Trying to make vegan food not taste bland and „too healthy” is something that I have been really working hard on when making dinner at home. My husband who is a big cheeseburger and pizza eater would not be convinced with having a green salad for dinner with a side of hummus and falafel every night. He needs to feel like he is not compromising his taste buds and actually feels satisfied with his dinner before he starts going to the snack drawer and munching away on some sweets.
Like most of you, after having a long day at work and coming home to take care of those chores or tasks that just tend to pile up, the thought of having to go in the kitchen and whip up a dinner can be a bit of a bore. However, I promise you, the recipes that I tend to go for or create out of my head are the easiest and simplest recipes anyone can master, and truly are catered to those days when you wish you had a Cinderella at home who did everything for you.
Last night was one of those nights. While standing in the kitchen and trying to find some kind of inspiration for dinner, combined with not being in the mood for a huge mess later in the kitchen that I needed to clean up, I desperately dug into the freezer to see what we had left. To my surprise, I found a bag of fries, and immediately thought of making a vegan burger with a side of fries, but like many who try to magically make something appear out of what is on hand, we had no burger buns. I would not let this knock me down, so I started to improvise and finally came up with these savoury black bean patties, drizzled with a tomato pickled cream served with a side of baked fries.
The patties were full of flavour and due to the beans really filling. The side of fries can of course always be switched up with a side of buttered rice or even a fresh cous cous salad. However, the next time I make these patties, as they really were bursting with flavour, I would simply serve them on top of a salad and serve as a full meal.
Vegan Kidney Bean “meat” patties
250g canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 small yellow onions, diced
1/3 cup sunflower seeds
½ cup oats
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp dried parsley
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp olive oil + additional oil for frying meatballs
1 tbsp Worcester sauce (note: if you want to make this dish vegan, make sure you have a vegan Worcester sauce as some may have fish oil)
Salt and pepper to taste
In a medium pan add your olive oil and when hot add onions and simmer until golden brown. Remove from heat
In pulsing machine, add your sunflower seeds and pulse until you reach a flour like consistency.
In a large bowl add your rinsed kidney beans and mash until smooth. Add sunflower flour, oats, tomato paste, cumin, smoked paprika, garlic powder, fried onions, dried parsley, Worcester sauce, salt and pepper and mix.
Make small meatball forms with your mixture
In a medium pan add a bit of oil and allow to get hot. Once hot add your meatballs and fry on high heat to get a nice browning around the edges. Once browned, lower your heat and cook for about 20-25 minutes until the inside is fully cooked.
I served these patties with a side of fries and made a quick vegan tomato pickled cream to go with it. The acidity of the cream complimented the savoury patties well. If you are interested in the recipe just let me know.
