The Ordinary Vegan - Sainsbury's Free From - Gluten Free Roasted Pepper Arrabbiata

Sorry for the long blogging break. The Vegan Grindhouse has taken over most of my waking hours of late and we have just returned from a lovely holiday in sunny Devon. However, I am back and blogging. This week TOV is a new frozen product from Sainsbury's. It is a Roasted Pepper Arrabbiata pasta dish which is vegan and wheat/gluten free. The pasta comes in a separate sachet from the arrabbiata sauce and you can oven cook or microwave. The meal was nice, not too spicy with a good texture and flavour, but would have been easy to make from scratch or just as quick to use a jar of sauce and some gluten free pasta. This ready-meal is pricey at £2.50, however for a quick frozen meal which is gluten and wheat free as well as vegan, it provides another option.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

Vegan Recipe of the Week - Spaghetti and Meatballs

I thought it would be nice to make some vegan meatballs to go with spaghetti instead of my usual pasta sauce. Serves 4.

Here is what you need:

For the meatballs:

1 tin of kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 white or red onion, chopped finely
6 button mushrooms. chopped finely
40g breadcrumbs
handful of basil and parsley, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped finely
1 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
4 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:

1 500g carton of pasata
1 tsp apple cyder vinegar
1 tsp agave nectar
1 Tbsp mixed Italian herbs
Salt
Pepper

Spaghetti
Vegan Parmesan Cheese

Method:

Rinse and mash the beans in a large bowl and set to one side.

In a frying pan, add some olive oil and then when hot add the chopped onions, garlic, mushrooms and fresh herbs. Saute for 5 minutes on a medium heat until the onions are turning brown, then add the balsamic vinegar and turn up the heat for 30 seconds to reduce. Once the heat is off add the spices and seasoning.

Add the sauteed mixture to the mashed beans, then stir in the nutritional yeast and breadcrumbs. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge for an hour.

Meanwhile make your sauce by adding all of the sauce ingredients to a saucepan and heating gently for around 10 minutes.

Take your chilled bean mixture from the fridge and shape into 16 meatballs. Heat a little olive oil in a griddle pan and fry the meatballs until coloured all over (around 3 minutes).

Pour your pasta sauce into a casserole dish and gently place the meatballs into the sauce. Bake in the centre of a preheated oven uncovered at 180C for around 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile boil the pasta according the the instructions on the packet and drain. Place into bowls.

Take the sauce and meatball mixture from the oven, give a quick stir to incorporate the meatballs and pour over your spaghetti. Sprinkle with some vegan parmesan and a little fresh basil.

Eat and Enjoy! If you enjoyed this recipe, please click here to see more of my recipes.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx

The Ordinary Vegan - Batchelors Super Pasta 'n' Sauce

The Ordinary Vegan for those new to the blog, is a weekly feature every Monday, sharing an ordinary supermarket or high street product, which just happens to be vegan. This week, is the turn of Batchelors Super Pasta'n'Sauce. The Tomato, Onion & Herb flavour is one of three vegan flavours, and this is sold at most supermarkets, grocery stores and corner shops. The other vegan flavours are Tomato & Mediterranean Veg and Tomato & Basil.

It is a dried packet meal, to which you add boiling water and a knob of vegan butter, and then cook on the hob or in the microwave. The meal takes around 10 minutes to make and is a good base to add other veggies, I often add a handful of olives, mushrooms or just grate some vegan cheese over and cracked black pepper. It serves one person as a meal or two as a side dish.

Alternatively sprinkle with chopped nuts, seeds or a little vegan parmesan. These packets are good to take travelling, camping, to work or just to keep in the cupboard for when you haven't got the time or energy to make a sauce from scratch. 

If home cooking is more your thing, come back tomorrow as every Tuesday is a brand new vegan Recipe of the Week.

Big Vegan Love,

VVx