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Jamie Oliver’s Happy Cow Burgers

Posted on August 26, 2018 by The quirk and the cool

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IMG_5789There is a current vogue for gourmet burger cafes in Sydney and I guess these cafes are pretty universal too. Although there are a multitude of beef, chicken and and fish burgers on offer, vegetarian and vegan versions are very on trend.

I love all burgers as a “flexiarian”, but I’m increasingly interested in trying out veggie burger options.

This is Jamie’s lovely veggie burger recipe which I am reblogging here. I love that it’s named “Happy Cow Burgers” – there is no “cow” in the recipe!

The recipe is from Jamie Oliver’s 15 Minute Meals, and I have listed the recipe pretty much as Jamie wrote it with a couple of tweaks.

Ingredients

Burgers

1 bunch fresh coriander

1 x 400g tin of mixed beans

200g frozen broad beans

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 lemon (zest for the burger mix, juice for the coleslaw)

1 heaped tbs plain flour, plus extra for dusting

Olive oil

2 large ripe tomatoes

Cos or any long lettuce leaves

4 gherkins

75g feta cheese

4 burger rolls or 2 long bread rolls

Tomato chutney, to serve

Coleslaw

1/2 small white or red cabbage

1/2 red onion

4 heaped tbs fat-free natural yoghurt

1 heaped tsp wholegrain mustard

1 tsp brown sugar

Method

Put the coriander stalks into the processor (reserving the leaves), then drain the mixed beans and add, along with the broad beans, a pinch of salt and pepper, the cayenne, cumin, ground coriander, grated lemon zest and flour. Whiz until fine and combined, scraping down the sides of the processor if needed.

Tip the mixture on to a generously flour-dusted board, divide into 4 pieces, then roll each ball into a ball and flatten into a patty about 2.5cm thick, dusting your hands and the burgers with flour as you go. Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into the frying pan, followed by the burgers, pressing them down with a spatula and flipping them when golden. Slice the tomatoes and gherkins and place on a serving board with lettuce and crumbled feta. Heat the rolls in the oven, if you want them warm. If the buns are a really soft and fresh, serve as is.

Swap to the grater in the processor, then grate the cabbage and peeled red onion, and tip into a bowl. Chop the coriander leaves and add, with the yoghurt, mustard, and the juice of the zested lemon and brown sugar, then toss well and season to taste. Remove the rolls from of the oven if heating them, and cut them in half.

Serve burger patties with tomato chutney, coleslaw, feta, tomatoes and gherkins.

 

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Jamie Oliver’s Super Squash Lasagne

Posted on May 8, 2016 by The quirk and the cool

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I am cooking lots more healthy recipes these days, trying to cut down on the “bad” things in my diet. I am also interested in vegan recipes, as I sometimes cook for a vegan work colleague. Similarly I often make gluten-free recipes as increasingly friends are suffering gluten intolerance. The passionate baker in me finds that a little daunting at times!

This recipe for a meat-free, low-fat lasagne, is dedicated to Quirky Sister No 1. She is recovering from major surgery and is learning to adjust to some dietary restrictions. She’s doing very well!

This is another recipe from Jamie Oliver’s book Everyday Super Food. I really appreciate Jamie’s approach to healthy and delicious eating. While all the recipes are carefully written to be nutritious, there’s still that lovely attention to how food tastes and looks. We eat with our eyes so food has to look good to make us want to tuck in! It’s a simple butternut pumpkin lasagne. In Australia we call butternut squash pumpkin. Squash or pumpkin, this vegetable goes well roasted in slices, in the lasagne. It’s also a source of vitamin A according to Jamie. He has baby spinach in the lasagne too, great for iron.

I am including Jamie’s recipe from his excellent book, with a few variations, as in the lasagne pictured: I used ordinary lasagne sheets, not wholewheat, as I prefer the former. I also used half the amount of baby spinach, as that’s all I had on the day I cooked. Half the quantity was plenty! I left off a sunflower seed topping.

I love the classic combination of pumpkin and sage, and  added a scattering of sage leaves to each layer. It worked really well, giving a nice depth of flavour to the pumpkin. I substituted sage leaves on the top of the lasagne, too, for the rosemary sprigs Jamie mentions.

Ingredients

olive oil

1  large butternut squash (1.5kg)

1 level tsp ground coriander

4 cloves garlic

1 fresh red chilli

2 tbs balsamic vinegar

2 x 400g tins of plum tomatoes

200g baby spinach

a handful of fresh sage leaves, plus a few more for the top

60g Parmesan cheese

250g dried wholewheat lasagne sheets

400g fat-free cottage cheese

100ml semi-skimmed milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C and rub 2 large roasting trays with a little olive oil. Carefully  halve and deseed the squash, leaving the skin on, then slice into ½-inch half moon shapes.
Lay in a single layer across the trays. Sprinkle over the ground coriander, and a pinch of sea salt  and black pepper, then roast for 50 minutes, or until soft and lightly golden.
Meanwhile, peel the garlic and deseed the chili, then finely slice both and place in a large pan on a medium-high heat with about 1 tablespoon of oil. Cook for 3 minutes, or until golden, then add the balsamic and tinned tomatoes, breaking them up as you go, and 1 tin’s worth of water. Simmer on a medium heat for  15 to 20 minutes until slightly thickened, or until slightly thickened, then season to perfection. ( I found that the tomatoes needed a good 30 minutes to reduce down).
To layer up, spread a third of the tomato sauce across the base of a 25cm x 30cm baking dish. Cover with a layer of raw spinach leaves and a few sage leaves, a layer of roasted squash,  a fine grating of Parmesan and a layer of lasagne sheets. Repeat the layers twice more, finishing with  lasagne sheets.
Loosen the cottage cheese with the milk, mashing the curds a little, then lightly season and spoon over the top. Finley grate over the remaining Parmesan. Rob the remaining sage leaves with oil, then place on top of the lasagne.
Bake at the bottom of your oven for 45 minutes, or until golden and bubbling, then serve.
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Jamie Oliver’s BBQ Baked Beans with Smashed Sweet Potatoes

Posted on February 13, 2016 by The quirk and the cool

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I’ve cooked a few dishes from Save with Jamie, Jamie Oliver‘s great book full of interesting, tasty and cost saving recipes. This one has really taken my fancy, as I love sweet potato, and I really love beans, and it’s vegetarian too!

This is my version with a few small tweaks, but I have included the link to Jamie’s original recipe so that you cook the original if that’s what you’re after.

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/bbq-baked-beans/#g3sjMR7LQpSdCpxs.97

I halved the quantities for my version, and this would still easily serve 4 people for a meal or 6 or so as a side. I omitted the carrots – I was out of them  – plus I thought the recipe would be fine sans carrot. Jamie suggests serving with cheesy ciabatta and yoghurt  which would be excellent, but I just wanted great tasting beans and potato on their own. I used sambal oelek (a chilli paste) instead of fresh chilli and chilli flakes. This is just personal choice, but in trying to be authentic in my post, I am writing exactly what I did in my version.

Ingredients

1 red onion

1 clove of garlic

olive oil

1/2 heaped teaspoon sweet smoked paprika

1/2 level teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 level teaspoon sambal oelek or chilli paste

3 medium sweet potatoes

1/2 (350ml) 700 ml jar of passata

1 x 400g tin of mixed beans – or 1 x 400g tin of  butter, kidney or cannellini beans

50ml BBQ sauce*

a few sprigs of fresh rosemary

Method

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C.  Peel the onions and garlic, then finely slice. Put into a large baking dish that can be used on the stove top. Place on a medium heat with a lug of oil, the paprika, cumin and chilli paste and cook for 20 minutes, or until softened, stirring regularly. Meanwhile, scrub the sweet potatoes clean, then rub them with a little oil, salt and pepper, place in another baking dish and put aside.When the 20 minutes is up, stir the passata into the baking dish, add a splash of water and pour in the beans (juice and all). Drizzle over the BBQ sauce, season lightly with salt and pepper and stir well. Pick and roughly chop the rosemary leaves, toss in a little oil and sprinkle over the top, then place in the oven for around 1 hour, or until bubbling and baked.  Add a splash or two of water to loosen, if needed.

You should place the sweet potatoes into the oven at the same time as you put the beans and passata etc into the oven. Cook the sweet potatoes for 1 hour too, or until soft and cooked through.

Remove the two dishes from the oven, tear up or squidge open the potatoes, and serve with the beansy mix. And I do think the dish would be enhanced by some yoghurt and crusty bread  – next time that’s a must for me.

* I used a bought BBQ sauce – I thought it made the dish too sweet. Try to get a smoky, savoury BBQ sauce or make your own. That’s next time for me too!

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