Peri-Peri Beanie Burger

This was my attempt at recreating a Nando's beanie burger for my daughter. Apparently, it didn't taste as good as the Nando's one, but she still enjoyed it.

The recipe is packed full of protein from different sources, so this is a good recipe to fill up growing children and hungry adults alike!

Serves 4-6

• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
• ½ cup each of frozen peas and sweetcorn
• 2 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tin chickpeas
• ½ tin black eyed beans, or other pulses
• 4 tbsp chopped or coarsely ground pumpkin seeds (or cashew nuts)
• 1 cup of fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread)
• 1 egg
• 1 cup mature/sharp Cheddar cheese, grated
• 1-2 tsp fresh or frozen chopped mixed herbs
• Peri-peri sauce to serve

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan. Fry the onion, garlic and chilli on a moderate heat for a few minutes, until softened, but not brown. Add the spices and throw in the peas and sweetcorn. Turn off the heat.

Meanwhile blitz the bread in food processor to make the breadcrumbs. Remove and keep to one side.

Add the chickpeas and beans to the food processor and blend roughly.

Add all of the other ingredients (including the onion and pea mixture) and pulse to blend, so that the mixture still has a chunky texture.

Form into 6 large burgers, using your hands or a burger press.

Chill for half an hour to firm up.

Shallow fry for 4-5 minutes each size, or brush generously with oil and bake or barbecue.
Brush with with peri-peri sauce and serve in a bread roll with salad and potato wedges or fries.

Suitable for freezing before or after cooking.

Vegan version: Omit the egg and cheese. Add just enough breadcrumbs to form a firm mixture.

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Courgette, Green Bean and New Potato Salad

It's that time of year again and my home grown courgettes are fruiting in abundance - the yellow variety are doing particularly well.  As I'm not a fan of traditional potato salad, coated in mayonnaise, I devised this recipe instead.

Serves 4-6 as a side dish

• 200g/8oz baby courgettes/zucchini, sliced
• 100g/4oz green beans, sliced
• 500g/1lb new potatoes, halved if large
• 2 cloves of garlic, unpeeled
• 2 tbsp olive oil

For the dressing:

• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• a good handful of chopped, fresh tarragon or a mixture of any fresh, green herbs you have to hand (parsley, oregano, basil, mint etc)
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar or lemon juice
• 2 heaped tsp coarse grain mustard
• Himalayan pink salt to taste

Pre-heat the oven to 200 C/190 C Fan/400 F/Gas 6 and heat 2 tbsp. olive oil in a baking tray or dish.

Boil the new potatoes for around 15-20 minutes (until tender), drain, then add to the hot roasting dish. Turn to coat with the oil and sprinkle with salt to taste.
After 5 minutes in the oven, add the sliced courgettes and garlic. Roast for  a further 10 minutes, or until beginning to turn a golden brown.

Meanwhile, boil the green beans for 8-10 minutes, or until al dente.
Drain and set aside.

Once the potatoes and courgettes are nicely browned, add the green beans to the baking dish and roast for a further 3-5 minutes.

Remove from the oven and allow to cool slightly.

Make the dressing by blending or mixing the crushed, roasted garlic, oil, herbs, vinegar and mustard.
Pour over the warm vegetables and turn gently to coat with the dressing.

Serve warm or cold for lunch or with barbecued food.

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Black Bean Chilli Burritos

Since I've been back working full time, I've had less time for both blogging and cooking, so I've been devising some really quick and easy family meals down to necessity. This recipe uses store cupboard ingredients and can be made in around 15 minutes.

Fills around 6-8 wraps

• 1 red onion, diced
• 1 large clove of garlic, crushed
• 2 bell peppers, diced
• 100g/4oz mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tin sweetcorn, drained
• 1 tin black beans, drained
• 1 tbsp. chipotle paste
• 1 handful fresh coriander/cilantro roughly chopped

To serve:

• a pack of tortilla wraps
• 1 pack of Mexican-style microwave rice
• 100g grated cheese
• salad/salsa/avocado/jalapeños etc. to serve

Heat a drop of oil in a pan, on a medium heat.

Fry the onions for a few minutes, until soft. Then add the peppers, garlic and mushrooms and cook for a further 5-7 minutes, until the peppers are almost tender.

Stir in the remaining ingredients and warm through for a further 5 minutes.

Meanwhile cook the rice and warm the wraps.

Fill each burrito with some rice, beany mixture and cheese.

Serve with the optional extras.

Vegan version: simply omit the cheese and check the wrap ingredients.

Top tips: Look for black beans in the World Foods section of your supermarket, as they're usually around half the price of the branded version.

Use the same mixture to top nachos.

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Spicy Mexican Bean Soup

Autumn has well and truly arrived in England this week, and the nights are drawing in, so I thought that this hearty, protein-packed, bean soup would make an ideal week-night meal. You can make this soup as smooth or chunky as you like, depending on your family's preference. I decided to blend the soup and then add the beans for a bit of texture, but you could blend the whole soup (including the beans), or not blend at all if you want a more rustic, chunky soup.

• 1 small onion, diced
• 1 clove of garlic, roughly chopped
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1 small red bell pepper, diced 
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 3 cups vegetable stock, made with 1 stock cube
• ¼ cup dried red lentils
• 1 tsp mild chilli powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• ½ tin beans, drained and rinsed - I used mixed beans but you could use any type
• 2 tsp fresh chopped coriander
• a little hot chilli sauce, to taste

Heat a drop of vegetable oil in a large pan. Add the onion and garlic and saute gently for a couple of minutes. Add all of the remaining ingredients, except the beans and coriander leaves, and simmer for around 15-20 minutes, until the lentils and vegetables are tender. 

At this point you can blend the soup (I used my tried and tested Optimum 9400 blender) and then add the beans, or vice versa, or don't blend at all!
Return the the soup to the pan for a further couple of minutes to heat the beans through before serving.
Season with hot chilli sauce to taste and sprinkle with the coriander leaves.

Serve with warm home-made bread.

I'm entering this recipe to this month's No Croutons Required Challenge, co-hosted by Jacqui at Tinned Tomatoes and Lisa at Lisa's Kitchen. 

I'm also adding it to this month's Credit Crunch Munch, created by Helen and Camilla and hosted this month by Hannah at A New Addition



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Mixed Bean and Basil Hummus - Suma Blogger's Network

Here's my second post for the Suma Blogger's Network. I decided on a variation on hummus using mixed beans rather than chickpeas, and Italian flavourings instead of the traditional Middle Eastern ones. I must say it worked really well and tastes great with crudites or fresh crusty bread.

• 1 tin of mixed beans, rinsed and well drained (I used Suma organic mixed beans)
• a good handful of basil, roughly chopped
• 1-2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 2 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tbsp tahini
• 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts

Blend all ingredients, except for the pine nuts, until smooth. Season to taste.

Drizzle with olive oil and top with the toasted pine nuts.

Chill until needed.

Will keep for a couple of days in an airtight container in the fridge. 

Integrity Statement

As a member of the Suma Blogger's Network, I will receive a selection of complimentary products from Suma every two months, to use in recipe development, and will blog an original recipe for the Network. 

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Gigantes Plaki (Butter Beans in Tomato Sauce)

Traditionally, gigantes plaki is made from soaked, dried butter/lima beans and baked in the oven. My quick version relies on tinned beans and is cooked on the hob, but you could make a big batch using dried beans and cook in the slow cooker (boil the beans for 10 minutes before slow cooking). This dish can be serve warm a part of a meze or hot as a main dish with rice or bread.

My version costs around £1 to make, using budget-brand beans and tinned tomatoes. 

Serves 2-4

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 large cloves of garlic, chopped or crushed
• 1 carrot, finely diced
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes or around 400g/1 lb chopped fresh tomatoes.
• 1 tin butter/lima beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tsp chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tsp chopped fresh dill
• ½ tsp sugar, optional
• ½ tsp paprika
• a pinch of cinnamon or a small cinnamon stick, optional 

Heat the oil in a pan and saute the onion, carrot and garlic for a few minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients, apart from the beans, and stir well.

Cover and simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes. 

Add the beans, stir and simmer (with the lid on)  for a further 10-20 minutes, until the carrots are tender.

Lower fat alternative: Just use 1 tsp of oil. 
Camping version: Simmer a jar of tomato pasta sauce with a drained tin of butter beans. Serve with warm pittas.

I'm linking this recipe to 'The Vegetable Palette'  over at  A2K - A Seasonal Veg Table.  This month's colour theme is red.

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