Sweet potato soup with toasted pumpkin seeds

This sweet potato soup screams autumn. I found it on the website of Sweet Paul and I only made minor changes: I added the choice of using coconut oil instead of olive oil, I used Greek yoghurt instead of heavy cream, and I added the ginger. I haven't tasted it with thyme twigs yet but I'm sure it adds a wonderful flavour. Happy Autumn!

SWEET POTATO SOUP WITH TOASTED PUMPKIN SEEDS

INGREDIENTS

• 1 onion
• 1 garlic clove
• optional: fresh ginger (about the size of a dice)
• 4 large sweet potatoes
• 3 large carrots
• 1½-2 tablespoons olive oil or coconut oil (2 in original recipe)
• 2 organic vegetable stock cubes (or chicken)
• 1 litre (4 cups) water
• 190 ml (¾ cup) Greek yoghurt (heavy cream in original recipe)
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground chilli
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• garnish: toasted pumpkin seeds and thyme twigs and Greek yoghurt (or heavy cream)

METHOD

1. Peel and chop the onion, sweet potatoes, carrots, and ginger
2. In a large saucepan, sauté them briefly the oil
3. Add the vegetable stock cubes and water and bring to the boil, then lower the heat to low-medium
4. Cook for around 25 minutes or until the vegetables are tender
5. Using a hand blender, purée the soup. Then add Greek yoghurt (or cream) to thicken it
6. Stir the soup and bring to the boil
7. Season with chilli and pepper. Add salt if required
8. Toast pumpkin seeds in a pan until lightly toasted
9. Serve soup in bowls garnished with pumpkin seeds, fresh thyme and a drizzle of Greek yoghurt (heavy cream)

Potato and spring onion quiche (veggie pie)

Maybe this recipe should be called potatoes with quiche on the side! There are a few potato lovers in this family that I had in mind when putting it together. In my quiche, you will not find 5 eggs and double cream in the filling, and there isn't a mountain of butter in the pastry, in fact, there is none. There is also no need to plastic wrap the dough or blind-bake the pastry with baking beads before adding the filling. Sounds good, right? If you have been using store-bought pastry so far it is time to say goodbye to those and make your own. It's way easier and simpler than you think. Not to mention healthier. If you like potatoes I hope you will enjoy this quiche; other versions will appear on the blog later.

POTATO AND SPRING ONION QUICHE (VEGGIE PIE)

INGREDIENTS

FILLING

• 4 large potatoes (ca. 600 g / 1.3 lbs), precooked for 20 minutes
• 2 eggs
• 250 g cottage cheese (about 1 cup)
• 2 teaspoons (organic) mustard
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley or thyme
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• ¼ teaspoon dried rosemary
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 7 cm (2.7 inches) piece of the green part of a bunch of spring onions (scallions), sliced
• 2 large handfuls (ca. 60 g) salad blend (e.g. endive, radicchio, lettuce) or spinach
• Topping: 75-100 g (about ¾ cup) of your favourite cheese, grated, and some freshly grated parmesan

PASTRY

• 1¼ cup spelt flour
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 2½ tablespoons organic vegetable oil
• 4 tablespoons water

METHOD

1. Start with precooking the potatoes maybe one hour before preparing the quiche: Cook them for 20 minutes without a lid. Drain the water and allow the potatoes to cool
2. In a large bowl combine the eggs (you can lightly beat the eggs first if you prefer), cottage cheese, mustard, herbs, salt and the salad blend/spinach
3. Take your bunch of spring onions and cut a 7 cm (2.7 inches) piece of the green part. Slice rather finely and add to the bowl. Set the bowl aside while preparing the pastry
4. For the pastry: Sift the spelt flour and sea salt into another bowl. Add the oil and water and mix gently with a spatula. Use your hands to gently knead the mixture in the bowl to get a feel for the texture. If it crumbles then you need a bit more oil; if it's too oily just add some spelt flour. (If you need to add oil, just put a few drops in the palm of your hands and knead the mixture in your hands until the texture feels right)
5. On a light spelt-floured surface shape the dough into a ball and then roll it out until you have a circle with about 28 cm diameter (11 inches). Use just a touch of oil to grease a pie dish (24 cm / 9.5 inches) and line it with the pastry. Prick the base with a fork in a few places
6. Peel the potatoes, dice them and add them to the filling. Then pour the filling into the pastry shell, even out and top with the grated cheese
7. Bake at 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4 for 50-55 minutes until the cheese turns golden brown
8. Let the quiche sit for about 5 minutes before serving

Rice with indian spices and sultanas

This rice recipe is very similar to the one I posted recently, called rice with Indian spices. The main difference is that there are no cloves and peppercorns in this side dish. Actually, cloves and peppercorns are parts of the garam masala spice blend but it contains many other ground spices and here we are only using ¼ teaspoon. You can skip the sultanas if you like but I think their natural sweetness and the Indian spices complement each other very well. As I said when I posted the other rice recipe, you can experiment with the spices as you like if your taste buds are calling for something different. If you want the rice saltier then sprinkle some Maldon sea salt on top.

RICE WITH INDIAN SPICES AND SULTANAS

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cup (300 g) basmati rice
• 3 cups (750 ml) boiled water
• 1 organic vegetable stock cube
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (or ghee)
• ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• pinch of chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
• ¼ teaspoon garam masala
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander
• handful of sultanas/golden raisins

METHOD

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold running water. Let the rice sit in the sieve until needed
2. Pour the boiled water needed (I boil it in a kettle) into a large glass jug and let the vegetable stock cube dissolve in it while you prepare the spices
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan (make sure the saucepan is big enough for cooking the rice) on medium heat and add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and chilli flakes. Gently fry the spices until the seeds start to pop. As you are only using two teaspoons of oil, you don't have to move the spices around in the saucepan. Just make sure all the spices and oil are in one place
4. As soon as the seeds start to pop, add the vegetable stock, rice and the other three spices and stir gently
5. Increase the heat and keep it on the highest setting until the water starts boiling (takes just a moment), then reduce it to the lowest and cook the rice for about 12-15 minutes. Use a lid but let it tilt slightly to allow the steam to escape
6. About three minutes before the rice is ready take a handful of sultanas and spread them over the rice without stirring (just stir them into the rice before serving)

Rice with indian spices

The other day we were having a barbecue - grilled chicken - and my husband asked me if I could make one of my rice dishes to go with it. In the past, I have been making all kinds of versions of rice with spices and/or herbs, so this time I decided to write down the things I threw in for the blog. When we have a barbecue we tend to keep things rather simple. I'm not really keen on heavy sauces with grilled meat or too many side dishes. I'm fine with a simple salad, a couscous salad or rice. Sometimes I just grab the tamari sauce for the rice, but I like using Indian spices to turn a simple meal into something a bit more special. As with all other recipes on the blog, this one is not holy. You can experiment with the spices you like to find your own version if this one doesn't appeal to your taste buds. If you want the rice saltier then sprinkle some Maldon sea salt on top. I recommend removing the cloves and peppercorns before serving.

RICE WITH INDIAN SPICES

INGREDIENTS

• 1½ cup (300 g) basmati rice
• 3 cups (750 ml) boiled water
• 1 organic vegetable stock cube
• 2 teaspoons vegetable oil (or ghee)
• ¼ teaspoon mustard seeds
• ¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 4 black peppercorns
• 3 whole cloves
• pinch of chilli flakes
• ½ teaspoon ground turmeric

METHOD

1. Rinse the rice in a sieve under cold running water. Let the rice sit in the sieve until needed
2. Pour the boiled water needed (I boil it in a kettle) into a large glass jug and let the vegetable stock cube dissolve in it while you prepare the spices
3. Heat the oil in a saucepan (make sure the saucepan is big enough for cooking the rice) on medium heat and add all the spices, except the turmeric. Gently fry the spices until the seeds start to pop. As you are only using two teaspoons of oil, you don't have to move the spices around in the saucepan. Just make sure all the spices and oil are in one place
4. As soon as the seeds start to pop, add the boiled water with the dissolved vegetable stock cube, the rice and turmeric and stir gently
5. Increase the heat and keep it on the highest setting until the water starts boiling, then reduce it to the lowest and cook the rice for about 12-15 minutes. Use a lid but let it tilt slightly to allow the steam to escape
6. Before serving the rice it is advisable to remove the cloves and maybe also the peppercorns, especially if you have children at the table

Tomato soup with garlic and thyme

In our house this soup goes under the name Mooney soup, as I first tasted it at a birthday party in my friend Mooney's house, or The Palace, as she refers to her cosy and small flat in the city centre of Reykjavik. The recipe appeared in the food section of some Icelandic morning paper many years ago and I like the simplicity of it. It doesn't take long to prepare the soup so it's perfect on cold days when you don't have much time to cook. This is basically the original recipe but I have added the red lentils, ground coriander and paprika.

TOMATO SOUP WITH GARLIC AND THYME

INGREDIENTS

• 1-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 vegetable stock cubes, yeast free
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (2 x 400 g)
• 1.2 litres water (about 5 cups)
• optional: 2 tablespoons red lentils
• 2 teaspoons thyme
• ¼-½ teaspoon ground coriander
• ¼ teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• pinch of freshly ground black pepper

METHOD

1. In the original recipe all the ingredients are put into a saucepan at once but I like to fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil for just a few minutes, until they turn soft
2. Add the rest of the ingredients and cook for 30 minutes
3. If you prefer, purée the soup with a hand blender before serving (you can also use a food processor but then it is advisable to allow the soup to cool first and warm it up before serving)
4. Serve with home-made bread or garlic bread

mashed sweet potatoes with pecan nuts

Happy New Year! I meant to share this recipe on the blog before the holidays but didn’t find the time to prepare and photograph it especially. I couldn't let another year pass without posting it, so before sitting down to enjoy a turkey meal on New Year's I used the opportunity to snap a photo. We first tasted this delicious side dish at Thanksgiving in Canada in 2009, which we got to celebrate that year for the first time with dear friends in the Icelandic Consulate in Winnipeg, Manitoba. I will never forget that night, what a feast we had! (I brought one side dish, Brussels sprouts, and I had made pecan pies for dessert). Since that night this has been served with our turkey every time because we absolutely love it. The recipe is called Sweet Potatoes Supreme but I don't know anything about its origin. The original recipe calls for 4 cups of mashed sweet potatoes. I use 1200 grams and I have no idea if I'm using more or less, as I have never measured it in cups. I make the mashed sweet potatoes according to the original recipe but I have made considerable changes to the topping, which contained a lot of sugar and butter that needed to be melted. I see no reason to overwhelm the naturally sweet flavour of sweet potatoes with too much sugar; I simply don't get it when they are drowned in sugar or marshmallows or whatever. As I never cook with butter, I threw that out as well. Besides, there is plenty of fat in the pecan nuts.

MASHED SWEET POTATOES WITH PECAN NUTS

INGREDIENTS

MASHED SWEET POTATOES

• 1200 g sweet potatoes (approx. 2.7 lb)
• 2 tablespoons milk/soy milk or cream
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ¼ teaspoon paprika

TOPPING

• 2 tablespoons agave nectar or pure maple syrup
• 1½-2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 130-150 g pecan nuts

METHOD

MASHED SWEET POTATOES

1. Peel the sweet potatoes. Quarter each of them by first cutting it in half and then the two parts in half lengthwise
2. Bring a large saucepan of water to the boil (you need just enough water to cover them). Add the sweet potatoes and cook until tender (takes about 20 minutes if each is quartered)
3. Drain off the water and use a potato masher to mash the sweet potatoes in the saucepan. Add the milk, salt and paprika and combine
4. Transfer the mashed sweet potatoes to an oven/serving dish (mine is rounded; diameter 23 cm/9 inches) and use a spatula to even it out

TOPPING

1. In a small bowl, lightly mix the agave/maple syrup and the coconut oil with a spoon and spread it over the mashed sweet potatoes (if the coconut oil is solid, place the jar in a bowl of hot water before use)
2. Cover with pecan nuts
3. Warm in the oven for about 15-20 minutes (I set my oven to 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6) and make sure that you don't burn the pecan nuts

couscous salad with lime dressing

This simple and easy to make salad has been quite often on the menu this summer, or since we got back from a short trip to London in June. I bought a couscous salad in the Whole Foods Market on Kensington High Street to eat on the way back home and it tasted so delicious that I decided to use it as an idea for my own summer salad. This is one of my experiments and, in fact, I'm enjoying it while creating this post. The salad I bought was quite different and it had chickpeas in it but my experiments started with kidney beans and pinto beans. Actually, the only time we found it dull was when I used chickpeas. Maybe it needed to sit longer before serving, I don't know. It just didn't taste the same. As I said, it's easy to make so I like having it for lunch and then I use the rest as a side dish with dinner that same day. It goes really well with chicken and all kinds of grilled meat. There are many types of couscous available on the market, I use organic one from Rapunzel.

COUSCOUS SALAD WITH LIME DRESSING

INGREDIENTS

SALAD

• 200 g organic couscous (1 cup)
• 300 ml water (250 ml = 1 cup)
• 1 can kidney beans (400 g)
• 100 g sweetcorn (½ cup)
• 1 red pepper, diced
• 1 orange, diced
• optional: ½ red onion, finely chopped

DRESSING

• 3-3½ tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice (you will need two limes)
• 1½-2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon Himalaya or sea salt
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ½ teaspoon ground cardamom
• ¼ teaspoon turmeric

METHOD

SALAD

1. Start with preparing the couscous which is very simple: Put couscous and water into a small saucepan, bring to boil (happens fast), remove immediately from heat, cover with lid and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes
2. Rinse and drain the beans and sweetcorn and keep them in a colander until ready to use (I use organic sweetcorn that I buy in glass jars)
3. Remove the seeds and dice the red pepper
4. Peel the orange with a sharp knife and try to remove all the pith. Cut the orange in half and dice it (make sure you are using a good and tasty orange)
5. If using the half red onion, peel it and chop finely (I recommend it for the salad as it adds a good taste)
6. Put all the ingredients into a big salad bowl and mix together

DRESSING

1. Whisk together the lime juice, olive oil, salt and spices
2. Drizzle some of the dressing over the salad and mix together, repeat two or three times until you have used up all the dressing
3. Leave the salad to stand for about 10 to 20 minutes while the flavours are developing
4. Serve as a main course with bread or as a side dish with, for example, grilled meat

Please note, do not keep the orange or limes in the fridge before preparing the salad. In an airtight container you can keep the salad in the fridge for 2-3 days.

oven braised artichokes with garlic & thyme

I found this recipe on the wonderful food blog Gourmande in the Kitchen, written by Sylvie Shirazi. With the artichokes in season they are everywhere and I was beginning to crave them. I didn't really make any changes, added a bit of garlic and used less oil. I took the photos when I was experimenting with skipping the white wine, so they look less cooked if you compare them with the photos of the original recipe. I wanted to taste them without the wine, just to see how it would work, and I must say that they tasted really good. The recipe with the white wine is, of course, delicious. If you have never cooked artichokes before then I dare you to try it, it's not as difficult as some would think and when you take that first bite it's quite rewarding.

OVEN BRAISED ARTICHOKES WITH GARLIC AND THYME

INGREDIENTS

• 45 ml extra virgin olive oil (3 tablespoons)
• 60 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice (1/4 cup)
• peel from one lemon
• 60 ml good quality/organic white wine or water (1/4 cup)
• sprigs of fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 3-4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 large artichokes
• for garnishing: 2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, finely chopped

METHOD

1. In a large roasting pan, combine all the ingredients except the artichokes
2. Pull off and discard the thick outer leaves of the artichokes by bending them back and pulling them down toward the stem. (Remove leaves that are dark green, but do not remove leaves that are green at the top and yellow on the bottom.)
3. Snip off the tops of the leaves (at the point where the green and yellow come together) and trim around the base of the artichoke heart to smooth the sides and peel the stem
4. Cut the artichoke in half and scoop out the fuzzy choke with a small spoon. As each artichoke heart half is completed, add it to the roasting pan with the braising liquid, turning it to coat completely and prevent browning
5. Cover the pan with a lid or parchment lined aluminium foil and cook in the oven on 200°C/400°F/gas mark 6 for 30-40 minutes, until the hearts are tender when pierced with a knife [I cooked them in the oven for exactly 40 minutes]
6. Remove the pan from the oven, uncover, and let the artichokes cool in the braising liquid
7. Garnish with chopped parsley [I skipped that step], serve warm, or refrigerate and serve chilled

pizza dough (yeast free)

Homemade pizza is on our table on Fridays, sometimes on other days as well. Because I make yeast free pizza dough there is no need to wait for the dough to rise, it's ready as soon as the ingredients are mixed. This recipe is from my friend CafeSigrun and I have doubled it because there are five in our household (I make 6-7 thin crust pizzas). I only use ½ teaspoon sea salt because my sauce also contains salt and when each pizza is ready I add a little sea salt on top. I use 1½-2 tablespoons gluten free baking powder but instead you can use about 1 tablespoon of regular. Sometimes I make pizza for lunch while the kids are at school and then I simply divide the rest of the dough into round balls and freeze them. If you want pizza dough with yeast I can recommend Jamie Oliver's recipe; that's the recipe I always made before.

PIZZA DOUGH (YEAST FREE)

INGREDIENTS

• 500 g spelt flour
• 1½-2 tablespoons gluten free baking powder
• ½ teaspoon sea salt (you can use more if you want)
• ½ teaspoon oregano (optional)
• 0-1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 225-275 ml hot water (I use exactly 250 ml = 1 cup)

METHOD

1. In a large bowl, mix the spelt flour, baking powder, sea salt and oregano
2. Add the olive oil and water and mix the dough gently with a large wooden spoon
3. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead it a bit with your hands. The texture of the dough should be fairly soft and it shouldn't stick to the work surface
4. Tear a piece from the dough, lightly knead it and flatten it out with a rolling pin before placing it on a pizza tin or a baking sheet (I make 6-7 pizzas, depending on how large I want them and I use a pizza stone with a diameter of 32 cm (12.6 inches)
5. Top with pizza sauce and your choice of topping and bake in the oven at 230°C/450 °F/gas mark 8 for 7-10 minutes
6. When each pizza is ready I always drizzle it with a touch of extra virgin olive oil and then I add some sea salt, oregano and freshly ground black pepper

veggie chilli

Veggie chilli is one of my favourite meals; I never get tired of it. I usually serve it with sour cream, guacamole and organic tortilla chips. Home-made bread is also fine. This is a recipe I put together in 2009 (I made chilli yesterday so I decided to share the recipe with you today). I had wanted to make my own recipe for a long time because I had tried various ones and always felt something was missing. This one isn't too spicy because of my children and because I don't really enjoy eating chilli that only burns my tongue; I want to be able to enjoy the taste of the other ingredients. As the name indicates, the recipe contains no meat. I have actually served it to meat eaters who didn't even realise that there was no meat in it.

VEGGIE CHILLI

INGREDIENTS

• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 green peppers or 1 green and 1 red, seeded and diced
• 1 green jalapeno or chilli, seeded and finely chopped
• 1½ tablespoons light olive oil
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• ¼-½ teaspoon chilli powder*
• 1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses (or unrefined cane sugar/agave syrup)
• 2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 can black beans or kidney beans (400 g)
• 1 can pinto beans (400 g)
• 1 can tomatoes (or 2 cans and skip the tomato purée)
• 2 tablespoons, heaped, tomato purée
• 100-200 ml water (½ cup = 125 ml)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• optional: small can sweetcorn

* Use more or less, depending on how hot your chilli powder is. A very hot variant I once bought called for halving the does in all recipes. I like it when the chilli has a bit of an edge, but not when it sets the tongue on fire and makes it hard to actually taste the food. (When I first put this recipe together I used 2 tbsp of a very mild version which was some sort of a chilli mix.)


METHOD

1. Before you start cooking, rinse and drain the beans and keep them in a colander until ready to use. Mix all the spices in a small bowl (not the salt) and set aside. Make sure you are using spices of good quality.
2. In a large saucepan over low to medium heat, fry the chopped/diced vegetables in the olive oil until soft
3. Add the spices and mix together
4. Add the beans, tomatoes/tomato purée, water, molasses and salt and blend together
5. Put a lid on the saucepan, turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Then turn the heat down again and let the chilli simmer on the lowest heat with the lid for 20-30 minutes and without it for another 10 minutes. If using sweetcorn: Rinse and drain and add before serving.

You can use another can of either black, kidney or pinto beans but then you may want to add some tomato paste and water as well.

You can serve the veggie chilli with sour cream, cheddar, (home-made) guacamole, bread, organic snack (blue corn tortilla chips are my favourite) or whatever. Please make sure that you do not spoil this healthy recipe with unhealthy side dishes.

Chilli even tastes better the day after so it is perfect for the lunch box if you can heat it up at work. It's also excellent to make a grilled sandwich with chilli and cheese. It's also excellent to put chilli on a baguette with cheese and spring onion and grill/heat in the oven. If I'm serving it to guests and have plenty of time, I cook it in the morning and let it sit in the pot. Then I simply heat it again right before the guests arrive.

beans with garam masala

Beans with garam masala is an easy-to-prepare side dish; you can use either pinto beans or chickpeas. I made this simple recipe a long time ago and it became one of those instant hits among family members. The side dish goes well with, for example, chicken, rice, and mango chutney. I often serve rice or brown rice with meals but I admit that I tend to get tired of plain cooked rice. Therefore, I often mix the beans with the rice to add a different flavour (garam masala, a blend of ground spices, is a common ingredient in Indian and South Asian cooking). When combined with rice you have a wonderful vegetarian dish that you can serve with a salad, the beans adding fullness to the rice. Sometimes I do not add all the beans to the rice but keep some in a small bowl as a side dish for those who really like the taste of cooked beans.

BEANS WITH GARAM MASALA

INGREDIENTS

• 250 ml water (1 cup)
• ½-1 vegetable stock cube, yeast free
• 1 can (400 g) pinto beans or chickpeas
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice, freshly squeezed
• 1 teaspoon garam masala

METHOD

1. Rinse and drain the beans
2. In a large frying pan, put all the ingredients, stir to dissolve the stock cube, and bring to the boil (it does not take a long time and you do not have to cover the pan). Lower the heat and let it simmer for about 15 minutes, making sure the fluid doesn't dry up
3. Finally, put the dish into a small bowl and serve as a side dish or blend it with cooked rice (I cook 200-300 g of rice (1-1½ cups), put them in a large bowl and combine the beans)

lasagne with black beans

Again we have a recipe inspired by my daughter Maria. To say that she loves lasagne would be an understatement. At restaurants we don't have to ask her what she's having; she's having lasagne as long as it's on the menu. I have to admit that I'm not particularly fond of lasagne with minced beef, so I decided it was time to make my own recipe, a vegetarian version with beans and a mild chilli sauce. The white sauce is based on a sauce from my foodie friend (Cafe)Sigrun. This dish has become one of our favourites (excellent for Meat Free Monday if you're involved) and is for dinner whenever Maria is allowed to choose.

LASAGNE WITH BLACK BEANS (OR KIDNEY BEANS)

INGREDIENTS

RED SAUCE

• 1 tablespoon light olive oil
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 yellow or red pepper, diced
• 1 vegetable stock cube, yeast free
• 2 cans diced tomatoes (2 x 400 g)
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried
• 1 teaspoon sweet chilli
• 1 teaspoon Modena balsamic vinegar
• 1 can black beans or kidney beans (400 g)
• pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• optional: sweetcorn, as much as preferred
• optional: a handful of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped

WHITE SAUCE

• 450 g cottage cheese
• 2 eggs, free-range/organic
• 150 g grated cheese (mozzarella or mild cheddar or whatever you like)
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg

OTHER

• 100 g grated cheese (mozzarella or mild cheddar or whatever you like)
• freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 9-12 dried lasagne sheets

METHOD

RED SAUCE

1. Rinse and drain the beans and keep them in a colander until ready to use
2. In a large frying pan over medium heat, fry the onion in the olive oil until soft. Add the pepper and garlic and fry for a few more minutes
3. Add the vegetable stock cube and mix together
4. Add the tomatoes, turn up the heat and bring to the boil
5. Add all the herbs, spices and vinegar
6. Finally add the beans (and sweetcorn + spinach if using) and season with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer while you prepare the white sauce

WHITE SAUCE

1. In a large bowl, combine the cottage cheese and eggs
2. Add the 150 g cheese and nutmeg

1. Preheat the oven according to the lasagne sheet package directions (adjust oven rack to lowest position)
2. Remove the frying pan from the cooker. Use a ladle to pour a thin layer of red sauce into a lasagne dish (there is no need to completely cover the bottom) and cover with 3-4 lasagne sheets (depends on the size of your lasagne dish)
3. Add a thin layer of white sauce, followed by a layer of the red sauce and cover with lasagne sheets. Repeat the layers as needed and finish with the rest of the white and red sauce
4. Cover with the 100 g cheese and sprinkle the Parmesan on top
5. Cook in the preheated oven according to the lasagne sheet package directions (the lasagne sheets I have used so far call for 220°C/425°F/gas 7 for 25 minutes)

Serve with, for example, spinach, simple salad, homemade whole grain bread or garlic bread. When making garlic bread, sometimes I make yeast free pizza dough and place the pizza base in the oven about 8 minutes before the lasagne is done. When I remove the base from the oven, I brush it with a mixture of olive oil, garlic, oregano and sea salt, and use a pizza cutter to slice it.