I have been trawling through some of the website menus of top London restaurants to find inspiration for some of my dishes. To be honest, I’m not a massive “foodie” so I’ve had to Wiki many of the terms that are in them, things like Veloute = a velvety sauce made from stock, flour and butter, chou farci = Stuffed Cabbage and all other fancy terms that would come as a surprise when it was served to you. I wonder how many of us order in a posh restaurant with absolutely no idea about what it is we’ve just ordered just because it sounded nice…

I should really have know what a veloute was, that seems like such a basic, I might have to read up a lot more on cooking terms, it might make my dishes sound a bit posher when serving them to my non vegan friends and family.

I’ve just got my new cookie cutter contraption today, it looks a bit strange and I’m not entirely sure how the cookie itself will form, but I’ll give it a bash, cookie dough is never wasted in this house!

This cassoulet is seriously rich in flavour, it’s incredibly tasty and would be great on it’s own with a couple of slices of crusty bread, very rustic. Best thing is, it’s so easy to make.

Pepper Seared Aubergine with a Cannellini Bean Cassoulet (Vegan & Gluten Free)

MyInspiration Feel The Difference Range

Serves 2 – ready in under an hour

For the Cassoulet

1 onion finely chopped

1 clove garlic, minced

2 carrots finely diced

2 cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed (or 1 cup of dried bean left to soak overnight and part cooked)

1 can chopped tomatoes

2 tbsp tomato puree

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

1/2 tbsp dried basil

1/2 tbsp dried thyme

1 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp black pepper

1 slice wholewheat bread (or gluten free bread) toasted and blitzed in food processor to bread crumbs.

For the Aubergine

2 medium sized aubergine sliced length ways

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Black Pepper

Method

1. In a deep saucepan, heat 2 tbsp water over a medium heat and add the onion, garlic and carrots and cook for 5 minutes before adding in the spices and stirring to coat the mixture, now add in the tin tomatoes, tomato puree and lemon juice and mix everything together, pop in the cannellini beans and half a cup of water, mix through, turn the heat to low, cover and allow to simmer for half an hour.

2. In the meantime, preheat your grill to high and slice the aubergines length ways before brushing on the balsamic vinegar to each slice (back and front) then sprinkle over the black pepper and place on the grill gate to cook for 15 minutes, turning half way through.

3. To serve, spoon some of the cassoulet in a bowl, sprinkle over the bread crumbs and layer a few slices of aubergine on top.