Last weekend I headed to the monthly Seoul Vegan Potluck. Despite being a carnivore I always enjoy the vegan events, meeting new people and trying new foods. This time I even managed to pick up some spices and a bread loaf pan which I have been wanting for so long, from a lovely man who is leaving and wanted to give all his cookware and condiments to a good home. It’s such a lovely sense of community that I enjoy, as well as challenging myself to make new things and of course getting to eat lots of yummy foods.

I was kind of in a quandary on what to make this month. The theme was red foods, but I had my heart set on trying a vegan lasagne. I make lasagne a lot, but without the dairy it was quite the challenge. I had seen a cauliflower alfredo sauce on Pinterest which I knew I could use for a bechamel sauce and figured tofu might make a decent ricotta substitute. Despite never having made it before it really came together in the end, and was enjoyed by everyone so I’m really glad I took the chance to make it.

Ingredients

12 lasagne sheets

4 tablespoons of olive oil

2 bunches of spinach

4 red peppers

500g of tomatoes

3 cloves of garlic

Cauliflower Alfredo 

1 medium cauliflower

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves of garlic

200ml of soy milk

4 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon of celery salt

Pepper to taste

Tofu Ricotta

2 packs of tofu (squeeze and freezed)

1 tablespoon of parsley (fresh)

3 tablespoons nutritional yeast

1 lemon zest and juice

1 teaspoon of celery salt (or salt)

1 teaspoon of black pepper

Topping

2 tablespoons of panko crumbs

2 tablespoons of nutritional yeast

1 tablespoon of ground almonds

Directions

1. First you need to prepare your tofu in order to make the tofu ricotta. Do this at least a day in advance using the squeeze and freeze method. Remove tofu from the pack and pour away the excess liquid. Put into a tray then place a chopping boards on top then put something heavy on top and leave for a few hours. Pour away any excess liquid then wrap the tofu in clingfilm and put it in the freezer. You can store it like this for months. Then defrost when needed.

4. Put your defrosted tofu into a blender or food processor along with parsley, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, celery salt, and pepper and blend until combined and somewhat smooth. It doesn’t have to be perfect and a few lumps recreate the ricotta texture.

2. To make the alfredo or bechamel  sauce. Boil your cauliflower for about 10 minutes until soft then strain. Meanwhile saute your garlic in the olive oil until softened but not browned. Pop the drained cauliflower into the blender along with the sauteed garlic, soy milk, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, onion powder, garlic powder, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth then set aside.

3. To make your red sauce. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees, cut the peppers in half and pull out the seeds then put them in a roasting tray. Add the tomatoes and cloves of garlic to the tray, season with salt and pepper, and drizzle with olive oil. Roast for 20-30 minutes until soft. Then put everything in a blender or food processor until smooth. Stir in the mixed herbs, season to taste, and set aside.

5. Roughly chop your 2 packs of spinach, then heat a little olive oil in a pan. Add the spinach and cook in batches for a few minutes until wilted. To make the topping mix the panko crumbs, nutritional yeast, and ground almonds in a bowl together.

6. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Put a layer of lasagne sheets in the bottom of your dish. Then half of the tomato sauce, followed by half of the spinach and half of the tofu ricotta. Then repeat.

7. Finish with a layer of lasagne then top with the cauliflower alfredo, sprinkle on the topping, and bake for 30-40 minutes or until the pasta has cooked and the top is golden brown. Voilà delicious vegan spinach and ricotta lasagne.

So this week I have been a very happy camper indeed. Not just because I still have a whole shelf in my fridge dedicated to the chocolate I brought back from home, but also because I have 400g of goats cheese. I really can’t begin to tell you how much I love goats cheese. It is certainly up in my top 3. Obviously in Korea goats cheese is expensive and hard to find, right? Wrong. Goats cheese is easy to find is you contact the amazingly awesome people at Waeg Farm. A fabulous farm full of goats that make the milk that makes the cheese. Hurrah. No more trips to Hong Kong just to get that goaty goodness. Check out their website for details on how to order yours.

Since I had this premium ingredient I felt compelled to really do it some justice and make something proper out of it, however tempting it was just to eat it smeared on the Fat Boyfriend’s sourdough and have it topped with onion jam. No, no, no an ingredient of this caliber deserved it’s own recipe. I recently made the most magnificent tart whilst I was at home. If you’re a fan of my facebook page I’m sure you would have seen it. It was pure culinary perfection but really it was just shop bought puff pastry with a a few of my favourite ingredients thrown on top. A treat for the taste buds but ever so easy, any novice could knock one up in 10 minutes. But for this I decided I would go the whole hog and make my own pastry. Yes, I could have just walked to Itaewon and bought some pre-made, and yes I did think about it, but that’s not really fair to you now readers is it. So even though I’m crap at making pastry I gave it my best shot and it actually turned out great. Paul Hollywood you are a legend!

Ingredients

Short crust pastry (Paul Hollywood’s recipe)

250g of flour

125g of cubed butter (chilled)

50ml cold water

2 egg yolks

A pinch of salt

Filling 

300ml of cream

3 eggs

100g of cheddar cheese

75g of goats cheese

3 rashers of bacon

1 onion

1 bunch of spinach

Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions

1. Start by making the pastry. Put the flour and salt in a bowl and mix. Then add the butter cubes in and rub together using your finger tips until it forms a bread crumb like texture.

2. Add the egg yolks and start to mix with your hands, before slowly adding the water and mix until it comes together to form a ball. Do not overwork the pastry, as soon as it’s a ball, press it down to form a disk with your fingers, wrap it in cling-film, and put it in the fridge for 2-3 hours to chill.

3. When the pastry has had it’s rest, roll it out on a floured surface. Make sure you roll it out so it’s large enough to fit in your tin. Put the pastry in your tin, press it down so it’s nice and snug and leave an overhang over the edges.

4. Bake in the oven at 180 for about 15 minutes until the pastry has cooked and its golden brown. Trim the edges and leave to cool.

5. Cut the bacon into chunks and fry in a pan. Thinly slice the onion and add to a corner of the pan. When the onion and bacon is almost done, make a space and add the spinach leaves and cook until wilted.

6. To assemble the quiche, first add the cheddar cheese, then the bacon and onions, then the spinach and top with the goats cheese. Whisk the eggs and cream together then season with the salt, pepper and paprika, you could also add a pinch of mixed herbs. Pour the the filling into the quiche almost to the top. Pop in the oven and bake at 170 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until the custard has set in the middle. Allow to cool slightly before removing from the pan and serving. Can be enjoyed hot or cold.

You can also switch the ingredients up a bit, I added tomatoes to my second quiche.

These egg cups are so cute and tasty; and just perfect if you are cooking breakfast for a lot of people. Scrambled eggs are boring and fried or poached eggs can be a pain in the arse if you are trying to cook more that 3 or 4 at a time. Omelettes are far too time consuming, so these are just right. If your oven is big enough you can probably fit two trays in. They can also be eaten on the go if you are in a hurry. They are quick and easy and you can easily switch up the veg if you feel like something different.

Ingredients

6 eggs

4 mushrooms

A handful of spinach

100g of grated cheese

3 small boiled potatoes (optional)

1 teaspoon of mixed herbs

A pinch of salt and pepper

A little olive oil.

Directions

Slice the mushrooms and fry in a little butter for a few minutes until cooked. Add the spinach to the pan and cook until wilted. Turn off the heat and allow to cool. Meanwhile heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and pour a little olive oil into each cup of your muffin pan. This will stop the cups from sticking. In a bowl beat the eggs then add the salt, pepper, and mixed herbs. Stir in the cheese, then mix in cooked mushrooms and spinach. Spoon the mixture into the cups but try and leave a little room at the top as they will rise as they cook. If using top with a slice of potato. Cook for about 10 minutes or until they are cooked through in the middle.

When they are done, remove from the pan and serve with your favourite breakfast accompaniments or in an English muffin for a snack on the go.

After making a big batch a dips last week I found myself chip-less. How was I to enjoy my delicious dips? Walking to the store in the blistering heat seemed like such a big effort so I thought why not try and make some myself. I had plenty of tortillas in the freezer so I set about making some  tortilla chips to go with my lovely scrummy spinach hummus. I also took these to the Vegan Potluck and they went down a storm.

Ingredients

Spinach Hummus

300g dried chickpeas or  2 cans of chickpeas.

3-5 tablespoons of Tahini (buy it at the foreign food mart in Itaewon or make your own, it’s really easy just blend sesame seeds with olive oil)

200g of fresh spinach

200 – 300ml Olive oil

3 – 5 cloves of garlic

The juice  and zest of 1 or 2 Lemons

2 -4 tablespoons of cumin (foreign food mart or Gmarket)

1-2 tablespoons of paprika (foreign food mart or Gmarket)

Lime and Coriander Chips

4 tortillas

2 tablespoons of olive oil

2 tablespoons of lime juice

1 tablespoon of Mexican seasoning

1 bunch of coriander (cilantro)

1/2 a teaspoon of salt

Directions

Soak your chickpeas over night or for several hours in cold water, do not add any salt. Cook your chickpeas in boiling water for 2-3 hours or until they mash easily with the back of a spoon. I use my rice cooker to cook them as you don’t have to worry about topping up the water, just give them a lot at the beginning and they will be fine.  Once your chick peas are done, strain them but reserve some of the water for later. If you are using the canned chickpeas you can skip the cooking stage.

If you are making your own tahini, blend the olive oil and sesame seeds until they form a paste. Then add the garlic and blend again. Finally add the spinach. Keep blending until you have a lovely vibrant green paste. I prefer to use fresh spinach as frozen or cooked is too stringy and will cause problems for your blender unless you have a very good one.

Blend the chick peas in your blender with a little of the extra water,  until they start to resemble the consistency of hummus. Everyone has a different preference about how they like their hummus, some like the runny oily kind whilst others prefer it thick. It’s really up to you, whatever floats your boat, so add more or less water depending on how you like it. Once your chickpeas are blended, add the tahini and lemon juice. Then you can start to add your salt and spices, a little at first stirring them in until you get the taste you want. You also might want to add more tahini and lemon juice too. Hummus is one of those recipes that is hard to pin down. I generally make it the same each time but the results always seem to vary. As long as you get all the basics in there though it should turn out well.

To make the chips cut your tortillas into triangles. The tortillas I use, are the large ones from Costco so I usually get about 10-12 chips from each one. Place the olive oil, lime juice and coriander in your blender and blend until you have a green paste. Then stir in the salt and Mexican seasoning. Using a brush or the back of a spoon coat one site of the triangle then lay on a baking tray. Try not to overlap the chips. Bake in the oven for about 2-4 minutes. Times will vary depending on the size so make sure you keep checking on them. They are done when they are golden in colour and the paste is dry. Store in an airtight container and they will keep for at least a week if you can resist eating them. Voilà home-made chips and a dip. Perfect for any party.

I do love a good brunch. It is swifly becoming one of my favourite meals of the day. In an effort to save money over the last few weeks I have been making my own rather than going out. My fridge is always well stocked with appropriate ingredients and I always have a steady supply of vodka for making Bloody Mary’s, so it seems churlish to venture outside when there is so much goodness at home. This weeks choice was a Spanish omelette. Quick and easy to make. I don’t own a metal skillet that is capable of fitting in my tiny toaster oven so I used a round cake tin I bought from Daiso. It came out great and I’m sure it will now be a regular feature for weekend brunch from now on.

Ingredients

7 eggs

1 red pepper

1 green pepper

2 potatoes

1 onion

3 cloves of garlic

A small bunch of spinach

1 tablespoon of freshly chopped coriander (cilantro)

1 tablespoon of freshly choped parsley

1/2 teaspoon of paprika

1/2 teaspoon of rosemary

A glug of olive oil

Directions

Thinly slice the potatoes and fry them in a little olive oil for about 5 minutes on each side until they are golden brown and cooked right through. Remove them from the pan and set to the side. Next slice the onions, garlic, and green and red peppers and fry for about 5 minutes until softened. Roughly chop the spinach and add to the pan until it had wilted then remove from the heat. In a separate bowl, break and beat the eggs together with a dash of salt, pepper, paprika, and rosemary. Finely chop the fresh parsley and coriander and add that to the egg mixture too. Next take the potatoes and add them to the egg mixture in the bowl. Then fold in the onion, garlic, peppers and spinach. Make sure it is mixed thoroughly then pour into a cake pan. Pop the the mixture into the oven and cook for about 15-20 minutes at 175 degrees Celsius. Its done when a knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. You may also want to cover the top with foil after the first 10 minutes to stop it over browning. To remove put a plate over the pan and flip it. Cut the omelette into wedges and serve with a side salad. Voilà Spanish style omelette.

I can’t believe I’m actually posting this as it’s such an easy thing to make, however I totally forgot how awesome it can be. I used to make it loads when I was a teenager but haven’t had it in years. I always see the boxes  in the foreign food mart but never end up buying one. I usually have a bag of macaroni in my cupboard that I rarely use for anything other than pasta salad. Macaroni is so easy to find in Korea. They sell it in every supermarket so I though it was about time I made use of it.

It was actually my lovely friends over at Pumpkinface that turned me back on to wanting it. They recently put up some pictures of their vegan Mac and Cheese that looked so good I couldn’t stop thinking about it. Then it dawned on me I could just make some when I got home. So quick and easy but incredibly comforting this was just what I needed on a day I felt a bit down in the dumps. Comfort food at its finest! I also threw in a bit of spinach, just because I love it and it to give it a meager amount of nutrition.

Ingredients

250g of macaroni (no need to precook)

1 litre of milk

1/2 stick of butter

50g of flour

A teaspoon of mustard

200g of  cheddar cheese (grated)

100g of breadcrumbs (빵가루)

200g of spinach

1/2 a chicken stock cube (dissolved in a small amount of hot water)

A pinch of Salt and pepper

Directions

Melt the butter in a sauce pan, turn down the heat then stir in the flour to make a paste. Add the milk to the saucepan and keep whisking. After a while the mixture should thicken and become a lovely white sauce. If it’s too thick add a little more milk. Add half of the cheese and the mustard and stir until the cheese has melted. Add the dissolved stock cube to the mixture and keep on stirring.   Roughly chop the spinach and add to the cheese sauce. You can remove it from the heat at this point. The sauce will still be warm enough to wilt the spinach. Put your uncooked macaroni in your oven proof dish, pour in the sauce and and mix it all together. Top with the other half of the grated cheese and then the breadcrumbs. Bake in the oven at 170 degrees Celsius for about 20 minutes until golden and brown and the macaroni has cooked though. Voilà an easy dinner that will always put a smile on your face.

As you may have read a few times now, I have a lovely new pasta maker. Sorry to keep banging on about it but I do. I decided to use it to whip up another batch of tortellini. The last ones I made were completely handmade, which actually came out very well. It is easier with a pasta machine as its far quicker to get the dough nice and thin,  but it really isn’t essential. So if you have been humming and hawing about making fresh pasta for a while now them I would really recommend you give it a try as they taste amazeballs, far better than the ones you can buy in the supermarket.

Ingredients

Pasta

250g of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

3 eggs

Filling

2 large handfuls of spinach

300g of ricotta (see my recipe here)

A knob of butter

Directions

To make the pasta. Mix the salt with the flour then make a heap on a clean flat surface. Make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in your beaten eggs. I haven’t taken any pictures of these steps as I’m sure you have seen it countless times before. Stir the egg gradually incorporating the flour from the sides of the circle a bit at a time so the well keeps its shape until the last moment. When all the flour has been mixed in you should have a lump of dough. Knead this dough for 5- 10 minutes until it is elastic and has some stretch to it. Wrap in cling-film and store in the fridge for 30 minutes. While you are waiting you can make the filling and sauce.

To make the filling chop the spinach then wilt in a little butter. Mix the spinach and ricotta together and season well. If you have some fresh parmesan to hand, grate some in too.

After the dough has been chilled properly you can begin to roll it out. It’s a good idea to separate your lump of dough into 2 or 3 pieces and work with one piece at a time. Put the unused lumps back in the fridge so they don’t dry out. If you have a pasta maker rolling the dough should be quick and easy. If not roll those sleeves up and get out your rolling-pin. The pasta really does need to be wafer thin, so when you think its thin enough, keep rolling. I read online that it should be thin enough so that you can see a playing card underneath the dough. The thinner your pasta the better it will taste. Even if the pasta is a little thick it’s not the end of the world but the skinny ones were definitely far tastier than the fatties. You can use anything round to cut the tortellini shapes, I just used a regular paper cup with a diameter of about 7 centimetres. I found that this was a good size. I tried a smaller cup too but I found they were quite fiddly to make, plus you would have to make more of them too.

When your circles are all cut, put a bit of filling in the middle of the circle. About half a teaspoon.

Fold the circle over so it makes a half moon shape. Squeeze the edges of the pasta together all around the filling, so the lump is secured.  Bring the two edges together so it makes the shape below.

Put the tortellini on a floured plate to dry out for about 20 minute..

Once your tortellinis have dried out. Boil them in batches of about 12 in salted water. They will take 1-2 minutes and are done when they float to the top. Serve with your favourite pasta sauce and top with freshly grated parmesan. Voilà homemade tortellini.

Ever since I found my recipe for this dough, pizza has been a regular dinner for us. I love these tasty pizzas and could eat them everyday. However I like a bit of variation and sometimes make a calzone instead. It’s pretty much the same thing, the pizza is just folded over. However I think it changes the dough a little and makes it into more of a kind of pasty which I love. The great thing about these babies is that you can fill them with whatever you want and take them to work as they are individually sealed. When I make up a big batch of dough, I usually use half for pizza and half for calzones. I used some of my coveted goats cheese in the filling of these and it was amazing, but pretty much anything goes. I even tried some with the pulled pork I made!

Ingredients

Dough

500g flour (I used the one for dumplings and noodles.)

2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of yeast (I used bobai brand that comes in 8g packages)

4 table spoons of olive oil

14oz ice-cold water

Stuffing

1/2 a kabocha squash (those dark green looking pumpkins)

2 tablespoons of tomato sauce

140g of goats cheese

A large handful of spinach

2 tabelspoons of toasted pine nuts

A knob of butter

Directions

Sift the flour, salt, and yeast into a bowl. Then using a table-spoon stir in the oil followed by the water bit by bit, you may find as I did that you don’t need it all, or you can always add more. Use the metal spoon to get right into the middle of the dough and mix it thoroughly. You know you have added enough water when the dough comes away from the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom. If it is too dry add a few more drops of water, if it is too wet add more flour a little at a time until it’s the right consistency.

Once your dough is formed you need to work it for another 5-7 minutes using the metal spoon, this activates the gluten in the flour which makes it springy and elastic rather than a tacky lump. You can do this by putting the spoon into the dough and moving it around, you will find the dough stretches the more you do this. After this take the ball of dough and pull it and stretch it with your hands, I am sure you have seen Italian pizza chefs on TV doing it (I didn’t do it half as elaborately but you get the idea).

Now the dough is ready, form it into balls – I made 3 big ones. The recipe stated that you should leave the balls in the fridge over night before using, but I don’t think it’s hugely important. If you have thought ahead in advance or have a huge amount of restraint and willpower it does help the flavour of the dough develop, but it still tastes great if you use it straight away (the dough will keep in the fridge for up to four days). Roll your ball in flour then put a little olive oil on your hands and coat each ball before putting on a tray or plate. Put the plate in a zip lock bag or failing this cling film and store overnight.

To made the filling cut the squash in to quarters and take out the seeds. Drizzle the pieces with a little olive oil and bake in the oven for about 40 minutes or until they are soft. Next scoop out the flesh and cut into chunks. I don’t like to waste the skins so I usually sprinkles on a little cumin and roast them in the oven for another 10-20 minutes until they are crunchy for a tasty snack. Chop the spinach then saute in the butter for a minute or two until it has wilted. Add the tomato sauce, pine nuts and crumble in the goats cheese. Mix together with the squash chunks thoroughly.

Roll out the dough into circles. Top with a tablespoon of sauce then add a few spoonfuls of filling. Then brush the edge with egg yolk.

Fold the dough over to make a semi-circle. Then crimp the edges. Depending how skilled you are you can make them look very beautiful. Brush the whole thing with egg wash again then baked them in the oven for about 10-20 minutes or until the dough is golden brown.

Serve on their own or with more tomato sauce for dipping. Voilà easy tasty calzone.

I’m rather partial to goat’s cheese. The creamy taste, the velvety texture and the gooey inside. Sadly in Korea its not all that easy to come by. In fact I don’t think I have bought any since I have been here. Luckily I visited Hong Kong last week and picked some up. I pondered what to make and decided I would use up the pastry I had sitting in the freezer and would make some tarts. You just cant beat a goats cheese tart. The pastry and cheese are such a winning combination. I always choose this if it’s on a menu.

Ingredients

1/2 a round of goats cheese (about 100g, I think they sell in it in Shinsegae department store)

8 squares of puff pastry. ( I found mine at the foreign food mart in Itaewon in the freezer section)

250g of spinach

4 rashers of bacon(optional)

150ml of tomato sauce (I always keep a jar of homemade in the fridge.)

Fresh parmesan

1 beaten egg

2 tablespoon of onion jam (you can find mine at the Pinoy mart)

A knob of butter

Directions

If using the bacon cook on high in an oven until its very crispy, I had some to use up, which is why I added it, but I think it worked rather well. Finely chop the spinach and then wilt in  a pan in a knob of butter. Once the spinach has wilted take the pan off the heat and crumble in the goats cheese and bacon. Grate in some fresh parmesan and stir well. Add in in a couple of tablespoons of onion jam and tomato sauce (homemade or store  bought).

To make my tomato sauce finely chop an onion and about 5 cloves of garlic. Fry off in a little olive oil until softened. Throw the onions into a blender along with 5-6 tomatoes or a can of tomatoes. If tomatoes are cheap I use fresh, in the winter its usually canned. Add a tablespoon of mixed herbs and blend. Pour the sauce into a saucepan and cook for about 10 minutes. I usually add a tablespoon of tomato ketchup at this point too, to sweeten it up. I also add glug or two of red wine if I have some open. I change the sauce slightly depending on what I’m making but this is a basic I would use for lots of things.

Take the pastry square and make 4 slices down the middle of two of the pieces being careful not to cut through to the end. Put a few tablespoons of the goats cheese spinach mixture into the piddle of the uncut pastry square leaving a the edges free. Brush the edges with the beaten egg then place the scored piece on top. Press down the edges to make sure it’s joined together. Then brush the beaten egg over the top. Bake in an oven at about 180 degrees celcius for about 15- 20 minutes or until the pastry has cooked through. Be careful to check the bottom layer as its easy to have this under cooked.  If you notice mine on the picture it is a little underdone and I had to put them back in the oven for another 5 minutes. If the tops are getting too brown cover the tarts with foil. Enjoy on their own or with a side salad. Voilà easy goats cheese tarts, a food I never though I would enjoy in Korea.

So this week I am trying to be semi healthy. I even exercised yesterday for the first time in a year. Sadly today I can barely move, so we shall see how long that lasts. You wouldn’t believe it from this blog, but I am generally quite a healthy eater and always eat my five portions of fruit and veg a day. However I always seems to get my five portions of fat and sugar too…. (which kind of balances out all the good work from the  healthy stuff). Anyhow this soup is one of my favourites to make in the winter time. It is a glorious green colour and packed full of vitamins while still being quite tasty. I managed to get two bunches of spinach for 1,500 on Sunday so it is also very cheap to make.

Ingredients

1 large onion

2 large bunches of spinach

4 green peppers

5 cloves of garlic

1 litre of chicken stock (you could also use vegetable)

A glug of olive oil

Directions

Finely chop the onions and garlic and fry off for a few minutes until softened. Chop the green peppers and add to the pan. Chop the spinach and add to the pan in batches as it may not all fit at once. Cook until all the spinach has wilted. Add the chicken stock and boil for a further 10-15 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and let the soup cool. Once the soup has cooled blend it up then reheat. Serve with healthy wholemeal bread. Voilà the green goddess!