How To Cook With Meat Alternatives

Start by adding your chopped red and yellow peppers and red onion for the skewers into the oven to roast for 20 minutes.

Next, start preparing your salad dressing. Mix all the Thai salad dressing ingredients into a little jar. Seal the lid and shake for 1 minute.

Now make the satay sauce by adding all the ingredients for that in a small jar and shaking for a minute to combine.

Grab a skillet and fry the burgers for 3-4 minutes on each side until browned.

Once the peppers and red onion are roasted, chop your cooked burgers into quartered chunks and add them to a wooden skewer along with the peppers and onions. You should have enough for 2 skewers. You can always put these on a BBQ or grill instead of roasting.

Drizzle the salad dressing on top of the salad. Top the salad with the skewers and drizzle the satay sauce on top of the skewers and serve.

Heat a non-stick griddle pan. Cut the tofu small rectangles. Pat well with several layers of kitchen roll to take out some of their moisture. Place the tofu on the griddle pan and cook until the underside has lovely brown bars on them. Turn and repeat with the other side.

Meanwhile, make the dipping sauce. Stir together all the ingredients, adjusting the consistency until it's creamy, but not thick. Taste and adjust, lemon juice or coconut to taste.

Once the tofu is done, place straight into the soy sauce (you're not seasoning with anything else so you can allow them to soak in a little).

Place your rice rolls, two at a time, in a deep plate of water until just soft. Place them flat on some kitchen roll to dry slightly and place on your work surface. Place six to seven cucumber shreds in a line in the centre of each, leaving a 1-inch border at the top and bottom. Follow with some spring onion and one teaspoon or so of carrot, then two to three mint leaves, one to two tangerine pieces and finally the tofu. Fold in the top and bottom and then one side and roll, keeping it tight, the whole thing so that it is like a spring roll. Cover with some damp kitchen roll as you finish the rest. Serve as they are or halved with the dipping sauce.

Cut the tofu into 1cm slices. Lay a clean tea towel on a board, place the tofu on top then cover with another clean tea towel. Place a second board on top with a weight e.g. cans, and leave for 1 hour. Alternatively use 3-4 pieces of paper towel.

In a shallow dish mix all the marinade ingredients together, add the tofu, turn to coat both sides then allow to marinate for 30 minutes or overnight if preferred.

To cook, light your BBQ. If you are using charcoal make sure they are fully lit and all the flames have died down. Take the tofu out of the marinade and brush each side with a little oil. Place the tofu on the hottest part of the grill and cook for 2 minutes before turning. Cook on the other side for 2 minutes or until slightly charred.

Mix the glaze then brush onto the BBQ tofu slices before serving. Arrange slices of cucumber and mint leaves on the soft buns, adding the BBQ tofu and topping with salad leaves.

In a small bowl, mix all the ingredients together for the marinade.

Cook the noodles according to the packet’s instructions and drain.

In a large frying pan, add half the sunflower oil and half the tofu cubes.

Fry, turning each one when each side is crispy.

Season generously with salt, pepper and chilli flakes. This will take about 5 minutes (make sure about half the sides are golden).

Transfer to a plate and fry the second batch in the same way. Then, add the sesame oil to the pan and add the pak choi. Fry for about 1 minute to soften before adding the tofu and noodles back into the pan.

Squeeze over half a lime and the marinade.

Toss everything together for 30 seconds to cook the garlic a little and soften the taste. Then mix in the coriander and serve.

Boil a kettle. Finely dice the red onion and finely chop or crush the garlic. Cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters. Roughly chop the coriander leaves.

Drain and rinse the jackfruit and black beans separately. Thinly slice the jackfruit and roughly chop.

Heat a medium-sized pan with 1 tbsp of oil on a medium heat and cook the onion for 3 minutes, then add the garlic and jerk seasoning (it's spicy, so add to taste) and cook for a further 2 minutes. Add the jackfruit to the pan, stir to coat in the spice, then add the black beans, 200ml of boiling water, the tomato purée, cherry tomatoes and half of the coriander. Season with sea salt to taste and simmer with a lid on for 10 minutes, then remove the lid for a further 5 minutes. Add a little more boiling water if the sauce becomes too dry.

Meanwhile, slice the end off the gem lettuce and separate the leaves.

To make the mango salsa; slice the cheeks off the mango and cut the mango flesh into small cubes, removing the skin. In a small bowl, mix the mango with the juice from half the lime and the remaining coriander.

Spoon the spiced jackfruit into the gem lettuce leaves, top with the mango salsa and serve on two warm plates. Drizzle over the remaining lime juice, to taste.

For the filling: In a small bowl, mix together the tamari, rice vinegar, hoisin sauce and maple syrup to make the sauce.

Drain the jackfruit and place in a large frying pan with vegetable oil and gently heat through for a minute. Add the spring onions, chilli, ginger, garlic and brown sugar, gently cook until caramelised.

Add the contents of the frying pan to the sauce and combine well.

Place the bowl into a Miele Gourmet Warming Drawer, programmed to the cooking function at 85°C and allow to cook through for four hours.

For the buns: In a large mixing bowl combine the plain flour, dried yeast, sugar and salt. Add the lukewarm water and combine until a dough is formed. Once the dough is formed, knead for 10 minutes or until smooth. When smooth, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover with a damp tea towel and leave in a warm place for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.

While the dough is proving, prepare eight 5cm x 2cm squares of baking paper (this will prevent the two halves of the buns sticking together during the third prove/steaming).

When the dough has doubled in size, tip it out onto a lightly floured surface and press the air out using your fingertips. Divide the dough into eight equal pieces and roll into balls. Place the balls onto a tray, cover with a damp towel and leave to prove for 30 minutes.

After the second prove, use a rolling pin to roll the balls out into ½ cm thick ovals. Fold each oval in half and insert the square of baking paper between the two halves.

Place the buns on a shallow perforated Miele Steam Tray lined with baking powder, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for another 30 minutes.

Place the buns into a Miele Steam Oven and steam for 10 minutes at 100°C.

To serve: Fill each bun with the pulled jackfruit and optional garnishes to suit your taste. Top with crushed peanuts to finish.

First up, sauté the onion, garlic and mushrooms over a medium heat in a little olive oil until golden, make sure all the liquid has evaporated from the mushrooms. Once sautéed, transfer the mix from the pan to a bowl.

Add the walnuts to your food processor and blitz them to a crumb. Next add the Merchant Gourmet puy lentils and sweet potato to the food processor, pulse 2-3 times to lightly break up the potato and lentils.

Add the walnuts, sweet potato and lentils to the bowl with the mushrooms, onion and garlic, followed by all the remaining sausage ingredients. Mix well with a spatula. The sausage mix should be relatively dry but if your mixture feels too wet, add a little more flour or breadcrumbs.

Lightly flour your hands then form the mixture into around 8-10 sausages.

The sausages are now ready to be cooked on your BBQ, or alternatively in a non-stick frying pan or oven.

For BBQ cooking, I recommend cooking the sausage over hot coals rather than a naked flame. Make sure your grill is clean and greased well with a little oil. Grill the sausages for 7-8 minutes turning them carefully every now and then.

Alternatively, for cooking them in a pan, pre heat your non-stick frying pan over a medium heat and sauté the sausages for 8-10 minutes, turning them over every now and then.

I serve my hot dogs topped with all my favourite trimmings such as finely chopped onion & pepper, crispy onion, mustard and ketchup.

The sausages can be pre-made and stored in your fridge for up to 2-3 days before cooking.

To make the mango salsa, begin by peeling or slicing the skin off of half of the mango. Slice the mango flesh off of that side and then dice into very small cubes. Cut the red onion in half and dice finely so that the pieces are the same size as the mango. Do the same with the fresh tomatoes and add a handful of chopped coriander. Add half a tbsp of Cajun spice and a squeeze of lemon and set to one side.

Next, the pickled red onion. Use the remaining half of the red onion and slice finely. Add the red onion to a bowl and squeeze half of a lemon over it. Add a pinch of salt and massage it into the red onion. This can now be put to one side.

To create a Cajun dressing, add 1 tbsp of Cajun spice and the juice of half a lemon to the tub of vegan sour cream. Stir until combined.

Add 150ml of vegetable oil to a saucepan and place on a medium heat. Once hot enough add the fish fingers to the pan and shallow fry. Cook for a few minutes on either side until golden brown.

Heat up the soft taco shells in the oven at 180ºC for 2 minutes.

To serve, put the mango salsa, Cajun dressing, fish fingers, taco shells and pickled red onion on the table along with some sriracha mayo. Everyone can dig in and build the tacos themselves.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C Fan.

Start with preparing the sticky sauce. Warm up the rapeseed oil in a medium-sized heavy base saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic, shallots, ginger, lemon grass and chilli and sweat for about 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Turn down the heat and add a splash of water, if you notice that the mixture starts to brown. Add the stock and water, then the maple syrup and soy sauce. Bring the sauce to a boil and simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes.

Cook the meatballs. Spread them out on a small oven tray lined with baking parchment and bake for 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Make the cucumber salad. In a mixing bowl whisk together the soy sauce, sesame oil and vinegar. Add the cucumbers, stir and sprinkle the sesame seeds over.

Warm up the rapeseed oil in a heavy base large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the broccoli and fry, shaking the pan occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, until they brown slightly. Add the soy sauce and stir again with a wooden spoon.

Warm up the rapeseed oil in a heavy base large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the broccoli and fry, shaking the pan occasionally, for 2-3 minutes, until they brown slightly. Add the soy sauce and stir again with a wooden spoon.

Strain the sauce and pour it back to the saucepan. Add 2 tbsp to a small bowl and mix with the rice flour, until all the lumps disappear. Add the thickener to your sauce and stir, until well combined.

Add the meatballs in and cook for another 5 minutes or more, if you think the sauce is not thick enough. Stir continuously. Taste and season with a squeeze of lime and more soy sauce or maple syrup, if needed.

Time to serve. Put the rice into 4 bowls, top with the broccoli, sticky meatballs, spring and fried onions. Serve with the cucumber salad on side.