easy peasy delicious bean patties

I had a hankering to make some simple bean burgers, but was told they tasted very similar to falafels, so I am calling them "patties". I tried to keep an eye on actual amounts, since I planned to write down this recipe for future use (if it worked, and it did produce something tasty - which it did!) but my measurements are always approximate. Here is a list of ingredients:

prepared kidney beans (equivalent to approx 1.5-2 drained cans), 2 tblsp olive oil, 1 onion, 1 egg, 1/3 tube of tomato paste (or 1 little tin if that is the way it is sold in your country), 125 g bread crumbs, 100 g oats, 2 tsp mixed spices (I happened to have this Smoky Brae rub of mixed spices that included cumin, dried garlic, chilli flakes, and other things, but you may just prefer to add a clove of fresh garlic and some salt & pepper - to your own taste!)

I use dried kidney beans, so I soak them the night before and boil them up the next day. I have started adding a bay leaf to the pot as they are boiling. 

I whizzed the beans in a food processor with the oil (necessary to keep the processor working) then added everything together in a big bowl

and mixed it up thoroughly.

Form into patties, like you would burgers and place on oiled cookie sheets.

Bake at 190C about 15 mins, then flip and bake for another 15 mins. They are a bit dry on their own, but either treat as a burger (with toppings) or eat with sweet chilli sauce, mango chutney or raita (or anything you like) as you would a falafel. Very nutritious and delicious! They freeze just like any meat burger and are great on the bbq.

Recipe: Imam Bayildi made easy!

Although traditionally this delicious Turkish recipe is complicated to prepare because the final appearance of the aubergines (eggplants) is striped, through scoring of the skin, I decided to adjust the recipe so that it was a one-pot dish. The adjusted recipe tastes just as wonderful as the complicated recipe, so the Imam (and anyone else who eats it) may still faint because it tastes so good! [NB: the translation for "Imam Bayildi" is "the Imam fainted".]

This is a vegetarian dish, which can be eaten as a full meal (with rice) or in smaller portions as a side or starter.

The ingredients: 2 med/large aubergines. 1 large onion (or 3 small onions as I have used), 3 tomatoes, 2-3 garlic cloves, 1/4 cup water, juice of 1/2 lemon, large handful of chopped parsley, large handful of chopped dillweed, pinch of salt (if desired), 2/3 cup olive oil, tsp sugar.

Use some of the olive oil to cover the bottom of lidded casserole dish Chop tomatoes and aubergines, slice onions and crush garlic; add to casserole dish. Then add chopped parsley, dill, sugar, salt (if using), lemon juice, water and the rest of the olive oil to the casserole.

Cover casserole and bake at 180C for about 40 minutes. Stir the casserole at least twice during this time. Serve with lemon slices and rice; I prefer wild rice with this treat of a dish. Some warm pitta or crusty bread is also nice to have with this dish as the juices are gorgeous.

You can see how large the casserole dish is from this photo before I turned on the oven.

I meant to take a picture of the cooked meal, but forgot! Or maybe I fainted...

Mini quiche recipe

I had overseas visitors arriving after midnight last Friday, so I wanted to prepare some nibbly food to have with a relaxing chat and glass of wine before they headed for bed. A few small snacks and also something light but sustaining - I thought mini quiches would fit the bill. I added some dried basil to my usual pastry recipe, but basically use your favourite pastry recipe or pre-made puff pastry to fill a tart tin (usually 12 shallow places). Preheat the oven to 180 C.

For my filling, I cut only about a  tablespoon or 2 of purple onion and two mushrooms in small pieces and divided among the pastry shells. If I didn't already have the onion waiting for use, I would have used a scallion (green onion) instead. By all means, use your own favourite fillings but remember these are 2-bite size, so you only need a small amount (eg, 1/2 cooked sausage, 1/2 cooked slice of bacon - chopped and divided between all!).

I beat 2 eggs with a splash of milk and divided between the pastry shells (about 2 spoons each).

The egg doesn't have to cover the fillings (as it will in cooking) and be careful not to overfill the pastry shells.

Slices of cheddar cheese are placed as the last ingredient and I have cracked some black pepper on top as a finishing touch.

Bake in the oven at 180 C for 15-20 mins. They will look like little souffles when fully cooked.

Once they start to cool, they deflate. Remove them from the baking tray and they can be served hot or room temperature. They are delicious!