Veganuary 25th- Burns Night

I confess that in previous 'Dry Januaries' I have conceded defeat on the 25th. After all, Burns Night wouldn't be the same without a wee dram to toast the Baird, would it?
But with Veganuary- now, there's an easier challenge.
As, whilst some hae meat- you don't need to!

Burns Cottage in Alloway

My relationship with Rabbie is a complicated one- going back many years- to 1973 in fact, when I got my first summer job as a tour guide in his birthplace in Alloway.
Although I didn't appreciate him then, in my later years I have come to acknowledge the genius of this working class hero and champion of the Auld Scots language and folklore.
So, every 25th January I serve a traditional meal of haggis, neeps and tatties- and say the Selkirk Grace.

Well, when I say traditional.....

It's 2018, it's Veganuary- and we're having Clapshot Soup with Buckwheat and Dill Scones, Veggie Haggis Kofte with Neep and Tattie Falafel and Chilli Jelly followed by Whisky Shortbread. Ha! But a meal's a meal for a' that...

Clapshot Soup with Haggis Samosas
http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/clapshot

The Clapshot Soup I have made many times before on this blog- with any leftover roast root veg fried up with a tablespoon of curry paste and blitzed with a litre of strong vegetable stock to make a warming and spicy starter. You can make it a more substantial main the next day by adding some haggis samosas ( made from your leftover haggis ).

The Buckwheat and Dill Scones have a blini-like flavour (whch goes well with smoked salmon for non-veggies or with cream cheese -like AlproSoya)

Buckwheat and Dill Scones

120g plain flour

100g buckwheat flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp chopped dill

2 tsp mustard

150 ml soy milk approx (or natural yoghurt for non-vegans)

60g veg marge

1. Sift together the flours, salt and baking powder.

2. Rub the marge into the flour and add the chopped dill

3. Mix in the soy milk and mustard gradually with a knife, until you begin to have a soft dough

4. Bring the dough together on a floured board and roll out to about 3 cm thick

5. Cut out with a pastry cutter of your choice

6. Place on a well greased baking tray and bake at 180 degrees for 10-15 minutes until risen and golden.

Now for the main event- Haggis Kofte

Vegan haggis

MacSweens do a vegetarian haggis which they say is suitable for vegans too. I often make my own- but it is not vegan as it contains an egg: 

(recipe here http://lizsleftovers.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/vegetarian%20haggis)

Go with whichever one you want.

Haggis Kofte
(Photo courtesy of Macsweens)

 You will need:

1 veggie haggis or 300g homemade haggis

1 finely chopped red chilli

100g fresh breadcrumbs

50g onion finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic - crushed and chopped

1 tbsp fresh chopped parsley or coriander

1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp coriander

1/2 tsp turmeric

salt and pepper and oil

1. Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and shape into 6 sausages. Set aside in the fridge to firm up.

2. Soak 6 bamboo skewers in water and then thread the patties on to them.

3. Brush with oil and grill- or bake on baking paper at 175 degrees- until brown and sizzling.

Neep and Tattie Falafel

I make falafel with all sorts of veg- butternut squash, pumpkin, carrot- so why not neeps and tatties?

1. Roast 500g of  chopped swede (neeps), 100g cubed potatoes, 2 red onions (quartered) and 3 garlic cloves in a hot oven in a tbsp of veg oil, 1 tbsp coarse grain mustard and some salt and pepper until the veg are soft and caramelized.

Roasted root veg

2. Blitz to a puree 1 tin of chickpeas (drained) with 1 tbsp chopped parsley or coriander, the juice of a lemon and 2 tbsp olive oil.

3. Add the roasted garlic cloves and onion and pulse.

4. Mash the neeps and tatties or pass them through a ricer

5. In a bowl, combine the veg and chickpeas with 1 heaped tbsp flour, 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp each of powdered cumin, coriander and cinnamon and 1/2 tsp turmeric

Neeps, tatties and spices ready to mix

6. Add plenty of salt and pepper to taste

7. Roll the falafel into balls or spoon onto a baking tray lined with baking paper

Neep Falafel ready for baking

8. Brush with oil and bake at 170 degrees until browned and beginning to crisp.

If they spread (like these have)- allow to cool briefly and then gently reshape.

(I sometimes like to cook these the day before and then give them a short second burst in the oven just before serving to make them even darker and firmer).

Wee sleekit falafel

I serve these with toasted pitta breads, hummus and chilli jelly.

Chilli Jelly

I use mild chillis - but you can up the heat and flavour by using hotter ones or more of them.
You will need 6-7 sterilised jars ( passed through a hot wash in the dishwasher and then placed to dry at 50 degrees in the oven until you need them.)
750g red, yellow and orange peppers
100g chilli peppers
50g fresh root ginger
350ml cider vinegar
1 kg sugar
juice of 1 lime
1 tsp salt
2 sachets vegegel or agar agar

1. Wash, deseed and roughly chop your peppers

Use a selection of peppers

2. Blitz in a food processor along with the root ginger
3. Bring to the boil in a large pan with the vinegar and lime juice
4. Add the sugar and simmer until dissolved

A colourful panful simmering

5. Bring to the boil for 6-7 minutes ( watching it carefully ) in case it boils over
6. Mix the vegegel or agar agar with a little cold water
7. Allow the mixture to cool slightly and then whisk in the gel
8. Pot immediately into the hot jars, seal and label.

Chilli Jelly- perfect with haggis and neeps

Now for pud.

Whisky Shortbread is an easy accompaniment to whatever pud you choose. I usually make it with butter- but it is good made with vegetable margarine too for vegans.

Whisky Shortbread

The best shortbread is made with a ratio of 3:2:1 (eg. 300g flour, 200g butter or vegetable marge, 100g sugar). I like to replace 1 tbsp of the flour with cornflour to lighten it a little.
Just put all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse until fine. Add two caps of whisky and pulse until it comes together in a soft dough.
Turn out into a greased baking tin, press evenly to fill the space and bake at 150 degrees for 15 minutes or so until lightly golden. (Keep an eye on it, as you don't want it to overcook).
Once out of the oven, prick with a fork all over and mark into slices.
Sprinkle with vanilla sugar et voilà!

Time for that wee dram and a toast!

Some hate meat and girn and weep
Resisting all coercion
So bless the tatties, bless the neeps
And the vegetarian version

Then filled with fruits o' field and vine
And feelin' fairlie frisky
The One who water turned to wine
We'd ask to bless the whisky*

Cheers Rabbie!

*Veggie Selkirk Grace- extra verses by Richard Medrington

'Forgotten Vegetables'

The 25th January has come and gone for another year- and again we found ourselves celebrating Burns Night with French friends: this time in the Auvergne.

Although last year's Haggis Parmentier and whisky went down well in the South of France, this year the traditional triumvirate of haggis, neeps and tatties enjoyed even greater favour with our fellow Lavoutaises.* This is partly because the local hearty food is not dissimilar in many ways.


Gourmets from other parts of France, dismiss the cuisine of the Auvergne as 'peasant food' but, as a good Burns Supper shows, humble dishes should not be underrated.

In fact, vegetables like turnips, swede, squashes and heritage carrots are becoming very popular and indeed a bit trendy.
A stall at my local market in fashionable Cassis specialises in what are called 'forgotten vegetables'(legumes oublies), and they feature on many a restaurant menu in the expensive little streets of the port.

For Burns Night, I refined my Parmentier dish of last year by making individual portions in little dishes- just haggis, topped with mashed potato and grated emmental cheese and baked in the oven until golden- but well received.

Individual dishes of haggis

Topped with mashed potato and grated Emmental

Individual Haggis Parmentier

I accompanied these with purees of carrot and swede.

All three of these purees can enjoy a bit of an Auvergne makeover- the local speciality is Aligot- a delicious combination of mashed potato and Tomme cheese ( which is stretchy, creamy and slightly tart like a good Mozzarella). You can make this from scratch ( as in the recipe below) or use the cheese to jazz up leftover mashed potato by beating it in as you reheat.

Aligot:

Bring peeled mashing potatoes (like Maris Piper) to the boil, and then simmer until tender.
Drain and add a splash of milk, a knob of butter, salt and pepper, a grating of nutmeg and 125g of Tomme fraiche, cut into small pieces.

Aligot

Beat in vigorously with a wooden spoon until the cheese has melted and the mixture beomes sticky and stretchy- it is ready to serve.

Carrots are another simple veg that can be made glorious with a few added ingredients- boil them until tender in stock rather than water, drain, add a knob of butter, plenty of salt and pepper and a good splash of cream. Puree in a food processor, adjust seasoning and serve.

Vibrant carrot puree

Swede are known as rutabagas or navets suedois (Swedish turnips) in France and until recently were very difficult to find (other than as animal fodder!) They are now having a bit of a renaissance - and I found a recipe which marries them with apple.

Swede and apple- a marriage made in heaven

The combination is excellent and you should try it.
Just slice and boil your veg and fruit, drain, mash with a potato masher and season with plenty of salt and pepper.

I came back with quite a haul of 'forgotten veg' last Friday from the market, and used them in a variety of ways.

My veggie basket

Firstly, I roasted them all in the oven for about an hour at 180 degrees ( peeled and chopped into even sized pieces, tossed in a little olive oil along with plenty of salt and pepper and 4-5 whole garlic cloves).

A colourful trayful

A lovely accompaniment to meat dishes.

Oven roasted 'forgotten' veg

The colourful leftovers went firstly into a soup, not unlike the Clapshot Soup I've featured after Burns Night before. Beware of using purple carrots in leftover dishes though as they do turn things a funny colour!

Clapshot Soup

I also made a Squash Risotto:

You need- leftover roasted squash (abut 150-200g), 200g short grain or risotto rice, 1 litre hot chicken or vegetable stock, 1 glass white wine, 2 leeks or small bunch of spring onions, 1 clove of garlic- crushed, 50g Boursin or other cream cheese with herbs.
Soften the garlic and leeks/onions in some olive oil.
Stir in the rice to coat the grains with oil.
Pour in the wine and bubble.
Add ladlefuls of hot stock as the mixture begins to dry- stir in and continue until the rice is tender
( about 15 minutes).

Stir in the cream cheese and serve with optional extra grated cheese (Parmesan or Emmental.)

Squash Risotto

Finally, back to haggis and I have an Auvergne version- no, although this is a hunting area, they haven't started trapping the little beasts there yet- this is a vegetarian version which uses the delicious Puy lentils from the region:

Grate 2 carrots then pulse together in a food processor- 2 shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 50 g mushrooms, a pinch each of cayenne or paprika and salt, 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, a grating of nutmeg, 2 cups of cooked Puy lentils, juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, a sprinkling of thyme and a small can kidney beans (drained and mashed). Tip into a bowl, mix in the grated carrot and add 1 egg and 50g of oats. Shape into patties and fry like little burgers.

Vegetarian Haggis- Auvergne style

Here's tae us!

* Lavoutaises is the name given to people who live in the village of Lavoute-Chilhac in the Auvergne.

Week 4- Meat-Free Menu

Don't be afraid of your veg!

This has not been a good week for eating meat- unless you can be completely sure of its provenance and the integrity of your supplier (which alas few of us can.)
I don't have a problem with eating unusual meat- I've eaten horse, bull, donkey, goat, frog, deer and rabbit to name a few- but I've always done so knowingly.

Nobody likes a cheat- and that's how many people feel at the moment- cheated.

Time to explore other ways of eating-  and raid the vegetable rack!

Who could this be?

I live facing the English Channel- and swim and canoe in its icy waters. I can watch the fishing boats coming into the shore at high tide in the early morning- so close I can make out the fishermen's faces. (Then I remember that they can probably see me too- and that it's time to put on a dressing gown!) So I am also happy to eat fish caught in these waters right outside my window.

My menu this week then is a chick pea quiche (I like it's French title- Quiche Aux Pois Chiches- try saying that after a glass of wine!), followed by grilled mackerel with sweet and sour vegetables and a fruit fool with almond croquants.

For the quiche, bake a shortcrust pastry case blind and then add thinly sliced bell pepper (red, green or yellow), the contents of a tub of red pepper hummus (use the recipe tab at the top of this page to make your own simply and cheaply) mixed with 3 lightly beaten eggs. Bake in a moderate oven (180 degrees) until risen and golden brown.
Serve warm, drizzled with some olive oil mixed with a teaspoon of paprika and some green salad leaves.

Quiche aux Pois Chiches!

For the sweet and sour veg- cut a selection of root veg into chunks. I used swede, parsnip, carrot and potato- along with a red onion (quartered). Heat a tablespoon of oil in a roasting pan in the oven and then tray bake the veg until soft and caramelized- 20 minutes or so.(Swede benefits from par-boiling before baking.) Mix the cooked veg with sweet and sour sauce to coat it. (If you had any left in the freezer from the Chinese New Year feast, as I did, then use that up.) If not, the sauce is easy to make- 1 cup of tomato juice, 1 cup of pineapple juice (or the juice from a can drained in), 1 tablespoon of rice wine or cider vinegar, 2 teaspoons of brown sugar boiled together until syrupy.

Grill your mackerel fillet for 3-4 minutes on each side until the skin is crispy and lay it on a bed of vegetables.

The acidity of the sweet and sour sauce goes really well with the mackerel. Try it.

Grilled Mackerel with Sweet and Sour Veg

For dessert, I made a compote of 2 apples, 2 pears from the fruit bowl and some blackcurrants from the freezer. (A compote is basically fruit stewed with a little sugar and water.)
When cool, I folded in 3 large tablespoons of Greek yoghurt and served it in glasses with croquant crumbs and biscuits for texture. (The recipe for almond croquants is in blogpost 'My Big Fat French Christmas.')

Fruit Fool with Almond Croquants

Now for the leftovers.

If you opened a can of pineapple for your sauce, then why not use up the pineapple rings in an old fashioned Pineapple Upside Down Cake?

Pineapple Upside Down Cake

Line a 20 cm cake tin with greaseproof paper. Melt 50g of butter together with 50g of brown sugar and heat until boiling and beginning to reduce.
Pour it into the base of the cake tin and lay your pineapple rings in it (glace cherries optional!)
Make a basic sponge mixture by creaming 125g of butter with 125 g of caster sugar, mix in two beaten eggs and a tablespoon of milk, then beat in 125g of self raising flour. (Or use a sponge mix).

Pour the sponge mix over the pineapple and bake in a moderate  oven (170 degrees) for 25-30 mins or until it is risen and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.

Allow to cool and then turn out carefully onto a plate. 

Delicious with creme fraiche.

If your roasting tray bake of veg was more than you needed- save some for either a minestrone soup or Bubble and Squeak cakes.

Minestrone

For the former, place all your leftover veg, finely chopped into a large saucepan. I used the leftover root veg plus some Savoy cabbage and some cavolo nero (or black kale) and some leftover baked beans (yes really!)Soften in a little vegetable oil and minced garlic, then add any leftover passata or tomato juice and 1 litre of vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer and then add a handful of soup pasta to the pan. Continue simmering until the pasta is cooked and then serve in bowls with garlic bread and grated cheese.










Bubble and Squeak is one of the joys of leftover cuisine: just take any of your leftover veg (although it is always good to have some potato in there), mash together thoroughly and shape into patties.Fry in a hot pan with a teaspoon of oil and serve with anything you like- poached eggs, a fry-up, scallops, haggis... you name it!

Bubble and Squeak

Wee sleekit bubble and squeakin beastie

Here it is - with haggis, mashed potato and whisky gravy- served up for Burns Night but good for any night of the week.

Vegetarian haggis is simple to make: grate 2 carrots then pulse together in a food processor- 2 shallots, 1 clove of garlic, 50 g mushrooms, a pinch each of cayenne or paprika and salt, 1/2 tsp ground mixed spice, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, a grating of nutmeg, 1 can of brown lentils (drained), juice and zest of 1/2 lemon, a sprinkling of thyme and a small can kidney beans (drained). Tip into a bowl, mix in the grated carrot and add 1 egg and 50g of oats. Shape into patties and fry like little burgers.




Or you could use meaty haggis if you want.
At least with haggis you know you're eating mucky bits- instead of only finding out afterwards!