I adapted this recipe from Italian minestrone so it has the same base flavours of tomato, onion and garlic. I decided to replace the white pasta with much healthier brown rice which makes the soup   gluten free   and the addition of some beans adds   fibre, protein and minerals and really makes this a complete meal in a bowl! 

You can add whatever veggies you have to ring the changes but peppers, green beans, carrots, leeks, courgettes, frozen peas and finely shredded greens of some sort all work really well and add loads of antioxidants, minerals and vitamins, strengthening literally every body system.
It's still wild garlic season so I am making the most of it by adding it to as many  dishes as I can.
It's delicious, highly nutritious and it's free so get yourself out to your nearest woodland and let your nose guide you to  swathes of gorgeous  wild garlic!

Any beans work, flageolet, cannelini, haricot, butter beans are all great.
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I am a big fan of nutritional yeast  flakes so add a   couple of tablespoons   to your soup or sprinkle some on as a garnish. They add great flavour, loads of minerals and vitamins and  make the soup lovely and creamy!

So without further ado, here is the recipe, I hope you enjoy it....!


VEGAN RICE AND BEAN SOUP  WITH WILD GARLIC

INGREDIENTS

• I large onion, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 2 medium carrots, finely diced
• 1 medium or 2 small firm courgettes, finely diced
• 1 red pepper, finely diced
• 2 sticks celery, chopped
• a large bunch  of finely shredded wild garlic
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 small cup of brown rice
• 1 tin butterbeans or other white beans like cannellini or haricot
• 2 litres vegetable stock
• 1 tablespoon red pesto (optional)
• 1 or 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes (optional)
• 1 tablespoon olive oil or rapeseed oil
• Sea salt to season


• METHOD

1. Chop all the vegetables into fairly small pieces.
2. Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a large soup pot and sauté the onion and leek for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the chopped carrots, courgettes, pepper, celery and garlic and cook stirring for another 5 minutes.
3. Add the tinned tomatoes, rice, beans and stock, bring to the boil then simmer for 30 to 40 minutes    until the rice is cooked .
4. Finely shred the wild garlic and add to the pot , turn the heat off, put the lid on and let the wild garlic wilt.
5. Stir in the pesto if using and season with sea salt.
6. If the soup is too thick just add more stock. 
7. You can garnish with a good sprinkling of nutritional yeast flakes    or seaweed flakes for an extra nutritional and flavour boost.

So its been a while since I posted anything on my blog! I've been very busy ​with Fermenting Workshops and just generally fermenting everything and having lots of fun experimenting and trying out new recipes and techniques.

I was sent a bag of organic tiger nuts recently from the awesome Tiger Nut Company so I've added that to the heady mix! I've made tiger nut milk, tiger nut kefir,  spiced raisin tiger nut scones and wee Beetroot Bliss Bites using the dehydrated tiger nut pulp!

I have also acquired some water kefir grains so I now have the full gamut of ferments!
I can honestly say that ferments are taking over my life and my kitchen! 

But of all the things to be addicted to, its a good one!! So many amazing health benefits  and a whole new world of flavour!

I posted a photo of my rather delicious fermented dinner a few weeks ago on UK Fermenting Friends and 200 people liked it and I had lots of requests for recipes! These are all people who already know about fermented foods and drinks but I think the foodie side of me is taking simple ferments to new levels!!

I've certainly had a lot of interest in my workshops recently, mostly thanks to my wonderful friend Katrina of the awesome Body Toolkit Juicing Retreat, who shared my post with her juicing group with a glowing recommendation! My April workshop is fully booked and I only have one place left on 19th May, so I will add a few extra dates!

​Contact me if you are interested in learning how to make all sorts of amazing fermented goodies and would like to add your name to my waiting list!

So off the topic of fermenting and back to this brilliant recipe!

I ran a series of healthy eating workshops this week at St Pauls Youth Forum Community Group in Provanmill, which was great fun, with lots of healthy food made and scoffed!
Our last session was Indian themed and I came across this great recipe for flatbreads on cafedelites cool website.
I normally make sourdough flatbreads, which are great but these ones are so soft and pliable and easy to roll, perfect for a fun workshop with kids and adults. Everyone loved them so I thought I'd share the recipe!
I'm off to Berlin next week and I'm most excited, its the best city for vegan food, and although I'm not exclusively vegan, its my favourite food and what I eat most of the time!
These flatbreads could easily be made vegan by substituting Soya yoghurt for the Greek yoghurt. Aldi sell delicious thick and creamy Greek Yogurt, which is what I used for these along with unsweetened soya milk.
So I hope this recipe becomes your favourite flatbread recipe, its definitely a keeper!
I made them last night and we had them for dinner with coconut spiced potatoes and mango chutney, simple and delicious!!
The addition of garlic powder gives these a lovely flavour. A teaspoon of cumin seeds would also work well!
The combination of greek yoghurt and olive oil make these flatbreads  so soft and pliable and easy to roll out and also if you use a non stick pan, they hardly need any oil and its so easy to flip them over!
Please leave me a comment if you try these!!
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So here is the recipe....


Easy Garlic Flatbreads

Ingredients makes 8 flatbreads

• 3 cups plain flour
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 6 level tablespoons ( 75 grams )plain Greek yogurt or soya yoghurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 280 ml  plant based unsweetened milk  or normal milk

Instructions

1. Whisk flour, garlic powder, baking powder and salt together in a bowl. Make a well in the centre and add the yogurt, oil and milk.
2. Knead for about 1 minute until a soft dough is formed (it doesn't need long). Cover bowl with wrap or a plate and set aside to rest at room temperature for 20-30 minutes.
3. Dust a clean work surface with a light coating of flour. Divide dough in half, then divide each half in 4 equal-sized pieces (you will have 8 pieces in total). Roll the pieces into balls; flatten them out with the palms of your hands, then use a rolling pin to roll each piece 2mm thick and about 3 1/2 inches or 10cm in diameter.
4. Lightly grease a nonstick pan with a small brush of oil, and heat over medium heat. Cook one piece for 2 minutes on one side. Lightly brush the top over with oil again before flipping. Cook until golden. Repeat with remaining flatbread.
5. Keep the flatbreads warm in a clean tea towel.
6. These will freeze well and also reheat in a hot oven sprinkled with some water! 

                               ......your health in your hands........




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So this week before all the true frantic madness of Christmas begins, I am sharing a few new recipes which are all worthy of a place at your Festive table, whether you are catering for meat lovers, vegetarians or vegans.

This mushroom, walnut and lentil pate is absolutely delicious and actually tastes quite meaty so I'm sure everyone will love it. 

I am a massive fan of mushrooms, lentils and nuts so this is my idea of an ideal starter. Served with some thinly sliced sourdough or delicious crackers (recipe coming soon!)

This will surely impress your guests! It can be made a few days in advance and will happily sit in the fridge until you need it. This also works well stirred into a mushroom risotto or as a topping for a baked potato or a pizza!

I've made this a few times and played around with the recipe a bit. The original recipe from the wonderful Dearbhla Reynolds book The Cultured Club  uses fermented mushrooms, which adds another layer of flavour and nutrition but since most folks won't have time to ferment the mushrooms first then this adapted recipe is equally delicious and the addition of seaweed flakes adds that unique umami flavour.

 You have the option of setting the pate in a small loaf tin, which looks rather wonderful and can then be served in slices.
Other options are to set the pate in small individual ramekin dishes or just put it into a serving dish and serve dollops rather than slices!

It's whatever suits your needs best and makes life easier! If you are catering for gluten free then you would need to leave the breadcrumbs out or use gluten free ones.
I always have a supply of breadcrumbs in the freezer, which are very handy and a great way to use up any slightly stale bread. 

 Button mushrooms, portabello, chestnut or shitake mushrooms will all work well or indeed a mixture! Their are always better if they are organic .


Ingredients

• 150 g green lentils
• 1 tablespoon coconut or rapeseed oil for sauteing the onions
• 1 small to medium onion, diced 
• 2 garlic cloves, finely sliced or minced
• 175 g organic mushrooms, wiped with a damp cloth and sliced
• 140 g toasted walnuts or pecans
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped sage or flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons tamari or balsamic vinegar
• 2 teaspoons finely chopped rosemary and thyme
• 1 tsp seaweed flakes (optional)
• 2 tablespoons ground flaxseeds (linseeds)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup of breadcrumbs
• sea salt and black pepper

Method

1. Rinse the lentils, put them in a pot with enough water to cover them. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for around 25 to 30 minutes. Once cooked, drain well.
2. Toast walnuts or pecans in a moderate oven at 160 C for 10 to 15 minutes. Keep an eye on them, you don't want to burn them!
3. Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion and garlic for 5 or 6 minutes, then add the sliced mushrooms and cook for another 5 minutes or so. If you have a lot of liquid from the mushrooms then drain it or cook it off.
4. Place the drained lentils, toasted nuts, onion, mushroom & garlic, herbs, lemon juice, tamari and seaweed flakes into a food processor and blitz until well mixed. Add the flaxseeds and breadcrumbs if you want a firmer texture. Process again until well mixed and fairly smooth in texture. You can leave it coarser if you prefer.
5. Taste and add salt, pepper and more lemon juice or tamari if you feel it needs it.
6. Transfer to a serving bowl or a well greased small loaf tin, lined with a strip of greaseproof paper and chill in the fridge until firm.
7. To remove the pate from the loaf tin, run a warm palette knife along the edges to loosen it, then turn it upside down onto a serving plate or board. The greaseproof paper should easily peel off.
8. This pate will keep for around a week in the fridge.