Pad Thai has always been one of my favourite dishes and that can’t be a surprise – it’s one of the most well known Thai dishes across the world. It’s actually incredibly simple, but like many simple dishes it can be easily to get wrong. It can be difficult to find a good bowl of vegan Pad Thai so I learnt to make it myself. This recipe has been through a few changes since I first published it a few years ago but I think you’ll like this new version. At the centre of Thai cooking are the four pillar of taste; sour, salty, sweet, and spicy. When you sit…
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The Best Vegan Toad in the Hole (Vegan & GF)
Vegan Toad in the Hole can be … tricky. There are quite a few recipes out there for vegan attempts at Yorkshire puddings and toad in the hole and I’ve tried them all. Without exception they were all cakey, not the right texture at all. A good Yorkshire pudding should be light and airy, crisp on top, and a base that’s almost reminiscent of a set custard. Add in the need to make it gluten free and you’d think that would make it even harder, but that was my breakthrough for this recipe. I’ve got quite a stash of weird and wonderful gluten free flours these days and after experimenting…
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Staffordshire Oatcakes (Vegan & GF)
See the recipe Dating back to the 19th century, Staffordshire oatcakes are the OG pancake. Not to be confused with Scottish oatcakes, these delicious little beauties use yeast as their leavening agent and are the perfect addition to your pancake day. While they used to be made very simply with just ground oats, yeast, and water, the recipe has changed gradually over the years to include milk and wheat flour to make them more tender , and less likely to break. This recipe is easy enough to adapt for our needs – all you need to do is swap out the dairy milk for your favourite plant based alternative. The…
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Vegan Sesame ‘Prawn’ Toast
See the recipe Prawn toast was always one of my favourite starters when I ate meat. There a a few alternatives doing the rounds on the internet but they don’t use what I consider to be one of the better fishy substitutes – Palm hearts! Using this gets the closest to that unmistakeable texture while the seasonings make for a crispy and fragrant dish that’s just unforgettable! Typically most prawn toast recipes call for them to be fried as the finishing touch and you can do that here if you’d prefer. Personally, I much prefer using the airfryer. The toast turns crisp and yummy with a golden brown top, all…
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Restaurant Style Tofu Tikka Masala (Vegan & GF)
See the recipe I love Tikka Masala. There’s something about the creamy, rich sauce that is just so incredibly satisfying. I’m pretty sure I’m tried almost every recipe for Tofu Tikka Masala on the internet but none of them hit the same spot as the classic takeout version of Chicken Tikka Masala. A treasured favourite of our pre-vegan days, I deeply wanted to find a homemade version that was just as good. Lets get something straight, I’m not claiming this is an authentic Indian recipe. Instead, this is based on a British-Indian restaurant classic and is a damn delicious fakeaway copycat dish that has converted some tofu-haters in our family.…
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The Best Instant Pot Tomato Soup (Vegan & GF)
See the recipe Tomato soup is the ideal comfort food. As we head into February, weather predictions are that we’re going to hit minus temperatures again here in London. So, when you come home from this cold, an easy but comforting tomato soup is just what you need to warm you up. There are probably as many recipes for tomato soup as there are fish in the sea at this point, and I’m sure everyone will claim theirs is the best. Recipes will vary wildly from using cream, spices, to using a vegetable base such as carrots and celery. Some people only use fresh tomatoes while others will swear that…
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Restaurant Style Brinjal Bhaji
An Indian restaurant specialty with aubergine cooked in a wonderfully spiced sauce. Served with my own okra side and saffron rice the house ended up smelling like an Indian restaurant and it was amazing!
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Chilli Non Carne (Vegan & Gluten Free)
See the recipe Obliviously, this dish is inspired by Chilli con Carne. If you’ve not heard of it before, this is a Tex-Mex dish normally made with minced beef, chili peppers, and a mixture of spices. The meatiest of all the chillies, it’s been a challenge to make a vegan version that will make most meat eaters just as happy. But I brough this to a pot luck with friends last week and it was incredibly popular, I think I might have cracked it. Let’s talk about flavour Let’s be honest, this chilli recipe is not quick, it’s all about building up the flavour layer by layer. However, I guarantee…
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Scotsman Approved Vegan Haggis (Vegan & GF)
Originally posted back in 2021. Grab your haggis, we’re wishing you a happy Burns night! Held on the birthday of the Scottish poet Robert Burns, events typically include reading poetry, raising toasts (with lots of whiskey for preference), and properly addressing the haggis before eating it. I know – I really do – just how worried some people will be by the idea of doing a vegan version of this meaty dish. Traditionally made from those lesser eaten bits of a sheep (translation – offal like stomach and lungs), it’s the ultimate of waste not, want not food. It also known for a very distinct taste. Surprisingly a lot of…
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Korean Fried Cauliflower (Vegan & Gluten Free)
See the recipe Looking for the best substitute for fried chicken, not just chicken but Korean fried chicken? the debate is still out on that with cauliflower, oyster mushrooms, and seitan still strongly in the running. However here, we use cauliflower. Seitan isn’t gluten free so isn’t an option, and hubby hates all mushrooms so cauliflower it is. Today’s recipe is based on the classic Korean version of fried chicken and an updated version of the earlier recipe here. It’s tossed in an incredibly tasty, spicy, and umami gochujang sauce. This dish takes little time to prepare, provided you marinate the cauliflower in advance. Although the title may be ‘fried’…