Easy Vegan Recipes: Oat Cookies, Fried Capsicums with Tomato Sauce, and Stewed Leeks, Carrots and Kidney Beans

This week I'm focussing on easy vegan recipes. First we have something sweet, and then two recipes for quick lunches or dinners.

Looking for something to snack on? The recipe for these great oat cookies originally comes from Food Not Bombs and is available through the Vegan Cuisine Cookbook on Wikibooks. This is the simplest cookie recipe I've ever made, but the results are delicious. I don't like my cookies very sweet, so I halved the sugar.

This Turkish side of fried capsicums with tomato sauce from Twins in Kitchen is extremely easy. It's done in 15 minutes and goes well with any Mediterranean dinner. I also like to eat at as a quick snack with some bread.

Last but not least, we have this dish of stewed leeks, carrots and kidney beans in tahini sauce. It makes a good pairing for the capsicums, but can also stand alone. It's simple to prepare but complexly flavoured and delicious.

What are your favourite quick and easy vegan recipes? What do you make when you feel uninspired but want something good to eat?

Brussels Sprouts and Onions in Creamy Mustard Sauce

This week we continue the brussels sprouts theme with a cute little side of creamy brussels sprouts, pepped up with some wholegrain mustard.

Brussels Sprouts and Onions in Creamy Mustard Sauce

Serves 2-4

Ingredients

500 ml brussels sprouts
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp flour
200 ml soy milk
1 tbsp wholegrain mustard
salt and pepper

Method

1. Prepare sprouts - remove damaged outer leaves, trim bases, and cut in half. Drizzle with oil, sprinkle with salt and roast at 180 C for 15 minutes.

2. Slice the onion and mince the garlic. Heat an oiled pan over medium heat and fry the onion until translucent. Add garlic and fry for a few minutes.

3. Add the flour and cook for a few minutes. Add the milk little by little, whisking between each addition to form a creamy sauce. Simmer until thick. Add mustard and brussels sprouts. Mix well, season with salt and pepper, and serve.

Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Brussels Sprouts

This 5-ingredient vegan pasta doesn't look wonderful, but it makes up for its lack in the aesthetic department with punchy flavours: roasted brussels sprouts with a little chilli, bright lemon juice, and savoury sundried tomatoes. The roasted brussels sprouts are great for converting sprout-haters.

Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes and Brussels Sprouts

Serves 4

Ingredients

1000 ml brussels sprouts
chilli flakes
150 ml sundried tomatoes
500 g pasta  (gluten-free for gluten-free option)
1/2 lemon

Method

1. Remove damaged leaves from brussels sprouts, trim bottoms, and cut in half. Sprinkle lightly with chilli flakes, toss with salt and olive oil and roast for 10 minutes at 180 C.

2. Slice sundried tomatoes. Toss with brussels sprouts and roast for 5-10 more minutes, until brussels sprouts are done.

3. Cook and drain pasta. Squeeze the lemon. Toss with the pasta, brussel sprouts and sundried tomatoes.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

I made this creamy mushroom pasta for my family when I was in Aotearoa New Zealand last time. They all enjoyed it, even those who aren't so keen on mushrooms. The delicious creaminess and cheesiness comes from cashews, which are brightened up with a little lemon juice. A luxurious but easy vegan dinner.

Creamy Mushroom Pasta

Serves 6

Ingredients

500 g angel hair pasta or spaghetti
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
400 g mushrooms (750 ml sliced)
400 ml unroasted unsalted cashews
300 ml soy milk
100 ml water
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
4 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp chilli powder

Method

1. Chop the onion and mince the garlic. Slice the mushrooms. Heat an oiled pan over medium heat. Fry the onion until glassy. Fry the garlic for 1 minute. Add the mushrooms and fry until done.

2. Blend the remaining ingredients (except the pasta) until smooth. Cook the pasta: if you use angel hair, bear in mind that it cooks very fast.

3. Add the cashew sauce to the pan with the mushrooms and heat gently. Add some more water if the sauce is too thick. Serve with a grind of pepper and a grate of lemon zest.

Peppers with Sundried Tomato and Isot Pepper Stuffing

For a long time, I hated stuffed vegetables. They were either soggy or undercooked and had plain, flavourless fillings. So when I was stuffing these beautiful red peppers I decided to make a rich filling out of kidney beans, smoky isot pepper and sundried tomatoes. The peppers were roasted before stuffing to intensify their flavour.

This recipe is super good for an easy weeknight dinner. It comes together very easily, and you can make a salad to have on the side while the peppers are roasting. Isot pepper adds a wonderful depth of flavour to this dish, but if you can't find it, you can replace it with 1/8 tsp of chili powder.

Peppers with Sundried Tomato and Isot Pepper Stuffing

Serves 4

Ingredients

4 long peppers/capsicums
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
10 sundried tomatoes
1 (400 g) can kidney beans
1 tsp isot pepper/urfa biber
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato paste
100 ml breadcrumbs (gluten-free if you want)
3 tbsp water

Method 

1. Cut the peppers in half. Remove stem and seeds. Roast at 200 C for 20-40 minutes, until they're as soft as you like them. Chop the onion finely and mince the garlic. Rinse the sundried tomatoes and chop them finely.

2. Heat an oiled pan over medium heat. Fry onion until softened. Add garlic and fry for a few minutes. Add sundried tomatoes and fry for a few minutes more. Remove from heat.

3. Drain and rinse the kidney beans. Mash them and combine with the onion mixture and all remaining ingredients. Stuff the peppers and roast for 10 more minutes.