Budget

Vegan Okonomiyaki – Japanese Savoury Pancake (Gluten-free)

Posted on February 22, 2018 by leroy watson

There are many ways of serving these Japanese Pancakes, so many delicious variations, I felt like sharing two of my favs, one very basic, one with a few more bells and whistles. TWO RECIPES. We love you that much!!

This is like Japanese soul food, you can add grated cabbage or carrot or tofu chunks to the pancake and toppings, there are so many; cheese, Okonomiyaki/ Tonkatsu sauce (like BBQ sauce), mayonnaise, pickled ginger, seaweed flakes….. I was having it for breakfast, so I kept it relatively simple this morning.

I’ve made the classic wheat flour recipe gluten-free and kept it really basic so you can get creative and embellish with your favourite sauces and toppings. Then I’ve gone and done a twist and shake on the traditional recipe, BHK style.

FOOD IS PLAY

The thing I like about the basic recipe is there are only a few ingredients and kids love it! Like a pancake but better, cooler, a little exotic and a lot of tasty, kids love scattering, leaves, snow, crumbs, torn up paper and also toppings, playing with their food like champions!!

I love seeing kids enjoying food and not taking it too seriously. But then again, I don’t have kids. I get to give them back at the end of the day/ 5 minute spell. Maybe some parents will disagree when the food starts flying around the room. It just makes me giggle and join in.

HOW YOU LIKE IT!

Okonomiyaki is more than just an awesome name! Its a delicious snack served all over Japan, but is generally associated with the Kansai and Hiroshima regions.

It’s an easy going dish, loves trying on different flavours for size. The name itself means okonomi, “how you like” and yaki meaning “grill”. Basically, get creative and enjoy!

These recipes are a great base for this kind of tasty fun. It’s that kind of dish, there are many restaurants with teppans tables around a grill, where you can grill your own Okonomiyaki. I’ve never done it, but it sounds like a great dining experience.

Traditionally, spring onions are used in this recipe, but I love leeks. At this time of year, I’m getting some beautiful organic leeks. If you’re in Britain, and not a super traditionalist, I’d go for some nice leeks. The first recipe is probably something like the simple Okonomiyaki that was popular in World War II in Japan, when rice was in short supply and this, classically wheat pancake, was nutritious and filling.

Gram/ chickpea flour is of course a genius ingredient and a vegans best friend. It adds a lovely flavour here which some have described as ‘slightly eggy’ (it was me earlier on). We’ll be playing more with this recipe soon, expect more variations.

Itadakimasu!!

Recipe Notes

You can omit the cornflour, but it does help bind the pancake together.

Use any type of gluten-free flour mix. All the ones I’ve tried work well.

These pancakes are like every pancake in the world, best served ideally straight from the pan. Although they are still tasty when served cool, just not straight from the fridge if possible.

If you’re not gluten-free you can just replace the other flours with wheat flour. Unbleached white flour would be good.

No seaweed flakes? No problems. Just grab a couple of sheets of nori and pop in a blender and blitz until they are a broken down into small flakes.

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Vegan Okonomiyaki – one of my all-time favourite names for a dish

Vegan Okonominyaki – Japanese Savoury Pancake (G/F)

The Bits – 1 pancake, 8 slices

100g spring onions/ leeks – roughly one medium leek (finely sliced)

10g g.f. cornflour

100g g.f. gram/ chickpea flour (or besan)

100g gluten-free flour mix

175ml water

1 tbs sesame oil

3 tbs g.f. teriyaki sauce/ tamari/ g.f. soya sauce

Toppings (how you like it….)

Chopped spring onions, toasted sesame seeds, pickled ginger, vegan cheese, mayonnaise, Okonomiyaki sauce (g.f), sea weed flakes, kimchi (is awesome but a curve ball is the traditional thing) or try our Wasabi mayo recipe here.

Do It

In a mixing bowl, add the flours and then water, mix together until smooth, add the onions/ leeks, mix in.

In a medium sized frying pan, warm on medium high heat, add the oil, ensure the pan is well covered with oil, pour in the mixture, smooth out into a neat, chunky pancake.

Pop a lid on and cook for 5 minutes, flip over. You can use a plate to make this easier. Pop the pancake on a large plate, flip the pan over and place it on top. Using a kitchen cloth (the pan is hot;) hold the pan over the plate and flip them both over. Hope that makes sense! Or just flip it using your A+ pancake tossing skills.

Pop lid back on and cook for 3 minutes more.

Transfer onto a chopping board, cut into 8 pieces. Brush with the teriyaki sauce, top with chopped spring onions/ leeks and sesame seeds. Or go wild!!

Okonominyaki with Tofu, Toasted Sesame, Seaweed and Pickled Ginger – Japanese Savoury Pancake (G/F)

The Bits – For 1 pancake, 8 slices

200ml water

10g g.f. cornflour

100g g.f. gram flour (chickpea flour)

100g gluten-free flour mix

125g / 2 small leeks (finely sliced – reserve 1/2 handful of sliced greens)

150g firm tofu (thinly sliced)

3 heaped tbs nooch (nutritional yeast flakes)

2 tbs sesame seeds

3 heaped tbs seaweed flakes

2 pinches salt

1 tbs sesame oil

Topping

2-3 tbs g.f. teriyaki/ tamari sauce

3-4 tbs vegan mayonnaise

3 tbs pickled Japanese ginger

1 tbs toasted sesame seeds

1 radish (finely sliced)

1/2 handful spring onion/ leek greens (finely sliced)

Do It

In a mixing bowl, add the flours and then water, mix together until smooth, add the onions/ leeks, seaweed, nooch and salt, mix in.

In a medium sized frying pan, warm on medium high heat, add the oil, ensure the pan is well covered with oil, scatter with sesame seeds, then place the tofu on top. Making a layer of tofu on the base of the pan. Pour over the mixture, smooth out into a neat, chunky pancake.

Pop a lid on and cook for 6 minutes, scatter the pancake with sesame seeds and then flip over. You can use a plate to make this easier. Pop the pancake on a large plate, flip the pan over and place it on top. Using a kitchen cloth (the pan is hot;) hold the pan over the plate and flip them both over. Hope that makes sense! Or just flip it using your A+ pancake tossing skills.

Pop the lid back on and cook for 3 minutes more.

Transfer onto a chopping board, cut into 8 pieces. Brush with the g.f. teriyaki sauce, then mayo and scatter on the other toppings until it looks beautiful. Serve now!

If you try one of these recipes out, please let us know in the comments below. We’d love to hear how it went!

Foodie Fact

Gram flour is a genius!! It’s basically ground chickpeas. We cook with it all the time, vegan tortillas/ fritattas, omelettes, nofu (recipe coming soon), g/f chapattis, dosas, farinata and loads of cakes, check out our ‘Spiced Orange and Almond Upside Down Cake‘ from just before Christmas. So healthy, versatile and gluten-free too.

It’s got high levels of protein, iron, fibre, magnesium, potassium and vitamin B-6.

Categories: Breakfast, Budget, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Snacks and Inbetweens, Vegan, veganism | Tags: japan, japanese, vegan recipes | 7 Comments

Vegan Carbonara – Classic meal in minutes!

Posted on February 16, 2018 by leroy watson

A classic meal that can be ready in minutes. Vegan Carbonara can be made loads of ways, but here we make it with tofu, so it’s creamy and rich, but light at the same time. We all need staple recipes like this!? Something quick and satisfying that everyone enjoys.

We’d like to thank Jen at Veganuary for sharing this recipe, this is Jen’s photo, over on Instagram. We’ve been massive fans of Veganuary for years now, so to see it blossom in such a way is incredible. We even saw Matthew being interviewed on the BBC!

It’s true, we are not Instagramers but maybe one day we’ll make it over there. What do you think? Shall we venture into Insta-land? It does looks awesome! Some incredible vegan cooks over there doing amazing things.

VEGANUARY 2018 – HOW DID IT GO?

Did you try out Veganuary this year? How was your experience? You weren’t alone, over 150,000 people were joining you. We know a load of people who gave it a go and some have stayed full-time vegans and many are just eating loads more plant-based meals.

Everyone we have talked to feels the benefit of a vegan diet, especially when tried out for a whole month, sometimes it can be hard at first with cravings for our favourites foods and the body adjusting, but then, PING! Plant power takes over and we feel lighter, more energy, better digestion, brighter eyes and skin and the list goes on. How cool is that/ this!

STONKING STAPLE

This recipe is a real staple for us, we love to change up the pasta and make it with a full range, from wholewheat to pea, corn to buckwheat, there are so many choices out there now and many are really good quality. There was a time when gluten-free pasta would be quite soggy and have a dodgy texture. Not any more.

This sauce can be taken in so many directions, but we like it as it is, a nice touch of garlic and the freshness of the parsley. We love to green it up too, because we put greens in everything!

BIG THANKS TO ALL FACEBOOKERS:)

We just hit the 2000 mark over on our Facebook page, 2000 happy cooks with healthy outlooks, good vibe vegans, it’s quite a landmark for us. Thank you to you all for your amazing support over the years, feel free to share the BHK blog with all your friends, fans, followers and families. We couldn’t and wouldn’t do this without you.

I’m in the BHK today, recipe testing and coming up with new things. More recipes coming soon right here, I’m really feeling quite Japanese at the minute…….but until then, carbonara!

Recipe Notes

Jen used slices of vegan sausage in this picture and left out the greens.

We love it with Mushroom Bacon. Yum! Our version coming soon.

If you can’t find silken tofu, firm tofu also works just fine.

If you or the people you’re cooking for are still a little freaked out by tofu, this is a good dish to cook for them. Just don’t show them the nutritional yeast flakes just yet!! Maybe after dinner. We’ve all heard the stunning ‘looks like fish food’ jokes a zillion times before. But they taste awesome!

Gluten-free option, just use gluten-free pasta. We are digging pea pasta at the minute. Great colour!!

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Classic Vegan Carbonara

The Bits – For 4

Carbonara Sauce

300g silken tofu (drain off excess liquid)

125ml soya / almond milk

½ lemon (juice)

3 tbs nutritional yeast flakes

3 large cloves garlic (crushed)

2 tbs olive oil

1-2 teas salt

Pasta

Pasta of choice – roughly 80g per person

2 handfuls watercress/ spinach leaves

2 handfuls smoked sun-dried tomatoes

1 handful fresh parsley (chopped)

Do It

In a small frying pan, warm the olive oil on medium heat, add the garlic and gently fry for 1-2 minutes until nicely golden. Allow to cool a little.

Place all the bits for the carbonara sauce, including the cooked garlic oil, into a blender. Blend until smooth. Taste, adjust salt. How creamy is that!!!?

Cook your pasta, drain and stir in the carbonara sauce. Now stir in the watercress and leave with a lid on for a minute or so. If the carbonara gets thick or sticky, this might happen if you don’t serve it straight away, pour a splash of plant milk in and gently stir.

Serve in shallow bowls, topped with sun dried tomatoes/ mushroom bacon and parsley. Best with black pepper, vegan parmesan and a nice crisp salad.

Foodie Fact

Tofu is a real genius food for so many reasons. We can all get our hands on it really easy now in the UK, you’ll find it in most supermarkets. Not only is it a versatile ingredient, bringing a unique texture and flavour to dishes, its also completely packed with nutritional properties to make you shine. It’s full of protein to start with, also minerals like manganese, phosphorous and selenium. It even contains all of the amino acids and good levels of iron and calcium.

Categories: Budget, Dinner, gluten-free, healthy, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Sauces, Vegan, veganism | Tags: italian, vegan recipes | 4 Comments

Moroccan Bessara with Harissa Oil – Nourishing Fava Bean Soup/Dip

Posted on January 17, 2018 by leroy watson

We’re getting 2018 started with a simple and nourishing dish from Morocco, a country I love and where I first tried this delicious soup. We’re not long back from Spain, where we sit on beaches looking towards North Africa. A tenuous link, but its awesome to be back here and blogging!! After our little break in the sun, we’re topped up with fresh ideas for 2018.

This comforting bowl is ideal for new year, so easy and light, nutritious and flavourful. It’s also inexpensive and the basic soup only has a handful of ingredients. It also happens uses fava beans, which as you might know, were one of my favourite things about 2017. Couldn’t get enough of them. You can thin this out, or serve it as a dip. Either way, it’s a dish I cook all the time, a great staple and something I’ve been meaning to put on here for years. Finally, Bessara!

MOROCCAN MEALS

My favourite memories of Bessara was around 15 years ago (food lives long in my memory) when I was travelling all over Morocco and eventually found a little home in the Rif Mountains. It was chilly, icy winds whistling through all the buildings, my favourite cafe’s door kept blowing off and was missing a window (but the mint and gunpowder tea and tunes were bang on). I was lucky to be staying right beside the Hamam (steam baths), which was hewn from a hillside, so the whole area was warmed by the huge wood fires which heated the water. The same wood fires where people would bring their clay pots of food to be cooked. Great system there, plus the Hamas are the perfect place to meet people, like a pub really, without the booze and with the heating turned up to Gas Mark 2. Oh, and the clientele are mostly naked.

Every morning I met some friends and went for Bessara, it makes for a lovely breakfast, and we sat on little rickety benches with all the djellaba wearing locals and morose Mohammed (cook and propietor) sat before two giant vats of bubbling Bessara. His joint was basically a corrugated steel roof between two wonky buildings, but it was always buzzing and cosy. It’s a warming soup in more ways than one. Mohammed’s Bessara was very cheap and served without glee but with fragrant local olive oil and small bowl of fresh cumin and salt on the tables.

The bread man would occasionally whistle past on his push bike and we’d score some fresh bread straight from the bakery, that flat Moroccan bread that you may have tried. If you’re from the North East, it’s basically stottie cake (more stottie here). I’ve never been able to find out if there is any relation between the two, my romantic side which easily eclipses any of my other sides, says that yes. There is. In the middle ages some sailors from Seaham were blown of course and found themselves sahara bound. Or maybe it was the crusades? Either way, great bread and highly recommended with this soup.

PUNCHY DRIZZLE

I love harissa, especially with traditional Moroccan food, so I’ve come up with a zesty and punchy little oil to drizzle over the soup. You’ll have a little bit leftover no doubt, but I love dipping bread into it to finish it off. Just keep leftovers sealed in a fridge for a few days. It’s perfect I think after one day in the fridge, all the spices and flavours settle and mingle.

LOVE THY FAVA

I have some organic Hodmedod split fava beans, they actually have a Bessara recipe on their site! Great minds!! Hodmedods were kind enough to send me some of their range, which is awesome, so you’ll be hearing from them more this year. We love to give shouts out to producers who are doing brilliant things in enlightened ways. Hodmedods are all about incredible pulses basically and are bringing back many traditional British varieties. Fava beans are actually traditional in the UK, but I think more of them as a Middle Eastern/ North African ingredient. We have used them to make traditional Egyptian Falafels (Ta’amia) in the past and they make a delicious hummus.

So a big shukran to Mohamed the mirthless in the Rif Mountains for warming my belly each morning with this classic soup, I wrote his recipe down one day, but it got lost along the way, I’m sure this is a reasonable attempt. Proper mountain Bessara. Travelling around Morocco changed my life, my world view and my feelings about stottie cake. Bismillah!

Recipe Notes

By adding 750ml of hot water to the finished Bessara, you’ll have a soup. As the soup cools, it thickens.

My favourite garnish for this soup is the harissa oil and black olives, maybe a sprinke of dried mint. Toasted almonds are tasty too, as is fresh mint and you might like a lemon wedge on the scene…..the soup is really like a blank canvas for flavours, simply delicious but easily embellished.

If you are using split fava beans, there is no need to soak them beforehand.

Stirring a few handfuls of greens into this soup just before serving will be delicious and add a health twist and different texture, try spinach, chopped kale or spring greens.

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Moroccan Bessara Soup with Harissa Oil

The Bits – For 4 bowls

400g dried fava beans (split broad beans)

6 garlic cloves (peeled and finely sliced)

1.5 ltrs water

2 tbs cumin seeds

1 tbs paprika

2 tbsp olive oil

1 lemon (juice)

Sea salt (to taste)

Garnish (optional)

2 handfuls nice black olives (destoned) or toasted almonds (roughly chopped)

Sprinkles dried mint or chilli powder

Extra virgin olive oil (if not using the Harissa oil)

Fresh coriander (chopped)

Harissa Oil

The Bits – For one small bowlful

1-2 tbs harissa paste (how hot do you like it?!)

1/2 teas cumin seeds

1 teas coriander seeds

1/2 teas dried mint

1 garlic clove (peeled and crushed)

100ml olive oil

1 lemon (juice)

½ teas sea salt

Do It

Rinse the beans well in a colander with cold water. Place in a large saucepan and cover with 1.5 ltrs of cold water, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and place a lid on. Leave to cook for around 45 minutes, until soft, stirring occasionally.

Place all the ingredients for the Harissa Oil in a blender and blitz until smooth. Check the seasoning.

When the beans are about cooked, grab a small frying pan and warm on a medium heat, add your cumin seeds and toast them for a minute, tossing them gently in the pan. They should begins to release their aroma and change colour slighty. Place in a pestle and mortar and leave to cool a little, them grind them. Enjoy the smell! Taste a smidgen, if they are very bitter, they’re burnt, give them another try. It’s easily done!

In the same frying pan, add the oil and then the garlic, fry until golden, should take a couple of minutes. Add the cumin, garlic and paprika to the pan, stir in and simmer for a few minutes, then add the lemon juice and salt. Check the seasoning, this soup will need a good amount of salt to bring the flavours out. You might prefer it chunky, but when blended, this soup is velvety smooth. I prefer it that way. Use a stick blender. It’s easiest.

Ladle the Bessara into bowls and top with olives, dried mint and harissa oil, or any of the other options above. Best with flatbread.

Foodie Fact

Fava (very similar to Broad) beans are like all beans, they’re brilliant and protein powerhouses! Nutritionally, they’ve no cholesterol or saturated fats, have plenty of fibre, vitamin K, B1 and B6, loads of minerals like iron, copper, magnesium, manganese, selenium, potassium and zinc, they even have some calcium.

Some tests have even claimed that fava beans can help with depression, they contain dopamine.

Categories: Budget, gluten-free, healthy, Healthy Eating, Nutrition, photography, plant-based, Recipes, Side Dish, Soups, Travel, Vegan | Tags: Moroccan food, morocco | 4 Comments

Mushroom and Spinach Hash and a Saucy Debate

Posted on April 1, 2015 by leroy watson

Mushroom and Spinach Hash

Breakfast of champs!!!!!!!!!!! Although really anytime of day is a good time for hash. Spinach is not everyone’s breakfast go-to veg, but it adds a stack of vitamins and nutrients to any dish and the body loves few things more first thing. Give it a go, it might even start making an appearance on your cooked brekkies (or is that a step too far?!).

I always find it strange that the things we eat in the morning normally make an ace late night snack as well. Hash is proper Brit grub, which for me means it fills the belly after a long walk around our freezing terrains, either returning from a pub or recovering the morning after. After all, beer and Britain go together like beans and toast, pies and piccalilli, Wimbledon and Cliff Richard (Dad’s personal favourite). You catch my drift, historically British culture needed food that filled a whole, fueled our passion for hard graft and soaked up buckets of ale.

HASH

An evocative word for many reasons, culinary and otherwise. Foodie wise, the name hash comes from the French ‘hacher’ which means to chop. Hash is normally a wonderful receptacle for leftovers, alot like Bubble and Squeak. In Denmark they have a dish like hash called ‘biksemad’ which means, ‘tossed together food’. I think this is sums it up. In fact, most countries have a version of hash up their sleeves, ‘picadillo’ in Spain, ‘pyttipanna’ in Sweden and ‘tyrol’ in Austria. We love it!

Most people forget that Britain was once struggling and my grandparent and parents would eat things like hash primarily because they were quick and cheap. Hash is proper ‘poor mans’ grub but this, as we find all over the world, does not mean that its poor food. Hash is a brilliant way of turning cheaper bits and pieces into a hearty and satisfying meal. One chap has even release a cookbook dedicated to the mighty hash and high end restaurants are now doing fancy things with the hash medium.

Hash is something I was partially raised on. In the North East of England there are many varieties. To my mind, its loads of stuff fried together in a pan, with a potato stuck in their somewhere along the way if you like. Its proper British grub. I think the main thing with pan frying potatoes is to take it slowly and gently, try not to bash them up too much. Many people around the world add spice to their hash, in my neck of the woods, this is absurd. Hash is straight up and pure, not spice. I know that in the States they use the term hash for many differing dishes, some thick stews, some loads of minced meat fried. Well not it in the Beach House hombres, this hash is strictly plant but not lacking in substance and certainly not lacking in nutrition and taste.

Dad gets caught in the crossfire (notice awesome dressing gown, essential in the Artic realm of the pre-spring Beach House Kitchen)

I’m not totally blowing our trumpets here (….I am….) but vegans know their way around a nutritious, low saturated fat, nibble or two. As a kid, we used to have this with fatty bacon and probably a load of corned beef whacked in their. Maybe topped with a sausage or two. Corned beef was a constant companion to me, or Pek (like Spam, but I found it to be tastier). Strangely, last night I had a dream/ nightmare based around that jelly you find around the meat in a pork pie. The same jelly you find on Pek, aspic jelly that is a not-too-distant cousin of the jellyfish and seems quite a strange thing to find stuffed into a pie or coating food in general. It was oozing all over the place, like a B-Movie Monster….”Attack of the Aspic Jelly!”

THE SAUCY DEBATE – ARE YOU RED OR BROWN?

In Britain you’re either red or brown. There is no middle ground. The battles lines are drawn! Like the round heads or the royalists, labour or tory it is unwise to mix your allegiance. Welcome to our saucy world.

Now if you’re reading from anywhere outside of the U.K. this is going to all sound a little strange, but there is a timeless debate raging on these little islands about sauce. Brown sauce to be exact. Brown sauce is a phenomenon that has gripped Britain since the early 20th century. Frederick Gibson Garton came up with the recipe, a grocer from Nottingham. I’ve no idea how, but he thought that combining tomatoes, tamarind, dates, molasses and vinegar would appeal to the masses. It was a hit and apparently they served it in the houses of parliament, hence the name. HP is the original Brown Sauce, but there are many contenders (see below). HP was traditionally made in Aston near Birmingham, the factory is now closed. HP was originally called ‘snotrag’, a charming name taken from the founders name (Garton’s), late in the 60’s and 70’s it was called ‘Wilson’s Gravy’ due to the fact that Harold Wilson, the British Prime Minister at the time, used to cover his meals with the stuff. HP now comes in a load of different varieties, but its still best out of the old glass bottle. Why is that?

BROWN SAUCE – CONTENDERS AND TASTING NOTES

Not all Brits are into HP. There are many options over here. As a child I was weaned on Daddie’s sauce, slighty more acidic and not quite as concentrated with a less pungent bouquet. The main attraction was the price I’d imagine. Chop sauce is another contender that seems popular in the North. My Uncle Brian swears by Chop. I like Chop. Its very thick and has a lighter flavour than HP. A good chip dipper. Having said all of this, for me, I opt for HP. Having been travelling most of my life, the sight of an HP bottle, with its ‘By Appoitment of Her Majesty The Queen’ and Big Ben embossed on the front, stirs a normally absent sense of nostalgia and reminds me of dinner time around my grandparents house. Its powerful stuff!

Brown sauce is a treat for us in the BHK, in fact Jane is more of a red sauce gal (Tomato Ketchup that is). I reserve a chilled bottle in the fridge for special breakfast times. Its highly processed and not what you’d call a healthy option. Full of salt and sugar. Its just one of those flavours that is so heavily linked with childhood memories. Its also vegan and there are precious few ‘childhood memory’ foods that can claim to be purely plant.

The key here is to cook the hash for a while, on a lowish heat and make sure everything is nicely caramelised. Stirring gently and regularly to ensure the potatoes don’t stick and remain in tact. Its a hash not a mash!

Brekkie of champs……

We’ve had a bash at home made HP sauce and homemade baked beans, but this morning Dad and I had a date with a beach walk. There are some brilliant recipes on the web for both of these things and of course, everything is better homemade right?!

I’ve made hash with firm tofu added before which makes it more substantial and of course brings a load of protein to the party. More filling for sure. Crumble some drained firm tofu (roughly 175g or half a block, will be enough) into the pan with the mushrooms.

There are an infinite amount of hashes to experiment with, use whatever veggies you have at hand and put it on toast. Eeeaaaaaaaaaassssssssssyyyyyyy!

Things are getting golden in the pan

The Bits – For 2

1-2 tbs cooking oil (I used rapeseed oil)

10 mushrooms – chestnut work well (roughly chopped)

2 small potatoes (cut into 1cm cubes, skins scrubbed and kept on)

1 small onion (finely diced)

4 massive handfuls of spinach leaves

1 teas balsamic vinegar

Sea salt and plenty of black pepper (to taste)

You favourite toast and lashings of baked beans

Optional Extra
HP Sauce (the only way to go)

Do It

In a large heavy frying pan on a medium heat, add the oil, potatoes and onions. Coat well in the oil using a wooden spoon or spatula and continue to gently stir and cook for 10-15 minutes. The potatoes and mushrooms will now be nicely caramelised. Add the mushrooms and balsamic vinegar and continue to gently stir regularly and make sure the potatoes are not sticking, lower the heat slightly if you need to. (Now is a good time to heat your beans if you’re having hash and beans).

Cook for 5-7 minutes and then pile the spinach leaves on top, it will look like alot, but they cook down quickly. Stir the leaves into the hash and wait for them to wilt, after a couple of minutes, season well with salt and pepper.

Pop your toast in. As a vegan, you can buy some nice, natural olive oil spreads (like margarine, but without the nasties) or I just like to drizzle olive oil or good rapeseed oil on my toast.

Mushroom and Spinach Hash (with baked beans)

Serve

Spoon the hash over your toast and surround with a steaming moat of beans. Add sauce in the quantity and location that you prefer and get stuck right in!

Foodie Fact

Spinach is one of the worlds most nutrient dense foods, all wrapped up in a tasty green leaf. Spinach boasts wild amounts of Vitamin K and A, it is also rammed full of a plethora of minerals like manganese, folate and iron. Eating spinach will help you against inflammations, cancer, caridiovascular problems and it gives a serious anti-oxidant boost to the body. Talk about starting the day on a good foot!

Buy vividly green spinach for greater levels of Vitamin C. If your spinach is wilting anywhere else than your pan, look elsewhere for your daily hit of wonder green leaves.

PS – You may have noticed that Dad is standing in for Jane, who is at this very moment, sunning herself somewhere on a beach in Spain. Sounds terrible. She is back next week to really get the BHK rocking.

Categories: Breakfast, Budget, Recipes | Tags: breakfast, brown, food, hash, hp, nutrition, recipes, sauce, spinach, vegan, vegetarian, wales | 3 Comments

Quick Green Lentil Stew

Posted on May 30, 2012 by leroy watson

This is one for the ‘Beach House Basics’ page; the place to go for simple food, prepared with love (of course!). Good food does not necessarily mean complex with loads of ingredients and this is one that we make regularly.

Sometimes, when writing this blog, I forget that people just want something easy. I normally put the more elaborate or special occasion dishes that we make, but really, the everyday food is just as good, just not quite as fancy.

This stew can be made with puy lentils, which many would class as the best, I feel that green lentils make a good substitute (and are cheaper). The lemon, chilli and coriander give the stew a lift, making it great for this time of year (its springtime in Britain).

Like so many recipes, this could be used as a side dish, but for me, it deserves to be center stage. Adding the potatoes means this is a definite main course filler.

The coriander is something we had in the kitchen, but you could use any fresh green leaf herb really and the lemon could always be a lime instead.

This recipe needs dried lentils that need soaking (overnight). Otherwise this is minimal fuss and maximum munch!

This recipe will be a good dinner for two people, though we normally cook in bulk and dip into it over a few days.

Green Lentil Stew

The Bits

1 cup of green lentils (soaked overnight) or one tin, 1 clove garlic (finely chopped), 1 great carrot (chopped) , 2 large tomato (chopped), a few new potatoes (sliced), 1/2 teas of chilli flakes, 1 big handful of coriander, juice of half a lemon, a glug of olive oil, 1 pint of good veg stock (as needed).

Do It

Drain soaked lentils (a quick wash for them) and cover with your veg stock (approx 1 inch above lentils) in a saucepan. Add a little sea salt and bring gently to the boil, then cover and simmer. Cook as per packet guidelines (30 minutes should do), try one for ‘bite’.

Once lentils are 10 minutes from being cooked, stir them and add your potatoes (it should be looking quite stew-like by now) and cook for 5 minutes, then add your garlic, chilli, carrots and tomatoes, cook for a further 5 minutes. Then stir in the olive oil, lemon juice and coriander and place a lid on the stew, turning the heat off. Let the flavours marinade for a few minutes and then serve.

Serve

We normally have it topped with a little olive oil and toasted sunflower seeds, with brown rice and yoghurt. Just by itself with a fresh green salad is also great.

We Love It!

This is perfect for when you only have a small window of time to work your kitchen magic!

Foodie Fact

These wonder legumes are filled with cholesterol lowering fibre, they also help to maintain your blood sugar levels. They contain high levels of six important minerals, two vitamin B’s and protein, with hardly any calories.

Categories: Budget, Dinner, Healthy Eating, Low G.I. (glycemic index), Recipes, Side Dish, Vegan | Tags: clove garlic, cooking, dinner, food, green lentil, puy lentil, quick, recipes, simple, stews, vegan, vegetarian | 9 Comments

Homemade Nettle Tea

Posted on May 24, 2012 by leroy watson

Nettles

Nettles are here and we are loving them. They are like a cross between mint and spinach and one of the first green leaves of the summer. Some call them weeds, we call them feed!

Nettle leaves can be dried and enjoyed later in the year, or just thrown straight in a pan of boiling water. They can also be stir fried to great effect as a spinach substitute.

Nettle tea can also be made for your garden, it makes great plant feed. You just need a load of nettles in a large container covered with water. Every day, stir them. This will stink after a while, keep going for 4 weeks and you have some seriously good feed that can be used on tomatoes. Great natural fertiliser.

You can even throw some nettles leaves in a bath of hot water, it apparently helps to relieve aches and pains. We haven’t tried this one out, please check that the sting is long gone before diving in!

Brewing the nettles

For the drinking variety:

The Bits

Nettle leaves (1 cup of leaves makes 2 cups of tea), Water

Do It

Boil water in a pan, add leaves.

Homemade Nettle Tea

Serve

In your finest mug.

We Love It!

It literally grows on trees (well bushes).

Foodie Fact

Nettle is a natural elixir, invigorating the body in preparation for the busy summer time. It is a strong blood purifier and helps to dissolve kidney stones. It is ant-inflammatory and can help with arthritis, high blood pressure and helps to clean out the digestive system.

Learn more about nettles and sustainable living on this great site, earth easy.

Categories: 'The Good Life', Budget, Detox, Foraging, Garden, Healthy Living, Infusions, Local food, Recipes, Tea, Vegan, Wild food | Tags: detox, food, foraging, gardening, health, healthy living, herbs, nature, nettle leaves, nettles, recipes, sustainable living, tea, wild food | 6 Comments

Ruth’s Nettle Soup

Posted on May 24, 2012 by leroy watson

More foraging antics here from good friends of the Beach House Kitchen, Dan and Ruth. They have kindly sent across this recipe for their tasty nettle soup.

Eating nettles may sound strange, but they lose their sting when cooked and have been eaten in Britain throughout history. Even Samuel Pepys sampled nettle porridge on February 25th, 1661. The trend died out recently, I have no idea why. Nettles contain significant amounts of iron and calcium, also giving you a big hit of vitamin A.

Dan and Ruth have been raiding the hedgerows of South London, looking for stinging nettles and wild garlic. ‘Tis that time of year! It is so good to be outside in the green. I love the seasons, how they heighten our expectation and enjoyment of spring, when life returns and nature wakes up.

Ruth mid-forage

This is a recipe we will be trying very soon. We are surrounded by bushes of nettles. I love their flavour, like hedgerow spinach. I wonder if there is a recipe that uses dock leaves. That would be quite a thing! I remember as a child being fascinated by nature, the fact that dock leaves always grew with nettles. When I stung myself, the remedy was always at hand.

The Bits

2 glugs of olive oil

1 onion (chopped)

1 carrot (diced)

1 leek (sliced)

1 large potato (chopped)

725ml vegetable stock (good quality)

250g stinging nettles leaves [note: weight does not include stems] (washed)

75ml soya single cream

Do It

Heat the oil in a large saucepan (preferably one that fits one of those countless lids in your cupboard) over a medium heat and add onion, carrot, leek and potato. Fry for 10 minutes until soft and the onion starts to colour. Add the stock and cook for a further 15 minutes until the potato is soft.

Add the nettle leaves and simmer for 2 minutes until they have wilted. Once done, pour all into a blender and blitz away until nice and green. Return to the pan over a low heat and stir in a glug of olive oil and the cream. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Nettle Soup

Serve

With thick crusty bread and smiles.

Foodie Fact

Stinging nettles are best eaten before they flower (less bitter) in late May. Wear some gardening gloves and take a pair of scissors. The top part of the nettle often has the best leaves.

Categories: Budget, Foraging, Recipes, Soups | Tags: cooking, food, foraging, nettle, nettle leaves, nettles, nutrition, recipes, soup | 1 Comment

Chilli & Onion Marmalade (Beach House Basics)

Posted on May 17, 2012 by leroy watson

Buster smells cooking

I have always loved this gooey, sweet stuff. I remember years ago, I made my first batch and was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it was. This is the case with so many recipes, you just need to give them a go. For this reason, we have created the Beach House Basics page (see at the top of the page).

The Beach House Basics will be a page dedicated to simple, cheap and normally quick recipes that we cook regularly. With just a little time and effort, we can make so many more homemade goodies, to our own taste and not rely on mass produced, factory made fare.

The Beach House Basics page will not include the ‘Foodies Fact’ and ‘Boozie Bit’ section. It will be straight to the point, that is, great recipes.

We would love you to get involved with the Beach House Kitchen, letting us know your favourite, most simple and rewarding recipes. We’ll pop them on the ‘Basics’ page with a nice link you.

This recipe reflects my taste, hence a little chill and coriander. The basic recipe, without spices, is great on its own and I normally omit the sugar, the onions being sweet enough. Onion Marmalade is a great staple relish to have hanging around, always there to add a delicious tangy sweetness to your plate.

Sweaty Onions

The Bits

6 white onions, glug of olive oil, 1 teas chilli flakes, 1 teas coriander seeds, 1 teas black mustard seeds, 1 bay leaf, 2 tbs balsamic vinegar, 1 tbs brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth), s + p to taste.

Do It

Slice onions finely, heat a large heavy bottomed saucepan on medium heat, add olive oil, add onions, and all other ingredients (except the vinegar), gently cook (don’t brown) stirring regularly for roughly 45 minutes. The onions will gradually brown and go sticky. Add the vinegar halfway through cooking, taste to check for balance of sweetness with sharpness. Add more balsamic or sugar if you like. The flavours will mellow when cooled. At end, take out bay leaf.

When cooled, put in a nice jam jar or tupperware, ready to be lathered on biscuits or crackers, preferably with a nice lump of potent cheddar.

If you are not planning on using the onion marmalade immediately, wash a Kilner jar or a couple of jam jars, rinse thoroughly, then dry in a warm oven. Stand them upside down on a clean tea towel.

For jam jars, fill them, then cover the marmalade with a disc of waxed paper while still hot, then seal with a dampened disc of clear plastic, secure with an elastic band and screw back on the top. Label and store in a cool, dark place for up to 2 months, then use as required.

Categories: Budget, Recipes | Tags: balsamic, basics, beach house basics, cats, chilli, cooking, food, onion marmalade, quick, recipes, relish, simple, stilton, sweet | 8 Comments

Omega Seed Sprinkles

Posted on February 27, 2012 by leroy watson

Or what my Dad calls ‘bird food’.

Not really a recipe, but a necessity for our kitchen and definitely a Beach House Favourite. These sprinkles will crunch up any salad, yoghurt, cereal, bread, etcetcetc there are so many uses for these wonder seeds. I normally nibble them, sparrow-like, throughout the day. They are a lot cheaper than nuts and have bags of energy, nutrients and omega oils.

Seeds are one of those things that, if eaten regularly, are best bought in bulk. The small packs you are likely to find are normally quite costly. Have a look online, you can get bulk bags of seeds, rice, pulses etc and the delivery is normally free (if it’s over a certain amount). Order for a month.

It saves so much time and resources, when you consider the driving to the shops and time wasted standing aimlessly pondering a desirability/cost = happiness equation for a packet of Moroccan spices. I do this.

I struggle with British supermarkets on many levels, but the myriad choices of everything is incredible. I go into a cold sweat as I approach the muesli section! We are such a refined consumer society. I can tell you, it’s very different in Spain! No muesli for a start.

If I ever have the distinct displeasure of visiting a hyper-market environment, I go into some sort of consumer trance. Like a zombie, occasionally grabbing a shiny product. I do like wine sections though. It’s like travelling, in bottles.

These sprinkles will work with most seeds and if you feel like nuts, stick a few in. The linseeds and flax seeds don’t add a huge amount of flavour, but are very, very good for you. They are all toasted together to give a richer flavour and add a bit of crunch.

You can blend these seeds up, add a dash of water and make a brilliant seed butter (this is a real winner).

You will need a frying pan full of seeds, just enough to cover the bottom.

The Bits

Sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, linseeds and flax seeds

Do It

Heat the frying pan on a medium to low heat, add the sunflower and pumpkin seeds first (or larger seeds/nuts). Heat and toss for around ten minutes, keep them moving, don’t hurry them. Then add the flax and linseeds and heat for another couple of minutes. They may pop a little and will darken in colour. The key is not to burn them, if they are getting too hot and dark, tip them onto a large plate and spread them out to cool.

Cool fully and keep in a jar.

We Love It

They go on anything and are a great, nutritious snack on their own.

Foodie Fact

These little gems are packed with super omega oils and energy. Russia is the leading producer of sunflower seeds globally. One sunflower head contains hundreds of seeds. They are full of energy in the form of poly unsaturated fats and mono-unsaturated fats which can lower cholesterol. They have one of the highest levels of complex vitamin B group and vitamin E (a powerful antioxidant)…….These little beauties are will keep you shining. Put them on everything!!!!