simple veg meals

Hey eKa CIRCLE

I love nothing more that creating a simple nourishing meal with a few simple vegetables. Choose seasonal and fresh. Better still choose something you haven’t tried before! Maybe you haven’t tried okra? I cooked some this morning for my mum and her friend as they hadn’t tried it before, I served it with a tortilla and some scrambled eggs.  Please see the recipe below.

Don’t forget to save vegetable peelings and trimmed ends to make a vegetable stock that you can freeze in portions ready to use for a simple soup or curry recipe. Carrot peelings, celery leaves, shallots, onion ends, parsley stalks, extra herbs etc are all perfect for this. The only things to avoid for stocks would be cruciferous veg like cabbage, cauliflower and turnips as they can overpower the stock.

Today I am sharing three really simple vegetable based recipes from my last few days of throwing together my market finds. I hope you enjoy them! I know that the soy is a touchy subject, however the asian soul in me loves it. Substitute it if you prefer with your choice of protein.

Vegetable recipes work well as a light meal or a side dish with a few other accompaniments. This is how I like to cook- simple, fresh, fast and budget friendly. For the meat eaters add the protein of their choice on the side.

love & light

M + E

Bean Sprout & Tofu Stir-fry

1 tbsp coconut oil

2 onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 large green chillies, sliced

1 small piece of fresh ginger, grated

1 pkt of marinated tofu, sliced

1 small bunch of baby choy sum, sliced

1 bag of bean sprouts

3 tbsp of asian mushroom sauce

1 tsp sesame oil

generous pinch of ground white pepper

Heat a wok over a high heat until hot. Add the oil and cook the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger until just softened. Add the tofu and choy sum. Toss over the heat for a few minutes. Add the bean sprouts and mushroom sauce and stir-fry for 1 minutes. Season with the sesame oil and pepper and serve immediately.

Cauliflower & Potato Soup

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, chopped

3 cloves garlic, chopped

2 bay leaves

2 potatoes, washed and chopped

1/2 cauliflower, cut into large florets

vegetable stock

salt to season

pinch grated nutmeg

pinch of cayenne pepper

1/3 cup sour cream

extra olive oil, to serve

chopped fresh herbs to serve

Heat the oil in a heavy based saucepan over a moderate heat. Saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until it has softened. Add the bay leaves, potatoes and cauliflower. Cover with just enough vegetable stock or water to just cover the vegetables. Season with salt, nutmeg and cayenne pepper and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes or until the vegetables are cooked. Add the sour cream to the mixture and blend with a stick blender. Serve the soup warm drizzled with a little extra olive oil and garnish with freshly chopped herbs.

Braised Tomato with Okra

2 tbsp olive oil

2 onions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, chopped

pinch chilli flakes

10 curry leaves

1 bay leaf

salt & pepper

8 tomatoes, roughly chopped

12 okra, trimmed and sliced

Heat the oil in a heavy based frypan and saute the onion, garlic and chilli over a moderate heat until it has softened. Add the curry leaves, bay leaf and tomatoes and saute for about 8 minutes or until tomatoes have softened. Add the okra; toss quickly over the heat for one minute.  Be careful not to overcook the okra. Season with salt and pepper.

For some other quick meal ideas please see easy zucchini fritters simply delicious carrot & cauliflower soup