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When it comes to weekly meals, it can be all too easy to fall into the trap of making a set repertoire of dishes every seven days – and repeat.
Thankfully the duo behind So Vegan, Roxy Pope and Ben Pook, are here to inject some newness into our week-night routine.
The pair have been creating delicious vegan recipes since 2016, with the aim of making it easier for everyone to eat delicious, plant-based foods “so people and the planet can thrive”.
Their recipe book One Pot Vegan is a continuation of their mission to make it as easy and fuss-free as possible to get more people eating plant-based food.
From quick dinner tray bakes to tasty fakeaways, the recipes are full of flavour but (clue’s in the name!) easy on the washing up. Here are three recipes from their brand new book including a spicy Caribbean feast, loaded sweet potato wedges and a creamy ‘chicken’ supreme.
Caribbean Feast
“Feast your eyes on this. It’s a sweet, spicy and savoury fiesta of food, where our very own DIY jerk sauce teams up with fresh fruits and veggies to create a carnival of flavours.”
Serves: 4 | Dish: Large roasting tray | Prep: 25 mins | Cook: 40 mins
Ingredients
- 200g basmati rice
- 1 x 400g tin of coconut milk
- 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans
- salt and pepper
- 4 corn on the cob
- 300g oyster mushrooms
- 2 ripe plantains
- ⅛ of a Savoy cabbage
- ⅛ of a red cabbage
- 1 lime
- 3 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
- 1 ripe mango
- a handful of fresh coriander
For the jerk marinade:
- 2 shallots
- a thumb of fresh ginger
- 6 garlic cloves
- 1 Scotch bonnet chilli
- 8 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp ground allspice
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- vegetable oil
Method
First prepare the jerk marinade. Peel and roughly chop the shallots, ginger and garlic, and put them into a food processor (see tip below if you don’t have a food processor). Remove the stalk from the Scotch bonnet, cut in half and discard the seeds, then pick the leaves off the thyme and add both to the food processor along with the soy sauce, maple syrup, juice from half the lime, allspice, cinnamon, three tablespoons of vegetable oil and pinches of salt and pepper.
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7. Put the rice into a sieve and rinse until the water runs clear, then transfer to a large roasting tray along with the coconut milk, 250ml of water and pinches of salt and pepper. Drain and rinse the kidney beans and add them to the tray, then stir to combine. Cut the sweetcorn cobs in half, rub four tablespoons of the jerk marinade all over them, and add them to the tray. Cover the tray with baking paper or a larger tray, and roast for 15 minutes.
Meanwhile, tear any large mushrooms in half and rub them with the remaining marinade. Peel the plantains, cut them into 1cm-thick slices, put them into a bowl, season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Remove the baking paper from the tray and discard, then add the mushrooms and plantains to the tray, covering the rice to help it steam. Bake uncovered for 20–25 minutes, turning the plantain and mushrooms halfway.
Meanwhile, prepare the slaw by finely chopping the Savoy and red cabbage. Put both into a mixing bowl along with the juice from the remaining lime half and the vegan mayonnaise. Stir to combine and set to one side.
To serve, top the Caribbean feast with the slaw, then peel and dice the mango and scatter over the tray along with the coriander leaves.
Don’t have a food processor? Finely chop the shallots, ginger, garlic and Scotch bonnet and add them to a pestle and mortar. Grind until mostly broken down. Add the thyme leaves along with the remaining ingredients and 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil. Grind into a rough paste.
Loaded Sweet Potato Wedges
“A celebration of the humble sweet potato. Here we roast them as wedges, as well as blend them to create our very own homemade queso. Delish.”
Serves: 2–4 | Dish: Large roasting tray | Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 45 mins
Ingredients
- 50g cashews
- 1.2kg sweet potatoes
- salt and pepper
- vegetable oil
- 2 red onions
- 3 garlic cloves
- 1 ripe mango
- 1 red pepper
- a handful of fresh coriander, plus extra for topping
- 1 lime
- 2 x 400g tins of black beans
- 1 tbsp Cajun seasoning
- 4 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 180ml unsweetened plant-based milk
- 1 red chilli
- 1 avocado
Method
Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7.
Put the cashews into a bowl, cover with hot water from the kettle, and set to one side to soak.
Dice 200g of the sweet potatoes into 1cm pieces and place in the corner of a large roasting tray. Slice the remaining sweet potatoes into wedges, then place at the other end of the tray. Season the wedges with ½ teaspoon of salt and a large pinch of pepper, drizzle over two tablespoons of vegetable oil, and toss to combine. Slice 1 red onion in half, skin on, and add it to the tray along with the garlic cloves (skins on). Roast for 20 minutes.
For the salsa, cut the mango in half around the stone, score the halves in a criss-cross pattern and scoop out the flesh. Dice the red pepper, discarding the core and the seeds. Peel and dice the remaining red onion and roughly chop the coriander leaves, discarding the stalks.
Add everything to a mixing bowl along with the juice from half the lime, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix everything together.
Take the tray out of the oven and remove the onion, garlic cloves and diced sweet potato. Move the sweet potato wedges around the tray, then return the tray to the oven for 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse the black beans. Add them to the tray along with the Cajun seasoning and gently give everything a mix. Roast for 10–15 minutes, or until the sweet potato is lightly charred.
To make the queso, drain the cashews and transfer them to a high powered blender or food processor, along with the diced sweet potato, roasted red onion and garlic (skins removed from both), nutritional yeast, juice from the remaining lime half, milk, half the red chilli (seeds removed), and large pinches of salt and pepper. Blend until smooth.
Remove the wedges from the oven and scatter over the salsa and half the queso. Thinly slice the remaining chilli and roughly chop the rest of the coriander leaves. Cut the avocado in half, scoop out and slice the flesh, then add it to the wedges, along with the sliced chilli and coriander leaves. Serve alongside the remaining queso.
‘Chicken’ Supreme
“It turns out fried oyster mushrooms have an uncanny resemblance to chicken, so we combine them with a rich, robust and creamy roux to create this supremely tasty dinner.”
Serves: 4 | Dish: Shallow casserole pan | Prep: 20 mins | Cook: 40 mins
Ingredients
- 500g oyster mushrooms
- 3 tbsp vegan margarine
- 1 tbsp chicken seasoning mix
- 6 shallots
- 3 garlic cloves
- 3 tbsp plain flour
- 200ml dry white wine (or 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar)
- 500ml vegetable stock
- 1 tsp Dijon mustard
- 1 tsp herbes de Provence
- 200g green beans
- a small handful of fresh chives
- a large handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley (20g)
- 250ml vegan single cream
- salt and pepper
- sliced baguette, to serve
Method
Slice the oyster mushrooms into 1cm strips. Melt two tablespoons of the vegan margarine in a shallow casserole pan over a medium-high heat, then add the mushrooms, stir in the chicken seasoning and fry for 15–20 minutes, or until the mushrooms are crispy. Remove from the heat, spoon the mushrooms on to a plate and keep to one side.
Meanwhile, peel and chop the shallots and garlic. Melt the remaining tablespoon of vegan margarine in the pan, reduce the heat to medium, then add the shallots and garlic. Fry for four minutes, stirring occasionally.
Stir in the flour and fry for two minutes, then very slowly pour in the wine, stirring quickly to prevent the flour clumping together and using the wine to deglaze the pan, gathering up as much flavour as possible. Simmer for one to two minutes, then stir in the stock, mustard and herbes de Provence. Trim the ends off the green beans and add the beans to the pan. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the beans are cooked but still have a good bite left to them.
Meanwhile, chop the chives and pick the parsley leaves from their stalks, then roughly chop the leaves. Add the cooked mushrooms, most of the parsley leaves and the vegan single cream to the pan, and cook through for one to two minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper. Top with the chopped chives, the remaining parsley leaves and freshly ground black pepper, and serve alongside the sliced baguette.
One Pot Vegan by Roxy Pope and Ben Pook of So Vegan is published by Michael Joseph and available to buy now. RRP: £16.99