• 200 g cooked split lentils
• 200 g grated or finely chopped beetroot
• Small knob ginger
• 3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons smoked paprika powder (I have found something in Alnatura called Rauchige Drecksau – that will have to do the job)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• salt to taste
• pepper to taste
• 200 g cooked quinoa
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
• 50 g ground pumpkin seeds
• 140 g gram flour (a.ka. besan, chickpea flour)

• In a food processor, blitz lentils, beets, spices and seasoning for a minute or two.
• In a mixing bowl, combine this with the cooked quinoa, chopped red onion, chopped coriander, garlic, ground pumpkin seeds, and gram flour. Mix well till it begins to hold together. Adjust seasonings.
• Refrigerate for one to two hours or so. This will make it easier to form the patties.
• Either fry in avocado oil on a pan for three to four minutes until golden on each side, or
• Brush each side lightly with avocado oil and bake in a single layer in the oven at 180 C for a total of 20 minutes, turning them over once while baking.

PS: In the photo is some cashew yoghurt stirred with the ground pumpkin seeds which I forgot to mix into the pattie mixture :-). That worked, and it ended up as an even more complete meal.

Also, the patties can be kept in the fridge for a couple of days as a convenient quick meal with a salad, or frozen.

(Can be vegan with vegan yoghurt)

I am happy to report that this tastes a lot better than it looks. I think the optics depend a bit on the type of yoghurt used (I used home-made cashew nut yoghurt), but of course also on the the cook’s food presentation skills, of which I have none.

• 2 medium aubergine (begun) around 500g
• 1 half tsp salt
• 1 half tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• oil
• 1 tblsp mustard oil
• 1 tsp kalonji
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 half tsp chili powder
• 1 tblsp freshly grated ginger
• 2,50 dl yoghurt (I used my own homemade cashew nut yoghurt)
• 1 half tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• 1 half tsp red chili powder
• salt to taste
• Optional: garnish with chopped coriander leaves
• ½ tsp garam masala

• Pre-heat the oven to 180°C
• Cut the aubergines lengthwise, in quarters
• Mix the oil, salt, chili powder and turmeric together
• Place the aubergines in a parchment lined baking tray and spread the oil/spice mixture on the cut surfaces
• Bake in the oven for 15-17 minutes or until cooked through. Remove from oven
• Meanwhile, in a pan, heat the mustard oil to smoking point. Reduce the flame and add the kalonji, bay leaf, chili powder, and ginger, and roast, stirring.
• Lower the flame, add the yoghurt, turmeric, coriander powder, and salt. Stir through immediately and continuously
• When the oil separates, add 1 dl hot water and the roasted aubergines, making sure that the yoghurt/spice mixture is distributed on the cut surfaces of the aubergines. Cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes to let the aubergines start to absorb some of the flavours from the sauce
• Turn off the heat and spinkle the garam masala and, if using, the chopped coriander over the dish before serving.

I eat salad at least once a day now, and this type of dressing has been my favourite for a while:

Blend about a dl of tahini, four garlic cloves, a bit of fresh ginger, chili in some form or other, one tblsp roasted sesame oil, two tblsp olive oil*), 1 tsp black treacle**), grated peel and juice of two lemons, and one tesp roated cumin seeds finely ground. Add cold water a little at a time till the desired consistency, usually about the same amount as the amount of tahini.

As long as you don’t eat it by the spoonful by itself before that, it will last four to five days in the fridge. I believe it can also be frozen, although I would probably prefer to blitz in the garlic upon defrosting. Any which way, having a batch on hand cuts down on preparation time. I must admit – preparing, and eating, a big salad for breakfast does take a lot longer than slapping some cheese on a slice of bread and eating it.

*) Yes, I know, the WFPB police will come after me, but I refuse to live without olive oil & co. at least for now. In recent months, I have been learning so much about nutrition and made quite a few changes to my regular diet (and liking it and feeling great – don’t get me wrong) that I am thinking (sobbing) – PLEASE don’t take my beloved olive oil away from me. I have yet to be convinced that it is the great evil that whole-foods people say it is, but who knows ….. that day might still come where this last frontier of my complete surrender to Dr Greger’s Daily Dozen Doctrine will fall.

**) Most similar recipes call for maple syrup or honey, but black treacle from Alnatura is my always-available, staple sweetener (of which I don’t use a lot anyway) and has been since I was a little bit iron deficient not so long ago and found out that one tblsp of it will have your iron levels replenished in no time.

Updated 16 January with this tip: For hummus, the best result is obtained when the “skin” is removed from the chickpeas. This is quite bothersome and time consuming and have hardly ever done that now. However, I have discovered that you can now buy dried chickpeas with the skins removed in bio supermarkets, at least in Berlin, of the brand Vivaterra. Also, to make sure that the chickpeas get nice and mushy fo the purpose, add a heaped teaspoon baking soda (natron) to the water in which you soak the chickpeas for 8-10 hours. Rinse before boiling in new water.

400 g cooked chickpeas (if you must use tinned, then rinse thoroughly)

Salt

3-4 cloves garlic

3-5 tblsp (up to 150 g) tahini

2 tblsp olive oil

Juice of 1 lemon

1,5 tsp roasted cumin seeds

If you are not using skinless chickpeas as mentioned in italics above, try to rinse and remove as many skins as possible. Then process all ingredients, tasting along the way, and add more of everything as needed.

Obvously, the creamier you want your hummus, the longer you have to process – up to ten minutes, which means the processor can run warm, and thus warm up the hummus. To counter that, instead of adding the cold water all at once, add an ice cube at intervals.

Refrigerate for a couple of hours to settle.

(And no, I am not gluten intolerant but like many others, I feel as I get older that my joints like me better, the more gluten free I manage to eat.).

• 450 ml water
• 30 g psyllium husk powder, a.k.a. yellow flea seed shells, a.k.a. Flohsamenschalen
• 100 g buckwheat flour
• 100 g rice flour
• 100 g chickpea flour
• 40 g starch (tapioca, corn, potato, any starch will do
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda (natron)
• 1 tsp salt
• 50 g pumpkin seeds or sunflower seeds
• 1 tblsp dried marjoram
• 1 tblsp kalonji

Mix water and psyllium husk powder, whisking, as it starts to gel really quickly. Set aside for 20-30 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix all the dry ingredients and add them to a large bowl. Preheat the oven to 200 °C.

Add the psyllium gel to the bowl and knead the ingredients with a mixer or your hands. It will take about 5-10 minutes for the dough to come together.

If the dough appears too wet, sprinkle it with 1-2 Tbsp tapioca flour. If it feels too dry, add a little water.

Shape the dough and press it into a an oiled baking tin (I usually line mine with baking paper as well).

Bake for 50-60 minutes.

• 2 tblsp  avocado oil
• 2 red onions, sliced
• Large knob of fresh ginger, finely chopped
• 1 whole garlic, peeled and chopped
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 2 tsp mustard seeds
• Chili in whichever form you have available, to taste
• 500 g green lentil, cooked
• 500 g sweet potato, thoroughly scrubbed and cut into chunks
• 500 g white cabbage, shredded
• 2 tsp garam masala
• Coriander and yoghurt to garnish (optional)

Soften the onion in the oil, along with the ginger. Add spices, sizzle for a little while, stirring, and then stir in the garlic and the potato and cook for a little while before adding the rest of the ingredients rest of the ingredients. Season with salt and pepper.

Simmer till the potato is cooked through and the cabbage wilted.

• Olive oil in which to brown the onions
• 2 red onions, peeled and finely sliced
• salt
• 300 g parsnip, peeled and very finely sliced
• 200 g potato, peeled and very finely sliced
• olive oil
• One 250 g sheet of puff pastry
• 200 g firm, round goats’ cheese, sliced
• Leaves from two sprigs thyme
• 1 heaped tsp kalonji
• 1 egg, whisked
• 2 tblsp honey
• 1 tsp chili flakes, or, as I did in this case: finely sliced fresh chili

Sizzle the onions in the olive oil with a pinch of salt, stirring regularly, over a low heat until the onions are caramelised, sticky and soft. This can take around 45 minutes. Keep an eye on them towards the end of this time as they can start to catch.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4.

Place the parsnips, potatoes, thyme and kalonji in a bowl and toss with a dash of oil and season with salt and pepper.

Place the pastry sheet on a baking tray lined with baking paper and lightly draw a 3 cm border around the edges, taking care not to cut all the way through.

Spread the parsnips/potatoes,/onions inside the border of the pastry sheet.

Brush the pastry’s border with the beaten egg.

Bake for 30 minutes or until the vegetables are almost tender. Then spread the cheese all over and bake for another20 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown and the vegetables are tender.

Serve the tart with a salad and drizzled with the honey mixed with 1 tblsp water and the chili.