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Main Course
Beet Burgers
These are a bit different, and extremely
yummy!
Ingredients
3 medium beetroots
4 tbs rice bran oil
1 medium red onion
½ tsp salt
1 tbs red wine vinegar
1 cup cooked brown rice
2 tbs fresh parsley
ground pepper to taste
Method
Top & tail beets, and scrub to remove stray hairs & dirt.
Coarsley grate beets - no need to peel
Finely dice onion
Drain chick peas & coarsely mash
Make sure the rice is cold, not still warm from the pot - any left over
rice works well
Finely chop parsley
In a large, heavy bottom pan, heat 1/2 the oil to medium
heat. Add onion and cook till soft. Add grated beets and salt. Stir
to combine.
Cover and cook about 12 minutes until all the beets
are soft. Add vinegar, stir well, remove from heat and allow to cool.
In a bowl, add beet mix to mashed chick peas. Fold in
rice, parsley and pepper to taste. Shape into patties.
In a large, heavy based fry pan, heat the rest of the
oil. Add the patties, allowing plenty of room to move them and flip
them. Don't over crowd! They will sizzle and create a crust. Cook for
1 minute, then lower temp to medium. Cook for 3 minutes. Carefully turn
burgers and cook 5 minutes until firm.
Notes & Substitutes
You can swap the following:
light vegetable oil for rice bran oil. Olive oil will burn too quickly
at the high temperature.
brown onion for red onion
red kidney beans for chick peas
mashed potato for rice
coriander for parsley
There is no substitute for the red wine vinegar, it
makes all the difference
Make the patties quite thick, I like them 1/2
inch thick and 2 inches across. They hold together better this way.
Resist the urge to flatten them in the pan - the searing they get when
you first put them in the pan will form the crust that will hold them
together. Any flatter they will fall apart.
Bean Nachos/Taco Filling
Ingredients:
Corn Chips or Taco Shells
½ Capsicum chopped
2 medium tomatoes
½ onion chopped
1 750g can kidney beans (rinsed and mashed)
Olive oil
Tomato sauce (approx. 1 tablespoon)
Cumin
Coriander
Oregano
Chilli powder
Preparation:
Using skillet, sauté onion in oil. When golden, add capsicum
and then, a minute or two later, add the tomato, spices to taste and
tomato sauce. Once cooked down and soft, add the mashed kidney beans.
When all ingredients are combined and heated through arrange corn chips
in a ring on a plate and serve the bean dish in the centre, or use as
a taco filling.
Curried Lentils, Potato and Silverbeet
Ingredients:
Brown lentils (approx. 3 cups cooked)
Silverbeet (3-4 leaves)
½ onion
1 potato
Olive Oil
Curry Powder
Vegetable Stock Cube
Preparation:
Soak brown lentils for around 12 hours. Bring to boil and add vegetable
stock cube and add curry powder and/or variety of curry spices to taste.
Lentils will take about 15 minutes to cook. Add potato cubes first,
and then chopped silverbeet and simmer until cooked. Saute onion in
olive oil and then add to dish (or cheat by adding onion flakes earlier
in the process, and heat through (best to leave 5-10 minutes to allow
curry flavour to permeate). Add canned tomatoes to alter the flavour
for a change Serve with rice.
Lentil and Tofu Curry
Ingredients:
425g can tomatoes, chopped
140g carton tomato paste
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon coriander
½ teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon salt
350g firm tofu, cubed
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
either 430g can of Sanitarium Savioury Brown Lentils, or cook an equivalent
amount of lentils (pre-soaked cook quicker) and add a dash of soy sauce.
Preparation:
Combine tomatoes, tomato paste, curry powder, cumin, coriander, garam
masala and salt in a flat dish to make a marinade. Place tofu in marinade
for several hours or overnight.
Heat oil in a frying pan. Stir-fry onion and
garlic until soft. Add brown lentils, tofu and marinade. Bring mixture
to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes or until heated.
Serve over rice.
Dhal
This dhal is wonderful - it has beautiful flavours
but is not over powering - it is perfect served on its own or with another
(spicier) curry.
Ingredients:
1 cup lentils – rinsed
1 large onion – finely sliced
2 cloves garlic (or garlic powder)
1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger (or ginger powder)
½ tsp tumeric
3 cups hot water
1 tsp salt
½ tsp garam masala
Preparation:
- sauté onion garlic and ginger in water until tender
- add tumeric and stir well
- add lentils and water – cover and cook for 15 minutes
- add salt and garam masala and continue to cook until lentils are tender
- if there is too much liquid, remove lid and let it evaporate.
- serve over rice
Notes:
I used to always make this dhal with split red lentils but I have also
made it with brown lentils and it was just so different and so delicious.
If you are using lentils other than split red lentils, you need to soak
the lentils for about half an hour.
Teryaki Mushroom Nuggets with Lemon Broccoli,
Vegetables and Noodles
Ingredients:
1 packet little soy ‘chicken’ nuggets (available from Asian
food stores)
8 or nine medium sized mushrooms
I medium Onion
Vegan Teryaki sauce
Vegetable cooking oil
Salt or dried Miso powder to taste
1 packet of Soba or Udon noodles
1 head of Broccoli, a bunch of Bok
Choy and/or Black Kale
Rind of 1 Lemon
1 small clove of garlic
Shiro
Toasted Sesame oil
Salt
Preparation:
Chop Onion and Mushrooms and place in large heated wok
with oil to fry. Add Nuggets and fry until golden brown. Toss in a generous
pinch of salt or the Powdered Miso to flavour, then sprinkle Teryaki
sauce over to finness the taste.
Wash and chop the Broccoli and Vegetables into a good
steamable size. Steam gently until just soft – approximately 7
or 8 minutes. While waiting Finely chop the garlic clove and place in
a small bowl or jug. Pour in a teaspoon of Toasted Sesame Oil, add a
teaspoon of Shiro Miso, a pinch of salt, and the lemon rind and mix
all together. Add extra plain cooking oil if the mixture is too thick.
When Vegetables are done remove from heat, place in
a container with a lid and pour flavouring over the top. Put the lid
back on and toss together until everything is well coated with the sauce.
For the Noodles, boil water, add noodles and boil for
about 7-8 minutes.
When ready strain off the excess water, rinse with cool water and serve
immediately.
Serves 6
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