A cupboard staple that’s just so handy to cook with, for a quick satisfying meal or even, yes, cake… we’ve got them all, great recipes for beans of different sorts coming up below!
Embrace the new harvests of autumnal vegetables and make this hearty beetroot bean-burger alongside chips made from carrots, parsnips, potatoes, swede, celeriac… We still have our own grown tomatoes and lettuce available too to add some crunch and freshness to your burger. This really is the best time of year for Irish vegetables with an abundance of summer and winter veg available at the same time.
Liz x
Ingredients (serves 4)
1 tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
50g porridge oats
2 tbsp ground cumin
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp garlic granules
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
2 tbsp olive oil (plus extra for drizzling over the chips)
250g raw beetroot, finely grated
50g or so of chickpea flour
root veg of your liking (eg potato, carrot, swede, parsnip, celeriac) cut into chips and seasoned with salt, pepper and olive oil
burger buns, salad and sauces of your choice eg mayonnaise, ketchup, lettuce, pickles, tomato, onion, cheese slices…
Method
Turn your oven on to 200C and line a large baking sheet with baking parchment.
In a mixing bowl, squish together the beans, oats, beetroot, seasoning and olive oil. Your clean hand is the best tool for this. The mixture will most likely be quite wet and sticky at this stage. Add chickpea flour (or more oats), a couple of tbsp at a time and keep squishing until you achieve a texture that is reminiscent of minced meat and is able to form into patties. I used around 50g of chickpea flour but depending on the juiciness of your beetroots you may need more or less.
Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into neat patties on one side of your baking dish. Spread the root veg chips on the other side and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes or until both the chips and the burgers are cooked through.
Assemble the burgers into buns with your favourite toppings and sauces and enjoy with the chips on the side.
These deliciously dark, squidgy brownies are an absolute treat (and shhh! contain a few tricks too). Make these for the little monsters in your life and trick them into eating beetroot, sunflower seeds and black beans. Hahahahahaaaaaaa! *evil laugh*
This tricky treat is packed full of plant protein and fibre. It is gluten, nut, dairy and egg free, but most definitely not flavour free! So it’s perfect for everyone to enjoy at your Halloween party. These are seriously good, let us know if you make them. All the ingredients can be added to your next order. Did you know we have compostable bags of nuts, seeds, oats etc in the grocery section of our shop? We deliver to every address in Ireland. Happy Halloween!
Liz x
Ingredients
100g sunflower or pumpkin seeds
100g porridge oats (gluten free if needed)
100g sugar (or your choice of sweetener)
100ml oat milk (or any dairy free milk)
1 tin of black beans (including the liquid)
5 tbsp oil or butter
6 tbsp cacao powder
2 tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt
250g cooked beetroot
250g melted dark chocolate
Method
Preheat your oven to 180C and line a baking dish (I used a 20x28cm one) with baking parchment.
In a food processor, blend the sunflower seeds and oats into flour.
Then add the rest of the ingredients except the melted chocolate. Blend until smooth.
Mix in the melted chocolate then pour the batter into the dish. Even it out, getting into the corners, then bake for 40 minutes or until cracked on top and still a little wobbly.
Allow the brownie to completely cool in the dish. Then remove onto a chopping board to decorate and slice as you like.
We are harvesting so much broccoli from our fields at the moment! Expect lots in your set boxes or add some to the ‘build your own’ box for a special reduced price. Broccoli is brilliant! Broccoli is a good source of fibre and protein, and contains iron, potassium, calcium, selenium and magnesium as well as the vitamins A, C, E, K and a good array of B vitamins including folic acid. A real Irish super-food! I’ll be steaming some batches to put in boxes in the freezer to add to loads of different meals. Here’s one of our favourite family meals that uses a lot of broccoli.
Bang bang chicken is a traditional Sichuan dish of poached chicken which is then ‘banged’ to shred it and dressed in a spicy sauce. It’s a refreshing dish served with julienned cucumber. This is my plant-based nod to that classic. Definitely not authentic, but delicious none-the-less. It’s really simple. Nutritious broccoli and black beans are drenched in a spicy sauce, sprinkled with sesame seeds and then roasted. You can serve it with rice or noodles, or it’s delicious as a warm salad with spiralized courgette.
Liz x
We stock lots of great organic groceries alongside our farm fresh vegetables.
Ingredients (serves 4)
2 heads of broccoli
2 tins of black beans
4 tbsp maple syrup
4 tbsp lime juice (or vinegar)
4 tbsp vegetable or toasted sesame oil
4 tbsp soy sauce (or tamari if you need gluten free)
6 garlic cloves
a big thumb of ginger
fresh red chillies to taste
6 tbsp sesame seeds
scallions, fresh coriander and extra chillies to serve
rice or noodles to serve
Method
Preheat your oven to 200C and find a large roasting tray, or two trays if you don’t have a very large one. You want to be able to spread the ingredients into a single layer.
Trim as little as possible off the stalks of the broccoli. Just a sliver off the end is usually enough – those bits can go in the compost bin. Then cut the whole stalk away from the florets, slice it in half lengthways and then slice each half into long, thin strips. Put them in the roasting dish. Then cut the heads of the broccoli into bites sized florets and add them to the roasting tray too.
Drain the tins of black beans and add them to the tray. Then make the dressing.
Mix the soy sauce, oil, lime juice/vinegar and maple syrup in a bowl. Finely dice the chilli, garlic and ginger and add them to the bowl. Mix well and then pour the dressing over the broccoli and black beans.
Use your hands to mix the sauce into the broccoli and beans, then spread the ingredients out into a single layer. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds and put the tray into the oven to roast for just 20 minutes or until the broccoli is tender.
Meanwhile cook your rice or noodles and prepare the toppings. Slice scallions, coriander and extra red chillies.
Serve in bowls and enjoy hot or cold. We like to make an extra batch of the dressing with toasted sesame oil but without the raw garlic and ginger to drizzle over the finished dish too to make it extra juicy and spicy.
We have a new product in our grocery section that is absolutely delicious. These sachets of umami pastes which are basically organic miso with added ingredients like ginger, garlic and chilli. They are flavour bombs and we love them as a marinade for aubergine in this simple, hearty supper. The paste can be used to marinade skewers of tofu and mushrooms for the barbecue too, or even as a stunning broth base for a light miso soup. How would you use them?
Liz x
Find lots of organic groceries here to be delivered along with your fresh fruit and veg.
Ingredients (serves 2)
rice for two (I bring 1/2 a mug of brown rice with 1 mug of water to a boil in a pan with the lid on, then turn down to the lowest setting and simmer until the rice has absorbed all water)
1 aubergine
2 tbsp umami paste
1 tbsp vegetable oil
3 garlic cloves – sliced
1 bunch of rainbow chard – stalks separated and sliced
1 tin of black beans – drained
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds
Method
Pre-heat the oven to 200C and get some brown rice on to cook – see ingredients list for my super-simple method.
Cut the aubergine in half lengthways and score the cut side deeply with a small, sharp knife. Spread a tbsp of umami paste onto each half and make sure you get it into all the cuts. Place the aubergines in a small roasting dish in the oven to cook while you prepare the greens and beans.
Separate the stalks from the rainbow chard and slice them. They take longer to cook than the delicate green leaves. Put them in a pan with the vegetable oil and sliced garlic. Sauté until just starting to soften.
Then add the drained tin of black beans to the pan and turn the heat off until the rice and aubergine are cooked through.
When the aubergine is soft (this usually takes around 20 minutes), remove it from the oven and sprinkle it with sesame seeds. Return the dish to the oven for 5 minutes to toast the seeds.
Meanwhile turn the heat back on under the beans and add the greens and a splash of soy sauce (around 2 tbsp). Stir and wilt the greens. Then serve.
Divide the rice between two bowls. Add the garlicky beans and greens and a half of the aubergine to each bowl. Enjoy as it is or with a side of kimchi.
