* 100 g / 1 cup almonds * 30 g / ¼ cup pumpkin seeds * 65 g / ½ cup sunflower seeds * 25 g / ¾ cup puffed rice * 28 g / ¼ cup ground flax seeds * ¼ tsp salt * ½ tsp cinnamon * 1 tsp vanilla essence * 75 ml / ¼ cup + 1 tbsp maple syrup * 85 g / 3 oz dark dairy-free chocolate METHOD * Line a small baking tin (I used a 2lb / 900 g baking tin*) with a piece of baking paper. Grease the bottom of the tin (lined with baking paper) with tiny amount of oil as the bars tend to get stuck to the paper. Preheat the oven to 160° C / 320° F. Place all the dry ingredients (up until vanilla essence) in a large mixing bowl. Mix vanilla essence and maple syrup in. Spread the mixture in the paper lined baking tin. Press the mixture down really well so that there are no gaps / air pockets and the bars hold together well. Use a piece of baking paper with a flat-bottomed glass on top to be able to pack the mixture better. * * Bake for about 40 minutes. Take out of the oven and compress the mixture again using the upside down glass trick, I also tend to weigh it down with something heavy while the mixture is cooling down. Allow it to cool down completely before cutting or applying melted chocolate. Melt the chocolate over a double boiler slowly. Once the chocolate has melted, spread it on top of the bars using a spatula. Pop the tin into the freezer for 15 minutes for the chocolate to set. Cut into equal size pieces with a sharp knife. Store the bars in an airtight container. NOTES *I used a 2 lb / 900 g cake tin of the following dimensions: 18.5cm / 7″ x 8cm / 3″ x 6cm / 2.5″.

INGREDIENTS SAUCE * 30 ml / 2 tbsp all purpose soy sauce, more to taste * 10 ml / 2 tsp dark soy sauce (for colour) * 5 ml / 1 tsp Sriracha (optional) * 10 ml / 2 tsp maple syrup or sugar * 10 ml / 2 tsp rice wine vinegar REMAINING INGREDIENTS * 200 g / 7 oz pre-marinated tofu (optional) * 100 g / 3½ oz tenderstem broccoli * 1 bok choi * 1 carrot * 4 small spring onions / scallions * 30 ml / 2 tbsp stir-fry oil (I use rice bran) * 400 g / 14 oz pre-cooked noodles* (I used ramen) METHOD * Mix all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl, set aside. Prepare tofu (if using) like you normally would. I use pre-marinated shop-bought tofu, which I bake in a hot oven or flash fry in a hot skillet. Cut thicker broccoli stems into half lengthwise and then into even, bite-size pieces. Cut bok choi leaves off and chop the white part into small pieces and julienne the carrot. Put a large pot of water onto boil and grab a steaming basket. Once the water is boiling, place broccoli in the steaming basket. Steam for 4 minutes, next add in the white part of the bok choi and steam for a further 2 minutes, finally add in bok choi leaves and julienned carrot and steam for 1 minute. * Cut the dark green part off the spring onions and save them for garnish. Halve the rest lengthwise and then chop into 2.5 cm / 1″ pieces. Heat up a wok or a deep frying pan. Add oil and warm it up gently. Once warm, add chopped spring onions. Allow them to cook gently in the shimmering oil for about 7 minutes. Make sure the heat is low so that the spring onions cook without turning golden. Using a flexible spatula, transfer spring onion oil into a small bowl. Return the work to the heat and add approximately 60 ml / ¼ cup of water to the wok. Place noodle nets in the wok. Allow them to sit in warm water for about 60 seconds, then flip to the other side and leave for another 60 seconds. Next, using a wooden spatula gently tease the noodles apart, they should start unravelling. Toss them in the wok a few times until the noodle strands separate. Pour spring onion oil back into the wok and toss the noodles in it. Next, mix in the sauce, steamed vegetables and tofu (if using). Stir-fry for 30 seconds, just to warm up. Divide between two bowls, garnish with sliced spring onion tops. NOTES *Or dry noodles, cooked according to packet instructions. If using dry noodles, skip step 7 and toss them directly in the spring onion / scallion oil.

INGREDIENTS PASTRY * 210 g / 1¾ cups white all purpose flour or GF plain flour mix * 25 g / 2 tbsp icing or caster / superfine sugar * ½ tsp fine sea salt * ½ tsp xantham gum (only for GF pastry) * 100 g / ½ cup cold vegan butter or coconut oil * 45 ml / 3 tbsp ice cold water LEMON FILLING * 50 g / 6 tbsp cornflour / cornstarch * 300 g / 1½ cups caster / superfine sugar * 240 ml / 1 cup creamy plant milk (soy, oat or almond work best*) * 270 ml / 1 cup + 2 tbsp lemon juice* (4-5 juicy lemons) * zest of 2 lemons * ½ tsp fine salt * 1/8 tsp ground turmeric (for colour) * 65 g / scant 1/3 cup vegan butter (I like Naturli) or odourless coconut oil MERINGUE * 180 ml / ¾ cup aquafaba (homemade or from a can/jar of chickpeas) * a good pinch of fine salt * 1 tsp lemon juice or ½ tsp cream of tartar * 250 g / 1¼ cup caster / superfine sugar * 1 tbsp cornstarch / cornflour * ¾ tsp xantham gum (optional, but recommended) METHOD PASTRY * Place flour, sugar, salt and xantham gum (only if you are making a GF pastry) in a food processor. Whizz to combine. Add chopped up vegan butter. Pulse a few times, until your mixture resembles breadcrumbs (photo in the post). Slowly feed cold water through the chute while pulsing the mixture a few times. Transfer the mixture onto a work surface. Using your hands, bring it together and form into a disc – it should nicely stick together, if it’s still too dry and crumbly trickle in 1 tsp of cold water at a time. Handle as little as possible and do not knead. * * Wrap the pastry disc up in cling film and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes. Make lemon curd while you wait. Remove the pastry from the fridge and roll it out on a lightly floured surface until you get a circle large enough to cover your entire tart case, about 2-3 mm in thickness. Place the rolled-out dough over a tart case and gently line the inside of it with the pastry. Tuck the pastry in well, ensuring that it fits snugly into all the nooks and crannies. Trim the excess pastry with a sharp knife and patch any holes/or thinner bits with the cut-off excess. If making gluten-free pastry (which tends to be more crumbly), you may be better off placing the crumbled pastry in the tart case and simply moulding the pastry with your hands to the shape of the tart tin. Pierce the bottom of the pastry with a fork in a few places and chill the pastry-lined tart case in the fridge for another 30 minutes. You can also just leave it in the fridge overnight if making ahead Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 180° C / 355° F (regular, no fan setting). Line the pastry case with a large piece of crumpled baking paper and fill with baking beads (or dry beans) for a blind bake. Blind bake the pastry for 15 minutes. Remove the paper and beads and bake for another 10 minutes – until cooked and pale golden. Keep the oven on. LEMON CURD (make a day ahead for easier assembly) * Place cornflour / cornstarch and sugar in a small heavy bottomed pot. Whisk well to combine. Set the pot on low heat and immediately afterwards, slowly pour in plant milk while whisking the whole time to ensure there are no lumps. Allow the mixture to come to a simmer while whisking. Carry on cooking the mixture until it starts bubbling and becomes thick (it should coat the back of a spoon). Whisk in lemon juice, zest, salt and turmeric. Carry on cooking the mixture until it thickens again. Switch the heat off. Gradually whisk in cubes of butter, allowing them to melt into the hot curd. Allow the curd to cool a little before filling the pie. Once the pastry is prebaked, fill it with warm curd and return to the oven for 15 minutes (see NOTES for an alternative). If the edges of your pastry case are already brown, protect them with a strip of tin foil first. Allow the pie to cool, once only just slightly warm, start on your meringue. MERINGUE * Preheat the oven to 150° C / 300° F (regular, no fan setting). Combine aquafaba, salt and lemon juice in a spotlessly clean bowl – even a trace of grease will inhibit aquafaba from reaching stiff peaks. Whisk on medium speed until you reach stiff peaks (when you invert the bowl, whipped aquafaba should stay put). Depending on your equipment, it may take around 8-10 minutes (it does for me and I have an old handheld whisk). This bit is tedious, but necessary! Start adding sugar in 1 tbsp increments whipping well (going around the bowl if you have a handheld whisk) and slowly counting to 20 after each addition. I know, but trust me! Once all the sugar has been added, gradually sprinkle in cornflour and xantham gum while the whisk is going. By this point you should have a glossy, thick meringue mixture that needs to go on the pie straight away. ASSEMBLY * Dot spoonfuls of the meringue on top of the lightly warm (not hot as it will make it melt) pie going around the edges first. Make sure the meringue touches the crust so that a seal is created. Be careful not to leave any airpockets under the meringue as these will be hollow after baking. Once you cover the entire pie with meringue, make decorative swirls with the back of your spoon. Place the pie in the pre-heated oven and bake for 25 minutes. By the time you are done, the meringue should get a crispy, pale golden crust. You can use a chef’s torch to make it look more dramatic if you wish. Remove from the oven and place on a wire rack. Allow it to cool COMPLETELY. Placing an icepack wrapped up in a kitchen towel under the wire rack (keep the pie in the tin) will speed things up a little. Meringue pies are best eaten on the day, but this one kept well for another day, sealed away in an air-tight container at room temperature (not in the fridge as it will make it weep). Keep away from any source of moisture, like steam raising from cooking pots, for example. Sugar in the meringue wicks moisture out of the air making meringue go soft. NOTES *PLANT MILK – it’s best to use a creamy plant milk. Soy, oat and almond will work well. Thin coconut milk will do too but its flavour isn’t as clean so you may be able to detect it in the pie. *LEMON JUICE – my curd for this pie is SHARP but its sharpness is nicely offset by super sweet meringue on top and so it really works in my opinion. All of my taste testers agree, but if you prefer it to be less tangy, simply reduce the amount of lemon juice and compensate by increasing the amount of plant milk used. *BAKING THE FILLING – If you don’t particularly care about the neatness of the curd once cut and you just want to brown your meringue with a chef’s torch/under a broiler rather than bake it until crispy, you do not need to prebake the filling. Instead, cool both the pie and the curd separately. Spread the curd in the pie shell and refrigerate for 2 hours or until the curd is firm before topping with the meringue and toasting with a chef’s torch/sticking the pie under a hot broiler for only just a few minutes. *XANTHAM GUM: it stabilizes the meringue and helps with its structure, if you don’t have it it’s not the end of the world but I find that the quality of the topping is nicer with it.