Mexican cannelloni

 

Sometimes fusion food is just the best. What are your best fusion food creations? I can’t remember too many experiments of mine, a risotto burger was one. Now I made this Mexican cannelloni dish introducing Mexican flavours to an Italian classic. The cannelloni pasta shells contained refried beans, sweetcorn, bell pepper, onion, garlic and chilli spiced with ground cumin and ground coriander. They were covered with a spicy tomato sauce and lots of cheese and then baked. I served it with coriander, lime and hot sauce on the top. It was a very nice dish and I would certainly make it again.

It’s very windy here in Copenhagen today and also quite chilly. I really want to go to the local market and have some mulled wine. Whilst Christmas markets are banned this year, there are still a few cosy corners in Copenhagen to enjoy warm drinks. Then in the evening most likely another comfort food or soup dinner will take place.

 

Have a nice weekend everyone!

Your VegHog

 

Veggie quesadillas

We have a bit of a heatwave here in Denmark right now. I already went for a morning swim in the harbour to cool down straight away after waking up. The water in the harbour is really clean and it’s nice to go for a little swim. I can’t swim for far though, because I’m so much out of shape. Otherwise I will try to stay out of sun for most of today.

Soon we’ll go out for a Mexican lunch and I’m very much looking forward to it. Before that I wanted to share my own recent homemade quesadillas with you. I love Mexican food and I also love cooking my own variations of it. I made these veggie quesadillas with beans, sweetcorn, bell pepper, rice and plenty of warming Mexican spices. They were so good. 

 

I hope you’ll all have a wonderful weekend!

Your VegHog

 

Mexican cauliflower cheese with sweetcorn and pepper

Happy Easter to everyone! I hope that you are having a relaxing weekend with nice food! I'm soon heading for a small day trip and intend to have a good time. It could be sunnier today, but at least it's not raining.

Before I go, I wanted to share this Mexican style cauliflower cheese recipe with you. I've been Mexicanising quite a lot of dishes lately, and it's already a running joke with my partner. He now knows to expect all things Mexican.

This cauliflower cheese with a little bit of heat of chilli and some warming spices, and with the addition of sweetcorn and pepper, was so nice. I just served some refried beans and tortilla chips on the side, and it was a really lovely meal.

Mexican cauliflower cheese with sweetcorn and pepper

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

2 small chillies

1 romano pepper

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 small can sweetcorn

2 tbsp smoked chilli paste

1 tsp vegetable stock powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ smoked paprika

100 g grated Cheddar

Sides:

Tortilla chips

Refried black beans with tomatoes

Method

Cut the cauliflower into florets and steam them for a couple of minutes.

Chop the onion, garlic, chilli and pepper finely and cook them in a pan until soft.

Add the sweetcorn and the seasoning to the pan with some water (about 100-150 ml) and let simmer for a while.

Put the cauliflower florets in an oven dish and coat with the spicy veggie mix.

Cover the dish with grated cheese and bake at 180 C for about 40 minutes, and finish at 200 C for about 10 minutes, until everything is cooked nicely and the surface is golden brown.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Mexican mac'n'cheese

Mac'n'cheese is certainly one of my favourite dishes, and I also like when it's slightly altered at times. I like the fairly new M&S ready meal, mac'n'cheese with leek and smoked cheese breadcrumbs, and recently one of my local burger places had truffle mac'n'cheese on offer (really really tasty!).

So that's how I thought that I could also try a new version of the classic in my kitchen. I wanted to go with Mexican spices, and what could've been a better choice than Gran Luchito smoked chilli paste as the base for the spicing. Feel free to use other brands, but I really like Gran Luchito at the moment.

My partner doesn't like milky and creamy sauces, so I whisked the cheese directly into chilli seasoned vegetable stock. I liked the end result of this recipe, soft macaroni smothered in cheese with a hint of chilli, just perfect for me. Try it, if you are a fan of mac'n'cheese and/or Mexican food!

Mexican mac'n'cheese

One large oven dish

Ingredients

300 g macaroni

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 small chilli

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tsp smoked chilli paste

Sprinkle of smoked paprika

Sprinkle of salt

Sprinkle of ground black pepper

200 ml vegetable stock

200 g grated emmental

Method

Cook the macaroni and set to side.

Chop the onion, garlic and chilli finely and cook them in vegetable oil until soft.

Mix in the seasoning and the smoked chilli paste.

Then add the vegetable stock and let it heat through.

Gradually start whisking in the grated cheese so that it melts into the mix. Use about 100 g of the cheese at this stage.

When the cheese mixture is smooth, mix it with the macaroni and put into an oven dish.

Cover with the rest of the cheese and bake at 180 C for about 15 minutes.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Mexican dirty potatoes

Are you also seeing dirty fries on so many menus? I have only a few times seen a vegetarian version of these loaded fries and find them quite tasty and a nice change from the usual. I guess vegetarian dirty fries can be loaded with cheese, chilli, different vegetables and dips, anything basically that would go in that combo.

I was somewhat inspired by the “dirtiness” of the fries for this vegan roast potato dish. I stole the name from the fries, even though these weren't fries, but potatoes anyway. So I made roast potatoes with a Mexican twist by adding some pepper, black beans, sweetcorn and the typical Mexican spices. 

Mexican dirty potatoes

Ingredients

400 g potatoes

Olive oil for roasting

1 large red romano pepper

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

1 small chilli

1 can black beans

1 small can sweetcorn

2 tsp smoked chilli paste

½ tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

1 tsp smoked paprika

Sprinkle of salt

Fresh coriander (optional)

Method

Cut the potatoes into quarters or smaller pieces and cook them in water for about 15 minutes. Then place them into a baking tray with olive oil. Roast at 200 C for about 40 minutes.

Prep the rest of the ingredients in the meanwhile: chop the pepper, onion, garlic and chilli. Add the pepper first to the potatoes and roast for about 10 minutes. After that time also add the beans, sweetcorn, chilli, garlic and onion.

Roast for about 40 minutes more. I covered the dish for the first 20 minutes with foil, but that's optional. I just thought that without a foil the dish may dry out too much.

Mix the smoked chilli paste, ground cumin, ground coriander, smoked paprika and salt with a dash of olive oil and water to make a liquid paste. Season the contents of the oven dish with the seasoning paste and return to the oven for a few minutes until the flavours have blended in nicely.

You can serve this with some nice fragrant fresh coriander, or even a bit of grated cheese, if you want to have a non-vegan version.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Rice and bean tacos

Here is a Mexican inspired recipe for The VegHog's Cheap Eats Week 2017. Mexican style veggie dishes don't have to be expensive, as long as you keep a certain staple of spices in your kitchen. Then it's easy to get creative with the vegetables that you have available and create tasty and affordable dishes.

This frugal recipe is easy to customise depending what canned beans and fresh vegetables you have available to use. I combined here some black beans, sweetcorn, onions, cheese and rice. It was an excellent filling for soft tacos and so nutritious. These also make a great work lunch, you'll really look forward to your break even more, if these are waiting for you.

Rice and bean tacos

Ingredients

1 cup brown and red camargue rice mix

2 onions

4 garlic cloves

1 small chilli

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large can black beans

1 small can sweetcorn

Ground cumin to taste

Ground coriander to taste

Smoked paprika to taste

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1 tsp smoked chilli paste

150 g grated Cheddar

8 soft tortillas

Fresh cherry tomatoes (optional)

Lime (optional)

Method

Cook the rice separately until done.

Chop the onions, garlic and chilli finely and first start cooking the onion in the oil until soft and slightly browned. Then add the garlic and chilli.

After a while also add the beans and sweetcorn followed by the seasoning. Mix in also the cooked rice.

Let simmer and mix in the cheese just before filling the tortillas with the rice and bean mix.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Soft tacos with soya and bean filling

It's Saturday and finally there's time to cook properly and relax with a film or a series binge in the evening, as I don't have many plans for the weekend. I'm just happy to be at home right now. This sort of tacos with a spicy soya chuck, black bean and sweetcorn filling would be just right for tonight. They are easy to make and fun to eat. These ones are full of protein and veggie goodness. Have a look at my recipe!

Soft tacos with soya and bean filling

Ingredients

1 cup dried soya chunks

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

Olive oil

2 small bell peppers

240 g / 1 can black beans

140 g / 1 small can sweetcorn

5 tomatoes

Ground cumin to taste

Ground coriander to taste

Smoked paprika to taste

2 tsp smoked chilli sauce

1 tbsp tomato purée

Splash of liquid aminos

Splash of liquid smoke

8 soft taco shells

Grated cheese

Chilli mayo or ketchup

Method

Prepare the soya chunks as per the packet instructions.

Chop the onion, garlic, tomatoes and bell peppers.

Cook the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, then add the peppers, beans, sweetcorn and tomatoes.

Season and let simmer under the lid until the flavours have blended nicely.

Add the soya chunks into the vegetables and simmer some more.

Serve the mix with soft taco shells, grated cheese and chilli mayo or ketchup.

Enjoy!

I'm sharing this recipe with Jacqueline from Tinned Tomatoes blog for Meat Free Mondays.

Have a nice weekend!

Your VegHog

Mexican cauliflower cheese

I stumbled upon Gran Luchito's Mexican Cauliflower cheese recipe and decided to give it a go. In the end I made my own version of it, as my partner doesn't eat milk-based sauces. I opted for vegetable stock as the liquid instead, and the dish turned out really nice. It was luscious and comforting, perfect for the darkening evenings. And of course I do adore Mexican food, there are so many good vegetarian and vegan options in that style of cooking.

Have a look below, how I made my version of the Mexican cauliflower cheese.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower

2 garlic cloves

15 g butter

2 tsp smoked chilli paste

2 tbsp wheat flour

400 ml vegetable stock

150 g grated Cheddar

Method

I steamed the cauliflower florets for a few moments and made the roux in the meanwhile.

For the roux I just heated garlic cloves in butter in a pan and added the smoked chilli paste followed by the wheat flour. Then I added the vegetable stock and let it all cook for a couple of minutes.

Then I placed the steamed cauliflower florets into an oven dish, covered with the chilli sauce and cheese.

And the whole thing baked at 180 C for about 30 minutes and was then ready to be enjoyed.

It was so good have a different twist to cauliflower cheese.

Your VegHog

Spicy soya chunk tacos with char-grilled peppers and bean rice

If I didn't manage to post this for Taco Tuesday, perhaps we can have a Taco Thursday? The week is almost over and I hope to have more time to write, post, comment and edit photos over the weekend. I don't have anything special planned, so maybe I'll actually manage.

Quickly back to the taco subject, before I have to go to bed. I normally always add cheese to tacos, but now for a change I wanted to make well seasoned vegan tacos. I chose chilli and smoke marinated soya as the main protein and added some rice with black beans to the mix. Then in order to add some colour and more smokiness, I char-grilled bell peppers to be added to the tacos.

Ingredients

1 cup dried soya pieces

1 tsp vegetable stock extract

1 cup red camargue and wild rice

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

Vegetable oil

1 can black beans

Salt

Ground cumin

Ground coriander

2 bell peppers

Fresh coriander

Taco shells

For the soya marinade:

1 tbsp smoked chilli paste

1 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp liquid smoke

1 tsp vegetable stock extract

Method

Cook the dried soya pieces in water for a few minutes and add some vegetable stock extract to the cooking water. Then drain them. Prepare the marinade by mixing the ingredients and then mix it with the soya pieces. Cover and let marinade in the fridge for a couple of hours.

Chop the onion and garlic finely and start cooking the onion first in vegetable oil. After the onion is soft and browned, add the garlic and cook for a couple of more minutes. Then add the black beans to the pan. Cook the rice separately in water and once cooked, mix it into the bean mix. Season with salt, ground cumin and ground coriander.

Cut thin strings from the bell peppers and char-grill them on a grill pan until they have distinct grilling marks.

Put all the fillings into taco shells, season with fresh coriander and enjoy!

Your VegHog 

Crushed roast potato and sweetcorn tortillas

I woke up into sunshine and quite a warm weather, which was really delightful for a Saturday. At this point it seems as if it could get the warmest day of the summer here so far. I'll soon be heading out, but before that I want to share my crushed roast potato and sweetcorn tortilla recipe with you. I really adore roasted corn and potatoes and I added smoked chilli paste seasoned black beans to these, so good!

Ingredients

2 corn cobs

400 g new potatoes

Rapeseed oil

Salt

Smoked paprika

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

100 g tomatoes

1 can black beans

2 tsp smoked chilli paste

Fresh coriander

Grated Cheddar

Chilli mayo

8 wholemeal tortillas

Method

Brush the corn cobs and new potatoes with rapeseed oil and roast in the oven. Also sprinkle some salt and smoked paprika over the potatoes. I normally roast corn cobs under foil and finish under the grill.

Chop the onion, garlic and tomatoes finely and start cooking the onion in oil. Once slightly browned, add the garlic, soon followed by the tomatoes and black beans.

Let simmer and season with the smoked chilli paste and fresh coriander.

Once the corn cobs are roasted, cut the corn off the cobs. And once the potatoes are roasted, crush them slightly by pressing with a fork.

Assemble all components onto tortillas and serve them with grated cheddar and chilli mayo.

Enjoy!

I'm sharing the recipe with this month's My Legume Love Affair hosted by Kalyani from Sizzling Tastebuds.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Your VegHog

Bean and sweetcorn nacho bake

Oh bliss, it's a long weekend and the weather seems to be fairly okay so far. I'm happy and have nice plans for the weekend, which will probably be revealed here later. But first I want to share a recent recipe of mine with you, which is another way to eat a vegetarian chilli and nachos. I baked the chilli with cheese and some nachos and served it with even more tortilla chips. This was a very nice dish, especially for a film night or Nordic noir night in my case.

Ingredients

1 large onion

3 garlic cloves

1 romano pepper

Olive oil for frying

1 can black beans

1 can sweetcorn

Ground cumin to taste

Ground coriander to taste

Smoked paprika to taste

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

300 g organic peeled tomatoes

½ cup dried soya mince

Fresh coriander leaves to taste

1 lime's juice

175 g tortilla chips

250 g grated cheese

Sour cream to serve

Method

Fry the chopped onion, garlic and romano pepper in olive oil for a while. Add the black beans and sweetcorn. Season and add the tomatoes and let simmer.

Prepare the soy mince separately as per instructions and add it to the mix as well. Season with fresh coriander leaves and lime juice.

Place the chilli in an oven dish or several smaller ramekins. Put some tortilla chips around the edges and cover with grated cheese.

Bake at 200 C for about 15 minutes until the cheese has melted and the bake looks nice.

Serve with sour cream and tortilla chips on the side and enjoy!

Have a wonderful weekend!

Your VegHog

Black bean and kale tacos

I've been so fond of Mexican food lately. I think I could have it every day, as there are so many wonderful veggie options and beans are really good for you. It's also very dangerous that my local pub makes a very good veggie burrito and it's huge. I really shouldn't be having that so often, as I almost can't walk home anymore afterwards, that's how big the portion is.

Now I decided to make slightly different tacos with soft taco shells, filled with black beans with smoked chilli flavours and kale as the additional green. These were really nice tacos and the top kale bits crisped a little bit in the oven, which I love. So here is my recipe.

Ingredients

1 onion

3 garlic cloves

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1 tin black beans

1 small tin sweetcorn

Ground coriander to taste

Ground cumin to taste

Smoked paprika to taste

Chilli flakes to taste

Smoked chilli paste to taste

1 lime's juice

2 tbsp tomato purée

160 g kale

8 soft taco shells

Grated cheddar

Red jalapenos

Sour cream

Fresh coriander

Method

Chop the onion and garlic finely and start cooking them in vegetable oil until the onion is slightly browned.

Add the black beans, sweetcorn and seasoning to the mix. Also add the lime's juice and tomato purée.

Steam the kale for a few minutes and add to the beans.

Fill the taco shells with the bean and kale mix.

Add some grated cheddar on the top and bake them in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese has melted and the taco shells are partly crispy.

Serve with red jalapenos, sour cream and fresh coriander and enjoy!

I'm sharing this recipe with Shaheen for this month's Eat Your Greens. 

Your VegHog