Wild Garlic Vegan Pesto

You may all think that I have suddenly gone vegan. I have not, I assure you, but as Beyonce and Jay Z have taken to being vegan for 10-20 days a month I've done the same, I even wore a fur coat to a vegan restaurant. I'm so impressionable.

Seriously though, I didn't have any hard Italian cheese in the house and I bought some nutritional yeast last weekend so thought that might suffice to flavour the pesto.

Getting wild garlic in the veg box this week was such a boon, partly because it's pretty rare unless you go forraging and partly because it signals a change in the weather and a welcoming back of the Spring.

To get a similar consistency to 'normal' pesto I used whole cashew nuts and walnuts, along with ground almonds in an attempt to mimic the texture of hard cheese.

I've been experimenting with bastardised pesto a lot recently, a semi wilting salad bag can be used when you might decide to throw it away if you have some nuts, oil, garlic and a food processor. Don't be bashful, i've put cream cheese in one of my batches and it was delicious. Definitely not a vegan.

This will be getting used in a lunch-box tomorrow, possibly with some pasta, maybe with some rice, when Squirrelface and I are at the BFI for the third day running enjoying a full day of films at BFI Flare.

Wild Garlic Vegan Pesto

40g wild garlic

40g mixed nuts

1tbsp ground almonds

2tbsp nutritional yeast

Oil (I used a mixture of walnut and olive)

Salt and pepper

Put all ingredients apart form oil and seasoning in a food processor. Process until paste like and drizzle in the oil until you have a pesto like consistency.

Scrape down the sides, season to taste and add more oil if too stiff.

Store in a jar in the fridge, but I dare you nto to use it immediately.

Vegan Carrot and Parsnip Muffins

I’m a sucker for baking with vegetables, so much so I like to combine them for different flavour profiles and contrasting colours. The carrot and the parsnip, kissing cousins of the vegetable world, work wonderfully here with the spices – the holy trinity of sweet spices (IMHO) ground ginger, nutmeg and cinnamon. If you have any other suggestions of spices to be used in sweet dishes, I’m all ears, I have discovered none but these 3 that seem to work in harmony with a cakey bake.

I’ve been developing these bad boys for a while now and have just managed to perfect them. Getting the ratio of wet/dry is really important in eggless cooking and I found that this batter needs to be wet. The ground almonds really help to keep moisture in the muffin along with the parsnips and carrots, which add sweetness to a low sugar treat.

Vegan, low sugar, low fat blah blah blah – These little delights are filling enough to take for breakfast and healthy enough to snack on without planning a run and a green smoothie afterwards.

Don't be put off by the number of ingredients, you can use one type of flour and water instead of almond milk, I just thought I'd experiment, and it worked, Makes 12.

Vegan Carrot and Parsnip Muffins

125g grated carrot

125g grated parsnip

140g whole wheat flour

70g spelt flour

70g gram flour

70g ground almonds

70g dried fruit

100g soft brown sugar

1tsp cinnamon

200ml sunflower oil

200ml almond milk

50ml water

1tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Pinch of salt

1tsp vinegar (I used hazelnut)

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas mark 4

Stir together all dry ingredients, mix wet ones in apart from the water. You should have a relatively wet batter with a nice dropping consistency.

If the batter is too think, add a little water and work in until you have the desired consistency.

Spoon in to prepared muffin cases in a 12 hole tin.

Bake for 20 - 25 minutes until golden brown on top.

Leave to cool on a wire rack.

Vegan + Gluten Free Chocolate and Black Bean Brownies

One of my oldest friends came to stay this weekend, she’s a vegan and was spending 6+ hours getting tattooed on Saturday, so I knew she’d need something sweet and delicious as a treat after all the pain.

I’ve read considerable amounts about black bean brownies and wanted to experiment once I happened upon said pulses, this conveniently happened on Saturday afternoon. They were the first thing I baked when I returned home because I was worried that they might turn out awful, if they were I would have had more time to make something else. They were delicious! No curious flavour or texture, just some brownies that everyone can enjoy being vegan and gluten free. They’re also easy to make sugar free, I added a few tablespoons of vanilla sugar for flavour.

I had questioned as to whether other beans could be used to make these or other brownies, but didn’t experiment, my next plan will be to see if I can make blondies with a white bean and maybe red velvet brownies with a  red bean. I think you understand where I’m coming from here. If you do experiment, let me know, I’d love to see how they turn out.

The brownies keep for a good 3 – 4 days in an airtight container but if they last 24 hours you’re doing something wrong.

Vegan + Gluten Free Chocolate and Black Bean Brownies

1 tin black beans
40g cocoa powder
40g oats
40g vanilla sugar
40g coconut oil
75g agave nectar
4tbsp almond milk
1/2 tsp baking powder
100g dark chocolate, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 180C/Gas Mark 4.

Combine all ingredients but the chocolate and the almond milk in a food processor until smooth. Add almond milk along the way to reach a wet cakey like consistence.

Stir half the chocolate and pour into a greased square tin, then sprinkle the rest of the chocolate on top.

Bake for around 15 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean.

Leave to cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting.

Portion into 12 or less and enjoy.