Baked Falafel

I’m going to be honest here, and say, this is not my recipe. But… I have no idea whose it is. It has been sitting in my recipe folder for well over a year now, just the recipe printed on a page, no URL at the bottom, nothing. I guess I cut-and-pasted it into a word document from somewhere on the interwebs. So, if you recognise it, please let me know so I can attribute it properly.

I am a massive fan of Middle Eastern food, and falafels in particular. But what I am not a fan of, is deep frying at home. Too. Freaking. Scary. Mr Alphie is totally unfussed by deep frying however, so I usually have to wait for him to be home from FIFO before I can indulge my habit. If you’ve ever tried baking falafels made from a dried box-mix, you will know my pain. They are like rocks.

As a result, I collect falafel recipes in much the same way as others might collect coins, comic books, or My Little Ponies… However, I have not really had much success in the past. Which has kind of put me off, and I will admit, I have resorted to the pre-made ones from the supermarket fridge section on more than one occasion (FYI, Woolies Macro SmokeyEggplant Falafel are pretty good, and Yumi's are a close second.)

The original recipe was a bit more manual, requiring you to finely chop the onions, garlic and herbs, and mashing the chickpeas in with a potato masher. I don’t have time for that kind of malarkey mid-week, especially when there is an easier option. And, to be honest, I don’t think there would be a noticeable difference in the end result.

Baked falafel

• 1 ½ cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can)
• ½ onion, peeled
• 2 cloves garlic, peeled
• 6-ish stalks parsley
• 3-ish stalks coriander
• 2 tbs flour – plain, wholemeal, whatever (I used atta)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander seed
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 200°C.

In a food processor, chop up the onion & garlic til fine. (If you have a small bowl attachment for your food processor, I’d use it for this – there’s not much mixture & I was constantly scraping the sides of mine). Add the fresh herbs, and chop again.

Add the remaining ingredients, and pulse until just combined. It should still be quite chunky.

Place spoonfuls of the mixture on a tray with baking paper. Squirt each one with an olive-oil spray, and bake for 15 minutes. Turn each one over, squirt again with the olive oil, and bake for another 10-15 minutes, until browned.

Delish as they are; with tabouli, hummus and flat bread; or use to fill a wrap; or top a salad.

Makes 10 or so falafels.

Enjoy!

Microwave Potato Chips

Lately (and not so lately) I've been debating weather I should continue with this blog. Finding new & interesting things to write about is hard. I feel a lot of pressure from the myriad of fantastic, well-photographed, well-written, and just generally shmick, food blogs out there. And, as an engineer, words are hard. Really hard. But, I've been persuaded to give it another go by a lovely journalist friend, who is also a budding blogger.

The main challenge I have been having, is deciding if a recipe is blog-worthy. I feel like my everyday meals aren't 'exciting' enough. And most of my current more exciting favourites have come from other blogs (or at least from the internets), and a lot of the time I feel like it's cheating to post a recipe that's already freely available for you to find. I have recently come to the realisation that pulling some of the 'best' bits available out there in the big wide interents, is kinda the point of a blog. So I shouldn't feel ashamed of posting recipes found online. I will always reference my original source(s), and in most cases I will have made tweaks of some kind to the original anyway.

This recipe, if you can call it that, is an oldie in our house, but I still love it. I don't follow the original instructions exactly, mostly because it calls for equipment I don't have, and am unlikely to use for anything else (plastic microwave-safe steaming rack, anyone?).

I will preface this with a warning or two though; they taste a lot more 'potatoey' than your usual potato crisps, bit I guess that's because the potato is not masked by oil & salt. Also,  I know it takes a while to get a reasonable amount of chips, but because of that potatoey-ness and the no oil/reduced salt thing, you don't fell quite so much like scoffing a massive bag of them. (Not that I am against that - sometimes we all need that oily salty goodness..!) 

Microwave Potato Chips/Crisps

• Potato(es)
• Salt

Slice the potato into thin, even, rounds. I use a mandoline/v-slicer thingo, with the 'thin' blade attachment.

On top of a microwave safe plate, layer 2-3 pieces of paper towel, covering most of the plate. Spread out the potato slices on top of the paper towel, ensuring none of the slices touch (it will take a couple of 'rounds' to do a whole potato).

Sprinkle with salt and/or your preferred flavourings - paprika works well, so would flavoured salt mixes.

And now this is where the magic happens...

Using my less than fantastic microwave (800W), I nuke the potatoes for 3 mins at 80%, 3 mins at 60% and 3mins at 40%, turning the slices over between each set. It may take you some time to work out what is best for your microwave. Also, you can go a bit 'hotter' for less time, but you need to watch them more (as in, some, I don't watch at all with the timings I use...).

Set aside to cool for a few minutes, they'll continue to 'crisp' as they cool.

Then repeat with your next plate of potato slices.

I think I've tried sweet potato in the past, but with little success - those darn 'hot spots' in microwaves and the high sugar content of sweet potatoes just doesn't work. But, inspired by all the veggie chip options out there at the moment, I'm thinking of trying a few other hard veggies - beetroot might be my first victim.

Original recipe can be found at - jugal bandi.

Ottolenghi, Islington, London.

It's been a long time coming, but this is the last instalment of our London dining adventures.

We only booked two restaurants before we left Australia; Dinner, and Ottolenghi. I have sung my praise for Ottolenghi's book, Plenty, many times already on this blog. So it was always going to be part of the plan while we were in London. It was a treat we saved for our last night, wanting to end the tip on a high, and not on a potential disaster (not that we had many of those mind you). Much to Mr Alphie's excitement, the easiest way to get there was via (double decker) bus. Unfortunately it wasn't an old-style open topped one, but he was very excited all the same.

We arrived to find a converted terrace house, with a delicious array of cakes, pastries & desserts on display in the front windows. Once inside, we realised the display stretched well inside the shop, and then became a mouth watering display of salads and other cold dishes of the day.

We were welcomed in, and shown to a cosy table in the back. After a chat with the waitress, who encouraged us to order 2-3 plates per person, we chose three plates to share from the 'From the Counter' (cold) menu and two from the 'From the Kitchen' (hot) menu, giving us five dishes - a deliberate decision to ensure we both had room for desert from the fantastic table of goodies!

House made bread with olive oil

Grilled pear with Roquefort, spicy macadamia, mixed leaves
and orange blossom dressing

Mixed green beans with shaved asparagus, garlic, chilli,
tarragon and chervil

Yellow fin, line caught, seared tuna wrapped in nori and
panko with wasabi cream

Five spice crispy tofu with mixed vegetable peanut archa and
aubergine, tamarind and coriander salsa

Orange and fennel poached mackerel with beetroot and honey
yoghurt salad and pistachio relish

Some sort of delicious fruit tart, from the amazing
selection out front

Citrus tart, also from the fabulous dessert display

A fantastic end to a fantastic holiday. Oh, how I would love if Ottolenghi was my local. Everything we tried was sublime, so clean, crisp and zingy. Each dish really let each component shine. And, it was well priced!

-Alphie

PS Yotam has just released a new cookbook, Jerusalem, with his business partner Sami Tamimi. I know what I'll be asking for for Christmas this year! 

Mamasita, Melbourne

Ok, so the blog has, once again, been a little neglected of late. I have been travelling a lot for work, in fact, while I was writing this, I had not been in home in over a week, and it looks like it’ll be like this for a while. The upside though, is that I am spending most of that time in Melbourne, where some of my favourite people reside. One of these, is a great friend of mine from our university days in Sydney, and one of my bridesmaids, Ms Aqua.

The last time I was in Melbourne (about 2 weeks ago...) we tried to get in to Mamasita, but as they don’t take bookings, and we turned up at 7, albeit midweek, we weren’t able to get a table til 9 (yes, on a Wednesday!). So, we took a raincheck and headed off somewhere else. This week, we went in prepared. We arranged to meet at 6, on a Tuesday, and whoever was there first was to get a spot in line ASAP.

I turned up first, at 5 past 6 (eek!) and nabbed a spot second in line! And, when the floor manager/line-keeper-in-order-er made his way over to see what we were after, line-place-holder-no-1 was on the phone, so I got bumped to no 1! It was already looking like a good night. As my dining partner, Ms Aqua, was not yet there, I was seated at the bar with the exhaustive drinks menu to wait. But before I’d had time to find the cocteles section of the menu, Ms Aqua, had arrived and we were shuffled into seats a nearby table.

Ms Aqua sensibly steered me away from the cocteles, given that it was a school night, so I went with a glass (or two) of the house bubbly, a non vintage Vallformosa MVSA Cava (or sparkling) from Catalunya, Spain. Ms Aqua went for the 2009 Bella Ridge Tempranillo from the Swan Valley, WA.

Our friendly and bubbly waitress then explained the menu to us, thankfully, as Ms Aqua and I were seriously struggling trying to decide what we should order – it all sounded so good! The menu is split up into nine categories; primeros (to start), tostaditas, tacos, quesadillas, ceviche, comida para la familia (food for the family), ensaladas, acompanamientos and postres (desserts). I would have loved to try something from each category, but with only two of us, that was never going to happen. So we relied heavily on our lovely waitress to guide us in our choices.

elotes callejeros

We started with the elotes callejeros; street style chargrilled corn, with queso, chipotle mayonnaise and lime, as it came heavily recommended, both by our waitress and a number of reviews.

 tostaditas de carnitas

Closely followed by the tostaditas de carnitas; slow braised pork shoulder with encurtidos and jalapeño; a tiny crispy tortilla, topped with a generous pile of soft pork, some pickles (the encurtidos), jalapeño and a little shard of crackling – delish!

quesadilla de huitlacoche

The last item we chose from the taqueria menu, was the quesadilla de huitlacoche; two soft tortillas encasing huitlacoche, mushrooms, roasted corn, epazote and queso fresco. After a bit of googling, I have discovered that huitlacoche is a type of corn fungus, sometimes referred to as ‘Mexican truffle’ or ‘corn smut’. Call it what you like, but it makes a delicious quesadilla.

 

buñuelos de garbanzos

From the main/food for the family menu, we went for the buñuelos de garbanzos; chickpea fritters, with field mushrooms, sweet potato and jalapeño herb sauce, and a small serve of the ensalada de quinoa; quinoa, corn, spinach, coriander, chilli and ‘pico de gallo’ salad.

ensalada de quinoa

Suprisingly, the chickpea fritters didn’t really resemble chickpeas, but were delicious none the less (and vegan!) and the quinoa salad was so incredibly moreish I could have eaten the whole serve myself. Crisp and flavoursome, the grains of quinoa popped like pomegranate seeds in your mouth, ahhhhh, I’m getting excited just thinking about it!

-Alphie

Brussels sprouts and Tofu

Another recipe from the infamous Yotam Ottolenghi. I am on a bit of a tofu bender at the moment, and after buying my last block, I realised that I wasn't sure how I wanted to cook it. A brief flick through Yotam's Plenty, and I had found the perfect recipe; Brussels sprouts and Tofu. I quite enjoy Brussels sprouts, but I know a lot of people don't feel the same way. I think the key is to sauté them rather than boil them to oblivion (as is often the case). They really need to be just cooked through, overcooking is the enemy of the Brussels sprout.

This is kind of a stir fry and kind of not, but whatever you call it, it's delicious. The marinade really flavours the tofu, which is something I usually find quite hard to do. I didn't have any maple syrup, so I substituted honey, and mis-read the rice wine vinegar amount (I used 1 tbs instead of 1 tsp) but it was still great. If anything, I would cook the sprouts for a little longer next time, some were not quite cooked and a bit tough.

Brussels sprouts and tofu

Yotam Ottolenghi, Plenty

Serves 3 

(Yotam says 4, but I didn't get that much - maybe I'm just a big eater...)

• 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce
• 1 ½ tbs soy sauce
• 3 tbs sesame oil (Yotam recommends toasted sesame oil, but I have no idea where you'd find this)
• 1 tsp rice wine vinegar
• 1 tbs rice wine vinegar
• 150g firm tofu, sliced into 1cm widths, then halved into rough squares
• 500g Brussels sprouts, trimmed and sliced into longways thirds
• 6-8 tbs plain oil (rice bran/sunflower etc)
• 100g spring onions, sliced
• ½ small red chilli, deseeded and freshly chopped
• 120g shitake mushrooms, halved or quartered
• 15g coriander leaves
• 1 tbs (toasted) sesame seeds (optional)
• salt

 

First, marinate the tofu. In a bowl, whisk together the chilli and soy sauces, two tablespoons of the sesame oil, the vinegar and maplr syrup.Gently stir the tofu into the marinade and set aside.

Browning/burning the Brussels sprouts

Take a large, non-stick pan, add two tablespoons of oil and heat up well. Throw in half the sprouts and a little salt, and cook on high heat for two minutes. Don't stir much. You want the sprouts to almost to burn in a few places and cook through but remain crunchy. Remove to a bowl. Repeat with more oil, salt and the rest of the sprouts. Remove all sprouts from the pan

Add two more tablespoons of oil to the pan, heat up and sauté the spring onions, chilli and mushrooms for a minute or two. Transfer to the sprout bowl.

Leave the pan on high heat. Use tongs to lift half the tofu pieces from the marinade and gently lay in the pan (be careful as the oil will spit!), spacing apart and in one layer. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for two minutes on each side, or until they get a nice caramelised colour. Transfer to the sprout bowl and repeat with the rest of the tofu.

Caramelised tofu

Once all the tofu is cooked, remove the pan from the heat and return all the cooked ingredients to it. Add the remaining tofu marinade and half the coriander. Toss together and allow to cool slightly in the pan. Taste and add salt if needed. Stir in the remaining sesame oil (extra, if you like) and serve warm, not hot, garnished with sesame seeds, if using, and the rest of the coriander.

Serve with hot steamed rice.

Black Pepper Tofu

Sadly, my local Borders is closing, but it does mean I was able to pick up a number of great cookbooks for a steal. One of these was Yotam Ottolenghi's book, Plenty. Yotam is most well known for his columns in the UK newspaper the Guardian, as well as number of restaurants/cafes in London. Plenty is the culmination of these columns into a book, with a few other recipes thrown in for good measure. The recipes in the Guardian are primarily vegetarian, although Yotam is famously not vegetarian himself. Mr Alphie and I aren't vegetarian either, but are always looking for great meat-free options, for ourselves and the vegetarians we often cook for.

This recipe jumped out at me in my first flick through the book, and again last night when I was looking for dinner inspiration. Luckily, Mr Alphie is not one to shy away from tofu, and after my stay with SIL & Mr SIL, I have developed quite a soft spot for it.

Mr Alphie and I both loved this, and Mr Alphie was pushing to have it again soon- like, before he heads back north again (in 2 days time!).

Notes: I made a half recipe, as I don't think it would re-heat well. Also, I only used one chilli, we only had the hot Thai ones (definitely not mild, as suggested), and that combined with the pepper was a fairly hot dish (but not 'blow your head off'), so make your own judgements on the chilli & pepper quantities - keeping in mind that there is supposed to be a lot of pepper, hence 'black pepper tofu'. 

Mr Alphie rates it: 9.5/10 - a true gem!

Black Pepper Tofu

Serves 4

• 800g firm, fresh tofu
• vegetable oil, for frying
• cornflour to dust the tofu
• 150g butter
• 12 small shallots (350g), peeled and thinly sliced
• 8 red chillies, thinly sliced
• 12 garlic cloves, crushed
• 3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
• 5 tbsp crushed black peppercorns
• 3 tbsp sweet soy sauce (kecap manis)
• 3 tbsp light soy sauce
• 4 tsp dark soy sauce
• 2 tbsp caster sugar
• 16 small, thin spring onions, cut into 3cm segments

Start with the tofu. Pour enough oil  into a large frying pan or wok to come 5mm up the sides and heat. Cut the tofu into large cubes, about 3cm x 2cm.

Unless, like me, you are wearing your comfy around-the-house trackies, I suggest you wear an apron while coating the tofu - I managed to get cornflour everywhere...

Toss them in some cornflour and shake off the excess, then add to the hot oil. (You'll need to fry the tofu in batches).

Fry, turning them around as you go, until they are golden and have a thin crust. As they are cooked, transfer to paper towel to drain.

Remove the oil and any sediment from the pan, then add in the butter. Once it has melted, add the shallots, chillies, garlic and ginger, and sauté on low to medium heat for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the contents of the pan are shiny and totally soft.

Next add the soy sauces and sugar and stir, then add the crushed black pepper.

Add the tofu to warm in the sauce for about a minute, then add the spring onion and stir through. Serve hot with steamed rice. (We also had steamed Asian greens.)

-Alphie

The Lettuce Shop

I arrived home on this wet and woolly Friday, to find a carefully wrapped box of goodies on my doorstep. On Monday I ordered a seasonal fruit & veg box from The Lettuce Shop, and I had been waiting excitedly all week for Friday afternoon to arrive (not your usual reason I know!).


I rushed inside, cleared space on the bench and set to work unpacking the box. Along with the seasonal fruit & veg I had ordered 1L of milk, 2L of juice and a dozen free-range eggs. The Lettuce Shop pride themselves on using WA produce wherever possible, and only Australian if WA produce is not availible. So, the milk and juice were both from Harvey Fresh (located in the states south-west, and wholly WA owned), and the eggs were from Chittering Valley.

Yay! Delish fruit & veggies!

But it was the mixed fruit and veg box that I was most excited about. I went with the smallest box ($35), since Mr Alphie works FIFO (which for the non-WA readers is fly-in fly-out, not first-in, first-out, which is what google seems to think it means...) so is not home for dinners much.

Included in the box was;

• 1 large cos lettuce
• 3 large bok choy
• 2 zucchinis
• 4 carrots
• 2 onions
• 8 new (baby) potatoes
• half a bag of mushrooms
• 2 tomatoes
• 3 granny smith apples
• 3 royal gala apples
• 6 jewel plums
• 3 imperial manderins
• half a rockmelon

My only gripe is the lack of garlic. Mr Alphie and I easily use a whole clove in a week, so I'll still need to head to a greengrocer to pick some up. And nextime I think I'll order a bigger box, as we eat a lot of fruit and veg in our house - it always makes up most of our trolley!


I obviously can't comment yet on freshness/shelf life, but I'll let you know how it goes!

-Alphie

Middle Eastern Rice & Lentils

After pledging my love for Lebanese food, I realised I haven't posted about it once! So, following from Wednesdays felafel, I bring you another middle eastern speciality; rice and lentils, also known as mujadara (or some variation of). This recipe cam from the Good Living, although it has been ok-ed by FMIL as an authentic take on the traditional version.


Middle Eastern Rice & Lentils with Blackened Onions
from SMH Good Living, June 2 2009
serves 4

• 5 tbs olive oil
• 6 onions, halved and finely sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground all spice
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 2x 400g cans lentils, drained & rinsed
  
• 1 cup long grain rice, rinsed
• Yoghurt, to serve

Heat 2 tbs of the oil in a medium-large saucepan over medium heat, and add one of the onions, garlic, cumin, cinnamon and all spice. Sauté for four-ish minutes until onion is soft and starting to colour.

Add rice, and stir to coat. Stir in stock and lentils and bring to the boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

the onions - yes I used a red one, but we only had 5 brown onions...

all cooked down, and nicely black

Meanwhile, heat the remaining oil in a large pan and add the remaining 5 onions. Cook until soft and blackened, about 20-30 minutes.

Serve rice scattered with onions, with yoghurt on the side.

-Alphie

Broad Bean Felafel

One of the things I miss most about Sydney, is a decent daily broadsheet. The Sydney Morning Herald is a great newspaper, and my favourite section is Tuesday's Good Living. FH Alphie has been religiously collecting them since I moved to Perth, and each time I return home, a pile of Good Livings awaits me.

I found this recipe in the last pile FH Alphie handed over - 28 September, to be exact. And the timing couldn't have been more perfect, as FSIL had just received a shiny new KitchenAid food processor as a gift (from a long-term bludging house guest...)

Mine looked nothing like those in the recipe, but they were still really tasty, very filling, and iridescent green. I think this had to do with the order I put things in the food processor, so I've modified the recipe below, and I hope it works better for you than it did for me!


Broad bean felafel fritters
from SMH Good Living, September 28 2010
(makes 10-12)

• 1kg fresh broad beans
• 400g tin chickpeas, drained
• 1 cup coriander leaves, loosely packed
• 1 cup mint leaves, loosely packed
• 1 clove garlic
• 1tsp ground coriander
• 1tsp ground cumin
• 1 red chilli, deseeded
• 1/2 lemon, zest & juice
• plain flour for dusting
• vegetable oil for dusting

Remove broad beans from their pods. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil, add broad beans and simmer for a few minutes.

The ever shrinking broad beans...!

Drain, rinse to cool slightly, and peel off the outer skins - I find that the easiest way to do this is to pierce the skin along one edge, and gently squeeze it out.

My unfortunately green, smooth as silk mix.

This is where I deviate from the recipe. I would suggest you put the herbs in the food processor first, and lightly chop them up. Then add the remaining ingredients; broad beans, chickpeas, garlic, coriander, cumin, chilli and lemon, and pulse until roughly chopped and combined.


Then shape into patties, and lightly coat in flour. Heat oil in a large frypan, and cook for a few minutes on each side until lightly brown.

Serve with yoghurt, flat bread and salad.

-Alphie

Spinach & Fetta Pie

Firstly, I hope you'll forgive the lack of photos. Two weeks off and I'm out of practice - I totally forgot about the photos!


Spinach & Fetta Pie
serves 4-6

• 8-10 sheets fillo pastry
• melted butter (about 50g)
• 1 onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1tbs rice bran oil
• 1 bunch silverbeet, washed and shredded
• 150-200g fetta, crumbled
• 6 eggs, well beaten

Preheat oven to 180C.

Steam the spinach over a pot of boiling water, and squeeze out excess water when cooked.

Saute onion and garlic in oil, until transparent, then allow to cool.

Line a medium sized pie/baking dish with the fillo pastry, brushing every second sheet with melted butter. Spread the onion over the base, then the spinach. Sprinkle the fetta over the spinach, the pour the beaten egg over the top.

Fold the excess fillo over the filling (you could also use more fillo to make a lid). Bake for approx 40 minutes until filling is set.


-Alphie

Lentil and spinach soup

Another vegetarian recipe! I'm on a roll this week!


FH Alphie and I have soup for dinner at least once a week during winter. We have a few staples that make regular appearances, but I like to try out something new every once in a while. This is one of the new ones. Jamie's Ministry of Food gets a pretty good run for its money at our place, especially during the week. The recipes are generally simple, and a lot of the recipes are quick and tasty (we've had a few failures, but I'll save that for another time).

I thought that this soup was great, if maybe a bit spicy (only 1/2 a chilli next time I think), full of flavour and very filling.

FH Alphie rated it: 5.5/10

Lentil and spinach soup
from Jamie's Ministry of Food, pg 137
(serves 6)

• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 sticks of celery, chopped
• 2 medium onions, roughly diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, chopped
• 2tbs olive oil
• a thumb size piece of ginger, finely sliced
• 1/2 - 1 chilli, sliced (to taste)
• 10 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2L chicken or vegetable stock
• 300g dry red lentils
• 200g baby spinach

Heat oil in a large pan, over medium heat, add the carrot, celery, onion & garlic. Cokk for about 10 minutes, with the lid on, but askew, until the vegetables are soft, and the onion is starting to colour.


Add the ginger, chilli, tomatoes, stock and lentils, stir well and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, until the lentils are cooked. Stir through the spinach until just wilted.

Serve with a dollop of natural/greek style yoghurt.

I made a few modifications, just to suit what we had to hand. I used 2 tomatoes, instead of the cherry tomatoes, and cut the into eight. Also, I only had 200g of lentils, and 120g (one box) of baby spinach. I reduced the stock to 1.5L to suit, as I didn't want the soup to be too watery.

-Alphie

Mexican beans

My younger sister requested I include more vegetarian recipes (not that we don't eat veggie things, I just haven't blogged on many of them), so here it is. This is based on a recipe from a very 90's cookbook called Meals without meat, which I picked up from a garage sale for about 50c, and I have used a lot - more than some of my more expensive cookbooks (V, I hear ya!).

This is a quick & easy vegetarian take on chilli con carne, and can be used for burritos, tacos, nachos, or just eaten with rice.

Mexican beans
adapted from meals without meat, pg 32
serves 4

• 2 large onions, diced
• 6 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 2tbs rice bran oil
• 2 capsicums, seeded and diced
• 1/2tsp chilli powder (or more to taste)
• 1/2tsp chilli flakes (or more to taste)
• 3tsp ground cumin
• 1 1/2tsp dried oregano
• 1 1/2tsp salt
• 1 1/2tsp sugar
• 3tbs tomato paste
• 2 x 400g cans red kidney beans

Heat oil in a large pan, and cook the onion and garlic until just soft. Add the capsicum, and sauté for a few minutes, then add the spices (chilli, cumin, oregano, salt & sugar). Stir until fragrant, then add in the tomato paste and stir to coat.

Add in one can of beans, liquid and all (I know it sounds crazy, but it helps to thicken the mixture). Drain the other can, add to the pan and add half a can of water.

Check out the different colours of the red kidney beans - Aldi v Annalisa from BiLo

Simmer for 3-4 minutes, or until desired thickness.

-Alphie