made with beans and pea protein which are both considered one of your five a day, plus there are mushrooms and onions in there too. So not only will you be reliving your childhood when you bite into one of these delicious scotch eggs, you will also be getting vital vitamins and minerals too. I will add that these scotch eggs are much nicer warm, but I like my food to be hot, so it could be down to personal preference.
Ingredients
- 1 Can Beans (I used butter beans)
- 4 Free Range Eggs
- 1 Free Range Egg White
- 100g Mushrooms
- 60g Red Onion
- 35g Pulsin Pea Protein
- 1 Garlic Clove
- 2 tsp Mixed Herbs
- 1 tsp Chilli Powder
- Salt to taste.
Directions
Start buy boiling your eggs in a saucepan of cold water for 10 mins. When they are cooked run them under cold water for 5 minutes, peel and dry them and set aside.
Pre-Heat an oven to 175c (fan assisted)
Drain the can of beans and empty the contents into a food processor, blend until the beans are puréed and put the beans into a separate mixing bowl
Add the garlic, mushrooms and onion to the food processor and finely chop the vegetables, before adding them to the beans with the mixed herbs, chilli, salt and protein powder and combine the ingredients well.
I will agree that at this point the mixture doesn’t look very appetising, but take a heaped dessert spoon and place the mixture into the palm of your hand, add the egg to the centre and add another heaped desert spoon of the mixture over the top of the egg and secure it tightly around the whole egg. If the mixture doesn’t stick to the egg, roll it in some pea protein or flour. Continue this method until you have used up all the mixture.
Blend the bread in a food processor until it is breadcrumbs. The scotch eggs should be sticky enough for the breadcrumbs to stick to, if not you will need to dip the scotch egg in egg white before rolling in the breadcrumbs.
Pop the scotch eggs into the oven and bake for 10-15 minutes. I tried frying these and they stuck to my pan, so I would advise baking.
And that’s it. I told you it was simple.
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