Conscious cooking
Vegetarian recipes from The Mindful Kitchen.
Sweet Potato and Apple Bake
This was a holiday tradition in my childhood home, concocted by my dad. It brings together savoury and sweet with warming winter spices, the smell of which take me immediately back to Upstate New York in the 1980s. Serves: 4 as a side
1 tbsp coconut oil, plus
extra for greasing
2 sweet potatoes (small to medium), peeled, cut into 1cm thick slices 2 apples, cored, sliced thinly
Juice of 2 oranges (125ml) 2 tbsp ginger juice
2 tsp ground cinnamon 2 tbsp rosemary leaves Sugar
Pinch of salt
Preheat the oven to 170°C/fan 150°C and grease a medium baking dish. Bring a pan of water to the boil and add the sweet potato slices. Bring back to the boil, cook for 3 minutes, drain, then cool.
Form a layer of sweet potatoes and apples in the tin as if making a lasagne. Mix the coconut oil with the juices and the cinnamon. Sprinkle the juices, rosemary and a dash of sugar on each layer. Continue to form layers until all the ingredients are used, reserving some liquid to drizzle over the top layer. Cover the dish and bake for 30–40 minutes until soft and starting to brown. Serve warm.
Pumpkin Pie Bars
As the song goes: “There’s a happy feeling nothing in the world can buy, when they pass around the coffee and the pumpkin pie.” Makes 12-18 bars
For the base
5 tbsp melted butter or coconut oil, plus extra for greasing 90g rolled oats 175g wholemeal flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon ¼ tsp salt
2 tbsp apple molasses
or honey
3 tbsp maple syrup 2 eggs
For the filling
100g brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp freshly grated nutmeg
½ tsp ground cloves
½ tsp mace
½ tsp salt
3 eggs
240ml oat or peanut milk
440g canned pumpkin or 1 large Hokkaido pumpkin or butternut squash weighing about 650g, peeled, deseeded and cut into chunks
To stew your own pumpkin, put the prepared flesh in a saucepan with 125ml of water, bring to the boil, then cover the pan and simmer for 20–30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender. Drain and mash the pumpkin. Set aside to cool.
Preheat the oven to 200°C/fan 180°C and grease a 30 x 23cm baking tray.
To make the base, put the oats in a food processor and grind to a coarse flour, then add it to a mixing bowl with the wholemeal flour, cinnamon and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk the melted butter or oil with the apple molasses or honey, maple syrup and eggs. Fold the wet into the dry ingredients. Tip the mixture into the tray and press into an even layer, making sure you fill the corners. Lay a piece of baking paper on top, fill with baking beans and bake blind for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the filling by combining the sugar, spices and salt in a bowl. Whisk the eggs in a separate bowl, stir in the milk, then fold into the sugar and spices. Add the pumpkin and mix until smooth.
Remove the tray from the oven, take out the baking beans and paper and pour the filling over the crust. Return to the oven, lower the temperature to 170°C/fan 150°C and cook for about 30 minutes. The pie is done when the filling starts to brown and feels spongy but firm to the touch. Cut into bars while still warm.
Carrot Gnocchi
Homemade gnocchi is comfort food at its best. I like to make them with carrots rather than the traditional all-potato version. Serves 4
450g potato (roughly 2
medium baking potatoes) 175g carrots (roughly 2 medium carrots), peeled and thinly sliced
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt
200g ‘00’ grade pasta flour, plus extra as needed
To serve
Preserved tomato sauce
or pesto or 4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, minced Handful of chopped sage
Preheat the oven to 200°C. Pierce the skins of the potatoes a few times, bake for about 1 hour until soft. Drop the carrots into a pan of boiling water and boil until soft, about 15 minutes. Drain thoroughly then purée in a food processor. Halve the potatoes, scoop out the flesh and push through a potato ricer. Tip the puréed carrots and potato into a bowl, add the egg and salt and mix.
Gradually add the flour, about 2 heaped tablespoons at a time, kneading to form a dough that is stiff but a little sticky. Tear off a small piece and drop into boiling water. If it holds its shape, the dough is ready. If not, add more flour and test another piece. Once you’re happy with it, cut the dough into four pieces.
Flour a work surface and roll each piece into a 2cm thick log. Use a knife to cut them into bite-sized lengths that resemble pillows. Leave as they are, or press your thumb into the centre of each one, bring in the sides, then roll each one against the tines of a fork to create ridges. Place on a tray lined with baking paper.
Fill a large frying pan with salted water and bring to the boil. Add the gnocchi, a handful at a time, and cook for 4–5 minutes until they float to the top and are firm. Use a slotted spoon to transfer them to a wire rack and cover with a tea towel to keep warm while you cook the rest.
To serve, gently warm the tomato sauce or pesto. Alternatively, heat the olive oil in a frying pan and add the garlic, sage and seasoning. Coat the gnocchi in your warmed, chosen sauce.
Flatbread
As early as 14,400 years ago, nomadic hunter-gatherers were making flatbread. Imagine foraging for wild cereals, de-husking them, grinding them with stones, mixing them with water, kneading bread and baking it on hot stones over an open fire. Without romanticising the labour, I like to consider how connected to the full cycle of nature they must have felt preparing and eating this simple flatbread. Makes 4
300g plain flour,
plus extra for dusting ½ tsp salt
50ml olive oil
185ml oat milk
½–1 tbsp vegetable oil, for cooking
Combine the flour, salt, oil and oat milk in a bowl to make a soft dough. Sprinkle the work surface with flour, turn out the dough and knead for a few minutes until it is smooth. Add another tsp or two of flour if it is too sticky. Wrap the dough in a tea towel and let it rest in the fridge for about 30 minutes.
Dust the work surface with flour again. Cut your dough into four even pieces, roll into balls, then roll out into thin rounds (about 0.5cm thick).
Spread the oil evenly across a non-stick frying pan and place over a medium heat. Place one flatbread in the pan. It will puff up on one side and when it does, flip it and cook the other side. If it puffs up too much, pat it gently to break the air bubble. You are looking for golden brown spots on both sides. Keep flipping until you are happy. Use your fingers as well as a spatula for the process. It should take around 2 minutes to cook each flatbread.
Stack the cooked bread on a plate as you make the rest and keep a tea towel to hand to cover the bread and trap in the heat.