Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

You can make this comfort food classic with a tin of baked beans, soy mince and vegetables. I buy textured vegetable protein from Holland and Barrett, it’s very cheap and you can use it to make a range of meals. I use it for bolognese, chilli, tacos, pasties etc. It’s a very budget friendly vegan food

Yield; 4-6 servings Cook time; Around one hour

You’ll need;

1. One tablespoon of oil
2. Two celery stalks, minced
3. One carrot, peeled and diced
4. Two cloves of garlic, minced
5. One brown onion, diced
6. 50g/1.8oz textured vegetable protein
7. 150ml hot vegetable stock
8. One 400g/14oz tin of chopped tomatoes
9. One 400g/14oz tin of baked beans
10. One teaspoon of both dried rosemary and thyme
11. Three large potatoes
12. A knob of dairy free butter
13. A splash of plant milk

Method;

• Start by heating the oil in a large frying pan over a medium heat. Add the celery, carrot, garlic and onion, allow them to soften for ten minutes, stirring occasionally
• Add the tvp into a shallow dish, pour over the stock and cover the dish, and give it 10 minutes to absorb the liquid. If you’re in the UK, you can buy tvp from Holland and Barrett, or bulk buy/health food shops. It’s cheap, a great source of protein, and is naturally low in fat. It can be used for anything that calls for mince. Great for chilli, spaghetti bolognese etc etc. You can choose to hydrate it with hot water, I find stock gives it a much better flavour personally
• Add the mince to the vegetables in the frying pan. Sprinkle over the herbs, then pour in the chopped tomatoes and baked beans. I like to blend the tomatoes for a smoother sauce. Give the sauce another 15 minutes or so to thicken, season to taste with salt and black pepper
• Once the sauce has thickened pour it into an ovenproof dish. Now you can work on the mash (or do this while the sauce is cooking to cut down the cook time)
• Peel the potatoes and chop them into small uniform pieces, this ensures they cook evenly. Bring a pot a water to a boil, add the potato, and cook until they’re fork tender. The cooking time for this will depend on how big or small your pieces of potato are
• Mash the potatoes along with the knob of dairy free butter and milk. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper, then layer the mash into the dish
  
• Bake at 220°C/200°C fan assisted/400°F for 30 minutes. Once cooked, leave it to stand for five to ten minutes before serving