Science Club

Stuffed peppers with tomato & feta

• 4 red peppers
• 8 sundried tomatoes in oil or 8 salad tomatoes
• large bunch of fresh basil leaves, roughly torn
• 225g/8oz feta cheese in oil
• olive oil to drizzle
• black pepper to season

Halve the peppers lengthways through the stalk and remove the seeds.
Into each half - add one tomato (sundried or normal), some basil and then the feta. Saving some of the basil for garnish.
Drizzle each one with olive oil or a little of the oil from the tomatoes and cheese. Season with black pepper.
Grill on the barbecue or conventional grill, for about 10-15 minutes until the pepper is cooked - the skin becomes charred & blackened and the cheese starts to melt.
Garnish with the reserved basil and serve.

Bean & carrot patties

Preparation time: 15 mins + cooling time
Cooking time: 35-40 mins
Serves: 6

• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 15ml/1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 450g/1lb carrots, trimmed, washed and roughly chopped
• 5ml/1tsp ground cumin
• 5ml/1tsp ground coriander
• 200ml/7floz vegetable stock
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 (400g) can mixed or red kidney beans, drained
• 75g/3oz fresh wholewheat breadcrumbs
• 45ml/3tbsp chopped fresh coriander
• a little spray olive oil or olive oil to brush 
• rolls and salad leaves to serve

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the onion and saute for 2 mins. Add the garlic, carrots, cumin and coriander and stir for 1 minute.
Pour in the stock, season well and bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10-15 mins or until the carrots are tender. Leave to cool. Drain the liquid from the carrots. Then use a potato masher to mash them until lump free.
Add the drained beans and mash again until a rough mash is formed. Stir in the breadcrumbs and coriander. Mix well and adjust the seasoning to taste.
When cold, divide the mixture into six then use wet hands to shape each piece into a round pattie about 2.5cm/1in thick. The patties can be chilled at this point if you’re not serving them straight away.
Preheat the oven to 220oC/Fan200oC/425oF/Gas Mark 7 and put a large baking sheet in to preheat. Spray or brush a little oil on both sides of the patties then place them on the hot baking sheet. Bake for 20-25 mins or until pale golden.

Veggie Burgers

• 4oz/125g red lentils
• 8oz/250g of vegetables (use whatever is cheap and in season)
• 4oz/125g of oats
• 1 crushed clove of garlic
• 1 tablespoonful of tomato puree
• 1 teaspoonful of Marmite
• 1 teaspoonful of Worcestershire sauce (or vegan Worcester sauce)

Boil red lentils in twice their volume of water or stock for about 20 minutes on a low heat. Keep an eye on them, as they may need more water but don't add too much as you want a dry mixture.
Grate or chop the veggies and add these to the pan (go for whatever is cheap - carrots, parsnips, potatoes and courgettes all work well.)
When the lentils are done add the oats, garlic, tomato puree, Marmite and Worcestershire sauce and leave to stand for at least 10 minutes.
By this time you should have a fairly dry mixture that sticks together. You might need to add some flour (or oats whizzed in a food processor to a powder) to get the right consistency.
Then shape into burgers (or nuggets).
You should get 4 normal sized burgers, 8 burgers or 12-16 nuggets.
Either fry them (deep or shallow) or brush with oil and bake in the oven (200ºC) for 20 minutes.
Enjoy with homemade potato wedges and salad.

BBQ Veggie Kebab

• a selection of vegetables 
• balsamic or white wine vinegar
• olive oil
• halloumi cheese (optional) 

Simply choose your vegetables ...red onions, red and yellow peppers, courgettes, mushrooms, aubergines, tomatoes...

Cut them into cubes and add the chunks to skewers.

Mix 1 tablespoon of vinegar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil together and season lightly. Brush the dressing over the vegetables.

Barbecue the skewers for 10-15 minutes until the vegetables are soft and brown.

Serve with potato wedges.

Honey and Ginger Prawns - BBQ

• Honey (Preferably in a squeezy bottle)
• Prawns or Chicken  
• Fresh Ginger   

Prepare the prawns (if using chicken, slice into strips). Place in a large dish or bowl.
Drizzle honey generously over one side. Then grate fresh ginger over.
Turn chicken/prawns over and repeat.
Leave for as long as you want to marinade.  
To cook either, grill or bbq.  
Serve with special fried rice or chips and salad.

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