Spicy Pasta With Pinenuts

I love this fusion pasta dish, by Yotam Ottolenghi from his book Plenty.   I replaced the butter with Pure olive margarine and used egg free pasta to make it vegan.   I also reduced the fat content, as I thought 200 g margarine was a little excessive and for my taste doing so does not impact on the finished dish.

Serves 4

300 g spaghetti
6 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove crushed
100 g vegan margarine
2 small onions finely chopped
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp turmeric
Salt and pepper
80 g pine nuts

Gently toast the pine nuts in a pan, place in a pestle and mortar and crush, leaving some of the pine nuts whole.

Melt the margarine in a large frying pan, add the oil, onion and garlic and fry until the onion is translucent, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Add the spices to the onion and cook gently for about 5 mins to release the flavours of the spices but avoid cooking on too high a heat to avoid burning, season with plenty salt and pepper and mix.   Cook the pasta until al dente.

Drain the pasta and combine with the spice mixture and serve with the pine nuts sprinkled over the top.   I love this dish served with lightly fried broccoli, peppers, courgettes and onion.

Superstore Tib Street Manchester - 16th January 2015

I must have walked past Superstore NQ many times and never visited, so called in for breakfast on the last morning of a three day trip to Manchester.   I asked the waitress if the  scrambled tofu was vegan and she checked with chef who confirmed it was so that is what I ordered.   The tofu was cooked with spring onion and tomato and served with baked beans and charred bread.   It was delicious comfort food, very tasty and a good sized portion which lasted me all day.  I will definitely revisit and its really handy if you need a bit of shopping as there is a small supermarket in the basement.

1847 Vegetarian Bistro Mosley Street Manchester - 15th January 2015

I had enquired as to vegan options at 1847 and Alex Claridge development chef kindly sent me the latest menus which included plenty of choice for myself so I made a reservation.   We arrived and were shown to our table, the place had a really nice vibe with many tables already occupied.  The waiter took our drinks order and explained that as well as the A La Carte there were five and seven course tasting menus both of which could be vegan.   We decided to opt for the A La Carte and so I ordered parsnip, wild mushroom, Malaysian lemongrass and almond starter followed by beer battered tofu which came with chips, pea mayo and sea herbs.   My husband had the wild mushroom crackling and halloumi cheese  version of my main course.   What can I say, the starter was light, tasty and fresh and very nicely presented and perfectly sized, I hate being overfaced.

As for the main course, well again what can I say, it was fantastic, the batter was light and crisp, the chips were to die for and the pea mayo was a really nice twist on the classic mushy peas and I loved the samphire sea herb.

My husband was suitably impressed with his meal which he finished with a vanilla cheesecake which he said was one of the best, I am sorry to say I jibbed on dessert, as I was so full.   This is clever cooking and it is great to have fine dining vegan and vegetarian food and having dined in many Michelin starred restaurants, is up there with the best but at a fraction of the cost.   This is now on the list to revisit, how lucky are the people of Manchester to have such a fabulous restaurant on their doorstep.

Earth Cafe Turner Street Manchester - 15th January 2015

I have been meaning to visit Earth Cafe for ages  so a recent visit to Manchester was an ideal opportunity for lunch.  It is situated under the Buddhist Centre and is totally vegan bar serving dairy milk with teas and coffees.

We both opted for the £6 platter which includes four items from the food counter, so I had spinach dahl with brown rice, carrot and a cucumber salad and my husband had Caribbean curry, brown rice and the two salads.   The food is all made on site, organic as far as possible and really tasty and good value.  The place was busy with people coming and going all the time which is a really good sign.

I was really tempted by the fantastic array of cakes in the display counter.

So even though I was quite full I really could not resist the coffee and walnut cake, which came highly recommended by two members of staff and I had to agree with them, it was fantastic.

Will I return to Earth Cafe, of course its on my list for next time and I love that everything is vegan, if this place was round the corner from home, I would be a regular visitor.

Bagel Nash Arndale Centre Manchester - 15th January 2015

I love bagels and Bagel Nash is always a good place to eat anytime especially for breakfast.   If you are in a rush they do takeaway but we always sit in and so on this particular visit I ordered my favourite combination peanut butter and jam on wholemeal with a large Americano coffee.   What can I say, always tasty and delicious!

Piccolino Clarence Street Manchester - 14th January 2015

I had high hopes of Piccolino's as the week before our visit, I had emailed to ask if they could cater for my vegan diet and I received a reply to say it was no problem and included a copy of their vegan menu which I blogged about previously.   We arrived and were shown to the bar for a drink by the Manager and then shown through to a nice table for two in the corner and given menus, it seemed maybe they had forgotten about my vegan requirements, so it was a good job I had printed off and taken my copy of the vegan menu.   I asked our waiter if the pasta on the vegan menu was eggfree but he had no idea and said he would have to ask chef.   We placed our order, mine being a spinach, avocado and mushroom salad and penne alla Norma (I had to ask the waiter again about the pasta and was told it was okay) and seasonal greens cooked with oil.   Both the dishes are on the menu and to make them vegan the pancetta on the salad and the ricotta cheese on the pasta is removed, but yet they charge the same price, which I find a bit cheeky.   The salad was okay, nothing to shout home about but what do you expect for £6.95!!

The pasta dish arrived and was covered in cheese, so our waiter took it back to the kitchen alongwith my husbands main course to keep it warm whilst a new dish was made.   Once this arrived so did my seasonal greens, whereupon the Manager asked if I would like cheese on my pasta!!   I'm afraid the pasta was undercooked and the sauce was bland, bland, bland, a shame as I have had the same dish in Italy and its fantastic with a delicious aubergine sauce, but not at Piccolino and at £10 not a cheap dish either.   My husband was suitably un-impressed with his meal and said it too was bland and underseasoned.   We decided not to bother with anything else and asked for the bill and I told our waiter I was not impressed with the food and he tried to blame it on the fact I had chosen the wrong dishes!   If a restaurant offers a special menu like vegan then the staff really should be well informed as to the diet in question, so maybe more training is required.  In the meantime this is one restaurant I will not be revisiting when back in Manchester.

V Revolution Oldham Street Manchester - 14th January 2015

I have been following the guys at V Revolution for ages and it has been on my bucket list to visit, so a recent trip to Manchester was the perfect excuse.  We wanted a cup of tea and a cake, as we had eaten a large breakfast and so the awesome looking maple and pecan sponge cake on display was the obvious choice.   Two huge slices of cake and two large cups of tea was £9.60 so its definitely a bargain.  The cake was fabulous, tasted as good as it looked and I did not want to finish it was so delicious.  We got talking to the two guys Dom and Andy who kindly recommended other places to visit that cater for vegans.   They have an in-house baker who unfortunately was off sick that day so the cake we sampled was made by Lily and Dilly.  Our next visit will have to be to sample one of their burgers or hotdogs, proper vegan junk food which is fabulous, I don't want to be healthy all the time.

On The Eighth Day Oxford Road Manchester - 14th January 2015

I have been dying to try On the Eighth Day for ages especially as our hotel booking did not include breakfast and I really yearned for a full vegan.   We arrived at about 9.45 am and quickly placed our order, I was starving which is a good thing as you certainly do not go hungry.   The breakfast consisted of cherry tomatoes, fried mushrooms, vegan sausages, fried tofu, baked beans and toast, all helped along by a big pot of Earl Grey tea.  The total for two people was £15 and bearing in mind breakfast at the hotel would have been £15 each, we could not fault it.   It was quite a walk there and back to On The Eighth Day from our hotel, but it was a crisp January morning and the walk there and back was very enjoyable.  Will we be back, of course!

Pizza Express 6a South King Street Manchester - 13th January 2015

I love Pizza Express especially as they have a vegan pizza on the menu, The Pianta and having dined in Pizza Express branches from Edinburgh to London and everywhere in between, even Gibraltar, really love the consistency of the product.  So on a trip to Manchester we booked a table at the King Street restaurant on a cold Tuesday evening and were quickly shown to our table and drinks and food orders taken.  We ordered dough balls, sunblush tomatoes and olives to share which are always good, its hard to resist the dough balls they are that good, so good in fact I forgot to take a photo before we ate them all!!

The Pianta pizza as usual was spot on, full of my favourite toppings, spinach, mushrooms, pine nuts on a spicy arrabbiata sauce and finished with rocket, there was not much left by the time I had finished.  Pizza Express had an offer of 40% off the food, so the total bill including coffees came to £37.    Whenever we want pizza it really is hard to beat Pizza Express.

Oak Street Cafe Bar Oak Street Manchester - 13th January 2015

The Manchester Design Centre houses Oak Street Cafe Bar which has several vegan options on the menu, including toasties, soups and cakes.   We visited for lunch and although my husband is not even vegan, we both chose the mushroom toastie with olive and almond pesto and two teas, one breakfast and one Earl Grey with soya milk.  The toasties were fabulous, so tasty with the pesto and the bread was lovely, soft and melt in the mouth.  The total cost was £15 which we thought was a bargain and we will revisit next time in Manchester, as the vegan cakes on offer looked fabulous.

Piccolino Italian Restaurants Vegan Menu Available

I have been frequenting various Piccolino Italian restaurants part of the Individual Restaurants chain for many years and have always asked about vegan options. Well maybe its paid off, they now have a specific vegan menu



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The Three Fishes Mitton Road Whalley - 10th January 2015

I have been visiting The Three Fishes for awhile now and the vegan options have just got better and better which reflects on head chef Ian Moss's enthusiasm for creating something interesting and delicious. As usual I emailed a couple of weeks beforehand to book a table and give Ian plenty of notice to create a menu which new manager Martin emailed to me a couple of days before my visit. Dinner began with jerusalem artichoke soup with mushroom ketchup and homemade bread, the soup was smooth and velvety and the ketchup gave the soup another taste dimension.   What a great start to a meal.  

   


The main course was a wild mushroom and leek turnover, which was one of the vegetarian options on the Christmas menu, with the pastry unsuitable for me, so chef had made some vegan pastry, how good is that. To accompany the turnover was a hot tomato relish, butternut squash and some fabulous waxy new potatoes. The pastry was lovely, light but crisp and the filling moist and packed with flavour, simple ingredients perfectly cooked, the only leftovers were a couple of potatoes which I jibbed on as I had a pudding waiting though my willpower was waning as the potatoes were so delicious


 


Dessert was a three layered jelly (cherry, orange and strawberry) served with champagne sorbet. A vegan jelly is something I have never attempted to make or even had whilst dining out but this was very good and just the thing as I really was full. The jelly took me back to my childhood when my mum would make jelly but with the dreaded gelatine, whereas Ian had initially used agar agar setting agent which gave an unacceptable solid texture, so the final version was made using Vege-Gel which gave a soft jelly.


  


I love The Three Fishes so it will not be long before I am back, wonder what will be on the menu??

New Beginnings

Blogging is something new to me, hence the title but I thought it was about time I created my own vegan food blog because I spend many hours in my kitchen cooking vegan recipes but even more time dining out in restaurants and cafes. My experiences as a vegan diner (good and bad) hopefully will help others and show that being a vegan diner is quite normal. Many chefs are wary of us vegans, mainly because they are out of their comfort zone, because everything they are used to cooking with ie meat, dairy, eggs is taken away and they think there is little left. However in my experience there are also a huge number of chefs who are keen to rise to the challenge of a vegan diner, show off their skills, be inventive and test their creativity and produce fantastic, colourful, interesting and delicous dishes and so hence my blog has come into being.