Homemade burgers are so different from supermarket burgers. They're a world apart. I do understand why people reach for burgers from the freezer aisle and I can't deny doing it myself occasionally as they're super handy if you're short of time.
However, homemade burgers have so much more texture and flavour. You can choose the exact flavours and the exact level of spice you want without the huge list of ingredients and additives needed to make a frozen supermarket burger.
For instance looking at the label of the pretty standard frozen meat free burgers I've bought in the past. They aren't that bad, but here are a few of the additives:
Additives found in shop bought burgers
Sugar Beet Fibre
They are padded out with this to give them a boost of fibre
Methyl Cellulose
a stabiliser, which is a thickener
Maltodextrin
a food additive produced from starch and often used in fizzy drinks and sweets
Dicalcium Phosphate
a calcium supplement which is an inert ingredient found in breakfast cereals and used to bind tablets and toothpaste
Homemade Burgers
None of these are harmful, but when you think a homemade vegetarian or vegan burger is generally made from vegetables, pulses and spices, it does give you pause for thought. And remember you can make homemade burgers when you have time and freeze them, so they are ready for those last minute meals.
You may have noticed it's been a couple of weeks since the last Meat Free Monday. We've been on holiday in Cyprus where my husband's parents live. Lot of sun, swimming, reading, being bitten by bugs (you should see the state of my legs) and enjoying so much ripe, run-down-your-chin juicy fruit. Just look at that side of the road fruit and veg market. I wish we had these in Scotland. The selection was fabulous and none of it looked like it was picked to soon and a bit peely wally either.
Monday is here, so it's time to look at some tempting veggie dishes from around the world and plan for the week ahead.
I know, I know, it's summer. What am I doing posting a rich pudding like this?
Is there a wrong time to eat this? I hope you didn't answer yes. If you did I'm very disappointed in you. I think a good pudding deserves to be enjoyed all year round and let's face it the weather in Scotland is so changeable (sometimes several times a day).
You may be surprised to see an egg recipe as most of my recipes are vegan these days. While we mostly eat a vegan diet, Cooper and I are veggie. So vegans look away.
Cooper does enjoy eggs. He particularly likes a cheese omelette, which he's a dab hand at making (I just flip it for him). He's gone off quiche recently, but he still loves dippy egg and soldiers (soft boiled egg with toast fingers) for breakfast.
He does likes these picnic eggs, although my child loves anything that sounds like it might be a part of buffet or picnic. He loves to be presented with a spread of tasty food so he can help himself to something from each dish.
He recently admitted to us that he only likes movie night on a rainy Sunday afternoon because of the buffet. He says he isn't bothered about the movies. He leave us speechless sometimes.
There's something rather special about a hand pie. A hand held meal encased in the most flaky, golden puff pastry. I don't have anything against shortcrust pastry, but puff is definitely my favourite.
These are a must for your next picnic, or even just for lunch.
They are a doddle to make and a luxury to eat.
And the surprising thing about these are they are made from a trip down the freezer aisle in Iceland. I first succumbed to their foil trays of Mediterranean vegetables in a basil dressing when I made my Easy Mediterranean Tarts. I just couldn't resist using them again. In fact all the ingredients came from Iceland.
Can you add hummus to pies?
Why yes indeed? To add an extra layer of flavour I added a thick layer of hummus to the base of these pies, then topped them with roast vegetables, chickpeas and herbs. I finished them with more pastry and decorated them with little leaves and baked them until golden.
How do you use frozen puff pastry?
Take your frozen puff pastry out of the freezer the night before you want to use it and pop in the fridge. When you are nearly ready to use it, sit it on a plate for half an hour so it comes to room temperature for best results. This will give you time to prepare your other ingredients.
How do you glaze a vegan puff pastry pie?
No egg wash here though folks, Just brush them with a little soya or nut milk and it works really well to give them a golden finish, so no need for eggs.
We tucked into these puff pastry pies while they were still warm, but they have lots of flavour when they are served cold too.
I'm now thinking of the second block of pastry in the freezer and the bag of frozen red fruits I bought in Iceland too and thinking a fruity hand pie topped with a cloud of icing sugar might be rather wonderful too.
Roast vegetables, chickpeas and hummus encased in golden flaky puff pastry. Perfect for a picnic or lunch.
Ingredients
500g puff pastry
500g Iceland Mediterranean Vegetables in a Basil Seasoning
400g tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
150g hummus
1 tbsp frozen coriander (or fresh)
a good grinding black pepper
enough soya milk to brush the pastry
Instructions
1. Take your puff pastry out of the freezer the night before and pop in the fridge. When you come in from work, take it out of the wrapper and sit on a plate for half an hour while you do other things. I haven't included this time in the cooking time.2. Preheat the oven to 220c/ 200c fan/425f/gas mark 7. Once heated pop the mediterranean veg into the oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove the lid but keep in the foil tray.3. Once the veg is out of the oven, leave it to cool a little, then mix in the chickpeas and herbs and season with black pepper.4. Roll the pastry out quite thinly, then cut out circles. I used a small bowl as a cutter, but the size is up to you.5. Place half the circles of pastry on a baking tray and spread thickly with hummus. Leave a border around the edge.6. Pile the vegetables and chickpeas onto the hummus.7. Stretch the circles for the lids a little so they will drape beautifully over the filling.8. Press down the edges, then crimp with a fork. Add decorations with the leftover pastry. A little water will stick the pastry shapes on.9. Cut three small slits in the pies to let out steam, then brush them with a little soya milk and bake for 30-35 minutes until crisp and golden.10. Enjoy!
Details
Total time: Yield:Makes 6 pies (depending on size)
I made this recipe as part of Iceland Foods #PowerOfFrozen campaign.
Here are a few more recipes to make after a trip down Iceland's freezer aisles.
Iceland have a website called Power of Frozen with lots of facts and ideas about frozen food. Do check it out and follow the conversation with #poweroffrozen
Disclosure: This recipe was developed for Iceland. I was not expected to write a positive review and any opinions expressed are my own.
I've made this bake a few times. Graham and Cooper both love vegan sausages and this is a way of serving them that's more interesting and more of a meal than serving them plain.
I particularly like this dish because it takes hardly any preparation. The most I have to do is peel potatoes to serve with it.
With this dish I can put a substantial and healthy meal on the table on a weeknight and feel like a domestic goddess. I have to admit weeknights don't usually look like this. You'll generally see me making pasta, soup, dal or toasties with salad. Nothing complicated or time consuming. Just an easy meal that doesn't take too long.
To make this bake the red onions and sausages are roasted in the oven. When they are crisp and brown I add a rich gravy and pop it back in the oven while I cook potatoes for mash. I serve the bake with mashed potato and peas for a comfort-on-a-plate dinner. It's really, really tasty and would please the most hesitant veggie.
I use Linda McCartney Sausages which are suitable for vegans and a mixture of a gravy pot and vegetable stock cubes for the gravy. You could use your favourite sausages and make your own gravy if you like, these are my weeknight shortcuts.
I do hope you give this one a try. I'm sure you'll love it, my boys do and so do I.
print recipe
Sticky Red Onion & Sausage Bake with Gravy (vegan)
An easy vegan sausage and red onion bake in a rich gravy. A simple bake that's easy to make on a weeknight. Serve with mashed potato and peas for the ultimate comfort dish.
Ingredients
a generous spray of rapeseed oil
12 frozen vegan sausages
4 red onions
1 gravy stock pot
2 vegetable stock cubes
500ml/2 cups boiling water
1 tsp dried thyme
a good grinding of black pepper
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 220c/200c fan/425f/Gas 7.2. Peel and quarter the onions, then place them in a roasting tray with the sausages. Give them a generous spray of rapeseed oil, then toss them to coat.3. Bake for 25-30 minutes until starting to brown.4. Pour 500ml of boiling water into a jug or bowl and add the gravy pot, stock cubes and thyme and stir until dissolved.5. Pour the gravy over the sausages and onions, then season with black pepper and pop back in the oven for another 20-25 minutes until the gravy has thickened.6. Serve with mash and peas.7. Enjoy!
Details
Total time: Yield:Serves 3-4
I priced this bake using supermarket ingredients. It costs just 58p per serving.
1 tbsp rapeseed oil = 5p
12 frozen veggie sausages = £1.50
3 red onions = 26p
1 vegetable gravy stock pot = 36p
2 value vegetable stock cubes = 6p
1 tsp dried thyme = 10p
Total = £2.33 (58p x 4 servings)
If you like this dish, you may like some of my other bakes
Cooper finished school for the summer on Friday so I picked him up at lunchtime and we had a saunter into town, a good browse around the bookshop, with a few purchases made then we treated ourselves to some lunch before having a stroll and finding some of the 50 Oor Wullie Statues scattered around Dundee right now. It was nice to have that time together, just the two of us.
The working week has started again, so it's time for me to think about what I'll cook this week. As usual I've been offered up lots of inspiration from all the bloggers who submitted a veggie recipe this week. I hope you leave inspired too. The featured photo this week is from VNutrition.
It's summer but it can be rather cool and damp at times, so I was expecting a fair few soups this month, however everyone is being super optimistic about the sunny days of summer we long for. The few days of sunshine and heat seem to be keeping us going.
To bring a bit of sunshine to your table I'd like to share seven glorious salads with you from some lovely bloggers from around the world.
