vegan salad – broccolini, crispy chickpeas, charred lemon salad

Ingredients

  • 250g broccolini
  • 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 handful mint and parsley leaves
  • 30g vegan Parmesan cheese
  • sea salt and black pepper
  • 1 can chickpeas, drained (drained weight 250g)
  • 1 clove garlic (finely chopped)
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1 large lemon, halved
  • 1/4 cup mint leaves finely chopped
  • 2 spring onions (white part only- sliced)
  • 1 tsp capers (finely chopped)

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220 ̊C. Place the chickpeas, garlic, cumin, paprika and turmeric in a small baking dish. Drizzle over about 1/4 cup olive oil (enough to cover the chickpeas) and season with 2 big pinches of sea salt and a good turn of black pepper; toss to coat the chickpeas. Roast in a hot oven for 20-25 minutes, or until crispy. Allow to cool (the chickpeas crisp up more as they cool).

2. Drizzle the broccolini with olive oil and season with sea salt. Heat a barbecue or grill pan on high heat. When hot, add the broccolini and cook until charred, about 2-3 minutes. At the same time, add the halved lemons, cut side down, onto the grill and char for 1-2 minutes, until the face of the lemon is charred. Remove both the broccolini and lemon immediately from the heat and set aside.

3. To make the dressing, squeeze the juice of 1/2 a charred lemon into a small bowl, and whisk in the olive oil. Add the mind, shallots, capers and stir to combine. Taste, and add more charred lemon juice if needed, and season with sea salt and black pepper.

4. Place the broccolini on a serving plate and top with crispy chickpeas. Spoon over the charred lemon dressing and scatter over the mint, parsley and vegan cheese.

Quinoa and black bean burger

Makes 6 large burgers

Ingredients

  • 1 red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, roasted
  • olive oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
  • 1 teaspoon chilli powder
  • 150g chestnut mushrooms (like whites but better flavour & texture)
  • 125g quinoa
  • 250ml boiling water
  • 1 x 400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1 heaped tablespoon plain flour (we use a gluten-free one)
  • 1 teaspoon arrowroot
  • pinch of sea salt and pepper1. Preheat the oven to 220C (fan 200C).

    2. Place onion & garlic in frying pan over medium heat with a drizzle of olive oil – cook 5–10 mins until soft. Add the spices – cook another minute, remove – leave to cool.

    3. Place mushrooms in a baking tray with 1 tab olive oil & some salt and pepper – roast 10–15 mins. until golden. Remove and leave to cool.

    4. While mushrooms are cooking prepare quinoa by placing in a pan over medium heat and covering with the boiling water. Bring back to boiling, simmer 10–15 mins. Once cooked, remove and leave to cool.

    5. Once the mushrooms & quinoa have cooled, place all the ingredients in a food processor  (make sure you discard any excess liquid from the mushroom pan before adding them to the processor, as this can make the mix too watery). Pulse until smooth then place mixture in the fridge to cool for 30 minutes.

    6. Once cool, use a large spoon to scoop out patties and flatten them into round shapes, about 8cm across. If needed, place the patties in the fridge for another 30 minutes to firm up.

    7. Once firm enough to hold together when flipped, place a frying pan over a medium heat, drizzle with olive oil and cook the burgers for 5 minutes on each side.

    Tip: These freeze well, so put any patties you don’t need straight away in the freezer for another day or keep in the fridge for a few days and have them cold as part of an on-the-go or desk lunch.