best ever pulse recipe that your family love

[eggybrokenoff]

trying to get back into cooking after a) being historically useless and b) after trying to get better, getting pregnant and too sick to even approach fridge. I am ok cooking meat classics but need to keep costs down and want a nice staple midweek beany curry, or chilli or soup of something that will be filling and yummy, healthy but cheap.

lentil soup - sorry, no actual recipe as I cook by look and taste, but ingredients are

carrots, pre-fried onion, stock or stock powder, garlic, salt, pepper - cooked & pureed.

then add tin lentils and a bit of honey. you can add a bit of creme fraiche too

you can also make it with butternut squash instead of carrots, or half/half.

chickpea pasta - puree raw red bell peppers, spring onions or leek, garlic, basil and thyme, then pour in a saucepan.

add tin tomatoes (plus tomato puree if you wish), garlic oil and cooked chickpeas, plus seasoning, and cook through till bubbling.

mix sauce with cooked pasta.
(if you add curry powder in stead of basil and thyme you get a different dish)

you can add cooked shredded chicken, or sliced and fried chorizo to either dish or sprinkle with crispy bacon

that's about 7-8 different meals right there! Enjoy!

This black bean chilli is really excellent.

Hugh fearlessly eats it all has a nice recipe for leek and cannelloni bean soup in his veg everyday book. This recipe.

sweet potato and spinach dhal also really good.

Hugh's North African veg stew is amazing.
Nigella does a veggie chilli which is also v good. (I have never bothered making the cornbread topping, I just serve with rice)

mmmm some nice suggestions thanks. that dhal looks lovely and I believe dh has that veg book in his vast collection so might actually have to refer to something other than my little good food books!

Bbc good food have a sweet potato and lentil shepherds pie (think they call it vegetarian shepherds pie) which is really nice

I do a roasted vegetable and cannellini bean base and alternate the starch I serve with it. Last week was cous cous and this week I will put it into filo pastry and make a strudel. We all love this and particularly now it is brussell sprout season, they are amazing roasted.

This Sometset stew is out of this world GOOD!
I don't bother with the cider though or replacing the liquid that would have created, consistency just right only using the stock. Please try the cheesy mash too, it's divine!

Black bean quesadilla
Quick, cheap and delicious!!

This mixed bean chilli with a dash of dark chocolate is lovely lovely lovely!!!!

I made a lovely green lentil pasta sauce which DH said he preferred to meat bolognese. Just onion, carrot and celery (cut up in food processor for ease) fried till soft and then add passata, tin of tomatoes, can of beans (I put haricot and cannalinni beans in) plus big handful of green lentils and some oregano and basil. Then cook till lentils are soft - mine took just over an hour. Served with spaghetti and grated cheese - even DD aged 4 loved it!

Can also recommend Hugh's North African stew a favourite here as well!

Dhal - fry onion, cumin seeds, turmeric, mustard seeds. Add green chilli, red lentils, water (just enough to cover the lentils, top up if needed). Cook. Add coconut cream. make a tarka of onion rings, cumin, mustard seeds, chilli flakes. Stir in. Add s&p and loads of corinader.

chickpeas in the food p and wizz round, add some cumin, garlic and lemon juice - great dip with carrots.

there are some great lentil and bean recipes on fat free vegan blog

Kidney bean and mushroom burgers:
Cook 1 chopped onion and 1 chopped clove of garlic in oil until soft. Add 1tsp each of cumin, turmeric and ground coriander and cook for 1 minute.
Add 115g chopped mushrooms and cook until soft.
Tip 400g tin of kidney beans into a bowl and mash. Stir in the mushroom mixture.
Make into burgers, brush with some oil then grill for approx 5mins each side.
They need a sauce with them as they would be quite dry otherwise, but even my veggie-hating husband thought they were "ok"!

We are pulse lovers so have a few favourites, with different pulses. This Red Lentil Lasagne is always a hit and good to freeze and reheat as needed (probably good for when baby arrives).
These Spanish Butter beans are quintessentially comfort food for the colder days and great as a lunch time dish with bread.
My husband loves this Moroccan carrot and chickpea stew (as does my daughter).