Bean There - Beany potato bake

Ingredients: (enough for six)

2 tins of beans - (whatever is available, any selection will work)
2 onions, chopped
1 clove of garlic (or more according to taste)
1 fresh chilli
1 tin of Suma chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp of shoyu or soy sauce
2 tsp bouillon or 1 vegetable stock cube
200g mushrooms, sliced
1 red pepper, chopped
1 leek, sliced
6 cooked potatoes, sliced
olive oil and black pepper
100g of grated cheddar

Method:

Start by sautèing the onions, garlic and chilli, then add the bouillon, shoyu and tomatoes. Now add the chopped veg and cook until soft. Finally add the beans. Tip in to an ovenproof dish, arrange the sliced cooked potatoes in a layer on top and sprinkle with cheese if using, or drizzle with olive oil if vegan. Bake in a hot oven until the top is golden brown. Serve with a green salad or vegetables.
This recipe can be adapted to whatever you have available in the cupboard/fridge and lots of seasonal vegetables.

Savoury Sweetcorn Fritters

Ingredients:

2 tins of Suma Organic Sweetcorn
8 shallots or 1 medium size onion, chopped finely
2 red chillies de-seeded and chopped, or 1/2 tsp chilli powder
4 garlic cloves, chopped finely
2 tsp ground coriander
4 tbsp chopped spring onions
6 tbsp rice flour or plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
salt to taste
2 large free range eggs
250ml oil

Method:

Drain the canned sweetcorn and put it into a bowl, then mash it a little with a spoon just to break the kernels so they won't pop when fried. Alternatively, put the corn into a blender and blend for a few seconds. Mix the sweetcorn with all the other ingredients except the oil. Taste and add more salt if necessary.
Heat the oil in a wok or frying pan. Drop a heaped teaspoonful of the mixture into the pan. Flatten it with a fork and repeat this process until you have 5 or 6 fritters in the pan. Each one should fry for about 3 minutes on each side, and be turned over once only.
Serve hot or cold as a snack with drinks, or as finger food.

Hummus

Ingredients:

1 clove of garlic
1 can (400g) of chick peas
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp olive oil
salt
ground cumin
the juice and zest from one lemon

Method:

Anyone who buys this ready-made is terminally lazy as it is so quick and easy to prepare.
Take a peeled clove of garlic and chuck it into your food-processor with a drained can of Suma chickpeas. Add the tahini and olive oil, a pinch of salt and cumin (optional) and the juice of a lemon.
Whiz it all together until smooth and creamy. If it seems too dry, add a little more oil and whizz again. Perfect hummus in 5 minutes flat!
Try dipping warmed pitta bread into it or finger of raw vegetables.
The chickpea is also called the garbanzo bean, ceci bean, bengal gram or chana. The chickpea is a pulse that comes from the seedpod of the Fabaceae plant, it is most common in the pale yellow variety but also red, black and dark brown varieties. The chickpea does not grow wildly, and is produced in the Mediterranean, Western Asia and India.
Chickpeas provide protein as well as calcium and iron, which make them the perfect addition to a vegetarian diet.

Huevos Rancheros

Ingredients (Serves 4 - 6)

This is a hybrid dish from Mexico and the USA. For extra speed make the salsa the night before.
1 egg per person
3 tbsp olive oil
2 onions, finely chopped
1 kg of ripe tomatoes, chopped and 275 ml water or 2 large tins of chopped tomatoes
1 heaped tsp ground coriander
3 green chilli peppers, chopped and de-seeded
Bunch of coriander leaves, washed and chopped
Bunch of spring onions, including the green tops, chopped
Salt and pepper to taste

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to a medium heat. Fry the onions in the olive oil until they begin to brown. Add the tomatoes and any water, the ground coriander and half the coriander leaves. Leave to simmer for at least 15 minutes to bring out all the flavours. Season to taste and transfer to a large, fairly shallow ovenproof dish.
Make depressions in the salsa, crack the eggs in to them and place the dish uncovered in the oven. The eggs are both poached and baked and will probably be hard within 15 minutes. Remove form the oven once the eggs are cooked to your liking and serve immediately.

Mushrooms stuffed with wheat flakes and almonds

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6, Vegan)

6 large field mushrooms, wiped clean
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
125g wheat or oat flakes
1 heaped tbsp chutney
2 tbsp oil
50g almonds, chopped or flaked
2 tsp soya flour
salt and pepper, soy sauce and dried herbs to taste

Method:

Mix the wheat or oat flakes, chutney and soya flour with ¼ pint/150ml of the juice from the tomatoes and beat with a wooden spoon. Remove the mushroom stalks, chop them and add them to the wheat mixture, and leave it all to stand for 10 minutes.
Puree the tomatoes and the remaining juice, bring to the boil and season with salt, pepper, soy sauce and any herbs of your choice.
Season the wheat mixture carefully, remembering the strong taste of the chutney, and stir in the almonds.
Brush both sides of the mushrooms with oil and place them upside down in an oven proof dish. Pile the wheat flake mixture on the mushrooms and pour the tomato sauce around them. Bake for 10 minutes in a medium hot oven. For non-vegans this could be topped with grated cheddar before popping in the oven.
Globally we consume 1.5 million tonnes of Almonds a year.
Most almonds are grown in Greece, Iran, Italy, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Syria, Turkey and the United States.
They are a rich source of vitamin E and monounsaturated fats, which help lower cholesterol.
Serve with crunchy green vegetables or salad.

Aduki Bean, cheese and Apple Bake

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

This is a fairly plain bean base with a crumble topping which is full of flavour. Vegans can substitute 2 tbsp of margarine for the cheese.
For the base: -
1 tin (400g) of Suma aduki beans
1 onion chopped or finely grated
1 tsp vecon
½ pint/275ml boiling water
For the topping: -
4 oz/125g grated cheese or 2 tbsp margarine
2 tbsp flour
3 tbsp oats
1 tbsp green peppercorn mustard or for a stronger flavour - English mustard
1 tbsp walnuts, chopped
2 sharp eating apples, or 1 large cooking apple, grated

Method:

Put the beans on to cook in boiling water, preferably in a pressure cooker (or use Suma tinned adukis, rinsed) Meanwhile grate the cheese, the apple and the walnuts and mix with the other crumble ingredients, or if you don't want to use cheese, mix the flour and the oats together first and then fork in the margarine before adding the apples, nuts and mustard. When the beans are cooked, drain them and mix them in the bottom of an oven proof dish with the hot water, the onion and the vecon. Sprinkle the crumble mix on top of the beans and bake in a medium hot oven for 15 minutes. Try it served with slivered carrots braised for about 15 minutes in a little margarine and honey.
The Aduki bean comes from a vine cultivated in eastern Asia and the Himalayas. Aduki beans have recently become popular because they are lower in fat and easier to digest than other beans. In Japan, Adukis are the second most popular legume after the soybean, where it is boiled with sugar, and eaten as a sweet bean paste.

Thunder and Lightning

Ingredients: (Serves 4, Vegan)

This is a simple Italian peasant dish with a pleasant contrast of textures - the soft pasta complements the crunchiness of the chickpeas. We have included red peppers and black olives for extra colour but it's just as good plain.
175g chickpeas
175g of spinach pasta shapes (eg fusilli or penne)
1 small red pepper, chopped
black olives according to taste
olive oil
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove of garlic, chopped
Fresh herbs, chopped (eg coriander, mint or parsley)

Method:

Cook the chickpeas and the pasta shapes, and mix everything together with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped fresh herbs. This can be eaten hot or cold.

Lentil and Rice Puffs

Ingredients: (Serves 4-6)

2 tbsp long grain brown rice
8 oz/250 g red lentils
2 spring onions with green tops, finely chopped
salt and pepper
4 oz/125g rennet free cheese, grated
strong English mustard to taste
Clean the rice by bringing it to boil in a little water, then drain and rinse. Cook it together with the lentils in enough vegetable stock or water to cover until the rice is just done, by which time the lentils will be mushy. Mix all the ingredients together and spread thinly on a board to cool.
Batter (optional)
¼ pint / 150ml water
4 oz/125g wholemeal flour
1 tbsp oil
salt and pepper
1 egg white, beaten stiff

Method:

Mix the batter until smooth and fold in the beaten egg white. When the lentil mixture is cool form walnut sized pieces in to little cakes and dip them in the batter. Deep-fry them in hot oil until golden brown, turning once for about one minute.
Drain and serve hot with tartare sauce and a crunchy salad such as white cabbage and sweet pepper. Alternately for a quicker but less substantial result you can coat the little cakes in seasoned wholemeal flour instead of batter and shallow fry them. They will no longer be puffs but they will be very good!

Butter Beans and Blue Cheese

Ingredients:

1 can organic butter beans
a piece of crumbly blue cheese (stilton)
3 tbsp mayo
3 tbsp sour cream
watercress to garnish

Method:

Mix together the butter beans and the sour cream. Give it a good stir whilst crumbing most of the blue cheese in. Empty the butter beans in to the mix.
Use the remaining blue cheese and watercress to garnish.
Serve this dish cold with hot crusty bread, or try baking it at a low heat for 15 minutes. It works great as a side dish, but also as main with leafy salad and bread. The great thing about this dish is not only its wonderful fresh taste but that it takes 3 minutes to make!
In the UK we commonly call this bean the Lima bean, but across the globe this popular bean has many names, including Lima bean, Haba bean, Burma bean, Guffin bean, Hibbert bean, Java bean, Sieva bean, Rangood bean, Madagascar bean. Paiga Paigya, Prolific bean, Civet bean and the sugar bean!
Lima beans are a great source of fibre, which helps to lower cholesterol and stabilise blood sugar levels. They are also a great source of potassium, iron, copper and manganese. When combined with grains they are provide a complete protein, a great alternative to meat or other animal proteins.

Red Dragon Pie

Ingredients:

200g aduki beans or half a can
50g wheat, grain or rice
4 pints of water
1 tbsp oil
1 onion peeled and finely chopped
200g of carrots, diced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp mixed herbs
250ml of aduki bean stock
salt and pepper
400g potatoes, peeled
25g butter

Method:

Pre heat oven to gas mark 4. Bring the beans and grain to boil in fresh water, after soaking them first. Let simmer for 50 minutes or until soft, then drain and put the stock to one side.
Boil the potatoes until soft, then mash and season well. Put to one side. Whilst the potatoes are cooking prepare the vegetable and bean mixture.
Fry the onions for 5 minutes, then add the carrots and cook for a further 2-3 minutes. At this point add the cooked beans and grain, mix in the soy sauce, puree and herbs. Pour ½ pint of stock over the bean and vegetable mix and bring to the boil. Let simmer gently for 20-30 minutes, but feel free to add more stock if the mix gets too dry.
Place the mix in a 3 pint casserole dish. Spread the mashed potato over the beans and vegetables. Bake for 35-40 minutes until crisp and brown.

Black eye pate

Ingredients:

500g black eye beans or 2 tins
1/4 pint of olive oil
1/8 pint of cider vinegar
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Method:

Mix all the ingredients together and serve. As an alternative try using tomato concentrate and basil instead of mint.

Mung Bean and Lime Pate

Ingredients

500g mung beans or 2 tins
¼ pint olive oil
¼ pint lime juice
2-3 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp fresh mint
1 tsp salt
½ tsp pepper

Method:

Mix ingredients together and serve. Instead of mint try using coriander plus a little fresh chilli.

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