Tuscan Vegetable and Bean Stew - Recipe Feature

To me, the name Cranks is synonymous with great tasting, wholesome vegetarian food. You might not know that their first restaurant and deli opened on London’s Carnaby Street in the swinging 60's; those were the days when people were considered to be cranks if they were vegetarian or vegan! Over 50 year later, the brand is still going strong and have a restaurant, Cranks Kitchen, in Devon, published several recipe books, and have recently launched a new, exclusively vegetarian, sandwich range. As a long standing vegetarian, I was amazed and a little humbled that such a well known vegetarian brand would want me to develop a seasonal recipe for them...

This is my economical and vegan adaptation of the traditional Tuscan stew, Pollo alla Cacciatore (hunter's chicken). I know you don't have to hunt very far to find vegetables and pulses in your local supermarket, but I find they work well with the flavours in this recipe and are hearty enough to make this a warming, winter dish.

If you prefer, you can cook this dish in the oven or slow cooker.

Serves 4:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped or crushed 
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 200g/8oz chestnut mushrooms, wiped and halved or quartered 
• 200g/8oz chantenay carrots, peeled or scrubbed and cut in half vertically 
• 100g/4oz green beans, trimmed and cut into 5cm pieces
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes (add 1 tbsp tomato purée if you use economy tinned tomatoes)
• 250ml/1 cup vegan, dry white wine 
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tbsp fresh, chopped parsley
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• black pepper, to taste
• 1 tin cannellini beans, drained
• 50g/2oz pitted olives

Heat  the oil in a large saucepan, on a medium heat.
Add the onion and garlic to the pan and cook gently for a few minutes, until softened. 
Remove from the heat and sprinkle in a heaped tsp of cornflour. 

Add all of the remaining ingredients (except for the tinned beans and olives), place back on a medium heat and bring to a gentle simmer, stirring occasionally. 
Simmer for 25-30 minutes with the lid on, until the carrots and green beans are almost tender.

Add the tinned beans and olives to the sauce. 

Simmer with the lid off for a further 5-10 minutes, to allow the sauce to thicken slightly 
Remove the bay leaf and sprigs of rosemary before serving. 

Serve with your choice or rice, pasta, potatoes or rustic, crusty bread.

Alternatives: Swap the wine for a vegetable stock, if preferred.

Sponsored Post
I received payment for recipe development and ingredients, from Cranks. All views expressed are genuine.

Pin It

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.

Pin It

Quorn and Mushrooms in a White Wine & Tarragon Sauce

Here's a 1980's retro recipe which I've adapted by using meat-free fillets to make a lower fat, vegetarian version (and a vegan option). If you don't eat meat substitutes, simply swap them for extra mushrooms.

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
• 4 Quorn fillets/vegan chicken-style fillets 
• 200g button mushrooms, halved
• 150ml dry white wine 
• 300ml vegetable stock (made with a stock cube)
• 1 level tbsp plain flour
• 2 tsp tarragon leaves, finely chopped
• 4 tbsp double cream or dairy-free cream (optional)
• 500g new potatoes, boiled, drained (and sauteed in 1 tbsp olive oil - optional).

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently saute the onion and garlic for a few minutes until the onion is soft.
Add the mushrooms and cook for a further couple of minutes until they start to release their juices.
Remove from the heat and stir in the flour to coat the vegetables.

Slowly stir in the wine, 200ml of the stock and the tarragon, making sure there are no lumps of flour.
Return to the heat and gently bring to a simmer, stirring all the time, until the sauce has thickened.
Pop the Quorn fillets into the sauce and simmer with the lid on, for approximately 20 minutes.

Stir occasionally and turn the Quorn fillets over. Adding a little more of the remaining stock if needed, to make a pourable sauce. Remove from the heat and stir in the cream, if using.

Serve with sauteed or boiled new-potatoes and steamed asparagus or tender-stem broccoli.

Alternatives: This also makes a great pasta sauce without the Quorn. Cook as above using slightly less stock. Simmer for 5 minutes to thicken the sauce, then stir in the cream if using.
Serve over cooked tagliatelle.

I’m adding this recipe to the Speedy Suppers linky, hosted by Sarah at Dinner With Crayons and Katie at Feeding Boys. Pin It

Jack Daniel's BBQ Sauces - A review, a give-away and a recipe!

I was a little surprised to be asked to review the range of Jack Daniel's barbecue sauces, as they're a brand I would associate with meat-based rather than vegetarian meals. Never-the-less I was happy to try them out and see how well they would go with veggie food, as all of the sauces in the range are vegan.

I opened all the bottles and had a good sniff. I must admit that the smell wasn't particularly appealing, as they had quite a strong smoky aroma. The initial taste of the sauces was of the artificial smoke flavour, but after that, the sweet and spicy flavours came through. The one sauce that I really wasn't over-keen on was the Full Flavour Smoky, as the smoke flavour was overwhelming and masked the flavour of the other ingredients. The other sauces were more subtle, but I didn't feel that they tasted sufficiently different from each other to make it worth buying them all, when just one would do the job!

The sauces worked well with veggie burgers and sausages, and the Smoky Sweet Glaze tasted good roasted vegetables. After trying out a few different recipes with them, I decided that my favourite was the Hot Chilli Sauce (which was spicy rather than hot!), so that's the one I used in this dish. This recipe would work well as a Halloween or Bonfire Night meal. Just double or treble the ingredients to cook for more people.

Sausages and Beans Baked in BBQ Sauce (vegan)
Serves 4

• 1 or 2 firm vegan sausages per person
• 1 medium onion, cut in half and sliced
• 2 red bell peppers, cut in half, de-seeded and sliced
• 2 sticks of celery, sliced
• 1 tin of baked beans or mixed beans in tomato sauce
• 2 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 tbsp white wine vinegar
• ½ tsp dried mixed herbs
• 125ml/½ cup of bbq sauce (I used Jack Daniel's Hot Chilli Sauce)

©

Pre-heat the oven to 180C/170C fan/350F/Gas 4.
Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in an oven-proof dish.

Add the vegetables and sausages and cook for 10 minutes.

Mix the tomato purée, vinegar and BBQ sauce together in a bowl or jug, then stir in the beans.
Pour the sauce and beans over the sausages and vegetables and stir together.
Reduce the oven temperature to 170C/160C Fan/325F/Gas 3.
Cover the dish with foil or a lid and bake for a further 30 minutes.

Serve with jacket potatoes and corn on the cob.

Alternatives: Place all of the ingredients in the slow cooker and cook for 3 hours on high or 7 hours on low. You may wish to brown the sausages off first.

The Jack Daniel's range is now available to buy in all major supermarkets.
For more information, recipes and regular competitions, visit the Jack Daniel's BBQ Sauces website.

Integrity Statement
I received a set Jack Daniel's BBQ sauces to review and 5 sets to give away on my blog. I did not receive payment, and the views expressed are genuinely those of myself and my family. Pack images courtesy of Jack Daniel's BBQ sauces.

FIVE lucky readers will each win a set of four Jack Daniel's sauces. To enter, fill in the Rafflecopter entry form below.(UK ONLY)

a Rafflecopter giveaway Pin It

Paneer and Vegetable Tikka Masala

©

Chicken Tikka Masala may be Britain's most popular food, but vegetarians don't have to miss out on a tasty alternative to this delicacy... It's taken me a while to come up with this recipe, which is as close as I can manage to one of my family's favourite Indian take away dishes - Paneer Tikka Masala.

I've added extra vegetables to make it into a slightly healthier meal, but this doesn't detract from the flavour of the sauce/gravy. I still think there's some sort of spice missing, so I'll update this recipe if I ever work out the secret ingredient/s!
Miss Ony said that this was my best curry recipe yet, which is praise indeed.

• 100g/4oz paneer cheese, cubed 
• 1 small onion, diced finely
• 1-2 bell peppers, sliced or diced into chunks
• 50-100g/2-4oz sweet potato/butternut squash, peeled and diced into small cubes
• 8 chestnut mushrooms, sliced thickly
• ½ tin chickpeas or other pulses, drained and rinsed
• 250ml passata
• 25g/1oz cashew nuts, ground (or ground almonds)
• 25g/1oz creamed coconut
• 2 tsp tandoori/tikka masala powder
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp turmeric
• ½ tsp ground fennel seeds
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1" piece of root ginger, grated
• ½ red chilli, grated or finely chopped, optional
• 1 tsp sugar
• 2-3 tbsp double cream, optional

Marinate the paneer in the tikka masala powder mixed with 1 tbsp lemon juice. Leave in the fridge for an hour or so.

Fry the onion in a drop of vegetable oil until soft.
Add all of the remaining dried spices, ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for a minute.
Add all of the vegetables and coat well in the spice mixture. Cook for a further 3-5 minutes on a low heat.
Pour in the passata and add the chickpeas.
Increase the heat slightly and bring to a simmer.
Allow to simmer for about 15-20 minutes, with the lid on, until the vegetables are soft.

Meanwhile, fry the paneer in a drop of vegetable oil (in another pan), until warmed through and slightly crisp.
Add the paneer to the saucepan once the vegetables have almost cooked, and stir well.
Finally add the sugar, cashew nuts, creamed coconut and cream.
Stir well and allow to simmer for a few more minutes, or until the creamed coconut has melted.

Alternatives: Use any combination of vegetables or pulses, or use extra paneer and less veg.
You could also swap the paneer for vegetarian chicken-style pieces (marinate and fry as per paneer).
For a vegan curry, replace the paneer with firm, drained tofu (marinate and fry as per paneer), extra pulses or extra mushrooms. Omit the cream.

For a BBQ version, thread the marinated paneer on skewers along with chunks of onion, pepper and mushroom, brush with vegetable oil and barbecue. Make the gravy separately on the hob and pour over the cooked kebabs.

For more Indian-inspired recipes, pop over to A Celebration of Indian Food at Lisa's Kitchen.

More sweet potato and Indian recipes. Pin It

Turkish Vegetable Casserole

 ©

If you have a glut of home grown or locally produced vegetables, use them up in this tasty Middle-Eastern vegan stew. You can substitute just about any alternative vegetables, so long as they are cut up into even-sized pieces.
If there's any left over, eat it cold for lunch the next day, or use to top a home made pizza.

• 3 bell peppers, sliced
• 2 courgettes/zucchini, diced
• ½ butternut squash/2-3 carrots/1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
• 1 large onion, sliced or diced
• 6-8 ripe tomatoes, diced or 1 tin of chopped tomatoes 
• 200 ml water or vegetable stock
• 1-2 large cloves of garlic, crushed
• 1 tbsp sun dried tomato paste
• 1-2 tsp paprika/smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
• ½ tsp cinnamon or allspice powder
• ½ a fresh chilli, chopped finely (optional)
• black pepper to taste
• 2 tbsp olive oil

Heat the oil in a casserole dish at 200C/190C fan/Gas 6.
Add the onions, peppers, courgettes and squash and coat in the oil.
Return to the oven and roast for 10-15 minutes.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, garlic, herbs and spices. 
Return to the oven for a further hour or so, stirring occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and the vegetables are soft and lightly browned.
Serve with rice, flat bread or cous cous.

Alternative: Add a tin of drained chickpeas for extra protein.
Slow cooker/crock pot method: Add all of the ingredients to the slow cooker (reduce the water/stock to 100ml) and stir well. Cook on medium for 6-8 hours.

Pin It

Yellow Split Pea and Vegetable Dhal (Vegan)

 © 

Although dhals are normally just made with pulses, onion and spices, this version includes some chopped vegetables to make it a meal rather than a side dish. This is quite a mild dish, but if you're making it for young children, you can leave the chilli powder out, or add it to the pan after you've taken their servings out.

• 100g/4oz dried split yellow peas
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 crushed cloves of garlic 
• ½ tsp cumin seeds
• ½ tsp black mustard seeds
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 1 heaped tsp garam masala
• ½ or 1 tsp mild (or hot!) chilli powder
• 2 tbsp tomato puree/paste
• 1 green pepper, diced
• 1 small courgette, diced
• 6-8 mushrooms, sliced

Soak the peas over night.
Drain, put in a pan and cover with water.
Bring to the boil and cook rapidly for 10 minutes.
Then turn down the heat and simmer for a further 40-50 minutes, or until the peas are just starting to break up.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in another pan. Add the cumin and black mustard seeds along with the onion and garlic, and cook gently for 2-3 minutes.
Add all the remaining spices and stir well.
Stir in the tomato puree, chopped vegetables and the peas (with their cooking liquid). Simmer for a further 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are soft.
Serve with rice/chapatti/naan bread

Suitable for freezing.

Alternatives: Use any combination of chopped vegetables (even frozen or tinned mixed vegetables will do).
Use a tin of drained pulses and omit the soaking and boiling stage, if you don't have time to prepare and cook the dried split peas. Chickpeas or lentils work well.

Slow cooker method: Soak and rapidly boil the peas for 10 minutes. Put all the ingredients, plus the peas in the slow cooker. Stir well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

Pin It

Quorn Sausage and Cider Casserole

 ©

This is a recipe that I've adapted from an old pork recipe that my mum used to cook...originally from Good Housekeeping, I think. You can use any brand of veggie/vegan sausages for this recipe, or you could use extra root vegetables, mushrooms and some tinned beans, if you don't like meat substitutes.

• 1 or 2 vegetarian sausages per person
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2-4 carrots, sliced
• 1 red pepper, chopped or sliced
• 2 sticks of celery or ½  bulb fennel, sliced
• 1 tbsp plain flour/cornflour
• 250ml dry cider
• 250ml stock made with boiling water and 1 veggie stock cube
• 1 heaped tsp tomato puree
• ½  tsp of dried mixed herbs or 1 tsp fresh chopped sage or rosemary
• Black pepper to taste
• 1 or 2 cooking apples peeled, cored and quartered (optional)

Drizzle the sausages with olive oil and brown off in a casserole at 180C/Gas 4 for around 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, gently cook the onions in a pan with some olive oil, until soft. Then throw in the carrots, pepper and celery/fennel and cook for a further 3-5 minutes.
Add the flour and stir well.
Add the hot stock and the cider (or extra stock).
Bring to the boil, stirring regularly. 
Pour the sauce over the sausages. Cook for 30 minutes.
If using, add the apple quarters and coat in the sauce. return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes, or until the apples and vegetables are soft.
Serve with roast potatoes or mash.

Slow cooker method: Put all the veg in the bottom of the slow cooker (add potatoes too if you want a one pot meal). Brown the sausages and place on top of the veg. Top with the apples.
Mix the cornflour with the cider, (cold) stock and remaining ingredients and pour into the crockpot/slowcooker. Cook on slow/low for 8 hours. Pin It

Chickpea Curry/Chana Masala (Vegan)

This very cheap, easy and quick to make recipe is one of my favourite Indian side dishes.
Serve with a vegetable curry, rice, chapatti or naan.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 onion, diced
• ½ tsp turmeric
• 2 heaped tsp fresh grated ginger plus 2 crushed cloves of garlic (or 1 tbsp garlic and ginger paste)
• 2 tsp garam masala
• Black pepper, to taste
• ½ green chilli, deseeded and chopped finely (optional)
• ½ carton (250ml) passata/creamed tomatoes
• 1 tin chickpeas, drained 

Heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. Cook for 1 minute.
Add the onion and cook gently for a couple of minutes.
Add the garlic, ginger, chilli, pepper and turmeric and cook for another minute or so.
Add the passata and drained chickpeas and simmer gently for around 20-30 minutes.
Stir in the garam masala and add some fresh, chopped coriander before serving.

Alternatives: If you don't like chickpeas, you could use any other tinned beans instead.
To make into a main meal, add some fresh chopped spinach, sliced mushrooms and a chopped green pepper before adding the passata. Cook for a few minutes to soften before adding the passata and chickpeas.

Can be frozen, but the chickpeas may go a little mushy when re-heated!

Slow cooker method: Put all the ingredients in the slow cooker and mix well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Pin It