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You may as well argue that beer isnt vegan as the spec for grain contains an acceptable level of rodent droppings and hair!
Similarly for flour, there's an acceptable level of insect fragments allowed. (In-line disrupters ensure the insects are never whole).
Trying to get vegetarian pesto?
Not so easy.
I’m aware that I should probably just make my own, but I appreciate the convenience of buying it in a wee jar.
It should be vegetarian as standard.
I’ve seen the ‘sacla’ brand offering a green pesto, but I’d like the red one too.
About 99% of the cheese in the supermarkets is made without animal parts, so why on earth is pesto being made in some antiquated manner?
I don’t think that those specific animal parts add anything to the flavour.
You’d think that the chic and sophistication of Italian food would be reflected in the ingredients.
And a lack of vegetarian options is prejudiced towards other religions.
If your religion allows you to at meat, and the pesto is clearly labelled vegetarian, then it saves you having to worry about whether it is kosher or halal.
Likewise, Aldi and Lidl still have a long way to go in terms of labelling their foods. So much for European chic, sophistication and civilisation!
Do Starbucks still refuse to label their coffee as being vegetarian or not?
The sheer quantity of lost sales, when people fail to see any vegetarian labelling on their products must be staggering.
You can buy frozen veggie hot dogs at your supermarket, but not canned ones.
If you can still find them, the Tivall hot dogs are amazing. Check your local Holland & Barratt.
Trying to get vegetarian pesto?
Not so easy.
Confused here. Most pesto has cheese in it, it's vegetarian but not vegan? Have I missed something?
Confused here. Most pesto has cheese in it, it’s vegetarian but not vegan? Have I missed something?
Some cheeses, such as parmesan contain rennet.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rennet
Talking of parmesan - just about to top a gourmet cheatburger with some of this:
It tastes very good IMO. I’d previously give up on plant-based parmesan alternatives but this is ace
*edit:
BOoM! BacK of thE nET!
Have to say it. It’s bloody delicious (the whole burger). Taken a while to tweak but this summer we even got a high five approval from BBQ-mad beefy gym boy neighbour. He was gagging for more. Now I just need to find a way to get paid for this ...
*Double-edit: ^ unintentionally homo-erotic-sounding signoff error there. Haha 🤣
Just done this for dinner;
https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/ottolenghis-portobello-steaks-and-butter-bean-mash
Bloody delicious. Have to start early as not used to doing a meal which takes 90 plus minutes to get ready but the butter bean mash is especially good. I love meat, don’t get me wrong (went out for dinner last night and had steak with peppercorn sauce for a 70’s throwback), but this was as good.
Naked Glory sausages.
oooof ! now they really are Glorious.
Some cheeses, such as parmesan contain rennet.
Ah yes, of course.
It’s bloody delicious (the whole burger).
Not sure about the pink "burger sauce" gloop there, that's a crime against condiments. Who ever decided that mixing ketchup with mayo was a good idea should be strung up, it's Satan's semen.
That burger needs salsa / sriracha / ketchup / peri peri instead IMHO. Ketchup, fried onions and copious amounts of black pepper is the holy trinity of toppings for 'meat' based products. Spinning up breakfast on camping trips I've made obligate carnivores weep with joy over a veggie sausage butty.
Naked Glory sausages.
There's a sudden inrush of these "beyond meat / impossible burger" type things in my local supermarkets, they've built an extra shelf. Gotta say though, the one thing that puts me off is that they're frickkin' huge! Like, the sausages are easily an inch thick. Do they reduce, are they hard to cook?
Oh, having googled now, I've had the Naked Glory ones. They're kinda hotdog-y, tasty though. Again, how are you cooking them?
Spinning up breakfast on camping trips I’ve made obligate carnivores weep with joy over a veggie sausage butty.
Really? What sausages are you using? I've spent over 3 years trying to find a premade vegan sausage or burger that I like and as yet not found one. (Can make burgers I like but sometimes just want something easier) All of the sausages I've tried are lacking in texture., I have a recipe for seitan chorizo which is nice but a bit of effort to make.
again how are you cooking them
I buy the frozen Naked Glory sausages and fry them slowly in oil until they look bapolicious. Not noticed a ‘hot dog flavour’ but taste is to a degree subjective. (That’s an interesting subject)
They are quite thick yet can be sliced in half (lengthways) easily once cooked through. That’s how I like them on a bap. They’re a little under-seasoned so again some good salt and black pepper does wonders. In fact next time I’ll split them in half and return to the pan (flat halves facing up) and add a sprinkle of sausage meat seasoning.
I’m researching traditional English ‘breakfast sausage’ recipes and it seems that a blend of mace (or nutmeg), sage, salt and pepper should do it. Maybe a little garlic powder. I’ll experiment and then make up a little shaker from an empty spice jar. Only really buy them once a month but it’d be cool to have an instant sausage-seasoner.
Not sure if these have been mentioned, but while sausages are in the agenda, Sainsbury's Shroomdogs, the Cumberland ones are absolutely fupping amazing. Decent texture, loads of those Cumberland spices (black pepper, nutmeg etc..) mmmmmm delish, especially in a roll with friend onions, bit of cheese (dairy I'm afraid) maybe even some ketchup and American mustard... Oh yeah.
There’s a sudden inrush of these “beyond meat / impossible burger”
Haven’t seen Impossible burgers or Beyond burgers for sale yet in my neck of the woods. Think I’ve tried pretty much all of the different supermarket ‘fresh’ meatless burgers and have found them all to be lacking and ridiculously expensive (except for the Iceland No Bull ones, which are cheaper but still not to my tatse. In general though - soft as shite with weird flavours.
Did find some in Lidl that were actually good. And in ‘climate neutral packaging’. From Lidl!
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/p/product-recommendation/without-meat-plant-based-burger-patties/p32307
But for texture and a decent inoffensive flavour, the Linda Mac’s regular 1/4lb frozen ones are peerless IMO. Hence my ‘cheatburger’ recipe. It saves having to get busy with nuts, lentils, buckwheat, egg etc etc making my own. So if I want to cook up something super-quick for other half or guests then Linda Macs are cheap(ish) at a quid per pattie. And they’re really, really good. They just lack flavour. Luckily that’s easily and quickly solved.
Here’s the ‘marinade/seasoning’ for them
1 x teaspoon Heinz BBQ sauce
1 x teaspoon garlic powder/granules
1/2 x teaspoon good strong smoked paprika. Buy this bagged from wholefood shop or else a decent imported tin such as El Avion. Worth having in the house.
3 x teaspoons of balsamic vinegar
Ground salt and black pepper to taste.^ Add all these flavourings into a cup and stir well until a uniform paste
To cook:
Put oil and then the frozen patties in warm non-stick frying pan or skillet on LOW/med heat- Spoon half of the marinade and divide between each burger (leave the other half for the other sides). Spread this evenly over entire burger with spatula or butter knife as the pattie cooks. As it warms through this gets easier.
- Cook gently for 4-5 mins as the marinade/seasoning soaks into the top, then flip them over. Repeat process, adding/spreading the rest of the marinade again to the top of the burgers. Flip once more and cook for a few minutes, flipping them until browned/slight crust and evenly cooked through. Don’t burn the marinade/seasoning.
Note: You can do this in the oven, and they do plump up more that way. Just put on foil/tray, spatula on the marinade/seasoning the same way and cook about 10-15 mins either side on 180 until firm and juicy
About 99% of the cheese in the supermarkets is made without animal parts, so why on earth is pesto being made in some antiquated manner?
Excellent! cows have been redefined as vegetables for the purposes of vegetarianism and veganism 🙂
Trying to get vegetarian pesto?
Not so easy.
...
It should be vegetarian as standard.
It should be made with the traditional ingredients, as permitted by food sales laws, as standard.
On the shelf where I find pesto in my supermarket, there's a whole array of different types. Some have Pecorino cheese in, and others have no cheese in. Some are labeled as "Vegan", but that's presumably as a way to get some people to pay more for the same thing but with the cheese bit missing.
Ah well. It was a good run for a veggie/vegan recipe thread. No politics, strawman arguments/derailments or ‘offended by plants’ bingo for, what, three nearly four whole pages? 😉
Can you have wafer thin ham?
I've tried beyond burger and they don't have the texture of meat and actually tasted odd and just fell to bits.
Really? What sausages are you using?
I really like the Cauldron ones. It's not just that though, there's something different when campsite cooking, I don't know if it's the pan or the stove or simply the fact that you're out in the fresh air relaxing in the countryside. But they're so good.
On the shelf where I find pesto in my supermarket... others have no cheese in.
I don't think I've ever seen supermarket pesto that doesn't have cheese of some form in it.
^
Sacla vegan, Providence dairy-free (Waitrose, Sainsburys) and Tesco Free From come to mind. Though I find that not all branches stock products in store or via online delivery even though advertised online.
I have a recipe for seitan chorizo which is nice but a bit of effort to make.
bought a load of stuff from buywholefoodsonline.com and just made my first seitan, its still wrapped and in the fridge til tomorrow. its the one from matt pritchards 'dirty vegan' book.
read a few recipes, some say steam it in foil, some say simmer in the water, so i did one of each, ill see if theres any difference.
i need to go over all the recipes above now, find one where ive actually got all of the ingredients for a decent chilli or curry with a load of lentils and beans.
^
Just google ‘Chef John’s best damn vegan chili’ (if you like traditional authentic ‘bowl of red’ type Texan-Mex chilli)
Am a big chilli fan and spent years/decades being proud of my many creations but in the end I had to throw the towel in to this. It’s quick to make, balanced, flavourful, nutritious, authentic and very satisfying. I’d say close to perfect.
Dial back on the chilli powder in the recipe unless you’re Texan/Mexican/Masochistican.
Use what you have/mix and match?
I use Gran Luchito refried beans as the pinto bean element/ to thicken it. But you could use any soft bean mash I suppose? I also add extra red kidney beans and couple of handfuls of buckwheat grits (during cooking) for texture.
IIRC it (at minimum) requires veg stock, onion, bell pepper, garlic, cumin powder, oregano, beans,tomatoes and smoked paprika and the rest is versatile/easily substituted
Serious eats have a really good recipe. Depends just how into it you want to get but they explain the science/reasoning behind the ingredients and cooking method here too: https://www.seriouseats.com/2012/01/best-vegetarian-bean-chili.html
Found a video
Found some of the Cauldron Lincs, looking forward to trying them out, the cooked breakfast a few pages back got me in the mood. See also chilli, that just looks brilliant!
I agree Cauldron Lincs are v good. Kind of a faggot/haggis sort of taste. A good posh choice. Sometimes get them as a treat for a full fryup. Along with some king oyster mushroom rashers or This Isn’t Bacon rashers.
Found a video
thanks, i think ill have bash at that, just not sure about how much to dilute the ingredients by. it says it feeds 16, but theres just 2 of us and i dont really want to be using quarter of a can for this, quarter of a can for that. also not got some of the ingredients, but i reckon i can make a good fist of it.
thanks
Hmm. Agree, who cooks with 1/4 tins?
It does fill a big saucepan. There’s only two of us so I cook it up and freeze portions. 16 portions though? More like 8-10 depending if call 1 x ladle a ‘portion’ or whether you’re more the 2-3 ladles.
I like less rice/corn chips and more chilli.
Here’s the recipe/method on a page:
https://www.brandnewvegan.com/recipes/soups/best-damn-vegan-chili-ever
The ingredients I use:
1 large Onion (diced)
1 large Red Bell Pepper (diced)
1 large Green Bell Pepper (diced)
3-4 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 splash Vegetable Broth (for sautéing)
3/4 cup Buckwheat grits (uncooked)
400g passata
1 400g can chopped tomatoes
2 cups veg broth or stock (low sodium) I use 1 and a half Kallo cubes
400g can of Refried Beans (or I use half a pack or more of Gran Luchito (Smokey Chipotle in the orange pouch)
tablespoon of Chili Powder
2 tsp Ground Cumin
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika
1 tsp Oregano
2 cans Kidney Beans (I drain them. Keep some back in case chili is too thick then add as required at the end)
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1/2 tsp Garlic Powder
3 tsp 100% cocoa powder
(Optional) 2 Tbs Pickled Jalapeños (with juice) (again, adds a little heat so adjust accordingly)
Salt to taste
Vegetarian pesto can contain cheese, just not the cheese made with animal parts.
I still think that a failure to label something as vegan or vegetarian when it is so, is a form of discrimination against certain religions.
Certain religions forbid the consumption of meat (Buddhist, Jain), and some permit the consumption of certain meats (Hindu, Judaism, Muslim).
Vegan or vegetarian food labelling is the common denominator for all these religions.
Without the correct labelling of the food, the members of these religions can either eat the food (and thus compromise their beliefs), or go without.
Bit unfair?
And oxtail soup.
Tastes fantastic.
Is there any reason to keep using animal parts?
There wasn’t much actual meat in it anyway.
I'm not a good cook by any means, but pretty much anything can be made delicious with a load of shallots.
What maniac puts grits in chilli?
Actually, what maniac puts grits in anything? Revolting items.
not sure about how much to dilute the ingredients by. it says it feeds 16, but theres just 2 of us
I reckon there's probably four good meals there, it's not a million miles from my own recipe (I'll repost if anyone wants it?) and I've tweaked that so that a full pack of Quorn mince is about right. If you're cooking for two and are unfamiliar with the concept of freezers I'd halve it, tops, and for the faff I probably wouldn't bother. I'd rather make too much food than not enough, there's always tomorrow's lunch.
Dial back on the chilli powder
The trick here is to use more mild chilli rather than less hot. If you don't like too much heat then why are you making chilli you loon you still want it to taste like chilli rather than tomato and 'meat' soup.
Cougar you’re (partially) right thanks. Totally wrong abou the ‘tomato soup’ though.
I just checked the recipe and they recommend ‘McCormicks’ chilli powder which I read is a blend of spices, herbs and ‘medium hot’ chilli powder.
What I use and call ‘chilli powder’ is the raw hot red chilli powder as per the big cheap bags of that you get in Asian supermarkets. I like my food stupid hot, but Mrs P not so much. I add my own herbs (which are, incidentally, the same as the ones in Mc Cormicks powder, but I prefer to source quality smoked paprika and grind my own cumin etc) and seasoning so I don’t tend to seek out ‘chilli powder’ blends like those etc. It gets confusing.
So (per the recipe) a 1/4 cup of Mc Cormicks chilli powder (or similar).
If I had it my way I’d be soaking anchos and serranos to blend with the red hot chilli powder. Soaked chilli stock included. But then it gets expensive and no-one here but me eats it (somewhere north of Vindaloo and South of Phaal, in a town called El Diablo 🤣)
I get around that by having a chilli flake grinder and adding to my own bowl.
The buckwheat. It cooks in perfectly and adds thickness and nutrition and a little texture. If it makes you squeamish just grind it first. It’ll cook in much the same, but you’ll feel better about it 😉
Best Damn Confusing Vegan Chilli
Without the correct labelling of the food, the members of these religions can either eat the food (and thus compromise their beliefs), or go without.
Or apply a little intelligence / common sense of their own to read the ingredients and confirm if it fits with their belief system?
Quite. Having a little (V) on the package is handy but not essential as I can read and there's only so much space on the label.
Religious beliefs are different though. If something contains say chicken, you can't tell whether it's Halal chicken or not unless the label explicitly states so.
So (per the recipe) a 1/4 cup of Mc Cormicks chilli powder (or similar).
see, the 'US cups' measure confuses me. ive tried googling the equivalent grams measure but get different results every time. so it looks like its a 'volume' measure rather than a 'weight' measure would that be right? so its different for every ingredient? so is it easier just to buy a 'cup' for the US recipes?
What maniac puts grits in chilli?
never heard of them so had to google it and still not much more the wiser. ive looked on my 'go to' wholefoods supplier site and see a choice of 'organic buckwheat raw' (are these the grits), flakes, flour, or puffed buckwheat. whats a boy to do? ignore the buckwheat or do i need it for taste or texture?
organic buckwheat raw’ (are these the grits)
Most likely
Buckwheat grits/groats are
are the buckwheat kernels which have been hulled and crushed. Buckwheat groats are typically cooked like one would cook rice. Buckwheat is actually a herb and the edible portion is the triangular shaped seeds. The seeds are also ground into buckwheat flour which is used to make pancakes and the famous Russian blini.
https://www.gourmetsleuth.com/ingredients/detail/buckwheat-groats
I often use them in this recipe (and other recipes calling for ‘mince’, including patties) for the texture/sauce-consistency and nutrition/health benefits. They cook somewhat like rice but soon ‘disappear’ in the sauce. I once used pearl barley by mistake. Big mistake, it takes two or three times longer to cook. Now that wasn’t pleasant 😎
https://www.naturespath.com/en-us/blog/health-benefits-of-buckwheat/
As for cups, I just go somewhere between 200/250 mls. Or about 16 tablespoons. I’d think. That can be a lot of chilli powder if you buy a hot one! I never buy ‘blends’ such as Mc Cormack (never seen it In the UK tbh) so instead use however much heat I want (via red chilli powder and/or fresh/dried hot chili varities) combined with the seasoning/herbs/spices elements of the dish which come from a good smoked paprika, dried or fresh oregano, ground cumin seeds, salt, black-pepper, garlic, bell pepper etc. As listed.
Sorry it got confusing. It’s often the problem trying to recreate US recipes with UK ingredients.
Cougar you’re (partially) right thanks. Totally wrong abou the ‘tomato soup’ though.
Hadn't even crossed my mind that "chilli powder" might be anything other than, well, chilli powder.
I love many things about America but by christ their recipes irritate the shite out of me. Over-reliance on brand names, measuring dry weights by volume, no concept that anyone outside of the US might want to try to follow then. 'The one in the orange packet,' really?! Get in the goddamn sea.
For my part, I rely mostly on jars of herbs and spices for flavouring. I'd love to go to the 'next level' in cooking, crushing fresh whole spices and using a special house blend of dried chillies and the like, but I'm just not there yet. On "Cougar's Pasta Sauce Scale of Cooking Sophistication" which ranges from "jar of Lidl's own-brand version of Dolmio" to "home-grown organic tomatoes picked off the vine two minutes ago" I'm somewhere around the passata and tinned tomatoes level. And honestly, I'll take that for the time being, it's not all that long ago that on the aforementioned scale I was at "Heinz Spaghetti Hoops."
I'm self-taught and I mostly get by but my main failing is that I'm a very slow chef, "ready in five minutes" packet Pasta 'n' Sauce takes me 20. Adding more complexity is just going to take me even longer and it's a whole raft of new things to learn. Plus I'm space limited, I already have an entire cupboard dedicated to herbs, spices and sauces, though that at least is going to change soon.
see, the ‘US cups’ measure confuses me. ive tried googling the equivalent grams measure but get different results every time. so it looks like its a ‘volume’ measure rather than a ‘weight’ measure would that be right? so its different for every ingredient? so is it easier just to buy a ‘cup’ for the US recipes?
A cup is 240ml and yes, it's a volume measurement. So obviously makes total sense for things like flour which changes density if it's compacted or sifted.
I bought a set of measuring cups for exactly this reason, and even then it's still a $%^&ed-up measurement because most cups available in the UK are 'metric cups' at 250ml rather than the US 240. I eventually found some US-accurate ones on Amazon but it wasn't easy.
My theory is that "cups" were originally supposed to be a relative measure and the actual size of it didn't matter. Like, if you're making batter then you need one cup each of eggs, flour and milk and it's doesn't matter if your 'cup' is 200ml or 2000ml. But then the wheels come off as soon as you involve not-cups, a tablespoon of salt might be fine for the latter there, the former not so much.
The one in the orange packet,’ really?! Get in the goddamn sea.
Well that was me to be fair. Not America. Couldn’t remember at first that it was ‘smoked chipotle flavour one’ I bought so I just wrote as I remembered/mnemonically. I’m a bit spectral that way. As for prepacked? I agree it’s better to cook fresh. I could of course have bought some chipotle chillies from online/local deli if available, then soaked some dried pinto beans overnight, cooked them, mashed them, seasoned etc. Good idea if preparing bulk. I could freeze the mash.
It never pays to assume others don’t wish to source/prepare from scratch. I’m not a fan of plastic packaging either so that is a good kick up the arse. I’ll buy either Old El Paso tins and season, or make scratch in future.
I should maybe contribute here less often and when I’ve got more time because I rush things and have to go back and re-edit a ton of times only to get it wrong again as the edit window closes! Apologies all. (crawls back to the ocean, covered in groats) 🌊
@sadexpunk - use your judgment, it’ll be good! I’ll go away and work at a ‘UK-friendly’ bestest everest gosh crikey vegan chilli to beat this one. And with easy to understand measures and ingredients!
Cougar:
The trick here is to use more mild chilli rather than less hot. If you don’t like too much heat then why are you making chilli you loon you still want it to taste like chilli rather than tomato and ‘meat’ soup.
vs
Cougar:
Hadn’t even crossed my mind that “chilli powder” might be anything other than, well, chilli powder.
No wonder you thought it must taste like ‘tomato soup’ if your chief flavour/seasoning is raw chilli powder!
12 tablespoons of raw (hot) chilli powder is hot by most standards. Not so flavourful IME? Not sure why I’d add more ‘mild’ chili powder with less heat, rather than just add less hot chili powder?
What am I missing?
@sadexpunk – use your judgment, it’ll be good!
A cup is 240ml and yes, it’s a volume measurement.
well if every cup is 240ml, i guess i could use a measuring jug to 'fill up to the line'? not as accurate as scales but if youre saying 'a cup is 240ml' i can work with that.
is that the same for liquids too? so, different weights for water vs custard say, but still 240ml?
I should maybe contribute here less often and when I’ve got more time because I rush things and have to go back and re-edit a ton of times only to get it wrong again as the edit window closes! Apologies all. (crawls back to the ocean, covered in groats) 🌊
Please don't. Your contributions are great and if you screw something up and the window closes then report your own post and we can change it for you.