For inspiration, you can find the recipes from our 2023 January bring-and-share plant-based buffet below. 

If you have a recipe you would like to share for the January 2025 buffet, please contact:

Jadine Scragg: jadine.scragg@phc.ox.ac.uk and Ginger Jansen: ginger.jansen@phc.ox.ac.uk

We look forward to seeing you at our next plant-based bring and share.



Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes - peeled & chopped into 1cm pieces
1 red pepper - chopped
large handful of kale - chopped
1 onion - chopped
2 cloves garlic - chopped
1 tbspn sesame or olive oil
1 tin coconut milk
1 tin chickpeas, drained
100 ml water
1/2 small jar Thai green curry paste
ground black pepper
fresh coriander

In a deep saucepan, fry the onion in oil for 2 mins, add in the red pepper then garlic and fry for 1 min on low heat.
Add in the kale and sweet potatoes,  stir in the curry paste then add the coconut milk, chick peas and 100ml of water.
Bring to boil and simmer until the sweet potatoes are soft and cooked. Use a soup wand or food processor to liquidize approx 50% of soup, leaving some of the veg intact. Serve with black pepper to taste and coriander to garnish. 

Ingredients

225g uncooked pasta
1 medium garlic clove
a handful of fresh basil leaves
1 to 2 tbspns fresh lemon juice
1 tbspn extra-virgin olive oil
1 ripe  avocado, pitted1 tbspn water
1/4 tspn fine sea salt
fresh ground black pepper
lemon zest and basil to garnish

Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package.
While the pasta cooks, make the sauce: combine the garlic and basil in a food processor and pulse to mince. Add the lemon juice, oil, avocado, and 1 tablespoon water and process until smooth If the sauce is too thick, extra oil. Season with salt and pepper.
Drain the pasta, put back in the saucepan, add the a avocado sauce and stir. You can gently rewarm the pasta if it has cooled slightly, or serve it at room temperature.
Top with pepper, lemon zest, and fresh basil leaves.

Ingredients

225 grams dates – pitted and chopped

2 fl oz or 60 ml maple or agave syrup

60 grams peanut or almond butter

85 grams roasted, unsalted almonds

150 grams rolled oats

Optional additional seeds, nuts, chopped dried fruits etc.

Process dates in a food processor until small bits remain (takes approx. 1 minute. They should form a "dough" like consistency and perhaps roll into a ball.
Toast your oats (and almonds if raw) in a 180 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until slightly golden brown.
Place oats, almonds and dates in a large mixing bowl – set aside.
Warm maple or agave syrup and nut butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Stir and pour over oat mixture and then mix, breaking up the dates to disperse throughout.
Once thoroughly mixed, transfer to an 8 × 8-inch baking dish or other small pan lined with cling film or parchment paper so they lift out easily
Press down firmly until uniformly flattened. You can use something like a drinking glass, to press down and really pack the bars, which helps them hold together better.
Cover with parchment or cling film, and let firm up in fridge or freezer for 15-20 mins.
Remove bars from pan and chop into 9 squares.  Store in an airtight container and they will keep fresh for a few days. To keep them extra fresh, store in a freezer.

Ingredients

3 tbsp regular olive oil
½ tspn ground cinnamon
2 tspns cumin seeds
1 small head cauliflower, trimmed and divided into small florets
400g tin chickpeas
1–2 tbspns harissa, to taste
4 small ripe vine tomatoes quartered
1 tspn sea salt flakes
3–4 tbspns pomegranate seeds
large bunch  flatleaf parsley

Preheat the oven to 220C/200C Fan/Gas 7.
Pour the oil into a large bowl, add cinnamon and cumin seeds, stir. Tip in cauliflower and toss to coat. Pour into a small oven tray and place in oven for 15 mins. Don’t wash out the bowl you’ve been using.
Add the chickpeas to bowl, and add the harissa, tasting it first to see if you want both tablespoonfuls. Toss to coat. Add the tomatoes to the bowl, and stir to mix.
Remove cauliflower and quickly tip the chickpeas and tomatoes over the cauliflower. Toss to combine and return to the oven for 15 minutes, or until cauliflower tender.
Remove from the oven, sprinkle salt over the vegetables, add 1/2 of the pomegranate seeds and toss to combine. Divide between 2 bowls. Divide the parsley leaves between the 2 bowls and toss to mix. Scatter with the remaining pomegranate seeds.

Ingredients
½ onion - finely chopped
3 cloves garlic - minced
½ can of coconut milk 
½ cup vegetable stock
1 cup basil - finely chopped
2 tbspn nutritional yeast
1 tbspn Dijon mustard
juice from ½ lemon
1 tsp Italian seasoning i.e. mix of thyme & oregano
4 tbspn tomato paste
3 oz jar of sun-dried tomatoes
1 can chickpeas - drained
3 ½ cups spinach or green of choice
salt/pepper to taste

Heat oil in a pan over a medium heat. Add onions and garlic. Cook for about 6 minutes or until softened.
Add all remaining ingredients except for spinach. Mix together until fully combined. Bring mixture to a simmer and simmer for 15-20 minutes.
Turn heat to low and add in spinach. Stir until wilted. Remove from heat and let cool.
Serve chickpeas with sides of choice - maybe sourdough, quinoa or rice.

Ingredients

16 dates, pitted
200ml hot coffee
180g muscovado sugar
200g caster sugar
140g plain flour
140g self-raising flour
120g vegan 'butter', cold and diced (unsalted if available)
330ml full-fat plant milk
flax seed 'egg':1 tbspn ground flax seeds + 2.5 tbspn water mixed for 15 mins
1½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
¾ tsp ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
50g walnuts, toasted

Heat the oven to 160C (140C fan)/325F/gas 3. Soak the dates in the coffee and leave for at least an hour – if you can do this 24 hours in advance, the dates will really take on the flavour of the coffee.

Line a 23cm square cake tin. Drain the dates in a colander and set aside.

Put the sugars, flours and plant butter in a bowl and rub with your fingertips to form fine breadcrumbs. Take 250g of this mix and press lightly into the base of the tin.

To the rest of the crumbs, add the plant milk, flaxseed, bicarb, cinnamon and nutmeg and mix until smooth.

Arrange the dates over the crumb layer in four rows of four. Pour the batter mix over the top and scatter with the walnuts.

Bake for an hour, then test with a skewer: you want the mixture to cling to the skewer in a fudgey rather than a runny way. Leave to cool for 15 minutes.

This cake is also delicious served cooled – and even better with a strong coffee.

Ingredients

3 tablespoons oil of choice 
1 medium onion (red or white), finely chopped
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 tspn ground cumin
½ tspn cayenne (or chilli powder, or any other spice you like)
2 tbspn crunchy or smooth unsalted 100% peanut butter
1 tbsp miso paste (optional, alternative could be 1 tspn marmite, or 1tbspn yeast flakes)
1 medium sized carrot, grated
1 cup almond flour (an alternative could be breadcrumbs)
1 x 400g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
Salt and pepper to taste

Stir fry the onion on a gentle hear in about half the oil until soft and golden
Add garlic and spices and stir fry for a few more minutes to enhance the flavours
Stir in the peanut butter and miso paste until everything is mixed through
Remove from the heat for about 15 minutes to cool a little
Meanwhile, smash the black beans by hand, with a fork, or pulse a little in a food processor. It’s fine to keep some beans whole. Too many whole beans though will create a more fragile burger.
Add the carrot, almond flour
Combine in the onion-peanut butter mixture – best done with your hands! Season to taste
Form 4 burgers (or more smaller ones if you prefer). You can add some flour on top of the mixture and on your hands to tackle the stickiness and more easily form.
To cook, either use the rest of the oil and pan fry 5 mins each side, bake in the oven 10 mins each side at 180C, or do a combination of both by baking in the oven and then finish off with a light pan fry.
Serve however you like!

Ingredients

3 banana shallots, thinly sliced
Cashews
2 tsp tamarind paste
2 large semi-ripe mangos, peeled and cut into wedges
120g mixed salad leaves
15g fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
20g fresh coriander, finely chopped
1 green finger chilli, chopped
2cm ginger, grated
3tbsp lime juice
1 tbsp agave nectar

Put 2tbsp of the oil into a frying pan over a medium head and add the shallots when hot. Fry until softened, then add the cashews. Fry for about 2 minutes, then add the tamarind paste and fry for a minute.
Put mango, salad leaves and herbs into a bowl.
Make the dressing: bash the chilli and ginger in a pestle and mortar until it forms a smooth paste. Mix with the lime juice, agave nectar and the remaining oil.
Just before serving, add the cashew and onion mixture and the dressing to the salad bowl and mix together.