I first tried making polenta years ago and found it really bland and tasteless and was put off making it again for a long time, until I tried making these. The secret is to mix the polenta and water with other flavours when you’re cooking it – these vegan tomato polenta fingers are delicious topped with olives, salad and some grated vegan cheese, or dipped in houmus – plus they’re really easy to make! They look a bit like fish fingers when they’re cooked – and they’re great hot or cold.
Ingredients
150g polenta
1 pint hot vegetable stock
4 medium fresh tomatoes, chopped
Tbsp olive oil
Salad, olives and grated cheese to top (I used Applewood smoked)
Houmus to dip – this recipe is amazing if you’re making your own.
1 small loaf tin
Method
Saute the tomatoes over a medium heat for five minutes, then blend in your blender.
Add the hot veg stock to a pan and bring to the boil. Add the polenta and tomatoes and stir over a medium heat until the polenta is very thick and creamy, stirring regularly the whole time it’s cooking. You’ll know it’s ready when you can stand the spoon up in it.
Pour into a loaf tin and refrigerate for an hour.
Then heat up a griddle pan with a tbsp of olive oil. Cut the polenta into fingers and fry on each side for a couple of minutes. Now it’s ready to serve!
If you haven’t tried these kimchi-based savory pancakes yet, you are in for a treat. These vegan okonomiyaki pancakes are made vegan by using flaxseed to replace the egg and topped with mushrooms and pickled veg.
Makes 4 medium pancakes.
Ingredients
150g plain flour
1 flax egg – add 1 tbsp flaxseed to 3 tbsp water and refrigerate for 10 minutes
One small Savoy cabbage, chopped
150g kimchi, I used jarred kimchi
250ml water
1 tsp salt
Pickled veg – make this ahead by cutting half a cucumber, a carrot, and 3 radishes into thin matchsticks/slices, and adding 4oz rice vinegar and 2oz water boiled in the microwave. Store in an airtight container in the microwave.
150g oyster mushrooms
1 tsp soy sauce
2 tbsp sesame oil
Kimchi mayo – add 1 tbsp kimchi to 100g vegan mayo.
Method
Make the pancakes first. To make the batter, combine the flour, flax egg, half the chopped cabbage, kimchi, salt and water.
Heat 1 tbsp sesame oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Spoon a large tablespoon of the mixture into the pan and fry for a couple of minutes then flip over. It’s ready when both sides are golden. Once you’ve made all of your pancakes, set them aside.
Slice the oyster mushrooms and fry them in the same pan along with the other half of the chopped cabbage, adding another tsp of sesame oil. Fry till soft and browned. Spoon the soy sauce over the fried mushrooms.
Top the pancakes with the pickled veg and mushrooms and cabbage, and drizzled with the kimchi mayo.
Like everyone else in the UK and further afield, we’ve been very restricted about where we can go in recent months. And like most people, we’ve become a little bit tired of the same old walks and have been making an effort to discover new places to go to change it up a bit. Here are four walks in nature around Edinburgh, from ascending an extinct volcano,: stunning lochs; beautiful clear rivers, and even some modern art along the way.
They’re also a lovely way to enjoy Edinburgh if you’re visiting later on in the year.
Water of Leith
The Water of Leith walk and cycleway runs for twelve miles through the heart of Edinburgh.
A favourite route starts at the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art. From the car park behind the Modern One building, take the steps down to a little bridge over the Water of Leith. There you’ll see one of Anthony Gormley’s famous 6 Times Installations – life size casts of the artist’s body – in the water. From here, keep the river on your left until you reach a bridge that takes you over to the other bank and through picture-postcard Dean Village with its houses dating back to the 17th century. Carry on up the river until you reach Stockbridge, where you can step back into the city, or retrace your steps back to the Gallery along the river.
Getting there – You can walk to the Scottish Gallery of Modern Art from the city centre, or catch bus 37 from South Bridge and get off at the Gallery.
6 Times by Anthony Gormley in the Water of Leith
Pentlands Regional Park at Flotterstone
The Pentlands Regional Park covers a huge area with several walks, but this one is particularly scenic – rolling hills, rivers, reservoirs, and even an ancient Roman fort!
Fields of sheep and turnips on the way to the reservoir on a beautiful February day
Start at Flotterstone car park, which lies just south of the city bypass. There’s a cafe and loo there should you need them. Follow the Glencorse burn along a fairly flat road for twenty minutes until you reach the picturesque reservoir with a wooded island in its centre and drowned chapel that you can sometimes see if it’s been very dry. Take the right path (signposted) for Glencorse View and Castle Law. This path gives you amazing views over the reservoir. From there, you can continue along to Castle Law farm and detour to see the Roman fort – a detailed guide to the walk is here.
Getting there – by car to the Flotterstone Inn EH26 0PP, or catch the 102 bus from Edinburgh bus station towards Dumfries and get off at the Flotterstone Inn.
Harlaw Reservoir
The Harlaw reservoir walk also takes in the Pentlands Regional Park from the other side. Start this walk at the Harlaw Visitor Centre car park .
Harlaw Reservoir
This is a lovely walk around Harlaw Reservoir that we love doing all year round – parts of it take you through woods that are filled with ditches that the kids have fun jumping across (though you can walk round them if you prefer!) It’s also possible to swim in the reservoir, though watch out for people fishing.
Start the walk at the Harlaw House car park, with its short walk along to Harlaw House. Harlaw House was originally built as a waterkeeper’s cottage after the reservoir was built in 1848, and is now a visitor information centre. On the way, there’s a beautiful gated Wildlife Garden, which a lovely place to sit and have a picnic. From there, you can choose whether to take a clockwise or anti-clockwise loop round the reservoir. Walk through the shaded woods and jump across the ditches, enjoy the views of the Pentlands hills from the path, or follow the banks of the reservoir.
Getting there – By car to Harlaw House EH14 7AS, or by bus 44 from Edinburgh to Balerno.
Arthur’s Seat
Arthur’s Seat
You can’t have a guide to walks in Edinburgh without including Arthur’s Seat. We love to walk up it on Christmas Eve, as a way of tiring the kids out, but it’s spectacular all through the year. Watching the sun rise from the top is an essential Edinburgh experience, and the views over the city and the Forth from this extinct volcano are breathtaking.
There are various routes up to the top of Arthur’s Seat. This one is of moderate difficulty – there are steeper routes, but we like this one as it’s manageable for the kids. Start at the Holyrood Palace car park and follow the red paved path. You’ll come to a corner – take the left path which heads towards the ruins of St Anthony’s Chapel. From there you can follow the line of cliffs up to the peak, or the path along the bottom of the cliffs. They both lead to the top. There are some quite steep climbs on this walk, but the views from the summit will reward your effort.
You can find more detail about routes up Arthur’s Seat here.
Getting there – Walk to the bottom of the Royal Mile towards the Scottish Parliament – you’ll see the foot of Arthur’s Seat once you turn the corner from the Royal Mile.
If you like these walks and want to go further afield, try the De’ils Cauldron Walk in Comrie for waterfalls and spectacular views.
This vegan coconut rice is a little time consuming to make, in that involves some prep in the days before you make it with the preparation of the tofu and pickled veg. And it’s definitely not the lightest of meals as it’s full of rich flavours and textures. But it’s so worth it! Once you’ve prepped the tofu and veg, it’s very easy to throw together.
Makes 4 medium bowls.
For the rice, tofu and veg
Ingredients
1 block firm tofu
500 g brown rice
3 teaspoons brown miso paste
2 cans coconut milk
1 teaspoon ginger
Juice of half a lemon
Salt
Half a cucumber
1 carrot
3 radishes
4 oz rice vinegar
2 oz water
2 tbsp sesame oil
Method
First press and marinade the tofu. For best results, do this 48-24 hours before you make this meal – the longer you press and marinade the tofu, the better the flavour. Either use a tofu press or wrap the tofu in a tea towel, put it in a sieve over a bowl and lay some heavy books on top of it.
Make the tofu marinade. Dissolve a teaspoon and a half of brown miso paste in 14 oz boiling water. Add it to a can of coconut milk, a teaspoon of grated ginger, the juice of half a lemon and a pinch of salt.
Once the tofu has been pressed for at least two hours, chop it into cubes and add it to the marinade, in a bowl or airtight container. Refrigerate until you’re ready to make the rice – the longer the better for the tofu to absorb flavour.
Now make the pickled veg. Cut the carrot and cucumber into matchsticks and thinly slice the radish. Heat the rice vinegar, water and a teaspoon of salt in the microwave for 30 seconds and pour over the veg. Store in a jar or airtight tupperware and refrigerate.
To make the rice, weigh out 500g brown rice and rinse. Add to a pan with 1 litre water and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a medium heat.
At the same time, dissolve one and half teaspoons miso paste in 14 oz boiling water.
While the rice is cooking, heat 2 tbsp sesame oil over a medium heat. Add the tofu cubes and slowly adding the marinade, fry until the cubes are golden.
When the rice is cooked, add the can of coconut milk and miso water and stir it through the rice.
Serve the rice in a bowl and top with the tofu and the pickled veg.
For the peanut broccoli
Ingredients
125g peanuts
125 g breadcrumbs
Pinch chilli flakes
200g tenderstem broccoli
2 tbsp sesame oil
Method
Steam the broccoli for five minutes till cooked. Toss in a tablespoon of sesame oil and a little salt.
Crush the peanuts, either in a plastic bag with a rolling pin or a mortar and pestle.
Heat the sesame oil over a medium heat. Add the chilli, breadcrumbs and peanuts and cook for 2 minutes till the breadcrumbs are golden.
Toss the broccoli in the peanut mixture and serve!
