From: Linda McCartney´s Home Cooking, p. 64
This guacamole is really addictive and combines fresh avocado with the slightly sour flavour of tinned chillies. It is great to accompany mexican food such as tacos or fajitas, and also makes an excellent dip for crudités.
Variations: For a change, try using some finely chopped fresh chillies instead of the tinned ones (to taste) and adding 2 tablespoons of yogurt (or soy yogurt) for a fresher taste.
From: Linda McCartney´s Home Cooking, p. 61
A fresh dip, great accompanied with crudités, bread sticks or corn chips.
Variations: For people who like a smoother dip, try using cream cheese instead of cottage cheese. Yogurt can substitute the sour cream, and quark the cottage cheese for a lighter version.
sic recipe (without the capers and caraway seeds) can be used as a basis for a variety of other dips. Why not try a dried tomato dip (add 8 chopped, dried tomatoes and a tablespoon chopped basil leaves), an olive dip (add 12 chopped green or black olives and 1 teaspoon dried herbes de provence), or an onion dip (do not add any uncooked onions, but brown 2 chopped onions in a little olive oil, leave to cool slightly and add to the basic recipe)?
From: Linda McCartney´s Home Cooking, p. 86
This stew became an instant favourite of my daughter- she just did not stop eating…
It is a great recipe for preparing in advance and re-heating when needed.
I used soy steaks from vantastic foods. In Germany, smaller TVP chunks are also available from Alnatura.
Variations: To give this dish more flavour, try using vegetarian worcestershire sauce instead of soy sauce, and add 1/2 a chopped and deseeded chilli and 3 tablespoons tomato puree.
Gluten- free: If you want a gluten-free meal, check that the TVP chunks or burgers you are using are are gluten-free.
Vegan: The stew is vegan if you use margarine or vegetable oil instead of butter.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 161
A surprisingly fresh and interesting cake, and a creative (and low-fat) version of a traditional cheesecake.
Serve chilled as a desert or at room temperature alongside a cup of tea or coffee.
When baking the cake as in the recipe, it was still very runny at the bottom. Increase the baking time to one hour but reduce the temperature to 180°C to avoid the cake getting too dark on the top.
Gluten-free: Substitute the flour for the same amount gluten-free self-raising flour.
From: Linda McCartney´s Home Cooking, p. 57
If you like warming soups and love beetroots, this is the recipe for you.
Linda McCartney suggests eating this hot or cold, but I have to admit that a cold beetroot and cabbage soup is something you have to get used to – maybe stick to the hot version for a start 😉
It is great served with some crusty buttered bread on a cold day!
Vegan: Use soya or oat cream instead of the cream and add 1 tbsp. white wine vinegar to the soup. To serve, place a dollop of soy yogurt into each serving bowl and ladle the soup on top.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 153
This baked custard makes a very special desert for a dinner party, especially when cooking and serving in small individual ovenproof dishes. It is very easy to make and requires no attention in the last 60 minutes ‒ perfect when entertaining guests.
I think it is best served warm, accompanied with some seasonal berries or fruit, but it is also nice when served chilled.
To add even more glamour to this easy-to-make dish, cover with brown sugar after removing from the oven, and put under the grill until the sugar has caramelized. An extremely quick version of cremé brulée ‒ and it is also much lower in calories than the original dish (which uses a lot of cream).
Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 84
This oven-bake is a great meal for the whole family on cold autumn days. I recommend using 4 tbsp. tomato paste and 100ml of water in addition to the tinned tomatoes. This will give you more sauce and tomato flavour and the dish will be nice and moist.
For a gluten-free option, chose gluten-free maccaroni. For a vegan version, try using vegan “cheese” slices instead of the mozzarella and sprinkle some home-made vegan “parmesan” on top. You can find a recipe for vegan “parmesan” here.
This tasty vegan alternative to parmesan is very quick to make and keeps in an airtight jar for a few days. It can be used in the same way as dairy parmesan.
Ingredients:
Chop the almonds and toast them lightly in a dry pan. Remove from the heat and leave to cool slightly. Put the almonds and all remaining ingredients in a blender and blend until it is as fine as you prefer.
TIP: It goes well with Cauliflower Mexican Style or Cheese and Tomato Casserole.
From: Linda McCartney´s Home Cooking (p. 165)
A lovely cake
with a good balance between the spices and the pecans.
It keeps in an airtight container for 2 or three days and freezes well. I cut it into pieces, separated the pieces with greaseproof paper, and froze it in an airtight container. This way, it was easy to take out as many pieces as needed and reheat them in the micowave for 45 seconds. I left them for another two minutes to warm through and served them slightly warm with a cup of tea. Divine 🙂
If you (like me) like your cake to be not too sweet, try using 150g (or even less) of sugar instead of 170g.
Gluten-free: 170g of self-raising gluten-free flour mix, 2 tbsp. potato fiber, 1 tsp. psyllium husk, 150g sour cream (instead of 120ml).
Variations: I tried using this recipe as a basis for a vegan and gluten-free cake. You can find my recipe here.
From: Linda McCartney’s Home Cooking, p. 147
This is another essential and basic recipe to be used for a variety of dishes. As Linda points out, the longer you simmer it, the better. So remember to prepare the Tomato Sauce well in advance.