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A collection of recipes featuring nutritious, healthy, economical beans and pulses. From warming lentil soups to tasty chickpea hummus.
Spicy Bean Balls, inspired by Tex-Mex flavours, make an easy and tasty dinner or lunch. So quick to make using your choice of tinned beans, plenty of spices and a few other simple ingredients, the balls take just 20 minutes to bake in the oven. …Read more
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus is a smoky, spicier take on traditional hummus. It still has the classic ingredients of chickpeas, tahini, garlic, and lemon. But the earthy original is given a lightly sweet and smoky edge with roasted red pepper and Spanish paprika. For extra spiciness …Read more
Quick Pea & Bacon Soup, using convenient frozen peas, can be on the table in less than thirty minutes. Beautifully green in colour, with hints of smoky bacon and garlic, each bowl will provide at least two of your daily veg portions. Great as a …Read more
Spanish Lamb Stew is inspired by a dish I ate many years ago in central Spain. With chunks of tender meat and soft peppers in a garlic and paprika scented broth, close my eyes and I’m almost back there. My version includes chickpeas to stretch …Read more
Creamy Bean & Pancetta Soup, despite its name, doesn’t contain any cream. Instead, its smooth creaminess comes from pureed cannellini beans and a little potato simmered in stock and milk. Adding great depth of flavour are pancetta or smoked bacon, onion, celery, garlic and rosemary. The …Read more
Moroccan Spiced Baked Stuffed Squash, filled with spicy tomato sauce and chickpeas, finished with a drizzle of tahini sauce, makes a sensational vegetarian or plant-based main course. A Moroccan-inspired mix of cumin, paprika, ginger, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli gives a warm, mild heat. I love to …Read more
Lentil & Walnut Loaf is an easy, tasty, and nutritious vegetarian bake. Tinned lentils speed up the prep so you can get this herby, chewy loaf in the oven in around twenty minutes. Bake for an hour and serve hot with roast potatoes and veggies, or …Read more
Goat Chilli, with chunks of tender meat and black beans in a rich, spicy sauce, makes a great change from the usual beef. So easy to put together, you can simmer the chilli-spiked stew either on top of the stove or in the oven. Thick …Read more
Spinach Dal is a nutritious, economical and tasty soup or curry inspired by Indian dal palak. Based on yellow split peas, with whole and ground spices, a little tomato plus lots of fresh spinach, I think it’s a wonderfully vibrant mix. In a final flourish, cumin …Read more
Roasted Carrot and Chickpea Salad with Mint Pesto is one of my current favourite dishes. Aromatic cumin seeds, fruity and warm Aleppo pepper plus refreshing mint, transform earthy root veg and pulses into a great summer salad. The Mint Pesto that’s the star of the …Read more
Turkish Eggs with Chickpeas and Flatbread is my idea of heaven on a plate. Chewy, satisfying bread topped with minty, garlicky yogurt, a runny poached egg plus nutty chickpeas in a cloak of spicy butter. I’ve flavoured the yogurt with vibrant homemade Mint Pesto but, …Read more
Pea & Mint Baked Falafel make a great change from regular chickpea-only falafel. Replacing half the chickpeas with frozen peas gives a slightly sweeter edge. Mint leaves bring freshness that lifts the coriander and cumin spices. Brushing with oil and baking instead of deep frying …Read more
Chorizo, Bean & Cavolo Nero Soup is rich, hearty and with a good whack of chilli heat if you want. Although the chorizo is a must, you can change around the beans and type of greens you include. I like cannellini beans and cavolo nero, …Read more
Harira is a traditional Moroccan soup, fragrant with spices and full of hearty chickpeas, lentils and sometimes meat too. But, often eaten to break a fast, it’s satisfying without being heavy. Lemon juice added just before serving brings a refreshing, zesty note. In this post …Read more
Roasted Aubergine with Herbed Tahini Yogurt & Crispy Chickpeas brings together some of my favourite things. Softly baked aubergine is topped with a creamy but punchy dressing of tahini, yogurt, cumin, garlic, fresh coriander and mint. Finished with a scattering of crispy baked chickpeas, za’atar …Read more
Sprouting at home all kinds of seeds and beans is incredibly easy. In this post I show you how to get super-fresh, crunchy sprouts in just 3-5 days. I’ll tell you what simple equipment you need, which seeds and beans to sprout, how to do …Read more
Green Bean Salad with Garlic & Mint makes the most of this wonderful seasonal vegetable. The just-cooked beans are dressed with garlic slices that have been gently fried to golden mellowness, plus a minty vinaigrette. An easy side dish that will complement almost any summery meal. …Read more
Cashew & Bean Sprout Stir Fry is put together in around twenty minutes. Quick and healthy, it makes a perfect light meal, or serve alongside other dishes as a main meal. With garlic, spring onions plus a light dressing of soy sauce and sesame oil, …Read more
Tomato & Broad Bean Salad with Salsa Verde makes a wonderfully summery meal. I like it with some feta cheese crumbled over the top. But you can leave that off for a completely plant-based dish. Eat on its own, with bread, with a range of …Read more
Aubergine with Tomatoes, Chickpeas & Yogurt makes a great vegetarian main course or part of a mezze style meal. Aubergines & chickpeas are braised in a spicy tomato sauce inspired by the food of the Middle East and North Africa. To serve, contrasting creamy yogurt …Read more
Lamb with Anchovy, Garlic & Rosemary is a classic flavour combination found in both France and Italy. In this recipe, it comes in the form of a rich stew. Chunks of tender lamb plus a little belly pork, pancetta or bacon are joined by cannellini …Read more
One Bowl Meals are a great way of eating a variety of different foods including loads of vegetables. They’re also perfect for using up leftovers plus odds and ends of veg, helping you reduce food waste and save money. Take a look at my examples, …Read more
Lentil, Mushroom & Cheese Bake makes use of economical, everyday ingredients in a savoury dish that’s so much more than the sum of its parts. Enjoy as part of a vegetarian dinner that you don’t have to be a vegetarian to find satisfying. Leftovers can …Read more
Beef & Bean Stew is simple comfort food for chilly days and nights. And it’s even better with fluffy suet dumplings cooked on top. As well as tender cubes of beef and gravy thickened with veg, there’s beans in this economical stew too. In this …Read more
Roasted Red Pepper & Borlotti Bean Soup makes use of economical and easy to use peppers from a jar plus tinned beans. With the addition of vegetables like onion, carrot and celery it’s a nutritious, vibrant soup with the warming heat of a little chilli …Read more