Add the soy protein to a bowl and pour over the stock. Allow to soak in for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree, soy sauce, breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast, onion powder, garlic powder and herbs and mix well by hand. Form into balls.
Fry in a little olive oil for 10 minutes until browned and crispy.
Marinara
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, onion, garlic, extra virgin olive oil, oregano and red chilli flake into a high speed blender and blend until smooth.
The Sandwich
Slice a sub roll in half and lay down 2 slices of vegan cheese (like they do in Subway!). The cheese acts as a shield preventing the bread going soggy! Add the meatballs and a tablespoon of marinara per ball. Bake for 5-10 minutes until the bread starts to go crispy. Sprinkle over nutritional yeast and fresh parsley.
This quick and easy Pesto Pasta is a bit of a cheat, because the pesto comes out of a jar! Although it's fairly easy to make your own pesto, it's actually cheaper to get a jar, and Sacla now have a Free From basil pesto that uses tofu instead of cheese and has a reduced amount of extra virgin olive oil. Personally, I like to add the oil back into it for flavour, but it will still taste pretty great without it.
This quick and easy Pesto Pasta is a bit of a cheat, because the pesto comes out of a jar! Although it's fairly easy to make your own pesto, it's actually cheaper to get a jar, and Sacla now have a Free From basil pesto that uses tofu instead of cheese and has a reduced amount of extra virgin olive oil. Personally, I like to add the oil back into it for flavour, but it will still taste pretty great without it.
Cook the pasta according to the package instructions; usually 10-12 minutes.
While the pasta cooks, griddle the pieces of courgette for about 10 minutes, turning occasionally until both sides are seared nicely and the pieces have softened.
In a separate pan, heat 3-4 Tbsp pesto and add a splash of the pasta water. Add the courgettes and drained pasta and coat well in the sauce. Serve and enjoy!
Heat a griddle pan and toast the bread for 5-10 minutes or until crispy. You could just use a toaster, but the seared lines the griddle pan gives really adds to the flavour. I like to drizzle olive oil over the bread first, but that's completely optional (but very good!)
In a bowl mix the tomatoes with the basil, 1 Tbsp oil and the balsamic with a pinch of salt. Set aside while the bread toasts.
When the bread's done and still hot, rub the garlic cloves over the bread (it's amazing how much flavour comes out!) Spoon the tomatoes over each piece and finish with a drizzle of oil and a twist of black pepper and salt if required.
Caponata is a Sicilian dish with aubergines, onions, tomatoes and black olives in a sweet and sour sauce. This slow-cooked version is amazing, and does not take much work on your part. It's delicious!
Caponata is a Sicilian dish with aubergines, onions, tomatoes and black olives in a sweet and sour sauce. This slow-cooked version is amazing, and does not take much work on your part. It's delicious!
In a pan add 1 Tbsp olive oil and fry the onions and aubergine until slightly browned, 2-3 minutes.
Add them into the slow cooker along with the garlic, stock, vinegar, chilli, olives, capers, pine nuts and chopped tomatoes. Use one of the empty cans to add a can of boiling water. Cook on high for 3 hours.
Add the orzo and cook for an additional 30 minutes.
At the end stir in a handful of fresh parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Pasta Arrabiata is one of my favourite Italian pasta dishes because it's just tomatoes, garlic and chilli cooked in olive oil—simple, amazingly flavourful and ready in under 15 minutes!
Pasta Arrabiata is one of my favourite Italian pasta dishes because it's just tomatoes, garlic and chilli cooked in olive oil—simple, amazingly flavourful and ready in under 15 minutes!
Boil a pan of water with a pinch of salt and cook the pasta for 10-12 minutes until slightly under-done (al dente). Whilst that's cooking make the sauce.
Heat 2 Tbsp of the olive oil in a pan and add the chillies. Cook for 1 minute and then add the garlic. Cook for another minute until the garlic just starts to go light brown, and add the canned chopped tomatoes. Stir well and slightly mash with a fork. Simmer for 10 minutes.
Stir in the cherry tomatoes and drain the pasta. Add the pasta and stir well.
Serve with a handful of fresh basil and drizzle over the remaining olive oil. Perfect!
This vegan "cheese" is made with cashews, almond milk and a couple of different starches. Agar Agar powder holds it all together. This type is fairly soft, but it can be sliced, spread and it melts! Not really ideal for grating, although it does work on a pizza and cheese on toast! Next time I'll make a harder cheese that's better for grating and sandwiches.
This vegan "cheese" is made with cashews, almond milk and a couple of different starches. Agar Agar powder holds it all together. This type is fairly soft, but it can be sliced, spread and it melts! Not really ideal for grating, although it does work on a pizza and cheese on toast! Next time I'll make a harder cheese that's better for grating and sandwiches.
Mix the agar agar powder and almond milk in a pan and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer.
Add cashews, oil, salt, vinegar, turmeric, garlic, nutritional yeast, chilli, both starches, gram flour, lemon juice and 150ml water to a blender. Blend until the mixture is very smooth.
Add the blended mixture to the pan with the agar agar and almond milk and turn up the heat so it's simmering. Cook for about 10 minutes until it becomes thick, like very thick pancake batter. If it's thick before it's had a chance to cook then add a splash of almond milk; you don't want to under cook it or you'll taste the raw gram flour and starches. Quickly transfer to a greased glass dish or ramekins before the agar agar sets.
Set aside to cool for an hour before transferring to the fridge. Come back a few hours later and it would have set. It should just fall out of the container fairly easily.
Recipe Notes
When the mixture is boiling away, you could add some sweet jalapenos, habaneros, more garlic and rosemary to make more of a Pepper Jack style cheese. Or you could leave out the chilli altogether to make a mild cheese. To make it harder and grateable, reduce the amount of almond milk and water you use.
This recipe uses Violife's Mediterranean Style Block which is a plant-based alternative to halloumi cheese. When fried it tastes very similar to the real thing, and it's amazing in this salad!
This recipe uses Violife's Mediterranean Style Block which is a plant-based alternative to halloumi cheese. When fried it tastes very similar to the real thing, and it's amazing in this salad!
Take 1 of the 2 slices that comes in the pack of Violife, and split it in half down the thin edge to make 2 thinner slices. Cut these into rectangles. You should end up with 6-8 thin pieces.
Fry the pieces for approx. 10 minutes, ideally on a griddle pan, turning occasionally.
Salad and Dressing
Add the salad leaves, avocado slices and sliced baby plum tomatoes to a bowl or plate.
In a separate bowl, add the lime juice, olive oil, vinegar, basil and red chilli with a pinch of pepper. Mix well
When the halloumi is ready, gently toss the salad with the dressing before topping with the halloumi pieces. Tuck in!