Archive for Pulses
July 6, 2006 at 9:56 am
· Filed under Pulses, Vegan
These little burgers are really simple to make – all you need is a hand-held blender and a bit of patience when you’re frying them. They taste lovely and mushroomy.
Serves 2-3
1 can butterbeans
1/2 red onion
250g chestnut mushrooms
salt & pepper to taste
plain flour for coating
sunflower oil for deep frying
1. Finely chop the onion and slice the mushrooms, and place together with the drained butterbeans and seasoning in a large bowl.
2. Whizz up the mixture with a hand-held electric blender until smooth.
3. Using your hands, shape the mixture into small patties, about 5cm in diameter. Roll each pattie in the flour to coat.
4. Heat 2cm oil in a large frying pan and fry the patties in batches. When they are brown on one side, turn over and fry on the other side. You may find that any excess flour burns in the frying pan, in which case you’ll need to change the oil after you’ve fried each batch.
5. Keep warm in a low oven.
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July 4, 2006 at 9:13 am
· Filed under Pulses, Vegan
This vaguely Middle-Eastern inspired dish is just as good cold as it is hot. I served it with taboulleh – cracked wheat salad.
Serves 3-4
1 medium onion
2 tbsp olive oil
1 medium cauliflower
1 green pepper
1 tsp ground cumin
3 tbsp water
2 tbsp sultanas
2 tbsp fresh coriander
1 can chickpeas
salt & pepper to taste
1. Finely chop the onion and gently fry in the olive oil in a large saucepan for 2 minutes.
2. Break the cauliflower into small florets (the smaller the better), roughly chop the pepper, and add both to the pan. Continue to fry for another 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
3. Add the cumin and fry for 1 minute.
4. Add the water and sultanas and put a lid on the pan. Cook gently for around 10 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.
5. Add the drained chickpeas and the chopped coriander, and season to taste.
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June 30, 2006 at 9:23 am
· Filed under Pulses
I was too tired to cook properly last night, not helped by the fact that I had to make some home-made burgers (not veggie, in case you’re wondering) for my son. So I have to admit that this isn’t the best of my creations. It tastes perfectly nice, and it’s good if you’re in a hurry, but it’s not wildly interesting. Having said that, it’s a damn sight better than some of the vegetarian creations I’ve been served in pubs and restaurants.
Serves 2
1oz butter
4 shallots
2 cloves garlic
2 medium carrots
1 bunch fine asparagus
8oz chestnut or button mushrooms
1 can chickpeas
salt & pepper to taste.
1. Melt the butter in a large frying pan.
2. Finely slice the shallots, garlic and carrots, and add to the pan. Fry gently for 5 minutes.
3. Chop the asparagus into lengths of approximately 3cm, and add to the pan. Continue to cook for a further 5 minutes.
4. When the vegetables are nearly tender, add the mushrooms. Continue to fry until soft, stirring occasionally.
5. Add the chickpeas and seasoning, and heat through.
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June 28, 2006 at 9:56 am
· Filed under Eggs and cheese, Pulses
If you’ve never tried using a crust with oatmeal and cheese, give it a go. It’s delicious!
Serves 2-3
1lb fresh broad beans, shelled
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
1oz butter
6 tomatoes
2 tbsp plain flour
1/2 pint skimmed milk
salt & pepper to taste
2oz grated cheddar cheese
2oz porridge oats
1. Boil the broad beans in salted water until tender – about 8-10 minutes.
2. Finely chop the onion and garlic, and soften gently in the butter in a large pan.
3. Add the tomatoes and continue cooking for 1 minute.
4. Add the flour, ensuring that you stir it into the vegetables, and then gradually add the milk.
5. Gently cook the sauce until it thickens.
6. Add the seasoning and half the grated cheese.
7. Place the sauce and vegetables in a large ovenproof dish, and sprinkle the top with enough oats to cover. Top with the remaining grated cheese.
8. Bake at gas mark 6 for 40 minutes, or until golden brown.
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June 19, 2006 at 8:04 am
· Filed under Pulses, Vegan
These stuffed mushrooms are simply but tasty. I used little green Puy lentils, but ordinary green or brown lentils would do. It's important to use good extra virgin olive oil for this recipe. I know some people say that you should only ever use extra virgin oil in salads, but vegetarian cooking often benefits from the extra flavour.
Serves 2
2 large portobello mushrooms
2oz puy lentils
2 medium carrots
3 sticks celery
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp dried thyme
salt and pepper to taste
1. Boil the lentils for 30 minutes, or until cooked.
2. While the lentils are cooking, finely dice the onion, carrot, celery, and garlic, and fry them in the olive oil until tender.
3. When the vegetables are nearly cooked, chop the mushroom stalks and add them to the pan.
4. When the lentils are cooked, add them with about 2 tbsp of their cooking liquid to the vegetables.
5. Add the herbs and seasoning, and continue to cook over a gentle heat for 5 minutes.
6. Place the mushrooms in a large baking dish and spoon the stuffing into the cavities.
7. Cover with foil and bake in the oven (gas mark 5) for 30 minutes.
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June 12, 2006 at 1:38 pm
· Filed under Pulses
This was made late last night, when I got home from holiday and realised that I didn't have half the food in the house that I thought I had. It was a bit of a rushed job, but the result was surprisingly good. The mint makes it reminiscent of food I've had in a Turkish restaurant. I didn't have any dill, but that would have tasted good in this dish too.
Serves 2-3
1 medium onion
2 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 medium aubergine
1 medium courgette
1 large head fennel
1/2 red pepper
6oz frozen broad beans
1 tsp dried mint
salt & pepper
20z mature cheddar cheese
1. Chop the onion and garlic, and gently fry in the olive oil until softened.
2. Slice the aubergine, courgette, fennel, red pepper and add to the pan together with the broad beans.
3. Put a lid on the pan and cook all the vegetables until tender, stirring frequently.
4. When the vegetables are nearly done, add the mint and seasoning.
5. Transfer to an oven-proof dish, sprinkle over the grated cheese, and put in the oven at gas mark 5 until the cheese is nicely melted
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June 12, 2006 at 1:35 pm
· Filed under Pulses, Salads, Vegan
This recipe was born of a problem I had last night – about the only food I had in the house was 1/2 a tin of chickpeas, a few courgettes and shed loads of red onions. Here's my solution.
Serves 2-3
3 medium courgettes
6-7 medium red onions
1 tbsp olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 can chickpeas
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 small bunch basil
1. Thickly slice the onions and courgettes, and place in a large non-stick roasting dish.
2. Season with salt and pepper, and dribble over the olive oil.
3. Roast in the oven at gas mark 6 until tender. This will probably take about an hour. You'll need to take them out of the oven and give them a stir every 15 minutes or so.
4. Leave to cool, then add the chickpeas, vinegar and roughly torn basil.
5. Serve luke warm or cold, as you prefer.
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June 12, 2006 at 1:35 pm
· Filed under Pulses, Vegan
I made this in a hurry last night, leaving it to cook by itself while I read my children a bedtime story. It's a very simple dish, but surprisingly, it works. I've recently discovered that pine nuts were – apparently – used in British cooking in medieval times. Nowadays they mostly seem to come from China.
Serves 2-3
5 shallots
1" piece of fresh ginger
2 tbsp olive oil
1 large head broccoli
1 lb fresh tomatoes
1/2 can chickpeas
1 oz pine nuts
salt to taste
1. Finely slice the onions and chop the ginger as small as you can (or grate it, if you feel the urge).
2. Fry gently in olive oil in a large frying pan for 1-2 minutes.
3. Break the broccoli into florets, and slice each floret into thin slices. Add to the pan.
4. Slice the tomatoes and add them to the pan. Stir well, and cover with a lid.
5. Cook over a gentle heat until tender, stirring occasionally to prevent burning. This will take about 10 minutes. Be careful the broccoli doesn't go too mushy.
6. Toast the pine nuts under a hot grill. They burn easily, so keep a careful watch on them.
7. Add the drained chickpeas and pine nuts to the pan, and season to taste.
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June 12, 2006 at 1:33 pm
· Filed under Pulses, Salads, Vegan
This is excellent for a summer's day, and uses one of my favourite ingredients – artichoke hearts. Good with crusty bread or new potatoes.
1 red pepper
1 orange or yellow pepper
1 can cannellini beans
1/2 large red onion
1 can artichoke hearts
1 medium sized bunch basil
2 tbsp good olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp soy sauce (I use Kikkoman, as it's all natural and has a distinctive rich taste, but any soy sauce would do)
pepper to taste
1. Grill the peppers until slightly charred on top, but not so black that the skins will be inedible. You could char and peel them, but it takes ages and isn't really necessary.
2. Leave aside the peppers to cool.
3. Drain the beans and put in a large bowl together wtih the chopped red onion, halved artichoke hearts, roughly torn basil leaves, oil, vinegar, soy sauce and freshly ground pepper.
4. Roughly chop the cooled peppers and add them to the bowl.
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June 12, 2006 at 1:29 pm
· Filed under Pulses
There's no need to be modest when you're faced with felafel like these. Admittedly they're probably felafel as you've never known them before – crisp on the outside and soft and green (from the fresh herbs) in the centre. But everyone who I've ever given them to says they're much nicer than the little pellets you get down the local kebab shop. I hope they're not just being polite.
Serves 4-5
2 cans chick peas
2 slices wholemeal bread
2 medium onions
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tbsp fresh corainder
2 tbsp fresh mint
salt
plain flour for dusting
lots of sunflower oil for deep frying
1. Make the bread into crumbs. This is easy using a blender. You could buy breadcrumbs, but that would be far too easy.
2. Drain the chickpeas and place them in a large bowl together with the breadcrumbs.
3. Add the spices and salt.
4. Chop the onions and herbs, and add them to the bowl.
5. Now for the fun part. Whizz everything up using a hand-held blender. It might work using a jug blender, but don't blame me if it doesn't. If the mixture seems very sloppy, add more breadcrumbs.
6. Shape into small balls – about the size of a walnut, although it doesn't really matter – and coat in flour.
7. Pour about 4cm of oil into a pan, and heat until really hot. Don't be impatient, as the felafel will be ruined if the oil isn't hot enough.
8. Deep fry until golden.
9. Drain using a slotted spoon and place on a double layer of kitchen towel.
10. Keep warm in the oven if necessary.
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