The Vegan Thread

Just as a reminder, Nick and I are going to RASA N16 tonight. All welcome to join us. We'll be there at 6:30pm.

http://rasarestaurants.com/rasa_n16.php

NB this is not to be confused with RASA Travancore, the meat restaurant across the street. RASA N16 is at 55 Stoke Newington Church Street and Travancore at 56!

As we were talking of sweet potato...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2007/feb/10/foodanddrink.recipes
These are awesome. Even without the sauce, and you can fry them in oil instead of butter.

Is he vegetarian or vegan? Vanilla Black is meant to be good but very little for vegans.

It's not a huge menu and the choice is typically halved if you're vegan. It is very good food, though; all the dishes seem prepared by somebody who actually enjoys food, as opposed to SAF where it often seems to be a scientific experiment or art installation.

How do you veegs make a quick chilli? I usually do something like:

Onions / green peppers / garlic / chillies
Kidney beans from a fucking tin, inc gloopy juice / vegemince (screw the haters)
Cumin / chipotle powder / oregano / cocoa powder / tomato purée
Salt/pepper

Variations including tinned tomatoes instead of beany gloopy juice, sometimes a few more herbs, sometimes mushrooms or sweetcorn.

I usually do something pretty similar but add black beans as well as kidney beans and fresh tomatoes (makes a big difference). Recently though I tried adding a baked sweet potato into the mix right at the end and it was pretty delicious.

In other news Im really excited to be moving into an all vegan house share for the next two months.

My chilli recipe is just onion, garlic, kidney beans (drained), tinned tomato, green lentils and herbs and spices (shitloads of cumin and coriander). Bang it all in a pot and leave it in the oven for an hour. Super quick to prepare and you can just chuck it in and forget about it until you're ready to eat.

Also, apparently Oreos sold in the uk are now vegan friendly! Worth checking for a few months to make sure it's not any of the older recipe with milk in but I've had a few vegan friends confirm that the ingredients now don't have any animal products in.

And this is good news?

Much prefer bourbons. Oreos were a nice surprise when I first went to the states but soon got bored of them.

They have their place.

(In my mouth)

hanged up, borlotti beans are better than kidney beans. imo.

Cool I've tried a few different beans but not borlotti I don't think.

Really enjoying a chipotle powder from Borough Market, it's great in tofu scramble.

Cumin / chipotle powder / oregano / cocoa powder / tomato purée

The cocoa powder is an interesting touch--authentic, I suppose? I've never tried that. What does it do?

I also like smoked paprika, to partially replace the chilli peppers and chilli powder, of which I probably use less than most people do. While I really like hot dishes, and up to a point chilli brings out the flavours of other things better, I find that many people use too much of it. A small pinch of turmeric, of course not using so much as to curry the dish, is also good.

I always use tomatoes in chilli in addition to just purée. As ever, using shallots instead of onions will also give a better flavour. I almost never use green peppers outside of salads, as I vastly prefer the flavour of red peppers when cooked. You want those really nice and sweet; add them early and fry them gently. I sometimes put them in even before the onion(s).

Recently though I tried adding a baked sweet potato into the mix right at the end and it was pretty delicious.

I like using a small amount of root veg in a chilli, too; potato, sweet potato, carrot (e.g. with celeriac or celery as part of a mirepoix), or even swedes are all things I've tried. I once even tried beetroot, but that didn't work too well.

For beans I simply use kidney beans, as I suppose they're the signature beans for this dish, and I also find their flavour most appropriate. I'm sure the others work well, too; I've just never tried them. I have added peas, though, on occasion.

There are so many variations possible, although purists would probably disagree. :)

I make chilli in a similar way as above but I also put in some strong freshly brewed coffee too, maybe half a mug, adds another layer to the flavour.

Ha, coffee. I've never tried that, either.

Cocoa/coffee – Just something I read years ago, don't know how much difference it makes TBH. I'm into adding anything that takes the whole thing away from being a spicy tomato sauce and making it something more distinctive/complex.

While I really like hot dishes, and up to a point chilli brings out the flavours of other things better, I find that many people use too much of it.

Yeah I keep mine quite mild I guess. I really enjoy chopping the chillies and garlic together really fine so it's almost a paste. Smells amazing!

Turmeric? Woah.

I really like the bittersweet flavour of green peppers in chilli, also spag bol. My girlfriend uses red peppers and I just think they disappear into the tomatoes.

Recently though I tried adding a baked sweet potato into the mix right at the end and it was pretty delicious.
I've done this with tomato based pasta sauces and it works pretty well. If you roast them until they are really soft and stir them into the sauce then they start to disintegrate and add some texture and sweetness to the sauce.

i invited 2 vegans to a party once, but they were to weak to climb the stairs to my flat!

^ trollpost

Not even a funny one at that.

On a chilli related note, Nhatt makes some awesome Chilli using the slow cooker. It cooks for about a day, coffee grounds and Tofu are also involved and it's epic.

As a non-vegan it's better than a lot of meat chillis I've eaten.

cake that sounds like a winner, d'ya reckon I can have the recipe?

Slow cooking is definitely the way forwards! My old housemate had a slow cooker I used to make chilli and it's so easy and tastes incredible. I need to get me one.

I can't get my head around using onions in something without frying them first. It's my favourite bit, chopping them and chucking them about in a sizzling pan with garlic and black pepper.

Never bothered with shallots – might give them a go sometime.

Not even a funny one at that.

On a chilli related note, Nhatt makes some awesome Chilli using the slow cooker. It cooks for about a day, coffee grounds and Tofu are also involved and it's epic.

As a non-vegan it's better than a lot of meat chillis I've eaten.

How much of the coffee comes through? Does it subtley enhance other flavours or does the coffee cut right through it? I only ask as I really don't like coffee but as Cazakstan says please post the recipe.