Coronation Tofu

One thing I always wish I had tried before I turned vegetarian was coronation chicken. Well I guess this is the next best thing! I found inspiration for this recipe from Monster Makes but altered several ingredients as well as the method. Enjoy!

Makes 2 portions 

Ingredients:

½ block of tofu (Clearspot is my favourite)

For the Marinade:

2 crushed/finely chopped cloves of garlic

1inch piece of grated ginger (or 1 heaped teaspoon of ginger powder)

2 tbsp lemon juice

¼ tsp salt

¼ tsp red chilli powder

¼ pint vegetable stock

For the Sauce:

200g plain yoghurt or regular/vegan mayo (I prefer yoghurt for a low fat version)

1 heaped tbsp mango chutney

1 tsp curry powder

½ tsp cinnamon

¼ tsp salt

2 tbsp sultanas

1 chopped stick of celery

Method:

1. Drain and chop tofu into 1cm thick slices. Lay side by side on a chopping board lined with either paper towels or a clean cloth. Cover the top of the tofu with the paper towels/cloth and place another chopping board on top. Pile a few cookbooks or heavy items on top –this will help to press the tofu, removing excess moisture and making it firmer. Leave for at least half an hour (I usually press mine for 2 hours).  

2. Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C

3. To prepare the marinade: mix the garlic, ginger, lemon juice, salt and chilli powder together in a small oven proof dish. 

4.When the tofu has been pressed, chop it up into smaller chunks and mix in with the marinade. (You can also prepare this stage earlier and leave it to marinate in the fridge until needed.)  

5. To prepare the sauce: Mix the yoghurt/mayo, mango chutney, curry powder, cinnamon, salt, sultanas and celery together in a bowl. Chill in the fridge. 

6.Make up approx. 300ml of vegetable stock and pour over the tofu in the dish. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes or until most of the stock and marinade has been absorbed and the tofu has started turn brown and firm. 

7. Remove the tofu from the dish and drain away any excess liquid. Mix in with the sauce. Enjoy as a sandwich filler or topped on a baked potato!

 

Notes/Tips:

• The measurements in this recipe don’t have to be exact, adjust them to your tastes. This version isn’t very spicy (because I don’t like overly spicy things) but you can always add more chilli powder.
• Feel free to omit or substitute the celery and sultanas for other ingredients like chopped nuts or apricots.
• I’m sure this will work well with chicken too, though you’ll probably have to adjust cooking times.

Bread

Wow, this two posts a week target really isn’t going well! Once again I had a really busy week last week, with 2 different groups of friends staying over that I had to entertain (and of course, the usual job apps)! However this time I did do a lot of cooking, just didn’t get the chance to write it down. 

First of all I give you…bread! I’ve made three loaves over the past week and they have all been AMAZING (if I don’t say so myself). The recipe I used is a kind of hybrid I made by combining recipes from three different sources* and is super easy once you get the hang of it. Nothing beats the smell of fresh bread :)

Makes 1 x standard loaf tin sized loaf (...say that again?)

Ingredients:

500g flour (‘strong’ bread flour is normally recommended, though I used ordinary plain white flour the first time and it turned out fine)

1 x 7g packet of fast action dried yeast

25g soft dairy/vegan butter (I've tried it with both Flora and Pure Dairy Free Sunflower Spread - no difference)

1 ½ tsp salt

1 tbsp caster sugar

1 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for greasing work surface)

300ml warm water

1-2 tbsp seeds (optional, for the loaf in the photo I used sesame and poppy)

Method:

1.       Put the flour and butter into a large mixing bowl. Rub together with fingertips to make a fine bread-crumb like texture.

2.       Add the yeast, sugar, and salt – making sure the yeast and salt are on opposite sides of the bowl as the salt can kill the yeast. Mix in with a wooden spoon.

3.       Make a well in the centre of the mixture and add the oil with about ¼ of the water. Mix in with your hands, gradually adding more water and the 1 tbsp of seeds until a soft dough consistency is reached – this may require more or less water than stated, use your judgement so it doesn’t end up too dry or too sticky. Gather up into a ball.

4.       Lightly oil a clean chopping board or work surface and put the dough on it (works better than flour at stopping the dough from sticking, but still might be a good idea to flour your hands if the dough is quite sticky). Knead for around 5 minutes until it feels smooth and elastic. Lightly oil the mixing bowl and put the dough back in. Cover with a damp cloth or oiled cling film. Leave in a warm place (but not too hot) for an hour to rise and double in size.

5.       Once risen, punch it once in the centre (the fun bit, to knock the air out) and tip out again onto an oiled or floured surface (if its oily enough already use flour). Knead again for a few minutes then gather together and put in the loaf tin or make a circular shape and put on a baking tray. Cover again with the cloth/cling film and leave to rise again for ½ - 1 hour.

6.       While waiting for it to rise, preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and put a roasting tray on the bottom of the oven.

7.       Once risen for the second time, sprinkle with the remaining seeds, or just flour if you’re not using seeds. Open the oven and pour cold water into the roasting tray to create steam (for the crust to develop) and put the bread on the middle shelf of the oven. Bake for approx. 30 minutes until it looks golden brown on top and sounds ‘hollow’ when you take it out and tap it underneath. Leave on a wire rack to cool.

 

 

Notes/Tips:

-          Prepare a washing up bowl of warm, soapy water and a clean tea towel ready beforehand – this is a messy job and you’ll probably want to wash your hands regularly throughout.

-          For a shiny, crunchy crust, you can mix an egg and brush it on top just before cooking.

-          Like I said, I just used plain white flour the first time and it still rose well and tasted great. Most recipes will recommend you use ‘strong’ bread flour though. Feel free to experiment with this, especially wholemeal to make it more nutritious!

-          It’s often advised to slit the top of the dough with a very sharp knife just before it goes in the oven…not sure why, but it looks nice!

-          Paul Hollywood has a good explanation for how to knead dough properly here (this is one of the recipes I based mine on): http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paul_hollywoods_crusty_83536

*Sources:

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2060/easy-white-bread

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/paul_hollywoods_crusty_83536

‘Why not try…White loaf’ recipe on the back of Sainsbury’s Fast Action Dried Yeast 7g sachets.

Chips.

So....my twice a week blogging is going great isn't it? 

I honestly intended to have written at least 2 more posts by now, but with moving city things have been really busy and in my down-time all I’ve wanted to do is chill out and watch TV.

Also, as I don’t yet have a job here I’ve been spending most of my time job hunting and writing applications, leaving my boyfriend to do most of the cooking! The things I have cooked I haven’t really taken photos of, apart from….chips!

Chips?! A food blog, and so far all there is is a simple cupcake recipe and CHIPS? 

Yes. But they’re really good chips. Turnip and sweet potato chips to be exact, so they’re kinda healthy, right? 

Ingredients:

1x turnip

½ a large sweet potato

3 tbsp olive oil

3 tbsp sunflower oil

Small knob (ha ha..) of butter

Salt (to taste)

Pepper (to taste)

Rosemary (to taste)

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees C.2. Peel and chop the turnip and sweet potato into chip like strips (you know what I mean). The thinner they are the faster they’ll cook, but might be more likely to crumble apart if you get the boiling time wrong. Boil in a pan on the stove for approx. 10-15 mins. 

3. Put half the oil and all the butter into a baking tray and put in the oven for a minute to warm up. 

4. Drain the veg and spread it out in the baking tray. Cover with the rest of the oil and all the herbs and seasoning. 

5. Cook in the oven for 45mins give or take (depends on your oven, best to shake them anyway every 15-20 minutes so check on them then until they reach your desired chip-consistency!). Enjoy!

Notes:

• Experiment with different root veg, this is just what we had in the house. Tastes great using white turnip, parsnip, and of course normal potatoes!
• Also try out different seasonings, I recommend sage. For a really salty kick you could also add some Marigold Bouillon powder ;) (one of my favourite ingredients, you’ll probably see this cropping up a lot in the future!)
• If it weren’t so expensive I’d use only olive oil (tastes better IMO), but with the amount it takes to cook the chips in I substitute half with sunflower.

P.S. I actually wrote this post a few days ago but got side-tracked again by more applications gahhhh. Since then I have actually cooked more! Expect another recipe soon. Then another hiatus as friends come up to visit for the rest of the week :D