Food / 16 August, 2022 / My Baba

Plant-Based Food Recipes For The Whole Family

Creamy Avocado Pasta

Serves 4

Prep time: 5 Mins

Cooking time: 10-15 minutes

When I have a few ripe avocados, I love making this super-easy and delicious dinner. This pasta is also worth saving some avocados for. You cannot go wrong with a creamy avocado sauce and pasta! A big hit with kids, too! And with a little bit of fresh parsley, you increase your iron intake for the day! Win-win!

Method

1. Cook the pasta following the packet instructions, then drain.
2. Put all of the pasta sauce ingredients into a blender, add 2 tablespoons cold water and blend for 1 minute or until the parsley and garlic are well blended in.
3. Pour the sauce into the cooked hot pasta, adjust the seasoning, toss to mix and transfer to serving plates. Top with seeds and serve.

Chickpea Satay Curry

Serves 4

Prep time: 5 Minutes

Cooking time: 20 Minutes

Curry nights are my favourite nights of the week! We eat a lot of homemade vegan curries in our home and this chickpea satay is one of our favourites. It is very simple to make and is packed with plant protein and is really delicious and creamy with the peanut butter and coconut milk. You can use green beans, green peas, carrots, courgette, broccoli or cauliflower for this dish. Serve with cooked basmati or brown rice.

Method

1. In a pan, heat the oil and cook the garlic and onion together for a few minutes.
2. Add in the green vegetables, stir to combine and cook on a low heat with the lid on until the vegetables are partly cooked. Add the chickpeas and stir.
3. For the sauce, combine the coconut milk with the tamari and peanut butter in a bowl and whisk to mix with a fork. Pour it into the curry and mix it with the vegetables.
4. Cook on a low heat for 5 minutes until heated through.
5. Squeeze over the lime juice and top with coriander, peanuts and sliced chilli to serve, if desired. Serve with cooked rice.

Pesto Wholemeal Scrolls

Makes 10-12

Prep time: 1-2 hours

Cook time: 30–40 minutes

These make the best portable lunch option for kids’ lunchboxes or picnics. I also like to make them for share plates or lunch with a salad. I like the pesto flavour the best, but you can also make them mini pizza scrolls. You can also use vegan puff pastry when short on time.

Method

1. In a small bowl, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar, and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let the water sit for about 5 minutes or until the yeast has activated and it starts to create bubbles in the water.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour with the salt and dried herbs.
3. Pour the olive oil into the yeast mixture and then pour it into the flour.
4. Stir to combine the flour with the water until it forms a large ball of dough. Then knead the dough on a clean surface dusted with flour.?If too sticky, add a little extra flour. Knead the dough with your hands for about 5 minutes.
5. Put the dough back in the bowl, cover it with?a kitchen towel and leave it to rise for about an hour at room temperature. Once it has risen, preheat the oven to 200 ?C (400 ?F) Gas 6.
6. Meanwhile, make the pesto by blending all the ingredients together in a blender or food processor to make a paste.
7. Remove the dough from the bowl and stretch the dough on a sheet of parchment paper?to form a large rectangle, aiming to keep the dough nice and thin.
8. Once shaped, spread the pesto over the surface of the dough from edge to edge. Then slice into 2–3-cm/3?4–11?4-inch wide strips using a knife and roll up each pesto scroll individually.
9. Put the sliced rolls into the prepared baking dish in a single layer. Make sure to use a dish large enough to allow the rolls room to expand as they bake. Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes.
10. Serve warm or cold. Once cool, store them in an airtight container in the fridge.
11. Variations: Swap pesto for tomato purée, vegan cheese and chopped spinach and olives or use vegan puff pastry instead of dough.

Cauliflower Burritos

Serves 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 40 minutes

Mexican food really is the best for creating delicious plant-based meals. I try to pack a lot of healthy vegetables in our burritos as well as creamy guacamole and tasty rice and beans for a serving of plant protein. I roll the burritos in parchment paper to serve them like they do in Mexican restaurants, which helps the younger children to eat them without too much mess!

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 ?C (400 ?F) Gas 6.
2. Cut the cauliflower into florets, season with the paprika and onion and garlic powders, spread out on the prepared baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, cook the rice (if needed) following the packet instructions.
4. Mix the cooked rice, salsa and beans together in a bowl.
5. To assemble the burritos, spread 1–2 tablespoons?of guacamole onto the tortillas, then add a quarter?of the rice mixture, a quarter of the baked cauliflower broken into small pieces, salt, pepper, lettuce, tomatoes and vegan sour cream or coconut yogurt and vegan cheese (if using).
6. Fold the bottom of the tortillas then fold the sides and serve.
7. Optional: Add in corn and/or cooked vegetables such as courgette and red pepper.

Recipes are taken from Healthy Little Tummies by Claire Power, published by Ryland Peters & Small (£14.99)

Photography by Clare Winfield © Ryland Peters & Small

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