Vegetable Samosas

I love samosas and prefer to make everything myself, so decided to have a go at making them and I was very pleased with the result.   I had no curry powder, so used what spices were in the cupboard and you can vary the vegetables, I just used what I had.  

½ pack of Jus Rol filo pastry
1 onion
2 carrots
1 leek finely chopped
1 potato
1 tbsp curry leaves
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp coriander leaves
1 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
Salt and pepper

Makes 14

Grate the carrot and onion into a pan, add the leek and 1½ tbsp oil.  

I baked the potato, as I was having one for lunch and so added the flesh to the pan, with the spices and plenty seasoning.

Cook for 15-20 mins, until the carrot, leek and onion are really soft and all the spices have released their flavour.

Put into a dish to cool, whilst you prepare the filo pastry.

Filo pastry dries out really quickly, so lay on a cloth, with the short side facing you and cover with a cloth.

When the filling has cooled, cut the filo pastry into four equal strips from left to right, take one and cover the rest with the cloth.

I always cover the counter top with clingfilm, because turmeric stains and I always wear plastic gloves, otherwise your hands will be yellow for days.   Lay the filo as in the photo below and place a teaspoon of filling in the left hand corner.   Brush some oil on the bottom and right side of the filo, which helps the pastry to stick together.

Carefully seal the edges, then brush the rest of the filo with oil, then fold the triangle upwards, pressing any air out as you go.

At this stage, fold the triangle left diagonally, with the final fold upwards, to make a neat triangle, with the filling completely enclosed in the pastry.

At this stage, I froze the samosas on a baking tray or cook at 180º for 15-20 mins, until crisp and golden.

Panzanella Salad

This is the best version of panzanella ever, thanks to Simon Rimmer, owner of Greens Restaurant and author of The Accidental Vegetarian and I have made loads of his recipes and luckily got my copy signed by the man himself, on my last visit.

1 kg plum tomatoes
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
100 g capers
12 large green olives
1 stale ciabatta loaf
4 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove crushed
250 ml olive oil
Salt and pepper
Handful of basil

Serves 6

Skin the tomatoes by putting a cross in the top, place in a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave for about 2-3 mins.   Drain and cover with cold water to cool, so you can handle them.

The skins will easily peel off.   Cut into quarters, scoop the seeds into a sieve over a bowl and press to release the tomato juice.   Put the tomato into a separate bowl.

Put the peppers onto a baking tray in a 200º oven and cook until blackened, then put into a plastic bag and leave to cool.

Deseed and remove the skin from the peppers, cut into pieces and add to the tomatoes, with the capers and olives.  Add any juices from the peppers, to the reserved tomato juice.

Tear the bread into big chunks and put into a bowl.

Add the vinegar, garlic and oil to the tomato and pepper juices, season well and whisk to combine thoroughly.   I lightly cooked the garlic in a tablespoon of the oil beforehand, as I do not like raw garlic and I reduced the amount, as the recipe says five cloves, so if you like garlic!

Pour over the bread and leave for about one hour, so the bread can soak up all the lovely flavours.

Combine the tomatoes and pepper mixture, with the bread and gently mix in the basil and serve.

The Midland Hotel Promenade Morecambe - 9th-10th August 2016

I had a mixed experience at The Midland Hotel in The Sun Terrace Restaurant last year (see here), so hoped this visit would be special, as it was a belated wedding anniversary celebration.   I contacted them to notify them of my diagnosed allergies, which did not cause a problem, so I was really looking forward to two nights dinner in the restaurant, with its magnificent views across Morecambe Bay.   On arrival, it was a good job I had brought dairy free milk, as there was none in the fridge, as on our last visit.

My photos are a little unclear and fuzzy, as the lighting was not brilliant, especially on the second night, as the skies were dark and broody with heavy rain.

The vegan menu, has three choices for each course, which as we were on a two night stay, meant I could have a different dinner each night.

Courgette flowers are rarely seen on menus, although I have eaten them a number of times, stuffed with ratatouille and deep fried, or fried in a light batter, served with a sauce like pesto or romesco.   So I chose the courgette flower starter, which turned up looking like this, as they had forgotten to put the courgette flower on.

The second attempt was not much better, the flower was raw, stuffed with the couscous mixture it was served on.   I could not taste the lemon and ginger dressing and the green blobs were a very metallic tasting basil gel.   The dish was dry, bland and under seasoned and needed some kind of sauce to elevate it. a different filling and the courgette flower needed cooking.   Dinner got off to a bad start.

I chose the sauteed wild mushroom dish for mains, it was lacking in flavour and unappealing to look at, with small round potatoes, as if they were made with a melon baller, I did wonder if they were frozen.   I ordered sides of minted potatoes, which were better than those on the plate and greens, but all the food needed seasoning, I was not impressed and opted not to have dessert.

I chose a Domaine de Gry Sablon Morgon red wine, which was not labelled as vegan on the menu, but I had done my research beforehand, it brightened my mood, as the food certainly did not.

Breakfast the following morning, was an improvement with various fruits, cereals and porridge (although not sure if it was made with water, so my husband had it and it was like wallpaper paste).   A hot breakfast of mushrooms, tomatoes and saute potatoes was much better, but even so still needed a good grind of seasoning and I am not a salt person.

I had my reservations about our second nights dinner, but as we were on a dinner, bed and breakfast rate, I had no option but to give them another chance.   I chose an organic, Fairtrade South African Chenin Blanc wine, listed on the wine menu as vegan, which was an excellent choice.

I chose the vine tomato starter, accompanied with the same metallic tasting basil gel, pink gel which I think was watermelon and some blobs of white stuff (no idea what this was, my husband tried it and he had no idea either).   This dish again needed some seasoning, was not particularly inspiring or full of flavour.

Mains was the charred baby gem lettuce dish, all the ingredients of which, were the accompaniments to the meat, on my husbands main course the evening before.   It was just a pile of broad beans, peas, samphire and lettuce, with the same round potatoes as the previous night.   I ground loads of salt on it, but even this failed to lift this unappetising dish of the colour green, what was chef thinking.   I decided not to complain, I was hungry after walking eight miles that day and by the time mains arrived it was 21.30 pm and I dread to think what I would have been offered if I had.

To end this forgettable meal, I chose chocolate brownie with seasonal fruits, though peach is not a great partner with chocolate, but the brownie itself was surprisingly good.

I do not know if there has been a change of chef and do not recall the components of the dishes, on my last two visits, as being a mish mash of ingredients, cobbled together from dishes on the main menu, something I would expect twenty odd years ago.   The presentation, especially the main courses left much to be desired and I love the colour green, but not that much.   I have no idea why they have a vegan menu, no thought or creativity is involved, its more to suit the convenience of the kitchen, rather than giving the customer something appetising.   I initially was going to enquire about the possibility of vegan afternoon tea, so I could visit with friends, who would love the hotel, but based on this last experience, I gave up on that idea.

The Midland Hotel is a fantastic art deco hotel, right on the front over looking Morecambe Bay, the views are priceless, I love it and would certainly revisit on a B&B basis.   Every member of staff I encountered was brilliant, friendly, helpful and professional and looked after me really well, I loved them.   Did I love The Sun Terrace Restaurant food, no I did not.   Would I return to dine there in the future - Definitely Not.

The Borough Dalton Square Lancaster - 9th August 2016

My visit to The Borough came about, purely due to the fact, they have a couple of vegan options on the menu and I like to support places that do.

Our visit was at lunchtime, on the way to a two night stay in Morecambe and thank goodness I booked, as it was very busy when we arrived in the bar, with many tables in the dining room, having reserved on them.

The menu has vegetarian options too, in fact special of the day, was a salt and pepper tofu dish, how wonderful to see this kind of dish on a gastro pub menu.

I chose the carrot and cumin falafels, with beetroot houmous and sweet potato fries and it was an excellent dish.   The falafels were moist and not at all dry, the fries were delicious, not greasy, but nice and crisp and it was a lovely lunchtime dish.

I had a word with our waitress Lucy T, who is a great asset front of house, helpful and friendly.   She was interested in veganism, as her friend was a vegetarian and I said we would definitely return, as I would love to try the vegan tagine, in fact we would stop over, as they have rooms too.