Mushroom, Thyme & Halloumi Burgers

These open burgers are right up there with our favourite vegetarian comfort foods ; the rich meatiness of the mushrooms combined with salty goodness of grilled halloumi make a satisfying, nourishing meal perfect for cold, wet evenings...of which we've been seeing plenty!

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 4 Large Field or Portobello Mushrooms
• 2 Large Wholemeal Buns
• 150 g Halloumi Cheese
• Sprig of Thyme
• 1 Clove of Garlic
• Olive oil
• Salt and Pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C.
2. Finely chop the garlic and thyme and sprinkle evenly over the upturned mushrooms in a large baking dish.
3. Drizzle a generous amount of oil over the mushrooms and season well with salt and pepper. Also, pour 50mls of water into the bottom of the dish to stop the mushrooms drying out too much, then place in the hot oven for around 15 minutes until cooked through and juicy.
4. Turn on your grill and lightly toast the opened buns.
5. Layer a whole mushroom on each half a bun, with two 4-5mm slices of halloumi cheese on each.
6. Pop them all under the grill until the cheese begins to melt and turn golden.
7. Serve with a large, well dressed rocket salad.

Spelt Fatayer stuffed with Spiced Squash, Feta & Basil

We love a good recipe-book, so when our friend Allan set sail for the Big Apple a few weeks ago and left his collection behind at The 78, we were quick to jump on them for inspiration. Though its not all vegetarian, the Moro cookbook by Sam & Sam Clark has some amazing recipes from all over Europe and the Middle East and when we spotted this recipe for Fatayer (stuffed triangles of flatbread from Lebanon and Syria) we couldn't wait to give it a go.

Our version uses spelt rather that white flour and we created our own filling using the warm, sweet and spicy Moroccan spice blend ras-el-hanout. The result was one of the most delicious lunches ever! When you burst these open and the sweet ras-el-hanout spiced squash, feta fresh basil spill out it truly is a sight to behold. On top of that, wrapping the little triangles and cutting the pastry really is such great fun to do that you'll want to make them all the time.

Ingredients:

Makes 4 Fatayer

Fatayer Dough
220g Spelt Flour plus extra for rolling and baking
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1/2 Tsp Dried Yeast
1/2 Tsp Brown Sugar
120ml tepid water
2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Filling
1 Large Butternut Squash, peeled, seeded and roughly diced
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Ras-el Hanout Spice Mix
80g Feta Cheese
Small Bunch of Fresh Basil
Sea Salt and Black Pepper

Method:

1. Put the chopped squash into a deep baking tray and coat well with olive oil, ras-el-hanout spice mix, salt and pepper. Cover the tray with foil and bake at 180C for around 30 minutes until the squash is very soft and well cooked.
2. Meanwhile, prepare the dough: place the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the water then add the oil. Slowly add the liquid to the flour, mixing it in with your hands to get rid of any lumps, then knead for about 5minutes on a well floured surface till you have a soft, smooth dough. (You may need to add more water if its too crumbly or more flour if too wet, whilst kneading.) Set aside under a cloth to rest.
3. Remove the squash from the oven and purée with a fork and season if necessary. (Also, leave the oven on at the same temperature.)
4. Next divide the dough into four and roll into balls. Roll each out on a well floured surface into a rough circle about 5mm thick.
5. Place about 2 tablespoons of the squash mixture in the centre of each circle and shape into a triangle, then top with some chopped basil and crumbled feta. Here comes the fun part...
6. Bring the three sides of the dough up around the triangle of filling and pinch along the edges just above the filling. Then take a pair of scissors and cut off all the excess dough, leaving a perfect little pyramid ready for baking!
7. Place onto a floured sheet of greaseproof paper on a baking tray and put into your pre-heated oven  for 10-15 minutes until the ridges of the fatayer just begin to darken.
8. Serve immediately with a fresh salad.

Vegan Chocolate & Hazelnut Brownie

We first discovered the joy of gooey, delicious vegan chocolate brownie heaven at Yoga Rocks where Helen used to make them as a treat once in a while. This recipe comes from the amazing Vegan Cookbook 'Another Dinner is Possible' by Mike & Isy and has been going down a storm at home and also as a guest dessert at The 78 in Glasgow where Melissa has been baking various incarnations of it. The Rum & Raisin version she baked for a reggae night there on Thursday was especially good!

Ingredients

(For a baking tin approx 20cm x 34 cm x 4cm)

• 250g self raising flour (well sifted)
• 240ml water
• 150g dark brown sugar
• 200g caster sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 80g cocoa powder
• 120ml oil
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• A handful of dark choc chips and chopped hazelnuts

Method:

1. Add 240ml water to 50g of the flour in a small pan and bring to the boil stirring constantly to create a sticky gloop.
2. Mix the sugars, vanilla, cocoa and oil in a large mixing bowl and add in the flour/water gloop. Mix well.
3. Add in the nuts and chocolate chips.
4. Fold in the rest of the flour and baking powder.
5. You should have a nice chocolatey squidgy gloop by now. Use a spatula to transfer it all to your greased baking tray and bake on Gas Mark 4/ 180C / 350 F for 25 mins.
6. Remove and allow to cool in the tray for an hour then refridgerate for another few hours.
7. Cut into slices and remove carefully from the tray and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
8. Re-warm in a hot oven for a few minutes and serve with vegan ice-cream.

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Perfect Porridge

The ideal winter breakfast.... or if you're Scottish the ideal year round breakfast!

Ingredients (for 2 bowls):

• 2 generous handfuls of organic jumbo oats
• A sprinkle of mixed seeds
• 2 heaped teaspoons of honey
• A splash of milk (we use gold top whole milk as it's non-homogenised and it's extra creamy, but feel free to use soy, almond, or whatever you prefer)
• A pinch of salt - I was resistant to this for years but have now realised it brings out the delicious flavour of the oats

Method:

1. Place oats in a saucepan and add water - just enough to cover the oats. We usually leave this to soak for an hour or two whilst we do yoga, but alternatively you can soak overnight if you want to make the porridge as soon as you get up.
2. Cook porridge on a low heat. Add the pinch of salt.
3. As the water starts to reduce give it a stir and add a little more water if needed. 
4. Total cooking time should be about 5 minutes.
5. Take porridge off the heat, serve into bowls then add seeds, honey and lastly a big splash of cold milk.
6. Enjoy immediately...in bed!

Try with banana, walnuts and honey for bit of variety!

Sweet Potato, Peanut and Chilli Stew

Melissa knocked together this warming, spiced winter stew from scratch one night. The secret ingredient is her favourite guilty pleasure - peanut butter! It makes a change from her eating it straight from the jar.

Ingredients:

• 1 Large White Onion- finely chopped
• 1 Garlic Clove - peeled and finely chopped
• Splash of Olive Oil (to saute the onions)
• 2 Sweet Potatoes - peeled and cubed
• 1 Cup Red Lentils - rinsed and drained
• 100g Baby Spinach Leaves - washed and drained
• 1 Good Quality Vegetarian Stock Cube diluted in 1 Litre Boiling Water
• 1 Inch Ginger - peeled and finely chopped
• 1 Sprinkle of Dried Chilli Flakes
• 1 Tbsp Peanut Butter
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Put the washed red lentils and diced sweet potatoes into a large pan with half of the stock and bring to a simmering boil.
2. Meanwhile sauté the onion in a frying pan with a splash of olive oil until soft, then add a pinch of salt and the garlic, chilli and ginger and continue to fry for another few minutes.
3. Next add the onion mix to the sweet potato and lentils. Simmer all together for around 10 minutes until the lentils have broken down and the sweet potato is soft but not mushy. Add more stock if it's too thick until you have your desired consistency.
4. Add the spinach and peanut butter and stir well. Taste and season with salt and pepper if necessary.
5. When the spinach has cooked down, serve with rice or crusty bread.