Category Archives: vegetarian

Bean burgers

Well, it’s been a year – literally, looking at the last post’s date. Urm, oops?! For reasons, really haven’t been doing much cooking, and very little ‘new’ and blog-worthy. Hoping that gets to change now, and indeed I have started with a few bits here and there. Now just to remember to blog 😉

cooked beanburger on a cheese-topped bun, with potato wedges and salad on plate in background

These bean burgers – so adaptable – have been in rotation for a long while now, based on the HelloFresh recipe I tried ages ago. So that experiment was worth it! I found their take very basic, and have been on a mission to improve it since. Finally feeling I’ve ‘cracked it’, was beyond time for a blog post – not to mention a page for the recipe so *I* don’t forget what went so well for next time!

What I most love about this recipe is how versatile it is. From the korma burgers originally – which I’ve used with other curry pastes, added veg, and even some lime pickle and/or mango chutney – I’ve gone on to make pesto burgers (nice, but maybe a little more limiting on suitable toppings), BBQ/jerk burgers, and several variations on a more mexican-y based option.

I also feel they’re nice and healthy, much more so than store-bought ones that so often disappoint. You can vary the sizing, too – having made some just too big, I now try to restrain myself and match the burger buns! But nothing stopping you doing smaller ones for kids, etc.

Eight shaped bean burger patties, ready to cook

They also totally match my love of batch cooking. I got nine burgers out of a recent batch – making them pretty cost effective, too. I reckon these worked out at something like 30p per burger?

So what made this batch so much better? For a start, I got my breadcrumb ratio right! I always make a double batch from the original recipe, with 2 tins of beans (kidney and black, or pinto, for variety), but have sometimes forgotten to double the breadcrumbs – oops! Makes for very crumbly burgers when you haven’t used enough binding. I also took a while to decide if panko breadcrumbs were used in the same ratio as regular ones – yup, 100g = 100g.

Talking of breadcrumbs, hoping you don’t buy yours! I have a bag in the freezer, and every time there’s a tail end of a loaf needing used, I quite often just crumble it and add to the bag.

The other new ‘win’ was bringing in just a little of the fabulous Cookie and Kate veggie burger recipe, in the form of adding a mashed, pre-roasted sweet potato. Really helps with the binding, and it’s delicious!

The photos above make everything look a little red, but this is from the addition of paprika, as well as a little chilli and hot sauce (a smokey one, for a rich flavour), and tomato puree. I’d also added diced onion and peppers, because I think veggie burgers should have y’know veggies in them!

The possibilities with this recipe seem endless, so I hope if you do add your own spin you come back and tell me about it! 🙂 Happy cooking!

Hello Fresh: Veggie Tostadas

The latest (last?) experiment from Hello Fresh’s meal delivery was another Mexican dish. I am always amazed at how many times you can put a flour wrap together with quite similar ingredients and come up with a different dish!

Tostadas, as the name might suggest, involve toasting – or at least, oven baking – the tortilla. On top of that is added a veg, bean, and tomato mix, plus roasted peppers and sour cream.

Hello Fresh veggie tostatos

I really liked this, and was slightly amazed that it did manage to taste different from other, very similar things I’ve cooked before. I’d never thought to put carrot into mexican cooking, either, but it worked well.

If I was doing it again, I probably wouldn’t bother roasting the peppers – they can go into the saucepan just as well, I reckon. 

Simple, but tasty. Overall rating: 8/10.

Hello Fresh: Halloumi Tacos

Looking at the recipes, my heart sank a little with this last experiment from my first box. I strongly suspected I’d topped and tailed the ‘week’ with the most disappointing ones. 

Hello Fresh halloumi taco ingredients

Following the recipe really didn’t improve my expectations. Fry peppers and sweetcorn? Dump in a wrap with fried halloumi? Urm… sorry, but sort of smacks of the worst kind of “we didn’t know what to do for a vegetarian” cooking. Oh dear!

I was pleasantly surprised, then, that they tasted nice enough!

Halloumi tacos

Of course, I think by the time you’ve put mayo and chipotle paste on a wrap, you’re guaranteed flavour. The rest was pleasant enough – although the pics show that I decided not to go with the green pepper provided (that went in the curry) and used a mix of yellow and red instead. Less obviously I also didn’t use the tin of sweetcorn provided – it was huge! I might have mixed it up with the one intended for the Mexican stew? Seemed easier to just use a handful from the bag of frozen sweetcorn, so I did!

Still, borderline on what I’d call ‘a recipe’, although it wasn’t actually disappointing to eat. So overall rating: 7/10

And thus ends my first Hello Fresh box experiment! I’ll be back with a roundup post, and then… well, yeah, I might try a few more of the recipes, one way or another 😉

Hello Fresh: Korma Bean Burgers

Okay, one ‘meh’, one success – this could go either way, right? Experiment the third: korma bean burgers.

hello fresh ingredients

I didn’t get ’round to blogging about it, but I actually made bean burgers a month or two ago. They were nice enough. These, however… new favourite! 🙂 And simpler than the ingredients might make it look: the potato, lettuce, carrot, mayo and cider are all for side dishes. Not pictured: egg(s).

Making them was a little more convoluted than the previous recipes, and it was marked ‘medium’ (I think). To be honest, this is the point where I think the instructions were a bit less than ideal. We get a whole step on how to make a salad (strips of carrot, really?), whereas there’s one line on ‘cut the potatoes into wedges’ – that’s not actually as obvious for some as you might think, if you’ve never done it before. Also, in my experience, they take a lot longer to cook than the recipe says, but it’s so very very dependent on how thick you’ve made them. Not even mentioned, argh!

The burgers themselves are a mix of whole and mashed beans, breadcrumbs, curry paste, and egg to bind. I am sooo customising this going forward. Add finely chopped onion, peppers, any veg! Swap curry for… I dunno, tomato? Harissa? Options!!

I did stick to the recipe this time, though – well, apart from frying an egg to top the burger. I ate it later instead 😉 And I upped the salad game a bit, too. You can’t see the curry mayo in the pic below, but it was surprisingly good – I did wonder about more curry and how strong it would be, but the korma paste provided was very mild. The burger buns were really nice, too.

korma bean burger on plate

As the minimum portion is for 2 people and I’m cooking for one, what to do with the ‘spare’ burger (or 2, you could easily have split the patty into 3)? Well, I cooked both more or less as per instructions (they held together really really well, I was very chuffed!) – 5-10 minutes in the pan and more like 20 in the oven – and I think you could have frozen the burger after either stage. I went with refrigeration overnight, and reheated it the following day for 10 minutes in the oven. Was still delicious!

Overall, then: 8.5/10. Higher for taste and joy of finding a recipe I will customise over and over, but the recipe card was a bit on the poor side. Well, I say that – you’ll see there’s no comparison shot in the photo, and that’d be down to the card not being included in my box. Thankfully they are online, but it was a little more awkward.

Caponata

caponata photo

I really should be blogging more about cooking in lockdown, I guess. It’s changed everything, including eating habits – and not necessarily for the best. I’m now at the point of trying to go for some healthier choices to combat several weeks of stress-relieving grazing, indulgences of cake cake cake, and just the weirdness of sourcing supplies.

First up then, has been a pot of caponata. I was lucky enough to be fed some of Kellie Anderson’s wonderful, healthy but oh so full of flavour cooking, and her website Kellie’s Food to Glow is an absolute go-to when you want to up your healthfulness game. This sweet and sour tomato stew was one of those things I was slightly reluctant to try, given I’m not a fan of olives. And then – ooh, I like this! Kellie really widened my palate on several occasions.

The recipe on her site is more classic, I believe, using aubergine. I’ve made that version and it was good, but wanted to make something now, not in a week when I next manage to get groceries delivered (grr). So, my version uses peppers instead, and I think it’s a great substitute.

As for the olives, I discovered I like black olives more than green, so I use those – just the jarred kind from the supermarket, and suits me fine in this recipe.

The recommendation is to leave this chilling for at least three hours to let the flavours develop, so I make it the day before and leave it in the fridge overnight. I’m not wholly convinced on the ‘room temperature’ serving, so mine goes in the microwave til it’s warm but not hot, and again that suits me well.

I serve this with some fresh bread, for lunch or a very light dinner.

Sweet potato chilli

One of my new favourite recipes came courtesy of a friend, who’d adapted this Cookie+Kate offering. I’ve put my own spin on it through repeat cookings, but somehow I’ve never managed to write up the recipe – which you’ll find here.

sweet potato chilli in a bowl

As stated in the original, the thing that really makes this lush and rich, is blending about a third of the mixture before stirring it back in. I cannot recommend this enough! Easiest way is with a stick aka immersion blender – absolutely love mine!

With the added thickness, this is ready to eat straight from the pot, but it also freezes very well. Have also used butternut squash and carrot instead of the sweet potato, but try anything that takes your fancy. Different types of bean are also good – my preference is for mixed bean salad, which comes with sweetcorn, and kidney beans.

Best way to serve, in my opinion, is with some sour cream (or natural yogurt, possibly with some lime juice) and cheese, melted over the top. Scoop it up with tortilla chips for a bowl of nom!

 

One butternut squash: all the ideas!

Cooking for one comes with a fair number of challenges, including how to use things that don’t really come in small quantities. Personally, I love butternut squash so much that I’m never stuck with ideas for what to do with ‘the rest of it’ (as I’m sure the large number of recipes that start ‘butternut squash something’ show!), but I’m always up for new ideas.

The ‘usual’ might be to start with a meal of ‘squoodles’, aka squash noodles, used as a healthy pasta substitute and served with pesto, roast peppers, and toasted pine nuts – and a hefty slab of garlic bread, since you can’t be too healthy 😉

There’s always soup – I’ve got quite a few listed. My favourite is probably the bnut and red pepper, although it’s less hearty than some of the others and so I tend to do it out of the winter season.

Generally, I’ll end up cubing and roasting at least part of the squash. It goes very well in salads, or pasta, and I’m a huge fan of putting squash into a risotto.

But, this time, we’re after something a bit different… And so I had a week of trying not one but THREE new recipes, all using the same squash.

First up was this butternut mac’n’cheese, which I was hoping would be a healthier (and maybe easier) take on a favourite comfort food. It tasted lovely, but my attempts at cutting it down to a single portion went a little awry and it ended up a bit dry. I’ll probably try it again at some point. Realised on serving that it wasn’t so far off the rather more successful ‘Easy Cheesy Pasta Bake‘, so perhaps I can find a working combination of the two.

Moving on, and one of my main ideas had been a butternut squash curry. This was relatively ‘safe’ – I just used bought curry paste, so it wasn’t going to be massively different from any other curry I’ve made – just, vegan 🙂 I ended up with three generous portions, so the rest went into the freezer, while a large amount went into my very virtuous-feeling tummy 🙂

butternut squash curry photo

Aren’t those colours lovely? I’d definitely do this again, and maybe for guests.

The piece de resistance, however, came from a want to use up some lasagne sheets. I love lasagne. I love my dad making it for me, as it’s a bit of a faff! What else could I do with it? Cannelloni! This was very experimental, combining ideas from at least four different recipes – and oh, was it good!

prepping the cannelloni

photo of finished dishIt did make a lot more than I was expecting – easily enough for 2 meals – but I highly recommend the second portion reheated the next day, as I think it was even better. I’ve read that filled cannelloni can be frozen, so I’d probably give that a go. Also, I’m going to experiment with different sauces – the tomato worked well, but I think a white or cheese sauce might be interesting, perhaps . Keeping the pasta moist was a little bit of a challenge, especially as I didn’t want to drown it in sauce, so perhaps a bit more pre-soaking?

This one is going into the regular rotation, methinks! 🙂

Let’s talk stir fry!

sf 1

One of my frequent dinners is stir fry: quicky, easy, healthy. I’m also of the opinion that not every meal has to be from a recipe, and the busy cook shouldn’t have to feel guilty about taking shortcuts – like buying a sauce. That said, every bought sauce can be improved a little…! I’m currently partial to the Blue Dragon sachets (esp. sweet chilli or teryaki) and then jazz it up with a little extra garlic and ginger, and maybe soy sauce.

The base of my stir fries is veg: lots and lots of vegetables! It’s not a stir fry to me without carrots, onion, peppers, mange tout, and then maybe some broccoli or pak choi or bean sprouts. Bean sprouts are rare: they only come in such huge bags that a single person would struggle to get through!

Once in a very blue moon, I’ve been known to buy a pre-prepared pack of stir fry veg. These are for those ultra-lazy moments, or when I’m craving a bit of a shake up. I love the ones that come with sliced water chestnuts – for the crunch! – or bamboo shoots. I used to buy tins of these things, but again they can be difficult to get through for one.

Even if you’re preparing your own veg – and I find chopping vegetables quite meditative (call me odd, but it’s calming!) – do yourself a favour and do at least two portions. This means you get a prep-free meal in a day or two, and lets you split things like peppers and carrots between two meals.

For the protein, I use either diced chicken breast (I pre-dice it, and freeze in individual portions), sliced minute steak (the really thin kind), or tofu – the Cauldron marinated tofu is excellent. I also like to throw in a small handful of raw cashew nuts towards the end.

So, today’s stir fry adventure went like this: first heat a little oil in a wok – big wok! – and cook the chicken until starting to colour. Then add the onion for a few minutes – it needs a little extra, I find – along with some garlic puree. I then added the rest of the sliced veg and some ground ginger or puree, letting it all fry for a few minutes before adding half a sachet of Blue Dragon teryaki sauce – the other half keeps well in the freezer, fyi. Finally a scattering of cashew nuts before serving, with rice or noodles. Total time: 10 minutes (not including the rice)!

Tl;dr:

  • oodles of veg – and prep ahead of time; keep a second portion in a sealed tub in the fridge for a day or two
  • freeze individual portions of pre-diced chicken breast for a quick make – defrost in the microwave if you can’t plan ahead
  • no shame in using a bought sauce! 2-portion sachets can often have the second half frozen, even if the packet doesn’t mention it
  • spice up the sauce with a little extra garlic, ginger, soy, chilli flakes, lime juice, or even a splash of sherry – and these are just a few of the possibilities!
  • serve with rice or noodles – the latter make the whole dish take about 10 minutes to cook.

Let me know in the comments – what do YOU do with a stir fry?

stirfry

Butternut squash and bean crumble

I’m not doing too well on the mix of recipes (or new recipes – yet!) as all these yummy vegetarian dishes have me looking up ones I haven’t tried in a while!

I’m not sure what’s taken me so long to make this Butternut Squash and Bean Crumble again, as it was absolutely delicious! I do love butternut squash, and the mix of the wine and tomatoes is a lovely base. The chilli surprised me a little, but it works – I used a level teaspoon, and wouldn’t want it any hotter. I might, however, have to try butter beans (lima beans, I think?) next time, as the cannellini were a bit small and inconsequential in the finished dish.

The crumble topping is one I intend to try on other things: the breadcrumbs went lovely and crispy, and my experiment of adding some mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame) added some lovely crunch and colour – I’ll be doing that again!

My one concern about this recipe is portion size. I remembered the first time I made this ended up with just HUGE portions (perhaps I misread the original recipe‘s 6 portions and thought it was 4?). This time, I halved the recipe – and please don’t worry, I have a great way to use up the other half of the squash! – thinking it would make four decent portions, instead of three huge: instead, I must confess that my version of the recipe gives more of a lunch portion than main course (although: perfect excuse for dessert!). I ended up eating 2/3rds of the half I cooked (the other half is in the freezer), and will throw some salad together with the remaining third for tomorrow’s lunch.

It was really hard to stop here and leave some for tomorrow's lunch...!

It was really hard to stop here and leave some for tomorrow’s lunch…!

Veggie shepherd’s pie

assembling the pie pic

Happy Easter! To balance out all that chocolate (I suspect!) the supermarkets have all had offers on their fresh veg this past week, so an excellent time to stock up on soup ingredients. And to balance out all that chocolate (I know! ;)) a perfect time for some more veggies-as-main-courses, too. This Veggie Shepherd’s Pie is a perfect healthy and hearty, warming dish with the added benefit of a whole lot of flexibility! Make it all at once, freeze it, or make the sauce separately and add fresh sweet potato when you’re ready to eat. I made this a month ago, eating a single portion of the four. This can feel like a long-to-make meal – it’s not really, but anything with more than one step can be too much effort, right? 😉 Making the sauce – chop carrots and bung stuff into a pan for a while; making the topping – if you dice the sweet potato it cooks in 15 minutes or less; and finally assembling (tip: press the mash on rather than trying to spread it, which moves the base in a messy way) and baking.

The other three portions of the sauce base went into the freezer (in individual portions) so today I could defrost the sauce and use up one of my fresh bag of sweet potatoes (the rest went into a Sweet Potato and Chilli soup – nom!). I both defrosted and heated the base in the microwave, so it was warm under the new mash, and the whole thing only took 20 minutes in the oven, and around 40 minutes total. Had I cooked the whole thing from frozen, it would have taken 40 minutes in the oven, so either approach has benefits. At least this way I didn’t have to find quite as much space in my freezer, and didn’t ‘lose’ a dish in the meantime! I’m sure I could find other uses for that base sauce – it’s very tasty! It’s also a great way to use up carrots, and – as the recipe notes say – the secret to this dish is making sure you leave a little firmness and ‘bite’ in the carrots, rather than letting them cook to mush. The green lentils also add to the heartiness, while just a small amount of red lentils soak up any extra juices. I’d recommend the sweet potato over regular – in fact, I may have to try that more in general, as it is a healthier choice – as it goes so well with the flavours here, adding that bit of sweet to the red wine and herb richness, and the slight tang from the cheese sprinkles. Veggie Shepherd's Pie photo