Welsh rarebit

February 4, 2019January 5, 2021 ~ Corrie ~ 3 Comments

Easy, cheap and bad for your cholesterol, this teatime treat is the kind of oozy comfort food that blocks your arteries with love (and fat) – just what the doctor may have ordered back in 1725.
Believed to have taken off in 18th century England, it may surprise you to learn that Welsh rarebit isn’t Welsh at all, but an English dig at poverty stricken Wales – nice. Rabbit was a poor man’s meat in England, whereas the poor man’s ‘meat’ in Wales was cheese, thus the name ‘Welsh rabbit’. Although somewhere along the way, the alternative spelling, ‘rarebit’, crept in for some reason, and no one really knows why. Anyhoo, that’s not to say that the Welsh didn’t eat Welsh rarebit – cheese, bread and beer were food staples of the time. Sounds worryingly like my current diet. Oh well, scurvy here I come…

Welsh rarebit
Serves 1 / Hands on time 10 mins / Total time 15 mins / V
75g vegetarian mature cheddar, grated
1 egg yolk
1 tbs beer or stout (or milk if you don’t have any)
½ tsp English mustard
1 tsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce*
2 thick slices of bread

Method
1. Grate the cheese and place in a bowl along with the egg yolk, stout, English mustard and vegetarian Worcestershire sauce. Stir well and put to one side.
2. Put a grill on a high heat and toast the bread in a toaster before spooning and squashing the cheese mixture onto each slice liberally. Place the slices on a baking tray and under the hot grill for 1-2 minutes or until the cheese has started to bubble and brown. Serve immediately.

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
*Most brands of Worcestershire sauce regretably not vegetarian as they contain fish so always check the label. I used a vegan brand in this recipe called Biona.

Cheese and Marmite scones

January 28, 2019January 21, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 4 Comments

Are you skint, even though you’ve literally just been paid? Welcome to my life. As quickly as my pay cheque came – ‘pay cheque’ what am I, American? Anyway, no sooner had I been paid then the money swiftly vanished out of my account, leaving me with, well, not with nothing, but not with very much at all. It’s like I get robbed every month – stupid London.

Anyhoo, in light off my continuing impoverishment (perhaps I shouldn’t have spent so much money on Tina Turner The Musical tickets) I had to ditch the recipe I was going to make and swap it for something I could cobble together with ingredients I already had. Cheese and Marmite scone anyone?

Cheese and Marmite scones
Makes 10 / Hands on time 30 mins / Total time 40 mins / V ❄
You’ll need: 5cm cookie cutter
1 ½ tbs Marmite
1 tbs boiling water
350g self-raising flour
1 tsp baking powder
80g cold unsalted butter, cubed
80g vegetarian mature cheddar, grated
175ml semi-skimmed milk
1 egg
15g grated vegetarian Italian hard cheese or Parmesan*

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6 and line 2 baking trays with baking paper. Put to one side.
2. In a small bowl add 1 ½ tbs of Marmite and cover in 1 tbs of boiling water. Using a teaspoon, mix well until the Marmite has dissolved into a more workable liquid. Put to one side.
3. Combine the flour and the baking powder together in a large bowl and mix well before adding the cold cubed butter. Using your hands, work the butter into the flour with your fingers until you have fine breadcrumbs. Add the grated cheddar and mix well with a cutlery knife .
4. Warm the milk slightly in a pan (it’s important that you don’t over heat the milk, it should be lukewarm). Take off the heat and mix the Marmite liquid into the milk (leaving a little of the Marmite liquid behind for the topping later). Place the baking trays in the oven to warm up.
5. Make a well in the flour mixture and pour in the Marmite milk. Using a cutlery knife, mix quickly until combined (you need to work quickly as the warm milk with activate the raising agents in the flour).
6. Flour a clean work surface and tip the dough out onto it. Using your hands (and being carful not work the dough too much) pat the dough into a kind of giant burger shape roughly an inch thick. Flour the cutter before plunging into the dough, twist and pull out creating your scone. Continue until you can’t make anymore, before gathering up any excess dough and reshaping to produce more scones. Carefully remove the baking trays from the oven. Place the scones evenly on the trays (making sure you have enough space between each scone for them to rise).
7. Crack the egg into the bowl containing the remaining Marmite water and beat well with a fork. Brush the top of each scone with the egg and top with a small sprinkling of Italian hard cheese. Bake in the oven for 10-13 minutes or until they’re a lovely golden brown. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving warm with butter and an extra spread of Marmite for those who really love it.

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
❄ To freeze, cool fully before wrapping individually in a few layers of clingfilm and freeze for up to 3 months.
*Parmesan (Parmigiano Reggiani) is always made using animal rennet, therefore it is not vegetarian. Substitute for Italian hard cheese if applicable.

Red pepper & tomato lasagne

January 21, 2019January 21, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 4 Comments

I tend to find myself crying a lot these days. Not about anything important – in fact, it’s the trivial things that really set me off. A slightly sentimental advert, a chick and a cat becoming friends or even just spilling coffee granules on the kitchen floor.
For example, today I’ve already cried twice, and both times were during the first half hour of Harry Potter film ‘The Goblet of Fire’. Bear in mind, nothing upsetting had actually happened yet. Thinking about it, the first cry was over Brendan Gleeson, until I realised he wasn’t actually dead in real life (thanks, Google). The second was the realisation I may never get to go to a glamorous wizarding ball.
So, to cheer myself up, I needed some serious comfort food and that came in the form of my mum’s red pepper and tomato lasagne – aka tomato and cheesy pasta realness. In fact, this recipe was one of the first-ever recipes I blogged about many moons ago, but I have to be honest, the picture was a bit shit and so was the recipe. So I spent the day rewriting, reshooting and re-eating it. It was so good it made me cry… Again.

Red pepper & tomato lasagne
Serves 6 / Hands on time 30 mins / Total 2 hour 10 minutes / V ❄
You’ll need: Rectangular oven-proof dish 22cm x 28cm and foil
9 dried lasagne sheets
24 tomatoes, cut into eighths
4 red peppers, de-seeded and finely chopped
2 tbs dried oregano
2 tbs dried basil
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
300g mild/medium strength vegetarian cheddar, grated

TIP: This is an easy recipe but does take a couple of hours to cook so best make when you have plenty of time. Perfect for a lazy Sunday afternoon.

Method
1. Slice off the core and roughly chop each tomato into eighths and put in a large pot, over a medium heat with a tbs of extra virgin olive oil. Meanwhile, de-seed and finely chop the peppers and add them to the tomatoes. Sprinkle over the dried herbs, a tsp of salt and mix well.
2. Bring to the boil (you may have to dig down to the bottom to see the juices bubbling away). Put the lid on and cook the sauce down for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove the lid and continue to simmer for a further 30 minutes stirring occasionally. Meanwhile grate the cheese.
3. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400F/gas mark 6. Once the sauce has thickened, take off the heat and start assembling the lasagne.
4. Oil the oven dish and start layering. Begin with a layer of pasta sheets (feel free to break the pasta sheets to fit your dish if needs be). Cover the lasgane sheets with an even layer of sauce (3 ladles worth) and top with an even sprinkling of cheese. Continue to layer like this a couple more times before topping with the last layer of cheese. Season with salt and pepper and cover loosely with foil (ensure the foil isn’t touching the cheese – you don’t want the cheese to stick and peel the whole top layer of the lasagne off).
5. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes before removing the foil and cooking for a further 10 minutes to brown the cheese a little. Leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving with a simple green salad.

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
❄– Suitable for home freezing before cooking. Wrap the lasagne well in 2 layers of cling film and 1 layer of foil. Defrost fully before baking.

Peanut ramen

January 13, 2019October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

If I hear the word Veganuary one more time, I’m going to stuff my ears full of cauliflowers. Yes, I know I’m vegetarian, but I don’t bang on about it constantly to anyone who’ll listen. In fact, in my experience, the opposite is true.
“What? So you don’t eat chicken?”
“Nope.” I smile faintly, trying to attract the waiter’s eye.
“Not even lamb?”
“Nope,” I reply again, as I swig from my empty wine glass.
“But what about bacon? Surely you’ve eaten bacon?”
“Nope, never eaten bacon,” I say, exasperatedly “Scuse me? Can we get another bottle of red for the table, please?”
“So, you’ve never even tried a bacon sandwich?”
Ugh, why do I always get sat on the weirdo table at weddings? I think, as I continue to shake my head to this awful man’s line of questioning. Finally, my starter arrives, but instead of leaving me alone, he surveys it carefully before diving his fork in and telling me how surprisingly delicious it is. Who invited this guy?

Anyway, my point is that I’m always so baffled that anyone even cares what I eat? I couldn’t care less what other people eat, so when someone who has been vegan for like, a day, tries to lecture me about the dairy industry, forgive me for walking off. That being said, all this talk of Veganuary must have seeped into my subconscious, because I created this gorgeous bowl of vegan deliciousness. So, on that premise, Happy Veganuary everyone!

Peanut ramen
Serves 2 / Hands on time 30 mins / Total time 30 mins / V Vn* Df
1 tsp sesame oil
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
Knob of ginger (1 inch), grated
1 tbs Thai green curry paste*, I use Blue Dragon
1 can light coconut milk (you can use full fat but I find it makes the sauce too thick)
300ml vegetable stock, I use ½ a Knorr stock pot
2 ½ tbs crunchy peanut butter
1 tbs light soy sauce
1 tsp palm sugar or granulated sugar
1 nest of rice noodles* or egg noodles
1 lime, cut into quarters
150g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
1 large bulb pak choi, cut into strips
2 spring onions, chopped
Handful fresh coriander to serve

Method
1. In a large saucepan over a medium heat, add 1 tsp of sesame oil. Once warm, add the chopped garlic along with the grated ginger and cook for 2 minutes stirring continuously.
2. Add a dash of water along with the Thai curry paste and continue to cook for a further 2 minutes stirring continuously. Add the coconut milk and the peanut butter – the peanut butter will need little help to be incorporated so gently work it against the side of the saucepan using the back of your spoon until dissolved.
3. Add the vegetable stock, soy sauce, palm sugar and the juice of half a lime before mixing well and bringing to the boil. Once boiling, reduce and simmer for 5 minutes. Use this time to slice the mushrooms and the pak choi.
4. Add the mushrooms and the pak choi to the sauce and cook for a further few minutes before submerging the nest of noodles. Cook the noodles according to the packet instruction in the sauce (usually 3-5 minutes, depending on what noodles you’ve gone for).
5. Finally, spoon into bowls and serve topped with chopped spring onions, fresh coriander and lime wedges.

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’s please substitute egg noodles for rice noodles Df– Dairy free
* Some Thai green curry pastes contain crustaceans and fish. I use Blue Dragon which does not.

Butternut squash & sage soup

November 13, 2018January 21, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 6 Comments

What the hell has happened to my skin? Over the past couple of weeks, my face has gone from practically blemish free to teenage pizza-face. I’m 34 years old, how is this happening? I just assumed adult acne was something made up by people who wanted to blame their bad skin on hormones and not on their diet of Mars bars and oven chips. But alas, I was wrong. My skin has turned on me and I am trying everything in my power to get it back on side. You name it, I’ve smeared it on my face – creams, scrubs, cleansers, serums, lotions, potions, even prayers – but nothing is working. If anything, I’ve angered it.
So, what’s the cause of my hormonal hell? Apparently, everything. From chemicals found in plastics to processed foods; from a bad night’s sleep to a stressful day at work; from pesticides found on our fruit and veg to the milk in our cup of tea. All of these factors like to fuck with our hormones – I was really hoping I could just buy a bottle of Clearasil and be done with it.
Instead, for the past few days, I’ve made a conscious effort to get eight hours sleep a night, do ten minutes of mindfulness a day and swap my cheesy dinners for this rather delightful dairy-free butternut squash and sage soup. The results? My skin is starting to look a little clearer and less itchy – woo-hoo! To celebrate, I got really drunk, ate a giant margarita pizza, went to bed at 3am and woke up feeling stressed… What?

Butternut squash & sage soup
Serves 4 / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 40 mins / V Vn Gf Df ❄
You’ll need: A food processor or hand blender
2 tsp rapeseed oil
1 medium white onion, peeled and chopped
14 sage leaves (extra for garnish)
600g butternut squash, peeled and cubed
400g sweet potato, peeled and cubed
½ tsp salt
1 litre of vegetable stock, I used 1 Knorr stock pot
Black pepper
Pomora extra virgin olive oil to serve

Method
1. Roughly chop the onion and sweat in a tsp of rapeseed oil in a large pot, over a medium heat. Add half a tsp of salt, give it a stir and continue to cook for 5 minutes with the lid on. Once the onions start to soften, add the 14 sage leaves, give it another stir and return the lid.
2. Meanwhile, de-seed, peel and chop the butternut squash and peel and chop the sweet potato (no need to be to be too perfect about this, the soup will be blended later).
3. Add the butternut squash and sweet potato along with the stock and a good crack of black pepper. Bring to the boil before turning down the heat and simmering for 20 minutes with the lid on a jar.
4. Once the vegetables have softened, take off the heat and blend until smooth either with a hand blender or pour into a food processor.
5. If serving with fried sage leaves, add 1 tsp of rapeseed oil to small frying pan on a medium to high heat. Once hot, add the leaves and fry for a minute or so until slightly crispy and browned. Top your soup with the sage leaves and serve with a good drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

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.

Cheesy baked beans

November 5, 2018October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I’ve spent months waiting impatiently for the conditions to be just right, biding my time and anticipating the day – this day – because today is the day I’ve been waiting for. It’s time for me to buy a jacket potato with beans and cheese from the jacket potato man.

I mean, sure, he’s been there all summer – I even walked past his stall several times, my head hanging low in an attempt to hide my identity, but he sees me, another traitorous customer walking straight past his van on their way to Pret. Well, I’m sorry Mr Potato Man, but who wants to eat hot potatoes in stifling heat?

But now that the nights are drawing in and the cold wind is smacking me in the face, I think yes, yes I will treat myself to a jacket potato the size of my head today – the irony being that they’re not even all that nice. Jacket Potato Man starts by ladling copious amounts of beans over a jacket spread with marge (he says it’s butter, but I know it’s marge). He then tops it with grated cheese that starts to sweat rather than melt because the jacket and the beans aren’t quite hot enough to melt the cheese. Back at my desk, though, I’m too hungry to care, so dive right in and instantly burn my mouth and oesophagus with molten hot potato because, for some reason, the middle of the jacket is the only part that’s actually hot – a bit like the centre of the earth. But despite all of this, I hoover it up and instantly fall into a deliciously warm carb coma and am useless at my job for the rest of the day.

So what is it about beans and cheese that’s so great? For me, it’s the nostalgia. After one bite I’m transported back to my sofa in Luton. Off sick from school I was allowed to eat my cheesy beans on toast on my lap in front of Supermarket Sweep. Such a simple memory, but one that invokes strong feelings of comfort, love and a longing for Dale Winton. So this is my tribute and homage to cheesy beans, baked in the oven and covered in melted cheese – a breakfast fit for an ‘90s TV show host. RIP Dale Winton.

Cheesy baked beans
Serves 4 / Hands on time 15 mins / Total time 45 mins / V
1 tsp rapeseed oil
1 small red onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
½ tsp smoked paprika
1 can borlotti beans, rinsed and drained
1 tbs tomato purée
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 tsp brown sugar
100g vegetarian medium cheddar, grated
Handful fresh parsley, chopped
Bread to serve

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 180°C/160°C fan/ 350°F/gas mark 4. In a large oven-proof casserole dish, sweat the onions and garlic in a tsp of rapeseed oil on a medium to hight heat with the lid on for 5 minutes. Remove the lid and add ½ a tsp of smoked paprika, a good pinch of salt and a dash of water. Stir and cook for a further 2 minutes uncovered.
2. Add the tomato purée and stir in the chopped tomatoes, beans and red wine vinegar. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with a tsp of brown sugar and stir.
3. Place the lid on ajar and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Meanwhile grate the cheese and chop the parsley.
4. Remove the beans from the oven and sprinkle evenly with the grated cheese. Pop the lid back on ajar and bake in the oven for a further 5 minutes. Once melted, removed from the oven, sprinkle with chopped parsley and spoon out onto hot buttered toast.

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 ❄– Suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

Middle Eastern pita nachos

October 29, 2018May 26, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ 1 Comment

Sometimes when I don’t know what to write about, I refer to a list in my iPhone Notes that is inventively called ‘stories to write about’. This list is made up of a collection anecdotes, stories and quotes that I feel are noteworthy, funny, or just outright weird. The list is ongoing, but I rarely look at it, let alone read it as tend to add to it after I’ve had a few wines. Anyway, after an uncharacteristically dull week, I thought I’d rummage through the archives and found this little gem…
“Jamie ate a woodlouse off his chest after mistaking it for a beansprout.” That was all it said. Not context, no backstory, no nothing… Still, it did the job.

Anyhoo, let’s move on to some beany deliciousness. Inspired by Nigella’s beef and aubergine fatteh recipe I thought I’d have a go at making my own vegetarian equivalent. I loved the idea of using pitta chips as a base and topping them with gorgeous Middle Eastern ingredients and flavours. The result was hearty, wholesome and pretty as a picture.

Middle Eastern pita nachos
Serves 2 / Hands on time 25 mins / Total time 40 mins /
V ❄
1 tbs rapeseed oil
2 wholemeal pita breads
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp salt
Pinch chili flakes
1 medium sized aubergine, cut into small cubes
1 tbs tomato puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can cannellini beans (you can use any can of beans), rinsed and drained
2 tomatoes, sliced
To serve
80g vegetarian feta cheese
Pomegranate seeds
Handful, chopped fresh mint
Sumac (optional)

TIP: The bean mixture actually makes enough for four people. This is suitable for freezing once cooled fully and stored in an airtight container.

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/400°F/gas mark 6 and line a baking tray with baking paper. Cut the pita bread into triangles and place on the baking tray. Add a tbs of rapeseed oil into a small dish and using a brush, paint each piece with oil on both sides, before seasoning well with salt and pepper. Bake the pita in the oven for 5 mins before flipping each pita triangle over and baking for a further 2 mins. Remove from the oven and put to one side.
2. In a large saucepan or cooking pot with a lid, add a drizzle of rapeseed oil over a medium heat. Once hot, add the chopped onions, garlic and aubergine cubes and stir well. Cover with a lid and leave to cook for 5 mins.
3. Meanwhile, slice the tomatoes and drain and rinse the beans. Once softened, stir in the cumin, coriander, salt and chilli flakes. Add a dash of water and stir again, cooking for a couple more minutes.
4. Mix in the tomato puree before adding the tinned tomatoes, cannellini beans, sliced tomato and 3 tbs of water. Season with salt and pepper and bring to the boil. Turn down the heat slightly and simmer uncovered for 15 mins, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, chop the fresh mint and prepare the pomegranate seeds.
5. Once cooked, take off the heat and divide the pita chips onto 2 plates. Top generously with the bean mixture and crumble over the feta and sprinkle with mint and pomegranate seeds. Serve drizzled with extra virgin olive oil and a dusting of sumac.

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 bean mixture is suitable for home freezing once cooled. Consume within 3 months.

Celeriac baked rice with goats cheese

October 18, 2018March 3, 2021 ~ Corrie ~ 2 Comments

Celariac baked rice with goats cheese — Celeriac baked rice with goats cheese

They say don’t judge a book by its cover, although it’s hard not to when you’re staring down at the misshapen, ugly face of a celeriac. Its knobbly, gnarly and often hairy skin looks like something out of a science fiction film.
Like a lot of people, I am guilty of overlooking this vegetable, but I felt sorry for it sitting on the shelf next to the prettier and cutely named munchkin pumpkin – the celeriac never have a chance. So I took his ugly mug home and lovingly peeled, chopped and roasted him in this delicious rice dish. It’s what he would have wanted.

Celeriac baked rice with goats cheese
Serves 4 / Hands on time 30 mins / Total time 1 hr 20 mins / V Gf
You’ll need: A deep oven-proof casserole dish
2 tsp rapeseed oil
1 white onion, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and sliced
1 medium sized celeriac (roughly 650g), peeled and cut into chunks
½ tsp garlic granules
½ tsp sea salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
Pinch chilli flakes
500ml vegetable stock, I use 1 Knorr stock pot
150g brown basmati rice
4 rosemary sprigs
200g vegetarian goats cheese (including rind)
100g black olives, drained and halved
Handful of parsley, chopped to serve

TIP: If making for two, half the recipe and use a smaller baking dish.

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 220°C/200°C fan/428°F/gas mark 7. Add the chopped onion and the garlic to a deep casserole dish along with the rapeseed oil, garlic granules, sea salt, black pepper, cayenne pepper and a pinch of chilli flakes. Give it all a good stir.
2. Peel and cut the celeriac into large chunks and add to the dish and mix well. Add the rice and pour over the vegetable stock and stir carefully. Make sure the rice is fully immersed under the stock before adding the rosemary springs. Cover the dish in a layer of tin foil and bake in the oven for 45 mins.
3. Meanwhile, roughly chop the goats cheese, black olives and parsley.
4. Once cooked, remove from the oven and put the foil to one side. Taste the rice to check if it’s cooked – if the rice is still a little tough, cover in foil and return to the oven and cook for a further 5-10 mins. If cooked, sprinkle over the cheese and the black olives and return to the oven, covered in foil for a further 10 mins or until the cheese is melted.
5. Finish sprinkled with fresh parsley and serve with a simple green salad.

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. Gf– Gluten free

Veggie toad-in-the-hole

October 1, 2018November 29, 2020 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

Not sure why toad-in-the-hole is called toad-in-the-hole. Perhaps it used to be made with real toads – I know the Tudors used to eat all sorts. Although, I guess if you were to consider eating a toad, serving one up in a giant Yorkshire pudding wouldn’t be a bad serving suggestion – especially if you dipped it in mustard.
However, my instincts (and Wikipedia) have informed me that it is much more likely to refer to ‘toads waiting for their prey in their burrows, making their heads visible in the earth, just like the sausages peep through the batter’… How disappointing – although, I did discover that toad-in-the-hole used to have the catchy name of ‘meat boiled in a crust’.
Anyway, rest assured that my recipe for toad-in-the-hole is surprisingly easy, delicious and free from amphibians. What more could you want?

Veggie toad-in-the-hole
Serves 2 / Hands on time 20 mins / Total time 40 mins / V
You’ll need: 20cm oven proof dish and an electric whisk
2 tsp rapeseed oil
6 chilled vegetarian sausages, I use Cauldron
3 fresh thyme or rosemary sprigs
75g plain flour
1 egg
100ml semi skimmed milk
Pinch of ground nutmeg
To serve
Wholegrain mustard, gravy and tender-stem broccoli

Method

1. Preheat an oven to 220°C/200°C fan/ 428°F/gas mark 7. Grease a small oven-proof dish (roughly 20cm) with oil and add the 6 chilled vegetarian sausages, along with 2 tsp of rapeseed oil. Shake the sausages until they’ll evenly coated in the oil before adding 3 sprigs of thyme or rosemary. Cook the sausages in the oven, on the middle shelf for 15 mins.

2. Meanwhile, make the batter by measuring out the flour in a medium sized bowl. Add a good crack of salt and pepper, along with a pinch of nutmeg and give it a stir. Make a well in the flour and crack the egg into it. Using a hand whisk, combine the egg with the flour and slowly incorporate the milk until you have a thick but smooth batter. Switch to an electric whisk and mix for a couple of minutes. Leave the batter to rest while the sausages cook.

3. Carefully remove the sausages from the oven and discard the herbs, leaving any detached leaves. Pour the batter slowly into a corner of the dish and allow it to spread out evenly between the sausages.

4. Return the dish to the oven and bake on the top shelf for 15-18 mins, or until the batter has puffed up and is a lovely golden colour. Spoon out onto plates and serve with mashed potato, gravy and your choice cooked vegetables.

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

Harissa carrot & lentil salad

September 24, 2018October 31, 2019 ~ Corrie ~ Leave a comment

I don’t know why I do it to myself. I just spent another Sunday attempting to make Thai green curry only to fail miserably. Again! I never learn.
Firstly, the paste I made was so hot that even Jamie – who sprinkles chilli on his cornflakes – had to spit it out. Secondly, coconut cream is not the same as coconut milk – the box I bought was a separated grainy mess. Thirdly, swapping tofu for jackfruit made for a weird and sloppy texture, not to mention the fact that jackfruit tastes like, well, a fruit. Jamie didn’t seem to mind, though, and happily gobbled it up while I sulkily tucked into a packet of crisps.

On that note, here’s something I made earlier that actually worked. Roasted harissa carrot and lentil salad on a bed of homemade labneh (strained Greek yoghurt). If you can’t be bothered to make your own labneh (I don’t blame you), simply substitute for full-fat Greek yoghurt.

Harissa carrot & lentil salad
Serves 2 / Hands on time 35 mins / Total time 45 mins / V Gf
For the carrots
250g whole carrots, trimmed and peeled (I use organic bunched carrots)
1 tbs rapeseed oil
1 tbs harissa
2 tsp maple syrup
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ tsp ground cumin
For the lentils
1 tsp rapeseed oil
Small red onion, peeled and sliced
1 tsp harissa
250g ready to eat puy lentils
Juice and zest of a lemon
1 garlic clove, crushed
To serve
4 tbs full fat Greek yogurt or Labneh
Handful fresh dill, chopped
50g soft vegetarian goats cheese (optional)

Method
1. Preheat an oven to 200°C/180°C fan/ 400F/gas mark 6. Trim and peel the carrots and place in a large roasting tin.
2. To make the dressing combine the rapeseed oil, harissa, maple syrup, garlic, ground cumin together in a small bowl with a crack of salt and pepper. Pour over the carrots and mix well until they are well coated. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes before giving them a good shake and continue to cook for a further 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile sweat the onions in the oil in a large pot or frying pan over a medium heat. Once hot, add a dash of water to help the onions steam before adding the harissa. Stir and cook for a few minutes before adding the lentils along with the zest and juice of a lemon. Season well with salt and pepper and warm through. Once hot, take off the heat and stir in the crushed garlic. Cover with a lid and put to one side.
4. To serve, make a bed of yogurt or labneh in the middle of each plate and spoon over the warm lentils. Top with the carrots, a sprinkling of chopped dill and scatter with soft goats cheese.

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V– Vegetarian. Gf– Gluten free