Get Happy!
Get Happy
David and Stephen Flynn, The Happy Pear, are back with delicious plant-based meals full of flavor
EAT YOUR GREENS SOUP
As the name implies, this one is a great way to get more greens into you! Appropriately named by our chef mom, Dorene Palmer, many years ago, it’s well worth making this part of your weekly meals, as most of us need to eat more green veg.
Serves 4-6. Takes 40 minutes
Ingredients:
400g potatoes (approx. 2-3 medium potatoes)
300g celeriac (approx. ½ a celeriac)
2 leeks, green part only (250g) (use none of the white part, as this is high-FODMAP)
1 ½ teaspoons salt
2 litres veg stock
1 bay leaf (optional)
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Eat Your Greens Soup
100g baby spinach
A dash of lemon juice (optional)
125g coconut or soy yoghurt, to serve
Optional garnish:
Pickled red onions
Pumpkin seeds
Method:
Chop the potato and celeriac into small bite-size pieces (leaving the skin on the potatoes). Give the leeks a good clean – sediment can often be hidden in the centre. We use only the green part of the leeks, as they are low-FODMAP and also more nutritious than the white part – and they give this soup a wonderful vibrant colour. (Keep the white part to use in another dish in place of an onion.) Roughly chop the leek greens.
Heat a large pot on a high heat. Once it heats up, add the prepared leeks and a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. If they start to stick, add 1 teaspoon of water. Next add the potato and celeriac, 50ml of veg stock and a pinch of salt, stir well, then reduce the heat to medium and put the lid on. Leave to sweat or steam for 8 minutes, stirring regularly, and gain if the veg starts to stick to the bottom add a teaspoon of water and stir to loosen the veg from the pan.
Add the rest of the veg stock, with the bay leaf and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is nice and soft, about 15 minutes.
Remove from the heat, add the baby spinach and blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning if needed by adding more salt and ground black pepper, or an acid such as a dash of lemon juice to taste.
Serve in bowls, with a nice swirl of coconut or soy yoghurt on top, and a garnish of pickled red onions and pumpkin seeds, if you like.
TUSCAN VEGAN SAUSAGE AND BEAN STEW
This simple hearty one-pot dish is ideal to warm anyone up from the inside out. The bite of the vegan sausage goes really well with the soupy tomato-and-leek-based stew. This works great for batch cooking, as it freezes really well.
Serves 4-5. Takes 30 minutes
Ingredients:
Tuscan Vegan Sausage and Bean Stew
2 medium onions (250g)
3 cloves of garlic
1 fresh red chili
25g fresh flat-leaf parsley
1 medium carrot (200g)
1 leek (300g)
2 x 400g tins of butter beans (approx. 480g when both drained)
300g vegan sausages
½ teaspoon dried thyme
1 ½ tablespoon tamari/soy sauce
1 teaspoon sauce
400ml veg stock
1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Juice and zest of ½ a lime
Method:
Peel and finely chop the onions, garlic and chili, and roughly chop the parsley. Cut the carrot and leek into small bite-size pieces. Drain and rinse the beans. Cut the vegan sausages into bite-size pieces.
Heat a non-stick pan over a high heat, and fry the sausages until they get a slight char on each side and are cooked through. If they start to stick, add a teaspoon of water and stir to loosen. Remove the cooked sausages from the pan and set aside.
Add the chopped onion, garlic and chili to the pan and fry on a high heat for 4-5 minutes, until the onions start to brown and smell delicious (again, if they start to stick, add a teaspoon of water and stir to loosen).
Add the carrot and leek to the pan, with thyme, tamari/ soy sauce, a generous pinch of salt and about 50ml of the veg stock. Put a lid on the pan and cook for approximately 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent the veg sticking and burning, until they are soft and nearly cooked through.
Add the butter beans, chopped tomatoes, the rest of the veg stock and salt, the maple syrup, bay leaves, salt and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or longer for a thicker sauce.
Taste the dish for seasoning before serving, and add salt, pepper, lime juice or chili if required.
Serve sprinkled with the chopped parsley and with the vegan sausages on top – and enjoy!
COTTAGE PIE WITH SWEET POTATO MASH AND CORIANDER DRIZZLE
This simple bake tastes even better on day two! Serve with a simple green salad. It tastes like a belly hug and makes a wonderful family dinner or a cold lunch the next day
Serves 6-8. Takes 60 minutes.
Cottage Pie With Sweet Potato Mash and Coriander Drizzle
Ingredients:
2 medium carrots or parsnips
100g green beans
3 x 400g tins cooked Put lentils or other green or brown lentils
6 sprigs of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
A pinch of salt
3 tablespoons tamari/ soy sauce
750ml veg stock
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
Mash:
750g sweet potatoes
250g potatoes
1 teaspoon salt
100ml non-dairy milk
A pinch of ground black pepper
Coriander cream:
100g cashew nuts
65ml water
15g fresh coriander
1/3 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Method:
Preheat the oven to 180°C fan/200°C
Put the cashews nuts into a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.
Chop the sweet potatoes and regular potatoes into uniform bite-size pieces so that they will cook evenly. Put them into a medium pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and cook until soft, about 20-25 minutes.
Grate the carrots or parsnips. Trim the green beans and cut them in half. Drain and rinse the lentils. Pick the leaves off the thyme sprigs.
Put another medium pan on a high heat and add the grated carrot or parsnip. Add the thyme leaves, bay leaves and a pinch of salt, mix well and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the drained lentils and the tamari/ soy sauce, then slowly add the veg stock. Add the black pepper, bring to the boil, then reduce to simmer, letting the stock slowly evaporate for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Meanwhile, make the coriander cream. Drain and rinse the soaked cashew nuts. Put them into a blender with the rest of the coriander cream ingredients (reserving a few coriander leaves for garnish) and blend until nice and smooth.
If the lentil mixture is dry once it has thickened, add 2 tablespoons of water and ½ tablespoon a tamari/ soy sauce and season. Add the green beans and stir them through the hot lentil mixture, letting them cook for a minute or two. Remove from heat and set aside.
Drain the potatoes, then put them back into the pan and add 1 teaspoon of salt and the non-dairy milk. Mash it all together until lovely and smooth.
Remove the bay leaves from the lentil and veg mixture, then spoon into a 28cm x 20cm baking dish. Drizzle over half the coriander cream, and distribute the sweet potato mash evenly on top. Bake in the preheated for 25 minutes, until the top crisps.
Before serving, drizzle over the rest of the coriander cream and garnish with the reserved coriander leaves.