Anna Valentine's winter warmers

Veggie cottage pie, chunky vegetable soup and vegetable stock Photo: © Anna Valentine (Upstart Press)

Veggie Stock

Vegan | Gluten-free / Makes 2.5 litres

Making your own veggie stock is super easy and well worth it. You basically save all your onion, carrot, celery, mushroom, tomato, capsicum, leek, corn cobs and beetroot scraps in a container or sealed bag in the freezer, and when it is full add to a pot with water and simmer for one hour. I like to add seaweed to mine as it is a great source of omega-3, iron, calcium, iodine, and vitamins it also has a thickening quality that mimics gelatine. You can also add garlic, ginger and turmeric for anti-inflammatory and antioxidant support as well as dried mushrooms for their depth of flavour and medicinal qualities. It’s up to you whether you go for the roasting option, which will make the final stock darker and richer.

Ingredients

• 2 whole onions, skin on and roughly chopped
• 1 whole leek, roughly chopped
• 1 whole bulb garlic, halved widthways
• 2 sticks of celery (plus the end and scrappy tops), 
• roughly chopped
• 2 whole carrots, roughly chopped
• 1-2 beetroot, roughly chopped (optional)
• 2-3 sweetcorn cobs (optional)
• 2-3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 400g tomatoes, halved, or tin tomatoes/passata
• 8cm piece fresh ginger, sliced
• 8cm piece fresh turmeric, sliced or 2 tablespoon 
• turmeric powder
• 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
• 1 stick lemongrass, bruised
• 1 large stick fresh rosemary
• 4 bay leaves
• 8 (35g) dried or fresh mushrooms, shiitake, oyster, 
• porcini or foraged 
• 10g medicinal mushrooms, reishi, turkey tail, chaga or cordyceps (optional)
• 1-5 pieces dried seaweed, kombu, wakame or kelp 
• 4 litres water

Method

Preheat the oven to 200°C (You can also omit the roasting stage and just add ingredients to the pot). 
Put the roughly chopped vegetables into a roasting tray, drizzle with the olive oil and roast for 10 minutes.
Place the remaining ingredients in a large pot. 
Remove the vegetables from the oven and add to the pot along with the water. 
Bring to the boil uncovered, then turn down to a simmer and cook for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the heat, strain and pour into warm sterilised jars and cap. 
Store in the pantry like this, once opened store in the fridge.

Chunky Vegetable Soup

Vegan | Gluten-free / Serves 4-6

This soup is mighty wholesome and hearty; my version of a minestrone soup. It is a great recipe for using up all the little bits in your vegetable drawer. So don’t worry if you don’t have all the vegetables listed, just use what you have to hand. You’ll need to prepare the sprouted lentils in advance. Soak dried lentils, green or brown, overnight covered in water. In the morning, drain through a sieve. Cover the sieve with a tea towel and rinse the beans again at night then again in the morning until little tails sprout out. They are now ready to use. If you haven’t or don’t want to sprout the lentils, just add them with the barley to the soaking water. If using the buckwheat groats for the gluten-free version, there’s no need to soak these. You may need to cook the soup a little longer if you haven’t soaked the barley.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup green or brown lentils, sprouted
• 1/2 cup pearled barley or buckwheat groats
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 mushrooms, diced
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 stick celery, sliced
• 1 parsnip, diced
• 1/2 leek, halved and sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 potato, diced
• 400g can chopped tomatoes or passata
• 1 tablespoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 1.6 litres liquid vegetable stock or water with 1 tsp vegetable bouillon stock powder
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/4 cup wholemeal spaghetti, broken into pieces or any pasta shapes, gluten-free or other
• 1 tsp salt a good few grinds of pepper
• 1 sprig rosemary, leaves finely chopped
• 1 tsp fresh or dried thyme leaves 
• 5 sprigs fresh parsley, coriander, dandelion or plantain leaves, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil, per person
• 1 tablespoon parmesan, plant-based or dairy, per serve

Method

Pre-prepare the lentil sprouts (if using). Soak the barley for up to 6 hours, if possible. 
Put a large pot on high heat and add the olive oil, onion, mushrooms, carrot, celery, parsnip, leek, garlic and potato and sauté for a couple of minutes. 
Drain the soaked barley and add along with the tomatoes, ginger and stock. Gently simmer the soup with a lid on for 15 minutes. 
Add the quinoa and pasta shapes and cook for a further 10 minutes, then season with salt and pepper and stir the fresh herbs and sprouts through. 
Ladle into bowls and top each bowl with a drizzle of olive oil and sprinkle of parmesan before serving.

Cottage Pie

Vegan | Gluten-free / Serves 6-8 

Comfort food at its best. This wholesome, warming cottage pie is packed with plant proteins nestled in a rich tomato sauce. The creamy, fluffy mash top is achieved by baking the potatoes whole, then scooping out the tender insides. We then turn these into crispy potato skins which are everyone’s favourite and make the absolute most of your potatoes. For the best crispy skins buy unwashed potatoes for the best results. For the gluten-free version, use buckwheat groats instead of pearled barley.

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup pearl barley or buckwheat groats
• 1/4 cup brown lentils
• 1.5 kg potatoes, unwashed Agria or other floury potatoes 
• 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 sticks celery, finely sliced
• 4 mushrooms, grated
• 1 small beetroot or carrot, grated
• 3 sundried tomatoes in oil, roughly chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 300ml jar passata
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh sage, or dried
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme and/or rosemary, or dried
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon cacao powder
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar (optional)
• 1/4 cup red split lentils
• 1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts, Brazil nuts, sunflower seeds or pumpkin seeds
• 1.2 litres water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 2 tablespoons (30g) butter, plant-based or dairy
• 1/4 cup milk, plant-based or dairy
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Method

Measure the barley (or buckwheat groats) and the brown lentils into a jug and cover well with hot tap water and leave to soak while you prepare the vegetables. 
Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
Scrub the potatoes, prick with a knife or fork and bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until a knife goes all the way through easily. 
Heat the olive oil in a pot on a medium-high heat and add the onion, celery, mushroom, beetroot, sundried tomatoes and garlic. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add the balsamic vinegar and stir through. Add the passata, herbs, smoked paprika, cacao, sugar (if using), red lentils and nuts. Drain the barley and brown lentils and add along with the fresh water, cover and simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Season with the first measure of salt and pepper and pour into an ovenproof dish. 
When the potatoes are ready, remove from the oven, cool for a couple of minutes, slice in half length-ways and scoop the potato flesh into a ricer or bowl, press through or mash together with the butter, milk, and second measure of salt and pepper. Whip together with a fork. Spoon potato on top of the filling then, using a fork, spread it evenly right to the edges. Drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 45 minutes until golden and bubbly. 
Put the leftover potato skins into a roasting tray and drizzle with olive oil and some roughly chopped rosemary, salt and pepper and add to the oven for the last 15 minutes.

Extracted with permission from Abundance: 100+ plant-based recipes to savour year round © Anna Valentine