Recipe Ideas

Broad beans are one of the first veg to be harvested and it's a hint of summer on the horizon. You can also use alternatives like chopped up French or sliced runner beans instead.

• 20 mins

Suggestion from Tracey our People Development Coordinator

The best vegan cookies ever!

Suggestion from Ruth in our Student Voice Team

This is a great recipe to bulk up and serve to a group of friends! Also great for meal prepping for the week. It is full of flavour and requires minimal washing up.

Recipe from Louise in our Volunteering Team

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 1 pepper (any colour) (chopped)
• 8 chestnut mushrooms (roughly chopped)
• 1 white onion (finely chopped)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• Handful of sweetcorn
• 1 x fajita seasoning mix (or less depending on personal preference)
• 150g long grain rice
• 1 x tin chopped tomatoes
• 1 x vegetable stock cube
• Salt and black pepper
• 1 tsp chipotle (optional)
• Handful of fresh corriandar (to serve, optional)
• 1 x avocado (to serve)
• Sour cream and chive (to serve)
• 30g Grated cheddar
• 1 fresh lime

Method

1. Add oil to a large frying pan and add onion and garlic for 3 minutes
2. Add mushrooms and pepper to the pan and mix. Cook until soft
3. Add the chopped tomatoes, chipotle, and fajita seasoning and mix well
4. Crumble the stock cube into the pan and mix well, add salt and black pepper
5. Add the rice and mix well
6. Fill the chopped tomatoes can with water and add to the pan, twice
7. keep stirring to stop the rice from sticking, add more water when needed
8. When the rice is nearly cooked (about 15 mins) add the sweetcorn and mix
9. Once the mixture is cooked split across 2 bowls
10. Serve with a spoonful and sour cream and chive, sliced avocado, chopped coriander (optional), and grated cheese
11. Quarter the lime and serve on the side.

I love these ridiculously gooey chocolate brownies. They are perfect for anyone who likes their brownies to have a fudgy texture. The recipe is chunky enough to be cut into bite-sized squares to share with your friends or to pop into a lunchbox.

Suggestion from Jenny in our Marketing team

Feels like a treat, but still really good for you! These are thick, sweet, and perfect for breakfast. The spinach adds a great green colour and also gives them a hearty flavour that balances the sweetness of the bananas.

Suggestion from Bronwen in our Student Engagement team

Lemon drizzle is my favourite cake, vegan or not, and it was the first cake where I used vegetable oil as a catch-all substitute for butter, eggs and milk. It's my go-to substitute as I always have it in my kitchen and it works really well. The end result is just perfect!

Recipe from Leilani in Our Student Engagement Team

Ingredients

Cake:

• 275g self-raising flour
• 200g caster sugar (golden caster sugar is preferable)
• 1tsp baking powder
• 1 lemon zested
• 1/2 juiced lemon
• 100ml vegetable oil
• 170ml cold water

Icing (optional):

• 1/2 juiced lemon
• Roughly 150g icing sugar

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200C / 180C fan / gas mark 6 and oil or line a loaf tin with baking parchment or a reusable alternative
2. Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder and lemon zest
3. Add the vegetable oil, lemon juice and water, mixing until smooth
4. Pour the mixture into the tin and bake for 30 minutes
5. Check it's cooked using a skewer in the centre - if it doesn't come out clean, put it back in the oven and check every few minutes
6. Let the cake cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then put it on a wire rack to cool more
7. If you're making icing, sieve the icing sugar and mix it with the lemon juice a bit at a time until the consistency is right (if it's too thin it will be runny)
8. When the cake is cool, pour the icing on and dig in!

It's extremely delicious, and a good alternative to meat tacos! My friend has made it for me a couple of times and it's a nice recipe to share in a group whilst being super comforting. The recipe below is for two people, but it's easy to multiply and make for all your loved ones!

Suggestion from April in our Customer Service team

This is a super tasty and filling pasta dish, with all the flavours of a traditional stroganoff. Add parsley or thyme as a garnish for additional flavour or serve with rice instead of pasta!

Recipe from Louise in our Student Engagement Team

Ingredients (Serves 2)

• 160g dried pasta (tagliatelle or penne)
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 3 shallots (finely diced)
• 3 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 180g chestnut mushrooms (sliced)
• 2 tbsp butter
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 125 mL vegetable stock
• 125 mL crème fraiche or single cream
• 1/2 lemon (juice only)
• salt and black pepper

Method

1. Cook the pasta in a saucepan until al dente
2. Heat the oil in a frying pan and add the shallots and garlic and cook until soft
3. Add the butter and mushrooms and fry until soft
4. Add the smoked paprika, mustard, and light soy and cook for 2 minutes
5. Add the stock and simmer for 2 more minutes
6. Turn the heat down to low and add the crème fraiche and lemon juice (reduce the amount of crème fraiche depending on how much sauce is desired)
7. Stir well and season with salt and black pepper
8. Drain the pasta and split across 2 bowls
9. Top with the mushroom stroganoff sauce and serve

Coated in a luscious peanut butter sauce and spiced within an inch of its life. This makes a great quick post work out meal or even hangover food as it is fairly comforting. It can be adapted in many ways; I always have broccoli with it, you can even make the sauce simpler and easier by adding less ingredients.

Suggestion from Alvin our Deputy CEO

Easy and very quick for when you're hungry and on the go!

Recipe from Zoe in Our Student Engagement Team

Ingredients

• 4 eggs
• 2 tablespoon of oil (for cooking)
• 1 Pack of asparagus
• 1-2tsp of black truffle oil (can sub for Worcestershire sauce)
• Salt and pepper (to season)
• A handful of roughly chopped spinach
• 50g of shredded cheddar cheese (you can also add 20g grated parmesan for extra flavour)
• Half a lemon (cut into 1/4)
• 1/2 - 1 teaspoon of garlic granules
• 1.5 teaspoons of dried parsley

Method

1. Break the eggs into a jug add cheese, spinach, salt and pepper to taste, 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley, 1tsp of black truffle oil and the juice of 1/4 lemon.
2. Chop the asparagus into 4cm pieces - put to one side
3. Heat a frying pan with 1 tablespoon of oil, and add the egg mixture, making sure the base of the pan is evenly coated in the egg
4. Cover the frying pan with a lid, cook for 7-10 minutes, or until firm.
5. Meanwhile, in a separate pan, heat to medium heat with 1 tablespoon of oil, garlic granules and 1 teaspoon parsley. Once hot, add the asparagus
6. Cook on medium heat for 3-4 minutes, or until tender (the asparagus should be lightly browned)
7. Once cooked, fold the omelette in half and serve with the asparagus

The broken lasagne sheets makes it look like you have made your own pasta or something - just seems like you have made a special effort when in reality the whole meal take less that 15 minutes to make.

Suggestion from Jojo our VP Welfare 2022-23

I love this recipe firstly because risotto is one of my favourite dishes. Secondly, it is very easy to make and requires minimal supervision, allowing you to complete other tasks during its cooking. Finally, I like it as you can use many vegetables in this recipe, alternating them as you please, making it a flexible and enjoyable vegetarian meal!

Recipe from Amelie in our Student Engagement Team

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 clove of garlic
• 1 onion
• 100g of any mushrooms or 30g of dried porcini mushrooms
• 2 carrots (optional)
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 75g of risotto rice
• 30g Parmesan
• Salt
• Pepper
• Chili flakes (optional)

Method

1. Finely cut the garlic, onion and carrots. Cut the mushrooms as you would wish to eat them, remembering that they will shrink when they cook. (If you are using porcini mushrooms, add them to 1/2 L of boiling water and let them sit for 20 minutes).
2. Add the oil to a pan on medium heat and then add the garlic and onion.
3. When the garlic and onion have been cooking for around 2-3 minutes, add the carrots.
4. Prepare the vegetable stock in 1/2 L of water.
5. When the carrots are relatively soft, add the mushrooms in.
6. Once this is all cooked through, add the risotto rice to the pan, letting it fry for around 1 minute.
7. Pour on 1/4 of the vegetable stock onto the rice and turn the heat down to low.
8. Add a generous amount of salt and pepper.
9. Let it simmer whilst regularly stirring and pouring the stock bit by bit until it is finished.
10. After 25-30 minutes max, the rice should be cooked.
11. Taste and add salt and pepper accordingly.
12. Stir in the Parmesan at the end.
13. Once plated, add chili flakes, pepper and Parmesan before eating if you wish.