Blood orange and pomegranate salsa

Earlier this year I promised you more blood orange recipes, as I was so enthusiastic about the season starting. However I’ve been munching them as they are, juicing and adding to my breakfast yogurts and not making many inventive dishes with them. Now I made something slightly different, a citrusy salsa that can be enjoyed on the side of many dishes as a fresh addition. I ate mine along a couscous salad and halloumi and it was rather nice and refreshing and I really loved the colours (not a beige dish for a change!).

Ingredients

4 blood oranges

Seeds of 1 pomegranate

¼ red onion

Drizzle of olive oil

Drizzle of balsamic vinegar

Sprinkle of salt

Sprinkle of ground black pepper

Few fresh basil leaves

Method

Peel the blood oranges and cut them into small pieces.

De-seed the pomegranate and add the seeds to the blood orange pieces.

Chop the onion very finely and also add it to the bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients, mix and season to taste.

All done!

Your VegHog

Black bean and soya mince tacos with roasted peppers, cheese and tomato salsa

Earlier today I started craving for a little taco feast, suitable for a Saturday evening. I decided to go with a fairly classic choice of soya mince with black beans, roasted peppers and salsa. This dish is easy to veganise by leaving out the cheese. I enjoyed this taco dinner very much and will soon be making some again, it has been too long since I last made them.

Here's how I made my easy veggie tacos.

Ingredients

12 taco shells

Grated Cheddar

2 bell peppers + 1 tsp olive oil

Tomato salsa

200 g mini plum tomatoes

¼ onion

1 tsp olive oil

Juice of ½ lime

Salt and pepper to taste

Bean and mince mix

½ cup dried soya mince

1 onion

2 garlic cloves

1 tbsp olive oil

Smoked paprika to taste

Ground cumin to taste

Oregano to taste

Chilli flakes to taste

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1 can black beans

Method

Start off by making the salsa, as it can rest in the fridge until serving. Chop the tomatoes and onions and mix together with the seasoning.

Chop the bell peppers into cubes, brush them with olive oil and roast in the oven.

Then continue to the bean and mince mix. Prepare the soya mince as recommended on the packet. Mine needed to be boiled in water for about 5 minutes. Chop the onion and garlic finely and cook them in olive oil until soft. Add the mince to the pan and after a while the seasoning and then the black beans. Let cook for a while.

Bake the taco shells in the oven for about 5 minutes with little grated cheese on the bottom of each shell.

Fill the shells with the bean and mince mix, roasted peppers and tomato salsa. Add more cheese, if you prefer.

Enjoy!

Your VegHog

Harissa and honey roasted aubergines with tomato salsa, halloumi and spicy couscous

I wanted to make something different with my special aubergines from France, and this is the spicy dish I came up with. There are several components in this dish that go well together, and I also used my exquisite olive oil from France for the aubergines and the tomato salsa. I cooked this dish before I left to Finland, so sorry for the small delay in posting it.

Here are the ingredients and instructions to each part of this meal.

Tomato salsa:

4 tomatoes

1 small garlic

2 tbsp lemon juice

Black pepper to taste

Salt to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

It was lovely to have something raw and fresh with this dish, and I thought that this tomato salsa suited it perfectly. I combined some French heirloom tomatoes with a few from my own balcony.

Cube the tomatoes and chop the garlic finely. Season them with lemon juice, black pepper, salt and olive oil. Refrigerate for around half an hour to let the flavours blend together.

Roasted aubergines:

2 aubergines

2 tsp harissa

2 tbsp honey

1 tsp olive oil

1 tbsp water

Make the marinade by combining harissa, honey, olive oil and water. Slice the aubergines lengthwise and roast them at 180C for about 40 minutes. Then brush them with the marinade and roast for further 10-15 minutes until the honey starts to caramelise. Turn the aubergine slices during the roasting to achieve an even coating.

Couscous:

1 cup couscous

1 cup water

1 garlic stock cube

1 red onion

1 small bell pepper

2 cloves garlic

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp ground coriander

Chilli flakes to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Chop the bell pepper, red onion and garlic finely. Cook them in olive oil in a pan until soft. Season them with ground cumin, ground coriander and chilli flakes.

Bring garlic stock (water + garlic stock cube) to boil and remove it from the heat. Add the couscous and the contents of the pan to it and let rest under a lid for about 10 minutes.

Halloumi:

250 g halloumi

Vegetable oil for frying

Just fry long thin strips of halloumi in vegetable oil until golden brown.

Serve all components together and have some lovely red wine with it. Enjoy!

Your VegHog