Category Archives: Starters and soups

Cheap & Easy, Recipes, Starters and soups, Vegan on a Budget

Tomato, bean and greens soup

Serves 4.

Approximate cost of ingredients £1.70. 

Could also be cooked in a microwave oven.

Ingredients

•1x 400g tin of tomatoes

•1x 400g tin of beans(any beans or chickpeas)

•1 large onion chopped

•2 cloves of garlic finely chopped or minced

•2 large handfuls of roughly chopped greens( Kale, Chard, Cabbage or Spinach)

•1 vegetable stock cube

•400ml (14 fluid ounces) of water

•Teaspoon of oil

•Salt and pepper to taste

Method

•Chop onion into roughly 1cm pieces

•Finely chop garlic

•Soften onions in oil on a medium heat for around 5 mins in a pan stirring occasionally

•Add garlic and cook for 2 more minutes stirring occasionally

•Add remaining ingredients. Swill out the empty tin of tomatoes with some of the water into the pan

•Bring to the boil then simmer on low for 10-15 minutes

•Add salt and pepper to your own taste

Cheap & Easy, Festive, Recipes, Side dishes, Starters and soups, Vegan on a Budget

Chestnut and bean pâté

Serves 4-6
Cost £3

Ingredients

1 small white onion
1 pinch salt
240g of pre cooked white beans(cannellini or butter)
4 garlic cloves
180 g pre-cooked chestnuts
2 sprigs of rosemary or 1/2 teaspoon of dried
2 sprigs thyme or 1/2 teaspoon of dried
2 tbsp white wine or cider vinegar
4 tbsp non-dairy butter or oil (parsley oil would be good if available)

Instructions

Dice the onion and add to a hot pan with a splash of oil and a pinch of salt.

Sauté the onions until they are just translucent.

Add the garlic (crushed) and the pre-cooked chestnuts (also roughly chopped). Cook these with the onion and mushrooms for a further 2-3 minutes.

Remove the leaves from the sprigs of rosemary and thyme and add to the pan for a few brief minutes until they are releasing their aroma.

Add the drained beans and stir through and cook for 1 minute.

Take the pan off the heat and let it cool for a few moments before adding to a blender (a stick blender could also be used) Do not add the liquid to the blender at this stage.

Turn the blender on to its lowest setting and let it run for a few minutes until a paste begins to form. Add the vinegar and a little bit of veg stock or bean juice if it is struggling to blend. Avoid adding too much or your pâté will be too wet.

Gradually increase the speed on your blender until the desired texture has been achieved.

While the pâté is still hot, spoon it into ramekins or cups.

Melt the non-dairy butter and then pour a thin layer over the pâté. Or alternatively leave out the butter and drizzle with parsley oil after cooled.

Cover the ramekins and leave them to cool completely before storing in the fridge until ready to serve.

Serve with crusty bread, crackers or raw carrots and celery sticks.

Cheap & Easy, Main dishes, Recipes, Starters and soups, Vegan on a Budget

Air-Fryer Chick Pea Fritters

Makes around 26 fritters so you may want to cut the quantities below in half.


Cost based on tinned chick peas = £3.80 for 26 fritters; £1.90 for 13 fritters at Lidl prices (March 2025) but they don’t sell nutritional yeast so the price for that is from Tod Almighty opposite the Golden Lion (the cost of ingredients would be less if dried chick peas are used).

Preparation time: 20 minutes.

Air frying time: 15-25 minutes

Ingredients

480 grams or 2 cans of cooked chickpeas.
1
4 tablespoons all-purpose flour or chick pea flour for a gluten-free version
40 grams nutritional yeast (Engevita)
2-3 tablespoons dried parsley
1 medium onion finely chopped
2 cloves garlic crushed or chopped
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
½ teaspoon salt
2 twists black pepper
Oil for coating prior to cooking.

Method

    Preheat the air fryer to 200 degrees C.

    Add all of the ingredients except oil to a large mixing bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. The mixture should sticky enough to form into fritters. Add water if necessary.

    Shape the mixture into small & flat fritters (small fritters are quicker to cook – try a roughly loaded tablespoon full of the mix per fritter).

    Use a brush, spray or fingers to apply a minimal coating of oil to both sides of the uncooked fritters.

    Place the fritters in the air fryer, leaving spaces between them.

    Cook for a total of 15-25 minutes or until golden brown. Turn over half way through the cooking period.

    Remove from the air fryer and serve.

    Photo of a person using a potato masher to mash chickpeas for this recipe. Also shows ingredients containers and trays for the air-fryer

    Serve the fritters on their own, with a squeeze of lemon, a tomato sauce or a tahini sauce, They go well with pitta bread too.

    

This recipe is also suitable for pan frying in 2 tablespoons of oil or baking in an oven at 200 degrees C for 20 minutes or so. However, an oven is a more costly way to cook than frying on an induction hob or cooking in an air-fryer…it also contributes more to climate change.

    1. If you have dried chickpeas, they will double their weight when cooked properly. So 480 grams of soaked (overnight) and cooked chickpeas requires 240 grammes of dried chickpeas.

      Chick peas are also known as garbanzo beans in Spain and America.

      You can reserve the liquid in the cans or after cooking chick peas. This liquid is called aquafaba and can be used in other recipes mainly as an egg replacer. ↩︎
    Cheap & Easy, Main dishes, Recipes, Side dishes, Starters and soups, Vegan on a Budget

    Red Lentil Pancakes

    Makes 5/6 pancakes.

    Costs about 15p each without fillings.

    Ingredients

    1 cup red lentils

    Uncooked veggies of choice (peppers, onions, mushrooms, carrots etc)

    2 tablespoons of olive oil

    ½ tablespoon of baking powder

    Salt and pepper according to taste

    Method

    Soak 1 cup red lentils overnight then rinse and wash.

    Blend with 1cup water & pour into a bowl.

    Chop veggies of choice & add to the blended lentils.

    Add olive oil, baking powder, salt & pepper and mix well.

    Pour the mixture into the frying pan… enough to cover bottom.

    Cook (dry-fry if the pan will allow) covered for 2 minutes, flip and repeat.

    Cook uncovered for 1 minute each side.

    Starters and soups

    Celeriac, saffron and orange soup by Elizabeth (Christmas 2019)

    Ingredients

    For the soup:

    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 large onion, chopped
    • 1 celeriac (~600g), cut into chunks
    • 600g potatoes, cut into chunks
    • 1.5 litres vegetable stock
    • 1 tsp saffron strands, lightly ground in a mortar
    • finely grated rind and juice of 2 oranges

    For the gremolata:

    • 1 garlic clove
    • 1 tsp coarse sea salt
    • handful of flatleaf parsley, leaves only
    • 2 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve

    Method

    1. To make the soup, heat the olive oil in a large pan and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes until softened, but not coloured. Add the celeriac and potato. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes. Stir in the vegetable stock, ground saffron, orange juice and half the orange rind. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes until the vegetables are tender.
    2.  Transfer to a food processor and process until smooth (you may need to do this in batches). Return to the pan and season to taste.
    3. To make the gremolata, pound the garlic and sea salt to a paste with a pestle and mortar. Add the parsley leaves and olive oil and pound until a fairly smooth paste is achieved. (Alternatively, puree all the ingredients in a food processor.)
    4. Reheat the soup and ladle into individual bowls. Spoon the gremolata onto the soup and scatter over the reserved orange rind. Serve with an extra drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

    By Elizabeth, originally by Burza via Epicuria