Recipe: Open top sandwich within 10 minutes

This can be a quick, tasty and healthy snack or light meal.

This recipe serves 2

Ingredients for a vegan open top sandwich

• 4 slices of granary wholemeal bread - we used Hovis because it's vegan, soft and has a nice taste
• houmous
• 1/2 a small cucumber
• 1 Taifun Tofu Wiener
• 8 cherry tomatoes
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make a vegan open top sandwich 

1. Get a slice of bread
2. Spread houmous on it
3. Add the sliced cucumber
4. Chop the Taifun Tofu Wiener
5. Add slices of the Wiener
6. Slice the cherry tomatoes in half
7. Finish with a cherry tomato
8. Garnish with salt and pepper

Open top sandwich

Recipe: Creamy lemon dressing within 5 minutes

Ingredients for vegan creamy lemon dressing

• 5g of Rapeseed oil - also known as Canola oil
• 5g of Lemon juice
• 5g of Tahini
• Salt
• Pepper

How to make vegan creamy lemon dressing 

1. Put all of the ingredients into a container which can be shaken without creating a spillage.
2. Shake vigorously until the dressing emulsifies and becomes creamy.

Recipe courtesy of Constantin. Translation courtesy of Sarah.

Recipe: Pasta with homemade sauce and soft cheese within 30 minutes

This dish was an on the spot creation and it turned out really well! :)

Ingredients for pasta sauce

•    3/4 of a teaspoon of coconut oil
•    1 (400g) can of chopped tomatoes
•    1 fresh chilli – cut into 3 pieces
•    1 handful of roughly chopped coriander
•    salt to taste
•    pepper to taste
•    ground cinnamon to taste
•    ground nutmeg to taste

How to make vegan pasta sauce

1.    Add the coconut oil to a pan and heat it
2.    Meanwhile blend the tomatoes, chilli and coriander
3.    Add this to the pan when the oil has warmed up
4.    Let it cook for 5 minutes
5.    Add salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg
6.    Let it reduce until it's the way you like your pasta sauce (ragu) to be - I like mine to be quite thick so I cook it on a medium high heat for about 20 minutes

Ingredients for the pasta

•    pasta of your choice - I  use rigatoni
•    1 tablespoon of vegan spread - I  use Pure Sunflower Margarine
•    1 tablespoon of salt

How to make the pasta

1.    While the ragu is reducing, put the kettle on and put the boiled water, pasta and salt in a large pan and stir
2.    Check the pasta after 7 minutes and if it’s cooked the way you like it, drain the water, add the margarine and stir
3.    Put the pasta on the plate, add the sauce on top, and garnish with some soft vegan cheese

Other ingredients

•  freshly ground pepper
• soft vegan cheese - I used Tesco Free From Cheddar Style Spread

Serving the pasta with vegan soft cheese

1. Serve the pasta creating a wide strip of it along the plate
2. Add freshly ground pepper
3. Add the sauce to the middle of the strip of pasta so that all of the pasta isn't covered in the sauce
4. Spoon some soft vegan cheese on to the sauce and enjoy!

Serving suggestion

Create a circular shape with the pasta, leaving a hole in the middle for the sauce, on top of which you could put the soft vegan cheese. 
Serve with the soft vegan cheese on the side.

Recipe: Butternut Squash Soup

I made this soup for the first time a couple of days ago.
It didn't take too long to make and was full of flavour, so I will definitely make it again!
I must admit that I cheated by using pre-cut Butternut Squash!

This recipe serves 2.

Ingredients for vegan butternut squash soup

•    a (350g) packet of butternut squash – roughly chopped
•    2 tablespoons of olive oil or sunflower oil
•    1/2 a teaspoon of salt
•    1/4 of a teaspoon of pepper
•    a pinch of cinnamon powder
•    a pinch of nutmeg powder
•    1/2 a cup of coconut milk
•    2 mugs of water – 700 ml

How to make vegan butternut squash soup

1.    Put the pieces of butternut squash on an oven tray and drizzle the oil over them
2.    Roast them in the oven for about 20 minutes
3.    Put the water, salt, pepper, cinnamon and nutmeg in a pan and boil it
4.    When you are happy that the butternut squash is roasted enough, add it to the pan mentioned in step 3
5.    Boil it until it’s tender and then blend it using a hand blender
6.    Heat it for 3 minutes before adding water if it's too thick or boil further if it's too watery
7.    Taste it and add more salt, pepper, cinnamon or nutmeg if required
8.    Serve in a bowl, drizzle with coconut milk and enjoy

Serving suggestions

Put some in a bowl and drizzle with coconut milk before serving. 
Serve with wholegrain bread.