Vegetarian

Eating more vegetables is easy with this straightforward vegetarian cookbook. Spares on the introduction and concentrates more on the 100 plus recipes it has to offer. This book is hefty, 320 pages, however compact. Offering one page recipes with a deliciously enticing recipe photograph on the other. Vegetables are reminiscent of every season. Whether they are cool, crisp, warm, or hearty... vegetables are plenty throughout the year. And incorporating more vegetarian recipes has become more appetizing.

There are plenty of wonderful recipes in this cookbook and since it is still October one recipe I would like to share this recipe, Ginger Pumpkin Triangles.

Ginger Pumpkin Triangles

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Makes 9

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 cups (240g) finely diced pie pumpkin

3 tablespoons pine nuts

4 teaspoons finely grated ginger

1 tablespoon finely chopped jalapeño

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 cup (10g) chopped cilantro (coriander)

6 sheets filo pastry

4 tablespoons (60g) butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350ºF (180ºC). Lightly grease a baking sheet.

Step 1: Heat oil in a skillet (fry-pan) on medium heat. Sauté the pumpkin for 8 minutes, until tender. Add pine nuts, ginger, chili and garlic. Cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Mix in cilantro.

Step 2: Working with two sheets of fill at a time, place on a clean work surface. Brush top side of pastry with butter. Cut lengthwise into 3 even-sized strips. Place a heaped teaspoon of mixture on one end of each pastry strip. 

Step 3: Fold pastry and filling over to forn a triangle. Continue folding, keeping triangular shape, until end of strip. 

Step 4: Arrange triangles on tray. Brush with butter. Repeat with remaining pastry and filling. 

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, until golden and crisp. Serve warm.

Another recipe, from the cookbook, I would like to share is the Bell Pepper & Sunflower Seed Dip.

Bell Pepper & Sunflower Seed Dip

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Serves 6 

1 cup (130g) sunflower seeds

3 red bell peppers (capsicums), deseeded and halved

olive oil, for cooking

1 hot red chili, deseeded and coarsely chopped

2 cloves garlic

1/4 cup (60ml) olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 400ºF (200ºC)

Spread sunflower seeds in an oven pan and toast in oven for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring once or twice.

Place the bell pepper halves, skin side up, in an oven pan. Rub skins with a little olive oil and roast for 20 minutes, or until skin blisters. 

Removes peppers from oven and place in a bowl, setting oven pan aside.

Cover peppers with plastic wrap and leave to cool (this allows the peppers to sweat so that their skins peel off easily). Remove and discard skins.

Place bell peppers and any pan juices, along with chili and garlic, in the bowl of a food processor. Blend. Add sunflower seeds and olive oil, and process again until smooth. Season to taste.

Spoon dip into a serving bowl. 

Enjoy! - JW