5 Veganuary Recipes To Make This Week

If you’re one of the millions tackling Veganuary this month, are already vegan or just want to cut down on your meat consumption, we’ve rounded up six tasty Veganuary recipes to make this week. From the creamiest butternut squash mac’n’cheese to buttery tomato and pesto croissants, here’s what to make this week. For more delicious recipes, check out our recipes section.

 

1. Butternut Squash Mac ‘n’ Cheese

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes 
Cooking time: 1 hour 
Serves: 2

There’s nothing more indulgent than a big ol’ bowl of cheesy mac ‘n’ cheese. Satisfy your cravings vegan-style with this creamy butternut squash mac ‘n’ cheese courtesy of Amy Lanza.

Ingredients

Method

For the sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 180°c fan and line a tray with baking parchment.

2. Place the butternut squash cut side up on the tray and drizzle with a bit of olive oil. Roast in the oven for 40 to 50 minutes or until tender and starting to brown at the sides. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

3. Scoop out and discard the seeds, then scoop out the flesh and place it in a food processor with the remaining ingredients. Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides as necessary and seasoning to taste.

4. You may need to add a splash more milk to make a runnier sauce. This can be made up to 2 days in advance when kept cool in an airtight container in the fridge.

For the pasta

1. Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a saucepan and fry the onion for 10 minutes until caramelised and translucent. Now add the courgette and garlic and continue to fry for 5 to 7 minutes until cooked through, adding the tamari for the last minute.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the packet instructions, adding the peas for the final 5 minutes. Drain, reserving some of the cooking water, and leave to one side.

For the ‘cheesy’ topping

1. Make the topping by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl. Season to taste.

2. Return the cooked pasta to the saucepan, then add the onion and courgette mixture, chopped spinach, tomatoes, butternut sauce and four tablespoons of the cooking water. Stir the pasta over a low heat until creamy and well coated in sauce, adding more cooking water if required.

To serve

Divide the pasta between two bowls and sprinkle over the ‘cheesy’ hemp topping.

Recipe courtesy of From Beder’s Kitchen cookbook, a collection of recipes and reflections from foodies all around the world.
Order a copy here: amazon.co.uk

2. Arancini

Method

1. Mix the pesto into the risotto and divide it up evenly – the balls you make should each be about half the size of a golf ball at most, this is so the inside cooks through without the outside burning.

2. Put the flour on a plate and roll the balls in the flour – they only need a very thin coating.

3. Pour the oat milk into another bowl and roll the flour-dusted balls in it; again, they only need a thin coating.

4. In a deep dish, mix the thyme, flaxseed and panko breadcrumbs with some salt and pepper. Roll the balls in this, making sure each is completely covered.

5. Once all the balls are coated, heat some oil in a frying pan and lightly fry all of the balls over a medium heat until they are golden brown. Serve with your favourite sauce.

RECIPE COURTESY OF CHEF AND VEGAN ENTREPRENEUR BRETT COBLEY’S COOKBOOK, WHAT VEGANS EAT.
 ORDER YOUR COPY HERE: AMAZON.CO.UK

3. Vegan tomato & pesto croissants

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.

2. In the measuring jug, combine the warm water and yeast.

3. In the mixing bowl, combine the flour, sugar and salt, then add the yeast and water. Bring together with your hands to form a dough, then on a lightly floured surface, knead for a few minutes before returning to the mixing bowl. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 10 minutes.

4. After 10 minutes, lightly flour your surface again. Once the dough has proved, turn it out and roll it out into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle, then spread 100g of the vegan spread on top in an even layer before rolling it up like a swiss roll.

5. Dust your surface with a little more flour. Cut the dough roll in half to make two smaller swiss roll shapes, spread a little more vegan spread on the top of one and place the other on top. 

6. Flatten both halves together with the palm of your hand and dust with a little more flour on each side before using the rolling pin to roll into a 40cm x 30cm rectangle.

7. Slice the dough into 3 even rectangles, then each rectangle into 2 triangles. Place a tsp of pesto at the wide end of each triangle and roll toward the thin end to create the croissant shape.

8. Place the croissants onto a baking tray, melt the remaining vegan spread and use your finger to spread a little across each croissant before placing a slice of tomato on top of each one. Bake for 15 minutes until golden. Allow them to cool on the tray before serving.

Recipe courtesy of FAB Flour from the Easy Peasy Baking Campaign | www.fabflour.co.uk 

4. Gunpowder gobi

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes 
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4

Method

1. First, make the gunpowder. Toss the urad and chana dal in the oil, then toast in a preheated oven (180 degrees) until golden. 

2. Toast the sesame seeds separately, no need for oil. Cool, then blend with the jaggery, asafoetida and salt to make a fine crumb. Add the whole sesame seeds to the mix.

3. For the cauliflower, toss in a mix of ground turmeric and vegetable oil, then roast in the oven, along with the curry leaves, until florets begin to turn golden (around 20 -30 minutes).

4. Remove from the oven and toss the cauliflower in 3 tbsps of gunpowder, salt and chopped spring onion.

5. Garnish with washed, picked coriander and pomegranate seeds.

Recipe courtesy of DabbaDrop | www.dabbadrop.co.uk

5. Raw chocolate cheesecake

Preparation time: 20 minutes, plus 2-3 hours setting
Serves: 8-10

Perfect for satisfying your chocolate cravings come the weekend. Make Naomi Buff’s showstopper for a party, or spoil the kids with this for finishing their first week back at school.

Method

For the base

1. Grease a 20cm loose-bottomed cake tin with a little bit of coconut oil.

2. If you are using a silicone mould of the same size, there’s no need to grease it.

3. Put the almonds, oats, cacao powder and salt into a food processor. Blend until the nuts and oats have broken down. Add the dates and vanilla then blend again until the dates have broken down and you have a sticky mixture.

4. Transfer just over half of this mixture to your cake tin and press down firmly with the back of a spoon or your fingertips to create the base.

5. Spoon the remaining mixture around the edges of the tin and use your fingers to press upwards from the base, creating sides about 2.5cm in depth from the base.

6. Use a spoon to neaten the top of the crust.

For the filling

1. Make sure your coconut milk has been in the fridge for about 4 hours so it solidifies. Halve and destone the avocado, scoop out the flesh and put it into the food processor with all the other ingredients.

2. Blend until completely smooth and creamy, then spoon the filling into the base.

For the chocolate sauce

1. In a small bowl, mix the ingredients until fully combined, then drizzle the chocolate sauce on top of your cheesecake.

2. Finish by decorating it with chopped nuts, dried fruit, edible flowers, cacao nibs or anything else delicious, colourful and edible you can find in your cupboards!

3. Pop the decorated cheesecake into the freezer and leave it to set for about 2 hours, or 3 hours in the fridge, and it should be ready to eat. You can either keep this stored in the freezer for up to 3 months (it will need a little bit of defrosting before eating) or in the fridge for up to 5 days.

If you use a silicone mould, you will need to completely freeze the cheesecake to remove it from the mould cleanly.

Recipe courtesy of From Beder’s Kitchen cookbook, a collection of recipes and reflections from foodies all around the world.
Order a copy here: amazon.co.uk