Supper Club: 3 tasty meat-free recipes

Grilled Caesar salad with chickpea croutons
Serves 2 as a main, 4 as a side

As your friend, I am telling you that grilling lettuce may change your life forever. At the very least, it’ll revolutionise your salad. Romaine is a hearty beast that stands up to the grill’s high heat, while its structure can hold its shape during cooking. This technique brings crazy flavour to a rather bland leaf, and the chickpea croutons and tahini Caesar dressing take this dish to a place you’ve only dreamed of. – Sarah Britton

Ingredients

For the tahini Caesar dressing

• 125ml tahini
• 1 garlic clove
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp cold-pressed olive oil
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsp gluten-free tamari
• 125ml water
• fine sea salt

For the chickpea croutons

• 450g cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 3 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 tsp fine sea salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tsp garlic powder

For the salad

• 2 heads of romaine lettuce
• coconut oil, for rubbing
• fine sea salt

Method

1. To make the dressing: In a blender, combine all the ingredients and blend on high until smooth, adding more water as necessary, up to 250ml in total. Season with salt. Store leftover dressing in an airtight jar in the fridge for up to 1 week.
2. To make the croutons: Preheat the oven to 200ºC/gas mark 6. Spread the chickpeas out on a clean kitchen towel and rub them dry, discarding any loose skins. Pour the chickpeas into a medium bowl and toss with the coconut oil, salt, pepper and garlic powder. Transfer the chickpeas to a rimmed baking sheet lined with baking paper, and roast for 25-35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden and crisp.
3. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Leave the chickpeas to cool, and serve them at room temperature. They will crisp up quite a bit once they’ve cooled, so don’t worry if they are still a little soft when you take them out of the oven. Store the chickpeas in an airtight glass container at room temperature for up to 1 week.
4. To make the salad: Remove the looser outer leaves from the romaine heads (and save them for another salad) so all that remains are the tighter, inner leaves.
5. Cut off the top quarter of each head (and save the tops for another salad). Slice the head in half lengthways. Rub both the outsides and cut sides with a little coconut oil and sprinkle with a couple of pinches of sea salt.
6. Preheat a grill on high (a stovetop grill pan also works). When it is very hot, place the lettuce halves on the grill, cut-sides down, and cook for 3-4 minutes until charred and grill marks appear. Flip and cook for a further 2-3 minutes.
7. To serve, place a lettuce half on each plate and let guests dress and garnish the salads themselves. (The croutons will soften quite quickly once in contact with the dressing, so it’s best if diners add their own dressing.)

Courgette and feta pasta salad
Serves 4

Kevin Dundon shares this lovely and light salad from his Back to Basics cookbook, perfect for lunch or a side for a barbecue. If making it for vegetarians, you can use vegetarian feta, which is guaranteed to contain no rennet.

Here, Kevin pairs it with a light vinaigrette that can be used in lots of different dishes. A successful vinaigrette depends on getting the right proportions of oil, vinegar and mustard to make a smooth emulsion. – Kevin Dundon

Ingredients

For the salad

• 450g (1lb) farfalle pasta or similar
• Salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 4 courgettes, peeled into ribbons
• 400g (2 2/3 cups) feta cheese, crumbled 1 tbsp chopped flat-leaf parsley
• 1 tbsp snipped chives
• 1 tbsp chopped mint
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon
• 2/3 tbsp vinaigrette

For the vinaigrette

• 1 tsp Dijon mustard
• pinch of caster sugar (optional)
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• 6 tbsp sunflower oil

Method

1. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to the boil, and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain and rinse under cold running water, then set aside.
2. Place a griddle (ridged grill) pan over a high heat and drizzle in the oil. When hot, add the strips of courgette a few at a time, season with salt and pepper and cook on each side for 1-2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl as they are cooked.
3. Place the mustard and sugar (if using) in a bowl and season with salt and pepper. Whisk to combine. Continue whisking while adding the vinegar and then the oil. Taste and adjust the seasoning if necessary. Store in a Kilner or screwtop jar and shake well before using.
4. Add the pasta, feta, herbs and lemon zest, drizzle with the lemon juice and vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Serve immediately.

Extracted form Back to Basics by Kevin Dundon.

Creamy sautéd green veggies

The original version of this recipe was created over a decade ago, in the tiny apartment in Rome that was my temporary home. It was one of the first dishes I cooked for Luise and I like to think that it was then and there that she fell for me (and not watching my drunk feet trying to seduce her on the dance floor a week earlier). The original version didn’t include quite as many green vegetables – it was made with double (heavy) cream and served with pasta – but the essence was the same: green, creamy and delicious.

You can use frozen broccoli and spinach instead of fresh, swap peas for beans and use olives instead of capers. If you don’t fancy coconut milk or cream, use ordinary cream, Greek yoghurt (added right at the end) or a vegan alternative. Serve with cooked quinoa, millet, rice or pasta of choice. – David Frenkiel

Ingredients

• 3 tbsp virgin coconut oil or extra virgin olive oil
• 1 onion, peeled
• 2 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 8 sprigs fresh thyme, leaves picked, or 1 tsp dried thyme
• 1 broccoli, head and stalk
• 1 courgette
• 3 tbsp capers, plus brine
• 120ml white wine
• 190g frozen green peas
• 100g spinach
• 1 x 400g tin full-fat coconut cream or milk
• 250ml vegetable stock
• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• zest and juice of – unwaxed lemon

To serve

• Cooked quinoa or pasta or grain of your choice
• roughly chopped flat-leaf parsley

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan on a medium-low heat. Finely chop the onion, garlic and thyme, transfer to the pan and sauté for about 10 minutes or until the onion begins to soften.
2. Cut the broccoli into small florets, trim and slice the stalk and cut the courgette into half circles. Add the vegetables to the pan along with the capers and brine and sauté for a further 5 minutes, then add the wine.
3. Once the alcohol has evaporated, add the peas, spinach coconut cream and stock and season. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened, stirring from time to time so the sauce doesn’t burn. Remove from the heat and stir through the lemon zest and juice. Serve with quinoa, topped with a sprinkling of parsley.