Vegetarianism for a meat lover.

id like to actually know what the difference is between all those different lentils

LINK

Loads of recipes out there for dahl/daal/dal etc. I follow the indian or pakistani recipes on youtube because they’re usually captioned.

I sometimes add lentils to soup or make them the basis of soup. As I said excellent and versatile staple is the Amy’s Kitchen (copycat) Lentil Soup recipe. You can use any lentils but red work best in that.

Sometimes I process lentils into burger patties with buckwheat, egg, soices, garlic, etc

The red ones are the most protein packed. They cook down quickly into soft things so perfect in daals and soups etc for nutrition and thickness

Dark green speckled/Puy lentils are good for Mediterranean type herbs, recipes. They can stand alone as a cooked item in a ‘portion’ like would a pile of peas.

Merchant Gourmet sell a ready-cooked pack of puy lentils with ingredients listed (think it’s bay, garlic etc) on the pack. It’s a great thing to grab on the hoof if there’s nothing else to go with your lunch salad.

Try a pack and then next time make your own recipe using dried ones from scratch. Dark green/Puy lentils take longer to cook until ‘al-dente’ than do other lentils. I always cook them in stock first before using.

They have a stronger, less buttery and more peppery taste than brown, red and light green plain lentils. Which is nice on their own terms but can be overpowering in a recipe if it needs something less ‘singular’ and more unified.

Anyway here’s a masoor (red split lentils) tadka dal. Never tried this exact one but it looks good. Make some rice, salad and roti on the side ommmm nooooom

@sadexpunk

Mrs P sed:

‘Here you go’

Staple No 1: Lentils, rice, mushroom (fortified with B12 and nutritional yeast)

Ingredients:

Lentils:

200ml of dark green speckled lentil/puy lentils
400 ml of water with 1 x veggie stock cube in it
1 x Small pinch of salt to taste if desired (if low sodium stock cube is used) OR add salt after cooking.
1 x pinch of smoked paprika (Again, conservative amount)

1. Add all the above to saucepan. Put lid on it. Bring to boil, stir, then turn to low heat.
2. Once water is absorbed into the lentils then take of heat and leave to sit with lid on for 5 mins without stirring. Check by tasting to see if al-dente (ie have some ‘bite’ in the centre, on the outside.
3. Remove lid, stir gently to release steam and then put aside.

Mushrooms

5 x Large chestnut mushrooms (sliced thickly or to preference)
1 x Tblspn of olive oil
3/4 level teaspoon of ground black pepper
Pinch of garlic powder

1. Fry the mushrooms in the oil on a low heat until cooked through, yet firm.
2. Take off heat. Add pepper and garlic seasoning. Stir. Put aside

Rice

1 x cup Basmati rice
2mx cups cold water
3 x tablspoons of Engevita B12 Nutritional Yeast Flakes

1. Wash the rice with cold water.
2. Add the water to a sauceoan
3. Add the rice
4. Bring to the boil then turn low until water is absorbed (without stirring)
5. Taste-test rice to be sure it’s not overcooking.

6. Pour the cooked rice, the lentils, the mushrooms, the yeast flakes all into a large bowl and mix together with a fork.

Use anywhere anyway, hot or cold. Meaty, umami, tasty. Very very tasty, and a ‘complete protein’ meal either on it’s own, or as a side-dish

Serving Suggestion: (what we had tonight!)

– Portion of the Rice, Lentils & Mushroom
– 2 x baked baby beetroots in balsamic vinegar dressing (Balsamic Vinegar, olive oil, salt, pepper)
– Steamed sprouted cauliflower
– Steamed tender broccoli stems

I have a veggie question

Yonks ago camping with an ex army mate(him,not me) who had with him some delicious ‘quorn’ chicken bits, and I have to admit they were bloody tasty, especially when its -10c

Question is – Are any of these quorn type things easy to store, if you are off camping, or must they be refrigerated ?. I was thinking that maybe a pack would last over 3 days before use. Mainly as a standby.

Question is – Are any of these quorn type things easy to store, if you are off camping,

Quorn is it’s own ‘thing’!

Regular version of Quorn (ie most Quorn/Quorn products) has egg in it. So I guess treat as such?

Vegan Quorn doesn’t have egg in it, so should maybe store longer? No idea tbh

I had a microwaved/reheated Quorn Vegan Pasty today for lunch. Tasted ok but reminded me of cat food. Maybe better cold or oven heated? Tasted like a steak bake. I’d much, much prefer packing a few decent veggie samosas and an apple in my napsak.

Had a curry tonight using Naked Glory Vegan Chicken-Style Roast Tenderstrips. Those and a load of button mushrooms, spinach and cauliflower cooked up using a jar of Lidl Jalfrezi sauce . After a couple of Tiger Beers , you would be hard pressed to tell the difference. It’s the closest I’ve had texture wise to real chicken.

@sadexpunk

Mrs P sed:

‘Here you go’

thanks for that, looks good. i assume i can freeze portions too? (as i seem to be going solo with this in my house 🙂 )

^
Not liking simple rice and lentils takes some dedication 😉

Haven’t frozen any yet as it doesn’t hang around for longer than a few days. We store in tubs in the fridge for up to 7 days (white rice and lentils approx same, not: brown rice would be shorter you’d have to check) but you can always halve the ingredients or try freezing:

https://www.simplyrecipes.com/how_to_freeze_and_reheat_rice/

Forgot to say there’s about six portions in the recipe as given 👍🏼

Simple lentil and vegetable soup

As a former meat-lover this is a staple comfort food. It’s a nutritious meal on it’s own, and a ‘complete protein’ meal if served with rice or bread. The soup has a subtle yet tasty meaty/umami flavour.

The key to success I’ve found is using freshly-picked bay leaf if you have it (dried will also work) and most of all – fresh, good quality vegetables. I suppose the veg element is a combination of mirepoix and sofrito (?) either diced of shredded will work. Just make sure they’re finely prepped/diced small.

For this particular recipe I used 50% green lentils and 50% puy/green speckled lentils for their nutty/peppery taste and the firm texture. Any dried lentils can be used, just bear in mind that red lentils go mushy and will produce a more thickened dahl-like soup if that is what you desire.

Ingredients:

250ml diced carrots (approx 2 x medium carrots)
250ml diced potato (approx 2 x medium potatoes)
250ml diced celery (approx 3 x sticks celery)
250ml diced brown onion (approx 2 x medium onions)
500ml dried green and/or brown lentils
2 or 3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 x vegetable stock cube (or 1 litre of veg stock)
1 x bay leaf (fresh is best)
1 tablespoon (or three caps) of balsamic vinegar

Optional:
1/2 teaspoon of sausage seasoning (sage, nutmeg, garlic powder, black pepper)*
Tablespoon of Engevita Savoury Nutritional Yeast Flakes with B12

Method:

1. Slice and dice all veg into small cubes (see pic for celery example)

2. Heat oil and bay leaf in largest pan and then add veg. Sauté vegetables by stirring occasionally on low heat until just turning golden brown (not mushy)

3. In small pan put dried lentils into 1l of water and add stock cube. Transfer the bay leaf from the veg into the lentils.
Bring to a boil and then simmer until the lentils are softened yet still firm to the bite (approx 25 mins).

4. Remove lentils and stock from heat. Remove the bay leaf and add to the vegetables <—- important – do not blend the bay leaf with the lentils otherwise it will wreck the soup. Trust me 😎, you’ll never want to be straining/picking blended bay leaf out of it.

Using a slotted spoon remove approx a third of the cooked lentils and set aside in a container. Leave the remaining lentils and the stock in the pan, then blend until smooth. Return the set aside lentils to the pan and out aside.

5. Cover the vegetables with 1 litre of fresh water, and (optional) sausage seasoning, bring to boil and cook on medium/low heat for about 25 mins and then add the lentils and stir well.

6. Add the balsamic vinegar and cook on low heat for a further 15 mins or until the veg are soft and the balsamic vinegar is cooked off

7. Add (optional) B12 flakes and stir well

8. Allow to cool a little, serve and enjoy with a warm buttered roll or thick slice of bread. Vegan butter recipe

Freezes and reheats well, so portion some off into the freezer and/or keep fresh up to four days in fridge.

______________________________________________

*Sausage seasoning

2 Teaspoons salt
1 Teaspoon white pepper
1 Teaspoon black pepper
½ Teaspoon ground mace
½ Teaspoon nutmeg
1 Teaspoon dried sage
1 Teaspoon onion powder (or garlic powder)
1 Teaspoon dried thyme
1 Teaspoon ginger powder

^ This seasoning is based on a traditional English Breakfast sausage seasoning recipe. Combine ingredients in a glass jar, seal and shake well until mixed uniformly. Use as and when required. About a teaspoon of this works well in a soup or stew recipe. Best used in combination with low-sodium stock, or else leave out the salt when making up the seasoning. Also works very well to give a sausage kick to any lacklustre vegan sossies. eg I cook Heck Meat Free Magic sausages as they are excellent texture, but when nearly cooked I split them open in pan with knife, spread the cut sausage with small pinch of seasoning and some refined coconut oil or vegan butter, then close sausage back together and cook for a little longer. Ridiculously tasty and totally hits all of the sausage sarnie cravings for me. I may even slice them into the above soup, to make a sausage and lentil stew? Hmm…

Finally got to try some Beyond Sausages the other night. Was a pack on the shelf half price so I grabbed it. It’s normally expensive (£4 for 2 brats)

They are massive to be fair. So I followed the frying instructions

Firstly, a lot of oil came out of them as they heated through (refined coconut) and a slight scent of clove (not my favourite spice) so I wasn’t too hopeful. Reading the packet they are about half the sat fat of pork sausages so not worried about the oil anymore, and I rolled them about until the skins began going crispy in places. About 8 mins in the pan and they seemed done. (My hobs are rubbish and Beyond recommend about 6 mins)

Decided to put them on some Make No Bones Vegan Brioche buns as they already go so well with the burgers. Also fried up some onions and mushrooms. English mustard (had run out of Dijon) and ketchup finished the job:

Result? Surprisingly sausagey/meaty in texture. Lots of fatty porky feel about it. Quite a shock really. Mrs P couldn’t finish hers because it was ‘too much like meat’. She never liked meat sausages even before going vegan, but likes The Heck meat magic ones which is weird. Bit these were a step too far for her!

There was a slight clove-y taste which I could have done without but I polished them off. Very satisfying. As I’d ended with with double rations I tried giving P-dog a bit of mine. He wolfed it. He’s fussy so that’s an endorsement. Mine is even better. Beyond ‘Brat’ sausage is a go-er. Would prefer one of these than 4 x Richmond meat free, because 1. Richmond meat-free IMO smell like old greasy spoon cafes and are tiny, with not enough fat. Also Beyond are a meat-free company afaik, unlike either Richmond or Heck. So I’ll eat less vegan sausages now (by weight and frequency) but will be at least eating tasty vegan sausages from a meat-free company. Win-win.

In the US they sell the spicy italian version of the beyond meat sausages which are amazing. The burgers are better though if you ask me.

^ will try the burgers next 👍🏼 Linda Macs are tough act to beat tho…

Mrs P couldn’t finish hers because it was ‘too much like meat’

This is kind of where I am too.

Though I’ve never had a pork sausage outside of hotdogs so I’m probably even weirder.

Beyond Burger jobbed.

Tried it tonight (still on offer) and first time cook decided to go au naturel (cooked in pan, without seasoning and minus my regular smokey umami baste)

Served in bun with dijon mustard, tom ketchup and salad.

Note – the Beyond burger looks small in my pic but the bun was too big. They are quite thick patties tho.

Me: Am impressed to be honest. Very much like a ‘clean’ tasting (not gamey) juicy meat burger. No overpowering/distracting flavour but definitely ‘meaty’, especially in texture and caramelisation. I can’t see many people not liking these unless they don’t like meat burgers. For me it will only improve with a bit of smoke and seasoning as I like mine flame-grilled.

Mrs P: ‘Ok but I prefer Linda Mac’s 1/4lb texture and flavour, and they don’t taste so much like a ‘beef-burger beef-burger’, while these do’

Get some paneer in, very adaptable and scrummy.

Last night’s foray on the selloff shelf turned up a packet of ‘Squeaky Bean Crispy Duck Style Pieces with hoisin sauce and pancakes.

I just have nothing bad to say. Totally hit the spot. Absolutely delicious.

Out of the pack into the pan along with a drizzle of olive oil:

Pieces are big and small, plenty of variety
Fried until they were just going crispy, smaller bits crisped up bigger bits remained chewy and meaty.

Drizzled the hoisin sauce, then wrapped in warm pancake roll along with chopped spring onions and crispy lettuce. Served with sriracha sauce to dip. Top snack/starter.

FLIPPING ACE. Will do again.

Honestly, with sufficient spring onions and sriracha I’d probably eat warm gravel.

^ I know what you mean and sort of agree, but the veggie meat was really nice on it’s own too so I’d be happy to use it in other chinese-style recipes (it has a subtle Chinese 5 spice seasoning). Texture is incredibly good. It’s a seitan/pea protein thing. Will make a nice occasional change from the usual mushrooms, cashews or tofu.

Recently though if ever have a takeout I’ve been tucking in to special stir fried veg with cashews nuts. Water, chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mangetout, whole cashews, spring onion, baby corn, pak choi, all together in a bowl with a schezuan sauce/gravy.

It’s quite a lot nicer than the Chinese chicken curries I used to always order. I like the curry sauce though so now order that on the side with mushrooms and beansprouts.

I do miss sweet and sour chicken so may try those duck pieces in batter with a sweet and sour sauce.

Recently discovered is super-easy to make, ie tom ketchup*, vinegar, sugar, soy sauce, pineapple piece optional.

*Or red food colouring.

Pics are fine, just absolutely huge so take an eon to load. You might want to resize them before uploading.

👍🏼 Thnks for the tip ^

Vivera Shawarma kebab plant meat is epic btw. £2 from asda it’s a bargain but is absolutely delicious. Waitrose want £3 for same of course. Still cheaper than a doner. You’ll get two what I’d call ‘normal’ portions out of a pack if serving with salad.

Cooking:

After a few samples I preferred more garlic (am garlic mad, so you may not) so shook a good lot of garlic powder over it, fried in a little light oil until starting to brown/firm up, whack in a pitta with chopped onion, salad/shredded white cabbage, mint sauce, yogurt, hot sauce etc – or have with salad and chip shop chips like what my fat belly did:

Eagle eyes will note that I mixed some Quorn Turkish Kebab in with the Shawarma.

Wanted to compare them directly. So:

Quorn Turkish Kebab – like old thick sweaty rubber. Made me feel a bit weird. 2/10 for effort. How they hell they got it that chewy I’ll probably never know. It tasted and felt somewhat like end of night chunky too-thick doner-meat offcuts that had been drying out in a hot cabinet. For making a brave effort – 3/10

Vivera Shawarma – full marks. Nicely/roundly-spiced and seasoned. Juicy and not too chewy. Best plant based Shawarma alternative. Better than cheap doner to be honest, it’s more like the 100% quality. – 10/10

My co-diner said: ‘Quorn kebab had a slight aftertaste, I liked it but preferred the Vivera a lot more’

‘Squeaky Bean Crispy Duck Style Pieces with hoisin sauce and pancakes.

I just have nothing bad to say. Totally hit the spot. Absolutely delicious.

It certainly does. Looks far more textured than most of the other substitutes.

At work they are doing some Earth Day thing and asked for meat free recipe submissions.

I sent the Ottolenghi black pepper tofu one.

Reply; “It’s really odd, every submission so far has been an Ottolenghi dish. I’ve been a veggie for years and have never heard of these Ottolenghi people”

I tried a couple of those Beyond burgers and what the hell do they put in them. My kitchen reeks and I have got the windows wide open trying to get rid of the smell of the cooked burgers.

^ Probably the pea protein and coconut oil? Reading around it seems that a few people are sensitive to the scent, while most don’t mind. Have only cooked them once, and we didn’t notice anything off-putting or overpowering. Did you cook it on a high heat maybe? I know burning coconut oil doesn’t smell great.

Still prefer Lind Macs tho.

Latest trial (this week) were the (Aldi) Plant Menu No Beef Burgers.

I’m a fairly sturdy eater. Very unfussy if needs be. But these beat me.

The patties looked the business out of the oven, almost too thick and meaty if that’s possible. Yet found that the taste and texture combined is something that repels me.

Most odd. I rarely if ever throw any food away but didn’t finish this. Fortunately it’s refocused my home-cooking efforts. A year or so ago I tried inventing nut, buckwheat and lentil burgers and although they had to be frozen (as the first batch was too soft to hold shape) I vowed to nail it properly. The time is now 👍🏼

burger king have reintroduced their no meat whopper. but this time it has vegan mayo, so is vegan from the outset.
The vegan royale was released too.
tried them both. the royal was very chickeny. really nice too.
The Whopper has changed. it was the beyond meat burger, but that, I thought was always a bit soft feeling, akin to a tinned burger from the crap fairgrounds of my youth. Now they’re using the vegan kitchen burgers and chicken patties. it’s really very good. doesn’t give you that constantly repeating taste however, so if you want an authentic BK experience, then go for meat. for taste, go for the vegan stuff.

Oh, the halloumi king is not that nice. far too much halloumi for one person. and the bean burgers are quite ‘traditional’ fart pouches.

Vivera Shawarma kebab plant meat

we have this quite regularly. order chips and 2 ‘salad kebabs’ (basically salad, flatbread and that spicy sauce you cant seem to get anywhere) from the local chippy and stuff them with the kebab stuff. it’s awesome.

The Whopper has changed. it was the beyond meat burger

Dammit, I thought it was the Impossible Burger and was really looking forward to trying one https://impossiblefoods.com/burgerking

always a bit soft feeling, akin to a tinned burger from the crap fairgrounds of my youth.

Talking of which we had a fried Co-Op ‘Gro Steak’ last night that I’d defrosted. It tasted/had texture like one of those things. As if you were eating reformed, cooling animal fat and offal! Too realistic. The only nice thing was my tasty baste on the top, which somehow the pattie had rejected so the inside tasted of bland fatty nothing.

Meat-loving veggies such as me may have a large choice of meatalikes but IME learning to cook plant-based complete protein meals (from fresh ingredients) is by *far* the best way forward. The occasional Beyond sausage or Lind Macs burger will do for when I can’t be arsed to cook/haven’t ingredients. I shall still buy the Vivera Shawarma for pitta/kebabs though. By far the best instant meaty meal option I’ve yet found, with Beyond Brat and Linda Macs close behind.

After trying the excellent King’s Black Bean veggie (actually vegan) jerky I’m convinced that a decent pepperoni slice can’t be far away.

Dammit, I thought it was the Impossible Burger and was really looking forward to trying one https://impossiblefoods.com/burgerking

ah, maybe that’s just in the US? The Vegetarian Butcher supplied uk burger king (not vegan kitchen, got that wrong)

https://www.thevegetarianbutcher.co.uk/news.html

I recently made a Roast Tomato & Aubergine Curry and a Dahl – both recipes from the owner of a vegan curry house called Spice Box (and were featured in the Sunday Times mag a couple of weeks ago). They were absolutely gorgeous.

Curry:
http://www.mibusinessmag.com/2020/02/10/roasted-aubergine-tomato-curry/

Dahl:
https://www.keith-allen.co.uk/food/d/dollys_dhal.html

And I recently discovered banana blossom – used it to make what was supposedly a vegan fish pie. It tasted nothing like a fish pie but was bloody lovely. Used cashew cream to give it a nice creamy texture. Have order a some more banana blossom to experiment with.

This thread makes me hungry.

I was in the mood for a creamy rich veg & lentil soup last night, and so used up what we had in. It turned out! Bowl-licking goodness.

Satisfying Soup

Red lentils two handfuls
Buckwheat grits handful
Leeks about two large chopped
Medium red onion chopped
One medium potato diced
Carrots x 2 chopped
Celery x 2 sticks chopped
Olive oil
Bay leaf
Nutmeg pinch
Thyme 1/3 teaspoon
Cumin 1/3 teaspoon
Smoked paprika 1/3 teaspoon
Balsamic vinegar, sploosh of (1 tablespoon)
Cherry toms x 5 (or 1 large tomato chopped)
1.5 veg stock cubes
Black pepper
Garlic powder

Sauteé onions, celery, leeks etc in the oil then add rest of veg.

Cover with water, crumble the stock cubes in. Bring to boil.

Cook about 30 mins until soft.

Remove bay leaf then blend smooth. Taste, add a little more water and blend again if required. Taste. I sweetened the cooked soup with a spoon of stevia granules, but you can use any other sweet thing or nothing depending on personal taste.

A swirl of Oatly Creamy Oat to serve.

Test running these lentil/oat burgers tonight. Fancied something more wholesome 😎

@tomtomthepipersson

And I recently discovered banana blossom – used it to make what was supposedly a vegan fish pie. It tasted nothing like a fish pie but was bloody lovely.

I’ve seen (variously) mentioned that caper/caper-juice, seaweed/kelp flakes, nutritional yeast and lemon will give fishy flavours.

Would like to have a bash at a banana blossom no-fish pie tho, that’s a great idea. I like a creamy smoked-haddocky fish pie so would probably use Oatly Creamy for the cream (cheaper than cashews?*) and some good smoked paprika to impart that smokey flavour.

*Anyone know if it’s OK to blend cashews in a regular jug-blender if they are pre-soaked?

Is there a knack or trick to cooking lentils? I always seemed to go crunchy… crunchy… crunchy… crunchy… slurry. I gave up in the end, I’ve not used lentils in years now.

I had the same relationship with rice for ages, I revisited it a while ago and I think I’ve finally sussed it but it took me about two years.

I’ve seen (variously) mentioned that caper/caper-juice, seaweed/kelp flakes, nutritional yeast and lemon will give fishy flavours.

Yeah, my recipe had yeast and a small amount of seaweed in – but even so, it was very un-fish like. I like the idea of giving it a smokey flavour though… maybe some liquid smoke.

I’m gonna try fish tacos next.

Is there a knack or trick to cooking lentils? I always seemed to go crunchy… crunchy… crunchy… crunchy… slurry. I gave up in the end, I’ve not used lentils in years now.

Different strokes for different lentils. The red split ones are good for dal and easily go mushy when cooked as they have no skin. You can also speed cooking up by pre-soaking in water for half an hour. They are also the third-highest plant protein source iirc

This dal fry recipe (below) is an easy win and v tasty. I cooked and ate one tonight.

Over-did the chilli tho. Still a result. Mrs P doesn’t like (low) madras heat or higher and I’ve seen her refuse curries on account of even moderate heat. Tonight’s erroneous/unholy/hot interpretation of the dal, I’d rate as a ‘high vindaloo’ (a level I favour) at which she’d normally run a mile, yet she polished this dal off nonetheless exclaiming

‘This is absolutely **** delicious but why did you make it so **** hot???’

Result 👹

https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/dal-fry-recipe/

Brown/green lentils have skins but will cook down in stock etc in about 40 mins iirc. Imuse them in chillis and soups. Blended or mashed.

The small speckled ones/puy lentils OTOH are more sort of dense and ‘al-dente’ when cooked. So if you don’t like the texture of those it may not be because you cooked them wrongly, but that’s how they are. ie a little grainy when soft. These are good lightly seasoned (bay, onion powder, black pepper, little stock) and served with salad and rice or potatoes

Couple of notable successes this week

Lentil Cottage Pie

Kallo umami cube
Onion powder 1/2 tsp
Garlic powder 1/2 tsp
Cumin 1/2 tsp
Oregano 1/4tsp
Thyme1/4 tsp
Bay leaf
Smoked paprika 1 x teaspoon
Balsamic vinegar 2 tablespoons
Salt and Pepper to taste

1 Diced onion
2 diced carrots
3 celery sticks with leaves
Dried Red split lentils
Dried Speckled green lentils
Half a large bell pepper diced
200ml passata

Cook green lentils first ie:
Cover with water, sprinkle in stock cube and balsamic vinegar. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until al dente. Then add the red lentils and more water to cover. Continue cooking until softening

Meanwhile in another pan – Saute onions, bay leaf and veg in a little olive oil until soft

Add the cooked lentils
Add the passata
Add all spices and herbs

Simmer on low heat for about 30 mins, adding water if necessary so there is just a little liquid showing.

Mash and season boiled spuds

Put the pie filling in ovenproof dish or tin, and fork the mash over the top.

Cook in oven until mashed potato peaks are crisping and the filling is bubbling

Remove, let cool.

Serve with greens and a little mint sauce.

I also made some mint and mustard gravy* to go over the greens.

*Bisto best onion gravy made thick, add a few teaspoons of both mint sauce and English mustard. A splash of Oatly milk to temper acidity.

Beyond Chilli

Wild card one off as managed to bag some Beyond Burgers at knockdown price. Wouldn’t ever spend that much on mince at full price. Hopefully these foods will become more inexpensive.

Anyway:

Mashed (with fork) and chopped the burgers up into bits. Added:

Balsamic vinegar
Cumin powder
Oregano (dried)
Salt and pepper
Hot chili powder
Smashed garlic x 3 cloves

Method:

Chop an onion.

In non stick pan cook onion in oil until soft

Add the Beyond Meat and spices until browned and firming up. Keep chopping it with spatula as it cooks if clumping.

Add a chopped bell pepper. Add tin of toms and Tblspn of tom puree.

Stir and cook on low for 20 mins.

Add some cocoa powder (teaspoon or 2).

Add tin of drained red kidney beans. Cook gently for further 10 mins adding water to achieve desired sauciness. Adjust seasoning as required.

Serve with tortilla chips and beer.

I’m a big meat or veg chilli fan. This really hits the spot for a full fat Friday result! Mrs P likes the taste but can’t stand the mince ‘meat’ (‘too realistic’) . Ok so I’ll have to eat it all. 😋

^forgot to say, that’s 3x Beyond Burgers worth

For those that like the Richmond meat free sausages, they are releasing bacon rashers soon… If they’re as good as the sausages , they should be good (thanks whoever suggested them)

I’ve heard of some vegetarians that eat fish. I’ll be a vegetarian who eats chicken.

I’ve heard of some vegetarians that eat fish.

No you haven’t. You’ve heard of pescatarians.

Nice try, back under your bridge now. (-:

I also made some mint and mustard gravy* to go over the greens.

*Bisto best onion gravy made thick, add a few teaspoons of both mint sauce and English mustard. A splash of Oatly milk to temper acidity.

That sounds interesting, not a combination that would ever have occurred to me.

I’ve been on a mission to create a gravy that hasn’t seen a granule. I think I’ve nailed it, I’ll type it up later (it’s hand-written and I’m on holiday).