Summery insalata

Yippee! Tomorrow we are heading out to Kent to stay at the Keeper's cottage on the grounds of Leeds Castle, but first, I must conduct my pre-holiday ritual of using up what's left in the fridge. Take out would probably be a more practical option considering that with a toddler in tow I'll have to pack half the flat - but I really hate waste and quite enjoy the challenge of a clear-out dinner. Plus it's nice coming home to a fridge that doesn't smell like bin juice.

I have:

a bunch of carrots

mint

cherry tomatoes

a courgette

buffalo mozzarella (OK, so I cheated a little and bought this earlier in the day)

The plan is to make a souped up insalata caprese, the ingredient that really ties this dish together is the gorgeous buffalo mozzarella with its weird cooked chicken-like texture. Never ever use a knife to cut it! Ripping up a ball of buffalo mozzarella is a strangely satisfying activity that should be enjoyed whenever possible.

The do

Slice the courgette thinly and chop the carrots into bite sized pieces.

Fry the courgette with a little oil and salt in a frying pan until soft and a little charred. While this is happening steam or boil the carrots until they are just done, you don't want them to be too mushy. When everything is done, lay it all together into a big plate and sprinkle a couple of chopped mint leaves on top. Top with a some pinenuts, a handful of halved cherry tomatoes and the buffalo mozzerella, then drizzle a generous amount of good olive oil on top.

Enjoy with some super crunchy ciabatta and a big glass of red wine before you attempt the packing.

Tunes
Butterfly House The Coral

Hola Borough burrito

Last time I visited Borough market on a Saturday I had a nervous breakdown trying to hack through the hordes of tourists lining up for samples. On a Thursday afternoon, however, it's an entirely different story. Having just restored my field of vision by having my fringe cut, I wasted no time collecting a few of my old faves; organic eggs and oakcakes from Neal's Yard Dairy, Comte cheese, saffron from Brindisa and pesto from Borough olives.

So this morning, with these exciting ingredients at hand, I whipped up what I guess could be a Borough market burrito.

My Borough burrito

Makes enough for 2.5 people

What you need

1 pack of North Staffordshire Oatcakes (available from Neal's Yard Dairy for £1).

Note: These oatcakes are not the biscuity kind - they are floppy and spongy, about the size of a side plate, and look like a crumpet that has been run over by a steam roller several times. If you can't handle the crowds, or live in Australia, the usual Old El Paso-style small tortilla wraps will do perfectly fine.

4 eggs, lightly beaten

about 6 cherry tomatoes, cut in slices

a few thin slices of Comte cheese (or tasty cheddar would work well too)

a small handful of chives, chopped

The do

Lay the Comte on the oatcakes and grill until the cheese melts. While this is happening, scramble the eggs in a small pan. When the oatcakes are ready, distribute the chopped tomato on each one and then pile the eggs on top. Garnish with the chives, then roll up like a cigar.

Tom yum yum yum

All this wintery weather has given me the most hideous cold I've had in years. I rarely get sick and that's probably why I hate it so much. I can't be bothered doing anything, my appetite disappears, I can't taste anything and all this makes me very grumpy indeed.
My spirits were lifted when my very excellent husband made me this delicious Tom Yum soup. The perfect antidote to whatever ails you - it has enough punch to penetrate snotty sinuses and I'm convinced it has super magic healing powers.

Tip: I usually keep a jar of tom yum paste (check the ingredients for absence of shrimp) in the fridge for a quick soup base, as getting all these ingredients can sometimes be a bit of a mission, especially if you're a bit under the weather.
You could also add tofu and/or noodles to make a meal of this soup and any veg will do, broccoli, baby corn, mangetout or capsicum would all be great additions.

Tom Yum Goong
Makes about 4 entree-sized portions or 2 big bowls

What you need
1.5 litres of marigold vegetable bouillon or any other good veg stock. Mix it up strong enough so it tastes good on its own
1-2 stalks lemongrass, tough outer layers removed and sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, crushed
3 whole kaffir lime leaves (available fresh or frozen at Chinese food stores, or dried in supermarkets. Use double if they're dried)
1-2 red chilies, sliced. Add less or more according to preference
1 thumb-sized piece ginger, sliced into thin matchstick pieces
3 portabello mushrooms, chopped into bite-sized pieces (enoki or shitake would be good too)
2 bunches baby bok choy cut into 3cm pieces (or broccoli, spinach or chard would work too)
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
a mini can of good-quality coconut milk
1 teaspoon brown sugar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
juice of a lime
a big handful of basil (roughly chopped)
a big handful of coriander (roughly chopped)

The do
Pour stock into a soup pot. Add the lemongrass, lime leaves, chili, garlic, and ginger. Bring to boil and continue boiling for 5-10 minutes.
Add the mushrooms. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-8 minutes, or until mushrooms are soft.
Add cherry tomatoes. Gently simmer 1-2 more minutes.
Reduce heat to low and add the coconut milk, sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. Finally, add the bok choy and gently stir. Keep on the heat until the bok choy is cooked, and then it's ready to go.

Do a taste test, and give it a tweak - add more chili if it needs more kick. If it's not salty enough, add more soy sauce or salt, add a little sugar if it's too sour and if it's too salty or sweet, add another squeeze of lime juice.

Serve in bowls with fresh basil and coriander heaped on top.

First breakfast of the year

After a quick 10 minute clean up of yesterday's soiree, I got down to the business of cooking our new year's day breakfast. Our first meal of the year; scrambled eggs, rosemary mushrooms and semi-homemade baked beans.

Cheat's homemade baked beans with scrambled eggs and mushrooms
(makes about 4 serves)
I buy the Whole Earth baked beans because I like their cinnamony smokiness, but the problem with this is they tend to take centre stage, and today I want them to to be a bit more of a supporting act so I'm going to simplify the flavours by mixing them with some other beans for some textural variety and adding some tomatoes.

What you need
1 can butter beans (drained)
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can drained baked beans (I used the Whole Earth ones)
1 small sprig of rosemary (stick removed, chopped)
1 bay leaf
salt and pepper to taste

The do
Heat a tablespoon of oil in a saucepan, throw in the bay leaf, rosemary, tomatoes straight from the can and the drained butter beans. Let it all bubble away for about the time it takes to fry up your mushrooms with some garlic, butter and rosemary, wash a few champagne glasses and take the recycling downstairs. Add the drained baked beans (don't stress too much about draining off all the sauce). Season with salt and pepper and simmer until the eggs and toast are ready.



We enjoyed our first breakfast of the year in our pyjamas, listening to the food show on radio 4 and discussing our new year's resolutions, one of mine being to blog more.

The Lake District: Currying flavour

Curry night: Lauren and Theo

Whooo! A most excellent hearty curry banquet complete with specialist beers (Cobra). A rare treat to be able to indulge in Indian cuisine without feeling like I've eaten my body weight in ghee and MSG.

Pumpkin & Apple Curry (serves 4)
What you need
Vegetable Oil
large onion
500g of pumpkin/squash, cubed
800g of baking potatoes, cubed
1 large cooking apple, cubed
2 tsp curry paste
1 tsp turmeric
root ginger (2.5cm)
bay leaves
500 ml vegetable stock

The do
Heat oil in pan. Add onion and brown.
Add chilli, curry paste, turmeric, ginger, bay leaves, apple, pumpkin, potato to pan.
Immediately after add vegetable stock.
Bring to boil and then simmer for 20 minutes until cooked.
Serve with fromage frais or yoghurt.



Easy Tofu Curry (serves 4)
What you need
good swig of vegetable oil
Tofu, diced
Seasonal veg - I like to use broccoli & green beans
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp mild curry powder
2 medium fresh green chillies, thinly sliced
5 cm chunk of ginger, grated
2 onions
1 can tomatoes
1 can coconut milk (use light coconut milk if you want a healthier option)

The do
Start by browning the tofu pieces in a pan until brown.
In another pan, heat the oil and add your spices and ginger.
Fry for a few minutes, then add the onions and fresh chilli.
Cook for another 5 minutes then add the tofu and tomatoes.
Simmer for 10-15 minutes then add your favourite veg (broccoli and beans are yum!)
Finally, add the coconut milk and simmer for a final 5 minutes.
Season and serve with basmati rice, raita, mango chutney and fresh tomato salad.

Fresh Tomato Salad (serves 4)
What you need
6 medium tomatoes, diced
Small onion, thinly sliced
Fresh Coriander
Juice of fresh lemon

The do
Combine the ingredients and season with lemon juice to taste

Tune
Sung Tongs Animal Collective

the loveliest lump of clay

Back in February I dragged a huge tagine home from the Atlas Mountains in Morocco. Last month I cooked in it for the first time. Now I'm finally posting the results. Slow cooking indeed.

A couple of things I did manage to do way back when were prepare the tagine (by soaking and oiling it) and preserve some lemons. Lemon preserving is perfectly suited for my kind of attention span. I had no trouble dumping them in the back of a dark cupboard and forgetting about them for weeks on end and they taste an absolute treat for the neglect.

Preserved Lemons
There are probably more techie ways to do this but I went with the directions given to me in Fes. Essentially, cut a cross in the top of each lemon, stuff the fruit with sea salt, squash the lemons into a tightly sealed jar with some lemon juice, water and more sea salt. Then leave them well alone for three to four weeks. I am happy to report that this method proved successful in my kitchen (though stuffing the lemons with salt was a bit of a bastard).


What you'll need for the tagine
Whatever veg your heart desires. I reckon aubergine would have been lovely but I went with what was in the kitchen:

1 Sweet potato (chopped)
1 leek (washed and quartered)
2 zucchini (sliced fairly thickly)
3 fresh tomatoes
1 tin of tomatoes
1 onion
1 fennel
1 preserved lemon
Cummin seeds
Fennel seeds
Paprika
1 bay leaf
Red wine
A handful of green olives
A handful of dried dates
1 tin of chick peas

Make a little veggie stock on the side
With so much veg getting skinned, chopped and grated, this is the perfect opportunity to put all the scraps and peelings into a separate saucepan and make some stock while your tagine is simmering.

Making the tagine
With an electric stove you need a rivet under the tagine to prevent the veggies at the bottom burning. If you are planning a real slow cook, it is advisable to do this with an open flame also.

Heat olive oil in your tagine on med-low heat then soften the onion slowly (I grated mine to make things a bit gooey). Add the chopped dates and a pinch of paprika.



Quarter the preserved lemon. Chop three quarters into small pieces. Toast your seeds in a separate pan, crush them then add them to the onion along with the chopped, preserved lemon. Stir through, followed by all the other veggies, the bay leaf and olives.

Cut your tomatoes in half and grate the flesh off the skin to pulp them. Add with the tinned tomatoes to the tagine. Pour in a generous splash of red wine, seal your tagine and let it simmer on a very low heat for hours on end (about four in this instance).



I think it's best to ignore the whole thing from here on in. If you open the lid too often you'll lose moisture. Just make sure the little bowl at the top of the tagine stays topped up with cold water so the heat circulates through. Twenty minutes before serving, mix in the chick peas. Cut out and discard the flesh of your remaining preserved lemon quarter then slice the skin into thin strips. Add this bit of tang to the cooked tagine to serve (along with some fresh coriander if you like or a few more olives).

morocco, part two: Zaalouk

The first of the two main dishes I cooked with Lahcen in Fes was Zaalouk, a smokey aubergine stew spiced with cumin and paprika. (I learnt a brilliant general cooking tip during its preparation: to pulp raw tomatoes, chop them in half horizontally and use a box grater to grate the flesh away from the skin.)

The recipe includes preserved lemons. No biggie if you don't have them but they are apparently quite easy to make -- you score some lemons, overstuff them with salt, squeeze them into a jar, top it up with more salt, water and lemon juice and then let them fester for four weeks. I set my first batch in the cupboard on the weekend so can't say how they're going yet. Will let you know next month.



What you need for Zaalouk
2-3 aubergines
2-3 tomatoes
Finely chopped chillies, seeds discarded (2-3 if mild, 1 if hot)
2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/4 of a chopped, preserved lemon (not essential)
1 pinch each of ground cumin, paprika, ground black pepper
Lemon juice
Olive oil
A handful of olives and strips of preserved lemon skin to serve (if you have it)

The Do
To get your Zaalouk smokey as Dusty Springfield you really want to start by cooking the aubergine directly on a medium flame on your stovetop, letting them blister on the outside and turning regularly until they are scalded black all over and going limp. (If, like me, you don't have gas, bugger. You can do it in the oven.) When they are cooked, seal the aubergines in a plastic bag for at least twenty minutes. It will be very easy to remove their skins thereafter.

Meanwhile, slice your tomatoes in half and grate the flesh into a bowl (such a genius way to leave the skins behind). Set aside. Fry the finely chopped chillies in olive oil for a few minutes before adding the garlic. Soften over medium heat (chuck in a little wine if you so desire), then add the tomatoes and chopped, preserved lemon. Once the toms are heated through, mix in your spices and a splash more olive oil. Let the mix reduce over a low heat until the tomatoes have thickened. Meanwhile take your cooled, smokey aubergines out of the plastic, peel off the skin and chop them good. Add them to the mix and mash it all up over the heat until it fuses into a lovely, thick, velvety stew. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes before stirring in the fresh parsley. Sprinkle with olives, lemon juice and preserved lemon peel. In my limited experience, Zaalouk is best accompanied by fresh, crusty bread for scooping, lots of smiles and a bloody good view.

Eggs in purgatory ... tagine style

Eggs, tomatoes and smoked paprika all cooked in my latest kitchen acquisition, the tagine.

Chilly fusilli

Pasta salad is misunderstood. Its vintage association with seventies barbecues and cheap salad bars have done it untold damage (I’m looking at you, Swagman).* But fuck all that because a good one is bloody delicious.

Obviously cold fusilli on its own is not the least bit exciting, which is why you need to dress it with a feisty blend of clingy flavours. Adding a little razzle dazzle on the side can distract from its smorgasbord roots (tonight's grilled and seasoned aubergines come courtesy of the River Café Cook Book) but is not entirely necessary. After chowing it all down, Adam happily declared he could eat this for dinner forever.



* If you have 30 seconds to lose, visit the Swagman link for what is sadly one of the most memorable TV ads of my childhood.

Base salad ingredients (for 2 pretty large serves)
1 big cup of wholeweat fusilli pasta
1/2 a continental cucumber (chopped into small slices)
200g feta cheese
1 handful cherry tomatoes (halved)
1 spring onion, finely chopped
Handful of blanched almonds
Handful of fresh basil leaves

Marinated mushrooms ingredients
250g button mushrooms (halved)
Japanese Soya Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar
A hefty teaspoon of Miso paste mixed with around 1/3 cup of water
1 clove garlic (finely sliced)


Extra dressing
Olive oil
Juice 1 lemon

And you’ll need 1 med-large eggplant/ aubergine.



Doing it
Don't worry too much about quantities. Any leftovers make for killer next day lunch box filler.

Cook your pasta then cool it straight away in cold water and set it aside to drain. Mix all your other salad ingredients together in a large bowl (crumbling the feta with your fingies).

Dry fry the blanched almonds in a hot pan, turning frequently to prevent them burning. Once they are lightly toasted, set them aside to cool then add them to your salad.

The mushroom marinade was entirely spontaneous so use whatever you've got. I mixed a big splash of balsamic vinegar, soya sauce and diluted miso paste in a bowl then thoroughly tossed through the button mushrooms and sliced garlic. Let the mush absorb the juice for a few minutes then pour the whole lot into a hot pan and cook it until the juice has reduced to a caramely sludge. Set aside to cool.

Finely slice your eggplant and grill it on both sides then toss it in olive oil, lemon juice and seasoning.

Thoroughly mix your pasta and mushrooms (with any juice) through the salad then pile it onto a plate alongside your sliced eggplant.

'Long time no eat' spicy roast tomato soup

No one wants to be on the receiving end of a blustering excuse so I'll keep the 'lack of post' slash 'repetition of tomato' apologies brief. First, Chew’s been working her head off and I’ve been moving house. So that's that. Second, I have more tomatoes because it just happens to be the season for them. Plus, Chew needs a hearty soup to help revive her hard yakka bones.

So… this little red girl is for whenever you are feeling like a jangling shell rather than a fighting machine and are after some boosting. I don't think you need any more veg than the tomato but I added some because my lovely house friend is of the opinion that soup doesn't count as food so I am obliged to make it chunky.



What you need

1/2 onion, chopped
2 lemon grass sticks (discard the hard outer bits and finely slice the rest)
2 green chilis, finely chopped
A little person's thumb of fresh ginger, finely grated (ie. not much but then I'm not a huge ginger lover)
1 large potato, cubed (or six little ones, halved)
1 zuchinni, finely sliced
A bunch of fresh coriander
6 big tomatoes (or more if you want)
2 garlic cloves
Miso paste or veg stock
Olive oil
Salt'n'pepa
Water to fill your soup pot

How it goes

Preheat the oven to 200c. Chop 2 of the tomatoes into quarters then toss them with olive oil and your potatoes in an oven tray (with some salt'n'pepa and a splash of red wine vinegar if you want). Squash, shell and roughly chop the garlic into quarters. Stuff them into the tomatoes then put the tray of veggies in the oven to roast for 15-20 minutes.

In a soup sized pot, fry the onion on med-low heat to soften with the lemon grass, chilli and ginger. After a few minutes, add the zuchinni and whatever other fresh veg you desire. When the onion is soft, add the diced tomato, water and miso paste (or veg stock). Add your roast veg and and their juices (swill a little water around the pan if need be). Bring the whole shebang to a boil then let it simmer like a grumpy old drunk for at least 30 minutes.

This is a real cleansing soup. If you've got some crusty bread, great. If you’ve got a crusty nose, you'll be whistling dixie by the morning.

Tickle me tomato

I was at the market craving salad yesterday when I saw four different colours of tomato lying next to each other. Sunny, modest, prolific, confused fruit that they are, they looked beautiful. I happened to be at the specialist wild mushroom stall at the time, so this vague idea for a salad was hatched.

(A note on the mushrooms: they lend texture as well as taste, so a mix is good. I got oyster, shitaake, some orangey coloured ones and some bluish ones that look like they should do more than just flavour a salad.)

What you need for a self-juicing quattro colore tomato funghi salad (for 2)

6-7 chopped, small, perky, juicy tomatoes; green, orange, yellow and red (the more colours the merrier)
A breakfast sized bowl of fresh, mixed wild mushrooms (sliced)
Fresh basil leaves, chopped (about 6 big ones)
Fresh mint, chopped (same quantity as basil)
A splash of balsamic vinegar
Big squeeze of lemon juice
1 clove garlic
Olive oil
Salt'n'Pepa
Fresh butter



Melt a thin slice of butter in a generous glug of olive oil and throw in your sliced shrooms. Toss them to coat and saute them on med-hi heat.

While the mushies are cooking, throw your chopped tomatoes into a bowl. Their juices form the base for your dressing, so keep as much as you can. Toss through the mint, basil, dash of balsamic, lemon juice, olive oil and salt'n'pepa.

When your mushrooms are golden, leave them to cool for just a minute before tossing them in with the tomato salad and quickly stirring through. You don't want them hot enough to heat the fruit, but their warmth will enhance the sweet, juicy basily goodness of your salad.

If you have a crust of fresh bread to mop up your empty bowl with, all the better.

strolling through a field of cabbages

A guy on Radio 4 says you should imagine yourself strolling through a field of cabbages when you feel like snapping someone out. It's a totally neutral, beige kind of activity, he reasons, so the idea of it will calm you down. Is this dude insane? Has he NEVER smelt a rotten cabbage!!?! Jeeeezus, man...

Sometimes in a city like London it really is easier to crank up than calm down. Instead of settling for simple cabbages, say, one must have only the most exclusive cabbage in the world, genetically modified to never stink and fertilised by the shit of a single silk worm that only appears every 28 years. Otherwise, one might get all tantrumy. This week is my last in the kitchen that has hitherto been Lily HQ. I don't particularly want to move and have been getting VERY razzed out. I need to think about more than frolicking in a field of cabbages to simmer down, and fast. Here goes...

Beginning: 9 at night and still light is alright. Days are so sunny this week I'm walking to and from work along the Thames south bank, coffee in hand one way and riverside glass of vino the other (breathe and repeat).

Middle: The brilliant diddywah (I know, I'm biased) has listed us alongside an inspired set of vego musical jewels (visit the post here).

End: Chew's got me swooning over Nigel Slater and his Kitchen Diaries. Apart from the fact he knows food real good, the sweet enthusiasm, detailed disappointments and occasional lapses into culinary laziness as he documents a year in his beautifully photographed kitchen are just fine by us. I pay homage to Nige this evening by vegetarianising one of his dishes (no cabbages in sight).



May 7: Chickpeas with Harissa, basil and Aubergine

Preparation is simple on this light, sweet and tangy number as long as you have some roasting time up your sleeve.

What you need (for 2)

1 small-med aubergine or 3/4 a big one, roughly chopped into chunks
A couple of handfuls of pricked cherry tomatoes (or 2-3 big ones, chopped)
Fresh basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon of cumin seeds (a decent pinch)
Red wine vinegar (I didn't have it, so used Orleans vinegar and red wine).
1 x 400g can of chickpeas
Harissa paste (from the tin, jar, tube or home made if you know how).
A big handful of kalamata or other fresh olives (I get mine from Borough Olives).


How it's done

Preheat your oven to 200C (gas 6). Toss your aubergine and toms in an oven tray with the cumin, a big splash of red wine vinegar, pinches of salt and pepper and a generous amount of olive oil (he says 60ml but I have never measured olive oil in my life; coat 'em good, I say). Roast for an hour or, to quote the man himself, "until the aubergine is soft and golden brown, the tomatoes are caught slightly at the edges and the whole lot is fragrant, sizzling and juicy." Sigh. At about 40 minutes chuck in the olives so they warm through.

Drain the chick peas and toss them in with the roasted veg, along with the fresh basil, a glug of olive oil and a big squirt of harissa (Nige says a teaspoon for 4 people: I'd never be so meagre but then it depends how spicy you like it). Mix it all around in the juices then get munching.

This weekend at Borough Market: best eggs in town

Sleep and dreams being my favourite things, there are very few activities I'd get up early for on a Saturday morning (much less leave the house for). But when the craving hits for Spanish scrambled eggs at Brindisa, there's nothing for it but to set the alarm and haul my lazy head out of bed.

Even though Brindisa is at the end my street it still requires considerable effort to dress, buy the paper, face the world and get there with a reasonable chance of being seated before the strict kitchen cut off time of 11am. It can't be done with too much of a hangover: finding the right person to get you a table is a challenge; everyone moves very fast; the proliferation of shiny-haired people with babies can be daunting (as can the Borough Market crowds generally); and a bubble bap at Maria's inside the market is often a better option for the bug-eyed and dehydrated.

But this weekend, with my moon in the sign of can-do, I dragged dazed sweet cousin Annie off the couch at 9.30, shushing her confused mutterings with the promise of a perfect plate of Saturday morning sunshine.



The Brindisa breakfast menu only has a few things on it (most around £6), including chorizo, egg and chips for the meat-eaters and lavender honey on toast for the vegans. But there's really only one plate that matters, my heart having long ago been lost to a pile of deliciously fluffy, golden scrambled eggs with country toast, tomato, manchego cheese and wild mushrooms, accompanied by a cafe con leche that is better than most coffee in town. Annie was a little sceptical at first, likening her pile of mushrooms to the snake pit in Raiders of the Lost Ark, but she couldn't fault the flavour.

This weekend the eggy pile was as delectable as always, albeit a little smaller than usual. So I followed it with a rich, dark hot chocolate made with 70% solid Barcelona chocky. Sweet, dreamy love in a cup, it's so thick you'll need to spoon the ends out. If you get hooked on this or any of the other Spanish produce, you can buy most of it at the Brindisa stall in Borough Market.

And if you miss the 11am brekky deadline, no drama. Just go grazing in the market for a while then come back after noon when their tapas menu kicks in.

A meatless Spag Bol a meat lover would love

Everyday at 1.40pm we go to the staff cafe to watch Neighbours. Sometimes we get our lunch from the canteen (always a cheap but regrettable decision), sometimes we bring it from home.



The other day Guy bought in some leftover Spag Bol, and I was instantly envious of his meal, but not so envious over the meat it contained.
I asked myself, "How long has it been since I had Spag Bol?".
The answer: Too long.

So here it is, my meatless take on the Italian classic.

2 big chopped onions
big splash of olive oil
1 packet of frozen soy protein or TVP prepared as per instructions on box
3 bay leaves
2 stock cubes ( I use Kallo veg)
Herbs (I used rosemary because I have some growing on my windowsill and I use it any chance I get. If you don't have fresh herbs, a few generous shakes of mixed herbs works fine too)
1 teaspoon sugar
about 2 tablespoons tomato paste
Salt
Pepper

In a large pot, fry onion in the oil on medium heat.
Add the soy mince, stir, add half a cup of water. Stir.
Add everything else.
Turn the heat down as low as it will go - leave the lid off. The idea is to reduce it down for at least an hour. This will eliminate the weird cardboard flavour in the soy/TVP, and make the sauce thick, rich and tasty.
Taste it and stir every now and then. Add salt and pepper as you see fit.



Ladle onto your favourite pasta. I like thin spaghetti. Top with fresh herbs like parsley or basil. Add some toasted some pinenuts.
For the dairy tolerant: grate some Parmesan over the top

TIP: Tastes even better the next day!