Recipe review - Jaffa Drizzle Loaf Cake by BBC Good Food

Today we’re reviewing one of our favourite bakes. Wife of the Vegan man has been making this cake since before she met Mr Vegan Man, so was happy to introduce him to it. It is definitely a favourite of his and also amongst our friends. We have a monthly subscription to Good Food Magazine and frequently look to it for new recipe ideas, either to make or adapt to our own tastes. This one we have left relatively unchanged, although WOTVM prefers to use a slightly different method than suggested, which we will outline below. 

 

Ingredients:

 

140g butter, softened 

200g self-raising flour

1.5 tsp baking powder

200g golden caster sugar

3 large eggs

6 tbsp milk

finely grated zest 1 large orange

For the drizzle:
 

3 tbsp orange juice

50g golden caster sugar

50g dark chocolate (optional)

 

Method:

Firstly, pre-heat the oven to 180°C/fan 160°C/gas 4 and butter and line the base of a 1.2 litre loaf tin. WOTVM has slipped up with this recipe before by using a slightly too small loaf tin, resulting in a cake batter volcano in the oven, which was not pleasant to clean up. Don’t underestimate how much

the cake will rise! 

 

The recipe advises to put all the cake ingredients into a bowl together and mix with a wooden spoon. This all sounded like a bit too much manual effort for WOTVM, who is also not a fan of the ‘all in one’ cake method (sorry Mary Berry!). We prefer to first cream together the sugar and eggs using an electric whisk (or by hand if you don’t have one) and then whisk in the eggs one by one. Don’t worry if your mixture looks a little split at this stage, adding the dry ingredients will remedy this. Finally, add in the flour, baking powder, milk and grated orange zest and give everything another whisk until all the ingredients are combined and the mixture is smooth.
 

Spoon into your lined loaf tin, a rubber spatula will help get all the mix out of the bowl, and place in the middle of the preheated oven.

The recipe suggests a cooking time of 40-50 mins, but we find it usually takes closer to 50 in our oven. Have a cheeky peek at 40 mins and then every 5 minutes thereafter if it’s not done. We like to check the cake is done by inserting a skewer into the centre of the cake, it’s cooked when the skewer comes out clean without any wet batter on it. The top of the cake should be golden brown.

 

While the cake is baking, make the drizzle by combining the orange juice and sugar in a small pan. Heat gently while stirring the mixture until the sugar has dissolved, resulting in a sweet orange syrup. Once the cake is out of the oven we like to use the skewer to make a series of small holes in the cake. This is not advised in the recipe but we like to do this as it allows the syrup to soak into the cake as well as being on the surface. Spoon the syrup over the cake and leave to cool completely in the tin.

The cake can be consumed like this without the addition of the chocolate and makes a very tasty orange drizzle loaf as is, however, the dark chocolate really makes it shine. Try to use a decent quality chocolate as it needs to hold it’s own with the zingy orange cake. There are some great different varieties out there, this time we used Green & Black's. Break the chocolate into small chunks and melt in a glass bowl over a pan of gently simmering water. Remove the cooled cake from the tin and then drizzle over the melted chocolate to finish. 

We find the cake keeps well in a plastic container for 4-5 days without drying out. When we aren’t sharing it with friends we like to take it to work with us for a lunchtime treat as it cuts neatly and can be easily wrapped up in single portions. This is such an easy cake to make and you can adapt the recipe using other citrus fruits in place of orange. We have previously used it as a basis for a lemon and blueberry loaf with lemon curd mascarpone icing. Delicious! 

Find the original recipe here.  We hope you enjoy making this recipe as much as we do, please let us know how you get on by leaving a comment below or sending us an email.

Pea, mint & asparagus risotto with confit egg yolk, hazelnuts, parsley oil and olive bread crisps

You may have noticed that the majority of our recipes are quick and easy; we both work full-time and so during the week our aim is always to try to achieve maximum taste without having to spend too long on preparing and cooking dinner.  We, like many people, simply don't have the time after work to spend two or three hours in the kitchen and so delicious meals that can be prepared in under an hour are very much the order of the day.  However, there are times when we have more time to spare that we like to spend more time on our food and this recipe was created on one of those occasions. Mr Vegan man had a Monday off work and decided that he wanted to surprise Wife of the Vegan man with something a little bit special.

This recipe is fresh and seasonal - a real springtime dish - and is fancy enough for a dinner party or just to treat yourselves to.  It is also relatively straightforward to make; there are a few processes and steps to follow but nothing that is too taxing.  You will need to begin making the parsley oil either the day before or on the morning that you intend to make the dish.  The other elements can be prepared and completed within an hour or so of serving and so although it requires a little more effort than some of our midweek recipes, it is still not a hugely time-consuming dish to make.

Ingredients (serves 2):

Parsley oil:

25g flat leaf parsley
150ml vegetable, sunflower or rapeseed oil
Pinch of salt

Risotto:

150g of frozen peas
125g asparagus
150g Arborio rice
20g fresh mint
1.5 tbsp olive oil
500ml veg stock
125ml white wine
2 cloves of garlic
Half a small white onion
1 lemon (juiced)

Confit eggs:

2 yolks of large free range eggs

250ml (or more) of olive or vegetable oil

Garnish:

25g blanched hazelnuts
Handful of pea shoots
Olive bread wafers

Preparation and cooking time: 1 hour, parsley oil to be made in advance

To make the parsley oil, remove the parsley leaves from their stems.  Leaving small stems is fine but you don't want the large stems as they can be a little fibrous in texture.  Blanch the leaves for 5-10 seconds in boiling water and then immediately place them in a bowl of cold (preferably iced) water to stop them cooking any further.  Use kitchen roll or a clean tea towel to squeeze the excess moisture out of the parsley.  Add the parsley to your oil with a pinch of salt and blend in a food processor or using a hand blender.

Once the mixture is blended, cover it over and leave in the fridge for at least a few hours, overnight is best if you have the time as this will give the parsley longer to really infuse the oil.  Remove the oil from the fridge and it should look like the below.

You can serve the parsley oil like this with fine bits of leaf, however it looks nice if you strain out the solid parsley and are left with a vibrant green oil to drizzle over your dish.  Strain the oil through a piece of muslin or you could use filter papers for a coffee percolator if you have them.  That is your parsley oil made and you can then set aside until you are ready to garnish the dish.  The quantities used in this recipe will leave you some for future use too.

When it's time to cook the rest of the dish, begin by pre-heating your oven to 65°C.  Then place 100g of your peas in a pan of water and bring up to the boil, set aside the remaining 50g for later.  Boil the peas for 3-4 minutes and then drain.  Place the peas and mint leaves (no stems) into a bowl with half of the olive oil and lemon juice and then blitz in a food processor or with a hand blender.  If you need to loosen the mix add a little water.  Blend until smooth.

Chop your asparagus as pictured.  You will want to remove an inch or so from the bottom of the asparagus spear as it will be too tough and woody.  Leave 2-3 inches of the tip and then cut up the rest of the spear into small rounds.  Crush the two cloves of garlic and finely chop half a small onion.  You will then need to cut some thin slices of olive bread or if you don't have olive bread then use a sourdough or good quality fresh white or wholemeal loaf.  Place these slices on a baking tray.

Take a small ovenproof crock pot, ramekin or saucepan and fill to at least halfway with oil - we used a combination of vegetable and olive.  Separate out your two egg yolks from the whites, the easiest way to do it is to use your hands as a makeshift sieve.  Carefully place the yolks into the oil.

Place the bread and egg yolks into the oven.  It will take 40-45 minutes for the bread to crisp up and become almost like a savoury biscuit and for the yolks to cook through whilst remaining runny.  Turn the bread over halfway through the cooking time to ensure that it cooks evenly.

As soon as you've placed the eggs and bread in the oven, make up your 500ml of stock and then griddle the asparagus tips for 2 minutes on each side to give them some colour and soften them slightly.  If you don't have a griddle pan use a hot frying pan to add a little colour but be careful not to burn them.  Set the asparagus tips to one side and then heat the remaining olive oil in a large frying pan or saucepan.

Soften the onions and garlic in the oil on a low to moderate heat before adding the Arborio rice and chopped asparagus.  Stir until all of the grains of rice have been coated in the oil.  Increase to a moderate to high heat and add the white wine.

Once this is bubbling, reduce the heat again to a low to moderate heat and then keep adding small quantities of your stock each time the liquid in the pan reduces to the point that the rice is sticky and no longer loose.  Stir your risotto frequently to help release some of the starch from the grains and to ensure it cooks evenly.  It will take about 25 minutes for the risotto to cook, although this can vary by a few minutes and also depends on how much bite you like in your rice.  Start tasting the grains from about 20 minutes in.  Make sure you season with salt and pepper to taste, although bear in mind that the olive bread crisps will be quite salty so you might want to go a little lighter on the seasoning of the risotto to compensate.

About 15-20 minutes into cooking the risotto, add your pea and mint puree and stir through.  About 4-5 minutes before the risotto is due to finish cooking, add in the remaining peas and the pre-cooked asparagus tips to warm through.

When the risotto has finished cooking, add in the remaining lemon juice and then set aside ready to serve. 

Whilst the risotto is cooking, heat a small frying pan on a high heat and add the blanched hazelnuts.  They will only need a minute or two in a really hot pan to toast slightly and bring out some of their natural oils.

Put the toasted hazelnuts into a sandwich bag and crush using a rolling pin or saucepan, then set these aside until you are ready to plate up the dish.

When your risotto is finished, the timings should mean that your egg yolks and bread will have been in the oven for the required 40-45 minutes.  Remove them from the oven ready for serving.  Spoon the risotto into two large bowls, or on to plates if you prefer.  Flatten the risotto slightly with the back of a spoon so that the egg yolk has a flat surface to sit on.  Spoon some of the crushed hazelnuts into a circle on the risotto and then place the confit egg yolk on top of the nuts.  Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the eggs from the oil or alternatively use a dessert or table spoon to remove them and then drain in a small, fine-meshed sieve. Sprinkle the rest of the hazelnuts over one side of the risotto and then place your olive bread crisps in or around the edge of the risotto.  Decorate with a handful of pea shoots, which add a nice fresh flavour as well as looking pretty, and then drizzle over some of your parsley oil to finish.

And that is that!  You should have a restaurant quality dish at home that both looks and tastes amazing.  The flavours are lovely and fresh and the egg yolk adds a nice richness to the dish.  If the idea of the confit egg yolk doesn't appeal, then use a poached egg as a substitute, or if you are vegan then do away with the egg altogether as the rest of the dish is entirely vegan.

We hope you will give this recipe a go.  Please let us know how you get on by leaving a comment below or by sending us an email.  Alternatively, you can contact us via Facebook or Twitter.

Brunch by Morning Glory at Gonzo's Tea Room

Sunday is a great day for brunch; it's a lazy day by its nature, with fewer places open and those that are doing business opening later than they usually do.  Thankfully, Norwich has a number of places serving hearty portions of breakfast fare from late morning into early afternoon and so this week we, along with some friends, decided to go to Gonzo's Tea Room.  Brunch at Gonzo's is provided by pop-up restaurant, Morning Glory.  Pop-ups have become increasingly popular in Norwich in recent years, with Voodoo Daddy's Pizza being a particular success story that also started at Gonzo's before moving to the Plasterer's Arms.  Much like Voodoo Daddy's, the Morning Glory pop-up kitchen will also be moving on from Gonzo's imminently - in fact, Sunday was their last day of service there - but fear not, they will soon be popping up again, this time at 79 Unthank Road.

Gonzo's itself has been a welcome addition to the city centre.  For many years in prior incarnations, the bones of Gonzo's housed grimy but cool late bars/clubs with sticky floors and questionable interior design (anyone remember the day beds in Havana's?  How was that ever a good idea?).  Gonzo's transformed the space into something really quite different.  In addition to hosting Morning Glory (until now), they also serve food in the evening, offering a playful and tasty-sounding selection of gourmet burgers.  They even do takeaway via Just Eat.  The décor at Gonzo's is firmly retro-chic, with a hotchpotch of furniture including grand leather Queen Anne chairs and a Pacman arcade machine table.  There are vintage toys, games and the odd pop art flourish to boot.  It is hip but unpretentious and offers something a bit quirky, which we like.

On to breakfast, and the options offered by Morning Glory represent a nice alternative to British and European classics.  There is no traditional all-day breakfast on offer here, nor are there other staples such as Eggs Benedict or Eggs Florentine.  The flavour of the day is Mexican, with a nod to the USA in some of the options too (particularly their thick, American-style pancakes with fruit or bacon and maple syrup).  The menu offers a number of veggie options, including huevos rancheros, breakfast burrito, breakfast wrap and smashed avocado and egg on toast (with chilli to keep the Mexican theme going).  They do a range of milkshakes, some of which also have a distinctly Latino kick.  Mr Vegan Man ordered a Chocolate Mexicano - a shake made with almond milk, chocolate, banana, oats, cinnamon and cayenne pepper.  It was very tasty and not overly sweet, with a nice peppery kick at the finish.

When it came time to order food, we plumped for huevos rancheros and huevos Mexicanos.  The two dishes were very similar, both are constructed with a tortilla base and topped with two fried eggs, refried beans, avocado, salsa and fried potatoes.  The only difference between the two is that the Mexicanos comes with the addition of two chorizo-style sausages.  The other members of our party plumped for the breakfast wrap - stuffed with rice, avocado, salsa and refried beans - with an additional fried egg, a breakfast burrito which is stuffed with scrambled egg, salsa, avocado, cheese and refried beans, and finally the pancakes with everything.  All the bacon, all the fruits, all the syrup.  Although technically this was off menu, they were more than happy to oblige and all of their dishes have the option of adding breakfast items for a bargain 50p (sausages are more at £1).

The food arrived and the portion sizes were strikingly impressive.  The tortillas on the rancheros and Mexicanos were piled high with toppings - there was at least half an avocado on each and piles of beans, salsa and fried potatoes sat beneath two perfectly fried eggs.  The tortilla itself was large enough that not one bit of the plate could be seen beneath it.  Our friend who ordered the pancakes with everything was faced with a mountain of doughy, fruity, bacon-y goodness and the burrito was the size of a small car (see below).  Morning Glory do not scrimp on their portions.  However, brunch should be a big meal - normally anyone eating it has already skipped breakfast and probably doesn't plan on chowing down lunch either - so you want a good-sized meal.

The first thing that struck us both was the flavour of the refried beans.  They were simply beautiful, with a smoky spiciness that was incredibly moreish.  The avocado was ripe but not yet turning to mush and the salsa provided a nice bit of acidity.  The overall spice level of the dish was good, but it was not particularly fiery with chilli heat, the spices were more aromatic.  They offer a range of hot sauces for anyone who likes it hot and Mr Vegan Man added some habanero sauce for a bit of extra pep.  The crispy potatoes were a welcome addition too - Mr Vegan Man had somehow missed these on the menu so they felt like an extra treat.  They were also coated in a light, smoky spice that complimented the rest of the dish really well.  Wife of the Vegan Man is not a massive chorizo fan, but she really enjoyed the sausages and found the flavour to be just right - not too strong as to overpower everything else on the plate.

Mr Vegan Man is a quick eater and cleared his plate first, the speed of his eating helping to trick his stomach into not realising how full it was getting.  Wife of the Vegan Man had a brief wobble about halfway through her brunch and wondered if she would have any chance of finishing.  After giving herself a quick pep talk and taking a few deep breaths, she ploughed on and in the end only left some of the tortilla and a small amount of avocado, salsa and egg white.  It was a good effort given that she had everything on the huevos rancheros plus two hearty sausages.  Our friend who ordered the pancakes demolished them in impressive style and was hugely impressed with his food.  Our other friends left a little and, whilst disappointed at being unable to finish, felt full and satisfied.  Everyone who had the refried beans as part of their breakfast agreed that they were the star of the show.

We left with stomachs bulging and faces smiling.  Morning Glory offer really good value for money - we had the two most expensive brunch dishes plus two drinks each and it came to £25.  Not bad at all considering the quality of the food on offer and also taking into account that it filled us up until the evening.

It will be interesting to see what (if anything) replaces Morning Glory at Gonzo's, however based on our experience we are sure that Morning Glory will go on to do really well when they move premises.  We will be seeking them out, even though Unthank Road is a bit more of a trek for us.  If you are lucky enough to live in the Golden Triangle, make a beeline to 79 Unthank Road on or after the 6th of June when Morning Glory will be landing there.

Udon noodle broth

This recipe is a really good one for a midweek evening when you've got home from work and you want something fresh and tasty but don't want to spend too long having to prepare or cook your dinner.  We came up with this dish off the cuff on an evening where we knew we wanted something light but flavoursome and we just used ingredients we happened to have in.  We liked it so much we've made it again recently and thought we would share the recipe.

We've used udon noodles in the recipe and they worked really well - they are often used in soups and broths and they hold up well for that purpose - however, we've also made it with regular wholewheat noodles and you could use egg or rice noodles just as easily.  All of our recipes are designed to play around with and this one is no exception, so use whatever you have at home.  The same goes for whatever type of meat substitute you choose to use.  Quorn pieces work really well in this dish but you could use tofu to make it vegan (fry the tofu until golden brown first if you do, just to give it a bit more texture) or you could use any other 'fake' chicken - some of which are vegan-friendly.  Meat eaters could use leftover roast chicken or fry some chunks of chicken breast before adding to the broth.  We've used mace to flavour the broth in this recipe but if you don't have any mace but do have Chinese five-spice or Szechuan pepper then either of those would work well in this dish too.  The vegetables can also be substituted but try to get a balance as it's nice to have some sweeter veg, like the carrots and baby corns, to compliment the more savoury broccoli.

Ingredients (serves 2 generously)

100g Quorn or tofu or mock chicken
1 large carrot
80g baby corn
100g broccoli
80g green beans
75g soya beans
2 portions (approx. 170g) udon noodles
2 lemons
2 cloves of garlic
1.5 tsp crushed ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
0.5 tsp ground mace
1.5 tsp sugar
0.5 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp dark soy
700ml veg stock
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
To garnish:

2 spring onions
Handful fresh coriander
1 red chilli

Preparation and cooking time: 25 minutes

Begin by preparing your vegetables; the green beans and baby corns can be left whole, the carrots should be sliced thinly and the broccoli florets should be cut in half or into quarters depending on size.  Crush your garlic using a garlic crusher or the back of your knife and a little salt.  We used shop bought crushed ginger for this recipe as it breaks down easily which works well for the broth, however you could use finely grated fresh ginger too.

Add half of you sesame oil to a saucepan and warm over a moderate heat.  If you can't get hold of sesame oil then use a vegetable or sunflower oil.  When the oil is hot add your garlic and ginger and stir until it is beginning to soften, this will only take a minute or two.  You don't want to brown the garlic or ginger, you just want to soften it and allow the flavours to infuse with the oil.  Add in the coriander and mace and continue to stir for another minute or two - this should form a loose paste.  Pour in your vegetable stock and add the soy sauce, mirin and sugar.  Turn up the heat to bring to the boil and then add in the Quorn, tofu or chicken substitute.  Leave for 5 minutes and whilst this is cooking bring another saucepan of water up to the boil for your noodles.  We cook the noodles separately from the broth as the noodles tend to leach out starch when cooking which can make the broth have a more gloopy texture and they also absorb a lot of the liquid, making your soup more like a wet stir fry.

Whilst the broth is simmering and the pan of water is coming to the boil, thinly slice the spring onions and chilli, and roughly chop a good handful of fresh coriander.  This will garnish and flavour the finished broth.  Add all of the remaining vegetables (including the soya beans, which you can buy frozen in most supermarkets) to the broth and bring back to the boil.  The noodles will take 4-5 minutes to cook and this is how long you want the vegetables to blanch in the broth for as this will leave them with a nice bite.  Add the noodles to the separate pan of boiling water at the point your broth has come back to the boil.

Cover both pans and leave for 4-5 minutes on a gentle boil.  About 2 minutes before the end, add the juice of two lemons to the broth then re-cover and leave to finish cooking.  When the noodles are cooked, drain and divide them between two large bowls.  Ladle over your broth and then garnish with the spring onions, chilli and coriander.  Drizzle over the remaining sesame oil and serve.

This is a really satisfying soup - it is fresh and light but will leave you feeling nicely full.  It has a nice balance of heat and spice along with sweet, sour and sharp notes.  It's an easy recipe to tinker with depending on what you happen to have in at the time and it's a good way of packing in plenty of your five a day into one meal.

Give it a try and let us know your thoughts via email or leave a comment below.

Vegan chocolate and raspberry torte

This recipe is another original creation of ours.  Chocolate torte is a great dessert to make for a dinner party; it’s quite quick and easy to prepare but always delivers bags of flavour and has a rich and luxurious feeling to it that is sure to please your guests.  This recipe is vegan but if you aren’t worried about being dairy free then you can use regular cream and regular digestives, although we actually prefer this vegan version.  We made this for a friend of ours who has to have a gluten and dairy-free diet and we managed to make it both by using ‘free from’ digestives – she really liked it and couldn’t believe that it didn’t contain wheat or dairy.

One of the reasons we like this pudding so much is the addition of the raspberries.  Chocolate and raspberry were made for each other and the sweet sharpness of the berries really balances out the richness of the chocolate.  We use olive oil and clementine juice in the base to substitute for the traditional melted butter and this adds another subtle background flavour that helps to elevate the dish.  This recipe is basically a really good way to make an impressive dessert without having to spend hours in the kitchen – a real win win!

We've used Lindt chocolate in the recipe but you can use any good quality 70% chocolate, including some of the premium supermarket own brands.  You might want to double check the ingredients, in our experience chocolate that has a 70% cocoa content won't contain dairy but it's best to be extra sure.

Ingredients (Serves 6-8):

300g 70% dark chocolate

3tbsp soya cream (or other dairy free cream)

2.5tbsp icing sugar

150g raspberries

150g vegan digestive biscuits

Juice of one clementine

2tbsp olive oil

Preparation/cooking time: 45 minutes plus at least 1-2 hours to set

Line a spring-form cake tin or similar with greaseproof paper – only the sides need lining, the bottom doesn’t need to be lined.  If you don’t have a suitable tin then you could use a shallow pie dish but this is a little trickier to serve from and the torte won’t be able to stand alone.

Begin by crushing your 150g of digestive biscuits into a fine crumb.  If you can’t find vegan digestives very easily then other biscuits can substitute, your best bet would be Hobnobs which are vegan and easily available.  Ginger nuts could work but may bring too strong a flavour.  We usually place the biscuits in a sandwich bag, seal and then bash with a rolling pin.  You want the crumbs to be fine, although a few slightly bigger lumps won’t hurt.  Add the crushed biscuits, olive oil and clementine juice to a bowl and mix thoroughly so that all of the crumbs are moistened slightly.  You don’t want them to be soggy, just a touch of moisture to help them bind to form a base.  Put the crumbs into the bottom of your tin and then press them down firmly with a clean spoon or your hand (which also needs to be clean!).

Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on the top of your base and weigh down with cans or other heavy items and then place in the fridge for 30 minutes.  This will help the base to firm up and set into a solid biscuit layer.  Whilst the base is setting, break your chocolate up into small pieces and place in a glass bowl over a pan of simmering water along with the vegan cream and icing sugar.  The icing sugar (known as confectioner’s sugar in the U.S.) takes the edge off the bitterness of the chocolate, without it there wouldn’t be enough sweetness in the torte as you would have bitter chocolate and sharp raspberry.  Icing sugar works best as it is a powder and so doesn’t need to dissolve; the chocolate shouldn’t get hot enough to dissolve either caster or granulated sugar and this would leave a grainy texture.

Stir the mixture constantly and be careful not to overheat it as this can cause the mix to become grainy – if this looks like it is happening, remove from the heat and add a dash more cream and stir thoroughly, this should bring it back.

When the chocolate has completely melted, remove the bowl from the heat and whilst the ganache is still warm, stir in three quarters of your raspberries, leaving about 8-12 to decorate the top.  Stir them in vigorously so they start to break up and give them a bash with the spoon to help them along.  One of the things that works nicely in this recipe is that the berries are marbled through the chocolate.

Remove the base from the fridge and remove the greaseproof paper that’s covering the biscuit layer.  Pour over the chocolate and raspberry mixture and spread it over the base to create an even distribution of the topping.  Allow to cool on the side for 30 minutes before transferring to the fridge.  The torte then needs to be left to set for about an hour, although it can be made in advance and left overnight, which is often easier if you are making it for a dinner party – you can focus on the rest of the meal on the night knowing you don’t have to worry about your pudding!

When you are ready to serve, remove the torte from the tin and transfer on to a plate to serve.  Decorate the top however you wish with your remaining raspberries.  You will see in the picture that the top of the torte looks bumpy, this is partly down to the raspberries in the mix however if you’d like a smoother surface on top use a hot palette knife and run this over the surface to create a more even appearance before placing back in the fridge for a few minutes to firm up.  Serve with a drizzle of vegan cream or vegan vanilla ice cream (or dairy equivalents if you wish).

We hope you love this recipe as much as we do.  Please email us or comment on this blog post with any questions and if you do decide to make the recipe we’d really love to hear from you.

The Belgian Monk

Our choice for a meal out this week was the Belgian Monk on Pottergate.  The Belgian Monk is something of a Norwich institution; it has been in the city centre for many years now and has a genuinely dazzling array of Belgian beers on sale, many of which come with their own custom glass (check out the Kwak glass if you've never seen it, it's worth ordering a bottle of it for the vessel alone).  In recent years, the Belgian Monk has also garnered a reputation for producing good quality food which combines traditional and hearty pub fare with a distinctly Flemish twist.  What's more, the food menu is almost as vast as the beer menu and includes, unusually but most agreeably, an extensive vegan menu in addition to a number of excellent vegetarian options.

We had called the Belgian Monk, somewhat optimistically, on the Friday hoping to get a table for Saturday night.  They were predictably fully booked up, however we were helpfully told that the tables downstairs (the restaurant part of the pub is primarily upstairs) aren't bookable and so if we were to come in on the night we may be able to get a table.  Chancing our luck, we decided to head out for an early-ish dinner, arriving at the Belgian Monk at just after 6.30pm.  The tables were all full and the bar was heaving so initially our hopes looked faint, however as we ordered a glass of Kriek and a Petrus Blond, we asked at the bar what the odds were of getting a table for food and were informed that one should be available in under 10 minutes.  Hurrah!  In the end we waited less than 5 minute before being shown to our table, which was nice and cosy next to the fireplace.

As a vegetarian, often scanning a menu is a relatively swift process.  You glance over and look for the two or three dishes with a 'V' or a picture of a leaf next to them and then decide which of the limited options you like the look of.  Not so here.  There are in excess of ten options for both starter and main course for non-meat-eaters and a good proportion of these are vegan.

We have previously spoken about Mr Vegan Man's dislike of cheese.  Oddly enough, the aversion to cheese is limited to melted cheese only, so he can enjoy a nice bit of Cheddar or Red Leicester on a cracker, but put it on toast and place it under the grill and his stomach starts to turn.  Halloumi, then, is something of a godsend because it can be cooked without melting and is a good option as a big lump of protein.  With this in mind and feeling peckish having not eaten since breakfast, Mr Vegan Man plumped for the halloumi burger.  Wife of the Vegan Man loves seafood and one of the specialities of the Belgian Monk is mussels, served with - there's a recurring theme here - a huge selection of sauces.  WVM plumped for the classic moules marinière - the heady combination of cream, garlic, white whine and shallots being too much for her to resist.  Starters were skipped due to prior knowledge of the portion sizes on offer at the Belgian Monk, and we held out hope of saving room for dessert. 

The food arrived quickly, no more than 10 minutes wait, and was a veritable feast.  The pot of moules was enormous and came with a similarly generous horn of frites as well as a quaintly wrapped rye bread roll.  The halloumi burger was equally impressive in stature - a huge piece of crispy cheese with an impressive quantity of avocado to boot, all inside a crunchy and light ciabatta roll.  The burger came with a basket of frites (sweet potato fries come as standard but Mr Vegan Man fancied regular chips) and a nicely dressed salad garnish.  The sharp sweetness of the vinaigrette dressing was an unexpected surprise and helped to cut through the richness of the large hunk of rich halloumi.  We ordered another Kriek and Petrus Blond to go with our dinner and the drinks arrived promptly as we were preparing our respective strategies for tackling the food mountain in front of us.

Whilst the quantities of food on offer at the Belgian Monk are fantastic, it does not come at the expense of quality.  WVM quickly made a big dent in her pot of moules and the number of empty shells began to rapidly approach the number of mussels still to be eaten.  WVM was motivated by her desire to get to the broth at the bottom of the pan, which she described as 'the best bit'.  WVM looked incredibly happy when she had reached the point where she could easily reach the cooking liquor with her spoon.  She was so taken by the creamy, rich sauce that she insistently offered her spoon to Mr Vegan Man, imploring him to try it.  Mr Vegan Man was unrelenting, but noted the seriousness of the offer from WVM and that this must have meant she REALLY liked that sauce.

 

The frites were crisp on the outside and light and fluffy on the inside - just what you would hope for -  and as is the tradition in Belgium they were served with mayonnaise which was the perfect accompaniment.  WVM was, by this point, running out of room and decided to save the rye bread for another day, stashing it in her handbag.  Meanwhile, Mr Vegan Man had deconstructed his burger and made two more manageable bruschetta topped with halloumi, avocado, beef tomato, tomato salsa and pea shoots.  The combination was very tasty, the balance of flavours just right, and he managed to clear his plate.

There was a slight pang of sorrow as we both realised, without either of us saying as much, that we had lost our battle to save room for pudding.  This was a real shame as we have managed dessert at the Belgian Monk before and their waffles, with rich Belgian chocolate sauce and smooth vanilla ice cream, are a real treat.  On this occasion, though, there was simply no room for more food.

The bill arrived and was a pleasantly surprising £36.  Although we only had the one course and a drink each, this still felt like great value as we were stuffed full and feeling happy, the Belgian beer flowing through our veins no doubt helping our mood.  A quick nod to the service, which was both speedy and friendly.  We didn't have to wait long for the bill when we asked for it but we didn't feel like they were rushing to get us out of the door either, despite being busy.

 

The Belgian Monk is a really lovely place to visit.  It has a cute little courtyard style garden that backs on to one of the oldest churches in Norwich and the pub itself is a delightful old building.  The décor is traditional and tasteful with lots of dark wood.  Getting a table for a drink inside is the only downside as it is almost always very busy and there are only a few indoor tables just for drinks.  If you do get a table, though, you really are spoilt for choice with the beers on offer.  And if you really, really want a table, you could go for some food.  On weekdays the Belgian Monk offers a lunchtime and early evening 'Dubbel Deal' where select dishes from the menu are available for £6 each or two main courses for £11.90.  That is staggeringly good value in anyone's book and having had the deal previously, they don't cut back on the portions.

We greatly enjoyed our rather impromptu night at the Belgian Monk and we will most certainly return soon.  If you live in Norwich and you've never been then you really ought to go, if you have been before, then go again.

Any questions or comments please just drop us an email or leave a comment.  For bookings and information you can find the Belgian Monk's website here.