Cauliflower, feta and sweet corn fritters

When you want a veggie lunch and can’t think what to cook, delve in the fridge and see what appears.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 small tin sweetcorn

2 large cauliflower florets

2 spring onions, finely sliced

1/2 pack feta

1 egg

100g self raising flour 

Milk

Ground black pepper

Olive oil

Method

Put the flour in a bowl, add the egg and milk and whisk until smooth. Chop the cauliflower into small pieces (same size as the sweet corn),  chop the feta into similar sized pieces. Add the sweetcorn, cauliflower, spring onions and feta to the batter, season with pepper (you don't need any salt due to the feta). Mix all the ingredients together.

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat and add enough olive oil to cover the base. Drop large spoonfuls into the pan, spreading slightly. Cook until they start to show the odd bubble and flip over. Cook until golden brown.
You may want to cook one first, and test the seasoning.

I served with a salad and some chilli sauce.

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Savoury vegetarian rice with butternut squash and cauliflower

With so much meat and dairy over the Christmas break, today was an opportunity to create a vegetarian rice based lunch. I peeled and diced a butternut squash yesterday and popped it in the fridge, ready to use, so was originally going to make butternut squash risotto, but discovered that I only had a small amount of risotto rice, so change of plans.
I decided to use a variety of different veg, using a rainbow of colour, it was a success so I thought I'd add it to my blog. This recipe is vegan.

Ingredients (serves 2)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 large handfuls, butternut squash, diced
1 large handful of cauliflower florets, break into small florets 1cm cubed
1/2 courgette diced
100g mushrooms, sliced
1 large tomato,  chopped

1/2 mug long grain rice
1 Knorr vegetable stock pot
1 pint boiling water
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
1 large handful of raw cashews, toasted in a small pan.
1 tbsp fresh parsley, finely chopped

Method

In a large frying pan, over medium heat add the oil, the onion, squash and cauliflower, fry until the cauliflower starts to toast at the edges, keep stirring regularly. Add the courgette and mushrooms, continue frying until the mushrooms have softened. Add the rice, gently cook for another minute, stirring continuously. Add the stockpot, boiling water, tamari and tomato. Bring to the boil and simmer gently, stirring occasionally.
In a small pan, toast the raw cashews, you can add 1 tsp oil to help them turn golden brown. You must keep stirring as they toast as they do catch if you aren't careful. Remove from the pan onto kitchen paper. Add them to the rice while cooking and stir thoroughly.
After 15 minutes, check to see if the rice is cooked, it should be just cooked through. You may need to add more boiling water during the cooking if the rice looks like it is going to dry out.
When cooked, sprinkle over the fresh parsley and serve.

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Cauliflower cheese

1 cauliflower
1oz plain flour
1oz butter
1/2 pint milk
1tsp Dijon mustard
3oz cheddar cheese
Salt and pepper

Break cauliflower into florets and boil or steam until tender. Drain.

Make a simple white sauce use all in one method, 1oz plain flour, 1oz butter, 1/2 pint milk, pop in pan and put over gentle heat, use a balloon whisk and keep stirring until thick, allow to bubble for about 2 min until cooked, add 1tsp Dijon mustard, stir in, salt and pepper, then about 3 oz grated cheddar cheese.

Heat and stir until thick and creamy, pour over your cauliflower.

You could put cauliflower in an ovenproof dish, pour over sauce and then top with more grated cheese and then put under a grill or top of oven until golden brown.

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