Beans for tea

Asked to cook dinner;
Sure, that's cool
what's in the cupboard
(looks in the cupboard, nothing but beans)

beans it is then.

I am sure this occasion has happened to many, the attempt at constructing a tasty meal out of beans. Although beans on toast it a great breakfast staple its not exactly the most gastronomic of dishes eh? However although not always celebrated fine dining the humble bean is a health bundle of joy, staying true to the rhyme 'beans, beans good for your heart the more you eat them the more you..'. Beans are full of fiber and protein keeping you full, controlling blood sugar levels and helping you build and repair muscle. So here is a recipe up your sleeve that is nutritious, cheap and is basically made completely out of your cupboard staples. 

Smokey bean stew and home made seed and herb flat breads with cool garlic, mint and coriander dip (all vegan)

 Flat breads

Ingrediants
150g seeded bread flour
50g whole meal flour
50g corn meal
3 tbsp of favourite oil ( garlic or herb infused oils will work nicely too)
140 ml warm water
1 tbsp of agave
1 tsp of salt
7g of yeast

-Mix water and agave together, add yeast and set aside to ferment for 10 mins.
- Meanwhile mix together flours and cornmeal in a big bowl. If you don't have all these flour you can just make up 250g worth of any bread flour combination. Add salt to one side of the bowl and the water/yeast and oil to the other. using your hands bring together to a dough and knead till smooth and elastic.

- Leave in a covered oiled bowl for an hour in a warm place to rise. Then knock the air out of it and knead again break in to golf ball sized balls.
- Roll out the balls into very flat circula disks. Brush with oil and cook on a hot plate or large flat frying pan. Season with salt and pepper.

Smokey Bean stew

Ingredients
1 large carrot
1 large stick of celery
1 large onion
1 green bell pepper
2 cloves of garlic
8 button mushrooms
1 can of baked beans
1/2 can of mixed beans
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup of stock
1 heaped  tbsp of smoked paprika
1 heaped tbsp of favorite Mexican spice blend
2 tsp of mustard
1 tbsp of dark agave/treacle
1 tbsp of soy sauce
1 tbsp of tomato purree

- Dice your carrot, celery, onion, garlic and bell pepper. Add to a large pan with a little oil. Saute for 10 mins till the vegetables are browning ever so slightly on the edges. Add the tomato puree and saute for 5 mins adding the spices 1-2 mins before the end. de-glaze with the stock.

pouring shot.

- Add your agave/treacle, soy sauce, mustard and tomatoes and let the mixture reduce till its the consistency of tomato ketchup.
- Slice your mushrooms and add to the pan along with the beans. Cover and cook till the beans are soft and the mushrooms are cooked through. Serve when ready, you can have this stew sitting on the stove all day it only gets better.

Cool garlic, mint and coriander Dip

Ingredients
1 cup vegan plain yogurt
hand full of mint
hand full of coriander
half a clove of garlic
pinch of coarse salt

-In a pestle and mortar add garlic, salt, and some of the mint and coriander (reserving some for garnish later).

- Grind till a thick paste is formed. Add the vegan yogurt and combine.
- Tear up the the rest of the herbs and stir through or place on top to garnish the dip.

All together! Hozaa amigos, enjoy your beans

Sweet, salty and smokey roasted Chickpea snack

Sweet, salty and smokey

Snacking has a notorious reputation for being fatty, high calorie and convenient. Even the 'healthy bag of nuts' option are often roasted in salt and fat with added preservatives. But lets face it snacking is not just a pleasure it is essential sometimes; It picks you up in a long active day, keeps you motivated in long periods of study and after work out snack are vital to repair muscles. So what you got to do is snack right!

Personally I think homemade snacks are the best, you know exactly whats in it, you can make large batches and store them making them cheaper and you can adjust the taste to exactly how you like it. Here i have come up with a snack that is a crazy crunchy creation- sweet, salty and smokey roasted chickpeas with apricots.

These have no added oil or sugar and are packed with protein, iron and fiber. The taste is inspired from Moroccan dishes where dried apricots and salty smokey savory flavors are often combined to amazing effect. The chickpeas do not taste like a tagine however but still pretty darn tasty and satisfying.

Sweet, Salty and Smokey Chickpea Snack

Ingerdiants
1/3 cup chickpeas
3 table spoons maple syrup
1 1/2 tsp of smoked paprika
1 tsp of reduced sodium salt
1 garlic clove crushed
1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper (1 tsp if you like it hotter)
1/4 tsp cinnamon 
Freshly cracked black pepper
4 dried apricots

-Drain and rinse chickpeas and place in a clean tea towel. Fold the tea towel in half and rub the chickpeas around to losen their outer skins.
- Peal your chickpeas (this takes a while but worth it, trust)

- Lay on a baking tray and put in a 180 degree oven for 5-8 mins. I would advise you line your tray with tin foil as it makes cleaning up much easier, however we didn't seem to think foil was a useful thing to have on the shopping list this week..

- While the chickpeas are in the oven, mix the remain ingredients in the bottom of a medium mixing bowl. Taste, you may like it hotter, more salty, more Cinnamon just make sure its a punchy flavour as it will get milder when cooked.
-Remove the chickpeas from the oven and add to mixing bowl, toss in your sweet, salty, smokey mixture. Then place back on tray and bake till the chickpeas are crunchy, about 10-15 mins (they catch easily keep an eye on them) 
- When crunchy and done place in a clean mixing bowl and leave to cool. While they cool chop up you dried apricots and mix in with you chickpeas. Store in an air tight container once fully cooled ready when you need a good healthy snack. Bravisimo!