Mushroom & Chestnut Soup

Yesterday I posted a recipe, using chestnut cream, which I made from chestnut puree, soy cream, rosemary, salt and pepper. The Brussels Sprout & Chestnut Bake recipe didn't use all the chestnut cream and so I made a gorgeous and rich mushroom soup with the remainder. Now, this soup is very rich and you won't need a lot, just the ticket for a sample Christmas day starter.

Ingredients

1 Onion, finely chopped

1 Clove of garlic, finely chopped

150g Chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped

1 Tbsp mushroom ketchup

2 Tsp Porcini powder

Chestnut cream

200ml water

1 Tsp Vegetable bouillon powder

Method

Fry the onion and garlic in a little rapeseed oil until the onion is translucent. Add the mushrooms and fry for another 5 minutes. 

Add the mushroom ketchup and porcini powder and give the mixture another stir.

Add the chestnut cream and stir again.

Dissolve the bouillon powder into the water and stir to combine. Add to the mushroom mixture slowly until the mixture resembles thick cream.

Transfer to a liquidiser and blend until smooth. Return to a pan and heat through.

Brussels Sprout & Chestnut Bake

Christmas is getting closer and closer and I can't believe how unprepared I am in the food department! I started jotting down ideas just after Vegan Mofo but I've not had the time to get around to taking those ideas and creating a recipe! But this last weekend I decided enough was enough and I took to the kitchen to get creative and I had a ball! The Christmas music was playing, there was dancing and merriment and above all, recipes created. Christmas is on its way........

The first recipe I want to share with you is my Brussels sprout and mushroom bake.

My gardening angel gave me a Brussels Sprout tree, which had been staring at me for a couple of days, teasing me, saying "use me to creative some Christmas magic". Personally, I don't think you can get more Christmassy than a Brussels Sprout! Now, we all know that sprouts and chestnuts go extremely well together but did you know that sprouts and mushrooms also have a marriage made in heaven! Well, you do now.

Ingredients
1 Brussels sprout tree
250g Chestnut mushrooms
1 Can of chestnut puree
250ml vegan single cream
1 Rosemary twig
Salt & pepper
100g Seeded bread
2 Tsp Garlic granules
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast

Method
First thinly slice the sprouts, I used my food processor and the slicing blade as it would take me ages to do this by hand.

Spray an oven proof dish lightly with oil, and scatter half of the sprouts in the bottom.

Next thinly slice the mushrooms and arrange half of them on top of the sprouts. Finish with another layer of sprouts and another layer of mushrooms.

Next prepare the chestnut cream. Empty the chestnut puree into a saucepan and brake up over a very low heat, careful you don't burn it. It just need to be warmed through. Add the cream and stir to combine. Remove the rosemary leaves from the stem and finely chop, add to the chestnut cream with some salt and pepper. Keep stirring over a low heat until the mixture is warmed through. Take 8 table spoons of the chestnut cream and put in a jug, add 80ml of warm water and whisk to a smooth cream. Pour over the sprouts and mushrooms. If you like your bake to be 'saucy' double the quantities of the chestnut cream so you use 16 tablespoons and 160ml of warm water.

Tear the bread into the food processor and blitz to a fine breadcrumb. Add the onion granules and nutritional yeast and blitz to combine. Scatter the breadcrumbs over the top of the chestnut cream. Depending on your crust preferences you may use all of the breadcrumbs or not. If you have any left over you can easily make a stuffing or bread sauce!

Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until the breadcrumbs are golden and the vegetables cooked. Some of you may have noticed that I never put the temperature of my oven this is because I've used it that much the numbers have 'rubbed' off! So it's a guess every time I cook!

Serve the bake with all your favourite Christmas trimmings and an onion gravy, which is what I did but I forgot to take a photo!

Tomorrow, I'll share with you what I did with the remaining chestnut cream..........

Guest post - Super Green Smoothie

I'd like to introduce a friend of mine, Mark who I met earlier this year at a friends wedding. Mark is also a green smoothie lover, tree hugger and animal lover, so it was no wonder that we made friends. I have no doubt that Mark will be a friend for life, even though he lives on the other side of the world in Australia. Thank goodness for social media!

I asked Mark if he would like to write a guest post and he replied that he would love to! So drum roll please................................

Super Green Smoothie

The health benefits from eating a clean diet high in nutritious green and wholesome super foods are endless. I like to kick start the day with a smoothie that is not only going to give me the energy to keep going until lunch time but also gives me the key health benefits of being Alkalizing, supports liver cleansing and detoxification, aids digestion, maintains bowel regularity, high in protein, provides high dose of Omega 3, is vegan, low gluten, soy free and dairy free PLUS tastes fantastic!

What you will need:
Blender
Ice
600ml Purified water
1/2 cup Cucumber
1/2 Lime
1/4 bunch parsley
2-3 sprigs of mint leaves
5-6 green grapes (adjust to your desire of sweetness)
1 table spoon of Chia seeds
Organic Pea and brown rice protein ( I use an Australian brand called Nutra life whole+ organic protein which is a blend of both pea and brown rice)
Liver detoxification powder (found in all good health food stores- I use an Australian brand called Nutra life Detox & cleanse)

Method 
Add all ingredients to the blender and blend until all ingredients have combined into a beautiful super green smoothie!

This recipe is so adaptable to your needs and tastes. If you like it sweeter add more fruit such as a banana or blue berries. 

You could also give it an extra boost by adding your favourite spirulina or chlorella powder for an ultimate energy and alkalizing effect!!

Enjoy!

Thanks for sharing Mark. I've tried your green smoothie this morning and I love it. The lime and mint combination is awesome.

You may also like:

Pineapple and Spinach Smoothie              Green Caribbean Smoothie                        Strawberry Smoothie

Basil Tofu and Garden Pea Cannelloni

The weather has been horrid today, rain wind and more wind! I work on the top floor of a 6 floor building and around 3pm today the building wobbled! Yes wobbled! My heart goes out to the areas that have been hit the hardest.

With all this horrid weather I needed cheering up and fancied a bit of sunshine. No I didn't book a holiday, I created a sunshine meal! Using summertime ingredients thanks to frozen peas and the gorgeous amazing basil tofu I purchased at Waitrose at the weekend I could do just that.

I've been meaning to try the Vegusto Cheese that was included in my vegan swap box for ages too, so that also needed to be included in my creation. So what can you do with basil tofu, garden peas and vegan cheese? Something Italian - cannelloni.

Ingredients
200g Basil tofu
185g Frozen peas, cooked and drained
½ Bunch spring onions, finely sliced
1 Red onion, finely chopped
1 Garlic clove, minced
500g Tomato passata
2 Tsp Paprika
2 Tsp Mixed herbs
½ Tsp Sugar
½ Tsp Salt
1 Tbsp Tomato puree
12 Cannelloni tubes
60g Vegan cheese, grated

Method
First cut the basil tofu into cubes and add to your food processor, next add the cooked frozen peas and the spring onions. If you don't have a food processor you can mash the tofu then add the peas and finely shredded spring onions and mash again.

Next make your tomato sauce, fry the red onion and garlic in a little olive for 3-4 minutes. Pour in the tomato passata and stir through. Next add the paprika, mixed herbs, sugar, salt and tomato puree and slowly bring to the boil. 

Stuff the cannelloni tubes with the basil tofu, garden peas and spring onion mixture. 

Spread a little tomato sauce in the bottom of an oven dish and place the stuffed cannelloni tubes on top. Pour the remaining sauce over the top and sprinkle over the grated cheese.

Bake in a moderate oven for around 30-40 minutes, until the cheese has 'melted' and the food is piping hot.