Three vegan comfort-food recipes from the Happy Pear

A hearty three-course meal taken from the Flynn twins' new book, 'The Happy Health Plan', provides a new twist on some old favourites

The Happy Pear - twins David and Stephen Flynn

Eat Your Greens Soup

Eat Your Greens Soup

"As the name implies, this one is a great way to get more greens into you! Appropriately named by our chef mom, Dorene Palmer, many years ago, it’s well worth making this a part of your weekly meals, as most of us need to eat more green veg."

Serves 4–6 

Takes 40 minutes 

• 400g potatoes (approx. 2–3 medium potatoes) 
• 300g celeriac (approx. ½ a celeriac) 
• 2 leeks, green part only (250g) 
• 1½ teaspoons salt 
• 2 litres veg stock
• 1 bay leaf (optional) 
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 
• 100g baby spinach 
• a dash of lemon juice (optional) 
• 125g coconut or soy yoghurt, to serve

Chop the potato and celeriac into small bite-size pieces (leaving the skin on the potatoes). Give the leeks a good clean – sediment can often be hidden in the centre. We use only the green part of the leeks, they give this soup a wonderful vibrant colour. (Keep the white part to use in another dish in place of an onion.) Roughly chop the leek greens.

Heat a large pot on a high heat. Once it heats up, add the prepared leeks and a pinch of salt and cook for 3 minutes, stirring regularly. If they start to stick, add 1 teaspoon of water. Next add the potato and celeriac, 50ml of veg stock and a pinch of salt, stir well, then reduce the heat to medium and put the lid on. Leave to sweat or steam for 8 minutes, stirring regularly, and again if the veg starts to stick to the bottom add a teaspoon of water and stir to loosen the veg from the pan.

Add the rest of the veg stock, with the bay leaf and black pepper. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook until the potato is nice and soft, about 15 minutes.

Remove from the heat, add the baby spinach and blend until smooth.

Adjust the seasoning if needed by adding more salt and ground black pepper, or an acid such as a dash of lemon juice to taste.

Serve in bowls, with a nice swirl of coconut or soy yoghurt on top, and a garnish of pickled red onions and pumpkin seeds, if you like.

Cottage Pie with Sweet Potato Mash and Coriander Drizzle

Cottage Pie with Sweet Potato Mash and Coriander Drizzle

"This simple bake tastes even better on day two! Serve with a simple green salad. It tastes like a belly hug and makes a wonderful family dinner or a cold lunch the next day."

Serves 6–8 

Takes 60 minutes 

• 2 medium carrots or parsnips 
• 100g green beans 
• 3 x 400g tins of cooked Puy lentils, or other green or brown lentils 
• 6 sprigs of fresh thyme 
• 2 bay leaves a pinch of salt 
• 3 tablespoons tamari/ soy sauce 
• 750ml veg stock 
• ½ teaspoon ground black pepper 

Mash 

• 750g sweet potatoes 
• 250g potatoes 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 100ml non-dairy milk 
• a pinch of ground black pepper 

Coriander cream 

• 100g cashew nuts 
• 65ml water 
• 15g fresh coriander 
• 1⁄3 teaspoon garlic powder 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar 

Preheat the oven to 180ºC fan/200°C.

Put the cashew nuts into a bowl, cover with boiling water and leave to soak for 10 minutes.

Chop the sweet potatoes and regular potatoes into uniform bite-size pieces so that they will cook evenly. Put them into a medium pan, cover with water, bring to the boil and cook until soft, about 20–25 minutes.

Grate the carrots or parsnips. Trim the green beans and cut them in half.

Drain and rinse the lentils. Pick the leaves off the thyme sprigs.

Put another medium pan on a high heat and add the grated carrot or parsnip. Add the thyme leaves, bay leaves and a pinch of salt, mix well, and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the drained lentils and the tamari/soy sauce, then slowly add the veg stock. Add the black pepper, bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer, letting the stock slowly evaporate for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, make the coriander cream. Drain and rinse the soaked cashew nuts. Put them into a blender with the rest of the coriander cream ingredients (reserving a few coriander leaves for garnish) and blend until nice and smooth.

If the lentil mixture is dry once it has thickened, add 2 tablespoons of water and ½ tablespoon of tamari/soy sauce and season. Add the green beans and stir them through the hot lentil mixture, letting them cook for a minute or two. Remove from the heat and set aside.

Drain the potatoes, then put them back into the pan and add 1 teaspoon of salt and the non-dairy milk. Mash it all together until lovely and smooth.

Remove the bay leaves from the lentil and veg mixture, then spoon into a 28cm x 20cm baking dish. Drizzle over half the coriander cream, and distribute the sweet potato mash evenly on top. Bake in the preheated oven for 25 minutes, until the top crisps.

Before serving, drizzle over the rest of the coriander cream and garnish with the reserved coriander leaves.

Skinny Banana Bread

Skinny Banana Bread

This banana bread is more like a fruit brack than a cake – it’s light and sweet, and fairly simple to make. For best results, bake it in a shallow pie dish or brownie tray so that it cooks through fully, rather than a loaf tin. It’s a lovely healthy snack that goes great with a cup of tea or coffee.

Makes 12–16 squares 

Takes 60 minutes 

• 3 large greenish bananas (preferably not ripe) 
• 90ml rice milk or almond milk 
• 160ml maple syrup 
• 2 tablespoons molasses 
• 240g buckwheat flour or gluten-free flour 
• ½ tablespoon baking powder 
• ¾ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda 
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
• ¼ teaspoon grated nutmeg 
• ½ teaspoon salt 
• 50g raisins, soaked for 5 minutes in water (optional, for a juicier bite) 
• 20g pumpkin seeds 

Preheat the oven to 150°C fan/170°C.

Mash the bananas really well. Put them into a food processor with the rest of the ingredients (apart from the raisins and pumpkin seeds), and blend until everything is well mixed (if you don’t have a food processor, mix the wet ingredients and the dry ingredients separately and then combine them). Drain the raisins, then put them into a large bowl with the banana mixture and mix well.

Line a flat pie dish/brownie type tray (28cm x 18cm x 4cm) with baking parchment. Pour in the mixture and spread out evenly. Sprinkle with the pumpkin seeds and bake in the preheated oven for 50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the centre of the loaf comes out clean.

Remove from the oven and carefully take the banana bread out of the tin.

Allow to cool on a wire rack before slicing.

The Happy Health Plan

• The Happy Health Plan by David and Stephen Flynn (The Happy Pear) is published by Penguin Life and is out now.