Category Archives: vegetarian

leek, onion & potato soup

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When I was at the market the other day I saw some nice looking leeks and suddenly thought I’d like to try making potato and leek soup. To be honest, I don’t even know if I’d ever had potato and leek soup before, but on a wintry weekend it sounded like just the thing. So after going through a few online recipes I did my usual mashup and it turned out great, with a lovely smooth texture, total comfort food (and even better the next day). Some of the recipes I saw added cream after blending but I wanted to keep it “lighter” and it was quite filling as it was.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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mushroom stroganoff

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Way back in July 2021 while scrolling through Instagram I came across this video by Hotel Los Castaños in Ronda, showing them making a mushroom stroganoff. I immediately thought about my portobellos in the fridge that were probably close to the “use it or lose it” stage, so I decided that I was going to make mushroom stroganoff too. Then I also checked out a few recipes online as I never have cream (used in the video) and saw that sour cream is more usual in a stroganoff. I never have that either, but I have found that straining greek yoghurt for an hour or so using a melitta coffee filter makes a more than acceptable substitute. Los Castaños added chopped spinach to theirs at the end of the vid, which I thought was an excellent idea, though I found out later that fresh parsley is the usual addition. Having neither of those at the time, I tossed in a handful of arugula and it turned out great.

Since then I have made roughly a gazillion different versions of this but somehow have never got round to publishing any of them here (though many have ended up on my azahar Instagram hashtag #thestroganoffvariations. I’ve made it with different meat options (chicken, meatballs, sausage, bacon, beef) and vegetable combos (spinach, arugula, courgette, parsley, cilantro) with portobellos being the one constant ingredient, along with the onions and garlic.

I’ve also served it in various ways, on fat egg noodles, spaghetti, penne or fideos, with roasted or mashed potatoes, and even on crusty toasted bread. As you can tell, it’s quite a versatile dish if you’re not too concerned about making AN ACTUAL STROGANOFF 😉 (in which case it’s probably best to google “authentic beef stroganoff recipe”).

I think what’s happened is that MY stroganoff has turned out to be a bit like a risotto bianco, which you can use as a base and just add whatever the heck you want. Which, as is often my case, whatever happens to be hanging around in the fridge. So yeah, it’s not a classic or even remotely authentic, stroganoff recipe. But damn it’s always good. And so here is the basic mushroom version and hey, just have some tasty fun with it.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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pistachio pesto

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I don’t know how these things happen but I can start off a day feeling fairly normal and with a “to do” list of things of thing I want to take care of, and then remember that a few weeks ago someone mentioned pistachio pesto on Twitter and then I’m suddenly lost down a google pesto rabbit-hole. This is followed by an immediate desire – nay, OBSESSION – to make this dish NOW (last time this happened I think it was lamb faggots). Anyhow, after a quick trip to the supermarket to get some pistachios and basil I was in business.

It was also a chance to use my lovely marble mortar and get a bit of a work out at the same time. Previous times making normal pine nut pesto I’ve used a small blender and the result was fine, but I wanted to see if using this traditional method made a difference. And you know what? I think it’s a close call but in future I am going to use the mortar & pestle because the individual flavours were more apparent. I used my friend Anna’s pesto recipe as a base, and looked at a few other recipes online that used pistachios instead of pine nuts, and the result was pretty damn tasty.

Update! Was out of pistachios today and fancied some pesto, used toasted almonds instead and the result was fabulous. Toasted cashews also work! FYI.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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tomato sauce by marcella hazan

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Marcella Hazan’s classic 4-ingredient tomato sauce is apparently world renowned but I only came across it by chance on Twitter when a pal there mentioned he was going to try making it for the first time. So I did too! And yes, it is simplicity itself, and yes, it’s lovely and rich and so flavourful. The original recipe I found online called for whole tinned tomatoes, but for sauces I prefer using the chopped ones (so I did). And I started off with a teaspoon of salt, which was enough for me, but you can always add more later. It also says to cook the sauce for 45 minutes, but I think an hour gives you a bit more texture. In fact, I fell asleep while it was cooking (low and slow) and the onions ended up falling apart, making them difficult to fish out. I think I got maybe 3/4 of it out, but other friends told me they sometimes just blitz the onion in at the end. Really this is so easy it almost makes itself. Just don’t fall asleep!

Ingredients and instructions below…
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spinach hummus

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I was at a friend’s restaurant the other day and saw that they had spinach hummus on the menu and, although we didn’t try it that day, I decided to try it at home as soon as possible. So here it is. It’s actually just a riff on my basic hummus recipe with a bit more garlic and, of course, spinach. Also, after linking to that original recipe (posted in 2009), I am reminded that I really need to update those photos!

Ingredients and instructions below…

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manchego cheese croquetas

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It seemed like a good idea to make croquetas on a rainy afternoon, as they are a bit labour intensive and I wasn’t going anywhere. Plus, it had been a long while since I’ve made croquetas, so wanted to be sure I still knew how. I should say that I have a different idea of croquetas than the average Sevillano (and many Spaniards in general) in that I like mine to taste of something other than bechamel. There are many points of view about what constitutes the “perfect croqueta” and I actually don’t care that much. The ones I like best are full of flavour, soft and creamy on the inside and with a good solid crunchy outside. Anyhow, today I opted for cheese croquetas, which in the end is like making a thick cheese sauce, breading and frying it. Which is amazing! My recipe has maybe three times the cheese as I’ve seen elsewhere – you can decide how cheesy you want them.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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espinacas con garbanzos 2

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I’ve already posted a nice recipe for espinacas con garbanzos here, a very traditional version, and it’s delicious. But it turns out that I almost never make this dish the same way twice and the other day I looked up a few more recipes, got confounded by some that add tomato (wut) and then made this version, which is kind of what I’ve been doing for a while, except this time with added ground almonds (game changer!). So here it is. Oh, and as I didn’t have any bread in the house I used some olive oil regañas (kind of a cracker, and as they were already baked with olive oil I didn’t have to fry them). I like using the baby spinach because then you don’t have to boil anything and the spinach comes out much brighter and tender, and (I think) has more flavour.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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baking powder biscuits

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I don’t know what’s got into me lately. First of all, there I was baking A CAKE for the first time in 35 years. Then the other day I got a hankering for the hot flaky baking powder biscuits of my childhood and faster than you can say GOOGLE I was in the kitchen whipping some up. This recipe is from the King Arthur Baking website, though I’ve made a change or two.

The important thing about biscuit dough is not to overwork it. I find that cutting them into triangles, rather than cutting into round shapes, helps with this. They don’t take long at all, and they are so satisfying, hot out of the oven with cold salted butter, with or without honey on top. Also perfect for mopping up sauces. The original recipe called for 1 tablespoon of sugar – I found 1 teaspoon was plenty.

Instructions and ingredients below…
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honey & co inspired bouikos

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I kept hearing about the famous Honey & Co bouikos, and seeing photos of them posted on Instagram by my London friends, and it was driving me crazy, so at last I had to try them.  I came across a couple of recipes online and adapted them somewhat. For example, I left out nigella seeds since it’s unlikely I will find them in Sevilla, swapped chives for spring onion for the same reason, and then doubled the recipe, using slightly more feta and cheddar than the original. This will give you between 24-30 bite-sized triangles. Best eaten the same day, but you can also quickly crisp them back up again in the oven the next day.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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tzatziki

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So I hadn’t made tzatziki in probably, ohhhh, 35 years? But it got suddenly hot in Sevilla (42º) and it seemed like a nice fresh snack to have on hand. I used to always make this with plain greek yoghurt but since discovering the joy that is labneh, I decided to use that instead, though you need to plan ahead as the labneh needs a day or so in the fridge. Worth it if you have time as it gives the tzatziki a lovely creamier texture. I also prefer “half peeling” the cucumber (see pic below) as the skin can sometimes be a bit too chewy. And fresh herbs are a must. I did try a version with dried dill and… meh.

Ingredients and instructions below…
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