red pepper onion and lentil soup with parsley

BBQ charred pepper, onion and lentil soup

Gavin Wren Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

So the season of soup has swerved surreptitiously into softer summer styles. I would love to continue this entire post with such extravagant alliteration, however I don’t think my mind, or thesaurus for that matter, is quite up to it today. But, if such a thing as culinary alliteration exists, in the form of repeated use of similar sounding ingredients, then this soup would be a perfect example. You’ve got red peppers, red onions, red …

Spinach and walnut pesto with wholemeal pasta

Spinach and walnut pesto

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Hello folks. Another straightforward recipe for you today, one whose big, powerful flavours bely it’s simplicity. This is something that you can whizz up in the time it takes your pasta to cook and tastes a million times better than anything you might pour from a jar. You just need a blender and your ingredients to hand and you can have this pesto ready to eat in minutes. It also falls into a theme on …

Griddled asparagus with preserved lemons

Asparagus with preserved lemons

Gavin Wren Recipes, Side dishes, Starters, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Today’s recipe is so simple, it’s hard to think of a reason not to try it. If you were already planning to cook some of the lovely fresh asparagus that’s in season at the moment, then this simple addition adds a cheery extra dimension yet almost no extra work. And if you can’t get preserved lemons, even though the ‘cooks selection’ at many supermarkets now stock, they’re incredibly easy to make, so you could have …

Spicy avocado sweeet potato

Spicy avocado sweet potatoes

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian

I’ve got a secret to tell you. I don’t know whether to be embarrassed about this or not, but I’ve been eating baked sweet potatoes at least once a week for a very long time. They’ve become my default, simple, go-to, easy dinner of choice and I’m not even beginning to get bored of them. One of the very first recipes that was never put on this blog for you was about baked sweet potatoes. …

Roasted garlic and butternut squash soup with kale in the saucepans

Hearty roasted garlic and squash soup with kale

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Soup, Vegan, Vegetarian

Winter = Soup. Summer = Salad. If there were ever two dishes that were clearly defined by the seasons, then these must be the top contenders. And in case anyone starts shouting “what about winter salads and ‘slaws”, I’m a fan of winter salads (Check out my roasted kale and goat’s cheese salad if you’ve not seen it already!), BUT, nothing beats super fresh, flavoursome summer salads that have gone from plant to plate in …

How to make vegetable stock

How to make vegetable stock

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Food Techniques, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Writing

Vegetables boiled in water. Yep, that’s all it is, easy peasy. Making your own vegetable stock at home is one of the fundamental kitchen processes that you just have to do now and again. It’s so easy, it doesn’t use up much time and it’s basically impossible to overcook. And if you have left over vegetables, peering over the edge of the compost, it’s a super efficient use of them before they go. Now, although …