To celebrate National Vegetarian Week, Michelin star chef Nick Nairn creates wonderful veggie dishes that you’ll want to make again and again
Dim Sum is hugely popular and given that you only tend to find it on restaurant menus, you may be under the illusion that it’s difficult to make. This recipe shows that’s not the case. It features potsticker dumplings which are made with a Chinese hot water paste which is dead easy to make – it’s just flour and boiling water which you mix together to make a dough then roll out as thin as possible, with no special equipment required.
The beauty of these dumplings is that once you have made the dough, you can make the dumplings and fill them with anything you want, vegetables, or if you prefer, prawns or meat. Why not make a double batch and stick the extra dumplings in the freezer so they can be enjoyed quickly, at a later date?
I feel vegetarians often get a raw deal when they visit restaurants as sometimes all that’s on offer are dishes such as mushroom risotto or a pasta with sauce, so I felt it was time to be a little more imaginative which is why I’ve come up with beetroot bourguignon.
The classic bourguignon garnish has bacon in it, so that’s been replaced with red onions, lentils and pomegranate juice which goes really well with the earthy flavours of beetroot which is full of potassium and other trace minerals.
I spoke to a specialist at the Stirling Sports Institute recently and he said he feels beetroot should be in every athlete’s diet. And with a veggie main course this good, that’s not going to be difficult to enjoy!
For further ideas, book a place on the new three-hour vegetarian cookery classes which are starting at my Cook School in Aberdeen.
DIM SUM
Butternut and cashew potsticker dumplings with sweet chilli dipping sauce
SERVES 2
FOR THE DUMPLING DOUGH:
150g plain flour
Pinch salt
110ml boiling water
For the filling:
120g butternut squash cut into 1cm cubes
1 unpeeled clove of garlic
A dash of sesame oil
Quarter tsp mild chilli powder
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
25g chopped cashew nuts
2 tbsp ricotta
Quarter tsp ginger puree
Half tsp mirin
Sea salt & mill pepper
TO COOK:
Dash of vegetable oil
Dash of sesame oil
80ml water
Pinch mild chilli powder
FOR THE SALAD:
Half a small carrot, peeled and very finely sliced
25g cashew nuts
1 plum tomato, skinned, deseeded and diced
2 spring onions, thinly sliced
2 leaves of Chinese leaf, very thinly sliced
4 basil leaves
1 tbsp chopped coriander
sprinkle black onion seeds
FOR THE WARM DRESSING:
1 crushed clove of garlic
Quarter tsp dried chilli flakes
2 tbsp golden caster sugar
2 tbsp lime juice
3 tbsp light Japanese soy sauce
First cook the butternut squash. Heat a small frying pan and add the sesame oil. Toss the unpeeled garlic clove and squash in the oil then pop the pan into a preheated oven at 190C for about 15 minutes until the squash is tender. When ready, allow to cool and discard the garlic clove.
While the squash is cooling make the dough for the potsticker dumplings. Mix together the flour, salt and boiling water in a mixing bowl using a spoonula (a type of spatula) until the dough comes together into a ball. Transfer onto the kitchen counter and knead until smooth. Pop into a plastic bag and set aside to relax for 30 minutes, ready for rolling.
Heat a pan large enough to cook the potstickers in later; add a dash of sesame oil and gently cook the cashew nuts to a light golden brown. When ready, remove the nuts and keep the pan handy for later. Chop half of the nuts to go into the filling, the rest will be used for the salad. For the filling, mix the cooled squash and ricotta then mix in the other ingredients. Lightly break up the cubes of squash but don’t form a puree.
Divide the dough into two halves, then divide one half into eight even-sized pieces. You should have enough filling to make six to eight potstickers. You will have too much dough, but it’s easier to make this amount. Lightly flour your work surface, and roll out each of the dough slices into a thin disc, around 8cm in diameter. If you can’t get a round shape, use a round cutter.
When ready to cook, place a heaped tablespoon of filling into the centre of each dough round and fold to stick the corners. For the authentic pleated look, pinch the edges together firmly as you don’t want them to open up while cooking. The dough should stick to itself without the need of any moistening but don’t use too much flour when rolling out. You can freeze the dumplings in a freezer bag at this point.
Prepare the salad ingredients in a bowl (minus the coriander) and mix together the dressing ingredients in a small saucepan. Heat the pan we used at the beginning and add more oil. Fry the dumplings, flat side down for two to three minutes. They can be snugly fit in the pan, so fit in as many as possible. Add the water and immediately cover with a lid and let dumplings cook in the steam for about 10 minutes. If in between you notice that all the water has evaporated, then add a little more (not too much though – they should steam not boil).
Arrange the salad onto a plate and warm the dressing on the stove for two minutes, mixing well. After 10 minutes, open the lid and continue cooking for a minute. Sprinkle with a little chilli powder then carefully lift the dumplings and place on top of the salad. Spoon over the warm dressing, sprinkle with the chopped coriander and serve with sweet chilli dipping sauce.
BEETROOT BOURGUIGNON
SERVES 2
2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, peeled and quartered (leaving the root intact)
1 peeled garlic clove, finely sliced
2 small beetroot, peeled and quartered
½ large carrot (cut in quarters long ways, into 3cm sections)
2 x 5cm sections of celery used to wrap 1 bay leaf and a small sprig of thyme
120ml red wine
50ml pomegranate juice
150ml water
1 tbsp tomato ketchup
½ tsp redcurrant jelly
1 Kallo organic vegetable stock cube
4 tbsp cooked puy lentils (warm)
3 chestnut mushrooms (halved)
Dash soy sauce
1 tsp dilute arrowroot, to thicken
A few sprigs thyme, to garnish
Mash with herbs, to serve
Heat a tbsp olive oil in a thick-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Stir in the onion quarters and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the carrots, beetroot and herb bundle to the pan. Pour the wine and pomegranate juice over the vegetables and add the water. Stir in the crumbled vegetable stock cube, ketchup and redcurrant jelly. Cover the contents of the pan with a disc of greaseproof paper and reduce the heat to cook gently for 20-25 minutes.
Heat the other tbsp of olive oil in a large frying pan, lower the heat and sear the mushrooms stirring occasionally, until tender and golden. Season to taste and set aside. Taste the stew and add more wine, stock or herbs if you like, and a dash of soy sauce. Add the arrowroot mixture. Stir gently, until thickened and clear. Add the mushrooms and simmer for 10 minutes. Remove the bay leaves and thyme sprigs before serving. Serve with mash; spoon the stew and lentils into four shallow dishes, and sprinkle with fresh thyme.