Comfort eating, vegan style

Our house is right by the sea. There's just one small green field between it and the Atlantic Ocean. It might sound idyllic and sometimes it is. But other times, it can be ferocious.

Here's what it has looked like from my office window a lot lately. 

That's rain lashing at the window. Those are the white crests of waves pummelling the shoreline all along the bay. And that reflected light on the right side of the photo is a lamp on my desk, the illumination from which was badly needed as the sky was dark and heavy with clouds outside. (To shatter your idea of the idyll of living on the coast even further: this photo was taken at 12 noon!)

On days like this, a body calls out for comfort food. But when you're following what amounts to a vegan diet that includes fish, comfort food can be hard to find. (Think about it: don't most of our most comforting dishes include dairy? Mac and cheese, fish pie with creamy mash, apple crumble, chocolate cake - now I'm just torturing myself!)

Thankfully, my experiments in the kitchen have turned up some alternatives that are just as comforting and yet follow the principles of the OMS diet. This vegan cottage pie with North African spicing is one of them. It doesn't try to be a substitute for a classic, it just feels like a whole new dish to enjoy in the dark days of winter.

Vegan cottage pie with Moroccan spicing - serves 4

200g dried green speckled lentils*
500g sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 3 to 4cm cubes
1 red onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and finely chopped 
2 garlic cloves, chopped finely (I used smoked garlic but regular garlic is fine)
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 large red pepper, cut into 1cm chunks
1 leek, peeled of its outer layers, halved lengthwise and chopped into 0.5cm slices
2 tablespoons rapeseed oil
2 teaspoons ras al hanout*
1 teaspoon cumin
1 400g can of chopped or peeled tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt

• Start by preparing the vegetables (sweet potatoes, red onion, celery, garlic, chilli, red pepper and leek).
• Pre-heat your oven to 200 Celsius/400 F/Gas Mark 6.
• Cover the lentils in cold water. Bring to the boil and simmer for ten minutes. Reduce the heat. Cover the pot and simmer for a further 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils have softened.
• Meanwhile cook the sweet potatoes. Cover with lightly salted cold water. Bring to the boil and cook for 15 minutes or until soft.
• Place a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the rapeseed oil, chopped onion, carrot and celery. Cook for three minutes.
• Add the garlic and chill and cook for a further two minutes.
• Add the red pepper, leeks, cooked lentils and spices and cook for another three to four minutes. (If you're using canned lentils, they get added at this point too.)
• Now add the can of tomatoes and the salt and cook for a further ten minutes. (If you're using whole tomatoes, you'll have to make sure you break those down using your wooden spoon.)
• Get to work on your sweet potatoes while your lentil mix is bubbling away. Mash them with a 1/2 teaspoon of salt.
• Taste both the lentil mix and the sweet potatoes to make sure you're happy with the seasoning and then pour the lentils into an oven-proof dish. Top with the sweet potato, spreading it out evenly with a fork.
• Place in the oven and cook for 20 minutes.

* Tinned lentils work in this recipe too.

* Ras al hanout is a Moroccan spice blend that you'll find for sale in the spice section of most large supermarkets.

PS: Just in case you think living along the Irish Atlantic coast is all about darkness and harsh weather, we get days like this too.

Those days demand a different dinner!

Comfort eating on a Sunday afternoon: chocolate, cheesecake and raspberry brownies

I'm finding it hard to stay positive these days. Everywhere I look and listen, it seems as though the cost of living is creeping ever higher while people are struggling to make do with falling incomes. It worries me that I'm about to open the café for a second season at a time when people's discretionary spending has never been so limited.

When I feel anxious or pessimistic, I often turn to food for comfort. Food is great like that, isn't it?  Sometimes, all you need when you're feeling under the weather is a bowl of broth that is brimful of vegetables while (on the - ahem! - completely other end of the healthy spectrum) a serving of this decadent treat can make you believe that all is indeed well with the world.


Chocolate, cheesecake and raspberry brownies - an edible way of putting the world to rights!

At first glance, this recipe may scare you. I'll admit that there's a lot of sugar in it but this brownie is so rich that you'll only eat a little of it at any one time so you needn't feel too guilty (and I needn't worry about giving you all diabetes!)

Brownie recipe:
225g unsalted butter
100g chocolate (I use 75g of 70% chocolate and 25g good milk chocolate)
75g cocoa powder
450g caster sugar
4 eggs
A pinch of salt
100g self raising flour

Cheesecake recipe:
225g cream cheese
100g caster sugar
1 egg
3 tablespoons of flour

100g raspberries

• Line a brownie tin with parchment paper and set the oven to 180 C/350F.
• Melt the butter, chocolate and cocoa powder in a pan over a medium heat, stirring well to combine.
• Beat the sugar and the eggs along with a pinch of salt until light and airy.
• Add the chocolate mixture and beat to combine.
• Fold in the flour.
• Make the cheesecake by mixing all of the ingredients together until well combined.
• Pour 3/4 of the brownie mixture into your brownie tin. 
• Pour the cheesecake mixture over that.
• Add the remaining brownie mixture.
• Using a skewer, swirl both mixtures together to create a pretty marbled effect.
• Scatter the raspberries on top, pressing them down into the mixture a little so that they don't dry out too much or burn while cooking.
• Bake in the oven for 40 to 45 minutes.  The mixture should look something like this and an inserted skewer should come out wet but not sticky.

• Allow to cool and cut into small slices. I cut mine into 24 slices. 

Make yourself a cup of tea and give yourself time to savour this special treat. Chocolate, cheesecake and raspberries; there could surely be no better comfort in these financially tough times.

Cauliflower soup with cheese balls: could there be a better food for winter?

I've been finding this winter difficult so far. It is hard to believe that it's been little over a month since my boyfriend and I got back from our trip to the UK in mid October feeling full of optimistic energy and plans for the future. Since then, we've had the October bank holiday, the turning back of the clocks and the real onset of winter. This has meant a lot of dark evenings and Atlantic storms here in Dingle and it's been a struggle to stay energetic and resist the urge to hibernate.

On top of all that, any attempts I have made to put the plans we hatched on holiday into motion have met with obstacles. So far this winter, it has been quite the challenge to keep a smile on my face and stay optimistic.

This is where comfort food comes in and the dish I have to share with you today is my idea of a hug in a mug. It combines the flavours of cauliflower cheese with the wholesomeness and warmth of soup - it's just what I needed to cheer me up this afternoon.

If you too need some comfort food to cheer you on this winter's day, here's what you need to do.

Cauliflower soup with cheese balls
This serves four. It's incredibly easy to make and takes all of twenty minutes.

Ingredients for the soup:
50g butter
1 large potato, peeled and cubed
1 onion, finely chopped
1 litre/2 pints vegetable stock
500g/1lb cauliflower florets 
Nutmeg
Salt and pepper

Ingredients for the cheese balls:
50ml/2 fl.oz. milk
30g flour
1 egg beaten
20g grated cheddar cheese 

• 
  
  Melt half of the butter in a large pain and fry the onion and the potato for 3 minutes.

• Add the stock and the cauliflower florets and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the cauliflower is tender.
• While the soup is simmering, make the puffs. Preheat your oven to 220 C/430 F. Melt the milk and the remaining butter in a saucepan.
• When it has melted,add the flour all at once.  Stir the mixture until it forms into a ball that comes away from the sides of the pan. 

• Take it off the heat. Allow to cool. Then stir in the egg and cheese.
• Transfer the mixture to a piping bag with a small nozzle. Squeeze onto a baking sheet, making small mounds that are at least one inch apart. Sprinkle with some sea salt and extra grated cheese for even more yuminess.

• Bake in the oven for five to six minutes until they have risen and turned a golden colour.
• Finish the soup while they are cooking. Puree your mixture, saving a few florets to use as a garnish. Season with salt, pepper and some freshly grated nutmeg (ground is fine too) according to your own taste.  
• Ladle the soup into your soup bowls and garnish with your cheese balls, cauliflower florets and even more grated cheese.

Sit back and savour your hug in a mug.