All posts filed under: Vegan

Linda McCartney Tomato & Basil Meatballs With Orzo-Or-Rice [VEGAN]

Published by Jack

This super simple, tomatoey dish is really versatile – you can make it with orzo or rice, and it uses some of my favourite flavours from my Greek Cypriot heritage. Oregano, rosemary, cinnamon and nutmeg complement the delicious moreishness of Linda McCartney Vegetarian Tomato And Basil Meatballs. This is a really easy store cupboard recipe that’s comforting, filling, and full of goodness – and thanks to the ease of just popping these meatballs out of the freezer, it can be thrown together with barely any time or effort at all. One of my new faves – I hope you love it too! This recipe was created in partnership with Linda McCartney Foods. Makes four generous portions 1 large onion 4-6 cloves of garlic 1 tbsp mixed dried herbs, or any of the following: oregano, rosemary, thyme, marjoram a generous pinch of nutmeg a generous pinch of cinnamon 400g chopped tomatoes 400g passata, or another can of tomatoes 1 tbsp sugar or your preferred alternative 100g green or black olives 1 tbsp lemon juice, fresh or …

Vegan Pastitsio, 77p

Published by Jack

This recipe has been produced in partnership with Linda McCartney foods for Veganuary. Pastitsio is a food that reminds me of my childhood; snaffled from piled-high buffet plates at various relatives’ houses following Greek Orthodox church services, usually a christening or a funeral. My aunties would usually make them; huge trays of something that was a cross between a lasagne and a macaroni cheese. Usually stuffed with ground meat and several kinds of cheese, it was a challenge to make one that was vegan but still authentic enough to not get myself excommunicated from my family! But here it is – and it’s an instant classic in my household already. Using Linda McCartney’s Vegemince, it’s super simple to make – and can be enjoyed straight from the fridge, so make a large batch and give yourself a few days off cooking. Who said Veganuary meant missing out? Ingredients – serves 6 generously from 77p each. All prices quoted are based on Asda groceries and correct at time of writing. For the bechemal:50g flour, 2p (45p/1.5kg)60ml …

Cranberry, Mandarin & Cashew Nut Stuffing Roast, from 27p

Published by Jack

Serves 8 adults, from 27p each. For the full shopping list, click here. 2 onions, 12p (60p/1kg, Growers Selection at Asda) 200g fresh bread, 9p (36p/800g, HW Nevill at Tesco) PLUS washed clean peels from parsnips, carrots and potatoes, chopped up very finely 125g cashew nuts, soaked in two changes of cold water for 1hr minimum each to remove excess salt, 75p, (75p/125g, Smartprice at Asda) 1 can of mandarins, £1 (Del Monte at Asda or Tesco) 2 tbsp or 35g cranberry sauce, 9p (49p/200g, Tesco) 1 tsp mixed dried herbs, 3p (30p/18g, Asda) 40g baking spread, melted, 9p (55p/250g Best For Baking Spread at Asda) 20g lard, melted, 3p (39p/250g, Stockwell at Tesco) – if making for vegan or veggie friends replace with 20ml cooking oil or 20g solid coconut oil, as preferred Salt and pepper, <1p First peel your onions and top and tail them, then cover with generously salted water in a saucepan. Bring to the boil, reduce to a simmer, and cover. Simmer for around 8 minutes. Meanwhile, blitz your bread …

Vegan Fake Bake, 90p [Veganish]

Published by Admin

In 2019, Greggs (a UK high street bakery chain, for my overseas readers) launched a legendary vegan sausage roll, and I launched half a dozen of them into my face in one week alone. I started to fantasize about an entirely vegan pasty-and-cake shop – which I’m sure exists somewhere – and one thing led to another and I ended up here, with my own vegan version of their famous Steak Bake. I reverse-engineered this by physically dissecting a steak bake or two, then painstakingly recreating it in my kitchen at home. The jackfruit gives the tender meaty filling, the gravy fools your tastebuds into thinking it’s a proper steak bake, and the rest bolsters the flavour. Bisto red gravy granules are the best to use here, and also vegan at the time of writing, but Asda own brand ‘meat gravy granules’ are also vegan too. As with all things, do check the labels carefully, as products are subject to change over time. Makes 4, from 90p each (This post contains affiliate links – I …

Pangrattato Al Pomodoro, 31p [VEGAN]

Published by Jack

Firstly, a confession. This recipe is a twist on an Italian classic, Pappa al Pomodoro, which is essentially a bread-crust and tomato soup, with olive oil, salt and pepper, and sometimes garlic and basil or rosemary, depending on whose recipe you consider to be sacred. This version eschews the traditional, using dried stuffing crumbs to replace the bread and herbs. But Stuffing Crumb And Tomato Puree Soup didn’t seem like a particularly appetising recipe name, so I translated it into Italian as a nod to the original. Serves 1, from 31p, (This post contains affiliate links – I may earn a small commission if you click the links or purchase any products.) First peel and finely slice your onion, and set to one side for a moment. Measure the oil into a heavy-bottomed saucepan, preferably a non-stick one, and warm it for a moment on a medium heat before adding the onion. Season with a little black pepper, and cook for 3-4 minutes, until starting to soften. Quarter your tomatoes and add those too – when …

Cream Of Mushroom Soup, 48p [VEGAN]

Published by Jack

I love mushroom soup and have made many of them over the years, but think this one is my best so far. If you don’t have celery to hand, or don’t like it, you can use extra onion. Mushrooms soup traditionally has a splash of wine in it, but I try not to keep it in the house at the moment – if you wanted to add some and it’s the kind of thing you have kicking about, do feel free, but I think it’s perfectly luxurious and delicious without. This cream is a delicate golden colour – or it was when I made it – which is a relief from the minky greys of mushroom soups gone by! I use full fat coconut milk here as you get more bang for your buck, but if you only have the reduced fat version available, double the quantity and reduce the water accordingly. Serves two, from 48p each, (This post contains affiliate links – I may earn a small commission if you click the links or purchase …

Vegan Rainbow Dhansak, 31p

Published by Jack

Authentic dhansak recipes that I’ve found sometimes include tamarind sauce or fresh tamarind, which I didn’t have to hand, so I replicated the slightly sour note with a dash of lemon juice instead. I am aware that I am extremely lucky to have found this particular bag of stir fry veg so cheaply, but I am often asked by readers what to do with them that isn’t a stir fry, so when I swagged this one from the markdown chiller today I thought it an ideal opportunity to address this particular conundrum. If you don’t have a similar bargain to hand, you can make similar by adding roughly equal amounts of red and green cabbage, thinly sliced or thickly grated carrot, and some sweetcorn. Or use whatever veg you have to hand, of course. If serving between four, this recipe contains four of your five a day. It keeps in the fridge forum to three days, or in the freezer for three months. Reheat to piping hot before serving – it is not advised to …

Zero-Waste Banana Peel Ketchup, 43p

Published by Jack

I first came across banana chilli ketchup while staying in a self catering apartment in Edinburgh. It takes a certain amount of planning to buy exactly enough food to sustain two adults for three days, wasting nothing, when your nearby shopping options are the Harvey Nichols food hall (ineffectual, expensive, but fun to walk around gasping at and making furtive notes at all the fancy pastas), or a Sainsbury’s Local, where fruit and veg are sold in large packets and nothing by the handful. I found a banana habanero chutney in Harvey Nicks by Mr Vikki’s, a small Cumbrian company, and we wolfed our way through two jars of it in a weekend. I knew that as soon as I got home and into my own kitchen, I would be knocking up my own version. And I have done it many times since, each batch slightly different to the last, and each disappearing into the homes of various friends who are absolutely obsessed with it. It’s an ideal accompaniment to a curry, or grilled cheese, …

Vegan ‘Egg’, Tomato & Cress Sandwich, 68p [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

This recipe is based on my favourite ever egg sandwich – the M&S Egg, Tomato & Salad Cream – but I challenged myself to create it as a vegan version when I was writing Veganish. My readers had specifically requested sandwich recipes for this book, seemingly unanimously tired of the solitary falafel offering in the supermarket compared to the dozens of meat and cheese options. So I made a list of both my personal favourites, and asked people for theirs, and tried to recreate as many of them as possible, as closely as possible to the originals. And this was FUN. A whole lot more testing and retesting than most of my recipes, as well as side-by-side comparisons with the original. Literally a bite out of the M&S one, a bite out of mine. Proffering both at friends and asking them to guess which was which. Tweaks and adjustments and adding specialist ingredients in and taking them out again, until finally, satisfied, I ended up with this. I’m still undecided on the nutritional yeast, so …

Tomato, Bread & Butter Pasta, 24p

Published by Jack

This pasta sauce started off as a pappa al pomodoro, but quickly veered towards a tomato butter sauce as I craved comfort on an increasingly blue day. I don’t know about you, but lockdown is playing havoc with my already unreliable emotional weather vane, clattering it all over the place, and I am learning to take things hour by hour, meal by meal, and take pleasure in moments of simple comfort in this strange new world of unknowns. I am grateful that all members of my household are healthy and well, and that we are able to do most of our day jobs under lockdown, even with the challenges that presents, and that my young son seems to have adapted well to the changes. He Facetimes and Zoom calls his friends and family every day, keeps a diary of his thoughts, feelings and experiences, does some educational work each day, and seems to be faring the best of all of us. Anyway, back to the pasta sauce. I have a recipe for a three ingredient …

Tinned Pear Cake, 36p [Tin Can Cook]

Published by Jack

This soft, sweet, rich and heavy cake was written for Tin Can Cook, as I sat surveying tins of fruit and wondering how to plump up my pudding chapter. My eyes roved greedily over the tinned peaches, pears and cherries, looking for inspiration, and there it was. Fat, fulsome pears swimming sodden in their own slippery, succulent syrup – what a treat! I could barely wait as I sat typing up the recipe, my home rich with the scent of freshly baked goods, impatiently picking at the slice I promised myself as a reward for committing it to paper. I love this, and it’s all the better for using tinned pears; I hope you love it too. If you do happen to have ripe pears needing using up, first quarter them and carefully scoop out the seeds with the point of a small sharp knife. Cut away the very tip of the stalk and the woody star shape at the base, taking care to remove as little of the flesh as possible in the process. …

Beet Wellington, £1.34 [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

This is one of my more difficult recipes, but I approach it in stages, treating the duxelles as a separate recipe on its own and making it in advance to lessen the workload a little. I can promise you that the end result is completely worth it – a vegan ‘special occasion’ dinner for Sunday roasts, festive feasts, date nights, or any other occasion where you really want to push the boat out. I have made many a vegetarian wellington, ranging from whole flat portobello mushrooms wrapped in spinach, to a black bean and chestnut version, but my favourite by far is this beet wellington, and not just for its nomenclature. It requires a little care in the assembly process, but then so does a standard fillet beef wellington, and this keeps as close to the original as possible with the inclusion of a mushroom duxelles and a crepe layer. The duxelles provides a distinctive depth of flavour, and the crepe layer, although it may seem overly fancy, acts as a barrier between the vegetables …

All The Best Pancake Recipes, from 8p each [GF/DF/VG]

Published by Jack

Whether you’re after vegan pancakes, dairy-free, savoury, classic crepes or fluffy American style puffs of glory, there’s a pancake recipe here for you! Happy Pancake Day, fellow tossers! Fluffy Berry Pancakes from Cooking On A Bootstrap: Fluffy Berry Pancakes, 41p [Cooking On A Bootstrap] Gluten-Free Berry Buckwheat pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2020/02/25/gluten-free-berry-buckwheat-pancakes-33p/ 3-Ingredient Banana Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2019/11/18/banana-pancakes-recipe/ Courgette and Lemon pancakes, from Cooking On A Bootstrap: Courgette Lemon Pancakes, 24p [Cooking On A Bootstrap] Vegan AppleSauce Pancakes: Applesauce Pancakes, 17p [from ‘Veganish’] Rolly-Up Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2020/02/25/rolly-up-pancakes/ Egg-Free Dollar Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2018/02/12/dollar-pancakes-recipe/ Porridge Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2015/02/16/jacks-porridge-pancakes-recipe/ Apple & Sultana Pancakes: https://cookingonabootstrap.com/2013/11/20/apple-sultana-pancakes-22p/ Click here for my books! All text copyright Jack Monroe. This site is free, and always will be, but it does incur costs to keep it running. If you use it and benefit, enjoy it, and would like to keep it going, please consider popping something in the tip jar, and thankyou.

Come-To-Bed Parmigiana, 74p [from ‘Veganish’]

Published by Jack

Almost three years ago now, I turned up to work late, sleepless, an incoherent babbling wreck chewed up by an 18 month landmark court trial and with bright copper dye fading from my wiry, tousled mania of hair. I left my walking stick in the lobby, and limped in to work…to find a hand thrust towards me in a polite gesture of welcome, a smile, a curt hello. She introduced herself. I apologised seven times for my lateness and my pulled-from-a-car-wreck appearance. She was firm and professional, and she smiled at me again. And I felt that self-same car wreck collide with my solar plexus and toss me down a rabbit hole of giddy head spinning highs and that soaring, almost nauseatingly disorienting feeling of time stopping and slowing and turning on its head. I stumbled away, a new crush ablaze across my cheeks and in every tip of my fingers, burning coiled springs in the soles of my feet, a song whispering in the cold, grey, slumbering chamber of my strange little heart. And …

Courgette Chocolate Cake, 16p [A Year In 120 Recipes]

Published by Jack

Courgettes in cake came into fashion a few years ago, but I only really bothered with them when I had a glut of the green blighters one autumn. Desperate to get rid of them, I made them into wholesome soups, pestos, pasta sauces and smuggled a few into this big chocolate cake. The courgettes are virtually indetectable – a novel way of smuggling vegetables into your children or fussier members of your household – but the moisture gives a pleasurable density and a little heft to an otherwise light snack. Eat your greens, go on! Serves 6 rather generously at 16p each, (This post is not sponsored; I provide links to the ingredients that I use so you can see how I calculate my recipe costs, and I may earn a small commission if you click the links and make a purchase.) 2 courgettes, 40p (£1.60/1kg courgettes, Sainsburys Basics) 50g dark chocolate or 25g cocoa powder, 21p (84p/100g, Sainsburys own cocoa powder) zest and juice of 1 lime or 1 tbsp bottled lime or lemon juice, …