Whipping up a vegan dinner for the family or your friends needn’t be a bland or time-consuming experience. Bestselling authors Henry Firth & Ian Theasby – aka ‘the vegan Jamie Olivers’ have a knack for creating outrageously tasty, super speedy dishes made without meat, eggs or dairy. In just 20 minutes you can have dinner on the table!
Here are two delicious vegan recipes from their latest cookery book, Speedy BOSH!
One Pan Thai Green Curry Bowls
Thai is one of our favourite cuisines. This fragrant dish has hearty tofu and rice, texture from the lovely crunchy veggies and smooth coconut milk, and a great depth of flavour from the vegan Thai green curry paste, which is now very easy to find in big supermarkets.
Don’t worry if some of the rice sticks to the pan a bit – the crispy rice adds extra flavour and texture! It’s not the most traditional dish we’ve ever developed, but it’s an absolute winner.
Serves 4
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 4 tbsp Thai green curry paste
- 280g firm or smoked tofu
- 300g easy cook rice
- 1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
- 1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 200g pak choi
- 200g sugar snap peas
- 200g baby corn
- 50g peanuts
- bunch of fresh coriander
- 2 limes
- salt and black pepper
Method:
- Place a large saucepan or skillet with a lid (or make a lid with kitchen foil) on a medium heat
- Add the oil to the hot pan. Add the curry paste and fry for 1 minute. Cut the tofu into 2cm chunks and add to the pan. Fry in the curry paste for 1 minute. Rinse the rice, drain and then stir it into the pan. Pour in the coconut milk then fill the empty tin with water and add to the pan. Add the peanut butter and a big pinch of salt. Stir well. Increase the heat to high and bring the mixture to a bubble. Reduce the heat to medium
- Cut the pak choi into halves or quarters. Add to the pan with the sugar snaps and baby corn. Cover with the lid or foil and leave to cook for 7 minutes. Roughly chop the peanuts. Pick the coriander leaves. Slice one lime in half and the other into 4 wedges.
- Take the lid off the pan and give it a good stir. Put the lid back on and cook for 5 more minutes, until the rice is cooked through. Take off the heat. Squeeze over the juice of the halved lime and stir it through. Taste and season with salt and black pepper.
- Serve in bowls, topped with the lime wedges, coriander leaves and chopped peanuts.
Ultimate Vegan Mac & Cheese
There’s something about creamy, cheesy pasta that just works. We’ve made a lot of mac and cheese recipes in our time but this might well be the best. It’s exceptionally creamy, incredibly cheesy and the breadcrumb topping gives it an unbelievable crunch. Coupled with a fresh salad this mac and cheese is the stuff of dreams.
Serves 4–6
- 300g macaroni
- 750ml almond milk
- 50g cashew nuts
- 40ml olive oil
- 1 garlic clove
- 40g flour
- 100g vegan cheese
- 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
- 2 tsp Dijon mustard
- 50g fresh breadcrumbs
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- salt and black pepper
You’ll need:
- Grill preheated to high • Large pan of salted boiling water
- Medium saucepan • Power blender • Large, deep frying pan
- Fine greater • 4–6 ramekins
Method:
- Add the macaroni to the boiling water and cook for 1 minute less than the packet instructions. Drain
- Meanwhile, put the medium saucepan over a medium-high heat. Add the almond milk and cashews and bring to the boil. Transfer the mixture to the blender. Blitz until smooth
- Pour the oil into the frying pan and place it over a medium heat. Peel the garlic and grate it straight into the pan. Cook for a couple of minutes until just starting to brown. Add the flour to the pan and whisk until it combines with the garlicky oil to make a paste. Cook for 1 minute. Reduce the heat to low. Slowly pour a little of the almond milk and cashew mixture and whisk until completely combined before adding more until all the nut milk is incorporated. Cook for 2 minutes. Grate the vegan cheese. Add the nutritional yeast, mustard and cheese to the pan. Stir to mix and add a splash more almond milk if the mixture is too thick. Taste and season generously with salt and pepper. Take the pan off the heat and stir through the cooked pasta. Spoon into the ramekins
- Put the breadcrumbs, olive oil and a big pinch of salt and pepper into a bowl and stir to mix. Scatter the crumbs over the pasta. Place the ramekins under the grill and cook for 1–2 minutes, keeping a close eye on them, until the topping is crispy. Serve!
Recipes extracted from Speedy BOSH! by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby, published by HarperCollins, RRP$39.99
