Put that packet of noodles or barley that you have in your kitchen cabinet to good use
A great meal doesn’t require you to spend hours in the kitchen. Quick and easy-to-prepare dishes can be tasty as well, as I’m going to show with these recipes this Sunday.
When I cook, I love to see what’s in season and looks really good as well as fresh. This is what invites me to create something that will make my guests feel totally over the moon when they see it, and taste it!
Now one thing that I always do (and you should too) is “rotate” the stocks and supplies in your fridge and storage properly. This is what the recipes (from my cookbook Vicky Goes Veg) we’re sharing today are all about.
We always have packets of pasta or noodles of some kind at home. So you can funk it up with crisp veggies and a lip-smacking sauce. Then, for our next dish we’re substituting the rice in a risotto with pearly barley. Fabulously creamy, yet light, this one is sure to be a hit at home! Barley is low in cholesterol, easily available and very economical. It is easy to digest and tastes great.
It is a source of dietary fibre as well. And what meal would be complete without a dessert to sweeten the deal? The lemon-basil panna cotta proves that a good dessert needn’t always be about chocolate: They can be refreshing and sweet not just an ending to a meal, but the beginning of a new experience.
So let’s get cracking!
Eggless noodles
Ingredients
250 gm eggless noodles
A few drops of sesame oil
A cup of tofu or cottage cheese, cut into cubes
2 tsp soya sauce
A handful of cashew nuts ½ carrot, sliced
½ Malabar cucumber, sliced
1 spring onion stalk, sliced
2 tsp ginger, minced
1 clove of garlic
4-5 bok choy leaves
1 tsp light soya sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp tamarind pulp
1 tbsp red chilli paste
2 green chillies, sliced
1 tsp of rice wine vinegar
A handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped
Bean sprouts (to garnish)
Method
In a pot, boil the noodles for 2-3 minutes. Drain the water and add some oil so that noodles don’t stick together
Marinate the tofu or cottage cheese with soy sauce. Fry in a hot wok. Remove and keep aside.
Add some cashew nuts in the same wok and fry until light brown. Remove and keep aside.
In the same wok, add the cabbage, carrot, Malabar cucumber, spring onion, green chillies, ginger, garlic, bok choy, soya sauce, brown sugar, red chillies paste, rice wine vinegar, tamarind pulp and finally the boiled noodles.
Give it a good mix and toss.
Add the coriander leaves and toss again.
Serve in a bowl topped with the fried tofu or cottage cheese, bean sprouts and fried cashew nuts.
