INTRO

For the miso broth:
• Grate the ginger, then chop 2 spring onions and one green chilli.
• Heat a pan with a couple of drops of sesame oil then put it in the ginger, spring onion and chilli. Let them soften a little.
• Now pour in the veg stock, add one tsp soya sauce,1 tsp miso paste and around 300ml of water. Bring to a gentle simmer, cover and leave it to bubble for 5-10 mins. I like gingery bits in my broth so I leave them but if you would like to have a clear broth, strain it into a clean pan and discard everything left in the strainer.
You may have noticed that I haven’t used any salt in this dish, because the saltiness from the soya sauce and veg stock is sufficient for a delicious flavour.
For grilled Tofu:
• Grate or make a paste with ginger and garlic.
• Cut the tofu into flat rectangular chunks.
• Marinade the tofu for about 30 mins with ginger, garlic,1 tsp soya sauce and 1 tsp sesame oil (you can leave it marinated for longer but leave it for a minimum of 30 mins).
• Heat a griddle pan or normal flat pan, then grill the tofu for about 2 mins on each side.
Other elements:
• Drop the soba noodles into a pot of boiling water and let it boil for about 10 mins. Once cooked, drain the water out using a strainer.
• Grate a carrot
• Slice the remaining spring onions
• Slice the red chillies
• Slice and fry the mushrooms in a pan for a couple of mins until it’s cooked
• Make thin ribbons of the Nori sheet
Please note: The toppings/elements you can use in a Ramen are endless. You can use pak choy/bok choy, shitake mushrooms, wild mushrooms, bean sprouts etc. etc. etc…. You can mix and match a variety of toppings of your choice.
Finishing off:
Place the noodles in a large soup bowl then pour in the boiling hot miso broth. Now carefully place all of the other elements (grated carrots, sliced chillies, sliced spring onion, grilled tofu, fried mushrooms and nori ribbons). Finally, sprinkle with black and white sesame seeds. Enjoy the wholesome, gingery and spicy, yet refreshing ramen with all the freshness and sweetness from carrots, spring onions and nori. Furthermore, there is plenty of umami flavour coming from the miso and mushrooms. I and my family love having this on a cold wintery day.😊

For the Bulgur wheat filling:
• Grate or make a paste with ginger and garlic.
• Finely chop the onion, green chilli and tomatoes.
• Heat a small non-stick pot with a few drops of olive oil, sauté the chopped onion, ginger and garlic paste.
• Once the onion, ginger and garlic have sweat well, they will turn translucent and become soft.
• Add the chopped green chilli and tomato, let them sweat a little.
• Add bulgur wheat and the veg stock, bring it to boiling point then simmer the flame and cover it with a lid. (You may have noticed that there is no salt in this dish. The saltiness from the veg stock is just enough so no need to add any extra).
• Let the bulgur wheat cook on a low flame for about 10mins. Once cooked turn off the heat and let it rest for 5mins.
• Once the bulgur wheat is ready add freshly chopped coriander leaves and mix well.

Stuffed Peppers:
• Halve the Romano pepper and place it on a baking sheet.
• Put it under the grill for a couple of mins so that the pepper is cooked slightly.
• Now fill the pepper with bulgur wheat filling.
• Spread the grated cheese. (Cheese is a great source of calcium, protein and other vitamins such as vitamin A and B12. Although it has fats in it, a small of amount of cheese is not bad for health).
• Finally, place the filled peppers under a grill until the cheese is melted and golden brown.

Salad and Balsamic glaze:
• Toss the rocket leaves and extra virgin olive oil in a bowl.
• Crush the walnuts with the palm of your hands and add it to the rocket.
• Bring the balsamic vinegar to boil in a small pot and then simmer for 5mins. It will reduce by 1/3 and continue to thicken when its cooled (The quantity mentioned for this recipe is the quantity needed for this dish but it’s easy to make the glaze in large quantities i.e. 100-200ml and store it for future use so that you can use it on salads, caramelised onions etc.).

Finishing off:
Drizzle balsamic glaze in a zig-zag pattern, little dots or love hearts …whatever you fancy 😊. Spread the rocket and walnut salad. Finally, carefully place the grilled stuffed Romano peppers on the rocket. Enjoy the sweet and smokey stuffed Romano with a peppery and nutty rocket salad and a sweet, tangy note from the balsamic glaze.

Tofu filling:
• Grate or make a paste with ginger and garlic
• Finely chop onion
• Heat a small non-stick pot with olive oil, sauté chopped onion, ginger and garlic paste.
• Once the onion, ginger and garlic have sweat well, they will turn translucent and become soft.
• Crumble tofu with your hands and add it to the pan along with sweet corn and all the spices.
• Add salt to your taste (I have only added a pinch of salt as with all spices and tofu etc. it doesn’t need to have much salt).
• Mix well and fry for 4-5 mins.
For the Pico de gallo:
• Finely chop all the ingredients apart from the lime.
• Mix all the chopped ingredients with a pinch of salt and lime juice.
• Let the lime juice and salt work their magic for a couple of mins then the refreshing Pico de gallo is ready to use.
For the Avocado dressing:
• Halve the avocado and remove the stone, then scoop the creamy goodness into a blender.
• Add a peeled clove of garlic, a snapped green chilli, juice from the lime and a pinch of salt.
• Blend it all well until smooth and creamy.
For the Ragi Taco:
• Take the Ragi flour in a large bowl and pour in one cup of boiling water.
• Mix with a spoon as it will be very hot as you have just added boiling water, slowly it will start to look like crumbly dough.
• Knead briefly until smooth, then cut equally into six and roll out each piece into small round balls.
• There are several methods to make the dough balls into a round tortilla: 1) you can place it in a banana leaf or a non-stick film and press it with your hands until it is spread into a round-shaped tortilla. 2) Use a traditional Mexican taco presser or Indian style roti maker to press the dough. 3) Place the dough between two sheets of cling film and roll it into a round tortilla.
• Heat a large non-stick frying pan, without oil, and cook the tortillas one at a time for a minute on one side and about 10 seconds on the other, until you see them puff up a little.
Finishing off:
Place a ragi tortilla, fill it with some tofu filling, add some Pico de gallo, top with shredded red cabbage and drizzle avocado dressing, then finally scatter the coriander leaves. Enjoy the creamy, zingy, crunchy, tangy and refreshing taco…. Don’t forget to keep a napkin by your side as it can get messy😊