Brett Cobley - What Vegans Eat - Over 100 Simply Delicious Dishes

There are so many reasons to go vegan – and amazing food is a big one! Discovering incredible flavours through simple ingredients, getting creative with your cooking and sharing the love of good food with family and friends is so rewarding. On top of this, you’ll be effortlessly showing compassion for animals and respect for other living creatures, while also experiencing the health benefits of cutting meat and dairy from our diets that have been proven time and again. The impact of animal agriculture on our environment – from deforestation, to the use of fishing nets – is one of the reasons why I am, and always will be, vegan. However, your diet and lifestyle is a very personal choice. So, no matter where you are in your journey to veganism, I hope that this will be the book that helps you cook with confidence and creativity for yourself as well as friends and family, and ultimately encourage you to ponder, why did I ever eat any other way?

Make sure you visit my Instagram page @epivegan, for lots more recipe photos including all the recipes you’ll find in this book!

Top tips for new vegans

When doing anything new it can feel like there is a lot of pressure to get it right first time, and this can lead to negative thinking about the journey to reaching that goal, where one slip-up might lead to giving up. Adopting a vegan diet can take time as you learn more about what’s in your food and you explore new ingredients. So don’t panic – simply take care, read the labels, ask what something contains if you’re not sure, but, most importantly, if you find you’ve eaten something and realised afterwards that it wasn’t vegan, do not despair and don’t give up!

Here are a few of my top tips so you won’t get caught out:

• Look out for milk. One of the most common issues when grabbing lunch or a snack on the go, or doing your weekly shop is that so many things contain hidden milk. This is most prominent in things like snacks: crisps commonly have milk powder in the flavouring, occasionally even in salt and vinegar flavours. Milk is also often hidden by its different names, so watch out for anything with lactic or whey in the name.

• Anti-caking agents can also crop up in unexpected places, and these often contain animal bone – they are called things like ‘bone phosphate’.

The following ingredients are never vegan, so check for these:

ALBUMEN – an egg white protein.

BEESWAX – comes from bees, obviously!

CASEIN – a protein obtained from dairy.

COCHINEAL (CARMINE) – is a dye made from acid extracted from female insects.

CONFECTIONER’S GLAZE – uses shellac, which is made from beetle cocoons.

FOOD-GRADE WAX – often from beeswax, and therefore bees.

GELATINE – jellified animal fats, often used as a gelling agent in food.

ISINGLASS – a gelatine obtained from fish.

LARD – animal fat.

RENNET – this is used in cheesemaking and comes from milk.

VITAMIN D3 – often comes from fish, beef liver or eggs (unless specified as a vegan alternative).

WHEY – a protein from milk.

Pantry essentials

NUTRITIONAL YEAST

A pantry must-have! Available in most supermarkets, health food stores and online. Nutritional yeast has a cheesy, nutty taste and is a great source of B vitamins, including B12, which is often referred to as a hard-to-get vitamin in the vegan diet. It contains antioxidants and has been proven to lower cholesterol, but another great factor is the amount of protein it contains – 9g per serving, which is 20 per cent of most people’s recommended intake.

GOOD FOR: Thickening sauces and adding a slightly cheesy taste!

VEGAN CREAM

This is a great addition to the pantry and is widely sold in all major supermarkets by brands such as Alpro as soy cream, and Oatly as oat cream.

GOOD FOR: Soy cream is perfect for creamy pasta sauces or for pouring over a tasty steaming dessert. It’s a great alternative to single cream; it can’t be whipped like a double cream; but that’s where coconut cream comes in!

TOFU

Great to have in the cupboard or fridge. The silken version usually comes in a tetra pack; it’s long-life and doesn’t require refrigeration, while firm tofu comes in a block packed with water, either plain, flavoured with spices or smoked.

GOOD FOR: Silken tofu is amazing for recreating egg-style dishes and creamy sauces. Firm tofu is perfect for cubing, slicing, marinating and baking or frying.

TINNED CHICKPEAS

I’ve saved the best to last. Chickpeas are unbeatable for versatility and they are the perfect pulse to fill you up!

GOOD FOR: Always have chickpeas handy and remember to save the juice, or aquafaba as it’s known, for making mayonnaise, meringues, omelettes and so much more. The chickpeas themselves can be used in vegan tuna, hummus and koftes.

SPILL THE BEANS

Beans and pulses are a pantry staple as they are an excellent protein source.

GOOD FOR: Everything from a mince replacement to cooking up minestrones or beans on toast, they are the perfect addition to any dish when you want an extra boost of fibre and protein. The types I always have to hand in tins are:

HARICOT BEANS

GOOD FOR: You’ll be most familiar with these as those in the classic tin of baked beans. Perfect for creating your own beans on toast or served in a BBQ sauce.

GREEN LENTILS

GOOD FOR: Replacing minced meat in cottage pie, Bolognese or simply adding to a dish as a protein-boosting side. Plus they are quick to cook, and if bought tinned they are even quicker!

RED LENTILS

GOOD FOR: A curry or dhal dish and ideal when you want to make a cheap, satisfying, wholesome meal.

KIDNEY BEANS

GOOD FOR: You’ll have undoubtedly been using these nutritionally packed beans in your chillies already. They are also great for making spicy bean spreads or adding to tacos.

BUTTER BEANS

The only ‘butter’ you’ll ever really need! Perhaps the heartiest of all the beans.

GOOD FOR: Perfect for taking on flavour, these are generally big beans and are really satisfying to bake or add to a minestrone as they have an almost creamy texture.

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