Competition | The Tofu Diaries

Something I love about living in Yorkshire, aside from all of the beautiful countryside, is the creativity and artisanal flair you find here. One of the wonderful things about having adopted the county as my home is the chance to discover many of them first hand, whether it is from living and working in such a vibrant neighbourhood as Chapel Allerton or from exploring the surrounding towns.

NibNibs is one such company. Located up in North Yorkshire, they create handmade nibbles fresh from their bakery in Ripon using only the finest locally sourced ingredients. Their vegetarian snacks contain Yorkshire-milled wheat and British Cheddar (they even list Yorkshire water as an ingredient) making the food miles that go into these remarkably low. Since hearing from NibNibs, I have been, well, nibbling my way through their yummy range of mininibs.

The cheerfully packaged mininibs come in three exceptionally cheesy flavours: Cheddar Cheese, Cheddar & Spicy Chili, and Cheddar &Cheeky Onion. The first thing to hit you with each variety is undoubtedly the Cheddar, but what I really love is how the accompanying flavours – be it chilli or onion – develop after the initial cheesy hit. After my first mininib, I wasn’t too sure but as soon as it was done with I couldn’t wait to reach for the next one; the strong flavour combined with the crunch makes these beyond moreish!NibNib’s Salt & Pepper Jumbo Peanuts were another pleasant surprise, and dare I say it, equally as moreish.The pots are all foil sealed when they arrive with a handy little lid to keep them fresh after opening. It also makes them ideal to pop into your bag for a snack on the go.

NibNibs are kindly giving away a selection of their snacks to one of my lucky readers (suitable for vegetarians but not for vegans, I’m afraid) so click below for a link to the Rafflecopter where you can enter! (There isn’t an option on there to follow me too (boo!) but I’d love it if you did.)

The competition is open internationally so my readers from everywhere can have a little taste of Yorkshire!

And finally, the all important question, where do I nibble mine? …At my desk to keep me going through the afternoon! Where would you nibble yours if you won?

*The competition is being hosted here on behalf of NibNibs who will be randomly selecting a winner on October 10th. NibNibs are responsible for contacting the winner and sending out their prize. Full T&Cs can be found on the Rafflecopter. Good luck!

This Asian-inspired dish is a fusion of lightly spiced, coconut-y medallions, atop a bed of slaw rich with the contrasting flavours of toasted sesame and zingy lemon, served with baked sweet potato chips.

If you’re a regular reader, you might have picked up on my excitement about trying out new ingredients. In which case you can imagine how delighted I was at the chance to try out a couple of products from Maille to create a new recipe with as part of their ‘Maille Culinary Challenge.’

Maille have been making mustards since the 1700s so they certainly know what they’re doing. But alongside their classic Dijon and wholegrain mustards, they offer a whole array of enticing flavoured mustards and dressings that can add a whole new dimension to a dish.

For my Maille recipe, I opted to go for Soy Vinaigrette with Toasted Sesame Seeds dressing and Mustard with White Wine, Coconut and Colombo Spices, which were kindly sent to me by Maille. As soon as I spotted these two, I knew I was going to make an Asian-inspired dish; so here it is, an entirely vegan dish of spiced spinach & red onion quinoa medallions served with Oriental slaw & baked sweet potato chips.

Ingredients:

For the slaw:

175g white cabbage, thinly sliced

175g red cabbage, thinly sliced

4tbsp Maille Soy Vinaigrette with Toasted Sesame Seeds dressing (here)

Juice of one lemon

Slaw method:

Add ingredients to a bowl, mix together well and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

For the sweet potato chips:

450g sweet potatoes, cut into thick chips

2tbsp olive oil

Generous amount of black pepper

Sweet potato chips method:

Preheat an oven to 200c / 180C fan / gas mark 6.
Pour the olive oil onto a baking tray. Place in the oven for around 4-5 minutes until the oil has heated up.
Add the sweet potatoes and black pepper onto the baking tray, covering well with the hot oil.
Bake for thirty minutes or until browned, turning halfway.
Once the sweet potatoes have turned brown around the edges and cooked through, turn off the oven. Leave them to stand in the oven for a further five minutes – this will give them a slightly sticky, caramelised texture.

For the quinoa medallions:

100g quinoa

500ml vegetable stock

1 large red onion, chopped

2 handfuls fresh spinach, roughly chopped

½ stick lemon grass, bruised and finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, crushed

2tbsp Maille Mustard with White Wine, Coconut and Colombo Spices (here)

1tsp ground cumin

1tsp paprika

½tsp chilli flakes

½tsp garam masala

½tsp turmeric

125g wholemeal flour

125ml plant milk (I used light soy milk)

Olive oil for cooking

Quinoa Medallions method:

Place the quinoa is a metal sieve. Wash well – this removes the bitter coating of the quinoa.
Boil the vegetable stock in a pan, add the quinoa. Stir well.
Turn the heat down slightly and simmer for 15 minutes until tender.
Drain, return to the pan, cover and leave to stand for 15 minutes.
Now the quinoa has cooled slightly, mix in all of the ingredients (bar the flour and milk).
In a separate bowl, mix the wholemeal flour and plant milk together to form a smooth batter.
Add the batter to the quinoa mix, stir well until the ingredients are fully coated and evenly mixed.
In a large frying pan, heat up 2tsbp olive oil on a high heat.
Drop the heat down to medium low. Using your hands or a spoon, divide the mixture into palm-sized medallions, placing them directly into the frying pan. The quinoa mixture will be sticky – don’t be too concerned by the shape as the edges can be rounded off once they are in the pan using the edge of a spatula.
Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side, until they are golden brown on the outside and cooked through on the inside. Transfer onto a piece of kitchen roll to blot away any excess oil. Depending on the size of the pan, it may be necessary to cook in two to three batches

Serve the medallions atop a serving of the Oriental slaw with the sweet potato chips on the side. Garnish with a couple of fresh spinach leaves. Quinoa Medallions 2

As a side note, this gorgeous Batik fabric that I used as my tablecloth was picked up in Cambodia a few years back. It’s made me realise how much more creative I need to be about using props!