Bo's Kitchen

Plant based recipes made with love

bos.kitchen

Spicy & smoky wedges with guac

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Is there anything more rewarding than eating a plate of perfectly crispy potato wedges with fresh, zingy guacamole? I don’t think so. Here’s my step by step guide to one of my favourite meals ever. It’s worth taking extra care when making wedges, little changes can make such a big difference. Feel free to play around with the spices and make your own bespoke blend.

I’d love to hear what you think if you try this super simple recipe!

Recipe

Wedges –

  • 800g-1kg potatoes (bigger ones are best for finger sized, even wedges)
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp hot chili powder (use a tsp if you only have regular chili powder)
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Sea salt and pepper

Guacamole –

  • 2 avocados
  • Big handful of  parsley or coriander
  • Handful cherry tomatoes, sliced
  • Juice of one lemon or lime
  • Sea salt and pepper
  1. Put a large pan of water on to boil. Heat oven to 200 degrees and put two large baking sheets in the oven.
  2. Wash your potatoes well and slice into wedges- leave the skin on. The best way to slice them is to slice them in half length ways, then half again, the same way, keep going until you get even wedges. Long potatoes work best here!
  3. Boil your wedges for about 10-15 minutes, until you can pierce them with a fork. Depending on the potato, you may need longer here, but just keep testing. You want them to stay together so don’t over boil them.
  4. Drain the wedges and leave to rest in the colander.
  5. Make your spice mix by mixing smoked paprika, oregano, chili powder and salt and pepper in a small jar or cup.
  6. Gently tip wedges into a bowl and cover with the olive oil and spice mix, stir briefly until wedges are roughly coated. It’s okay if some parts aren’t quite covered, it all adds to the flavour party!
  7. Tip onto your hot baking sheets in a single layer (try not to have them on top of each other) and roast in the oven for about 20-25 minutes until evenly browned, turning half way through.

While the wedges are cooking, make your guacamole.

  1. Roughly mash avocados in a bowl. I like to leave it quite chunky, so only mash briefly.
  2. Add herbs, cherry tomatoes, lemon/lime juice and salt and pepper. Don’t hold back on the pepper.

 

Caramel nice cream

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For me, nice cream is just about the best thing ever. I spent years as a vegan thinking I had to buy the overpriced, tasteless soya ice cream in tiny pots from health shops, until I discovered the humble frozen banana. Something magical happens to bananas when you freeze them. They blend up into the most rich, creamy tropical deliciousness that you could only compare to a really thick milkshake. Even the really mushy ones can be frozen and blended up into smoothies. As with all fruit, if it’s almost had it, chuck it in the freezer and use it later, I can’t bear to see food go to waste. If you haven’t tried freezing your bananas before, I can’t recommend it enough. There’s no going back once you’ve tried it. Just remember to peel them before you freeze them. I have admit I’ve made that mistake before.

Guilt free and packed with b vitamins and carbs to fuel you through your day. I managed a good six hour stint digging weeds at the allotment after eating half of this! If you don’t have a very powerful blender, just wait for the bananas to soften a little before blending. You can always pop it in the freezer to firm up.

Recipe (makes enough for two)

  • 4 frozen bananas (peel and chop your bananas into chunks, freeze overnight)
  • 2 pitted dates
  • 1 tbsp Organic Burst maca powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp almond butter (plus a little more, for decoration)
  • 1/4 cup almond mylk
  • 2 tbsp cacao
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  1. Make your cacao sauce – mix cacao and maple syrup together well and set aside.
  2. Blend everything else together in a food processor or blender. Stop and pulse and mash things up to get it all going. Add a little more almond mylk if you need to, but go steady- too much and you’ll end up with smoothie. Blend until smooth and creamy. If you’d like it a little firmer, pop in the freezer for thirty minutes.
  3. Smear the cacao sauce and a little almond butter around your jar or bowl and layer in the caramel nice cream.
  4. Top with shredded coconut, edible flowers, blueberries and granola.

Tropical turmeric smoothie

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tropical turmeric smoothie with blueberries, acai, baobab, bananas, mango, ginger and coconut oilA tropical turmeric smoothie, to recharge and boost your immune system! Turmeric has to be one of my favourite superfoods, it boasts an endless list of benefits and has been used for centuries to deal with pain and inflammation.  If you’re new to turmeric, try adding a tsp at first and gradually building up until you’re used to the flavour. It can taste a little bitter to some people, which is why I’ve paired it with a delicious combination of fruits and ginger.

Recipe (Makes enough for two smoothies)

  • 2 large frozen bananas
  • 1 mango
  • 1 orange
  • 2 tsp turmeric
  • 1 thumb size piece of ginger, peeled
  • 1 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 1/2 cup nut mylk (I used pecan mylk)
  • 1 tsp Organic Burst baobab 
  • l large handful of blueberries
  • 1 small handful of blackberries (optional, but makes it more purple)
  • 2 tsp Organic Burst acai
  1. Add all ingredients apart from the blueberries, blackberries and acai to your blender and mix well until smooth. Pop half the mix into the freezer to thicken.
  2. Add blueberries, blackberries and acai to the remaining mix and blend well.
  3. Grab your chilled golden smoothie and pour 3/4 into your glass. Now pour in the purple smoothie which should sink to the bottom. Swirl through with a chop stick to make pretty layers. Top with coconut shreds, blueberries and fresh mint.

Cinnamon buckwheat pancakes with chocolate sauce

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maca buckwheat cinnamon pancakes with chocolate sauce and fruitEveryone needs pancakes right? Or maybe it’s just me. I love the endless array of toppings you can use, plus they only take a few minutes to whip up. Perfect for a lazy Sunday morning or a post work out refuel. I’ve kept these gluten free, but feel free to sub the buckwheat for plain all purpose flour if that’s all you have.  I’ve added cinnamon and maca powder to the dry ingredients. Cinnamon is loaded with antioxidants and is a powerful anti inflammatory.  Did I also mention it tastes amazing in pancakes? I love it! Maca powder really energises me and has a powerful balancing effect. I like to have it when I have a big day ahead. It also has a slight caramel flavour, which lends itself perfectly to this recipe. The chocolate sauce is made with carob powder, which is even better for you than cacao, but much cheaper and has more of a rich, dark chocolatey flavour. It’s worth getting your hands on some if you can.

Recipe

Dry

  • 1 cup buckwheat flour*
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • pinch of salt
  • 2 tsp Organic Burst maca powder (optional)
  • 1 tsp cinnamon

Wet

  • 1 mashed banana
  • 1 3/4 cup dairy free mylk (I used almond)
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • Coconut oil (for frying)

Chocolate sauce

  • 2 tsp carob powder
  • 2 tsp maple syrup
  1. Mix all dry ingredients together in a large mixing bowl.
  2. Combine all wet ingredients apart from the coconut oil in a jug and add to dry mix. Stir until combined, try not to over mix. You want the mixture to be thick, but very pourable, I always do a little test pancake first and then add more liquid if needed.
  3. Heat your pan up to medium heat and add a dab of coconut oil. Spoon in half a ladel of batter into the pan and fry until bubbles appear all over. Turn over and cook on the other side. Keep in a warm oven until you’ve made all your pancakes.
  4. To make the chocolate sauce, just mix carob powder and maple syrup. Mix well with a fork until the mixture is smooth and glossy.
  5. Serve warmed pancakes with chocolate sauce, fresh fruit and more maple syrup!

 

*If you don’t have buckwheat flour (it can be expensive, I never buy it), just make your own from buckwheat groats. Simply grind buckwheat groats in your blender until they turn into flour, it only takes a couple of minutes!

Cacao banana maca muffins

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cacao banana maca muffinsThese marbled muffins are sweet, moist and very delicious. Vegan (as always), refined sugar free and easily made gluten free if you sub the spelt flour for buckwheat or gluten free oat flour.

I included organic cacao powder and maca powder for an extra boost. Raw cacao is made by cold pressing unroasted cocoa beans. This process means the living enzymes in the cocoa are maintained but it removes the fat (cacao butter). Cocoa powder is made when raw is roasted at high temperatures. This changes the structure of the cocoa bean, reducing the enzyme content and lowering the overall nutritional value. Basically cacao means you can get the most health benefits from chocolate, which has to be a good thing! Maca is a great energiser, mood enhancer and balances hormones. It also has a gentle caramel flavour that really works in these muffins. I love the stuff!

I’d love to hear what you think if you try this recipe, it’s a firm favourite here!

Recipe – Makes 12 muffins

  • 3 large mashed very ripe bananas (about 1 cup)
  • 3/4 cup coconut sugar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
  • 2 tsp Organic Burst Maca powder
  • 1/3 cup non dairy mylk (I used almond)
  • 1 1/2 cups spelt flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp himalayan pink salt
  • 4 tbsp cacao powder
  • 6 tbsp boiling water
  1. Boil kettle and preheat oven to 180•c. Line or grease your muffin tin.
  2. Mix mashed bananas, coconut sugar, coconut oil, almond mylk, maca and vanilla in a large bowl until smooth.
  3. Mix spelt flour, baking soda and salt in gently. Don’t overmix- it’s okay if you can still see some flour.
  4. Put one cup of batter into a small bowl. Mix in four tbsp of cacao and three tbsp of boiling water with fork. Add another three tbsp of boiling water to the original banana batter and mix well.
  5. Put 2 tbsp at a time into each muffin case/tin until the mixture is evenly distributed. Swirl through a chopstick or knife to make pretty swirl patterns.
  6. Bake in your preheated oven for 20-22 minutes, or until a chopstick comes out clean. Cool and enjoy, or eat slightly warm with peanut butter (couldn’t help myself).

Strawberries and cream ice lollies

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strawberries and cream ice lollies coconut milk strawberry puree raw natural

A simple, healthy lolly that tastes of summertime. Feel free to try different frozen fruits, you can’t really go wrong with these. Icy, cold, creamy and refreshing. A smoothie in lolly form is always a good thing!

 

Recipe

  • 1 can organic coconut milk (400ml)
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups strawberries (frozen or fresh)
  • 2 tbsp maple syrup
  1. Blend strawberries and maple syrup together until smooth. Pour into your lolly moulds, until each mould is half full.
  2. Rinse out your blender and add coconut milk and vanilla extract and blend well. Fill up your moulds and pop in your stick. Freeze for at least 6 hours.

 

Skin glow smoothie bowl

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green smoothie bowl with avocado wheatgrass lime and coconut

It’s Monday morning and there’s no better time for a green smoothie bowl in my opinion. This beauty is packed full of skin boosting ingredients- avocado, coconut oil, bananas, wheatgrass and flaxseed. Get that natural, luminous glow with this nutritious bowl. I always use Organic Burst wheatgrass, which tastes much better than any others I have tried (it’s like green tea) and is ethically sourced and organic of course! Buy yours here.

Recipe

  • 2 frozen bananas
  • Half an avocado
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 tsp Organic Burst wheatgrass 
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 cup almond mylk (or other non dairy mylk)
  • 1 tsp ground flaxseed
  • Fruits and rawnola/granola for toppings
  1. Add all ingredients to blender and process until smooth and creamy.
  2. Pour into your bowl and decorate with fruit and rawnola.

 

 

 

Smoky chickpea tortillas with tahini sauce

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spicy roasted chickpeas in tortilla wraps with tahini and rainbow chard

When the weather starts warming up, I always want to eat more wraps and dips, they just remind me of summer. Who wants to spend time over a hot stove when the sun’s out? These smoky chickpea wraps with tahini sauce are quick to prepare (less than 45 minutes, which includes prep time), full of flavour and great for a party or summer lunch.

Recipe (serves 4, enough for 2 wraps each)

Smoky chickpeas –

  • 2 tins organic chickpeas, drained
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • Generous pinch of salt and pepper
  • 1 1/2 tsp paprika
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 1/2 tsp hot chili powder
  • 1/2 tsp smoked paprika (optional, still delicious without it)
  • 1 large handful of rinsed, roughly chopped leafy greens (I used rainbow chard)
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • 1 fresh chili, deseeded if you prefer a mild heat
  • 1 lime (for final garnish)

Tortillas –

  • 2 cups of plain flour
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp vegetable oil
  • 3/4 cup non dairy mylk, lukewarm (I used organic soya)

Tahini sauce

  • 3 tbsp tahini
  • 3 tbsp hot water
  • Salt and pepper
  • Juice of 1 lemon
  1. Preheat oven to 180°c.
  2. Start by making your tortillas. Stir flour and baking powder together in a large bowl. Add salt and vegetable oil to lukewarm milk and whisk briefly to incorporate. Gradually add mylk to flour and work mixture into a dough.
  3. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Transfer dough to a bowl, cover with a damp cloth and rest for 15 minutes.
  4. While dough is resting, add chickpeas, 2 tbsp of oil, salt and pepper, paprika, cumin, chili powder and smoked paprika to a large roasting tin and mix until chickpeas are coated all over. Roast in oven for 30 minutes, or until golden all over.
  5. Back to your rested tortillas. Shape into 8 equal portions of dough. Flour your work surface and pat each ball into a 5 inch circle and roll out to 7/8 inch tortilla a little less than 1/4 inch thick. Cook in a dry hot skillet or frying pan. Fry for 30 seconds on each side until you see it blister.
  6. Cover tortillas with a clean tea towel to keep them warm.  Add 1 tbsp olive oil, minced garlic and chopped chili to a pan and cook gently, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the leafy greens and stir through until just wilted.
  7. Make your tahini sauce by mixing all ingredients in a jar with a fork. Add hot water little by little, until the sauce drops in runny dollops of a spoon. Mmmm.
  8. Now squeeze your lime over the chickpeas and serve alongside tortillas, leafy greens and tahini sauce on your finest table and devour immediately!

 

Spicy plantain with rice and peas

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I really love caribbean food. The flavours pack a real punch and always taste so fresh. I’m lucky enough to have a caribbean stall at my local market and the friendly lady there always has everything I need to whip up a proper jerk with all the trimmings. Scotch bonnets are key to this recipe, but if you can’t find them, just use the hottest chili you can get your hands on. Scotch bonnet peppers are an excellent source of phytochemicals and vitamins such as vitamin A, vitamin C (ascorbic acid), iron, vitamin B, carotenoids, niacin, riboflavin, dietary fiber, flavonoids and magnesium. They also contain capsaicin, which is not only a powerful pain killer, but is also said to reduce the build up of excess fat.

The spice of a scotch adds a fruity heat that you won’t find in a regular chili, so it’s worth hunting them down. I actually made this dish with some jerk carrots and courgette, but I ate them all before I had chance to snap them! I’ll save that for another recipe though. This was a delicious, yet simple lunch. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do, I’d love to hear what you think if you try it!

Recipe (serves two as a main, or three as a light lunch)

Rice and peas –

  • 100g basmati rice
  • 1/2 can coconut milk
  • 1 bunch spring onions, sliced
  • 2 large thyme sprigs
  • 2 garlic clove, finely chopped
  • 1 tsp ground allspice
  • 1 x 400g can of kidney beans, drained
  • 1 small handful of fresh parsley

Spicy plantains –

  • 2 large plantains, sliced in half and then half again (see picture)
  • 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
  • 1 scotch bonnet, chopped finely (seeds in if you want the extra heat)
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced

 

  1. Rinse the rice in plenty of cold water, then tip it into a large saucepan with all the remaining ingredients except the kidney beans. Season with salt, add 150ml cold water and bring to the boil. Turn it down to a medium heat, cover and cook for 10 mins.
  2. Quickly add the beans to the rice (just tip the can on top), then cover with a lid. Leave off the heat for 10 mins until all the liquid is absorbed.
  3. While you’re waiting for the rice, make your spicy plantain. Heat up coconut oil in a skillet or frying pan. When it’s nice and hot (but not smoking) add the plantain and cook lightly on each side for about 4 mins (8 mins in total). When the plantain is golden brown on both sides, add the chopped scotch bonnet and minced garlic and cook briefly for another two minutes, taking care not to burn the garlic.
  4. Fluff up your rice with a fork and serve up with your fried plantain. Garnish with more spring onion and the fresh parsley.

Strawberry kiwi slushie

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strawberry kiwi slushy with wheatgrass and superfoods in a glass with a glass straw and mint and cucumber

 

 

Strawberry kiwi slushie

Recipe –
1 handful of frozen strawberries
2 handfuls of ice
2 kiwis
half a cucumber
1. Blend strawberries, 1 cup of ice and the baobab together in your blender. Add a little water to get it going, you want it very thick but just pourable.
2. Pour into your glass and tilt to the side so it sits on half the glass. Place in the freezer at the same angle, while you make your green smoothie.
3. Rinse out blender briefly with water. Add kiwis, cucumber, 1 cup of ice and wheatgrass and blend until the same texture as your strawberry smoothie, adding water as needed.
4. Carefully remove your glass from the freezer and slowly pour in the kiwi smoothie. Garnish with fruit and enjoy in the sunshine!