Page 18 - Oxted Local January 2025

18 January 2025 • Oxted Local 
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JANUARY
RECIPES
Ingredients:
Sweet Potato & Chickpea
Salad
Serves 2, double to serve
more.
•
2 medium sweet
potatoes
•
1 can chickpeas
•
4 measuring cups of
chopped kale
•
Olive oil
•
1 tablespoon lemon
juice
•
1 teaspoon paprika &
pinch of cumin
•
80g feta cheese
(vegan or non vegan)
Peppermint Hot
Chocolate
•
1 measuring cup of
soymilk
•
¼ cup dark chocolate
chips (or just chop
up a regular dark
chocolate bar)
•
Peppermint extract
•
Vegan marshmallows
(optional)
Veganuary is upon us again. And
whether you’re participating, full time
vegan or just include the occasional
plant-based meal in your diet, this
first recipe is full of goodness, high in
fibre and full of flavour. As someone
who does not list kale or chickpeas
anywhere near my favourite foods, I
genuinely enjoyed this when my friend
made it for me last summer and have
been making it regularly ever since.
You can add spring onions, or chilli
flakes to give it more of a kick, and I
serve it with either feta cheese (violife
does a great vegan feta cheese) or
regular feta cheese if you’re not doing
Veganuary.
1. Preheat the oven to 200c
2. Peel and chop the sweet
potatoes.
3. Drain and rinse the chickpeas.
4. Place the sweet potatoes and
chickpeas onto a baking tray.
5. Mix 2 dessert spoons of olive oil
with the paprika & cumin. Mix the
oil into the sweet potatoes and
chickpeas so that everything is
well coated in the oil.
6. Bake for approx. 30 mins until
the potatoes are cooked and the
chickpeas are starting to crisp up.
7. Never thought I’d be massaging
kale, but here we are! It really
does transform it from something
that is fibrous and chewy to
something really quite edible!
8. Place the kale in a large bowl
and 2 tablespoons olive oil & 1
tablespoon lemon juice. Massage
for 2 or 3 minutes until the kale
has softened and started to wilt
(not mushy!)
9. Divide the kale between two
serving plates and then share out
the sweet potato and chickpea
mix.
10. Top with the feta cheese.
Veganuary doesn’t mean missing out
on hot chocolate and this is the perfect
way to warm up or to finish a meal
when you’re too full for dessert (or
trying to cut back after the excesses of
Christmas!)
I use soy milk for this hot chocolate.
It’s higher in protein (and everyone is
protein conscious these days) plus the
protein content makes it more stable
for heating up.
1. Place the soy milk and chocolate
chips into a saucepan and
gently heat over a medium heat.
Whisking so that the chocolate
melts into the milk.
2. If peppermint isn’t your thing
just skip this step! Add the
peppermint extract to the
saucepan (I use a few drops, but
they vary in strength and it’s up
to you how strong you want it).
3. When the hot chocolate is the
desired temperature, remove
from the heat and pour into a
mug, top with marshmallows and
drink!
By Ella Easton @stillglutenfree