Ravinder Bhogal’s decadent veggie recipes prove that embracing plant-based cuisine doesn’t mean compromising on flavors.
If you’re hosting a dinner party this summer and struggling to come up with the perfect menu, food writer Ravinder Bhogal has done all the hard work for you.
Bhogal’s third cookbook, Comfort & Joy: Irresistible Pleasures From A Vegetarian Kitchen, is proof that vegetarian and vegan cooking is not about denying yourself – it’s about embracing decadent and delicious flavors. Her mission? To make sure that the veggie choice never feels like the second-best option.
To mark the book’s success, she has shared three recipes with BeautyLeeBar that will work perfectly as a starter, main course, and dessert when you’re entertaining friends.
Kicking things off is creamy whipped feta topped with confit tomatoes, followed by the main event: broccoli, kale, and spinach pie, a fresh spin on Greek spanakopita made with buttered kataifi pastry.
And to finish, try Bhogal’s mango-misu – think tiramisu, but with the coffee swapped for mangoes to give this rich dessert a seriously summery taste.
Intrigued? You can find all three recipes in full below:
Whipped feta with confit tomatoes
Ravinder says: “Cold, salty feta topped with tomatoes warmed in olive oil that has been studded with aromatics until they are bursting, gooey, and have a heightened sweetness is the perfect topping for hunks of grilled bread. These tomatoes are also pretty perfect tossed together with pasta or gnocchi, which I just throw straight into the roasting tin before tossing and eating.”
Serves 4
Ingredients
- 400g mixed cherry tomatoes
- 5 garlic cloves, peeled and bruised
- 3 thin strips of lemon peel
- ½ tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp coriander seeds
- ¼ tsp dried chilli flakes
- 4 sprigs of oregano
- 60ml extra virgin olive oil
- Sea salt and black pepper
For the whipped feta
- 200g good-quality feta cheese
- Juice of ½ lemon
- 100g thick Greek yoghurt
Method
Preheat the oven to 350 °F.
Cut some of the larger tomatoes in half and leave some whole, and place in a roasting tin along with the garlic and lemon peel. Season with salt and pepper and sprinkle over the caster sugar, coriander seeds, chili flakes, and oregano, and then drizzle over the olive oil. Bake for 40 minutes until the tomatoes are bursting and fragrant. Cool down slightly, then discard the garlic and lemon peel.
In the meantime, put the feta cheese into a food processor along with the lemon juice and whizz until smooth and creamy. Transfer to a bowl and stir in the yogurt.
Put the whipped feta in a serving bowl and top with the warm tomatoes. Serve with slices of toasted sourdough bread.
Broccoli, kale, and spinach kataifi pie
Ravinder says: “This pie is based on that comforting Greek favorite – spanakopita – although it is far more forgiving to make. There is no buttering and layering of delicate filo pastry: instead, the iron-rich mixture of greens and cheese is blanketed under a nest of buttered kataifi pastry, a shredded filo dough that crisps up beautifully when baked or fried. You’ll find kataifi pastry in the fridge or freezer section of Middle Eastern grocers.”
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 3 garlic cloves, very finely crushed
• 200g kale, tough ribs removed and leaves roughly chopped
• 200g spinach
• 250g broccoli, boiled till tender and roughly chopped
• 4 eggs
• 60g pine nuts
• 60g currants, golden raisins or barberries
• 250g feta cheese
• 250g ricotta
• Zest of 2 lemons and juice of 1
• Handful of dill, roughly chopped
• Handful of flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• A good grating of nutmeg
• 150g sour cream
• 250g kataifi pastry
• 60g butter, melted
• White sesame seeds, for sprinkling
• Sea salt and black pepper
Method
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Heat the olive oil in a large pan over low-medium heat, add the onion, and sauté for 10 minutes till sweet and caramelized. Add the garlic and fry again till fragrant, then add the kale and soften before adding the spinach. Once the greens are wilted, take off the heat and cool.
Transfer to a large bowl along with the broccoli and add the eggs, pine nuts, currants, feta, ricotta, lemon zest and juice, herbs, nutmeg, and sour cream and season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.
Pull apart the strands of kataifi pastry to loosen and fluff them up. Stir the butter through the kataifi, coating it well.
Pour the spinach and ricotta filling into a deep pie dish – I use a 34cm baking dish. Gently pile the kataifi over the pie filling, sprinkle over the sesame seeds, and bake for 35–40 minutes, or until the filling is hot and set and the kataifi pastry is golden brown. Serve with a light salad.
Mango-misu
Ravinder says: “This dessert takes the main elements of a classic tiramisu – mascarpone, boozy zabaione, and sponge fingers – but swaps out the coffee for sweet mangoes instead. It is rich, creamy, and lethally delicious yet light as a feather. It is all the sweet rapture of summer in a bowl.”
Ingredients
• 500g mascarpone cheese
• 250g crème fraîche
• Zest of 2 limes
• 2 egg whites
• 1 × 200g packet savoiardi biscuits or sponge fingers
• 6 ripe mangoes such as alphonso or kesar, peeled and sliced
• Pulp from 6 passion fruits
For the Thai basil sugar
• 30g unsweetened desiccated coconut, toasted
• Zest of 2 limes
• Bunch of Thai basil leaves
• 100g caster sugar
For the mango syrup
• 125ml mango juice
• 40ml rum
• Juice of 1 lime
For the Zabaione
• 2 egg yolks
• 50g caster sugar
• 25ml rum
Method
Make the Thai basil sugar by blitzing together all the ingredients in a food processor until you have a vibrantly green coarse sugar. Set aside until required.
To make the mango syrup, mix the mango juice, rum, and lime juice and heat gently in a small saucepan over low heat until it comes to a simmer, then set aside.
To make the zabaione, whisk the egg yolks, sugar, rum, and 1 tablespoon of water in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water until pale and thick (making sure the water doesn’t touch the bowl), then set aside to cool. Whisk the mascarpone, crème fraîche, and lime zest together to combine, then fold through the zabaione. Whisk the egg whites in a separate bowl till soft peaks form, then fold them through the mascarpone mixture.
To assemble, briefly dip half the savoiardi in the syrup and arrange it in a 25cm serving dish. Spoon half the mascarpone mixture over and then layer over half the sliced mangoes and half the passion fruit pulp. Follow with the remaining savoiardi dipped in syrup, the mangoes, and passion fruit pulp, and finally, dollop over the remaining mascarpone mixture and smooth the surface. Refrigerate for 4–6 hours.
When ready to serve, sprinkle the Thai basil sugar over the surface.
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