Balsamic roasted peppers are a mediterranean treat made with red, orange, green or yellow peppers, gently braised in the oven with garlic, balsamic vinegar and extra virgin olive oil until they become soft, sweet, richly flavoured slithers of pepper. Perfect for a salad, a picnic or to be served alongside cheese, charcuterie and olives as antipasti. Alternatively make ahead and store them in the fridge until you need them.

Balsamic Roasted Peppers

Gavin Wren Basic Ingredients, Recipes, Side dishes, Starters, Vegetables, Vegetarian

Today’s post is about creating luscious slithers of pepper, roasted with balsamic vinegar and garlic to create rich, sweet antipasti style balsamic roasted peppers. These are incredibly easy to make if you forego the peeling, but if you want the ‘perfect’ experience then you need to peel them, just make sure you’ve dialled in your patience levels on that particular day. Confrontation. I woke up early today. I’ve got a meeting with a website developer …

Spicy whole smoked cauliflower cooked on the BBQ with a paprika, garlic, lemon, cumin and tomato marinade spiced up with a hint of cayenne pepper for a colourful and smokey BBQ treat for vegetarians and vegans alike. This is also a great fun project to learn how to smoke or cook with indirect heat, whether it's summer or winter.

Smoked Cauliflower with Paprika Garlic Marinade

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

This post shows how to make smoked cauliflower and why smoking vegetables is a great way to start playing around with indirect cooking or hot smoking, as you don’t have to worry about temperatures and cooking times like you would with meat or fish. With this recipe I’ve added a full flavoured marinade to the cauliflower to spice up the flavour and it adds some fantastic visual impact to the finished article. Vegetable Lust. Poor …

A bright and full flavoured summery vegetarian BBQ Courgette dish which uses full flavoured charred courgette slices topped with thick, creamy labneh and rich, tangy mint sauce. It's a dish to have both vegetarians and meat eaters drooling!

BBQ Courgette with Smoked Labneh and Mint Dressing

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Side dishes, Small Bites, Vegetables, Vegetarian

This recipe for BBQ courgette features beautifully charred vegetables topped with creamy smoked labneh and a tangy, fresh, minty dressing to liven it all up. It makes for a fantastic summer side salad or vegetarian option at your BBQ and will have any meat eaters drooling with jealousy. Hold the Front Page! I’m going to put myself out on a limb today, especially as a food blogger. We’re at the fast acting, quick to publish, …

Vietnamese spring rolls with a vegetarian twist, featuring smoked tofu to make delightfully aromatic, crispy, crunchy tofu summer rolls which are vegetarian and vegan. You can make these in the kitchen to wow your guests or build them at the table so everyone can get their hands dirty.

Vietnamese Tofu Summer Rolls

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Salads, Sandwiches & Wraps, Small Bites, Vegan, Vegetarian

Today’s recipe is for Vietnamese spring rolls with a vegetarian twist, using smoked tofu to make delightfully aromatic tofu summer rolls. These South East Asian favourites have gained a lot of popularity in recent years and for good reason, they’re amazingly easy to make, as well as bright and fresh and a crunchy summer treat that can be made in the kitchen to wow your guests, or created at the table so that everyone can …

A sweet and spicy bulgur bake with turmeric, cinnamon, Harissa, dried apricots, wholemeal bulgur and more to create a warm and glowing vegetarian and vegan one pot tray bake which is a perfect meal to use up all those spare or leftover vegetables that you might have laying around. Full recipe on brainfoodstudio.com

Sweet and Spicy Bulgur Bake with Harissa

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

This post is one of those leftover dishes that’s amazingly versatile and will eat up any leftover veggies you might have laying around at home, don’t be afraid to experiment, just chuck in whatever you’ve got! It also puts a slight spin on the traditional tray bake recipes, using wholemeal bulgur wheat to create a bulgur bake that’s a highly tasty and filling not to mention vegetarian and vegan to boot. Semantic. I once heard …

Black rice and wild mushrooms are the star of this one pot cooked on a base of onion, garlic & ginger, mixed with miso paste, mirin and vegetable stock then garnished with chilli, sesame seeds and coriander. It's a dark, rich and mysterious vegetarian and vegan one pot!

Black Rice with Miso Mushrooms

Gavin Wren Main Dishes, Recipes, Side dishes, Vegan, Vegetarian

Black rice is the mysterious, dark, hidden jewel of the rice kingdom. A jet black, enveloping chasm of colour, a deep unknown place of hidden beauty, sparkling in the shadows. Black rice – the forbidden fruit. It was the forbidden fruit, a royal treat stored only for the Chinese Emperor, his family and concubines. A mere peasant such as myself could be put to death for laying his hands on black rice, a very dark …