These 2 meat-free magic dishes are perfect for those cold winter evenings, and if you’re not a vegetable lover, it will make eating them so much easier.
Creamy spinach and chickpeas with toasted naan
SERVES 4 • TOTAL TIME 25 min
INGREDIENTS
For the creamy spinach
Vegetable oil 2 tbsp
Onion, finely chopped 1
Cloves garlic, minced 1
Spinach, stems removed and chopped 300 g
Flour 1 tbsp
Milk 1 cup
Cream ½ cup
For the spicy chickpeas
Tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed 1
Chilli paste 1 tbsp
Red pepper, deseeded and coarsely chopped ½
Cream ¼ cup
To serve
Mango atchar ¼ cup
Crispy onions 3 tbsp
Naan bread, lightly toasted 2
METHOD
For the creamy spinach
1. Heat the oil in a pan over medium.Cook the onion until softened and translucent, about 3 min. Add the garlic and cook for a minute until fragrant.
2. Add the spinach and flour and cook, stirring, for 1 min. Add the milk, cream and ½ cup water and cook for 4 min until the spinach is thick and creamy. Season well.
For the spicy chickpeas
1. Place all ingredients in a pot and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring often, until the cream is thickened. Remove from heat and season.
To serve
1. Spoon the creamed spinach into a bowl and top with spicy chickpeas, atchar and crispy onions. Serve with warm naan bread.
Top tip: This dish can be perfectly shared as a light snack, or even served as a side.
Broccoli, lemon and cream-cheese quesadillas
SERVES 4 • TOTAL TIME 35 min
INGREDIENTS
For the filling
Head broccoli 1
Red onion, finely chopped ¼
Cream cheese 1 cup (200 g)
Grated white Cheddar 1 cup
Lemon juice 1 tbsp
Egg 1
Chopped parsley 1 tbsp
To assemble
Cooking spray, to grease
Flour tortillas 6
Sweet chilli sauce, can thin it out a bit
Lemon wedges
METHOD
For the filling
1. Cook the broccoli in salted, boiling water for 5 min or until tender. Drain well and pat dry with a paper towel. Roughly chop the florets, discarding tough stalks.
2. Place the broccoli in a bowl with all the remaining ingredients. Mix well and season.
To assemble
1. Preheat the oven to 200°C.
2. Divide the filling between three tortillas and spread out evenly. Top each one with a second tortilla.
3. Lightly spray a non-stick pan with cooking spray. Cook the quesadillas one at a time over medium heat until golden and the filling is heated through, about 3–4 minutes on each side.
4. Transfer to the oven and cook until the cheese is melted, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan. Repeat with the remaining tortillas and broccoli mixture.
5. Cut into wedges and serve with sweet chilli sauce and lemon wedges, if desired.
Serving tip: These quesadillas are best served immediately to ensure the tortillas are crisp and the filling is warm.
These two meat-free weeknight meals, brinjal ragu cheesy pap and okra stew with fragrant rice, are bound to satisfy all your needs
Recipes & Styling: Jezza-Rae Larsen; styling assistant: Kirsty Buchanan & Sjaan van der Ploeg
Photography: Chanelle Naudt/hmimages.co.za
