Mushroom matar malai - Mushroom white curry

 

This recipe is so freely adapted from the more authentic ones, that I hardly dare to put it into ‘Curries for Cooks’. However, as it uses one or two spices/herb which only dedicated curry cooks are likely to have on board, that’s how I shall categorise it. (This, of course, assumes that anyone ever looks at the pages on this blog!)

I made this when I had been ‘off my food’ for a while and unable to face the thought of any Indian food. As I generally adore such recipes, this was a personal tragedy at the time. I had been sent a malai recipe in one of my blog feeds, and it attracted my attention as having not too many spices and looking like something might tempt my appetite. The recipe in question was for paneer, which I can’t obtain locally (and as an aspiring vegan, try to avoid), I looked to see if there were any more recipes on the Internet and came across a mushroom malai, with even fewer spices – perhaps too few- so I took a bit from both recipes.

When I came to look more closely, I discovered that these ‘white’ curries usually contain cashew nuts (this isn’t just a vegan spin on Indian food: a lot of Indian recipes call for cashews), which I don’t include and malai, which means cream, which I also left out. Vegan versions use cashew nut cream; vegetarian versions seem to use cream plus some yoghurt, which I think is because Indian cream is thicker than what is available in most countries (the UK being – or was! - a notable exception) and sounds more like ‘double cream’. Anyway, this is all irrelevant, because I simply used a goodly amount of nice, thick yoghurt.

The onions, garlic and ginger are meant to be ground to a paste in a blender. I couldn’t be bothered (another side effect of the appetite loss) and simply diced them very finely. They certainly didn’t intrude.

Matar, by the way, means peas, so they are, strictly, essential. Otherwise it will be simply mushroom malai. I used freeze-dried peas – essential voyagers’ provisions. The curry, even with all my alterations, was incredibly good. I could have scoffed the lot – so obviously it also restored my appetite for Indian food!!

I have made it several times since, and it has become one of my favourite ways to eat mushrooms. I’ve been tweaking the spices to keep the curry mellow, but with lots of flavour and, having now got it about right, I feel I can finally post the recipe. If you’re not fond of too much chilli, leave out the chillies and simply use the Kashmiri chilli powder. I have even made this recipe without any cream, yoghurt or cream substitute and it is still delicious. I’m afraid the photos don’t show a white curry: the button mushroom that I buy locally, always turn any sauce brown. Oyster mushrooms would probably produce a lighter-coloured sauce. Use as many mushrooms as you think you can eat: this isn’t a particularly filling meal.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1½ tbsp ghee or oil

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 small piece mace

1 or 2 green chillies, chopped

1 small onion, finely diced

1/2 tsp ginger paste

2 garlic cloves, finely diced or 1/2 tsp garlic paste

2 green cardamoms, seeds only

1 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp water

2 cups of white mushrooms quartered

1/2 cup thick yoghurt, thinned to pouring consistency

1/8 tsp cinnamon

1/3 cup freeze-dried peas

1/4 tsp ground white pepper or black, if that’s all you have

1/4 tsp garam masala

1 tsp kasuri methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Method:

• Heat the ghee in a heavy-based saucepan and sizzle the cumin seeds and mace.
• Add the chilli and cook for a few moments.
• Now add the onion, ginger, garlic, cardamom seeds, coriander, chilli powder and salt. Cook for a couple of minutes, lower the heat and add the water. (This is to stop the vegetables browning). Cook until the onions, etc are soft adding a drop more water if necessary.
• Now raise the heat once more, add the mushrooms and cook for a few minutes, ensuring that they are well-covered in the ghee/spice/aromatics mixture.
• When the mushrooms are starting to soften, add the peas and a drop more water if necessary.
• Cook for another four or five minutes and then stir in the yoghurt and cinnamon and bring everything to a very gentle boil. Now turn the heat right down until the mixture is barely simmering and add the pepper.
• Put a lid on and simmer until the mushrooms are cooked. Remove the lid so that the sauce can thicken to the consistency you want, then add the methi and garam masala. Cook very gently for another couple of minutes.

Serve with roti, brown basmati rice, or cumin rice if you prefer.

Notes:

• Whole mace, unlike the ground variety, has a surprisingly intense flavour. If you’re not used to using it, be careful how much you add. I broke off a piece about the size of a small cardamom pod

Variations:

• This recipe would be a good one for voyagers who make their own yoghurt, or have cream on board or have cashews and a grinder. I would suggest that if using dairy cream, you would add some powdered milk to thicken it.
• For a more filling meal, add ½ cup chickpeas or white beans, soaked, cooked and drained. Or a can.
• This is quite a quick meal to make because you can just add everything in order, stirring to ensure that it’s all mixed as you don’t want the fried vegetables and spices to turn brown

 You will find more recipes like this here

 

Chickpea and mushroom quiche

 

This is one of my favourite quiches and is especially luxurious when made with cream. It is ideal for for entertaining, especially if you have baby new potatoes to go with it. In hot weather, when you don’t want your guests eating in a sweltering boat, it can be made in advance and eaten lukewarm.

 

I’m afraid that I don’t accept that a white sauce made with gram flour is an acceptable substitute for a sauce made with eggs. However, if you are well along the vegan spectrum, I suggest alternatives to cows’ milk, which is what I invariably use. You might want to use coconut milk - but I think that it might not complement the tarragon and green peppercorns.

 

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

 

1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked and cooked

1 recipe pastry

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, diced

8 to 10 button mushrooms, sliced

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp butter or extra olive oil

1 egg

1/3 cup (vegan) yoghurt OR cream

1/4 cup milk OR water

1/2 tsp tarragon

1 tsp crushed green peppercorns

salt

 

Method:

• Cook the chickpeas and set aside.
• Make the pastry and roll it out to fit a 230 mm (9 in) frying pan. Press to fit, cutting and pasting as necessary, to line the entire pan.
• Put the frying pan on a low heat over a flame tamer, and cook uncovered, for 10 to 15 minutes, until the pastry is crisp.
• Meanwhile, prepare the onion and garlic and fry in the oil and butter. If you don’t have any butter, use an extra tbsp of olive oil, but the butter makes this quiche richer.
• Slice the mushrooms and add to the pan. Cook without browning until the onion is thoroughly softened and the mushrooms have wilted.
• When the pastry is cooked, put the vegetables in the case, spreading them evenly over the base.
• Put the drained chickpeas on top, again spreading them out evenly.
• Gently beat the egg, yoghurt or cream and milk or water together. Mix in the tarragon, green peppercorns and salt. Pour this carefully into the frying pan, tilting it so that the custard is evenly distributed.
• Cover and cook over a low heat, until the custard has risen and is set – approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

Serve, if you can with new potatoes and a salad of mixed leaves. On a hot day, and in the unlikely event that youcan provide it, chilled white wine is delicious with this quiche.

Alternative cooking:

• If you prefer to cook the quiche in the oven, line a 200 mm (8 in) flan case with pastry and bake it in a pre-heated, Fairly Hot oven for 15 minutes. If possible, put a heavy baking sheet on the top shelf to heat up with the oven. This gives you a better chance of ending up with a crisp base.
• Follow stages 3 – 7. Reduce the oven setting to Moderate, and then put the quiche back in the oven for a further 30 minutes, until the filling is set. It should have risen to the top of the case and be a delicate golden colour.

Note:

• I have made this quiche with green peppercorns in brine, when I couldn’t find dried green peppercorns, but the result it disappointing compared with the dried ones.
• If you have access to fresh herbs, you might well prefer to use these. However, tarragon has its own quite distinct flavour, which I think goes well in this recipe.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You will find many more recipes

Risotto

Edited 26/5/25

 

Risotto is something that I’ve come to since living on my own, because it isn’t the sort of rib-sticking tack that my skippers would have liked. I adore it. 

For a long time I couldn’t get it just right. I kept reading all different recipes; I carefully kept my stock hot and ladled it assiduously into the pan, just like the maestros told me to, but the rice never seemed really to cook through and I never got the creamy consistency that the cookery books raved about: I think all the variables of heat, pan size and quantity are very important and unless you cook the same amount in the same pan each time, there's a lot of trial and error.  Keeping the water/stock hot is a further complication.  Moreover, some recipes imply that you heat up more water/stock than might be called for, and pouring water away on a boat, is a capital crime!  Finally, however, I came across a complete iconoclast who cooked her risotto in the pressure cooker and, moreover, she assured me that so do lots of Italian cooks, who, I assume prefer to sit down with the rest of the white wine, rather than standing over the risotto pot, ladling and stirring for three-quarters of an hour. So I tried it, and since then I have produced what I consider to be perfect risotto (although I have to admit that the one in the photo is a bit dry)!  You will have to experiment a bit to get the timing just right: the usual caveat about how long it takes your PC to get up to pressure and at what pressure it cooks applies as usual.

 

I have tried it with short-grain brown rice, rather than arborio, but the result has been disappointing.  From what I have read, risotto is meant to be of a creamy consistency, so it shouldn't stand up on its own, moulded on the plate.  Nor should it have any cream in it - the creaminess comes from the starch in the rice - and really, not even that much cheese.  The Italians are firm believers in Less is More.

 

Jamie Oliver adds lots of celery to his risotto and very good it is too. However, celery is not the sort of thing that most voyagers carry, because it comes in large quantities and doesn’t keep that well. Instead I have gone for a unique Annie touch (or so I would like to think) and use fennel seeds. Very Italian and very voyager friendly.  I also occasionally add celery seeds, too, in a nod to Mr Oliver.  Classic risotto recipes use neither, however, so feel free to leave them out if you prefer.

 

What follows is the basic recipe with the usual variations at the end.   Although I see a lot of recipes include vegetables early in the cooking process, traditionally most appear to be added at the end.  I dare say that's because after all the stirring, etc, the veg would be mashed.  However, with those that will re-heat quickly like mushrooms, it's better to pre-fry them with the onion and garlic and then set aside.  I usually sprinkle in some of my mushroom stock powder, just before adding the water and recommend it, but if you only have commercial stock you can use that, in which case go carefully with your salt.  If you don't particularly want to fry your vegetable of choice, for example if you're making, for example green bean risotto, partially cook the beans first and use the cooking water for stock.  But in reality – just go for it!

 

Please check the Notes before cooking :-) 

Basic Risotto

 

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

 

A knob of butter and/or olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 cloves of garlic crushed and diced

1/2 tsp fennel seeds

1/2 tsp celery seed

2/3 cup short grain (ideally Carnaroli or Arborio) rice

1/2 cup white wine (or, in desperate circumstances, water)

1 1/3 cups stock/cooking water/water

salt and pepper

extra hot water/stock

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese or 'Parmegan' 

 

Method:

• Heat the oil and/or butter in the pressure cooker and then add the onion and garlic. Cook gently until softened, but don’t let them brown.
• Add the fennel seeds and/or celery, if you're using them and quickly mix them in.
• Add the rice and stir it around for a few minutes until it’s thoroughly heated and covered in the oil and onion mixture.  It should be starting to turn translucent and to crackle slightly.
• Pour in the wine and continue stirring until it has evaporated.
• Now add the water/stock/cooking water from your vegetable of choice, or water and stock powder; stir to ensure that everything is covered in liquid and well mixed.  
• Put on the lid and bring up to pressure.
• Cook for 5-7 minutes and allow the pressure to reduce naturally.
• Meanwhile, grate the cheese and heat up about a cup of water.
• Remove the lid and gently stir the risotto. Add salt and pepper and taste it. The risotto should be of a creamy consistency that flows rather than stands on its own. If it looks a bit dry, add some of your hot water and mix carefully.
• Add the Parmesan/Parmegan and gently mix it in.  Taste to see if you've added sufficient.
• *  At this stage, add your partially-cooked vegetables and mix carefully again.
  Put the lid back on and either let the vegetables reheat in the hot risotto for a few minutes, or put the pan back over a very low heat, if you are worried the risotto might cool down too much.  Give the consistency one final check adding more hot water/stock if necessary and serve straight away, with more cheese, if you wish.

A green vegetable or side salad go well with any risotto, but especially with the basic one above.

 

Notes:

• If you don't have or use butter, add a couple of tablespoons of olive oil; otherwise just use one tbsp plus the butter.
• Substitute vegan ghee for butter.
• Try to avoid using red onions - they will colour the risotto.
• You can heat your extra hot water/stock while the pressure is coming off. 

Variations:

 

Please read through these little recipes carefully before starting cooking.

• Broad bean risotto: Shell the beans to make up about a cup full.  Following the basic risotto recipe above, cook the beans in a small amount of water to which you have added 1/4 tsp dried mint, until they are just tender.  Scoop them out onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Make up the cooking liquid to 1 1/3 cups, with stock or water and coninue with the method above.  Add the cooked beans at * and complete the recipe.
• Broccoli risotto: Following the basic risotto recipe above, cut the broccoli into tiny heads, simmer them in a small amount of water until just cooked - they will cook a bit more while reheating - and then scoop them out onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Make up the cooking water to 1 1/3 cups, with stock or water.  If you want to use some of the stalk, chop it and cook with the onions and garlic.  Continue as above, add the cooked broccoli at *, and complete the recipe.  Sprinkle with chilli flakes.
• Cauliflower risotto: 
  
  Following the basic risotto recipe above, cut off the florets, to whatever size suits you, depending on what result you are aiming for. Lightly cook them, remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Make up the cooking water to 1 1/3 cups, with stock or water. Take the stalk and any trimmings, chop and cook with the onions and garlic and 1/4 tsp chilli flakes.  Add the water/stock and continue with the method above.  While the risotto is cooking, you can thinly slice the florets, if you wish.   Add the cauliflower at *, and complete the recipe.  A variation is to cook the cauliflower more thoroughly and to gently mash it into the cooked rice.
• Green bean risotto.  Following the recipe above, cook about a dozen beans, sliced into 30mm/1in pieces, in a small amount of water with 1/4 tsp dried oregano, until they are almost ready.  Scoop them out onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Make up the cooking water to 1 1/3 cups, with stock or water and carry on with the recipe.  Add the cooked beans at * and complete the recipe.
• Mushroom risotto:
  
  Read through the recipe above.  (If you have any, soak a few dried mushrooms in hot water for 30 minutes or so and use the water in the stock). Take half a dozen or so fresh mushrooms and fry them in the oil/butter with the onion and garlic, together with 1/4 tsp thyme and 1/2 tsp rosemary (1/4 tsp sage also goes well if you are using darker mushrooms).  When the onions are soft, set everything aside on a plate.  Now add some more oil to the pan.  Add the rice and cook for a minute or so until the grains start to turn translucent and crackle. Add the mushroom liquid to the water/stock to make 2 cups of liquid (you don't need wine with this risotto), then pour this over the rice.  Now add the drained mushrooms, put on the lid and bring up to pressure as per the recipe above.  Add the cooked mushrooms at * and complete the recipe.  If you are lucky enough to have some, drizzle some truffle oil over before serving.
• Pea risotto: Shell sufficient fresh peas to fill about half a cup. Bring a small amount of water to the boil, together with 1/4 tsp dried mint and a couple of the pods.  Add the peas and cook for one minute, then scoop them out onto a plate with a slotted spoon. Remove the pods. Make up the cooking water to 1 1/3 cups, with stock or water, and follow the basic risotto recipe.  Add the cooked peas at * and complete the recipe.  If you don't have fresh peas, you can use a similar amount of freeze-dried.  Cook them in the stock/water, together with the dried mint until they are nearly cooked.  Scoop them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Make up the liquid to 1 1/3 cups and follow the recipe.  Add the cooked peas at * and complete the recipe. 
• Pea and sun-dried tomato risotto: Follow the instructions for Pea Risotto, but add three or four sun-dried tomatoes, cut into strips, with the fennel seeds.
• Risotto Milanesa:  This is the classic Italian recipe and is very beautiful.  Saffron is horribly expensive, but its glorious colour and subtle fragrance make it worthwhile using on occasion.  Do not be tempted to substitute turmeric: it will overwhelm a dish like this which is so subtly flavoured.  For the same reason, leave out the fennel and celery seeds and make sure you use some decent-tasting white wine. Following the basic risotto recipe above, heat 1/4 cup of the water you intend to cook the rice in and add a good pinch of saffron strands (about 1/4 tsp).  Allow them to infuse for about 20 minute.  Cook the basic risotto as above, and add the saffron liquid to the water/stock to make up 1 1/3 cups.  Complete the recipe.

 

 

Chickpeas with mushrooms and rice

Sharp-eyed observers may notice a family resemblance to one or two other recipes on this blog.  I make no apologies. Mushrooms and chickpeas were made for each other and are complemented superbly by tarragon and green peppercorns. 

 

Mushrooms, a sublime gift from a benign Providence, are becoming more and more easily available to cruising people. Because of this, I include them rather more often than I would have done had I written this blog 15 years ago - if there were blogs, 15 years ago. While canned mushrooms are a sad travesty of the real thing, ‘freeze-dried’ ones are a very acceptable substitute and, where available, are not outrageously expensive. While they don’t need pre-soaking, it does them no harm. If you're cooking the chickpeas from scratch, rather than using a tin, put the dried mushrooms in at the same time. Half a cup of mushrooms would need about the same water. You can of course buy such exotics as porcini or Chinese dried mushrooms, although I find the latter rather too chewy and, particularly the dark ones, slightly overpowering unless diced quite small. On the other hand, those packets of Chinese, dried 'white' mushrooms are wonderfully versatile and have a lovely flavour profile.

Serves 2

 

Ingredients 

1/2 cup chick peas, soaked

3/4 cup rice

2½ cups water

2 tbsp olive oil

6 or 8 fresh mushrooms OR 1/3 cup freeze dried mushrooms

1 onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped

1 tsp tarragon

2 tsp green peppercorns, crushed

salt

 

Method:

• Put the rice and chick peas in the pressure cooker and cook for 15 minutes. If you are using dried mushrooms, put these in at the same time and add an extra 1/2 cup of water.
• While these are cooking, heat the oil in another saucepan, slice the mushrooms and chop up the onion and garlic. Put them all into the pan and cook over a medium heat, turning frequently to prevent them from burning. Be gentle – you don’t want to break up the mushroom slices.
• Using a pestle and mortar, crush the peppercorns and grind the tarragon in with them. (If you don’t have a pestle, crush the peppercorns in a shallow bowl with the back of a spoon. Be careful, they tend to fly about a bit.) Add these to the vegetables and stir to mix everything together. Lower the heat to a minimum.
• When the chickpeas, etc have finished cooking, reduce pressure gradually and then empty the contents of the pressure cooker into the saucepan. Mix carefully, and leave for a few minutes so that the flavours mingle before serving the food.

Variations: 

• If you’re not fond of ‘spicy’ food, you may find 2 tsp of green peppercorns a bit much. In that case, reduce the amount to 1 tsp.
• If you substitute 1/4 cup wild rice for brown rice, you get a luxurious version, which you can happily serve to any guests.
• If you don't happen to have green peppercorns aboard, use black
• Thyme can be substituted for tarragon: it goes well with mushrooms, but will, of course, impart a completely different flavour to the dish.

 

You will find many more rice recipes here 

Annie's Mushroom 'stock' powder

 

Blender alert!! 

Personally, I don't think home-made soups need anything added by way of stock: the intrinsic ingredients have enough flavour in themselves.  However, sometimes I feel a recipe needs a touch of je ne sais quoi, and I reckon this mushroom 'stock powder' fits the bill.  Unlike commercial stock powders, not only does it contain no artificial ingredients, it doesn't even have any salt.  All that it is is ground up, dried mushrooms such as the Chinese ones which are available in most supermarkets.

Makes about 1 cup

Ingredients

1 pack dried mushrooms 

Method:

• Remove the mushrooms from the package and shake the residue into a blender cup.
• Break or cut the larger pieces of mushrooms down to around 2 cm/1 in, so that the blender can more readily cope with them.
  
• Add all the mushrooms into the cup and grind them until they are a coarse powder.
• Put into a clean jar and keep in a dark place.

Notes:

• I always use 'white' mushrooms for this 'stock powder', rather than a pack of mixed mushrooms.  That way they don't darken the sauce, soup, or whatever you're adding them to.

Variations:

• To make this more like a stock powder, add a couple of teaspoons of salt 
• Add mixed herbs: you might find a couple of teaspoons of my blend suits.  The drawback of this is that you will have flecks of colour in your food and you might prefer to have a white sauce.  The herbs may not suit your recipe, either.

  

 

 

Mushroom and barley soup

 

For the past several weeks I have had no appetite to speak of.  This isn't a good thing for a food blogger, but it is a miserable state of affairs for someone who usually wakes up in the morning, anticipating eating a very hearty breakfast and already wondering what to cook for dinner.  Admittedly I have lost quite a bit of weight, but I am one of those rare and lucky people who actually quite likes my body the size and the shape it is.  (At my age, this is a sane and sensible place to be!)  Apart from fruit and yogurt, at the moment the thought of any Indian food, which I usually eat several times a week, appalls me; the idea of pasta makes me feel squeamish and the only things which seem slightly appealing are bread and potatoes, preferably fried.  Sometimes I can face a few florets of broccoli, but an aubergine I bought nearly a month ago - one of my absolute favourite foods - will probably have to be thrown out.  If you knew my views about throwing food out, you would realise how bad I am.

However, a couple of weeks ago, I reckoned I could probably fancy some soup.  To be appealing it had to be thick, not to have too many ingredients, be very lightly flavoured and not too colourful.  I tried a simple lentil soup and that was a success.  I ate a whole bowl of it without any problem, which felt like quite an achievement.  None of my other recipes seemed at all tempting, so I decided to try and make something which would fit the bill, and this is the result.  The barley I buy here in New Zealand is hulled, but not 'pearl and is perfect comfort food.  I actually found the soup really enjoyable and again ate a whole bowl without difficulty.  It's obviously the perfect soup for an 'invalid'!!

Serves 2

Ingredients

1/4 cup gram flour

2 cups water

5 mushrooms, diced

1/2 cup barley 

1 tsp dried onion powder

1/4 tsp ground coriander

1/2 tsp za'atar or 1/4 tsp thyme

1 tsp Annie's mushroom stock powder

salt and pepper 

•  Put the gram flour into your pressure cooker and add about 1/4 cup of water.  Mix very, very thoroughly to remove all the lumps, adding more water as you go.  Gram flour doesn't tend to form lumps while it's heating in the way the wheat and cornflour do, but any lumps remaining in the original mixture are hard to get rid of.
• Now add the mushrooms, barley, dried onion powder ground coriander, za'atar/thyme, salt and pepper.  Add the stock powder, too, if you have any.
• Bring to the boil stirring pretty often to make sure the flour paste doesn't stick to the pan - it will thicken as you go.  The 2 cups of water should be enough for the gram flour and the barley.
• Put on the lid, bring up to pressure and cook for 10 minutes, to thoroughly soften the barley.
• Let the pressure reduce at room temperature, remove the lid and stir the soup.  If it seems too thick, add more water - I wanted a very thick soup.
•  Serve as is, or with bread.

Notes: 

• use diced onion, if you prefer: I couldn't face it!

 

 

A Christmas Table

To date, I've pretty much followed my plan of making this blog a version of my draft book,  The Voyaging Vegetarian.  However, I wonder how many of the two or three readers who have looked at this blog, have even opened the pages under "Topics for Voyaging Vegetarians" and so I've decided to do something totally different: write what is really a blog post.

 

Christmas!  Some people love it, some people loathe it, some are quite indifferent.  I have very mixed feelings about it: I love the memories of Christmas past spent with my family, before most of them died.  I like that it's a special day and it's a fine excuse to buy myself something a little bit special and call it a Christmas present.  However, partly because I adored our own family rituals, I don't particularly like joining other people for Christmas. Obviously they do things their own way and to be honest, it's one day of the year when I really don't want to accommodate others.  Add to this the fact that I am a vegetarian, who finds the sight and smell of meat  offputting; that I'm used to dining quite late; that I can think of few things worse on a hot day, than a roast dinner or any heavy meal; that I dislike sweet puddings and prefer to avoid the giving of unwanted presents, and you can see that I am anyway, a far from ideal guest.  

Fortunately, I live on a boat, so a day or so before Christmas, I can sail away to an unpopular anchorage which I am likely to have more or less to myself and be fairly sure that no-one will miss me.  The anchorages are often very pretty, but have a very poor mobile phone signal which for many people makes them a bad choice at this time of the year, when they want to talk to family and friends.

Once happily anchored, forecast checked once more, I spend several pleasant hours preparing my own Christmas feast.  For the past couple of years, this has been what we used to call a 'buffet', and which now appears to be called a 'grazing table', ideal for idling away a hot summer's afternoon and evening.  For anyone interested in doing likewise, I am offering this year's spread for inspiration.

So what did I have? I  made seeded-bread rolls, and to go with them prepared two pâtés:

The first one is the variation on the lentil and mushroom pâté, where walnuts are used instead of the mushrooms.  I love this variation: indeed, I'm not sure that I don't prefer it to the mushroom version.  I had some fresh sage leaves, which I fried until they were crisp, and used to decorate it. It goes well with bread or crackers, but I also found it delicious wrapped in a lettuce leaf.

I made a lot of this pâté and finished the last of it off, by watering it down and serving it with pasta.  It was very good!

The second pâté I made is the really rich and luxurious mushroom and sunflower seed one, which I feel is on a par with any made from meat. 

It being Christmas, I had a generous hand with the brandy and added what I like to think was an authentic touch, by melting vegan ghee over the top of it.  Again, it was good with bread, crackers or wrapped in a lettuce leaf.  Incidentally, both of these pâtés keep for several days without refrigeration, even with the hot weather we had over Christmas.  There is no difficulty on my part, eating them for breakfast, either.

Any grazing table worth its name has to include hummus, of course.  I like to make mine by squashing the peas with a pestle, rather than blending them really smooth.  

I much prefer a bit of texture, personally and I also like to include plenty of cumin in the mix.  This year I added a drizzle of chilli oil, from the chilli peppers I preserved earlier in the year.  It added a delightful bit of zing.  Olive oil over the top stops it from drying out and adds richness to the flavour and texture.  Again, the hummus is great with bread, crackers or wrapped in lettuce.  This also keeps for several days without refrigeration - if it gets the chance.

My final creation was to make samosas.  I have just realised that, thus far, I haven't included a recipe for these.  As I have a very poor signal here (still in a deserte anchorage) and am pushing my luck writing this, I shall have to leave it for another day.  The recipe I used is made from smashed potatoes and freeze-dried peas.  A lot of people mash the potaoes, but again, I prefer to have some texture.

Additional food to browse on included: some fancy, truffle-flavoured crisps (although, I have to confess, I think I prefer simple, plain salted!), baby plum tomatoes, broccoli florets, baby carrots, the aforementioned lettuce and crackers, along with a bowl of vegan yoghurt, cherries and fresh dates.  Although I am largely vegan, for once I bought some locally-made cheese: a Gouda type.  Generally speaking, I avoid cheese because of the horrible lives that dairy cattle have, and the appalling way in which the unwanted calves are treated.  However, the Mahoe cheese comes from a farm that looks like something out of a children's book, with cows and a big bull grazing peacefully in the fields, the driveway lined with small paddocks full of pigs and piglets, pottering around in the sunshine.  If only all cheese were produced in such an animal-friendly setting ...

As you will see, all this lovely food was washed down with good wine and I very much enjoyed browsing and sipping - and reading the odd chapter of the new Richard Osman book I had bought for myself!  Perhaps, unsurprisingly, there was quite a lot left over, but it's all gone now, except for some of the cheese.  I can quite understand that most people don't want to spend Christmas on their own, but this grazing table also works will wit a cabin full of guests: we had a similar spread a couple of Christmases ago, with good friends on board.  To my mind, it's a far better choice in hot weather, than a sit-down, cooked meal.

Mushrooms and Brussels sprouts with creamy hemp sauce

Blender Alert

I love Brussels sprouts and it always seems a bit of a shame to use them as an addition on the side rather than star of the show. They go very well with mushrooms and mixed with this thick hemp sauce, shine in a really good combination to go with pasta.

Hemp seeds, aka hemp hearts

Hemp seeds, also known as hemp hearts, are one of the latest wonder foods, but I particularly like them for making vegan milk and a cream for cooking, because there’s no need to soak them first. Hemp is also a very low-impact crop to grow, requiring little water and no fertiliser; it doesn’t have to be grown in the tropics and processing the seeds doesn’t mean (generally) women are using caustic chemicals, often with inadequate protection, so we should certainly use it in preference to cashew nuts. To serve, linguine, or fettuccine are my choice.

Unfortunately, you really do need a blender or this sauce, although, of course, you could take the concept and use some other form of cream.

Serves 2

Ingredients

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, diced

200 ml water

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2 tsp mushroom stock powder

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp salt

generous grind black pepper

2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

6 or 8 button mushrooms, thickly sliced

fettucine or linguine – about 25mm/1” dia. stacked on end

Parmesan cheese to serve

Method

• Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a couple of minutes, until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat.
• Now add the cooked onion and garlic to a blender, together with the water, hemp hearts, stock powder (if using), nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend for a minute or so to make a smooth and creamy sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Put some more oil in the saucepan, and add the Brussels sprouts and cook for a few minutes, until they start to brown on the edges.
• Meanwhile, add water to another saucepan and bring to the boil for the pasta. When it’s boiling, cook the pasta as usual.
• Now add the mushrooms to the sprouts and fry for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until they are browned. A pinch of salt might help here.
• Lower the heat and add the prepared sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine. Gently cook the sauce until it’s thick. When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan, saving the pasta water, into a jug. Use some of this water to rinse out the blender and add to the pan.
• Cook the sauce a little longer: if it seems too thick, add more of the pasta water.

Serve immediately with extra hemp seeds and/or Parmesan or vegan "Parmesan" cheese.

Notes:

• The pasta sauce will thicken quickly once heated. Keep a close eye on it. If it is too thick, add extra pasta water to loosen it up.

Variations:

• You could use other vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans, mange-tout peas, etc instead of the Brussels sprouts. But the latter are particularly good!

• One alternative I would recommend is broccoli, but cut it into very small florets, the same size as half a sprout, otherwise the sauce won’t coat everything evenly.
• Substitute dried mushrooms for fresh, if these are unavailable.

 

Pasta with chickpeas and vegetables in tahini sauce

I have just suggested 'Pasta' for his recipe, because it will really go with just about any short pasta.  Indeed, if you make more sauce, it would also successfully coat a longer type of pasta.  While I've suggested specific vegetables, this is essentially a meal that can be made using ingredients you’d have in your lockers, with whatever vegetables you have to hand. There is, however, one proviso to this: I suggest sprinkling black sesame seeds over the meal when it’s served: white sesame seeds can be used as a substitute, but the black ones look and taste great!

 

Serves 2

 

Ingredients

1/2 cup of chickpeas, soaked and cooked

olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

about 4 button mushrooms, sliced

1/2 red pepper, chopped

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp chilli flakes, or to taste

about 6 florets from a head of broccoli

4 handfuls of pasta, such as fusilli

2 tbsp tahini

reserved water from the pasta

salt and pepper

1 tbsp black sesame seeds

 

Method:

• Cook the chickpeas in the usual way and set aside.
• Add olive oil to a large saucepan over a moderately high heat.
• Add the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until the onions are softening, stirring frequently to ensure nothing burns.
• Add the mushroom and red pepper and sprinkle with salt, stir into the onions and garlic and cook for a few minutes until there is some colour on both the onions and red peppers, then lower the heat. Add in the chilli flakes, stir well and cover. Leave over a low heat while you cook the pasta.
• Bring salted water to boil in a saucepan and throw in the pasta. Stir well to ensure that it doesn’t stick together. Bring back to the boil, cover and lower the heat so that it doesn’t boil over. Set the timer for 5 minutes
• When the timer rings, add the broccoli florets and cook until both pasta and broccoli are just not soft. If you like crunchy broccoli, wait a bit longer before adding it.
• While this is cooking, put the tahini into a small, together with generous amounts of salt and pepper. When the pasta and broccoli are done, remove them from the water, using a slotted spoon, or drain the water into a jug, and add them to the vegetables.
• Add a tablespoonful or so of pasta water to the tahini and mix to a smooth consistency. Tahini varies tremendously in how thick it is, but you want to end up with a sauce that pours easily and will coat the pasta and vegetables. Mix with a butter knife or mini whisk until it becomes a creamy colour, then add to the pan.
• Stir gently until everything is mixed and serve.

Garnish with a generous amount of black sesame seeds.

 

Note:

• If you have no black sesame seeds, substitute with white.
• I'm not sure the pasta water has the same effect when used with gluten-free pasta, but it can't do any harm!
  

Variations: 

• Use white beans instead of chickpeas.
• Replace the broccoli with cauliflower florets.
• For a voyaging variation, use chopped cabbage.
• Add green beans or asparagus with or instead of some of the other vegetables.
• Replace the red pepper with carrot.
• Add a couple of tbsp of freeze-dried peas with or instead of some of the vegetables.
• Use bulgur wheatinstead of pasta. In this case you will have to cook the broccoli separately.
• Add chopped fresh herbs, if you have some.

Mushroom Strogonoff, with lentils and pasta

Even ‛traditional’, meat-based strogonoff seems to vary considerably. In USA, it’s usually swamped with sour cream (which is generally both thickened and soured artificially); in Europe they are more likely to stir a couple of tablespoonfuls of crème frâiche into the sauce. They also include a little tomato purée, and Dijon mustard is essential: although mushrooms and onions weren’t included in the original recipe, mustard most certainly was. Neither tomato purée nor mustard is generally mentioned in USAnian recipes. A little white wine or brandy can be added for special occasions.

Apparently allspice was in the original recipe. I also include paprika for its earthiness, which I really like.

Many vegan versions of this don’t use a ‛meat’ equivalent at all, so couldn’t really be much further from the original. I like the combination of textures of either seitan or lentils with the mushrooms and I cook this meal in two different ways. The seitan looks more like the original, the lentils are quicker to prepare. I decided to put them as two separate posts, because they need slightly different cooking and also, different pans.

Serves 2

Ingredients

olive oil

4 or 5 medium/2 cups sliced button mushrooms *

1 small OR 1/2 onion finely chopped or sliced

1/2 cup whole lentils

1 cup water

1 tbsp flour

1/4 cup brandy or white wine

1/4 cup mushroom stock or water

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp ground allspice

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp Dijon or brown mustard

2 tsp tomato paste

1 tbsp (vegan) crème fraîche

Method:

• Heat some olive oil in a pressure cooker, over a medium-high heat and add the sliced mushrooms. Cook them for about 5 minutes. Remove them from the pan and set aside.
• Add some more olive oil and when it’s hot, add the onions. Cook until just turning translucent but not browned.
• Add the lentils and stir around with the onions for a minute or so, pour in a cup of water, put on the lid and bring up to pressure. Cook for 10 minutes and let the pressure come down gradually.
• Put the pan back over the heat, remove the lid, sprinkle on a little flour and stir to coat everything and cook off some of the raw flour taste.
• Add the brandy or (far more likely!) wine to the pan.
• Stir in the mushroom stock or water, salt and black pepper, allspice, paprika, mustard and tomato purée. Mix well and simmer gently for about 10 minutes so that the flavours combine.
• Stir in the crème fraîche and the reserved mushrooms, and cook for a few more minutes. Don’t let it boil.

Serve with pasta, mashed potatoes, fried potato wedges or whatever takes your fancy. (I like either fettuccine or smashed potatoes.

Notes: 

• *If you have lots of mushrooms, or they’re cheap, feel free to use a lot more! Other varieties would be as good, not better, than button mushrooms.
•  Instead of crème fraîche, use yoghurt, or vegan cream plus 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar.

 

Mushroom and cauliflower soup

 

I created this soup one winters’ night, when I had a few mushrooms left in the locker, and was growing tired of an everlasting cauliflower that I'd bought. It was, I admit, a huge one, but as it was the same price as the other ones, which were two-thirds the size, and super-expensive to boot, I went for the best value for money. I love cauliflower, but after 6 consecutive nights of eating it, I was ready for a change.

When I'm looking at recipes on line, I often see people suggesting puréeing cauliflower to make a thick and creamy sauce. I thought I’d try this idea, to save mixing up a nut cream – and also out of curiosity. The resulting soup was delicious – better than I’d hoped for – and I had the added satisfaction of cooking it on my little fire. It is therefore very much a cream of mushroom soup. With a slice or two of home-made longevity bread, it made a filling and warming meal.

 

Serves 4 as a starter, 2 as a main course

Ingredients

 

4 or 5 large mushrooms or the equivalent if smaller

1 bay leaf

4 cups water

1 onion, chopped

1 large clove garlic

olive oil

approx 2 cups cauliflower florets

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1/4 tsp za’atar or dried thyme

1/2 tsp mushroom stock powder

grated nutmeg

salt and pepper

Method:

• Cut the mushrooms into chunks – about the size of a small, button mushroom.
• Put a cup of water into a large saucepan, together with a bay leaf and the mushrooms and bring to the boil.
• Simmer gently for a few minutes while you chop the onion and garlic.
• Pour the mushrooms and water into a bowl and set aside.
• Using the same pan, heat the olive oil and then add the onion and garlic. Fry gently for about 5 minutes until translucent. Turn down the flame if they’re starting to colour.
• In the meantime, divide the cauliflower into florets and dice any stem that you’ve cut off in the process. Add to the pan when the onions are softened.
  Add in the ground coriander and stir everything around until the cauliflower is evenly coated.
  
• Pour in the remaining three cups of water together with the water that the mushrooms have been sitting in. Leave the mushrooms to one side.
• Now add the za’atar or thyme and mushroom stock powder, if you have any. Bring to the boil and then simmer over a moderate heat until the cauliflower is completely softened.
• When it's cooked, mash the soup into a thick purée, or use a stick blender.
• Return to the heat and add the mushrooms. Grate over nutmeg and add salt and pepper to taste. Be generous with the black pepper – the soup can take it.

Note:

• Add some dried mushrooms to the water, with the fresh mushrooms for increased depth of flavour.