Fudgy Vegan Brownies

Seriously, these are so good you will never go back to a boxed brownie mix again. These vegan brownies are easy to make, perfectly fudgy with rich chocolate flavour and gorgeous shiny, crackly crust we all love! A total crowd pleasing and homemade recipe.

Plus, they are made without black beans or avocado, just good old fashioned brownie ingredients that you can't even tell are vegan. Can be made gluten-free

Ingredients:

• 160g plain flour, or gluten-free flour if use
• 60g cocoa powder
• 1 tsp instant espresso powder, optional
• ½ tsp salt
• 250g sugar
• 120g vegan butter block
• 120ml non dairy milk
• 150g dark chocolate, finely chopped
• 3 tsp vanilla extract
• 85g chocolate chips

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC/160ºC for fan assist oven. Grease a 20cm square cake tin and line with a baking paper.

Sift together the flour, cocoa powder, expresso powder and salt.

Place the butter, sugar and milk in a pan over a low heat. Stir until the butter is melted and the sugar is fully dissolved. It should be hot but not yet boiling.

Remove the pan from the heat and add the vanilla extract and chopped chocolate. Stir until the chocolate is fully melted.

Add the sifted dry ingredients and stir until fully combined. Gently stir through the chocolate chips, don't mix too much at this point as you don't want them to melt into the batter.

Transfer the batter to the prepared tin and spread it level. Bake for about 20 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out gunky with moist crumbs but no wet batter. If it comes out clean they are over-done so be careful not to leave them in too long.

Leaves the brownies to cool completely in the tin before slicing them. Store in an airtight container at room temperature.

Festive Vegan Vegetable Pie

Make this fantastic vegan vegetable pie as a stunning centrepiece for a meat-free Christmas or dinner party.

Like any good Christmas Dinner option, it can be carefully prepared a day ahead, so all you have to do on the big day is pop it into the oven. 

Like any good vegan option for Christmas, this is a perfect pairing for gravy, crispy potatoes, sprouts and all the festive trimmings. 

I was looking for something different to my usual nut roast or vegan roast for this Christmas, I came across this recipe from Anthea Cheng. Boy! This pie is not just for vegan but anyone who likes something different for the roast dinner! It's definitely an eye-catching centrepiece especially the vibrant red from red pepper. 

Ingredients:

For baking:

• 3 red peppers, seeded and quartered lengthways
• 3 medium potatoes, sliced thinly
• olive oil, as needed
• salt & pepper to taste
• 3 tbsp rosemary
• 700g shop bought shortcrust pastry
• flour for dusting

For sautéing: 

• 1 large brown onion, sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 60g spinach
• 150g firm tofu
• 3 tbsp nutritional yeast
• ½ tsp ground nutmeg
• 250g mushrooms, sliced thinly

To assemble:

• 2 tbsp olive oil or vegan butter, melted

Method:

Preheat the oven to 180ºC. Place the red peppers on a lined baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with sat and pepper.

Arrange the potato slices on another lined baking tray. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper and rosemary.

Bake the peppers and potato in the oven for about 30 minutes or until they are both tender. Set aside.

on a floured surface, roll out 500g of the pastry to about 5mm thickness. Transfer the pastry to a 20cm springform pan. Press the pastry against the bottom and sides to form a crust. Cut off any overhang. Use a fork to prick the bottom.

Bake the pie crust in the oven for 10 minutes and set aside.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion and garlic with a little olive oil until soft and fragrant. Set aside half the mixture.

Add the greens to the saucepan with half of the onion and garlic mixture and cook until wilted. Set aside in a food processor.

Add the mushrooms and the remaining onion and garlic mixture to the saucepan. Cook until soft and fragrant. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

Add the firm tofu, nutritional yeast and nutmeg to the spinach mixture. Pulse until the mixture forms coarse crumbs. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.

To assemble the pie:

Press the spinach and tofu mixture into the bottom of the pie. Layer with the peppers, then potatoes then the mushroom mixture.

Roll out the remaining pastry on a floured surface in a circular shape. Transfer the pastry to cover the pie and cut off the overhang. Press the edges together. Use any excess pastry to make shapes for decoration.

Brush the top of the pie with melted butter or olive oil and bake for 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. Leave the pie to cool in the tin for 20 minutes, then take it out to cool.

General Tso's Chicken

It is said to originate from Hunan province of China and is named after a well-respected Chinese military, General Tso. While the accuracy if either of these statements is questionable- and in fact, rumour has it that it was brought into US by Taiwanese chefs!

General Tso's Chicken is saucy, juicy and crispy. The signature sauce is thick and loaded with flavour. If you are a die-hard orange chicken fan, you must try this dish! Make it all in one dish in the comfort of your home for a sweet and spicy treat! I like to add crunchy broccoli to this dish.

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

• 450-500g chicken thighs, breast or mini fillet, cut into bite pieces
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 1tbsp water
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp white ground pepper
• 1 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tbsp plain flour
• ¼ cup corn flour

For the General Tso's sauce:

• 1/3 cup chicken stock
• 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 3½ tbsp brown sugar
• ½ tsp rice wine vinegar

Stir fry sauce & garnish:

• 2-3 cups broccoli florets
• cooking oil, enough o deep fry the chicken
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 5-6 dried red chili
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tbsp corn flour, mixed with 2 tbsp water

Method:

Marinate the chicken pieces in a bowl with Shaoxing wine, water, salt, white pepper and sesame oil. Mix until the chicken absorbs all the liquid. Next, add the toasted sesame seeds, plain flour and corn flour. Stir to coat, and set aside.

Make the sauce mixture by combining the chicken stock, dark soy sauce, light soy sauce, brown sugar and rice wine in a bowl. Set aside.

Boil enough water to blanch the broccoli for 30-60 seconds, depending on whether you like the broccoli soft or crunchy. Drain and set aside. To keep it super green, you can also transfer the broccoli to an ice bath and then drain and set aside.

Heat the frying oil in a small but deep pot. Make sure the oil is hot enough for frying by sticking the end of a wooden spoon or a wooden chopstick into the oil. If you see many bubbles form around the wood and they start to float up, your oil is ready for frying.

Carefully drop the chicken pieces into the oil in small batches. Make sure the batter/sesame seeds have really coated all the sides of the chicken before frying. The chicken should have float at the top of the oil. Fry until light golden brown  and transfer to a wire rack to drain.

Once all the chicken has been fried once, fry the chicken a second time for 3-5 minutes until crispy. Be careful not to burn it.

Heat a clean wok over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of oil along with dried chilies. Cook the chilies for about 10 seconds. Add the minced garlic and Shaoxing wine.

Next, add the General Tso's Chicken sauce you prepared. Bring the sauce to a simmer, and then stir in the corn flour mixture until the sauce thickens to a glossy sauce. Add the chicken and broccoli, and toss until everything is coated in the sauce. Plate and serve immediately with steamed rice!

Enjoy!