Lunch in 10: Courgetti

If you’re after a recipe that you can prepare in 10 minutes, then you’ve come to the right place. May I introduce, courgetti with blistered vine tomatoes, chickpeas, chilis, and plenty of garlic. Perhaps not one if you have an afternoon meeting, but nevertheless seriously quick and delicious…

Serves 1:

2 courgettes, spiralized

1 handful spinach/kale (optional)

10 vine tomatoes

1tbsp olive oil

1 tsp crushed garlic

1/2 tin chickpeas, thoroughly washed to remove the suds

Chili flakes, salt and pepper to taste

Basil, to garnish

Heat up a pan with the olive oil, and add the garlic. Once that starts to heat, add the tomatoes (halved), and cook on a medium heat until they start to soften. At this stage, feel free to add in chili flakes, salt and pepper. While the tomatoes cook, spiralize the courgettes. Add the chickpeas and spinach/kale to the pan and combine the rest of the ingredients as they cook. With the courgettes prepared, add them to the pan for a couple of minutes to warm them through (long enough to let the flavours come together, short enough to retain all the goodness of raw food!) Serve with a generous handful of basil and some fresh crusty bread.

NB. For me, and the reason why I suggest serving with bread, is that this meal will not necessarily keep you full until dinner. Although the chickpeas add some much-needed protein, courgettes are mostly water and so will be rapidly digested. Although it’s a perfect light lunch, bear this in mind when planning your mid-afternoon snack, or consider adding extra carbs on the side.

Vegan Eats in Oxford: Eden Cafe (Witney)

Having gone to the University in the same city as where I live, the vacations can get a touch boring, especially when meeting up with friends who are also both ‘Town and Gown’ (Oxford residents – ‘Town’, Oxford students – ‘Gown’). Fortunately my friends are also pretty adventurous, so when I suggested to one of them that we venture to Witney to try out Eden Café, they happily agreed. Whilst my friend does not follow a plant-based diet, she’s a total foodie and very health conscious, and my no.1 partner in crime for visiting the latest restaurant or trying out new recipes. So one rainy lunch time we jumped in the car and made the (very worthwhile!) trip to Witney. As teenagers there was not really much for us to do in Witney, but it looks like it’s definitely up and coming – there’s a fabulous health food shop, a Lakeland (we are, at times, total grannies who enjoy perusing cookery shops), and a couple of tea rooms which, though not catering to our tastes, do look very cute. Eden Café, however, is definitely the shining star of the town – nestled on Wesley Walk, it is a relatively small café that serves breakfast, lunch, coffee and cake. It is totally vegetarian with many vegan and gluten-free options.

The first thing that struck me when I walked through the door, a long-awaited shelter from the rain, was how welcoming the staff were (I’m a stickler for service!), but also how busy it was! Arriving at about 1pm, we thought we would be in good time for lunch, but unfortunately all of the tables were already occupied with satisfied looking customers, both young and old. Having briefly read the menu, however, we knew that we could not let the opportunity pass – we would probably have eaten on the floor it looked so good (!), so we squeezed ourselves on the bar stools. Not only was there was a plethora of coffee options (and a good variety of dairy-free milks: soya, almond, and coconut), but there were also plenty of lunch dishes – toasties (which could be made GF), savoury muffins, salads and soups. Both my friend and I opted for the savoury muffin with a choice of salads, which included spiralized vegetables, Greek salad, and a Pad Thai-style noodle salad, which was utterly divine. We even managed to try the last remaining chickpea fritter, which was served with a spicy peanut sauce – definitely one for next time! NB. Although the portion was perfect for me (and left just enough room for the cake, which I was determined to try!), it would probably be on the smaller side for someone like my brother/father.

Savoury muffin with spiralized vegetables and nutty noodle salad – simple yet very satisfying.

With lunch finished, I just had to try one of the many vegan cakes on display in the counter (I also really appreciate the hygiene of Eden Café, at times I can be a little dubious of cakes being on display in the open air all day!) So we decided to share two different ones – the carrot cake cupcake and the mocha loaf cake (the pistachio cake also looked incredible, but unfortunately they were just icing another loaf – it obviously flies out the door!), both of which were sumptuously moist without being too heavy. It’s so rare to find vegan treats like these in Oxford so I really savoured every mouthful! Carrot cake is one of my favourite things in the world, and this really hit the spot – it was subtly spicy and topped with wonderfully creamy icing. I also indulged in a Matcha latte with almond milk, which was another winner – in the few places that serve Matcha lattes around Oxford I have found they don’t really deliver; they are often just foamed milk with a hint of green at the bottom. Almost like green sludge. Um, no thank you.

It is safe to say that Eden Café satiated all my cravings for vegan treats, even if we did have to walk around Witney a couple of times to burn it off! Having stalked their Facebook page it also looks like the cake selection changes regularly, which means I will definitely be back! (I wouldn’t want to mislead you, after all!) I have also been assured that their coffee is quite something – vital information for a caffeine addict like myself. All in all I would wholeheartedly recommend Eden Café – the food is amazing and the staff are authentic.

Comment below if you pay them a visit, which you really should! x