On Monday
mornings I like to prepare some dishes that can be assembled during the week
for those busy days. One such dish is a
roast vegetable platter. Besides being delicious, you can be very thrifty and
use up those vegetables that are lurking in the fridge or starting to go soft
in your vegetable store.
My favourite
vegetables to use are pumpkin, kumara, potato, carrot, parsnip, cauliflower, broccoli
and my latest favourite, brussel sprouts. A tip here for cauliflower and broccoli
if it is starting to go limp, just cut it up into smallish florets and put in a
bowl of cold water to refresh, after 20 minutes to is just like new. The trick is to make sure that the cut on the
stem is fresh, so they can soak of some of that water. I also like to make toppings for the
vegetables to give some protein to the meal. Mini Frittatas.are a great addition and can be cooked ar the same time.
The amounts
in the following are flexible, it depends on how many mouths you have to feed!
The Vegetables
An assortment
of root vegetables cut up int mouth sized chunks.
Brussel
sprouts
Cauliflower and/or
broccoli
Any other
greens that need using ie kale, asparagus cabbage
1 tsp smoked
paprika
1 or 2 tbsp
olive oil
Salt and
pepper
Mixed herbs (optional)
Lay the root
vegetables in a tray sprinkle some of the olive oil over them and half the
smoked paprika. Using your hand make
sure that the surfaces are covered with oil and the herbs and spices. Put in a hot oven and roast for 10 minutes,
take out flip them and then add the green vegetables which have had some spice
and herbs sprinkled over them and return to oven cook till they are soft
usually about another 10 - 15 minutes.
The toppings
Handful of
walnuts
100 grams of
firm tofu
Grapes
(optional)
Smoked paprika
Garlic powder
Salt
Lemon juice.
Squeeze the
tofu to get surplus water out, them crumble. Putin dish and sprinkle the garlic
powder, salt and paprika over. Squeeze some lemon juice over sparingly, then
add the walnuts to the dish along with the grapes if using (they give a lovely
burst of honey sweetness to the meal). Sprinkle some olive oil over sparingly
again. Put in oven during the last 10
minutes of the other vegetables, but keep an eye on the walnuts you may need to
fish them out if they start ti char.
Tahini Lemon Dressing
1/3 cup
tahini
1 medium
lemon juiced (3 tbsp)
1-2 tbsp
maple syrup or honey
1 pinch sea
salt (optional)
1 clove
garlic (minced or some garlic powder)
Water to thin
3-6 tbsp
In a medium
mixing bowl, add tahini, lemon juice, and maple syrup. Add salt and garlic. Whisk,
then slowly add water until creamy and pourable. Taste and adjust flavour as
needed, adding more lemon juice for acidity, salt for saltiness, or maple syrup
for sweetness. This will keep in fridge for 5 days and is also great on salads
etc
Mini Frittatas
These are
great added to the platter or along with a salad or just to snack on when
hungry (I think they are nicer when cold.)
½ cup
chickpea flour (besan)
¾ cup water
1 tbsp nutritional
yeast
2 tsp mixed
herbs
6 sundried
tomato halves
1 chopped
spring onion
¼ tsp garlic powder
(optional)
Salt and pepper
In a bowl mix
all ingredients except the tomatoes. Grease muffin tin with oil, I use some of
the oil from the sundried tomatoes, pout the mix into the tin (I find that this
mix makes 6. Cut the sundried tomatoes into pieces and ad equally to each tin.
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes or till golden and firm.
By the time
you have made these you will feel virtuous and have a meal ready and some ready
meals for the week. Enjoy.
