MY CHILDREN don’t thank me for it, but experimenting with healthy recipes is one of my favourite things.
Trying to encourage them to expand their palettes and enjoy some plant-based meals can be hard work, but thankfully some inspiration is on hand thanks to Jen Roach.
The Warfield-based chef runs her own cookery school, Fearless In The Kitchen.
One of the sessions is a four-hour vegan cookery course. Sessions are held – coronavirus permitting – in Jen’s four-acre home. In the grounds, she boasts an orchard and a vegetable garden. There’s also a selection of beautiful edible flowers that make her food look even more colourful and tantalising.
As you drive towards Jen’s house you feel a sense of calmness and serenity. I pulled up outside her beautiful cottage and was met with a warm hug and a lovely cup of tea, before being taken into Jen’s very spacious kitchen.
The sessions run in small groups so that Jen can share her knowledge. There were four other lovely people in the group, all attending for different reasons.
One was a strict vegan looking for inspiration for recipes and had been bought a voucher for the course for Christmas, another was looking to blog about the course, and the other two wanted to add more plant-based recipes to their diet.
Originally from Australia, Jen has been 100% vegan for the past 15 years. She is also passionate about cutting back on processed sugar.
Jen said: “My vegan period was actually in the 80s and 90s, back then though there weren’t the vegan products that we have now.
“I turned to a lot of Middle Eastern and South Asian cuisines such as hummus, tahini, lentils, dukkah and miso.
“My Mum wasn’t the greatest of cooks so I developed a love of cooking at a very young age.”
She continued: “I had a corporate career and took early retirement to escape the rat race and decided to follow my passion in developing wholesome food with beautiful flavours and amazing health benefits.
“I have been running Fearless in the Kitchen now for four years and have loved every minute of sharing my wealth of knowledge and enthusing others.
“What we eat is key to our health and wellbeing.”
Jen began by introducing the class and what we would expect from the day.
She made us aware that there would be lots of tasting as we went along, and everything we made we would get to take home, that’s a win-win in my eyes.
She explained that if we were going totally vegan then that would mean cooking a lot of meals from scratch to ensure we get freshness and the right amount of nutrients.
She explained that “you need to know the plant-based sources of protein that can replace meat and dairy”.
The first recipe was a Super Eggy Tofu Scramble.
Tofu is a good source of plant protein and an excellent source of iron, calcium, copper, zinc, vitamin B1 and all of the nine amino acids.
The recipe included silken tofu, extra firm tofu, vegan butter, nutritional yeast, garlic, paprika, Dijon mustard, black salt and turmeric to add colour.
I was very pleasantly surprised at just how much it resembled egg in looks and taste.
Now it was our turn. We were handed aprons and allocated a workspace.
We started with Baked Aubergine and Cardamon Date Butter.
The date butter was made with saffron, cardamom pods, vegan butter, dates, garlic, chilli and ginger, and simply made by grinding, chopping and blitzing to make a paste.
We then roasted tomatoes with garlic, onion and thyme and cooked some lentils with barley. Next, we scored the aubergine, placed the date mix on top and laid on the bed of roasted tomatoes, lentils and barley and roasted in the oven.
When it had cooked we were all given a chance to taste from our own trays.
I loved this dish, I think it may even turn convince the “aubergine” haters out there to give it a go.
All the time Jen’s assistant whisked our used utensils away to ensure we always had a clean workspace and clean apparatus.
Recipe number two was the delicious Buddha Bowl.
Jen showed us a basket brimming with salad and vegetables while we were to decide which ones to use. This recipe is made from a portion of grain, and I opted for Quinoa.
I added an assortment of chopped sweet potatoes, broccoli florets, carrots, red and yellow pepper and red onion.
We roasted this in the oven.
In the meantime, we were divided into two groups, one to make the Teriyaki Marinade/sauce and the other to make the sesame Miso peanut sauce.
When the vegetables were ready we added the quinoa, roasted curried chickpeas, spring onion and drizzled over the sauce.
To garnish, Jen’s garden provided some edible flowers.
Jen then demonstrated how to make a Sunflower Ricotta with Tomato and Caper Dressing which we all sat down to eat for lunch, accompanied with Jen’s Sunflower Seed and Rosemary Crackers.
For dessert, we were presented with beautiful individual vegan cheesecakes to taste.
“You can enjoy delicious vegan desserts,” said Jen, adding that they don’t need to have any artificial additives or saturated fats.
This was a real game-changer for me, especially as I have a sweet tooth. I can now enjoy the pleasure of a natural vegan, processed sugar-free cheesecake knowing its actually a healthy treat.
After lunch, recipe three was a Coconut, Spinach and Red Lentil Dahl.
I loved the simplicity of this wholesome recipe, packed with fibre vitamins and minerals.
Jen then demonstrated making a vegan white sauce with soaked cashew nuts and cauliflower.
This was amazing and I prefer it to traditional white sauce.
Since the course, I’ve used Jen’s recipe in a lasagne and my family didn’t even notice the difference.
Jen’s Fearless In The Kitchen courses are perfectly balanced between hands-on, demonstrations and, of course, getting to taste our creations.
It was easy – and right – to feel proud of the lessons that Jen teaches, showing how easy and satisfying it is to make highly nutritious vegan meals for the family: mine enjoyed the dishes that came home with me.
Fearless In The Kitchen also offers courses in Healthier Baking, Gut Health including fermenting, and Meat-free Cooking.
Places cost £90 per person and discounts are available for groups. They are currently on hold due to the new laws on social distancing, but it’s worth registering an interest now.
For more details, call Jen on: 07470 431280 or log on to: fearlessinthekitchen.co.uk
