Eggplant spread.

- 4 eggplants
- 1 big onion
- 2 cloves garlic
- olive oil
- salt, pepper


This is one of the best spreads at all. Don't let you fool by the boring colour - it's amazing. Go ahead, you eggplant lovers.

First the eggplants have to be baked. Put them in the oven as they are, just cut the skin once or twice with a knife or they could explode in your oven. This happened to me many years ago and you don't want to a have a oven full of eggplant slobber so please avoid this. In a gas oven at gas mark 6-7 they need around 30 minutes. Once they're very soft and done, let them cool completely.
Then cut them into halves and scrape out everything you get off the skin with a table spoon. 

Finely chop the onion and smash the garlic. Fry in 2-3 table spoons olive oil until translucent. Then add the baked eggplants and stir for another 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, you can also add a tiny bit of lemon juice. 
Blend everything with a handheld blender until smooth. 


This spread is already very good when it's still warm. The best thing is to put in the fridge and wait until it's completely cool. Enjoy on white bread, baguette or whatever. Out of the above-mentioned ingredients I got a tiny bit more than 1 and 1/2 cup of spread.

Beetroot Hummus.

Last week I asked my mother if she had any more ideas what to do with beetroots. She came up with this hummus variation which turned out so lovely - in appearance and taste. The beetroot not only provides a nice pink but also a subtle sweetness. I slightly changed the original recipe and now I have a big bowl of pastel pink hummus in my fridge to make lots of sandwiches this week:


400g canned chickpeas
2 beetroots
3 tblsp tahin
1 clove garlic
salt, pepper, cumin
fresh lemon juice


Peel the beetroot, dice and cook until tender. Strain, but keep the cooking fluid. Blend chickpeas with beetroot, tahin, garlic and cooking water with a handheld blender until creamy - than season with lemon juice,salt, pepper and a dash of cumin.

Bagel Breakfast.

Bagel with a cashew-red bell pepper-spread and cress, and a cappuccino.

Sweet and sour black lentil spread.

2 smashed cloves of garlic
50g vegan butter (e.g. Alsan)
2 tbsp sugar
Melt butter, add garlic and sugar and fry til slightly golden, then
add 150g black lentils, stir well, add water til the lentils are
covered. 

Add veggie broth, dash of cumin, herbes de provence, pepper,
3 fresh leaves of savage. Let simmer for a while, stir from
time to time and add some water. If the lentils are done let the water dissolve almost completely.

Add juice of half a lime and salt. Puree with a hendheld mixer til
you get a creamy spread.

The longer you cook the lentils the softer they get the creamier will be
your spread. Mine was a bit chunky but delicious, though.

Fluffy white bean spread.

This fluffy white bean spread is delicious on white bread like baguette or ciabatta (or as a dip for any veggies you can think of, I think).

- small can giant white beans, drained

- fresh thyme twigs

- lime juice from 1/2 lime

- dash of paprika

- pepper

- 2 tsp shiro miso

- 1 tbsp rice oil (any other more neutral oil will do)

Mix together all ingredients and puree with a mixer till it's fluffy and not chunky anymore. Don't use salt, the shiro miso is very salty and if you want to replace the miso with salt it will be quite ok, but won't have the same distinguish umami flavour as with miso.

Cucumber-Sandwich.

A classic. Sandwich with chive-spread and cucumbers, chilled. A perfect light and lucious breakfast when you're not so hungry due to high temperatures.

White bean hoummous.

Just blend: white beans, salt, pepper, olive oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander.