Moroccan food is easy to vegan-ise and make cheaply. Flic Everett share these simple, spicy, fragrant and cheap vegan recipes.
Cabbage leaves with pine nuts and raisins
These little parcels are the cheap and easy version of stuffed vine leaves. They taste fantastic, but cost pennies.
Ingredients – Makes 10-15
10-15 Savoy cabbage leaves
110g Basmati rice, rinsed and drained
100g finely chopped red onion
1 tbsp chopped parsley
30g raisins
30g pine nuts
pinch of cinnamon
pinch of turmeric or saffron
1 clove garlic
to cook
150ml olive oil
150ml water
juice of ½ lemon
I tsp sugar
salt and pepper
Method
Dry-fry the pine nuts till golden brown. Set aside.
Carefully detach the outer leaves of the cabbage, and cut off the fibrous stems. Blanch the leaves in boiling water till they are easy to fold without tearing, then drain and pat dry. If any rip, discard them.
In a bowl, mix together the rice, onion, garlic, parsley, raisins, pine nuts, cinnamon, and turmeric. Season with salt and pepper.
Place a cabbage leaf vein-side up and cut off any thick remaining stem. Put a heaped teaspoon of rice mix in the centre, then, pushing away from you, tuck the leaf over the filling, fold in the edges, and roll into a fat cigar shape. Place into the base of a large pan, seam-side down. Repeat till the base of the pan is tightly packed with rolled leaves.
Mix the olive oil, water, sugar and lemon juice and pour over the parcels. Place a small plate upside-down over them to stop them floating up, and put a lid on the pan. Simmer over a low heat for 50-60 mins, until the rice is cooked, and let them cool in the pan.
Serving: Serve warm or cold.
Chickpea and apricot tagine
This is a beautifully flavoured dish, that tastes better the longer you leave it. Keep leftovers in the fridge and serve with flatbread and vegan yoghurt for lunch.
Ingredients – Serves 2-3
1 x 400g tin chickpeas
½ a red pepper, roasted and skinned or equivalent from jar.
½ a red onion, chopped
2 tbsps olive oil
3 fresh apricots or 50g dried
100g raisins
100g pine nuts
1 clove garlic, crushed
5 g fresh ginger or ½ tsp powdered
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp cinnamon
I tbsp harissa paste (see box)
I tbsp agave/maple syrup
300ml vegetable stock
I tsp rosewater (optional)
1 tbsp chopped parsley
salt and pepper
Method
Add the onions to a non-stick frying pan, and gently fry in the oil over a low heat, until softened. Add the peppers and garlic and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the apricots, raisins, pine nuts, spices, syrup and harissa. Stir through and cook for another 5 minutes.
Add the stock and chickpeas, season, and simmer over low heat for 30- 40 mins until the sauce has thickened. Scatter over parsley just before serving.
Serve with couscous or Basmati rice, and soya yoghurt.
BOX: Harissa paste
(Makes enough for 2 servings) – You can buy Harissa, but it’s cheaper to make it.
Ingredients
½ a red chilli pepper, seeds scraped out, chopped
1 red pepper (or jar equivalent), chopped
I clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper
olive oil
Method
Place all the ingredients except the oil in a food processor and blend, whilst adding a trickle of oil, to make a thick paste.
Transfer to a jar or pot, and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Orange, lemon and rose cake
This is similar to a polenta cake, and the secret is to make sure you pour the syrup over it evenly. Decorate with rose petals, or curls of orange and lemon peel.
You will need: a 9” spring-form cake tin
Ingredients – Serves 6-8
325g plain flour
200g caster sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1 tsp salt
150ml orange juice (freshly squeezed if possible)
150ml vegetable oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
100ml water
2 tsps rosewater (optional)
syrup
50ml orange juice
50 ml lemon juice
200g sugar
Method
Preheat the oven to 170°c
Line the base of a 9” Springform cake tin with baking paper and grease the sides.
Sieve all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and whisk together.
Pour all the wet ingredients into a large jug and whisk together.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ones, and whisk again. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 50 mins, or until a skewer comes out clean.
Make the syrup. Place the orange and lemon juice and sugar in a small pan, and heat gently until a clear syrup forms.
When the cake is ready, let it cool in the tin before placing on a wire rack over a tray. Pierce small holes in its surface with a skewer, then pour the syrup over, making sure it’s fully covered.
Decorate with rose petals or orange and lemon peel, and dust icing sugar over the top.
Serving: Lovely served with vegan yoghurt or ice cream.
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