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Recipes: Put a vegan twist on pub grub favourites, including tofu fish and chips

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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

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the onion and garlic for five minutes, until softened.
  2. Add the vinegar, yeast extract/miso paste and mushrooms and cook for a further eight minutes until brown and sticky.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. Add the slices of cheese to the burgers while they are still warm in the pan and let the cheese melt slightly.
  6. 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

  1. Preheat the oven to 180C Fan/200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.
  2. Line a large baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  3. Mix the oil, soy sauce, vinegar, maple syrup, paprika and salt together in a shallow dish.
  4. Stack two sheets of the rice paper on top of one another and soak in a bowl of cold water briefly to soften them.
  5. Using kitchen scissors, cut the sheets into bacon-sized strips.
  6. Dip each strip into the mixture, coating the paper on each side, before placing on the prepared baking tray.
  7. Use a pastry brush, dipped into the mixture, to give them a second coating on the baking tray.
  8. 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

  1. 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.
  2. Drain, pat dry and arrange on a baking tray. Refrigerate for at least an hour or, covered, overnight.
  3. 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.
  4. 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.
  5. 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.
  6. While the chips are cooking, prepare the tofish.
  7. Cut the block in half horizontally, then create fillet shapes, triangles or just rectangles.
  8. 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.
  9. Squeeze half a lemon over the tofu pieces then pat the nori shapes on top, so they’re fairly secure.
  10. 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.
  11. Make the batter by whisking together the flour, cornflour and ale, then
    season.
  12. Dip the tofu shapes into the batter and then carefully transfer them to the hot oil.
  13. Cook for three to four minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oil with a slotted spoon.
  14. Sprinkle the tofish with salt and vinegar and serve with the chips, peas, lemon wedges and mayonnaise.

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