Green Beans with Sesame and Chili

 

With a family of fussy eaters, I realised that I'm stuck in a rut of cooking the variations of the same meals from week to week. I told my guys that from now on I would be cooking at least one new recipe a week and hopefully find some new family favourites.

Last week I tried a recipe for Ribollita with Yondu. Yondu is a Korean seasoning which unlocks natural flavours in blander foods. This Vegetable Umami all-purpose savoury seasoning is perfect for plant-rich cooking.

A few days ago they shared another recipe, which I wanted to try - Green Beans with Sesame and Chili.

Fall in love with Autumn’s most underrated vegetable

 

Chef Bettina Campolucci Bordi, author of Happy Food, 7 Day Vegan Challenge and most recently CELEBRATE, is sharing her killer green bean recipe with Asian-inspired flavours and a kick of her a favourite umami ingredient: Yondu. Bettina has show her 128k Instagram followers that, with the right seasoning, even the most simple greens can be dressed to impress.

 

As home cooks get excited about medleys of roasted root vegetables, Bettina warns to not overlook one of this season’s most nutritious choices - the humble green bean. Fresh, vibrant and vitamin-rich, these greens are in season from late summer right into the heart of Autumn. Adding just 50ml of Yondu’s umami seasoning will add depth of flavours, and bring this versatile vegetable to life.

 

For the dressing, Bettina suggests combining Yondu with chili, garlic and maple syrup to infuse these greens with natural flavour. The result will be ready in ten minutes and can be served warm as a side with dinner or cold as a salad for lunch. Sprinkled with spring onions and crispy shallots, you’ll never turn your nose up at green beans again!

 

The Best Green Beans with Sesame & Chili (recipe courtesy of Bettina Campolucci Bordi and Yondu)

Ingredients

400 grams of green beans

2 sprigs of spring onions chopped

 

Dressing

50ml of Yondu

10 mm of maple syrup

1/2 thumb of ginger grated

small garlic clove grated

1/2 red chili sliced

 

Sprinkles                                                                                                                                     

Crispy shallots ( the ones you buy)

2 tbsp of sesame seeds

 

Method

Get a pot of water boiling while you wash and trim the ends of your green beans. Once water is boiling add a pinch of salt along with your green beans and let them boil for about 5 minutes. You still want them to have a bite. While they are cooking mix Yondu, maple syrup, grated garlic and ginger and mix. Slice the spring onions and chili and set aside.

 

Drain the beans and plate or add to a shallow bowl, pour the dressing on top and sprinkle with spring onions, crispy shallots and chili. Give the beans a bit of a mix and eat straight away. They will be sweet and salty, crispy and spicy all at the same time! Incredibly delicious!

 

Notes

 

Yondu is available to purchase via its UK website and Amazon, retailing at £6.88 for 275ml. Visit www.yondu.co.uk/recipes/ for cooking inspiration.

 

Follow the brand on Instagram: @yondu.uk and Facebook: @yondu.uk.

 

Notes about Yondu:

 

• Yondu’s philosophy of healthy living stems from its creator company, Sempio, an established Korean food company
• For over 70 years Sempio is committed to expanding the world's culinary horizons through the art of fermentation
• Yondu is a 100% plant based product. It includes organic soybean, sea-salt, eight vegetable broth, and yeast extract  
• Yondu is clean label, certified Organic, non-GMO, vegan, and gluten-free 
• Non-GMO organic soybeans are triple-fermented over the course of 100 days, then blended with the savoury broth of onions, white radishes, leeks, cabbage, carrots, shiitake mushrooms, ginger and garlic to create Yondu’s unique flavour that enhances the taste of a variety of cuisines 
• The Yondu Culinary Studio in New York is where Yondu develop culinary solutions and ideas. Including a team of chefs that create healthy recipes. The team is led by Jaume Biarnes who was previously the culinary director at Alicia Food & Science Lab founded by Ferran Adrià, a pioneer of molecular gastronomy 

My notes:

I have halved the ingredients, as I had a pack of 200g green beans. The recipe is easily halved (or doubled if you are cooking for a bigger family). Instead of the grated ginger I used a ginger paste.

It is a delicious side dish, which will work perfectly well with a vegetarian meal, or served with fish or chicken. I will definitely be making this side dish again. Typically I just add a dressing of lime/lemon juice and maple syrup or honey to green beans, but Bettina's recipe is inspired. Love the combination of flavours and textures. I think sesame seeds might be better toasted. And I would give the green beans another minute or two of cooking time. 

Disclosure: I received a bottle of Yondu for testing and reviewing. All the other ingredients are not supplied.

The recipe is being published with kind permission from Yondu. 

All images are my own.

Grow Your Own: Thompson & Morgan seeds giveaway E: 17 March

March is here, a month when we start to see the signs of spring everywhere around us. The growing season is ahead, and you might be going through your packets of seeds, deciding what to grow this year. 

It's almost a year since the first lockdown was introduced. One of the positives of the lockdown was that many more people caught the gardening bug and were keen to grow their own fruit and vegetables.

 I have been growing tomatoes in the greenhouse for many years, and in the past I usually bought plants from the garden centre, only growing salads and herbs from seeds. But as last year the garden centres were all closed, I decided to grow tomatoes from seeds, and it was a great success. We had beautiful tomatoes for several months, in fact, we had so many, that half of them went in the freezer to use in soups and stews later in the year.

Growing your own vegetables is so rewarding, and they taste so much better.

I subscribe to Grow Your Own magazine, each issue comes with ten or so packets of seeds, and though I have been giving away quite a few of them to my friends, I have accumulated way too many. 

I want to share some of my bounty with my blog readers, and offer two packages of twelve packets of seeds as a giveaway prize.

Whether you are an experienced gardener or a beginner who wants to try growing vegetables, I think these two selections will be a lovely addition to your seed collection. These two packages are quite similar, but you might have a look at each and decide which one takes your fancy.

Selection 1:

Tomato Ailsa Craig (I grew these ones last year, and they were exceptionally good!), Carrot Early Nantes 2, Beetroot Paonazza d'Egitto, Cabbage primo, Radish Cherry Belle, Chilli Pepper Anaheim, Leek Autumn Giant 2, Watercress, Spinach Perpetual, Lettuce Little Gem, Lettuce Red Salad Bowl and Kale Dwarf Green Curled.

Selection 2:

Tomato Craigella, Chilli Pepper Cayenne, Radish Flamboyant 3, Beetroot Detroit 6 Rubidus, Carrot Early Nantes 2, Cabbage Durham Early, Kale Scarlet, Leek Autumn Giant 2, Lettuce All the Year Round, Spinach Perpetual, Watercress and Lettuce Lollo Rossa.

To be in with a chance of winning please leave a comment, stating which selection you prefer (or if you don't mind either) and answer a question: What do you enjoy growing (or what you would like to grow this year)?

T&Cs:

The giveaway is open to the UK residents only.

Please leave your name or Twitter username in the comment if you login as Anon, or I will never know who has commented.

There will two winners (one selection each).

Only one entry per person.

The winners will be selected randomly.

I will contact the winners, who will have 28 days to reply with their address details.

All the prizes are provided by me, and are in no way sponsored by any brand.

This is my way of saying Thank you to my blog readers.

Previous winners of giveaways at Chez Maximka are welcome to join in as well, you're not disqualified from winning again, if your name is drawn from the hat.

I will post the prize at my own cost.

Any personal data given (basically the winner's address details) will not be shared with any 3rd parties, and will be deleted after the prize is received by the winner.

The giveaway will end on the 17 March midnight.

Good luck!

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Thank you, everyone, for taking part! Two winners were selected randomly, and were notified on Twitter. I will announce their names here, once they get back to me. And please check your Twitter notifications, it might be you!

Aubergine, okra and red kidney bean casserole

This vegetarian dish is ready in under an hour. With an addition of a spicy paste pot to the combination of aubergines, okra and kidney beans you can make it extra warming, thus  perfect for colder days... And so far March has been as fickle as Verdi's "la donna ѐ mobile", giving us sunny spells, then blowing cold winds.

Very Lazy Smoky Spanish Stew slow cooking paste pots was one of the products in February Degustabox. It's a concentrated paste with paprika, red pepper, ground cumin, ground Cayenne and garlic puree. This product is suitable for vegetarians and vegans.
I decided to use it in a vegetarian casserole, or ragu, or stew, it could be called any of these.

Aubergine, okra and kidney bean casserole
Ingredients:
3tbsp olive oil
1 shallot
1 medium carrot
1 medium aubergine
1 x 175g pack of okra
1 x 300g  tin of red kidney beans in water (drained weight 180g)
1 tomato
500g passata
1 x 25g pot of Very Lazy Smoky Spanish Stew
1/1tsp sugar
a 150ml pot of Greek yogurt
fresh coriander
basmati rice

Heat the oil in a heavy-based deep frying pan. Fry a finely chopped shallot for 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add a peeled and chopped carrot, and cubed aubergine. Cook, stirring for 5 minutes.
Slice okra into 3-4 pieces, and add to the vegetables. Drain and rinse red kidney beans and add to the mix. Finally add a chopped tomato and pour passata. Add a pot of Very Lazy Smoky Spanish Stew paste. Stir, lower the heat and cook for 30+ minutes. You might need to add some  water, and a bit of sugar (optional).
In the final minutes of cooking, stir in a pot of Greek yogurt. And add some chopped fresh coriander or parsley.
Serve with basmati rice.

Verdict? The Spanish stew pot definitely packs a punch. When the stew was almost done, I tried a spoonful and gasped, it was rather hot. To make the heat mellower, I added a small pot of Greek yogurt. My husband also commented later that it was on the hot side.
I suppose, it depends on your tastebuds. If you enjoy hot food, use a whole pot, if you prefer milder flavour, perhaps use half of the pot. That's what I will do with the remaining two pots in the pack. I will use half a pot at a time.

Life of Spice American Rub Collection (review + giveaway E: 2 January 2020)

It's cold outside, and the countdown to Christmas is on. Are you trying to think of a gift for someone who enjoys food and cooking? Take a look below for some Christmas gifts inspiration?

Just the other day I was telling you about The Italian Collection from Life of Spice.
Today's foodie gift suggestion is an American Rub Collection.

Life of Spice has an inspiring range of products to please any foodie. They produce premium gourmet rubs and spices which are stored in attractive aluminium tins.
Produced in small batches using the freshest dried herbs and spices, their versatile range offers a variety of delicious flavours.
Excellent with steaks, fish or vegetables, all Life of Spice products are vegetarian and vegan friendly, include no artificial preservatives or E-numbers.
Their produce comes in environmentally friendly aluminium tins that are fully recyclable.

You can also keep these tins to store any dried herbs (from your own garden, or when you buy a big bunch and let them dry) or spices if you buy them in bigger packets from the world  cuisine isles. I love tins, so these tins won't go in the recycling bin, once the spice blends are finished.

Life of Spice American Rub Collection Gift Set lets you add amazing flavours and zing to just about anything. Fantastic for summer outdoors cooking, these spice blends and rubs will enhance winter comfort food as well.

Memphis Belle is an authentic Tennesse Barbecue Rub to provide a Southern taste sensation.
Ingredients: paprika, demerara sugar, sea salt, sugar, mustard, celery seeds, pepper, onion, garlic, chipotle and rice flour.

Kansas City Rib Rub is an authentic Kansas City Barbecue Rub to provide a true taste of the Midwest.
Ingredients: paprika, sea salt, garlic, demerara sugar, mustard, pepper, onion, sugar, Ancho chilli, Cayenne pepper and rice flour.

Much Adobo About Nothing is an authentic Adobo seasoning blend which is perfect as a rub on meats or used in chilli and fajita recipes.
Ingredients: sea salt, paprika, pepper, chipotle powder, oregano, cumin, onion, garlic, demerara sugar and rice flour.

Savannah Gold is an authentic mustard and garlic rub from the Deep South to give a taste of Georgia at its stunning best.
Ingredients: mustard, sea salt, demerara sugar, pepper, garlic, sugar, onion, turmeric and rice flour.

Sweet Home Alabama is a superb Southern spice rub that offers rich smoky heat and fragrant herbs.
Ingredients: paprika, sea salt, garlic, smoked paprika, onion, sugar, pepper, Cayenne pepper, Ancho chilli, oregano, basil, sage, mustard and rice flour.

By now, I have tried all of the above in different dishes (pescatarian + vegetarian).
Roast vegetables and fruit - like sweet peppers, onion, courgettes, tomatoes and grapes - with Sweet Home Alabama spice rub acquired that slightly smoky flavour and were delicious.

Sweet potato and tomato soup worked well with a warm note of Memphis Belle, with it combination of paprika, demerara, and celery among other ingredients.

I cooked it last week for dinner. I had a very big sweet potato, which I cubed and cooked in salted boiling water until the sweet potato was soft. Add the spice and pour in the contents of a plain tinned tomato soup. Mash the sweet potatoes with the fork. Serve with a dash of cream and sprinkle some crunchy roasted corns and peas on top (optional).

Savannah Gold was perfect for a roast sea bass.

Warm squash salad with wild mushrooms, tomatoes, artichokes, cheese, rocket and cashew nuts was another tasty dinner meal. Roast the cubed squash with Kansas City rib rub, then toss together with the other ingredients.

Kansas City Rib Rub will add a lovely zingy note to the red cabbage with apples.

As you can see from the recipe suggestions above, The American Rub Collection will work with a variety of recipes - stews, soups, roasts of all kinds, and will add a twist to many a classic recipe.

American Collection will make a lovely Christmas gift for foodies. The box looks stylish, and tins will keep the herb and salt blends fresh for longer.

If you place any order through The Life of Spice, you will receive 1 free tin with each collection ordered using the following code: LOS-NDBLG

Now if you like the sound of this gift set, you have a chance to win it.
Please check the T&Cs at the end of the widget.
Please also note that my blog is only hosting a widget, I am not responsible for selecting a winner, contacting them for address details or sending the prize.

Good luck!

 The Life of Spice Giveaway #13

Sweet and sour aubergine ragu with oyster mushrooms

November is being hailed as a World Vegan Month. While no-one in our family is a vegan, I cook lots of vegetable dishes that just happen to be vegan-friendly.
Aubergines and potatoes are my most favourite vegetables, I am happy to eat them as often as possible.
A few years ago I tried to grow my own aubergines, but there was one plague after another - slugs, caterpillars, some kind of mould etc, so I've not succeeded. After that gardening disaster I just buy them in the shops.
I rarely peel the aubergines (unless the recipe asks for that specifically). The modern varieties are not bitter, and I don't pre-salt them either to remove bitterness.
Sweet and sour aubergine ragu with oyster mushrooms is a tasty comfort food.

Sweet and sour aubergine ragu with oyster mushrooms
Ingredients:
1 red onion
5+tbsp olive oil
2 medium carrots, grated
2 medium aubergines
1 sweet pepper
1-2 clove of garlic
2 big tomatoes
3-4tbsp fresh lemon juice
2tbsp Clarks maple syrup
a punnet of oyster mushrooms
fresh dill (optional)

The sweet pepper is listed in the ingredients list, but is missing in the photo, as I added it after I took the photo

Start by frying a finely chopped red onion in 2 tbsp olive oil, keep stirring for 3-4 minutes, then add grated carrots, and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
Cube the aubergines and slice a pepper, add to the onion and carrot mix, with more of olive oil.
Aubergines tend to absorb quite a lot of oil, so if you're counting calories, add a dash of water, and cook stirring frequently.
Add a finely chopped clove of garlic, chopped tomatoes, lemon juice and maple syrup. You might need a big glug of water. Cover the pan with the lid, and cook simmering, on low heat, for half an hour or so, until the aubergines are soft.
Add the mushrooms in the last five minutes of cooking.
Serve with rice, or as a side dish to a meat course. Sprinkle with fresh herbs, like dill or parsley.
If you don't like oyster mushrooms, they can be easily swapped for chestnut mushrooms.
I served the ragu with the arancini (rice balls).

In this recipe I used Clarks Original maple syrup, which was one of the products in the latest Degustabox food box. It's a natural blend of Pure Canadian maple syrup and carob fruit syrup. It's suitable for both vegetarians and vegans.

If you enjoy cooking with aubergines, check out the following recipes:

Aubergine curry (Indian recipe)

Aubergine ikra (Russian recipe)

Caponata (Sicilian recipe)

Pasta 'ncasiata (Sicilian recipe)

Freekeh with aubergines and cashews

What are your favourite aubergine-based recipes?

Butternut squash and cashew curry

Where do you get inspiration for new cooking ideas? For me it could be anything: though I don't watch many cooking shows on TV these days (apart from the GBBO, and even that I find rather tedious this year), I buy a lot of cook books, subscribe to Veggie magazine and read weekend food supplements (The Guardian's Feast magazine is my top choice for foodie discoveries).

A week ago, we stopped in Costa in between shopping trips. Eddie had his panino while I ordered a cup of latte and a toasted teacake. Looking for what to browse, while I was having a latte, I spotted a Weekend magazine, which had excellent healthy recipes. That week there was a big selection of Dr Moseley's recipes. I liked the look of a Caribbean Coconut & Vegetable Curry, and even took a photo of the recipe.

I have adapted it, skipping some of the ingredients (none of us are keen on kale. Healthy it might be, but we don't like the taste or the texture), adding some of my own, and changing quantities, but overall it's a recipe inspired by Dr Moseley's healthy-eating diet. I believe the original recipe comes from his book called The Clever Guts Diet.

As I mentioned earlier this month, I received a few products from the Whole Foods Online shop, including a bag of whole cashews. I have posted a recipe for a sweet dish, including cashews - see Cashew Apricot Slice.

Cashews are high in protein and healthy fats which could assist in controlling healthy cholesterol levels. They contain a host of vitamins and minerals, essential for daily bodily function.
Whole cashews from Whole Foods Online are raw, unsalted and unroasted. As such, they are a versatile ingredient on many sweet and savoury recipes. They also make a tasty snack.

Now it's a turn of a savoury recipe. It just happened to be a vegan recipe, but it's an accidentally vegan one.  I have cooked vegetarian/vegan curries in the past before, with the chickpeas, but it's the first time I made a curry with black eyed beans.
They make a nice alternative, but if you don't like the taste, they could be swapped for another kind of beans easily.

Butternut squash and cashew curry (serves 4-5)
Ingredients:
4tbsp mild olive oil
1/2 big red onion, chopped finely
1 medium carrot
1tsp curry leaves (optional)
1tsp Malay curry powder (or any curry powder you have)
1tsp ground turmeric
a 4-5cm long piece of fresh ginger, grated
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/2 lime
a pack of butternut squash wedges (385g)
1 red sweet pepper
1 tin of coconut milk, reduced fat
1 tin of black eyed beans (400g, drained weight 235g)
70g whole cashews

In a large frying pan heat the olive oil and start frying a finely chopped onion, with the curry leaves and chopped carrot. Add all the spices - the curry powder, turmeric, fresh ginger and chopped garlic. Squeeze in the juice of half a lime. Cook, stirring, for about 3-4 minutes, then add the cubed butternut squash and sliced sweet pepper.
Pour the coconut milk over the squash, add the beans and cashews, lower the heat, cover the pan with the lid, and cook for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally, and adding some hot water if necessary, if the sauce becomes too thick. The squash should be cooked through.

Serve hot, with rice or without, and a wedge of lime on the side.

Disclosure: As mentioned above, I received a bag of cashews from Whole Foods Online for the purposes of using in a recipe.