Vietnamese Fresh Spring Rolls

This was my absolute favourite dish whilst I was on my travels around South East Asia. As I have a fantastic Asian supermarket around the corner from my house, I had no excuse not to give them a go. I used no instructions and went simply by memory of what they consisted of- so feel free to add whatever you fancy.

They are really easy to make but very fiddly- it's due to the rice paper being sticky so you have to watch out they don't crease up when you take them out of the water.

I used prawns as that is what I always had when I ate them but you can use chicken or beef etc if you so wish. Please make sure that your prawns are responsibly sourced by checking the packaging has the MSC tick.

This is going to be quite brief this recipe because they are so quick to make. I made enough for 6 rolls.

ingredients

150g cooked king prawns

45g glass noodles (also known as vermicelli)

6 sheets of spring roll wrapper (rice paper) I used the 22cm sheets

1 carrot

half a cucumber

a couple of leaves of lettuce 

a bunch of mint leaves (you can use coriander but mint is the best)

half a red pepper

1 red chilli (optional)

sweet chilli dipping sauce

a cup of water

about 1 pint of boiling hot water

First wash your prawns. Put the kettle on to boil. Peel your carrot- cut in half and then thinly slice length ways. Do the same with the cucumber and pepper. Thinly slice your lettuce, chilli and pull the leaves off a few springs of mint.

Put the rice noodles in a bowl and pour over the boiling hot water. Leave for 3 minutes (no longer!) and drain- I also rinsed with cold water.

Have all your ingredients ready in front of you as this is really quick to do. 

You want to soak a sheet of rice paper in a shallow dish of water- I used a frying pan as they fit really easily. Make sure you soak one at a time as they will stick together. You want to soak them for around 20 seconds- keep checking throughout so they don't go too soft and slimy but then at the same time they are not too stiff to roll.

Take the rice paper out using your fingers and lay onto a chopping board. Then it's all about piling it up... time for you to get creative! I lay the prawns first- landscape in a line (because I am a fuss pot!) in the middle of the sheet, making sure you leave about an inch free at the ends (no less) Next lay on top around 3 mint  leaves, then all the salad, then a little of the noodles. Try not to pile too much in as you will have to roll them. 

Time to get rolling- you want to fold the ends in first (this will stop everything falling out when you come to bite into your roll) then fold over the bottom of the sheet over your ingredients then roll the bundle to meet the end, in order to make it into a spring roll. 

Then continue the above in order to create another 5 rolls.

Serve with a slice of fresh lime and dipping sauce or even soy sauce. I will attempt to make my own dipping sauce next time but a delicious Vietnamese sauce winked at me whilst I was at the Asian supermarket! 

Time to enjoy your healthy, honest and not forgetting tasty fresh spring rolls!

Veggie Chilli Con Carne

This is an absolutely delicious chilli con carne. It makes enough for 4 to 6 people. I make it for 4 people but I am always left with quite a bit so I often freeze it then use it another day with warm soft wraps, sour cream and guacamole. Always the perfect hangover cure if you ask me!

For all you meat lovers out there- have no fear! Trust me on this one- you may be swayed into this meat free option. I have convinced two men (who are the type that if meat isn't on your plate then it can't be classed as a real meal) so before you turn your nose up... give it a go and you may surprise yourself.

Ingredients

4 cloves of garlic

a heaped teaspoon of coconut oil/glug of oil

1 large onion

1 red pepper

1 large carrot

half a teaspoon of chilli powder

1 teaspoon of cumin

2 teaspoons of chiptole

400g passata and one tin of plum tomatoes

tin of lentils

1 tin of black beans

1 tin of kidney beans

4 tablespoons of tomato puree

a good pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

fresh coriander

You want start by prepping your vegetables. Chop the onion, carrot and pepper into 1 cm cubes. Chop the garlic finely (or you can use a grater to get it super fine!). 

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the veggies along with the spices ( a part from the chiptole) including the salt and pepper. Cook on a medium heat for around 10 minutes until they have become quite soft- remembering to stir often so they don't catch (if they do feel like they might burn add a dash of water). After  10 minutes you want to add your chiptole. Give the pan a right good stir.

You want to add your tomatoes next and bring it to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Next rinse your beans and lentils and add these a long with the tomato puree and a cup of water. Bring to the boil and then simmer for another hour- adding additional water if needed.

I prefer to turn off my tomato based sauces and leave to stand before serving as I think they taste  better as everything has had time to relax and mingle. So after it has finished cooking, turn off the gas and start cooking your rice.

I serve my with rice, sour cream, home-made guacamole (see previous post for recipe), a wedge of fresh lime and coriander.

My mouth is watering. I hope I have convinced you that this is a damn good meat-free dish!

Holy Moly Guacamole

This is a a firm favourite amongst friends and family. It's tasty and super healthy to boot. You can have it with chilli con carne (recipe will be added later this week) you can add it to your burgers... dollop it on sour dough bread topped with the a poached egg or just serve on the side of your nachos. If you haven't tried making your own, well now is the time. 

ingredients

1 ripe avocado

juice of half a lime

3 spring onions

1 large garlic clove

a glug of extra virgin olive oil

a small bunch of fresh coriander

a good pinch of dried chilli flakes 

4 cherry tomatoes

sea salt and freshly ground pepper

fresh chilli to garnish

First finely chop your garlic and slice your spring onions- with my spring onions I try not to waste too much so I do chop the green leaves until about 2 inches from the end. Chop your cherry tomatoes into quarters. Next you want to mash your avocado with a fork in a bowl. Once this is too a a slightly smooth ( I don't like it too smooth but up to you) add the glug of extra virgin- I would say a tablespoon. Add a little lime juice (I say half a lime but it might be less as you don't want it to be too runny) and stir it all together. Next add your garlic, spring onions, the tomatoes, dried chilli flakes and the chopped coriander. Season with salt and pepper. Stir and taste.  

Garnish with a few slices of fresh chilli and a little coriander. 

Now...be prepared for to be loved even more by your friends.

Chickpea Curry

This is a fab and cheap curry to make. Completely veggie and it uses turmeric which has so many health benefits so it's definitely worth having a go of.

ingredients

1 can of chickpeas

1 can of chopped tomatoes

1 onion

2 clove garlic

1 thumb-sized fresh root ginger

1 red chilli (you can use less if you're not a fan of hot spice)

2 tablespoons of oil ( I used coconut oil if not vegetable)

1 teaspoon mustard seeds (I used yellow but you can use black)

2 teaspoons of garam masala

2 teaspoons of ground coriander

2 teaspoons of cumin

2 teaspoons of paprika

Half a teaspoon of turmeric

2 tablespoons coconut milk

1 handful of fresh coriander 

half the juice of a lime

sea salt

Drain and rinse your chickpeas. Finely dice the onion, finely chop the garlic and grate your ginger ( I freeze mine which makes it easier to grate and it also lasts a life time!) Next you want to heat the oil in your saucepan- you want to do this on a medium heat. Add the onion, making sure to stir until the onion starts to soften and go a golden colour. Next you want to add your garlic and ginger and cook for a minute- watch out because garlic burns very easily!

You then want to add all your spices, a long with a good pinch of salt and chopped chilli. Turn down the heat so they don't burn.

Chuck in your chopped tomatoes and give everything a big stir. Once it has been cooking for a couple of minutes you want to add your chickpeas and coconut milk. Cook for a few minutes to make sure everything is well mingled together and also heated through. Add your lime juice and stir.

Your curry is now ready to serve with a little fresh coriander sprinkled on top. I serve mine with rice or cauliflower rice... it's your curry so you decide!

Delicious.

Homemade Hummus

This is something I am well known for- mainly because I make it by the vat load for get togethers... at least that way all my pals have garlic breath together at parties!

This is very cheap, simple and ridiculously fast to make. It is a dip that you may change slightly to suit your own taste but I will give you the basic measurements but don't be afraid to add maybe a little more cumin or garlic... or even adapt it by adding a little fresh coriander or spinach!

This will make a cereal bowl size pot. If you are going to keep I would say it will last 2-3 days. It will be a little dry so just add a tiny splash of water and stir it up.

Ingredients

1 tin of chickpeas

1-2 garlic cloves (I would say to add 2 because I love garlic)

2 dessertspoons of tahini

2 teaspoons of cumin

Half a teaspoon of paprika

Half a teaspoon of dry chilli flakes (you can add more)

The juice of half a fresh lemon (I only end up using half of this, so really it's a quarter of a lemon)

2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground pepper

A little cold water

First rinse you chickpeas and leave to drain. Next roughly chop the garlic and add to your food processor. Add the tahini, spices, salt and pepper, chickpeas, half of the lemon juice and the oil. Whizz up. It will be a little dry so add a little water to loosen. You can also add a little extra oil as this will add more depth to the taste of your hummus or if you want it more zesty add more lemon juice. 

Make sure to taste it before serving- I sometime have to add a little extra cumin or salt and pepper- it's all a matter of taste really.

I usually sprinkle a little extra paprika with seeds and a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

That's it done. You will never want to buy shop bought hummus again!