Onion Soup with Smokey Maple Butter Croutons

Ready in: 25 minutes
Serves : 2

People keep joking about how summers over but I'm refusing to let the Negatrons bring me down. Let's be practical though it's been getting pretty cold and whilst I'm hardly reaching for my winter coat, I have been eating a lot more warm comforting foods. That includes this soup, for which I waited precisely no seconds after cooking to start eating. Which is why I now have blisters all over my mouth. Smart move, sister.

Ingredients

Soup

• 1 white onion
• 1 red onion
• 2 small shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp wholegrain mustard
• 1/2 tsp marmite/vegemite

Croutons

• 1 dinner roll
• 1 tbsp vegan butter
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1 tsp smoked paprika

Garnish

• Vegan parmesan 
• Fried onions 

Method

Croutons

1. Cut the dinner roll into half inch thick chunks. You can use any bread you like, but a dinner roll is the amount that you're aiming for.
2. In a sauce pan, slowly melt the butter and mix in the paprika and maple syrup but don't let it boil.
3. When fully melted, take off the heat and mix in the bread. You'll need to mix it fast to make sure it all gets coated. Once mixed, leave to sit for a couple of minutes to soak up any leftover residue.
4. Heat in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat for a few minutes on each side. You'll know its done when the sugar in the syrup has started to caramelise and blacken a little in places.

Soup

1. Thinly slice the onions and cook down on a low heat in a pan until soft - about 10 minutes. Stir the onions continuously so that they all cook evenly.
2. Add the minced garlic to the pan and cook for a further couple of minutes.
3. Pour in the vegetable broth, nutritional yeast, wholegrain mustard and marmite. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. Plate up!

Substitutions

• I found this parmesan cheese in Tesco but but you could use nutritional yeast or even better- vegan gruyere if you have it.
• You could also garnish with truffle oil or fresh parsley.

Bánh Mì Chay

Ready in: 45 minutes

Serves: 2

I feel like the sandwich is having a fancy revival. Gone are the days where you can smear salad cream onto a single slab of white Warburtons before you fold it in half and shove it in your mouth as you go about your day. Instead we marinate our fillings, make the sauce from scratch and pre-pickle the veg. We then over-stuff it to within an inch of its life before sitting down to silently savour every second of goodness, barely stopping to breathe. You have sauce smeared from ear to ear and breadcrumbs in your hair but who cares? You demolish that sandwich! You deserve it!

Ingredients

• 1 Vietnamese baguette 

• 1 cup sliced tofu
• 1 tbsp water
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1 tsp miso
• 1 tsp liquid smoke
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1/2 tsp onion powder

• 1 tbsp vegan mayonnaise
• 2 tsp gochujang paste

Garnish

• 1/4 spiralised cucumber
• Fresh Coriander
• Spring onion
• Fried onions

Method

1. Mix the water, soy sauce, miso, liquid smoke, garlic powder and onion powder in a freezer bag.
2. Add in the sliced tofu and coat thoroughly. Leave to marinate for half an hour.
3. After half an hour fry on both sides on medium head for 5 minutes each.
4. Mix the mayonnaise and gochujang paste together.
5. Slice the bread through the middle and spread half of the spicy mayonnaise on the insides. They put it under the grill for 5 minutes. 
6. When it is ready add all of the toppings to the sandwich and drizzle on the rest of the sauce. 
7. Cut in half and plate up!

Satay Stir Fry

Serves: 2
Takes: 20 minutes

I keep seeing people on holiday uploading pictures of beautiful views and exotic foods, but it's just been making me want to broaden my culinary horizons rather than my literal horizons. It's lucky because I'm probably not going anywhere interesting anytime soon due to the fact that I spend all of my money on food instead of travel. It's a vicious/delicious cycle.

Ingredients

• 1 half red onion
• 1 courgette
• 1 carrot
• 1 red pepper
• 1 handful pak choi
• 1 cup beansprouts
• 1 cup deep fried tofu
• 1 half cup mushrooms

Sauce

• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 tbsp peanut butter
• 1/2 tbs chilli paste/hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• 1/2 tsp tamari
• 1/2 lime

Method

1. Chop onion, pepper and mushroom into thin strips and stir fry for 10 minutes
2. Spiralise the courgette and carrot and add to the stir fry with the bean sprouts and tofu and cook for a further 5 minutes
3. Whilst cooking, mix the sauce ingredients together. I prefer it cold but if you want it warm you can add it to the stir fry along with about a quarter of a cup of water for the last 5 minutes of cooking.
4. For the final 2 minutes, add the pak choi and allow to wilt.
5. Once cooked, remove from the wok and plate up.