Squash, Mushroom & Chick Pea Stuffing

Hi fellow bloggers, it has been a while since I posted, but I intend to post more regularly. Welcome to those who joined us since my last post. I wanted to share a variation of a vegetarian stuffing I saw in the Christmas edition of woman&home magazine. Theirs called for squash, goat cheese & cannellini beans - which I did not have, but I did have chick peas. So here's what you need:

Ingredients

1 small butternut squash
Fresh herbs (4 sprigs thyme, 6 basil leaves, spring onions)
1 large pod garlic

3 tbs olive oil
2 tsp dried italian seasoning (optional)
1 425g can Chick Peas drained & rinsed
8 oz button mushrooms washed & sliced
half small red & green bell pepper

Broccoli florets

Goat cheese crumbled as desired

1. Heat oven at 400 F or gas marked 6. Cut squash and season with fresh herbs and/or dried seasonings, drizzle with olive oil and roast until tender for about 20 mins.

2. Mash the chick peas roughly and add bell pepper and some of the goat cheese. Stir and season additionally if desired.

3. Place mixture in baking pan and top with broccoli florets, remaining goat cheese and a little goat cheese until brown.

(N.b The original recipe called for bread but I left it out because of my allergies, it was a little loose, but it made for a filling lunch.)

What vegetarian stuffing recipes are you making?

Batterd Broccoli

The other day I just seemed to be unable to stop eating. I found myself rather nibbly and that is out of character for me, I am generally not a snacker or in-between meals eater.

I took out the 2 heads of broccoli I had in the fridge and stared at them. I was not enthusiastic about eating it. As you probably know, when you want a snack, you want something in which you can truly indulge. I decided that I was going to batter and fry the broccoli. I ate it very warm with some sour (which it definitely needs).

To be frank with you, I ate it because I had made it and would feel guilty about wasting food. For me, it tasted just okay. I thought that I'd post about it because it might be the kind of thing that someone else would enjoy.

INGREDIENTS

2 large heads of broccoli; florets separated
1/2 cup split-pea powder
1/4 cup corn starch
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 teaspoon table salt
Water
Oil for deep frying

DIRECTIONS

1. Add the split pea powder, corn starch, baking powder, cayenne pepper and salt to a medium bowl and mix thoroughly
2. Add water to make a batter (not as thick as a pancake batter but not as thin as a crepe batter, you're looking for something in-between). Set aside batter
3. Heat oil to 350 degrees in a karahi, wok or deep pot/pan
4. Add florets to batter and toss to coat thoroughly
5. Shake off excess batter from each floret and fry in batches
6. Drain on paper towels
7. Serve very warm with sour or a chutney of your choice