(Grillable) Veggie Burger

Originally from Minimalist Baker, the blogger had five (count ’em!) previous attempts at veggie burgers. I’ve tried a few different recipes myself, and while they’re always tasty they inevitably fall victim to the curse of the veggie burger, in that they fall apart if you just look at them funny. But this burger recipe manages to hold its own (sorry, pun unintended) and yields a delicious veggie patty which can be grilled or barbecued. See the original blog for a photo tutorial.

Makes 5 large patties or 10 smaller ones.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup (155g) cooked brown rice
• 1 cup (120g) raw walnuts (or substitute breadcrumbs)
• ½ tablespoon vegetable oil
• ½ white onion, finely diced
• 1 tablespoon each chili powder, cumin powder, and smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon coconut sugar or brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups (227g) cooked black beans, well rinsed, drained and patted dry
• ⅓ cup (22g) panko bread crumbs (or GF breadcrumbs if required)
• 3-4 tablespoons BBQ sauce (make sure it’s ‘safe’ if cooking for a vegan)
• Salt and pepper

Method:

• Toast walnuts over a skillet at medium heat for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Once fragrant and golden brown, set aside to let cool.
• Re-heat the skillet over medium heat. Add some vegetable oil and sauté onions for 3-4 minutes with salt and pepper. Remove from heat and set aside.
• Once walnuts are cooled, add to a blender or food processor with chili powder, cumin, paprika, salt, pepper and sugar, and blend to a fine meal.
• In a large mixing bowl, add the drained and dried black beans and mash well with a fork, leaving only a few whole beans.
• Add the cooked rice to the beans, along with the spice-walnut mixture, sautéed onion, bread crumbs, and BBQ sauce. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon until a moldable dough forms (if too dry, add a little BBQ sauce; if too wet, add more bread crumbs). Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.
• Divide into patties, and grill on high for 3-4 minutes on each side.
• Serve with your favourite burger ingredients.

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Tangy Pork Casserole

 

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 750g piece boneless pork, cut into large chunks
• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
• 1 stalk celery, chopped
• 2 gloves garlic, crushed
• ¾ cup dry apple cider
• ¾ cup chicken stock
• ¼ cup barbecue sauce
• 1 tablespoon grainy mustard
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• Chilli seasoning, salt and pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Side recommendationss: Sautéed Red cabbage, leeks and crispy potatoes

Method:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F.
• Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Brown the pork pieces for 4-5 Remove from the pan and place in a casserole dish.
• Add the onion, celery and garlic to the pan and cook for two minutes, or until golden. Add the onion mixture to the casserole dish with the cider, stock, barbecue sauce, mustard, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and seasonings.
• Cover the casserole dish with a lid and bake for 2 – 2 ½ hours, stirring occasionally, until the pork is very tender.
• Shred the pork chunks with two forks and serve garnished with the parsley.

Thai Green Beef Curry

Thai green curry is a very versatile dish, able to accommodate beef, chicken, shrimp, even vegetarian (it’s great with asparagus!). The recipe will vary depending on who you ask; below is the recipe from Annie Bell’s Gorgeous Suppers, but feel free to play around with the flavours to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

• 400g beef schnitzel (or other fast-cooking cut), sliced into finger-length strips
•4 tablespoons groundnut or vegetable oil
• 8 spring onions, sliced
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste
• 425ml beef or chicken stock
• 2 x 400ml cans coconut milk
• 6 lime leaves
• 4 whole chillies
• 200g shelled peas (fresh or frozen)
• 3 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• Fresh basil leaves
• Fresh coriander leaves
• Cooked rice and lime wedges to serve

Method:

• Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and brown the beef in several batches, seasoning it with salt, removing it to a bowl as you go.
• Heat the remaining oil in a large casserole or saucepan over a medium-low heat, and cook the spring onions and garlic for a few minutes until they soften.
• Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute longer, then add the stock, one of the cans of coconut milk, lime leaves, and chillies. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.
• You can prepare the recipe to this point in advance and finish cooking it for 10 minutes before you want to eat. Cook the rice at this point too.
• Bring the sauce back to the boil over a medium heat, add the beef and peas and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir the remaining tin of coconut milk, the fish sauce, sugar and herbs into the curry, and bring back to the boil.
• Serve the curry ladled over rice and accompany with lime wedges. You can leave in the whole chillies and lime leaves and remove them as you eat.

Thai Green Chicken Curry

Thai green curry is a very versatile dish, able to accommodate chicken, beef, shrimp, even vegetarian (it’s great with asparagus!). The recipe will vary depending on who you ask; below is the recipe from Annie Bell’s Gorgeous Suppers, but feel free to play around with the flavours to suit your tastes.

Ingredients:

• 6 skinned chicken breasts, sliced into finger-length strips

•4 tablespoons groundnut or vegetable oil

• 8 spring onions, sliced

• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced

• 2 tablespoons Thai green curry paste

• 425ml chicken stock

• 2 x 400ml cans coconut milk

• 6 lime leaves

• 4 whole chillies

• 200g shelled peas (fresh or frozen)

• 3 tablespoons fish sauce

• 1 tablespoon caster sugar

• Fresh basil leaves

• Fresh coriander leaves

• Cooked rice and lime wedges to serve

Method:

• Heat half the oil in a large frying pan over high heat and brown the chicken in several batches, seasoning it with salt, removing it to a bowl as you go.

• Heat the remaining oil in a large casserole or saucepan over a medium-low heat, and cook the spring onions and garlic for a few minutes until they soften.

• Stir in the curry paste and cook for 1 minute longer, then add the stock, one of the cans of coconut milk, lime leaves, and chillies. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then simmer over a low heat for 10 minutes.

• You can prepare the recipe to this point in advance and finish cooking it for 10 minutes before you want to eat. Cook the rice at this point too.

• Bring the sauce back to the boil over a medium heat, add the chicken and peas and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir the remaining tin of coconut milk, the fish sauce, sugar and herbs into the curry, and bring back to the boil.

• Serve the curry ladled over rice and accompany with lime wedges. You can leave in the whole chillies and lime leaves and remove them as you eat.

Summer Salad

An easy salad made by combing the best of summer’s ingredients:

– Blanched asparagus
– Slices of strawberries
– Toasted almonds
– Rocket or mesclun
– Lemon juice and goat’s cheese

Toss together and enjoy

Spiced Chickpea and Lemon Soup

From 500 Soups.

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon ground ginger
• Two 400g (14oz) cans chickpeas
• 450g (1 lb) ripe tomatoes, peeled and chopped (or canned if out of season)
• 1 litre (1 ¾ pts) chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 tablespons chopped fresh parsley
• Juice of about half a lemon,
• Salt and pepper.

Method:

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and garlic, and cook gently for 4 minutes.
• Stir in the cumin, cinnamon and ginger, then add half the chickpeas, the tomatoes and most of the stock, reserving about 200ml (7 fl oz). Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Meanwhile, process the remaining chickpeas and reserved stock to a smooth purée in a food processor or blender.
• Stir the purée into the soup. Stir in the parsley. Add salt and pepper, and lemon juice to taste, and serve.

Beetroot and Lentil Salad

From Community. I was missing some of the leafy herbs, and I cheated by using canned beetroot, but the great thing about salads is that you can usually get away with messing with the ingredients a bit. I have included the original recipe in full below, so you can see how it’s supposed to be done.

Ingredients:

• 300g lentils
• 2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 4 eschalots, thinly sliced
• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
• Sea salt and black pepper
• ½ cup flat-leaf parsley leaves
• ½ cup dill fronds
• ½ cup coriander leaves
• 200g aged cheddar
• 1 cup baby spinach leaves

Pickled beetroot:

• 6 beetroots (750g)
• 2 cups white wine vinegar
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup caster sugar
• 1 cinnamon quill
• 1 star anise
• 1 fresh bay leaf
• 3 whole cloves

Method:

• To pickle the beetroots, scrub and clean the beetroots well. Combine all the ingredients in a large stockpot. Stir and bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Reduce the heat and simmer for 1 – 1 ½ hours until the beetroots are tender. When cool, peel the beetroots and cut into 2cm cubes.
• Place the lentils in a saucepan and cover with plenty of cold water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and cook for 20-25 minutes or until just tender. Drain.
• Heat the oil in a pan and add the eschalots, garlic, sugar and cumin and sauté until tender and starting to brown. While the lentils are still warm, stir through the eschalot mixture, along with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.
• Finely chop the parsley, dill and coriander. Break the cheddar into rough bite-sized chunks.
• Spoon the lentils onto a plate and top with the pickled beetroot. Scatter over the spinach leaves, herbs and cheddar. Finish with a drizzle of oil and season well with salt and pepper.