If you're a vegetarian, you really don't need to worry if you've run out of fresh veg as, believe it or not, canned food can often be just as nutritious.
To celebrate National Vegetarian Week on 18th - 24th May, celebrity chef James Martin has put together some fab veggie recipes for Canned Food UK which prove that leading a meat-free lifestyle needn’t be boring.
About 5% of the British population are vegetarian and the annual awareness-raising week celebrates the benefits of eating a meat-free diet. However, it's important to remember that when following a vegetarian lifestyle it's important to maintain a balanced nutritious diet by replacing the protein found in meat and fish with foods such as lentils and beans.
Below is a delicious Vegetable Lasagne – an easy dish to create and perfect, or if you’re looking for a mouth-watering dessert recipe try the Amaretto Peaches with sweet vanilla rice. With breakfast being the most important meal of the day, the scrummy Rhubarb & Blackberry Breakfast Muffin recipe that contains two portions of your 5-A-DAY and is packed with vitamin C, has got to be a winner. Just looking at the picture above is enough to make you drool!
James Martin demonstrates how cans can be used to create tasty recipes for vegetarians without compromising on key nutrients essential to our health and wellbeing. He says: “Canned food is a great source for consuming key nutrients including carbohydrates and minerals, and can even count towards your 5-A-DAY. People can often think that vegetarians don’t include enough protein in their diet, but foods such as canned beans, peas and lentils are all extremely high in the nutrient, making it easy to maintain a well-balanced dietRhubarb and Blackberry Breakfast Muffins with Strawberry Yoghurt Pots
Ingredients
75g unsalted Butter, melted
½ tsp Bicarbonate of soda
150g plain flour
50g wholemeal flour
2 tsp Baking powder
75g caster sugar
1 pinch Salt
200ml Buttermilk
1 large egg
½ 290g can blackberries
½ 539g can rhubarb, drained
For the yoghurt pots:
½ 406g can strawberries in juice, drained
150g pot Greek yoghurt
Honey to drizzle
Method
1. Preheat the oven to 200c/400F/Gas mark 6.
2. Combine all the dry ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
3. In a measuring jug, beat together the buttermilk, egg and melted butter and pour over the dry ingredients, carefully combine taking care not to over work the mixture.
4. Fold in the blackberries and spoon the mixture into well-greased muffin tins.
5. Make a well in the centre of each muffin with a teaspoon and add a spoonful of rhubarb. Bake in the centre of the oven for 20 minutes, and transfer to a rack to cool.
To serve:
Swirl the strawberries through the Greek yoghurt, spoon into tumbler glasses, drizzle with honey and serve with the muffins.
Serves 12
Preparation and cooking time: 40 minutes.”Amaretto Peaches with sweet vanilla rice
Ingredients
1 (410g) can peach halves, in natural juice, drained
1 (425g) can creamed rice pudding
50g amaretto biscuits, lightly crushed
25g butter, softened
25g soft brown sugar
1 egg yoke
4 tbsp amaretto liquor
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Method
1. Preheat the oven 180C/ 350F/Gas5.
2. Cream the butter and sugar in a bowl with wooden spoon, add the egg yoke, 1/2 the liquor and biscuits and mix well.
3. Mix the rice pudding with the vanilla extract and divide between 4 ramekins.
4. Place a peach half, cut side up, on the top of the rice and spoon the amaretto mixture into the hole where the stone was. Drizzle over the remaining amaretto.
5. Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes, until the top is lightly golden and bubbling.
Sit the ramekin on a small plate with a couple of amaretto biscuits on the side.
Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time: 20 minutesVegetable Lasagne
Ingredients
6-8 sheets lasagne
2 (283g) cans creamed mushrooms
2 (390g) tin ratatouille
50g mature Cheddar cheese, grated
50g gruyere cheese, grated
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
Pinch fresh nutmeg
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
600ml/1 pint milk
25g/1 oz plain flour
25g/1 oz butter
Method
1. Preheat oven to 200C/ 400F/ Gas 6.
2. Melt the butter in a saucepan.
3. Stir in the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4. Take the pan off the heat and gradually stir in the milk to get a smooth cheese sauce. Return to the heat, continue stirring. Bring to the boil then simmer for 8-10 minutes.
5. Add ½ the grated cheese and heat gently for 1 minute, whisking until the cheeses have melted, season with nutmeg, salt and black pepper.
6. Put the creamed mushrooms into a bowl and combine with ½ the cheese.
7. Put ½ the cheese and mushrooms sauce in the bottom of an oven proof dish and pour over 1 can of ratatouille. Lay 3-4 pasta sheets over the top then repeat.
8. Pour the remainder of the cheese sauce over the top of the lasagne, sprinkle with the remaining Gruyere and parmesan.
9. Bake in the oven for 30-40 minutes. Allow to stand for 10 minutes before serving.
Serves 4
Preparation and cooking time: 60 minutes
Canned Food UK launched its free Switch2 recipe pack earlier this year with the help of leading celebrity chef James Martin. The Switch2 Pack consists of 20 tasty recipes perfect for any culinary occasion. The campaign demonstrates how canned food can be incorporated into any lifestyle, including a vegetarian diet, and provides key nutrients and vitamins.
To order your free Switch 2 Canned Food recipe pack or find more Canned Food UK vegetarian recipes, you can visit www.cannedfood.co.uk
May 2009 |
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