Recipe books are a great way to expand your culinary repertoire – that is, until you realise each dish requires you to buy 20 obscure ingredients you’ll probably never use again.
But vegans (and newbies trying Veganuary) can breathe a sigh of relief, because the recipe book ‘So Vegan In 5’ demonstrates how to make delicious dishes with just five ingredients, keeping costs (and stress levels) to a minimum.
Created by Roxy Pope and Ben Pook, of the ‘So Vegan’ YouTube channel, the recipes are designed with accessibility in mind, aiming to dispel myths that vegan food is complicated.
So what are you waiting for? Try out the five recipes below.
Apricot And Rosemary Nut Roast
Prep – 15 mins plus standing
Cook – 45 mins
Serves 4 generously
Ingredients:
2 onions
200g dried apricots
200g mixed nuts
400g tin green lentils
4 rosemary sprig
Method:
Preheat the oven to 200ºC/180ºC fan/gas mark 6 and line a 450g (approx. 20 x 10cm) loaf tin with baking paper.
Heat a little olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Peel and finely dice the onion, then fry for 10 minutes until softened, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, add the apricots to a food processor along with 100ml of cold water and process until it forms a smooth paste. Add the nuts and pulse until they have mostly broken down. Drain and rinse the lentils, then add to the food processor and pulse everything again until the mixture holds together.
Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl.
Pull the rosemary leaves off the stalks, chop the leaves (you should be left with roughly 2 tablespoons) and add them to the mixing bowl along with the fried onions, ½ teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper, then mix everything together.
Transfer the mixture to the prepared loaf tin, pushing it down into the tin as you go, so it’s compact and level.
Bake in the oven for 45 minutes, until golden brown.
Remove from the oven and leave the nut roast to stand in the tin for five minutes, before turning it out onto a wooden board.
Creamy Spinach Ravioli
Prep – 30 mins plus chilling
Cook – 12 mins
Serves 2
Ingredients:
120g cashews
60g fresh spinach
150g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 lemon
Large handful of basil, plus extra for serving
Method:
In a small bowl, soak the cashews in hot water directly from the kettle, while you work through the next few steps.
Blanch the spinach in boiling water for a couple of minutes until soft, then strain it, reserving the leftover water. Transfer the spinach to a small blender, add three tablespoons of the reserved spinach water and blend until smooth. If you don’t have a blender, use a handheld one to blend everything together in a bowl.
Next, add the flour to a large mixing bowl along with a generous pinch of salt. Make a well in the middle, pour in the blitzed spinach, then mix everything together. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for five minutes, then wrap it tightly in baking paper and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
Divide the chilled pasta dough in half and roll each piece out until it’s as thin as you can get it without splitting the dough (this should be around 2mm). Use a pastry cutter 8cm in diameter or the rim of a pint glass to cut the dough into circles. Repeat until all of the dough is used up and you’re left with 20 circles.
Drain the cashews and add them to a blender along with the juice from the lemon, basil and three tablespoons of cold water. Blend until the mixture reaches a smooth but thick consistency, then season well with salt and pepper.
Add a heaped tablespoon of the cashew mixture to the centre of a pasta circle and cover it with another circle.
Use your thumb to press down around the edges, sealing the circles together. To finish, use the prongs of a fork to pinch all around the edges. Repeat until you’re left with 10 filled ravioli.
Bring a saucepan of water to the boil and cook the ravioli for five minutes, until tender, then carefully scoop out using a slotted spoon. Cook the ravioli in two batches to avoid them sticking together.
Meanwhile, finely slice half a dozen or so basil leaves and mix them in a small bowl with two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Drizzle the basil flavoured oil over the ravioli to serve.
Deep Pan Pizza
Prep – 20 mins plus proving
Cook – 15-25 mins
Makes 1 medium pizza
Ingredients:
230g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
Small handful of fresh basil, plus extra to garnish
150g tomato purée
150g vegan mozzarella
Tip: Make sure the yeast is fresh! Old dried yeast will become inactive and your dough won’t rise.
Method:
Mix the flour, yeast and ½ teaspoon of salt together in a large mixing bowl, creating a well in the middle.
Pour 150ml of tepid water into the well along with one tablespoon of olive oil, then use a spoon to mix everything together into a sticky ball.
Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for five minutes, adding pinches of flour as you go to prevent the dough sticking to your hands or the surface.
Place the dough into a lightly greased mixing bowl, cover with a clean tea towel and leave it to prove somewhere warm for at least an hour. The dough should double in size.
Preheat the oven to 240ºC/220ºC fan/gas mark 9.
Gently punch the dough a few times to push the air out and transfer it to a floured surface, then roll the dough out into a circle roughly 35cm in diameter. Lightly grease a 25cm ovenproof frying pan, then add the pizza dough to the pan so it covers the base and falls slightly over the edges.
Roughly chop the basil and add it to a small bowl along with the tomato purée, 80ml of cold water, two teaspoons of apple cider vinegar and a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Stir the sauce to combine, then spoon it over the pizza base. Trim any excess dough that is hanging over the edge of the pan, then fold the sides in on themselves to create a thick crust.
Slice the mozzarella and spread it out evenly on top of the sauce. Bake in the oven for 15–25 minutes or until the crust turns a light brown.
To finish, drizzle the pizza with a splash of extra virgin olive oil, top with a few extra grinds of pepper and garnish with few basil leaves.
Harissa Tofu Scramble
Prep – 10 mins
Cook – 12 mins
Serves 2
Ingredients:
1 medium red onion
280g firm tofu
1 tsp turmeric
3 tbsp harissa paste
Large handful of rocket
Method:
Add a little olive oil to a frying pan over a medium heat. While the oil is heating up, peel and finely slice the onion, then add it to the pan and fry for five minutes, stirring frequently.
Meanwhile, combine three tablespoons of cold water with the harissa paste, turmeric and a pinch of salt and pepper in a small bowl. Set to one side.
Drain and press the tofu to remove any excess water, then crumble it into the frying pan using your hands. Pour the harissa paste mixture into the pan over the tofu and onion, and stir. Fry for seven minutes, until most of the moisture has evaporated, stirring frequently with a spoon to break up any big pieces of tofu.
Remove the pan from the heat and serve the scramble, topped with the rocket.
Coconut Chocolate Bars
Prep – 20 mins plus freezing and setting
Cook – 5 mins
Makes 8 bars
Ingredients:
400ml tin coconut
120g desiccated coconut
5 tbsp golden syrup
150g dairy-free dark chocolate
25g pistachios
Tip: Don’t forget about the ‘shake test’ when you buy tinned coconut milk. Avoid buying tins that sound slushy when you shake them, because this might mean the cream won’t set in the fridge.
Method:
Open the tin of coconut milk to check if the cream has set. If not, place the can in the fridge for one hour.
When the coconut cream has set at the top of the tin, scoop out 150g of the cream and transfer it to a mixing bowl along with the desiccated coconut, golden syrup and a pinch of salt. Stir until everything is fully combined.
Mould the mixture into eight mini bars, then place the bars on a freezer-proof tray, transfer to the freezer and freeze for one hour to firm up.
Meanwhile, prepare the pistachios for decoration by peeling the shells and roughly chopping the nuts. Set to one side for later.
Break up the chocolate and add to a heatproof bowl set over a pan of gently simmering water (make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn’t come into contact with the water underneath), then stir the chocolate occasionally until it has completely melted.
Remove the bars from the freezer and coat them in the melted chocolate, one at a time, using a couple of metal spoons to guide the chocolate over the bars.
Transfer the bars to a wire rack (set over a sheet of baking paper, to catch any drips) and sprinkle with the pistachios. Leave to set before serving.
‘So Vegan In 5’ by Roxy Pope and Ben Pook is available to buy on Amazon.