Chilled Summer Lettuce & Pea Soup

No wait, come back!! I promise this is soooo good :-) As odd as it all sounds (lettuce in soup?? and COLD?) this really is quite delicious and is going to be a summer staple for us for sure.

It came about, as I'm guessing all lettuce soups do, because I had a major glut of lettuce in the poly-tunnel. About 10 big heads of lettuce came up at the same time and since my son doesn't eat lettuce (grrr) that's an awful lot for 2 people to get through, yes, even for vegans :-) 

After getting quite bored of salads and of wrapping almost everything I was eating in large leaves of lettuce I had a search online to see what else I could do with them. There were quite a lot of lettuce soup recipes around, some chilled, some not and I've based this one a few different recipes, taking ideas I liked best from each of them and putting it into one soup...Including my very own Minted Petite Pois and Potato Soup from 2009 :-)

This one has a potato added which I liked as it gives the soup some body, LOTS of fresh herbs which are essential - especially the mint! Lots of garlic and some petite pois - their sweetness really help balance out the lettuce. Then some soy cream is stirred in before blitzing, giving the soup a lovely creaminess.

Now, if chilled soups sound like an abomination to you, this soup is just as good hot. My husband isn't into the whole chilled soup thing so he heats his, in which case it's lovely with a sprinkling of my vegan parmesan on top. 

If it's cool out I'll heat mine and probably slightly prefer it that way but when I made this soup it was roasting hot here - my kitchen was 29.2 degrees! On those days, having a fresh green cooling minty soup with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a chilled glass of white wine was just perfect and oh so refreshing :-)

~Recipe Notes~

♥ Our lettuce was Cos but I'm sure any green leaf lettuce would work, especially romaine (not iceberg though!)

♥ I have made this with a Knorr Vegetable Stock Pot and with a Kallo Vegetable very low-salt Stock Cube, both turned out wonderful. I needed an extra ⅛ tsp of salt with the Knorr one and added ¾ tsp with the low-salt Kallo one.

♥ I used 1 whole 250ml carton of Alpro Single Cream
♥ Recipe provides about 4-6 servings and can be frozen!

Chilled Summer Lettuce & Pea Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped (2 Tbsp)
3 cups (750 ml) water
1 vegetable stock cube
1 potato, peeled and sliced thin
 (about 164g peeled weight)
5-6 cups lettuce, from about 2 large heads, chopped and lightly packed (250g)
1 cup frozen petite pois or peas (130g)
1 Tbsp each finely chopped fresh dill, mint and chives 
1 cup (250 ml) soy cream
salt and pepper to taste
~
lemon wedges to serve (if having chilled)
vegan parmesan to serve (if having hot)



In a saucepan, soften the onion and garlic in the oil with some black pepper until the onion is soft and translucent. Dissolve the stock cube in the water and add to the pot with the sliced potato. Cover and simmer for about 10 minutes or until the potato very soft. Add the lettuce, peas and fresh herbs and cook for about 5 minutes, turn off the heat and stir in the soy cream, let cool slightly.

In a blender, purée the soup until smooth and bright green, mine took a little while to get really green - just keep going. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Let cool at room temperature then cover and refrigerate until cold. 

When I'm having this soup cold I serve it with a wedge of lemon to squeeze in then season with a little salt and pepper - the lemon really goes well in this! If I'm having it warm I don't add the lemon but like a spinkling of my vegan parmesan on top and some black pepper. Both ways are great :-)

From various sources but mainly Ricardo Cuisine's Chilled Lettuce Soup.

Nutritional Information: for 1 serving out of 6

Calories: 153
Protein: 3.4g
Fibre: 3g
Carbs: 12.1g
Sugar: 2.8g
Fat: 9.4g
Sat Fat: 1.3g
Sodium: 332mg (depending on stock cube used)

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Lightly Charred Zesty Lime Margarita Marinated Tofu

Served with Mexican Rice, Potato Salad and Sweet Iced Tea - hello summer!

Ok, so I am loving this tofu lately! Those of you who like my facebook page will recognize it from a couple weeks ago as part of my blog testing lunches :-) It's pretty much as described, tofu marinated in a zesty lime and tequila marinade then pan fried until lightly charred. It's seriously good, very zesty and downrite more-ish. The marinade is slightly adapted from Iowa Girl Eat's recipe for margarita chicken (good tip - don't limit yourself to searching for tofu recipes, meat marinades usually work awesome as tofu marinades!)

Served as a lighter meal on top of some nice lettuce with slices of avocado and a drizzle of the marinade as a dressing.

What I am really excited about here is the tofu preparation method I have used. I'm very limited here in the types of tofu I can buy. I can get firm and soft silken tofu then I'm pretty much left with Cauldron's Original Tofu:

For those of you not in Ireland and the UK it is a VERY soft tofu, bordering on silken in many ways. I do love it but it's softness can be a let down in some cases, particularly in marinating. Obviously when marinating you want to extract as much of the liquid as you can from the tofu, usually by pressing so that the tofu will absorb all your yummy marinade. This tofu is so soft it gets a little smashed when you press it. Not good. So I was looking for a way to draw out the liquid without pressing (or freezing as it takes too long) - enter, the microwave.

I simply cut the tofu as I wanted, in this case thin-ish triangles and placed them on a plate. Microwaved for 1 minute then placed them on paper towels to drain. Wiped the plate clean of all the water that came out and repeated the process so that it was microwaved a total of 4 minutes. In the end you end up with a much firmer and bouncier tofu with almost all the liquid extracted - perfect for marinating. This does 'cook' the tofu slightly but I find that only enhances the texture again. Plus, you are then marinating the tofu while warm which I find makes it absorb even more marinade.

I am really happy to find a way to make soft tofu firm, and in only 4 minutes! If your tofu is too soft, give this method a try (step by step photos below!)

~Recipe Notes~

♥ If using soft or very soft tofu then follow my microwaving procedure below.
♥ If you are using a firm tofu, simply press the cut tofu between layers of paper towel or a clean kitchen towel for about 15 minutes, change the paper at least once, then marinade as per recipe instructions.
♥ Depending on your microwave you may not need the full 4 minutes, or you may need more. Stop when there is very little water being released by the tofu and it feels firm, bouncy and dry-ish.
♥ The 1 tsp of salt is not a typo! As this is a marinade all of that won't be used and you do want a little salty kick here, just like in a margarita :-) Besides, even when I use it as a dressing it's not too much.
♥ Marinade makes enough for 2 lots of tofu (250g) but I've written this up to serve one. Leftover marinade will keep in the fridge for a couple of days or you can double the amount of tofu here to serve 2.

Zesty Lime Margarita Tofu:

40ml lime juice (about 2 limes) +zest of ½ lime
zest of ¼ orange + juice of ½ orange
1 Tbsp tequila, I used gold
1 Tbsp peanut oil
1 tsp sweet freedom syrup, light agave or maple syrup
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp salt and 16 grinds of black pepper
125g tofu (¼ of a pack of Cauldron) - see notes above

For the marinade simply whisk everything but the tofu together and tip into a container that will fit all the tofu in a single layer.

Marinade Source: Iowa Girl Eats

~Prepare the Tofu~

1. Take ¼ of a pack of Cauldron’s Soft Tofu and slice into 6 thin triangles.
2. Place on a plate and microwave on high 1 minute.
3. Transfer the tofu onto 2 sheets of paper towel and place 1 more on top, pat down gently to absorb water.
4. Dry the plate and return the tofu to it. Microwave again for 1 minute.
5. Transfer to 2 sheets of paper towel and place 1 more on top, pat down to absorb water.
6. Dry the plate and return the tofu to it, poke the tofu with a fork, both sides. Microwave again for 1 minute. (You want to fork the tofu now as it's starting to cook it can 'seal' the out side of the tofu which could result in the tofu not absorbing as much marinade. It also helps the water to release.)
7. Transfer to 1 sheet1 of paper towel and place 1 more on top, pat down to absorb water.
8. Dry the plate and return the tofu to it, poke the tofu with a fork, both sides. Microwave again for 1 minute.
9. Transfer to 1 sheet1 of paper towel and place 1 more on top, pat down to absorb water (there should be very little water at this point). Poke again with a fork on both sides.
10. Place the prepared tofu into the marinade, cover and refrigerate for 1 hour to marinade.

~Fry the Tofu~

Brush a little peanut oil onto a frying pan and get it nice and hot. Remove the tofu from the marinade and place in the pan:

 Let it cook until lightly golden brown underneath with some darker spots, then flip them over:

 Spoon over a little of the marinade over each piece of tofu (please take care if you have a gas hob - remember there is tequila in there!!)

 ...and let it sizzle away!

 Flip the tofu over and spoon a little more marinade over, again let it sizzle away.

I now just let it cook, flipping them over until I'm happy with the amount of charred bits I've got on both sides.

Then, just serve as you like! I liked this both ways - as a larger, heartier meal with Mexican Rice and Potato Salad (basic version) and as a lighter salad simply with a nice leaf, avocado and the marinade as dressing. 
(Note that the photos you see here are not with my Mexican Rice recipe but rather an easier 'cheater' version, same idea though.)

♥

Nutritional Information: tofu only, 1 serving

Calories: 193

Protein: 10.9g

Fat: 11.2g

Sat Fat: 2.1g

Fibre: 0.9g

Carbs: 8.8g

Sugar: 5.1g

Sodium: 1163 * - will be less as you don't use ALL the marinade :-)

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Neapolitan Layer Cake

Chocolate, Vanilla and Strawberry Layer Cake with Petal Design Frosting

Well, it has been awhile since I've had a decadent cake post ;-) I made this for my husband's birthday a few weeks ago, and it's something I've wanted to try for awhile now. Actually, my son had a choice of this cake or the Spaghetti and Meatball cake for his birthday in March but the novelty factor of the latter cake was too much for him to resist!

I've really combined 2 different cakes here that I've seen around and wanted to try. First the cake itself - Neapolitan cake: fairly straightforward, just a layer of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry cakes. Then I saw this petal frosting design on this Bakewell Ombre Cake on BBC Good Food and loved the look of it. Thankfully there are lots of tutorials out there on how to do this but really, you're just piping a blob of frosting onto the cake then smearing it to the side with the back of a spoon or small off-set spatula. Time consuming, yes, but not difficult.

Each frosting layer is also flavoured chocolate, vanilla and strawberry and I have to say this cake smells JUST like neapolitan ice cream! It's rather incredible. For the chocolate cake I used the standard chocolate wacky cake recipe that I use for all my chocolate cakes but scaled it down and baked into one 7" cake pan. Then I made an individual vanilla cake using my white cake recipe and an individual strawberry cake also using my white cake recipe PLUS some natural strawberry extract and some pink food colouring paste....which, yes - I was a little heavy handed with in both the cake and the frosting, lol, I was really after something a little more pastel like than what I got, but whatever! Live and learn, food colouring pastes are really potent :-)

One apology on all the recipes here: I wasn't able to convert it all into cups as I just had too much going on with the scaling down of the cake recipes. So, it's all in grams but if I can get on my soapbox here: weighing is a MUCH better and more accurate way of baking, and I'm speaking as someone who grew up using cups then moved to the UK and switched to weighing. For example if you measure out 1 cup of flour it will weigh something slightly different every time but 140g is always 140g. (And don't get me started on measuring things like whole pecans in a cup, haha!! What about all the empty space?!?!) If you do a lot of baking I really recommend picking up a small digital scale.  Anyway....on to the recipe :-)

Neapolitan Layer Cake

For the Chocolate Cake Layer:

• 188g plain flour

• 150g caster sugar

• ½ tsp salt

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 30g unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1½ tsp vanilla extract

• 80ml vegetable oil

• 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

• 240ml cold water

Grease and line the base of an 7" round cake tin with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F. Whisk all the dry ingredients together. In a separate bowl whisk together all the wet ingredients. Pour the wet into the dry and whisk until just smooth - don't overdue it. Scrape the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30 minutes or until firm but bouncy on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Leave to fully cool in the tin.

For the vanilla cake layer:

• 75g vegan butter

• 135g white caster sugar

• 1 tsp clear vanilla extract 

• 180g plain white flour

• 1½ tsp baking powder

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt

• 95ml plain soy yogurt

• 95ml sparkling water

• ¾ Tbsp apple cider vinegar

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Grease and line an 7” cake pan with baking paper.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. In another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large measuring cup whisk together the soy yogurt, sparkling water, vanilla and vinegar.

Alternately add the flour and liquid to the butter mixture starting and ending with the flour. So you add 1/3 of the flour mixture then half of the liquid, 1/3 of the flour mixture, last of the liquid then last of the flour. Mix in with a rubber spatula using a quick folding in movement and only mix until well blended in after each addition - take care not to overmix.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared tin, level off the top and pop it into the preheated oven for about 40 minutes. It should be firm on top, bounce back a little when pressed on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean with just a few crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and leave to fully cool on a wire rack, in the tin.

For the strawberry cake layer:

• 75g vegan butter

• 135g white caster sugar

• 1 tsp natural strawberry extract 

• tiny bit of pink food colouring paste* - check it's vegan of course!

• 180g plain white flour

• 1½ tsp baking powder

• 1/8 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 + 1/8 tsp salt

• 95ml plain soy yogurt

• 95ml sparkling water

• ¾ Tbsp apple cider vinegar

* I used Wilton food colouring paste in Rose, it's labelled vegetarian and is also vegan according to this site selling it.

Preheat the oven to 180C / 350F. Grease and line an 7” cake pan with baking paper.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until creamy. In another bowl sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large measuring cup whisk together the soy yogurt, sparkling water, strawberry extract, paste colour and vinegar.

Alternately add the flour and liquid to the butter mixture starting and ending with the flour. So you add 1/3 of the flour mixture then half of the liquid, 1/3 of the flour mixture, last of the liquid then last of the flour. Mix in with a rubber spatula using a quick folding in movement and only mix until well blended in after each addition - take care not to overmix.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared tin, level off the top and pop it into the preheated oven for about 40 minutes. It should be firm on top, bounce back a little when pressed on top and a wooden skewer inserted in the centre should come out clean with just a few crumbs attached. Remove from the oven and leave to fully cool on a wire rack, in the tin.

5 Quick and Easy Pasta Recipes with Homemade Vegan Parmesan

So, I mentioned back when I posted the Creamy Almond Feta, Tomato and Basil Shells recipe that I would start posting all my easy pasta recipes that I used to deem too simple to post AND I promised you some pasta recipes that call for the homemade vegan parmesan, so...here they are! All these recipes only take as long to prepare as the pasta takes to boil, perfect for a quick mid-week dinner or a quick lunch. 

~Recipe Notes~

• A note on cooking pasta which may seem like basic information but it's often overlooked. It's so important that you salt the water well, what you want to be doing really is seasoning the pasta from the inside out so to speak. After years of just throwing some salt in the pot and ending up with either too salty pasta or really bland pasta I've finally gotten a formula I find works perfect: 1 tsp of salt for every 500ml of water. All of these recipes call for 100g of pasta which I find cooks well in 1 litre of water so I add 2 tsp of salt to the water. Just remember that you can't use the pasta water when you do it this way though as the water is too salty to add to a dish :-)

• Since all the recipes call for 2 Tbsp of the vegan parmesan I'll also give you the instructions to make up just that amount here in case you don't have a jar of the parmesan made up to save you having to go back to the vegan parmesan post all the time :-)

To make 2 Tbsp Vegan Parmesan:
1 Tbsp nutritional yeast, finely ground
1 Tbsp ground almonds, or "almond meal"
⅛ tsp salt.....and just mix it all up!

All recipes serve one generously.

This is basically the base recipe for all of these recipes but I do also love it all on it's own. Honestly, this has replaced macaroni and cheese as my big comfort bowl of creamy pasta of choice :-) Any small pasta shape is nice here, as are noodles like fettuccine or spaghetti. 

Buttery Parmesan Pasta

100g pasta, I've used De Cecco 'Gnochetti Sardi' here

1 Tbsp vegan butter

2 Tbsp of vegan parmesan

freshly ground black pepper
splash of hot water

Boil the pasta in 1 litre of water with 2 tsp salt. Drain and tip into a bowl. (Don't return it to the pot as re-heating it will dry it all out.) Add the butter and toss with the pasta until it melts then toss in the parmesan. If it's a little thick, add a splash of hot water to loosen it up, you shouldn't need more than half a tablespoon. Top with some freshly ground black pepper and some more vegan parmesan. 

♥

Another favourite is this orzo dish which is also one of the very few places I actually prefer dried basil to fresh. There is really no comparing fresh and dried basil - they are different products altogether and in this dish, dried works best :-)

Orzo with Black Olives, Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Vegan Parmesan

100g orzo
20g (8 whole) black olives, chopped
20g (3 whole) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, chopped
10g vegan butter (2 tsp)
2 Tbsp vegan parmesan
¼ tsp garlic granules
¼ tsp dried basil
5 grinds black pepper
Splash of hot water

Boil orzo according to package instructions in 1 litre of water and 2 tsp of salt. Drain, return to pot with the butter, olives, tomatoes, parmesan and seasoning. Heat on low heat, stirring just until butter melts. Add a splash of hot water to loosen and make it a bit creamy, I usually add about a tablespoon. Serve with extra parmesan sprinkled on top. 

♥

I have always loved a basic lemon pasta, this is pretty much how I used to make it with vegetarian parmesan before being vegan and I love this vegan version just as much.

Zesty Lemon Parmesan Spaghetti

100g spaghetti
10g vegan butter (2 tsp)
2 Tbsp vegan parmesan
¼ tsp garlic granules or powder
6-7 grinds freshly ground black pepper
½ tsp lemon zest
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 Tbsp hot water
*optional veg - see note below

Boil spaghetti in 1 litre of water and 2 tsp salt. Mix the vegan parm, garlic, lemon zest and pepper. Drain pasta and return to the pot but turn the heat off. Add the butter and toss until melted. Add the seasoned parmesan and mix until well blended. Add the lemon juice and mix then add a splash of hot water just to loosen the mixture up and make a sort of creamy sauce. 

*Green veg would go nicely in this: peas, asparagus, broccoli or zucchini for example. For the peas, asparagus or broccoli I would just add to the pasta water with a few minutes left. For the zucchini I would slice and halve the slices and sauté them in a little olive oil then just stir into the pasta at the end.

♥

For this one I've added crisp spring like vegetables of asparagus, green beans and petite pois and added fresh dill and chives. It's gorgeous :-) I usually make this with orzo but was out of it so used the gnocchetti sardi again but any small pasta shape will do the trick :-) You should use a pasta size similar to that of the veg in this for the best result.

Spring Vegetable Pasta:

100g orzo or other small pasta shape

30g green beans, chopped into ½" pieces

30g petite pois

30g asparagus, chopped into ½" pieces

1 Tbsp vegan butter 

2 Tbsp vegan parmesan 

¼ tsp garlic granules

⅛ tsp dried dill or about 1/2 Tbsp fresh, chopped fine

1 Tbsp chopped fresh chives

5 grinds black pepper

1 or 2 Tbsp hot water

Boil pasta according to package instructions in 1 litre of water with 2 tsp of salt. Add the green beans, asparagus and petite pois with 4 minutes remaining. Drain, return to pot with the butter, parmesan, chives and seasoning. Heat on low heat, stirring until butter melts. Add a splash or two of hot water to loosen and make it a bit creamy. Serve with extra parmesan to sprinkle on top and some black pepper. 

♥

I've been making this simple pasta dish for YEARS, when I started making it back in the vegetarian days I would always stir in parmesan at the end so I am very happy to have a tasty vegan parmesan that works in it!

I often whip this up in the summer for a quick light dinner, it's especially good with fresh from the garden tomatoes, onion, garlic and basil :-) 

Tomato and Basil Fusilli

100g fusilli or rotini

2 medium tomatoes, cored and diced (about 180g)

1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped

¼ cup onion, diced small

1 Tbsp olive oil, split

¼ cup chopped fresh basil

2 Tbsp vegan parmesan

salt and pepper

Boil the pasta according to package instructions in 1 litre of water and 2 tsp salt.

In a frying pan add ½ tbsp of olive oil, heat and fry the onion with some freshly ground black pepper until the onion is soft but not browned. Add the chopped garlic and fry a minute more. Add the chopped tomatoes and a dash of salt and gently fry until the tomatoes just start to collapse and release their juices a little bit, no more than 5 minutes should do. (Be careful not to overcook them here, you don't want them mushy with lots of liquid.)

Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Add the tomato mixture to the pasta, make sure you get all the liquid in there! Now add the parmesan and basil and mix well on low heat until well mixed and warmed up. Drizzle over the other ½ Tbsp of olive oil and stir until creamy looking. Serve with more parmesan to sprinkle over top.

♥

Nutritional Information: for the first 'base' recipe only (all the other recipes will be similar enough in stats).

Calories: 492

Protein: 16g

Fat: 15.6g

Sat Fat: 3.4g

Fibre: 4.9g

Carbs: 72.9g

Sugar: 3.7g

Sodium: 417mg

Veggie Spring Roll Pancake Wedges with a Sesame-Tamari Dip (Gluten-Free)

We have been loving these lately! I was inspired by these Korean Veggie Pancakes or Pajun from A Spicy Perspective which just looked soooo good. The finely shredded vegetables in them though reminded me of my Veggie Spring Roll filling though so I decided to make these like spring roll pancakes, so you get all the great flavour of spring rolls in pancake form! The only thing from my spring rolls that I didn't add was the bean sprouts as I thought they would take up too much room and upset the texture. Then I added a dip with the seasonings I usually add to my spring rolls - soy sauce and toasted sesame oil.

Her recipe called for egg so I thought I would just use my regular vegan pancake recipe, sans sugar, for the base but opted to try rice flour in place of plain flour as my spring rolls do have rice noodles in them. I am so glad I did as the taste and texture of these using rice flour is just perfect! Light and fluffy and the rice flavour compliments the spring roll components wonderfully. It also just happened to make these gluten free, so that was a nice bonus :-)

These are also very easy to make but please note that the size of the pan you use is absolutely crucial! These are best when they aren't too thick, I've used a 10" non-stick frying pan here which is perfect for this amount of batter, but I'm sure you could use a 12" frying pan as well. Make sure the pan has fairly low sides that slope to ease flipping.

I have also made this as an individual pancake using a smaller pan. If you want an individual serving just divide the recipe by ¼ and use a 6" frying pan but please note that having leftovers of these is not a problem at all. They both re-heat brilliantly AND even taste great cold - they would make great picnic food :-) To reheat simply pan fry until hot on both sides.

I should also note that you are looking at photos here from about 3 separate photo shoots! The first couple times I was pouring the batter into the frying pan over the veg but now I mix the veg in with the batter first. So some of the pics show more veg on top - those are the early versions. Both ways taste the same but it's easier to make and eat if you mix the veg with the batter first. (Just in case you wondering why all the wedges don't look the same!)

Veggie Spring Roll Pancake Wedges with Tamari-Sesame Dip 

Serves 4 as a light meal, 3 comfortably, 2 if you're really hungry :-)

200g organic white rice flour – 1¼ cups
1 tsp gluten free baking powder
½ tsp salt
160ml unsweetened soy milk - 2/3 cup 
180ml sparkling water - ¾ cup
1 Tbsp peanut oil
•
1 Tbsp Peanut oil
80g Chinese or Sweetheart cabbage, sliced fine
1 carrot, sliced into matchsticks – 80g
1 red pepper, sliced fine and into matchsticks – 80g
2 spring onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped fine
2 tsp finely chopped fresh ginger
1 red or green chilli, de-seeded and finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper

Note: As long as you use a total around 200g - 250g of veggies you can use whatever quick cooking veg you like here as long as they are sliced thin. I've made this with tenderstem broccoli and green beans in place of the cabbage and red peppers for example.

1. Get all the veg chopped and ready - garlic, ginger and chili on the left there, carrots, red pepper, cabbage and spring onions on the right.
2. Make the batter: Whisk together the rice flour, baking powder and salt. Add the soy milk and sparkling water and whisk really well until smooth. Set aside.
3.Heat the peanut oil in a wok add all the veg and some freshly ground black pepper and stir fry on high heat until soft and the cabbage has wilted. This should take no longer than 4-5 minutes but make sure there is no liquid left, if the veg start to stick to the pan that's perfect.
4. Place your 10" non-stick frying pan on medium heat and brush with a little peanut oil.

 4. Now add all the veg to the batter and give it a quick stir with a fork then quickly tip it onto the preheated frying pan, spreading it out with a spatula so that it fills the pan and is nice and even.

...and let it bubble away!

5. Fry until golden brown underneath, you can peek by sliding a knife underneath to have a look but also, the pancake edges should be firm and cooked and even the whole top of the pancake should start to look fairly set. Before you move the pancake, make sure it isn't stuck at all by carefully sliding a spatula around the edges and underneath to loosen. Then shake the pan back and forth, if the pancake moves from side to side then it's ready to flip. Do NOT try and flip this if the pancake doesn't slide around in the pan!! 

Note: if you aren't too confident in flipping this you can pop it under a pre-heated grill to cook the other side. When I do this I do still fry the other side to get it crispy but since it's already cooked and firm on both sides, flipping it will be a breeze :-) Just make sure your frying pan is grill safe.

6. Slide the pancake onto a large plate and add a little more peanut oil to the frying pan. Now, put on some oven mitts and place the frying pan over the plate and flip the whole thing over - frying pan and plate so that the uncooked side is down on the frying pan. Remove the plate.

7. Fry the other side of the pancake until crisp and golden. Slide onto a chopping board and slice into wedges and serve with the tamari-sesame dip.

Now the dip is essential here. With the exception of a little salt in the batter there is no seasoning in the pancake, that's what the dip is for. My spring rolls call for soy sauce and sesame oil in the mixture so I've opted for those flavours here as well. I also threw in some sesame seeds like A Spicy Perspective did and they really add to it.

Sesame-Tamari Dip:

¼ cup soy sauce (or tamari for gluten-free)
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp Sweet Freedom Syrup (vegan honey) or use light agave.
4 tsp toasted sesame oil
1 tsp sesame seeds

Simply whisk all together. If you find it a little strong, feel free to add some water...I do love my soy sauce:-) I should also note that I personally prefer this taste wise with soy sauce but the difference is negligible. 

They made a great casual dinner with some chilled beer, something light and bubbly would be perfect :-)

Nutritional Information: for 1 serving out of 4, dip not included.

Calories: 255

Protein: 4.5g

Fat: 8.1g

Sat Fat: 1.2g

Fibre: 3.2g

Carbs: 40g

Sugar: 3.5g

Sodium: 129mg

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♥