Vegan cookery class

On Sunday I went to my very first cookery class. And it was excellent!

It was at a little vegan restaurant in Tulse Hill called Greenz, run by a lovely lady called Ermine. My mum and I found vouchers on Groupon, and as neither of us had been to cookery course before (never mind a vegetarian cookery course!) we decided it would be fun.

The course was perfect timing, as it completely embodied everything I started this blog to do. Super healthy and cheap ingredients turned into filling and delicious meals! And it gave me great ideas of what to do with some things that I always have in my store cupboard - red lentils and brown rice.

The standout dish for me was Ermine's take on Jollof rice - a lentil and rice dish found throughout West Africa. There was also a delicious lentil soup that was fragrant and fresh with ginger and tomato. And the best thing of all? Taking home samples for dinner and lunch the following day!

Interestingly not everyone on the course was vegan or vegetarian, and Ermine said it is actually quite unusual for her to have more veggies than carnivores. I was the only lifelong vegetarian. I have never really thought about it before, but I guess a lot of vegetarians have made a conscious choice to cut meat and fish from their diets, be it for moral or health reasons, whereas for me it is and always has been just a way of life. Some would say I have missed out, but I actually think I am quite lucky.

It was only an hour and a half long but I definitely took away some ideas and delicious recipes (as well as Sunday night dinner). Watch this space for when I try these or similar on my own!

If anyone knows of any other good vegetarian/vegan classes then I would love to hear about them.

I served the left over Jollof rice with some steamed brocolli and minted broad beans for a healthy and comforting dinner.

I grow my own mint and I cannot recommend this highly enough. It is not difficult to grow and spreads once established. It can really save money in the long run, and in a lot of cases can pick up an other wise dull meal. Great for digestion too, and you can make your own mint tea. Added bonus!

There will definitely be some rice and lentil recipes to come, but for now here's the dressed broad beans.

Frozen/Fresh Broad Beans
Olive Oil
Small handful of mint
Lemon Juice
Salt & Pepper

I used frozen broad beans as I always have a supply of these in the freezer. I personally don't bother removing the skins - I don't find them particularly offensive, and every part of the bean has it's own flavour and nutritional qualities so for me it would feel like a waste.

Plunge the beans into boiling water (unsalted) for 2-3 minutes.

In the mean time chop the mint up and mix it with a couple of glugs of olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, and mix with lemon juice to taste. You want it to be reasonably acidic to compliment the sweetness of the broad beans.

Drain broad beans, and combine with the dressing. Serve hot or warm.

Apologies - no pictures this time, as in all honesty I  forgot!