Aubergine & spinach curry

February 29, 2016January 24, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 2 Comments

Ill again, ill again, jiggery jig. Really need to stop licking toilet door knobs. Anyway, the day before I got this stinking cold, I managed to make this rather delightful aubergine curry. This recipe is unusually mild for me but you have to be careful not to overpower the subtle flavour of the aubergine. It’s this mild and subtle flavour that makes it a particular hit with mums – mums don’t like hot curries you see. So, if you like your mum, then why not treat her to this curry or the Downton Abbey boxset? Both are exquisite gifts… It is Mothers Day next Sunday after all.

Aubergine & spinach curry
Serves 4 / Hands on time 40 mins / Takes 1 hour 40 minutes / V Vn Gf Df ❄
Rapeseed oil spray
1 tsp rapeseed
4 aubergines, cut into chunks
2 small onions, finely chopped
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp mild chilli powder
1 tsp sea salt flakes
1 tsp turmeric
1 can chopped tomatoes
200g bag of spinach
Brown basmati rice to serve (optional)
Handful fresh coriander and yogurt to serve (optional)

Method
1. preheat an o oven to 220°C/200°C fan/425°F/gas mark 7. Spray a deep roasting try with oil, stab the aubergines a few times with a fork and spray them with oil. roast in the oven whole for 50 mins, turning half way through cooking.
2. Meanwhile, add a tsp of oil to a large pot over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and sweat for 5 mins with the lid on. Add a dash of water to help the onions steam before adding all the spices and the salt. Cook for a further few minutes before covering with the lid again and taking off the heat. Put to one side.
3. Once the aubergines are soft, take out the oven and transfer the first aubergine to a chopping board. Cut off the stalk and slice in half lengthways. Using a fork pin one half down and scrap the flesh out with a spoon. Discard the skin and put the flesh in a separate bowl, roughly mash with a fork and sprinkle with salt. Repeat this process with all there aubergines.
4. Put the onion mix back over a medium heat along with a tbs of water and warm through. Add the aubergine flesh and give it a stir. Add the can of chopped tomatoes and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce the heat and start adding the spinach a couple of handfuls at a time. Allow the spinach to wilt down into the curry before adding a couple more handfuls, stirring continually. After the spinach has been added reduced the heat and cook for a further 20-30 minutes, stirring frequently.
5. Finish by serving with the rice yogurt and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Vn– Vegan Gf– Gluten free. Df– Dairy free.
❄ Suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

Fridge soup

February 15, 2016January 24, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 2 Comments

Fridge soup has prevented me from starving to death before pay day for several years now. It’s literally made up of left over bits and bobs in my veg drawer, which may not sound appetising but trust me, it’s delicious. All you need is an onion, a couple of stock cubes and a load of old veg that needs using up.
It’s never a thick blended soup though, more of a broth inspired by many a skiing holiday. You may or may not know, that being vegetarian in Europe is shit. Made worse by the fact that my dad was a very fussy vegetarian. This meant the only thing we could really eat was cheese because well, there wasn’t much else. Getting the cheese sweats up a mountain became the norm for me and dad – that’s what two fondues a day will do to you.
However, sometimes we’d be lucky enough to order a vegetable broth. Probably wasn’t vegetarian but we never asked, we didn’t want know. It was always the same, a beautifully clear stock with small elegantly chopped vegetables floating in it and served with a white baguette. Mmmm.
So anyway, back to the soup. Mine isn’t quite so delicate but it’s certainly tasty. Sometimes I dig around my cupboards and chuck in a can of pulses along with anything else that needs using up. You can put whatever you want in it really but here’s the formula I tend to use…

½ onion + 2 garlic cloves + 1.5 litre stock + half filled pot of veg + 1 can of pulses (optional)

Fridge soup
Serves 4 / Hands on time xx / Takes 25 – 30 minutes / V Vn Gf Df ❄
1 tsp rapeseed oil
½ onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ green pepper, de-seeded and finely chopped
1 leek, roughly chopped
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
½ an aubergine, roughly chopped
2 handfuls of kale
2 handfuls spinach
3 ribs of celery plus inner leaves, roughly chopped
1.5 litres vegetable stock, I use 2 Knorr stock pots
Small handful fresh coriander finely chopped
Extra virgin olive oil to serve
Grated vegetarian cheese to serve (optional)

TIP: If using green vegetables such as kale, broccoli, courgettes, leafy greens etc, add these 5 mins before the end as they won’t need much cooking – they will keep their vibrant colour and crunch.

Method
1. Fry the onion and garlic in a large heavy bottomed pot in a tsp of oil over a medium heat. Sweat with the lid on for 5 mins before removing and adding a dash of water to help the onions steam and soften. Add the carrots, green pepper, leek and continue cook for 5 mins.
2. Add the stock, season well with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
3. Finally add the kale, coriander, spinach and cook for a further 5 mins along with any canned pulses you may fancy (optional). Serve the broth drizzled in extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of cheese (optional).

Other variation examples…
Fridge vegetable broth vs2
½ an onion, 1 garlic clove, 1 courgette, 2 medium carrots, 1 leek, 2 handfuls of kale, small baking potato, ½ can of sweetcorn, small handful parsley, half a bottle of passata, 1.5 litre veg stock

Fridge vegetable broth vs3
½ an onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 can of chickpeas, 1 red pepper, 1 courgette, 1 baking potato, half a bag of spinach, 3 small carrots, 8 cherry tomatoes, 1.5 litre veg stock, finely chopped parsley.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V– Vegetarian Vn– Vegan Df– Dairy free
Gf– I use Knorr vegetable stock pots because they are gluten free but other stock pots/cubes may not be. Always check the label.
❄ The soup is suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

Leek & mushroom breton with chickpea mash

February 13, 2016July 10, 2022 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Leek & Mushroom Breton with Chickpea Mash

It’s Valentines Day tomorrow. Does anyone care? Thought not. I don’t have a problem with flowers, chocolates or even ugly bears with hearts sewn to their paws, but I do have a problem with couples who shell out on real gifts. There is just something inherently pushy about Valentines Day and the presumption that you would buy anything other than flowers and chocolates deeply offends me. I mean who does that? If Jamie bought me a fancy Jo Malone candle for Valentines Day I’d be very angry. That money could have gone towards a very affordable microwave!

Anyway, I did actually make Jamie a romantic dinner a few weeks back – because I’m nice like that. The velvety breton sauce is the key to this dish, it’s easy but takes about an hour to make. Once made though, the rest of the recipe is quick and simple. I tend to make the sauce the night before and pop it in the fridge until I’m ready to use it. Breton sauce is not traditionally vegetarian (being French) but I was determined to create a vegetarian dish that could stand up in a French restaurant. Oh and if you’re not keen on the idea of chickpea mash then normal mash will suffice. Bon appetite mon amie.

Leek and mushroom breton with chickpea mash
Serves 4 / Hands on time 50 mins / Total time 1 hour 40 minutes / V ❄
You’ll need: Hand blender or food processor for the mash
Sauce
1 carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1 large onion, roughly chopped
1 celery rib, roughly chopped
85g unsalted butter
40g plain flour
1 litre vegetable stock, I use 2 knorr vegetable stock pots
2 large crushed garlic cloves
1 bay leaf
½ tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce*
100ml vegetarian red wine
2 tbs tomato purée
Vegetables
2 large leeks, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and thickly chopped
5 chestnut mushrooms, thickly chopped
Fresh parsley, finely chopped
Chickpea mash
3 cans of chick peas
3 large garlic cloves, crushed
½ an onion, chopped
Knob Butter

TIP: Substitute chickpea mash for regular mash if you prefer.

Method
1. Melt the butter in a large heavy bottomed pot and add the roughly chopped onion, carrot, celery and a good pinch of salt. Cook on a low heat with the lid on for around 10 mins until soft.
2. Add the flour and stir into the carrot and onion mixture. Add the vegetable stock in a fast stream and whisk to eliminate any lumps.
3. Add the garlic, bay leaf, red wine, peppercorns, Worcestershire sauce, tomato purée and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down and simmer gently for 40 mins, mixing occasionally to remove any skin and to prevent sticking.
4. Sieve the sauce into a large bowl. The sauce will be thick so I use a spoon to press it down before leaving it for 10 mins. Disregard the pulp and either refrigerate the sauce and pour back into the pot. Bring to the boil.
5. To the sauce, add the chopped mushrooms, leeks and carrots and simmer for 15 mins.
6. Meanwhile make the mash in a large saucepan by adding half a chopped onion, crushed garlic and butter over a medium heat. Cook for 5-7 mins until soft, adding a dash of water if needed). Add the drained chickpeas and heat through before seasoning well with salt and pepper. Blitz in a food processor or use a hand blender until the chickpeas resemble a thick mash. Finish with a generous knob of butter and a good season of salt and pepper.
7. Finish by dividing the mash onto plates and top with the breton sauce vegetables. Serve sprinkled with chopped fresh parsley.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian
❄ The breton sauce is suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

HEAT COOKS THE BOOK: Juliet Sear’s loveheart cookies

February 10, 2016January 24, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

It’s Valentine’s Day soon, so we thought we’d give you a hand wooing your loved one. Maybe Juliet Sear’s Loveheart cookies from Cakeology should sweeten the deal. Now all you have to do is remember to buy a card…

Lydia’s loveheart cookies
Makes about 20 cookies
Equipment: Rolling pin, guide sticks, 10cm round cutter, piping bag with the end snipped off, heart-shaped cutter (slightly smaller than the round cutter), piping bag with a No2 nozzle
Cookies: 200g salted butter, 200g golden caster sugar, seeds from 1 split vanilla pod, 1 lightly beaten egg, 400g plain flour sifted, extra for dusting
Decorations: Icing sugar for dusting, sugar paste in pastel candy colours (you need about 30g per cookie, so make up equal amounts of pink, mint green, lemon yellow and cream), a little soft-peak royal icing in white,
2tbsp soft-peak royal icing coloured with paste colour

Method
1 Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F/gas 4) and line two baking sheets
with baking parchment.
2 Place the butter, sugar and vanilla seeds into a bowl and mix until just combined, either by hand or using a mixer on a slow speed. Add the egg a little at a time, stirring with a mixer or wooden spoon until fully incorporated.
3 Add the flour and mix until a dough forms. You will know it’s right when the dough comes together without leaving sticky traces on the bowl and it forms into a shiny, pliable ball.
4 Dust the work surface with flour and roll out the cookie dough. Using guide sticks will ensure your dough is an even thickness but if you don’t have guide sticks, just take care to roll it to about 5mm in thickness.
5 Using a circle cookie cutter, cut out your cookies. Place them on the prepared baking sheets. Bake for ten to 12 minutes, checking after ten minutes. Move to a wire rack to cool.
6 Lightly dust the work surface with icing sugar and roll out all of your sugarpaste colours to 2-3 mm. Cut out all of your sugar circles with the round cutter. Pipe a drizzle of white royal icing over each one using a piping bag.
7 Pop the sugar circles onto the cookies. Gently press each one to stick it down and flatten it neatly onto the cookie.
8 With the heart-shaped cutter, make an impression by gently pushing the heart into the circle. This will give you a guideline for piping. Personalise all of your cookies with the coloured royal icing in a piping bag with a No2 nozzle. Starting at the top in the middle, begin piping the royal icing over the heart guideline. Leave the cookies to dry for at least 12 hours.
Cakeology: Over 20 Sensational Step-By-Step Cake Decorating Projects by Juliet Sear (Hardie Grant, £20)

Heat Verdict: Corrie says, “Piping bag? Nozzles? Soft peak royal icing? Nah, just wing it! Being the kind of gal that likes to cut corners, I decorated my cookies with icing sugar that I found at the back of my cupboard, along with several shop-bought icing pens. I mixed 90g icing sugar with 1tsp of water and a couple of drops of food colouring, which generously covered three biscuits. I then made another batch of icing with a different colour and carried on until I’d covered all my cookies. Once set, I decorated them with shop-bought designer and writing icings in a variety of colours. Sainsbury’s sell these for around £1.40 each.
I used the thicker designer icing to trace the hearts and I wrote my slogans in the more delicate writing icing. The cookies themselves were delicious, and although they are now slightly stale, my boyfriend is still happily eating his way through them all.”

HEAT COOKS THE BOOKS: Juliet Sears Loveheart Cookies

If you fancy trying this or any other of Juliet’s recipes, then why not treat yourself to her book Cakeology: Over 20 Sensational Step-By-Step Cake Decorating Projects by Juliet Sear (Hardie Grant, £20).

Also, if you have a taste for the good, the bad and the unmissable, check out the brand spanking new heat magazine.

Cheese & egg crepes

February 9, 2016January 25, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

In my adult life, I don’t think I’ve ever made pancakes on pancake day – mostly due to the fact it always falls on a Tuesday. I can barely drag myself out of bed for work on a Tuesday let alone make pancakes.
That being said, I’m still a human being and human beings love pancakes, so lets make pancakes! Not on pancake day though, lets make them on Sunday like a normal sane person. Being a bit hungover today I can’t be dealing with sweet pancakes, I need something cheesy. Bring on the Leerdammer.

Cheese and egg crepes
Serves 2 / Hands on time 15 mins / Total, time 15 mins + refrigeration / V
60g plain flour
1 medium egg
150ml semi-skimmed milk
Knob of butter
Filling
4 slices Swiss cheese, I used pre sliced Leerdammer
2 eggs
Freshly chopped parsley (optional)

TIP: You can use this recipe to create any savoury crepe you like. Simply flip the pancake and sprinkle with your desired toppings.

Method
1. Mix the flour in a large bowl with a good pinch of salt and pepper. In a measuring jug measure out the milk and crack an egg straight into it, whisk until combined.
2. Make a well in the flour and whisk in the egg mixture bit by bit until you have a smooth batter. Refrigerate for 30 mins.
3. Once the batter has chilled, place a large saucepan over a medium to high heat and add a knob of butter. Move the melted butter around the pan until evenly spread.
4. Add a ladle of batter to the centre of the pan and move the mixture until it has evenly spread to the edges. The crepe will cook quickly so be ready to flip it in 1 min.
5. Flip the pancake, turn down the heat and top with 2 slices of cheese and crack an egg in (I used one slice of cheese in the picture but used 2 on my second attempt which tasted better).
6. Fold the pancake in half, being careful not to break the yolk.
7. Fold then pancake over again but this time cover the yolk. Move the pancake around the pan and turn it over carefully occasionally. Do this for 3-5 mins to allow the egg to cook.
8. Turn out onto a plate, sprinkle with a pinch of salt and fresh parsley.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian.

Bean curd in black bean sauce

February 8, 2016January 25, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

CHINESE NEW YEAR: Bean Curd in Black Bean Sauce

As it’s Chinese New Year, I thought I’d have a go at making my family’s favourite Chinese takeaway meal – beancurd in black bean sauce. Having only ever used black bean sauce from a packet, I was determined to try and make it myself but was doubtful I’d find fermented black beans in my local Sainsbury’s, but I did! I stumbled across it in the World Foods isle. They looked a bit weird so bought ready-made black bean sauce too just in case. If you can’t find fermented black beans, you can order them by clicking here or simply replace with a jar of ready-made black bean sauce.
I remember my dad not being a fan of the green pepper in this dish (he used to pick them out and moan every time we got a takeaway) but I like a touch of bitterness so have kept them in – sorry dad! Happy Chinese New Year!

Bean curd in black bean sauce
Serves 2 / Hands on time 40 mins / Total time 40 mins / V Vn Df
You’ll need: Food processor, kitchen roll, wok or large frying pan
Black bean sauce
2 tbs fermented black beans in chilli, washed and sieved
2 tbs dry sherry
2 tbs light soy sauce
4 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ red chilli, de-seeded and chopped (optional)
Stir fry
1 red pepper, de-seeded and sliced
1 green pepper, de-seeded and sliced
6 spring onions, sliced
280g firm tofu, drained
2 tsp sesame oil
Handful fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Brown basmati rice to serve

Method
1. Drain the tofu and lay the block on some layered kitchen roll. Cover in a few more pieces of kitchen roll and place something heavy heavy on top of it whilst you make the sauce.
2. To make the black bean sauce, put all the ingredients in a food processor and blitz until combined – be careful not to over blitz as you want the sauce to keep a bit of texture. Put to one side.
3. Add a tsp of sesame oil in a wok over a medium to high heat. Remove the heavy object from the tofu and cut into cubes. Fry the tofu in the wok for about 5 mins stirring continually until golden brown. Line a large bowl with kitchen roll and tip the tofu into it before sprinkling with salt.
4. Add another tsp of oil to the wok and add the sliced peppers along with the spring onions. Fry for a couple mins before adding the black bean sauce and the tofu. Stir fry together for 5 minutes until the vegetables are cooked and the tofu warmed through.
5. Serve topped with chopped spring onions and coriander.

If you’ve had a go at making any of my recipes, I’d love to hear from you. Follow me now @corrieheale and tag your recipe pictures using #corriesrabbitfood.

V – Vegetarian Vn – Vegan. Df – Dairy free

Jamie does Jamie’s baked cheesecake

February 7, 2016January 25, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Sweet baby Jesus. If I had to eat one food for the rest of my life, it may very well be this cheesecake. Not sure what possessed my boyfriend to bake a cheesecake in the first place but that doesn’t matter now. Brandishing Jamie Oliver’s recipe on his iPhone, he started digging around the cupboards for a 24cm springform cake tin.
“I don’t think we have one of them” I yelled from the living room watching Nancy and Whitney having a fight on Eastenders. Jamie emerges from the kitchen holding a 24cm springform cake tin.
“Huh, who knew we had one of those?” I said drawing my attention back to Eastenders. Hang on, Ryan’s back? I thought he was dead?..
Anyway after a million questions about vanilla essence, corn flour and caster sugar I went to work, expecting to return home to a kitchen full of smoke and tears. But no, I came home to this…

It was without a doubt, one of the best cheesecakes I’ve ever eaten. It had a beautiful creamy texture and the flavour was subtly citrusy. Well done Jamie Oliver and Jamie Green, you’ve both made me a very happy woman. 10/10.
Oh and Jamie would like it noted that “it’s the chef that makes the cheesecake not the recipe.” I have feeling he’s referring to himself as the chef in this instance, sorry Jamie Oliver.