AUBERGINE STUFFED WITH TOFU, MUSHROOMS AND BORLOTTI BEANS

"Aubergines baked with herby tomatoes, beans and vegetables, topped with tofu to make a satisfying main meal.

SERVES 4

PREP 25 minutes

COOK 55-60 minutes

Ingredients

2 aubergines, halved lengthways (500g)

1 tsp rapeseed oil

1 onion, finely chopped (120g)

320g mushrooms, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes

1 heaped tsp dried oregano

1 400g tin borlotti beans, drained (240g)

1 x 80g bag fresh spinach

360g pack tofu, diced small

half ball reduced-fat Mozzarella (62g), thinly sliced

1 fresh tomato (80g) chopped small

2 spring onions (50g) chopped

8 fresh basil leaves, torn

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ gas mark 4.

Scoop the flesh out of the aubergines, chop, and reserve. Place the aubergine skin-side down onto a baking tray and bake for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, add oil to a pan, then add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms and chopped aubergine flesh, then cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the garlic, canned tomatoes and oregano, mix well, cover and simmer for 5 minutes. Next, add the borlotti beans and spinach and cook for 2 minutes.

Remove the aubergines from the oven and fill with the bean and vegetable mixture, then place in an ovenproof dish.

Scatter with tofu, return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes. Top with the sliced mozzarella and bake for a further 20 minutes.

Remove from the oven and scatter with chopped tomato, spring onion and basil to serve.

Chef's tips

Once the aubergines are stuffed, you can pop them in the fridge, and bake when as needed.Use a non-dairy cheese alternative for a vegan version".

Fonte e imagem: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Recipes/Aubergine-stuffed-with-tofu-mushrooms-and-borlotti-beans-/

APPLE CHARLOTTE

"SERVES 4
PREP TIME 10 minutes
COOK TIME 20 minutes

Ingredients

3 unpeeled apples, cored and grated

200ml apple juice

1 tbsp molasses sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

dash sunflower oil

4–5 slices wholemeal bread, crusts removed

1 egg yolk, lightly beaten

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/ gas mark 4. Add the apples to a saucepan with 100ml of apple juice and simmer until soft (4-5 minutes). Leaving the juice behind, place the apples in a bowl.

Add the molasses, sugar and cinnamon to the pan with the remaining 100ml of apple juice and gently melt the sugar, adding a little more juice if needed. Allow to cool, you should end up with around 100ml of syrup.

Rub the sunflower oil around a small pudding basin or ovenproof dish. Dip the bread in the apple syrup and use it to line the basin. Make sure there are no gaps.

Stir the egg yolk into the apple, then put the mixture into the bread-lined bowl.

Finally, top with more syrup-soaked bread and spoon on any remaining liquid. Bake for 20 minutes. Check after 15 minutes and if the top is very brown at the edges, place a piece of foil over it for the last 5 minutes.

Allow to stand for a few minutes, loosen the edges with a knife and carefully turn out onto a serving plate.

Chef's tips

Best served straight after cooking.Try serving with a little low-fat yogurt or half-fat crème fraiche."

Fonte e imagem: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Recipes/Apple-Charlotte/

APPLE STRUDEL

"SERVES 6
PREP 15 minutes
COOK 40 minutes

Ingredients

4 medium apples, unpeeled, cored and chopped

2 tbsp water

25g sultanas

25g dried apricots, chopped

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp almond extract

1 tbsp granulated sweetener

grated zest 1 orange

3 sheets filo pastry

7 squirts spray oil

Method

Preheat the oven 180°C/gas mark 4.

Add the apples to a pan with the water, cover, then simmer gently for 15 minutes, stirring regularly until just soft.

Add the sultanas, apricot, cinnamon, almond essence and half the sweetener. Mix well and set aside.

Place a layer of pastry on a board and spray with two squirts of oil, then sprinkle with a third of the remaining sweetener. Lay another piece of pastry on top and repeat with two more sprays of oil and another third of the sweetener. Finally, repeat with the last sheet of pastry, oil and remaining sweetener.

Spread the apple mixture over three-quarters of the pastry, leaving the top quarter free, then sprinkle with orange zest.

Fold the top length of pastry over the apple mixture and roll the strudel over to completely cover the filling. Fold in the edges to prevent the filling from leaking out and roll the strudel over again, so the fold is at the bottom. Place on a baking sheet and spray with oil.

Heat in the oven for 20–25 minutes, until the pastry is lightly browned.

Serve with a dollop of yogurt, or non-dairy soya alternative, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.

Chef's tips

Try using pears in place of apples, or adding a few blueberries or blackberries".

Fonte e imagem: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/Guide-to-diabetes/Recipes/Apple-Strudel/

The best baked pumpkin

Stuffed with nutty, fruity rice

“Oven-baked pumpkin is beautiful with spices, like in this really impressive veggie dish ”

Serves 4

Cooks In1H 30M

Difficulty Not too tricky

Vegetables, Halloween/Bonfire Night, Gluten-free, Vegetarian

Nutrition per serving

Calories 587 29%

Fat 48.3g 69%

Saturates 7.4g 37%

Protein 5.9g 13%

Carbs 32.3g 12%

Sugars 17.9g 20%

Salt 0.93g 16%

Fibre 4.9g

Of an adult's reference intake

Ingredients

1 pumpkin, about 1kg

2 cloves garlic, peeled

olive oil

1 red onion , peeled and finely chopped

1 small handful black olives, stoned and chopped

2 sprigs of fresh rosemary, leaves finely chopped

1 dried chilli

sea salt

freshly ground black pepper

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

50 g basmati rice , washed and drained

75 g dried cranberries

50 g shelled pistachio nuts

1 tangerine , zest of

200 ml organic vegetable stock

Method

Pumpkins are so versatile, the things you can do with them are endless! Their flavour goes well with chilli, nutmeg and sage. If you’ve never cooked one before, you’re in for a real treat.

Preheat the oven to 230ºC/450ºF/gas 8. Cut the lid off the pumpkin and reserve it. Scoop out the seeds with a spoon and keep them to one side. Make the hollow where the seeds were a little bigger by scooping out some more pumpkin flesh. Finely chop this pumpkin flesh and one of the garlic cloves. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Pour in a splash of olive oil, then add the chopped pumpkin, chopped garlic, onion, olives, and half the rosemary. Cook gently for 10 minutes or so until the pumpkin has softened.

Meanwhile, place the whole garlic clove and the remaining rosemary in a pestle and mortar. Crumble in the dried chilli, add a good pinch of salt, pepper, nutmeg and cinnamon and bash until you have a paste. Add a little olive oil to loosen up the mixture and then rub the inside of the pumpkin with it.

Season the cooked pumpkin mixture and stir in the rice, cranberries, pistachios and tangerine zest with a pinch each of nutmeg and cinnamon. Mix thoroughly then add the vegetable stock, bring to the boil and simmer for 3 minutes (no longer or the rice will end up overcooked later).

Tear off a sheet of tin foil that’s large enough to wrap the pumpkin in a double layer and lay on top of a baking tray. Place the pumpkin on top and spoon the rice mixture into it, then place its lid back on. Rub the skin with a little olive oil, wrap it up in the foil and bake in the oven for about an hour. The pumpkin is ready when you can easily push a knife into it. Bring it to the table and open it up in front of everyone. Cut it into thick wedges and tuck in, leaving the skin. Serve with seasonal greens.

Fonte e imagem: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-baked-pumpkin/#1Reu495qWqfjEQjf.99

Lincolnshire Poacher pie

Filled with cheesy minted courgettes

“This amazing vegetarian pie with rich, crumbly pastry and served with sweet salt-baked shallots is on a whole other level. ”

Serves 12

Cooks In 2H 15M plus cooling time

Difficulty Super easy

Vegetables, Dinner Party, Easter treats, Mother's day

Nutrition per serving

Calories 462 23%

Fat 29.2g 42%

Saturates 16.8g 84%

Protein 13.6g 30%

Carbs 33.4g 13%

Sugars 4.5g 5%

Of an adult's reference intake

Ingredients

300 g Lincolnshire Poacher cheese

a small bunch of  fresh mint, leaves picked

250 g rock salt

24 shallots

a few sprigs of  fresh thyme

For the pastry:

500 g plain flour, plus extra for dusting

250 g cold unsalted butter, cubed

sea salt

white pepper

1 large free-range egg, beaten

For the filling:

olive oil

a bunch of fresh thyme

1 whole nutmeg , for grating

1 lemon

1.5 kg courgettes, a mixture of yellow and green if you can get them, finely sliced

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Method

You won’t believe how tasty the courgettes get with this method of cooking – it really does take them to another level. You’ve got to find some Lincolnshire Poacher, it’s an amazing cheese made by the very talented Jones brothers, Simon and Tim (see www.lincolnshirepoachercheese.com). The pastry is rich and amazing, so embrace the fact that it’s really crumbly and will definitely break as you’re making it. I’m serving this with a lemony salad and sweet salt-baked shallots, which will get caramelized and gorgeous and pick up the seasoning from the bed of salt. This method is also a great one for beetroots, so if you like this, try that.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Blitz the flour and butter in a food processor with a pinch of salt and a few good pinches of pepper until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Tip on to a work surface, make a well in the centre and add 100ml of cold water. Gently mix until it starts to come together, then – most importantly for a short, crumbly pastry – have the confidence to only just press, pat and almost hug it together to form a rough scruffy ball. Please don’t be tempted to knead the dough or it won’t be short and crumbly. Pop it into a floured bowl, cover with clingfilm and put into the fridge to chill while you make the filling.

Put a drizzle of olive oil into a large pan on a medium heat and pick in the leaves from half the bunch of thyme. Add a few gratings of nutmeg, the zest of half the lemon, the sliced courgettes and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Cook gently (the courgettes will cook down and become easier to handle), stirring occasionally, for around 25 minutes. Then turn the heat down to low and cook for another 20 minutes, so the courgette mixture becomes dense and the flavours really intensify and sweeten. Allow to cool a little, finely chop and crumble in the cheese, then chop and add the mint leaves. Set aside.

Halve the pastry and roll each half into a circle just under 1cm thick and slightly larger than the pie dish you’ve chosen (roughly 23cm diameter x 4cm deep). Don’t worry if the pastry breaks up – that’s normal. Just patch it. Roll one of the circles around the rolling pin and carefully unroll it over the pie dish. Gently press the pastry into the corners and sides of the dish, then spoon and spread all your courgette mixture into the dish. Carefully unroll the pastry lid over the top, then flour your thumb and forefinger and gently pinch and crimp the edges together. Trim off any excess pastry and brush the top of the pie with the beaten egg.

Now simply throw the rock salt into a roasting tray with the shallots, still with their skins on, and a few thyme tips. Put the pie right at the bottom of the oven, with the tray of shallots above. Cook for 1 hour, or until the pie is golden, then allow to cool and serve with those soft roasted shallots.

PS: All the leftover salt from baking the shallots can be bashed up and reused.

Fonte e imagem: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/lincolnshire-poacher-pie/#YWyu7fTmCDrAhVZJ.99

The best cauliflower & broccoli cheese

Serves 8
Cooks In 1H 35M
Difficulty Super easy
Vegetables, Christmas, Dinner Party, Father's day
Nutrition per serving

Calories 267 13%
Fat 14.5g 21%
Saturates 6.7g 34%
Protein 14.2g 32%
Carbs 16.9g 7%
Sugars 7.4g 8%
Of an adult's reference intake

Ingredients
2 cloves of garlic
50 g unsalted butter
50 g plain flour
500 ml semi-skimmed milk
500 g fresh or frozen broccoli
75 g mature cheddar cheese
1 kg fresh or frozen cauliflower
2 slices of ciabatta or stale bread
2 sprigs of fresh thyme
25 g flaked almonds
olive oil

Method
Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas 4. Peel and finely slice the garlic and put it into a medium pan on a medium heat with the butter. When the butter has melted, stir in the flour for a minute to make a paste, then gradually add the milk, whisking as you go, until lovely and smooth. Add the broccoli (cut up first, if using fresh) and simmer for around 20 minutes, or until the broccoli is cooked through and starts to break down, then mash or blitz with a stick blender (adding an extra splash of milk to loosen, if using fresh broccoli). Grate in half the Cheddar and season to perfection.
Arrange the cauliflower in an appropriately sized baking dish (cut into florets first, if using fresh), pour over the broccoli white sauce and grate over the remaining Cheddar. Blitz the bread into breadcrumbs in a food processor, then pulse in the thyme leaves and almonds. Toss with a lug of oil and a pinch of salt and pepper, then scatter evenly over the cauliflower cheese. Bake for
1 hour, or until golden and cooked through, then enjoy!

Tips
It’s really good fun to play around with different cheeses in this dish and how they taste and melt. It’s also nice to try different veg instead of cauliflower – for instance, 2–3cm chunks of celeriac, squash, potatoes or leeks would all work a treat. Have a play and see what your favourites are – some veg might take longer to cook than others, so test with a knife to check they’re cooked through before serving.

Fonte e imagm: http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-cauliflower-broccoli-cheese/#CqlGl8OSWE7ZVewV.99