In my previous cookbook, New Vegetarian Kitchen, the focus was on experimenting with cooking techniques and ingredients in an adventurous way; playing around with flavors, colors and textures to create a collection of contemporary recipes that utilize the amazing range of foods now available to us. Veggienomics pares things back with a series of recipes that are in tune with the demands of today’s home cook: straightforward, simple dishes that don’t compromise on good taste, are nutritious and, importantly, don’t burn a hole in your pocket.
We are all increasingly aware of the price of food and the environmental cost and inefficiencies of producing meat on a large scale, which is why cooking vegetarian—whether 100 percent or the occasional meal—makes both economic and environmental sense. Additionally, most of us don’t have much time to spend shopping or cooking on a daily basis. Veggienomics helps you to plan ahead (making the most of what you’ve got is crucial when you’re on a budget), with advice on shopping, stocking the pantry, making the most of your freezer, using up leftovers, menu planning, growing your own fresh produce and even foraging for free.
Here is a collection of recipes that make use of cooking staples such as beans, legumes, pasta, rice, noodles and grains as well as nuts, cheese, dairy and eggs, supplemented with fresh vegetables—be they store-bought, homegrown or foraged.
I’ve taken a back-to-basics approach, with recipes for making your own stock, spice mix, cream cheese, yogurt, preserves, pickles and syrups, as well as sprouting your own beans. These aren’t just fun and easy to do, but they also make economic sense—these foods can be pricey to buy. Some figures suggest that in the West we throw away as much as a third of the food we buy—which is why it makes sense to make the most of the food we have by using the freezer, and cooking with leftovers (even just a crust of bread, cheese rind or some surplus cooked veg).
Geared to our busy lives and varying culinary demands, each chapter in the book includes recipes and suggestions for snacks, lunches and dinners. There are also suggestions for matching recipes if you are cooking a whole meal. Where a recipe uses a slightly more unusual ingredient, an alternative is given in case you can’t find it. I also like to use the same ingredient in a few recipes so you aren’t left with a bottle of something languishing in the cupboard.
My original plan for Veggienomics centered around clever shopping and making the most of the weekly trip to the grocery store, but then it blossomed into something wider to include growing your own fresh produce and foraging, both favorite pastimes of mine. This book isn’t about living off the land big style—rather it is intended to give you a taste of what’s feasible from a small plot, or by discovering your local environment.
I wouldn’t say I’m a big-time gardener, but I like to grow a selection of veg and herbs at home and share a garden plot with a few friends, where we have had a good rate of success. It’s not only immensely satisfying, but also extremely therapeutic when you otherwise spend much of your time in front of a computer. Similarly, my interest in foraging was initially spurred on after finding some spectacular porcini mushrooms—it doesn’t get much better than that!
So if you want to cut down on the amount of meat you eat on a weekly basis (or even cut it out of your diet altogether), and watch what you spend on your grocery bill, I hope that you will agree that Veggienomics includes recipes to inspire … without costing a fortune.
Pantry ingredients form the cornerstone of the recipes. You’ll find that you have the foundations of many good meals, and only have to buy the fresh ingredients to supplement them.
If you eat pasta, rice, beans and lentils on a weekly basis it makes economic sense to buy them in bulk. If you don’t eat them regularly enough to buy large quantities for yourself, share large bags with family and friends. It’s also possible to buy some dried foods in loose form, meaning you can buy exactly the amount you need and don’t have to pay for fancy packaging.
A staple food for over half the world’s population, rice features in many cuisines: think Italian risotto, Spanish paella and Middle Eastern pilafs, not forgetting Asian food.
The two main ways to cook rice are the open boiling method, where you cover the rice with plenty of water, then drain it when cooked, and the absorption method. I tend to go for the latter, as taught to me by the rice connoisseur Sri Owen, as I find it gives perfectly cooked, fluffy rice.
To cook long-grain rice for four people by the absorption method, thoroughly rinse 1 cup rice to remove excess starch. Put the rice in a saucepan and cover with 2 cups water and ½ teaspoon salt (the water should be about ½ inch above the top of the rice). Bring to a boil, uncovered, then turn the heat down to its lowest setting, cover with a lid and simmer 10 minutes, or until the water has been absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove the pan from the heat and let stand, covered, 5 minutes. Fluff up the grains with a fork before serving.
While rice, in its many forms, reigns supreme in the world of grains, there are so many more types to choose from when stocking a pantry: barley, bulgur, couscous, buckwheat, oats, polenta and quinoa are all worthy of mention and inexpensive. Barley is great in hearty soups and stews, and also makes a good alternative to rice in risotto and paella. I like to use protein-rich quinoa, or buckwheat, bulgur or couscous, to serve with tagines and stews as well as in salads and pilafs. Polenta and oats make a lovely crispy crust for fritters, croquettes and burgers.
Long or short, thick or thin, smooth or ridged, curly or straight—there is a plethora of shapes and sizes of dried pasta to choose from. The choice may feel intimidating, but the general “rule” is that the pasta shape should work in harmony with the accompanying sauce. Perfect pasta pairings include thin, long pasta such as spaghetti and linguine with olive oil-based sauces, and thicker strands with cream and tomato sauces, while heavy, chunky sauces require a sturdier, shorter shape such as rigatoni or penne. Ridged or curly shapes are good for “capturing” sauces, giving them something to cling on to. It makes sense to have a varied selection—but then again you don’t want too many open bags, containing not enough pasta to make a decent-sized meal!
When cooking pasta, immerse it (a decent serving is 1 heaped cup dried pasta per person) in plenty of boiling water to prevent it sticking. Salt the water generously (about 1 tablespoon per 4 cups); the water should be as salty as the sea. Stir the pasta occasionally to prevent it sticking, and keep the water at a rolling boil. When draining pasta, reserve a little of the cooking water to loosen the accompanying sauce, if necessary.
While noodles also come in a range of lengths and thicknesses, it tends to be the type of grain used, rather than the shape, that defines how they are cooked and served. Egg noodles and chunky udon work in stir-fries, while lighter rice and soba noodles suit soupy broths and Asian salads.
Dried beans and lentils are essential staples in my kitchen. Extremely economical and nutritious, it pays to buy them in bulk if they are a regular part of your diet. Look for smooth, plump dried beans, and store them in an airtight container in a cool, dark cupboard where they’ll keep best up to a year. Keep an eye on the use-by date, as beans become tough when old.
Don’t dismiss canned beans and lentils, as they make a convenient addition to the pantry for when you don’t have time or the inclination to soak and cook dried ones. I like to use them in speedy lunchtime salads or warming pan-fries and, as they tend to be softer in texture than cooked dried beans, they are great in pâtés, stuffings, croquettes and fritters.
The relevant recipes in this book give the cup measures of both drained canned beans and dried cooked beans. A standard 15-ounce can of chickpeas will contain both the chickpeas and brine, so you need to keep an eye on the drained weight given on the label: for instance, a 15-ounce can will contain a scant 1⅔ cups chickpeas (about 9 ounces).
Back to dried beans. With a few exceptions they will cook more quickly and evenly if pre-soaked 6 to 8 hours in plenty of cold water. If time is short, you can try the quick-soak method: cook the beans in boiling water 2 minutes, then remove the pan from the heat, cover and leave 1 hour until cold.
Whichever method you use, drain and rinse them before cooking. Dried lentils and mung beans don’t need pre-soaking, but you should rinse them well before cooking.
To cook dried beans and lentils, put them in a pan and cover with plenty of cold water, cover, and bring to a boil. (If cooking dried kidney beans it is essential that you first boil them vigorously 10 minutes to destroy the toxins.) Turn the heat down, part-cover the pan and gently boil, stirring occasionally, until the beans are tender. Salt the cooking water about three quarters of the way through cooking to avoid toughening the beans. Also, check the pan occasionally to make sure there is enough water and top up if necessary. Cooking times will vary depending on the age of the beans or lentils, but use the following table as a guideline (a pressure cooker will reduce the time by around three quarters).
| Pre-soaking | Cooking time | |
| BEANS | ||
| Aduki beans | yes | 45 minutes |
| Black beans | yes | 1 to 1½ hours |
| Cannellini beans | yes | 1 to 1½ hours |
| Chickpeas | yes | 1 to 2 hours |
| Cranberry beans | yes | 1 to 1½ hours |
| Fava (broad) beans (split) | yes | 40 minutes to 1 hour |
| Flageolet beans | yes | 1 to 1½ hours |
| Kidney beans | yes | 1½ hours |
| Lima (butter) beans | yes | 1 hour |
| Mung beans | no | 45 minutes |
| Navy beans | yes | 1 to 1½ hours |
| Pinto beans | yes | 1 to 1½ hours |
| Soybeans | yes | 2 to 3 hours |
| LENTILS | ||
| Green lentils | no | 30 minutes to 45 minutes |
| Puy lentils | no | 30 minutes to 45 minutes |
| Red split lentils | no | 25 minutes |
Much of the food that tends to be thrown away is chilled, so it pays to be mindful when stocking the refrigerator to avoid waste. When shopping for food, take a list (with a rough breakdown of the week’s meals)—this will help to keep you focused and avoid making unwanted impulse purchases that won’t be used. To ensure that chilled foods last as long as they should, store them correctly in the refrigerator. Make sure your refrigerator is energy efficient and set at 40–41°F, and be conscious of “best by” or “eat by” dates. Make sure food is wrapped or covered to avoid cross-contamination and the transfer of smells from strong cheese, garlic or scallions, for instance. Many say that eggs don’t have to be stored in the refrigerator if you have a cool place to keep them, but when the weather is warm, it’s sensible to put them in the door of the refrigerator. Similarly, the bottom of the refrigerator or the salad drawer are the perfect temperature for uncooked vegetables and salad greens.
Freezing is a useful way to preserve food, extending its shelf-life and enabling you to make the most of leftovers. Make meals in bulk and freeze the surplus. Also, leftover crusts of bread are perfect for turning into breadcrumbs and freezing in containers—you can use them right from frozen.
A full freezer costs less to run than a half-empty one, so it pays to make the most of the space, but remember that food that is past its best is not improved by freezing. Keep the freezer at 0°F or below, as at this temperature food pathogens and harmful micro-organisms are dormant. For best results, freeze home-cooked foods on the super-freeze setting. Quick-frozen foods have smaller ice crystals, which means they thaw without losing moisture and nutrients.
Freeze soups, stews and sauces in portions, so you can defrost the right amount when needed. Leftover wine, stock and chopped herbs (immersed in a little water) can be frozen in ice cube trays, then transferred to a ziploc freezer bag. Make the most of precious freezer space by freezing stews and sauces flat in thick freezer bags. Plastic containers with tight-fitting lids are useful, too; try empty, well-washed yogurt cartons, margarine containers and take-out cartons.
“Tray-freezing” is an ideal way to freeze fruit and vegetables as well as vegetarian sausage rolls, burgers, pastries, patties and pies to keep them separate and prevent them sticking together during freezing. When frozen, transfer them to an appropriate-sized bag or container. Wrap individual items in plastic wrap first to keep them separate. If freezing your own food, make sure it has cooled down, as warm foods raise the internal temperature of the freezer and could affect other foods. It’s a good idea to write the name, portion size and date of freezing—or be super-efficient and keep a record of the contents of your freezer so things don’t get forgotten about.
Defrost foods at room temperature (about 65°F) or in the refrigerator if time allows. You can also defrost foods in the microwave or oven, but this may affect their texture. Last but not least, avoid re-freezing previously defrosted food.
I’m relatively new to the world of vegetable growing. Over the years I’ve had some success growing veg in my small patio garden, in pots, grow-bags and beds, and have had an herb garden for as long as I can remember, but I’ve recently joined forces with a few friends on a garden plot and we’ve been rewarded with a bounteous supply of fresh produce. An increasing number of people have gotten hooked on growing their own fresh fruit and vegetables, but if it’s not for you, then the next best thing is a local box delivery service or farmers’ market.
The grow-your-own tips in Veggienomics arm you with the basics and focus on the fresh produce that I’ve grown myself. Unfortunately, there was not enough space to go into much detail (which is why I haven’t gone into seed varieties) but hopefully I’ve given you enough to inspire you to try growing your own veg, as well as highlighting any planting idiosyncrasies. If you do have a glut of vegetables, they freeze well, but it’s best to blanch and refresh them before freezing as then they tend to keep better. Alternatively, freeze them uncooked, but do cook them soon after defrosting.
If you intend to preserve your homegrown produce (or indeed foraging finds) by turning it into jams, jellies, chutneys or pickles, you must sterilize the jars you intend to use first to avoid contamination and spoilage. This is easy to do, but it’s vital to pay careful attention to hygiene. Wash new or reused jars (removing any labels first) well in hot soapy water, then rinse and put them on a baking tray in a cold oven. Turn the oven to 350°F and, once it has reached this temperature, leave the jars in the oven 10 minutes. Use new lids, rather than reusing the old ones, and sterilize them first by boiling them in a pan of water 10 minutes. Carefully remove with tongs and let dry. Can your preserves when they are still warm and cover with the lids. You may have to tighten the lids as they cool.
Foraging is immensely pleasurable—there is little more rewarding than finding edible delights that are absolutely free. It’s a great way to get in touch with the seasons, as well as discovering that many of the so-called “weeds” you’ve walked past for years are actually edible plants—and taste good, too.
Many of the recipes in this book contain wild foods: from coastal vegetables, flowers and nuts to herbs, mushrooms and greens, yet my selection just scratches the surface of what can be found. This taste of foraging will hopefully inspire you to go out and gather, if you haven’t already done so. Be respectful of nature when foraging, do not uproot plants or pick greedily, and also make sure the plants you are picking aren’t a protected species. A good foraging book is a must for identifying wild foods, and is imperative when looking for fungi. It will help you discover the edible wonders of the countryside and coastline—and cities can be surprisingly fruitful, too.