New cookbook features meat-free versions of traditional British teatime favourites which are bound to go down a storm with family and friends.
Aimee Ryan is author of the cookbook, Great British Vegan, which shows how to prepare traditional British favourites, in a vegan-friendly style.
Here she shares her alternative recipes for a classic burger, and fish and chips.
This veggie burger has a great, firm texture – no mushiness, and is packed full of flavour and cooks beautifully in the pan, oven or grill.
Meanwhile, not only does the beer-battered tofu dish look like the real deal but it also has added fish flavour, thanks to the nori sheet.
Served with probably the best chips you’ll ever make – which take a bit of effort but are totally worth it – and super-simple minted mushy peas.
British veggie burger
Serves 2-4
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil, plus extra
- 1 onion, finely diced
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tsp yeast extract or miso paste
- 120g shiitake or chestnut mushrooms, finely chopped
- 1 tsp dried mixed herbs
- 1 tbsp brown sauce
- ½ tsp mustard powder
- 400g can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
- 125g cooked rice
- 40g porridge oats
- 4-6 tbsp plain flour
- A generous pinch of sea salt and ground black pepper
To serve:
- 2-4 vegan cheese slices
- 2-4 seeded burger buns
- 1 little gem lettuce, leaves separated and washed
- 1 beef tomato, sliced
- Vegan mayonnaise
- Ketchup
- Crispy veggie/bacon strips (optional)
Method
- Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and garlic for five minutes, until softened.
- Add the vinegar, yeast extract/miso paste and mushrooms and cook for a further eight minutes until brown and sticky.
- Add the remaining ingredients and use a potato masher to crush and combine everything together into a thick, chunky mixture. Shape into four small, or two large, patties.
- To cook, heat a frying pan with enough oil to cover the base and fry over a medium heat for five minutes on each side, until slightly charred.
- Add the slices of cheese to the burgers while they are still warm in the pan and let the cheese melt slightly.
- Serve in buns topped with lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise, ketchup, and if desired, veggie bacon strips (see below).
Crispy bacon strips
Ingredients
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- ½ tsp sea salt
- 4 sheets rice wrappers
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C Fan/200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
- Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
- Mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, paprika and salt together in a shallow dish.
- Stack two sheets of the rice paper on top of one another and soak in a bowl of cold water briefly to soften them.
- Using kitchen scissors, cut the sheets into bacon-sized strips.
- Dip each strip into the mixture, coating the paper on each side, before placing on the prepared baking tray.
- Use a pastry brush, dipped into the mixture, to give them a second coating on the baking tray.
- Bake for five to eight minutes, watching carefully to make sure they don’t burn.
They should be crispy and textured with a good crunch.
Beer-battered tofish and chips
Serves 2
Ingredients
For the tofish:
- 390g block of extra firm tofu, drained and patted dry
- 1 sheet of nori
- Juice of 1 lemon
- 80g plain flour
- 50g cornflour
- 150ml vegan-friendly pale ale
For the chips:
- 1 kg King Edward potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky chips
- 750ml vegetable oil
- For the mushy peas:
- 1 tbsp dairy-free butter
- 200g frozen petit pois
- A handful of fresh mint leaves, finely chopped
- 1 tsp white vinegar
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
Method
- Rinse the chips in cold water to remove excess starch. Add them to a large saucepan of cold, salted water and bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for five to eight minutes until just softened.
- Drain, pat dry and arrange on a baking tray. Refrigerate for at least an hour or, covered, overnight.
- For the peas: Melt the butter in a small pan over a medium heat.
Add the peas and cook for five minutes until soft. Add the mint and vinegar and, using a potato masher, crush the peas until mushy. Season, then place a lid on the pan to keep them warm. - To cook the chips, heat the oil to approximately 160C Fan/180C/350F/Gas Mark 4 and carefully lower half of the potatoes into the oil.
- Cook for four to five minutes, or until they are crisp and golden. Use a slotted spoon to carefully remove the chips from the oil and drain on paper towel. Repeat with the remaining potatoes. Season generously with salt.
- While the chips are cooking, prepare the tofish.
- Cut the block in half horizontally, then create fillet shapes, triangles or just rectangles.
- Using scissors, cut the nori sheet into matching shapes, so that it sits neatly on top of the tofu. This will resemble fish skin and also adds a fish flavour.
- Squeeze half a lemon over the tofu pieces then pat the nori shapes on top, so they’re fairly secure.
- Use the same pot of oil as you used to fry the chips, and reheat it until it’s reached approximately 130C Fan/150C/300F/Gas Mark 2.
- Make the batter by whisking together the flour, cornflour and ale, then
season. - Dip the tofu shapes into the batter and then carefully transfer them to the hot oil.
- Cook for three to four minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon.
- Sprinkle the tofish with salt and vinegar and serve with the chips, peas, lemon wedges and mayonnaise.
For more vegan recipes…
Sweet treats: Dive into this indulgent vegan double chocolate sundae