6 Quick & Easy Plant-Based Recipes To Make This Week

Food & Drink, Recipes

15th March 2022 | By Lottie Woodrow

Looking to spice up your five-a-day this week? We’ve clubbed together six seriously tasty plant based recipes to try this week.

From the creamiest spin on your typical truffle risotto to the easiest veganised banana bread, they all save you buck loads of time in the kitchen.

Quick and easy plant based recipes to try out

Wild Mushroom Orzotto

Have a bag of pearl barley stashed at the back of your pantry that you don’t know what to do with? Try out this healthy, plant based recipe and you’ll never want a dairy cream risotto again. 

Serves 4

Method:

1. For the stock, simmer the dried wild mushrooms and 2kg water for 2 hours then pass through muslin.
2. Sweat the shallots in olive oil until completely soft.
3. Add the barley and cook for a couple more minutes to toast the barley and coat every grain.
4. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and cook to evaporate most of the liquid.
5. Add the mushroom stock a ladle at a time and cook the barley until al dente, ensuring that the barley is constantly covered with liquid.
6. When the barley is al dente, add in the yeast flakes, parsley, black truffle paste, truffle oil, lemon juice and salt.  It is really important to taste the orzotto after each addition because you want to find your own balance between all the elements.
7. Drop your mushrooms into a hot frying pan with a splash of oil and cook them until they’ve released most of their water and they’re starting to caramelize round the edges.
8. Divide your orzotto into 4 bowls and finish off with a decent helping of mushrooms.

Recipe courtesy of Nico Fitzgerald, head chef at London Stock | www.londonstockrestaurant.co.uk

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Halve butternut squashes and arrange on a baking tray. Sprinkle with some salt and a few drops of rapeseed oil. Cook in the oven for 30-35 minutes.

3. Cook barley by adding barley to a pan with 600ml vegetable stock. Bring to a boil over high heat. Keep an eye on the pot as barley will give off a lot of foam at first and can cause the pot to boil over. When barley has reached a boil, lower heat to a low simmer, cover, and continue to cook until barley is done, this should take about 25 mins.

4. Add a splash of rapeseed oil to a pan and heat to a medium temperature. Add mushrooms and cook for 3-4 minutes with the lid on until they soften.

5. Add tomatoes, garlic and cooked barley. Season with salt and black pepper to taste. Cook on low for about 10 minutes. Turn off heat and add chopped parsley and a squeeze of lemon to the mix.

6. Once squash is tender, scoop out seeds and some flesh, chop and add this flesh to the barley mix. Distribute barley mix evenly between them.

7. Lower oven temperature to 160C.
8. Sprinkle stuffed squashes with some grated vegan Italian-style hard and put back in the oven to bake for another 15 minutes.

Recipe courtesy of Searcys | www.searcys.co.uk

Celeriac, Kale, Apple & Chilli Broth

For something warming, this hearty vegetable broth is just perfect for a cold winter’s night. It’s filled with rustic veggies, including celeriac and kale, plus apples to add a little sweetness. 

Serves 4

Method:

1. Peel and dice the onion and celeriac into 1cm cubes.
2. Core and dice apples into 1 cm cubes.
3. Add the oil to a pan and sweat the onions, garlic, celeriac and thyme until softened.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients bar the apple and cook gently until the barley is ready.
5. Add the apple and cook for a further 3-4 minutes and season.

Recipe courtesy of Restaurant Associates as part of their new Ways to be Well programme | www.restaurantassociates.co.uk

Method:

1. Wash and trim beetroots, then place it in a saucepan of simmering water to cook for 30 minutes until soft. When done, remove from the water and allow to cool slightly before chopping into small chunks.

2. Finely chop onion and mince garlic. In a large stock pot heat 1 tablespoon of oil, when hot fry onion for 3-4 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute.

3. Add in barley and cook for 1-2 minutes until covered with the onion and garlic mixture. Pour in red wine and allow the barley to absorb it completely.

4. Heat stock to just below boiling and keep warm.
5. Start adding vegetable stock one ladle at a time, allowing spelt to absorb all the stock before adding more. After 2 additions of stock, add in beetroot, and repeat the process of adding stock, stirring and allowing it to be absorbed until all the stock has been used. This whole process will take anything from 30-50 minutes. To achieve a creamy risotto, it is important not to rush this process.

6. While the risotto is cooking, heat the oven to 180°C and chop the carrots into chunks. Coat with remaining rapeseed oil, maple syrup and season with salt and pepper. Roast for 20-25 minutes until golden.

7. Serve the risotto topped with some carrots and fresh greens.

Recipes courtesy of Searcys | www.searcys.co.uk

Roast spiced cauliflower with romesco and olives (Hojiblanca)

One for a weekend feast with your household or a recipe to store for a dinner party at a later date. 

Serves 6

Method:

1.     Heat the oven to 200c/ Fan 180c. Mix the paprika with thyme leaves and olive oil and rub all over the cauliflower. Sit into a small roasting tin and season well. Add a good splash of boiling water and roast for 40 minutes. Drizzle with the sherry and lemon juice and return to the oven for 10 minutes more. 
2.     Meanwhile, bash the almonds and hazelnuts in a pestle and mortar to rough crumbs. Whiz the peppers and olives together with the garlic, vinegar and paprika. Season and stir in the roughly ground nuts and breadcrumbs. Add the oil. 
3.     Serve wedges of the cauliflower on a bed of romesco sauce and scatter with the flaked almonds and parsley.

Recipe courtesy of Olives from Spain. More information and recipes can be found at www.olivesfromspain.uk 
Follow on Instagram, @olivesfromspainuk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C.
2. Mash 3 of the bananas into the measuring jug with the vegetable oil and vanilla.
3. In the mixing bowl, combine the dry ingredients.
4. Add the wet mix to the dry mix and combine.
5. Pour into the lined loaf tin and top with the 4th banana, halved lengthways.
6. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden on top and springy to touch in the centre.

RECIPE COURTESY OF FAB FLOUR FROM THE EASY PEASY BAKING CAMPAIGN | www.fabflour.co.uk

Looking for other Veganuary recipes to try out? Check out these tasty six here

Want more plant based recipes to try? Check out this cauliflower salad recipe.