Vegan ‘chorizo’ with creamy courgette and sweet potato noodles

I choose to eat vibrantly. The more colour on the plate, the happier I am. If there is anything I have learned over the last ten months; it’s that you eat with your eyes first. This dish is beautiful on the eye, with citrus-coloured noodles topped with a golden cream sauce which is set off perfectly with a deep pink plant-powered ‘chorizo’.

I created and cooked this for my friends last night who are all fans of meat chorizo and they loved it. I hope you love it too.

This serves four people.

Ingredients 

‘Chorizo’

• 120g sweet red pepper
• 120g sun dried tomatoes (rinsed)
• 100g walnuts
• 50g oats
• 0.5 tbsp paprika
• 0.5 tsp ground cumin
• 0.5 tsp mild chilli powder
• 0.5 tsp ground cinnamon
• 0.5g ground garlic

Cream sauce

• 600g squash
• Drizzle of rapeseed or olive oil
• 150 cashews (soaked for in cold water for two hours)
• half cup of nutritional yeast
• 300ml plant milk (i.e. almond, oat, soya)
• 150ml water

Noodles

• 2 standard courgette
• 2 standard sweet potato
• tsp coconut oil (or rapeseed or olive oil)

Equipment

I use a Nutribullet to blend the sauce, a Magimix 3200 food processor to make the chorizo and a spiralizer to make the noodles. If you don’t have a spiralizer you can use pasta or gnocchi.

Method

1. Set your oven to 200 degrees.
2. Peel the squash and cut it into bite-size cubes. Place it in a bowl and drizzle a little rapeseed or olive oil. Top with salt and pepper. Use your hands to move the squash around the bowl to ensure it is well seasoned and covered with a little oil.
3. Spread the squash out evenly on a baking tray and cook for 50 minutes at 200 degrees. My fan oven is a little old – if you have a healthier, happier oven 180 degrees may be more appropriate.
4. De-seed the red pepper, rinse the sun dried tomatoes (if kept in a jar with oil) and pop them in the food processor along with the walnuts, oats and spices. Pulse the mixture until comes together. Although it should be relatively smooth it should still have some texture.
5. Roll the chorizo mix into sausages, place on grease-proof
   paper and pop in the fridge for 40 minutes or so to chill.
6. Once the squash is cooked let it cool on the tray before blending. It should be soft, but hard enough to still hold it’s shape and not mushy.
7. Blend half of the squash, cashew nuts nutritional yeast and 200ml of the plant milk until smooth. Gradually add more of the squash, milk and water. Add salt and pepper to taste. When all blended together this will be quite thick, if you want it to be thinner, add more plant milk or water when you come to heat it later.
8. Peel the sweet potatoes and spiralizer. Wash the skin of the courgette and then spiralize, place in a wok with the coconut oil and gently heat. When you serve the noodles they should still be firm and a little warm – the bonus of eating these relatively raw is that they retain so many more nutrients. 
9. Remove the chorizo from the freezer and slice into rounds. It should be firm but still easy to cut.
10. Warm a frying pan with half a tsp of coconut oil and place the chorizo in. Cook at a medium heat for a couple of minutes on each side. When you turn it you should notice that that it has darkened and looks a little grilled.
11. In the meantime pour the cream sauce in to a saucepan and heat, continually stirring at a medium heat to ensure it doesn’t stick or burn.
12. Serve up the noodles and top with the cream and chorizo.

This chorizo is a lot softer than the mean version but the use of paprika and other traditional chorizo spices give it that very familiar smell which wins over everyone who is doubtful that the plant-based version will ever compare. If you like your chorizo hot, add more chilli powder and if you love the smokiness of paprika load it up.

Overall this meal is surprisingly fulfilling and you may be surprised at how comfortably full you feel relatively quickly. If you want to add in even more veggies, try stir-fying the noodles with sliced chestnut mushrooms and peas.

Nourish

The nuts in this meal are well-known for their heart boosting powers, strengthening our bodies against cardiovascular disease as well as cancer. Walnuts are rich in anti-oxidants and omega-3, while cashews are rich in zinc and iron which supports a healthy immune system.

Sweet potatoes are high in nutrients but low on the glycemic index which helps stabilise our blood sugar levels, keeping any cravings and hunger at bay. They also support our bodies to lower bad cholesterol and are also high in anti-oxidants and vitamin E.

🌟

I really hope you enjoy this recipe this Autumn and do let me know what you think. 

Hx

Pumpkin pie potion

It’s nearly that time of year when we all pick our pumpkins to carve. Rather than throw away the insides, throw them straight into a blender to create this delicious pumpkin pie inspired juice. Pumpkin is known for its medicinal benefits – full of antioxidants, high in vitamin C and it’s also a high fibre source of complex carbohydrates.

Pumpkin pie potion

Ingredients

All of the spices I’ve chosen are used in traditional pumpkin pie. I’ve added a carrot for extra colour and a nutritional boost and dates to sweeten. The almond milk gives it a lovely creamy taste.

• 200g pumpkin
• 4g chunk of ginger (or powered ginger)
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• Half a lemon – juice
• 1 peeled medium sized carrot
• 400ml almond milk
• 5 dates

I use a big Nutribullet cup to make this.

Method

Cut the pumpkin into bite-size chunks and place into the cup. Add the ginger and spices with 200ml of the almond milk and whizz until it becomes a liquid.

Add the carrot, juice of lemon, dates and the rest of the almond milk and whizz until the mixture becomes smooth and creamy. Top it up with water if needed if you prefer your smoothie to be lighter.

Can I do anything with the seeds?

You can use the whole pumpkin by toasting the seeds in the oven. They’re low carbohydrate, full of fibre, protein and healthy fats so they’re worth making the most of.

Rinse them under water and place them on a baking tray for 15 minutes at about 150-170 degrees. You can use them in porridge, muesli or to add to soups. If you want to eat them as a snack, try adding salt and pepper and paprika.

A kooky looking Halloween decoration, a medicinal potion and a healthy and nourishing snack all made out of one pumpkin. 

Happy Halloween

Hx

Scrumptious green juice

This green juice is scrumptious. It’s full of veggies like kale and cucumber which are high in bioavailable vitamins and minerals – this means that they are easily absorbed by your body. It also provides an excellent source of bone boosting calcium and is high in plant protein. I’ve topped it up with helpful plants like kiwis and cucumber which actually help the body to break down and absorb this protein goodness more efficiently.

This vibrant drink tastes refreshing and the kiwi gives it a delicate sweetness. Because of the protein content it leaves me feeling full and nourished. It’s super easy to make – it’s really just a case of throwing it all in a the blender, pouring it into a glass, drinking it, and letting it work it’s magic.

Scrumptious green juice

Ingredients

• 1/5 cucumber (around 100g)
• Big handful spinach
• Big handful kale
• 1 green kiwi
• 1 scoop (around 30g) organic hemp protein (optional)
• Tablespoon spirulina
• 10 almonds
• Teaspoon chia seeds
• Half a juice of one lemon
• Top up with water or coconut water

I always use the large Nutribullet cup for all my juices.

Cucumber

I love using cucumbers in my juices because they give the flavour a taste of freshness.

I actually feel a bit sorry for cucumbers, because I don’t think they’re perceived to have all that much gravitas in comparison to other veggies. They’re the kind of vegetable that just gets thrown on a green salad without a second thought. Cucumbers though, are actually pretty awesome and can be especially useful when it comes to maintaining a healthy digestive system.

When using cucumber in this juice just wash the skin and chop it into chunks – you want to include everything. The seeds act as a diuretic which helps to maintain the body’s water balance while the skin is a super source of chlorophyll which supports digestion. Cucumbers also contain a digestive enyzime called erepsin which helps to cleanse and tone the intestines.

Curly kale

Kale is hogging the limelight right now, in fact, you can’t walk into sandwich shop without stumbling over a packet of kale crisps – they are everywhere.

So why is everyone going so krazy for kale? Well, kale has the highest source of antioxidants in comparison to all other veggies. If you are ever making your own version of a green smoothie, always shove a handful of kale in it. It also reigns supreme over every other vegetable when it comes to both iron and calcium content, one portion of kale provides you with a 1/5 of your calcium intake – if you only eat plant-based foods like me, it’s worth stocking up on kale for healthy bones and teeth.

Like most veggies, the less you cook them the more nutrients you retain so popping this in your juice is a really effective way of eating it. By adding the lemon juice they work together to boost your body’s absorption powers. This means that you’ll absorb optimum levels of iron and calcium.

Green kiwi

Everyone is trying to stay clear of colds and the flu at this time of the year and kiwis can help you. I’ve discovered that they’re a particularly good resource to help our body strengthen its immune system because they really high in vitamin C.

Like kale, kiwi is best eaten raw  so when I put a green kiwi in this juice, I simply cut of the nobble at the end give the skin a bit of a scrub under water and put it in whole. These little fruits are so full of fibre that I don’t want to lose out to any of it by scraping out the green inside away from the skin. Two kiwis a day can provide you with 20% of your recommended fibre allowance and are great at keeping your digestive system moving.

The little black seeds though small contain omega 3 fatty acids which support a healthy heart by acting as a natural blood thinner. Pretty amazing.

Green kiwis may be small but they pack a big nutritional punch

Almonds

Think a juice won’t keep you feeling full? Add in some almonds and you may be surprised at what happens. This particular nut is full of monosaturated fats and so takes a long time to be fully digested, keeping hunger pangs at bay.

Almonds are also even higher in calcium than Kale so this nutty addition helps to boost your intake for the day. They are also high in vitamin E which supports a healthy cardiovascular system.

Spirulina 

“Have you got that mouldy pond scum in your smoothie again today Hannah?”  My work colleagues are referring to the impressive green superhero which is spirulina. It may smell a little bit funky but based on its hugely impressive nutritional benefits I will continue to eat it.

So now you might be wondering if spirulina actually does come from a pond? The answer is yes. It is a type of blue green algae that grows in both fresh and salt water. That might turn you off, but hopefully, you’ll change your mind when I say it’s been referred to as the most nutritional plant on planet Earth! Holy moly! Get this stuff in your juice!

Spirulina actually rivals eggs for protein content and per gram is far higher in protein than red meat. It also contains all the amino acids we need. It’s far more digestible than red meat so for vegans constantly battling against protein deficiency statements just tell everyone about spirulina, it wins hands down. It is also full of vitamin B1, B2, B3, copper and iron and also contains good levels of magnesium and potassium.

A packet of spirulina will cost you about £10 for 200g – I buy the Naturya product. It might sound like a lot but it does last if you’re only using a tablespoon a day.

Chia seeds

These seeds have also become super popular in the last year or so. Some people call them Ki-a, others pronounce them Chi-a – the correct way is the latter. You can find them now in a lot of supermarkets and places like Holland & Barrett, as well as online. They can be quite expensive so it’s worth considering buying them in bulk. You can use them on salads, stir-fries, smoothies, porridge andcakes so they’re worth the investment.

They a great supporter of heart health, being high in omega-3 and also high in calcium and magnesium for strong bones.

Spinach

Spinach is high in vitamin K which boosts your bones and when eaten raw it’s best absorbed through adding lemon juice. Spinach helps fight inflammation in the body and its antioxidant properties can help reduce the risk of some cancers. For more information in spinach check out my choco-root smoothie post.

Organic hemp protein powder

Hemp is a complete source of protein (containing all 21 amino acids) and fibre and because it is high in omega-3, 6 and 9 its fatty acid content help support brain and heart health. Because I regularly practice yoga and work out a lot I use this to support and maintain my muscles. I personally find that adding hemp protein also keeps my hunger at bay.

I have loved researching this juice – I’m in awe of all the incredible things these plants can do to support our body’s well-being. Let me know what you think, especially if you are as wowed by them as me.

I hope you get to enjoy this juice soon, when you do, let me know what you think.

Have a gorgeous weekend,

Hx