Baked pumpkin with crispy chickpeas, herby cauliflower mash and lingonberries

A dish where everything is cooked at the same time - on the same oven tray! Really easy, warming and comforting autumn winter food. Try roasting your cauliflower next time before mixing it to a mash - makes it taste even more! And oh - you might want to make a double batch of the kale crisps as they are to die fore and I’m pretty sure you’d want a couple of handfuls to snack on after dinner too!

Happy cooking,

Thess

Baked pumpkin with crispy chickpeas, herby cauliflower mash and lingonberries

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pumpkin, I used Hokkaido

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1 big cauliflower

200 grams kale

1 dl fat oat mylk, heated

1 Tbsp fresh frozen parsley

2 packages (á 230 grams drained weight) pre cooked chickpeas

1 tsp ground cumin

flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

rapeseed oil

Lingonberries

200 grams lingonberries, thawed

1-2 Tbsp maple syrup

For serving

Fresh parsley

How to

Pre heat oven to 175°C. Wash the pumpkin, cut in half, deseed (Save, wash, dry and then toss with a tiny bit of oil and salt and then toast until crispy in the oven at 125°C) and then slice. Brush with oil all around and sprinkle with ginger and cloves.

Remove the leaves from the cauliflower, if the outer ones are really big and rough you can through them away but otherwise they are really yummy to eat. Cut the bigger ones in smaller pieces. Tear the kale in smaller pieces. Massage the cauliflower leaves and kale with a tiny bit of oil.

Tear the cauliflower in smaller florets. Brush with oil. Put pumpkin and cauliflower in a baking dish and bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Add the cauliflower leaves and 2/3 of the kale when 10 minutes remains, roast until crispy and lightly golden.

Mix the cauliflower florets to a mash with the heated oat mylk and parsley. Salt and pepper to taste.

Rinse the chickpeas. Dry and then fry in a bit of oil in a frying pan until lightly golden and crisp. If you have a lid use it - the chickpeas tend to pop everywhere. Remove from heat, toss with cumin and salt.

Thaw the lingonberries, mix with maple syrup (to taste) using a fork.

Serve the pumpkin with the cauliflower mash, cauliflower and kale crisps, the rest of the massaged kale, crispy chickpeas and lingonberries. Garnish with fresh parsley.

Recipe was first published in The Gothenburg-Post/Två dagar

Herby potato mash with green pea tempeh and courgette stir fry, tahini beet dressing and crispy salad

Potato + rapeseed + herbs = true love. Instead of mixing my potatoes to a smooth mash I like to keep it quite chunky. Serve with a super simple stir fry and a dressing to always remember! It actually feels a bit strange (yet awesome) to drizzle over such a colourful thing over your food! Try for yourself!

Herby potato mash with green pea tempeh and courgette stir fry, tahini beet dressing and crispy salad

Servers 4

Herby potato mash

400 grams new potatoes or small potatoes

1 Tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil

1 organic lemon, zest + juice

2 handfulls fresh parsley

flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper

Green pea tempeh and courgette stir fry

250 grams green pea tempeh (or any tempeh of your choice) *

1 big courgette

2 spring onions

1 tsp cold rapeseed oil

1 Tbsp tamari, or any other soy sauce

cress

flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper

Tahini beet dressing

1 raw beetroot

1/2 dl / 0.2 cups light tahini (I like to use the light one for dressings rather then the darker one - made of toasted sesame seeds - as the dark one can taste a bit sharp)

3/4 dl / 0.3 cups water

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

1 tsp maple syrup

sesame seeds and dried flowers for garnish

flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper

Crispy salad

70 grams mixed leafy greens

1 handfull of radish

50 grams red cabbage

1 Tbsp toasted rapeseeds

How to

Scrub the potato, cut bigger ones in half. Boil potatoes until soft, takes about 15-20 minutes. Drain then mash with oil and lemon by hand using a potato masher until your preferred texture. Chop the parsley roughly and add to the mash. Salt and pepper to taste.

Crumble the tempeh. Slice the courgette and spring onion. Fry courgette and onion in a bit of oil until soft. Add the tempeh and fry for another few minute until it get a nice golden color. Pour over the tamari and let in sink in. Remove from heat. Salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with cress.

Peel the beetroot, cut in smaller pieces. Mix with rest of the ingredients for the dressing in a high speed blender or food processor until completely smooth. If you don’t have a high speed blender it might be a good idea to grate the beetroot before mixing it all together as that will help getting a smoother dressing. Salt and pepper to taste. Add more water for a more runny dressing.

Slice the radish and red cabbage thinly. Toss together with the leafy greens, drizzle with some cold pressed rapeseed oil and sprinkle with rapeseeds.

Serve the mash with the stir fry, dressing and crispy salad!

Enjoy!

• Tempeh is traditionally made of soy beans which is fermented and, furthermore tempeh often comes in small blocks, similar to but more firm then for example tofu. Now days you can find a few different types of tempeh in many supermarkets and organic stories.

Recipe was first published in The Gothenburg-Post/Två dagar

Baked celeriac burger with carrot miso spread, sprouts and herb pesto

Nothing gets as soft and sweet as a root celeriac baked for hours, it’s delicious! Thinly sliced it makes the perfect topping on a crisp bread or a piece of sourdough bread, teared in to smaller pieces it goes very well in a hearty salad and sliced like this in a burger! Use smaller celeriacs if making tiny burgers, and bigger ones if making a normal size burger - you get it!

When it comes to burgers I think that the add-ons are just as important, they can be really simple but I do love for them to be there. Here I made a carrot spread which I seasoned with miso, fermented soy bean paste, and a 1-minute-pesto with lots of herbs. Let gets cooking!

Baked celeriac burger with carrot miso spread, sprouts and herb pesto

8 mini burgers

Ingredients

2 tiny celeriacs

1 tsp rapeseed oil

Carrot miso spread

250 grams carrots

1 tsp light or dark organic miso paste *

1 Tbsp cold pressed rapeseed oil

1 Tbsp applecider vinegar

flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Herb pesto

2 handfuls of fresh herbs, for example basil, parsley and cilantro

2 Tbsp pepitas / pumpkin seeds

1 Tbsp nutritional yeast / b-jäst

2 Tbsp cold pressed olive oil

1 Tbsp applecider vinegar

flakey salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

For serving

8 mini buckwheat sourdough buns (or any bund you prefer), I get my from Mällyeko

pea shots

beet sprouts

How to

Pre heat the oven to 175°C / 350°F. Cut away the bottom part from the celeriac. Scrub the rest thoroughly. Brush the whole thing with oil and put in an ovenproof dish. Bake in the oven for about 1 hour, until it’s completely soft. Let cool, then cut in slices.

Wash the carrots, cut in smaller pieces and steam or boil until soft. Let cool. Mix with the rest of the ingredients for the carrot miso spread in a food processor until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Mix together the ingredients for the pesto until a bitey texture using an immersion blender or food processor. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cut the buns in half. Put some carrot miso spread on the bottom parts, and pesto on the top parts. Top the carrot miso spread with two pieces of celeriac, sprouts and shots. Put the lid on top. ENJOY!

* Miso paste is a paste made of fermented soybeans. The difference between light and dark is (simply put) it that the dark one has a deeper flavour and more umami taste to it than the light one,

Recipe was first published in The Gothenburg-Post/Två dagar

Quinoa sweet potato burger with baked onion, chili mayo and rye sourdough bread

The perfect burger is a great burger - and a great (maybe even favourite) and very smart dish! I make my burgers, or patties, with only plant based stuff - full of nutrition and FLAVOUR!

This is a perfect burger to make when (if) you have a bit of leftovers in the fridge. Mix some baked sweet potato, cooked quinoa and add something green such as broccoli for an extra veggie touch! And remember - if you don't have any leftover sweet potato or quinoa it takes maximum 25 minutes to cook them. Then you'll mix together your burger batter in no time at all. Burger night ahead? Yes, please! 

Quinoa sweet potato burger with baked onion, chili mayo and rye sourdough bread 

6 burgers 

Ingredients

300 grams sweet potato

4 fresh yellow onions 

1 1/2 white quinoa, uncooked 

1 small broccoli 

1 dl fresh basil 

1 1/2 dl chickpea flour or quinoa flour

1 chia egg *

1/2 dl chives

1/2 tsp chili flakes

2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil 

salt and freshly ground black pepper to toaste

Chili mayonnaise

1 1/2 dl vegan mayonnaise (or store bought one, preferably sugar free) 

1/1 - 1 tsp red pepper paste 

For serving

Rye sourdough bread (or any bread/bun that you prefer)

lettuce

tomato

cress

fresh basil

How to 

Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Cut the potato in half, brush the cut surface with oil and put on a baking sheet. Wash, remove the stem and cut the onion in the middle, brush with oil and put next to the potato. Bake in the middle of the oven until potato are soft and onion starts to brown, takes about 25 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the quinoa according to instructions on the packaging. 

Scrape out the potato from it's peel. Mix potato, broccoli and basil until a batter like consistency in a food processor. Mix together with the quinoa, flour, chia egg, chives and chiliflakes using a wooden spoon. Salt and pepper to taste. Let sit for 15 minutes and then form in to 6 burgers. Put on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until firm and lightly golden around edges. If you want to can also fry them for one last minute in a frying pan or grill pan to get a extra grilled flavour! 

Mix the mayonnaise and chili paste. Salt to taste. 

Build the burgers with your favourite components! Sour dough rye bread - lettuce - quinoa sweet potato burger - tomato - baked onion - chili mayo - fresh herbs and cress - Sour dough rye bread. 

ENJOY! 

* Chia egg is a plant based substitute to hen egg. Put 1 tbsp chia seeds in a small mixing bowl. Bring 1/2 dl water to a boil (don't let it boil for to long as that will make the water evaporate, you only need to make sure the water is hot), pour over the chia seeds, stir and let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture takes on a jelly like consistency. 

* This is a recipe from “Två Dagar” distributed by Göteborgs-Posten 16th of December 2017. “Två dagar” is produced by contant agency OTW. 

Zoodles with fennel and herby avocado sauce + turmeric fried tofu

Veggie spaghetti - spiralized veggies which have the same shape as spaghetti - is a favourite of mine - both because I like the taste much better then the taste of regular pasta + it's a great way to get even more nutrition in to your meal! I usually spiralize carrots, pumpkin, sweet potato, radish and courgette. The later one I'm using for this dish - but you could just as well us any of the other veggies mentioned above, or why not a mix of them!  

To make nice spaghetti like strings you would need a spiralizer or a shred peeler. You could also use a regular potato peeler - but to be honest - it won't give you quite the same result as if you were using the "proper thing". If you like to make veggie spaghetti, plus shred fruits and veggies for garnish/salads, I would recommend you to get the right. Will save you time and make the cooking even more fun and efficient!  

If I'm making a big batch I'm using my Westmark Spiromat which gives me long and corkscrew like strings, and when I'm on the go or just want to spiralize one carrot or so I'm using my Grovstrimlare.  

When you have the right kitchen tools you can make this delicious dish in no time at all. It's my kind of fast food - perfect for days when you want something light and nourishing for lunch or dinner. You could add more veggies to make it a bigger meal - for example steamed sugar snaps and pak choi for a asian touch or maybe roasted pumpkin and crispy kale for a wintery touch. Let your mind flow! 

Hope you like it!! 

Photo by Fanny Hansson

Zoodles with herby avocado sauce + turmeric fried tofu

4 portions 

Ingredients

2 big zucchinis

1 fennel 

1 red apple 

270 grams firm natural tofu, organic

1 tsp grated fresh turmeric, or 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp grated fresh ginger, or 1 tsp ground ginger

1 tbsp tamari 

Fresh Thai basil 

1 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil, (flavour free)

Herby avocado sauce

2 avocados, peeled and pitted  

1 garlic clove, grated 

1/2-1 dl water

1 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice

1 tbsp cold pressed coconut oil (flavour free)

2 handfulls of fresh herbs of your choice (I used Thai basil + cilantro) 

salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

For serving

crispy green leafs (mix of mache lettuce, baby spinach, rocket) 

seed cracker (you find two of my best recipes in my cookbook The new green salad!!)

toasted pepitas

How to

Spiralize the zucchinis. Mandoline the fennel lengthwise, or slice very thinly using a sharp knife. Deseed and mandoline the apples. But everything in a big bowl with cold water (will make everything even more crisp) while preparing the rest. 

Press the excess water out of the tofu (if I have time I prepare the tofu in the same was as I do for THIS dish). Fry in oil on medium heat until golden around the edges. Add turmeric and ginger, let fry for another minute. Add the tamari and let sink in, remove from heat.  

Mix the ingredients for the avocado sauce until a smooth using an immersion blender. Add more water if it's to thick. Salt and pepper to taste. 

Drain the zucchini and fennel well. Toss together with the avocado sauce. Topp with fresh herbs. Serve with the fried tofu, crispy green leafs and pepitas. And some seed crackers if you have any nearby! 

Carrot patties with ginger, herbs and drizzled lemon tahini dressing

These little delicious bites are easy to make, filled with nutrition and are really easy to make. They make the perfect finger food for the party, can be served as a satisfying topping on a salad or filling in a wrap. Try flavouring the patties with any herbs you prefer, I used cilantro and parsley is it was the ones I hade on my windowsill. Plus I really like them.

The tahini dressing that I drizzle over right before serving is a twist on one of the favourites from my book The new green salad, and it goes very well with the ginger and cilantro. I've made these patties vegan by using a "chia egg" (which is really 1 part chia seeds + 3 parts hot water, mixed and soaked it takes a texture similar to regular egg), if you prefer to use regular egg a medium one would be just enough. 

These carrot patties will for sure be one of the staples in my fridge this summer. Make a double (or why not triple!) batch, keep some in the fridge and some in the freezer. That will make you settled for a couple of weeks! Hope you like them! 

Photo by Fanny Hansson. 

Carrot patties with ginger, herbs and drizzled lemon tahini dressing

Makes about 20 small patties

Ingredients

7 dl finely grated carrots (about 5 medium carrots) 

2 stalks spring onion 

2 tsp grated fresh ginger 

a big handfull of fresh cilantro 

a big handfull of fresh parsley 

2 dl rolled oats (gluten free if gluten intolerant) 

2 tbsp cold pressed olive oil 

1 tbsp chia seeds + 3 tbsp hot water 

2 pinches mineral salt 

Lemon tahini dressing

1/2 dl light or regular tahini *

zest + freshly squeezed juice from 1 lemon (more to taste)

1/2 a garlic clove 

1/2 - 1 dl water (depending on how thick you want it) 

mineral salt 

How to

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. Peel and finely grate the carrots. Thinly slice the spring onions. Scrape away the peel from the ginger using a spoon, then finely grate it. Roughly chop the fresh herbs. 

Put the chia seeds in a small mixing bowl. Bring 1/2 dl water to a boil (don't let it boil for to long as that will make the water evaporate, you only need to make sure the water is hot), pour over the chia seeds, stir and let sit for about 5 minutes until the mixture takes on a jelly like consistency. 

Place carrots, spring onion, ginger and herbs in a mixing bowl. Add oats, olive oil, chia egg and salt. Stir well to combine. Let sit on the kitchen counter for at least 20 minutes to allow the mixture to set, this is important for the patties to hold together - and for getting the lovely texture!  

Form the mixture in to about 20 small patties and put on a baking sheet. Bake in the middle oven the oven for about 15-20 minutes, until patties are firm and edges are a bit crispy. 

Lemon tahini dressing: Mix together all the ingredients until a creamy dressing. Salt to taste. 

Serve patties with the lemon tahini dressing and fresh herbs! 

* There are also the dark tahini, made of roasted sesame seeds. I prefer the lighter one, made of plain sesame seeds, as it has a rounder and more gentle taste to it.