INGREDIENTS

• 3 cups cooked black beans, drained and rinsed

• ⅓ cup grated yellow onion*, (about ½ medium)

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 chipotle peppers from a can of chipotles in adobo, diced

• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce

• 1 tablespoon tamari

• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

• 1 teaspoon ground cumin

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

• 1 large egg**

• 1 cup panko bread crumbs

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for brushing

• Cooking spray, if grilling

• Hamburger buns, for serving

• Desired fixings, for serving

• In a large bowl, combine the beans, onion, garlic, chipotles, adobo sauce, tamari, balsamic, cumin, salt, and pepper. Use a potato masher to mash until the mixture holds together but still has some visible chunks of black beans. Add the egg and use a spatula to fold until combined. Then, fold in the panko.

• Use your hands to form the mixture into 6 patties. The mixture should be cohesive and a little wet. If it’s too wet to handle, chill in the fridge for 20 minutes to firm up or mash your beans a little bit more.

• Heat a cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Brush with a little oil and cook the burgers for about 5 minutes per side, until charred on both sides, turning the heat down as necessary. The exact timing will depend on the heat of your stove and cookware.

• Alternatively, preheat an outdoor grill to 400°F. Lightly brush the patties with olive oil, spray the grill grates, and grill for 8 minutes on the first side and 4 minutes on the second side.

• Serve with hamburger buns and desired fixings.

• Add all the meatball ingredients (excluding the olive oil) to a large bowl and mix well, use your hands. Shape into 1 inch meatballs. You should get about 30 meatballs.

• Add the olive oil to a large skillet and heat over medium to high heat. Add meatballs and cook. If you're using a large skillet all meatballs should fit in one batch otherwise, you might have to fry them in a couple batches. Cook the meatballs on all sides, add more oil if needed. Remove meatballs from skillet and set aside.

• To the same skillet add butter and melt. Add onion and cook until onion is soft and translucent. 

• Sprinkle the flour over the onion and stir. Cook for about 1 minute to remove the raw flour taste. (If using cornstarch make a slurry with equal amounts water and cornstarch) Add broth and remaining gravy ingredients to skillet, and cook for about 3 to 5 minutes, sauce should thicken. If the sauce is too thick add a bit more beef broth. Taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary.

• When the gravy is done add the meatballs back to the skillet and toss them around so they're covered in the gravy. Garnish with parsley.

• 4 to 5 medium beets

• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

• 2 cups salad greens, arugula or spring mix

• ½ shallot, thinly sliced

• ½ green apple, thinly sliced

• ¼ cup toasted walnuts

• 2 ounces goat cheese, torn

• Microgreens, optional

• Balsamic Vinaigrette

• Flaky sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• Preheat the oven to 400°F.

• Place each beet on a piece of foil. Drizzle generously with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Wrap the beets in the foil, place on a baking sheet, and roast for 35 to 60 minutes, or until fork-tender. The timing will depend on the size and freshness of the beets. 

• Let the beets cool and chill them in the fridge until ready to use.

• Slice the beets into ¼-inch-thick rounds. Assemble the salad with the greens, shallots, apples, beets, walnuts, cheese, and microgreens, if using. Drizzle with balsamic vinaigrette. Season with flaky sea salt and pepper and serve.

• 6 small romaine lettuce leaves

• 1 curly kale leaf, stemmed

• 2 radicchio leaves

• ⅓ cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

• ½ avocado

• ¼ cup sliced red onion

• Parmesan shavings, optional

• Lemon wedge, for squeezing

• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

• Homemade Caesar Dressing or Vegan Caesar Dressing, for drizzling

• 1 12-inch flour tortilla

• Place the romaine, kale, radicchio, chickpeas, avocado, and red onion on a cutting board. Top with shaved Parmesan, if using, and squeeze with lemon juice. Season with sprinkles of salt and pepper.

• Drizzle generously with the dressing and roughly chop everything on the cutting board, mixing it together as you chop.

• Load the salad mixture into the tortilla and fold to close. Serve with more dressing on the side.

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or extra-virgin olive oil

• 1½ cups orzo pasta

• 3 to 4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• ½ cup frozen peas

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, plus more to taste

• Zest of 1 lemon

• ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

• ¼ cup chopped fresh parsley, basil, and/or dill

• Melt the butter in a large saucepan or medium Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the orzo and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes to toast it.

• Add 3 cups of the broth, the garlic, salt, and several grinds of pepper. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook, stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the broth is absorbed. Add the peas and cook for another 2 minutes, or until heated through.

• Remove from the heat and add the lemon juice and zest, Parmesan, and half the herbs, stirring until the cheese is melted. Season to taste, stirring in more broth as needed to keep the orzo lightly creamy.

• Serve topped with the remaining herbs and more cheese, if desired.

   

Soup Broth:

• 2 large dried pasilla chiles (or dried ancho chiles*), stemmed and seeded

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 1 medium white or yellow onion, peeled and diced

• 4 large cloves garlic, minced

• 1 3/4 pounds Roma tomatoes, diced (or 28 ounces canned diced tomatoes*, with their juices)

• 8 cups good-quality vegetable or chicken stock

• 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano

• fine sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper

Soup Add-Ins (Choose Your Favorites):

• fried corn tortilla strips* (or crumbled corn tortilla chips)

• diced panela cheese (or oaxaca, cotija, or any other cheese you prefer)

• diced or sliced avocado

• shredded cooked chicken

• toppings: chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream (or Mexican crema), lime wedges, fried pasilla chile strips*

Instructions

1. Toast the chiles. Briefly toast the chiles by using tongs to carefully holding each chile an inch over a gas flame, turning for a few seconds until the chile is blistered and fragrant.  (Or alternately, if you have an electric stove, you can heat a skillet over medium-high heat and press the chiles down onto the hot skillet on each side for a few seconds until blistered and fragrant.)  Transfer the chiles to a blender or food processor and set aside.

2. Sauté the veggies. Heat the olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion and sauté for 5 minutes until softened, stirring occasionally.  Add the garlic and sauté for 1-2 minutes more until fragrant, stirring frequently.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the mixture to the blender along with the chiles.

3. Blend the broth. Add the tomatoes to the blender, along with 1 cup or so of the stock (enough to help the mixture purée easily).  Then purée until completely smooth and no large chile flakes remain.

4. Simmer. Transfer the blended broth mixture to the stockpot, add the remaining stock, oregano and epazote sprig (if using).  Cook over medium-high heat until the broth reaches a simmer.  Then reduce heat to medium-low to maintain the simmer and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

5. Prepare the add-ins. While the soup simmers, go ahead and prep all of your add-ins.  (See notes below for instructions on how to fry tortilla and chile strips, if desired.)  Fill each serving bowl with a handful of tortilla strips and cooked chicken (if using), and set aside.

6. Season the broth. Give the broth a taste and season with however much salt and pepper you think it needs.

7. Serve. Ladle the hot broth into each serving bowl over the tortilla strips, top with a generous helping of avocado and cheese (if using).  Then load each bowl up with lots of your favorite toppings.  Serve immediately and enjoy!

 If you can’t find dried pasilla chiles, you can use dried ancho chiles as an alternative

• Heat your oil in a large frying pan or saucepan and add the chicken and bacon. Cook for about 5-10 minutes until just starting to turn brown.

• Add in the vegetables and cook for a further 5 minutes until they start to soften.

• Add the flour and thyme and stir through everything, cook for 5 minutes. 

• Gradually add the stock and milk to the vegetable and flour mix, stirring until the sauce is smooth. Leave to bubble away and thicken for about 10 minutes.

• Spoon into a pie dish and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes if you have time.

• Smooth the pastry over the top of the filling.

• Decorate the pie with cut out shapes if you feel that way inclined and brush with the beaten egg.

• When you are ready to bake the pie, preheat the oven to 220℃ fan/425F, 240℃/475F or Gas Mark 9 and bake for about 30 minutes until the filling is hot throughout and the pastry is crisp and golden.

• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

• ½ medium yellow onion, chopped

• 2 medium carrots, chopped

• 2 celery ribs, chopped

• ½ teaspoon sea salt

• Freshly ground black pepper

• 2 garlic cloves, grated

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves

• ½ cup dry orzo pasta

• 1 cup cooked cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• 2 cups fresh spinach

• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

• Fresh parsley or dill, for garnish, optional

• Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, salt, and several grinds of pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for 6 to 8 minutes, or until softened.

• Stir in the garlic, then add the broth, thyme, orzo, and beans and simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes, or until the orzo is tender.

• Add the spinach and lemon juice and stir until the spinach is wilted. Season to taste and serve topped with freshly ground black pepper and fresh herbs, if desired.

• Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the broccoli and cook for 5 minutes. Transfer the broccoli to a large large bowl.

• In the same pot with broccoli water add the pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve about a cup of pasta water then drain the pasta and set aside.

• Add the butter to a large skillet and melt over medium heat. Once the butter is melted add the sausage and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes until cooked through, breaking it up as you go along. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds until aromatic.

• Add the cooked broccoli florets, season with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes. Add about ½ cup of the pasta water and the cooked pasta. 

• Toss everything together and cook for a couple more minutes. Finally, add the Parmesan cheese and another drizzle of some good extra virgin olive oil and toss well.

• Serve immediately.