You know autumn is one of my favourite times of the year and the most inspiring for me in the kitchen. As the days start to get colder I begin to crave warming soups and snuggly comfort food. Hold on a minute though… comfort food doesn’t have to be unhealthy, in fact quite the opposite! I also love the colours that autumn brings and you can use these to inspire your food! So without further ado here are my favourite recipes using seasonal fruit and vegetables. If you have any other recipes to share feel free to add them in the comments below!
Homemade Spiced Apple Granola
Ingredients:
250 grams of natural plain rolled oats
1 chopped apple
2 tablespoons of powdered cinnamon
1 teaspoon of powdered ginger
1 egg
A heaped tablespoon of coconut oil
A handful of dark chocolate chips (optional)
Any nuts or dried fruit you want to add
The great thing about this recipe is that you can customise it in any way you want using the things you have in the cupboard. Also if you want to make it vegan you can avoid the egg and use more coconut oil.
Method:
Mix all the dry ingredients together in a large bowl (not the chocolate)- use the ginger and cinnamon to taste. Ensure the apple is cut into very small pieces.
Melt the coconut oil in the microwave or in a pan and drizzle over the dry mixture
Wisk the egg and add to the mixture. Mix well all ingredients. The trick is not having the granola too wet or too dry.
Spread the mixture evenly onto a baking tray and place in the oven on a low-medium heat until the granola is golden and the apples have dried.
Once removed from the oven leave to cool and then add the chocolate chips.
Store in a sealed container for up to 1 week.
Warming Butternut squash Soup
Ingredients: (serves 4)
Half a butternut squash or a quarter of a large pumpkin.
2/3 carrots
1 onion
Half a red pepper
1 veg stock cube
Paprika
Chilli (optional)
A can of coconut milk (optional)
Method:
1. Cook the chopped onion in a pan with a tbs of olive oil and a tbs of paprika and dash of chilli powder (optional) for 5 mins or until soft.
2. Add chopped butternut squash or pumpkin, carrots and red pepper and cook for 2 mins.
3. Dissolve the stock cube in a large glass of hot water and add to the pan. Top up the pan with hot water to cover all the vegetables. Cook for 10/15 mins or until soft.
4. Blend the ingredients using a hand blender and add salt, pepper and more paprika to taste.
5. Add coconut milk and stir until hot.
Mushroom Linguine
Ingredients:
250g or half a box of Linguine
Around 200g of mushrooms of choice
1 white onion
A sprinkle of Parsley
A clove of garlic
3 tablespoons of white wine (optional)
100g of cream or soya cream
1 Vegetable stock cube broth
Salt and Pepper to taste
Method:
Boil the pasta for the recommended time.
In a large pan add a splash of olive oil along with the finely chopped onions and garlic and then adding the mushrooms a few minutes later. Allow 5-10 minutes until mushrooms are fulled cooked.
Add the broth, cream, wine and season with parsley, salt and pepper as desired.
Add the sauce to the pasta and serve hot.
