Veggie Toad in the Hole

Roasted mediterranean vegetables and veggie sausages wrapped in a light and crispy rosemary and garlic infused Yorkshire pudding, served with lashings of gravy.

Quorn veggie sausages and Cauldron vegetrian sausages both come in packs of 5, which is why this recipe calls for this for every 2 servings. You can simply split it down the middle, so there’s 2.5 sausages per serving. Alternatively, someone with a smaller appetite can have 2 sausages for 650 calories per serving and someone indulging in 3 sausages will increase their calorie intake to 708 per serving. You could also use meat sausages instead but this will shoot the calories up to about 849 for 2 sausages and 1007 for 3 sausages.

15 mins prep :: 45 mins cook :: 50 mins total cooking time :: 2 servings :: 689 cals per serving :: One-off wonder

Ingredients:
1 red pepper
1 courgette
1 red onion
5 veggie sausages
3 garlic cloves (crushed)
1 bunch fresh rosemary
2 medium free-range organic eggs
250ml semi-skimmed milk
4 oz flour
Sea salt
Black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
Gravy granules to make 250ml of gravy

Directions:
1. Heat the oven to 220c. Add the olive oil to a roasting tin and heat whilst preparing the vegetables.
2. Cut the courgette into slices; the pepper into small pieces and the onion into wedges all about the same size and crush the garlic. Add the vegetables and garlic to the roasting tin and swirl around to coat in the oil then roast for about 15 minutes.
3. Meanwhile make the Yorkshire pudding batter by sieving the flour into a bowl creating a well in the middle of the flour and breaking the eggs into it. Using a wooden spoon beat the eggs until the yolks and whites have combined, then gradually beat in the flour until you have a doughy mixture. Add the milk a little at a time, beating out any lumps until you have a batter (similar to the consistency of paint). Once your batter is ready stir in a pinch of salt, a twist of pepper and the fresh rosemary leaves, discarding the woody stems.
4. When the vegetables are starting to colour, remove the tin from the oven and add the veggie sausages arranging them between the vegetables so that when the dish is ready it’s easy to ensure everyone gets their fair share of sausages and vegetables! Then simply pour the batter between the vegetables and sausages and put back in the oven for another 30 minutes or so until the Yorkshire pudding has risen and is a rich golden brown colour.
5. Just before the Veggie Toad in the Hole is ready, boil a kettle of water to make up your gravy using the gravy granules. Then divide the toad between the plates and serve with the gravy.

Foodwitch Factoid:
This is not only a great winter warmer recipe, it’s also an extremely well balanced meal so you don’t have to feel guilty of the giant plate experience that you’ll enjoy! With a great mix of anti-oxidant rich vegetables to prevent colds and which are are also handily high in fiber. Plus with tasty protein rich veggie sausages you get everything you need in one sitting!

Vegetable Lasagne

Chunky peppers, onions and courgettes in a rich tomato sauce, layered in between spinach lasagne pasta and topped with a deliciously thick, low fat cheese sauce. Whip this little beauty up in 25 mins, slam it in the oven and it’s ready in another 25. My top tip is to make more than you need to enjoy it again with zero-cooking another day.  Plus there’s no cook-in sauces so this vegetable lasagne is really cheap to make – costing about £1.50 per serving.

This vegetable lasagne recipe does involve making a bechamel sauce from scratch, but do not fear, it’s really not that complicated. If it goes lumpy just keep stirring until the lumps have gone – it’s great for those arm muscles! Only add a little bit of milk at a time and when you’ve added it stir the mixture quite vigorously. For the best lump-free results, create a little well for the milk to go into and gradually stir in from the edge of the well incorporating a little of the milk on each stir.  Don’t forget that the heat is constantly under the sauce so don’t leave the sauce to do anything else, it only takes about 5-7 or so minutes to make. If you absolutely must leave it, just take it off the heat temporarily and return it when you come back.

4 servings :: 500 calories per serving :: 25 mins prep :: 25 mins cook :: Lazy leftovers

Vegetable Lasagne

Vegetable Lasagne

Ingredients
3 tri-colour peppers (red, yellow, green)
2 red onions
4 courgettes
2 tins of chopped tomatoes with herbs
2 tsp balsamic vinegar
4 garlic cloves
Salt & pepper
4-5 spinach lasagne pasta sheets (no pre-cooking type)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2pt semi-skimmed milk
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp plain flour
2 tbsp cheddar cheese
1 tbsp parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Method:

1. Heat the oven to 220c. Peel and crush the garlic. Chop the courgettes. Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium/high heat. Add the garlic and courgettes and stirfry for about 10 minutes. Meanwhile deseed/chop the peppers into 1 inch pieces and peel/chop the onion into wedges and add straight to the courgettes, strirfrying until the vegetables have softened and starting to colour.
2. Stir in 2 tins of chopped tomatoes with herbs (add 1 tsp of dried basil/oregano if the tomatoes don’t have herbs already). Stir in 2 tsp of balsamic vinegar and season with salt and pepper to taste.
3. To make the low fat cheese sauce, take a small saucepan and melt 1 tbsp butter over the lowest heat setting. When the butter is melted add 2tbsp plain flour and make a “roux” (classic bechamel sauce base) by stirring together with a wooden spoon. The roux should have a similar consistency to sticky dough (just add a touch more flour if it’s too gloopy). Measure out about 1/2pt milk  and gradually add a generous splash to the roux, working in the milk into the dough until the milk has been absorbed and the roux is smooth. Continue to add a splash more milk, stirring it in so there are no lumps, until you have no more milk left and the sauce is a similar consistency to paint (add a bit more milk or stop adding if need be). Then just grate in some nutmeg and some cheddar, give it a stir and it’s done (taste test the sauce and adjust if necessary – “cook’s perk”).
4. To compile the vegetable lasagne take a large oven proof lasagne or casserole dish. Add a third of the vegetable sauce to the bottom, followed by 2-3 spoons of cheese sauce, followed by 2 sheets of lasagne sheets. Then repeat and repeat again so you have 3 layers, making sure you leave plenty of cheese sauce for the topping. Spread the cheese sauce to cover all the lasagne sheets (if they’re not covered they won’t cook). Grate some parmesan to help it go a lovely rich golden brown colour. Then bake it in the oven for about 25 minutes until you can’t wait for it any longer. Enjoy!