Going vegan and improvising: grain and bean cakes

Ciao, ragazzi. Annalena apologizses for her absence.  She has not been well, has been busy, travelling, and dealing with the ravages of a pet who is in his senior years, and not well. So she has not been up to sharing her culinary adventures with you.  She will try to catch up here.  In this post, we are going to explore how and when you can substitute. Annalena did this, and so can you.

What you see above, are amaranth and white bean cakes, with various seasonings and additives. They were supposed to be quinoa cakes, but when Annalena went to her cupboard, she found that she was out of quinoa.  She was, however, loaded with amaranth. She read the recipe, and ultimately, this is a recipe about the beans, and all else is there for binding and adding flavor.  The beans , she had.  And we'll get to that as well.

The recipe also called for rolled oats,  which Annalena did not have in the house (the Guyman and she eat steel cut oats for breakfast.  The oats were intended for binding, clearly, and steel cut oats will not "cut it" for that).  Further, the recipe called for pignoli nuts.  Now, Annalena has these in the house:  SOMEWHERE.  She was not going to run around looking for them, especially since there was a container of roasted walnuts (and one of pecans), in her cupboard, where the quinoa should have been.  And, finaly, the recipe called for Worcestershire sauce, which again, Annalena has... SOMEWHERE.   But in reading the recipe, it was again, also clear, that the Worcestershire was there to add "umani," that mystical sixth taste.  Tamari, or soy sauce , will do that as well.  

So here is what the original recipe called for:  1/2 cup of quinoa,  one 15 ounce can of white beans, drained, 1/3 cup rolled oats,  1/4 cup pine nuts,  1 tablespoon of dijon mustard,  1 tablespoon of w

Worcestershire sauce, 2 teaspoons of fresh thyme , a teaspoon of fennel seeds, a teaspoon of grated lemon zest, and salt and pepper.  

You will see what Annalena changed.  And she gives you permission to make other changes. She is also going to address the issue of "canned" beans herein.  Pay heed.  

Okay, so if you use quinoa, you will cook it in lots of salted water.  Annalena's recipe called for 3 quarts of boiling salted for the half cup of grain.  This is a waste of water.  A quart and a half will do fine.  You will probably be buying this stuff in a package, so follow the directions.  If you don't, then cook it for twenty minutes, and drain it.  

It is somewhat important to get excess water out, especially if you are using canned beans.  If you are not,  it is not such a big deal.

To the beans:  you can use any bean you like in this recipe.  Ragazzi, you know how Annalena feels about canned beans. She had cooked up a batch and had them.  Essentially, you need two cups of the cooked guys.  The canned ones will stay very moist and soft, even after you drain them.  As cooked ones will have a texture dependent on YOU,   pay heed, because you will want to puree this stuff.  Here are Annalena's cooked  beans:

Now, put the beans, and the grains into your food processor, and add the oats, or, as Annalena did, an equivalent amount of panko bread crumbs  (you can use regular ones too.  Probably, you could also use cooked rice), and then your nuts (Annalena did use walnuts).   Let's look at the mustard now.  There are various types of dijon mustard, and they vary in strength.  If you LIKE strong tasting mustards, then get an authentic French type, and use the whole tablespoon.  If you have a milder one, do the same.  And if the taste and zing of mustard is not to your liking, cut it back.  Also add your Worcestershire,  soy or tamari sauce.  If you do not have thyme, use something else.  Annalena made a second batch lately, and used rosemary.    If you don't have the fennel seeds,  think about what flavor profile you like, because the rest of the ingredients are not that strong, and the spice will come out in the final flavor profile.    The lemon adds the zing.  Annalena will not mind if you add the juice too. 

Now, this is what happened when Annalena did her pureeing:

This is NOT quite what you want.  The beans were too dry,  because Annalena cooks her beans dry.  She added quarter cups of water until she got a smooth puree, and all was fine.  If you use canned beans, you won't have the problem. 

When you have a good texture, wet your hands.  This is important.  This is sticky, and it will be hard to form the cakes without some moisture on your paws.  If you take the stuff right out of the processor, make sure you take the sharp blade out.     You can do things like measure equivalent quantities, or , like Annalena, guestimate. 

Annalena likes to refrigerate these overnight to make them firmer, but you don't have to. What you DO need to do is use a non-stick pan to cook them, and make sure not to worry as they soak up the oil - which they will.  You may use up to three tablespoons of oil to get these guys cooked.  Use a medium heat level, and cook them for 3-4 minutes on each side until you get some color. 

 Serve these forth with a little sauce or salsa or something, to make them taste really good.  They are good on their own (Annalena had some for breakfast today),  but they are better with that little kick.  The picture above, is some jarred, pumpkin salsa that Annalena had.  This was good.  Pick your flavor for the babies, and do em good.  

This isn't very hard, ragazzi.  If , like Annalena you try to have beans in the house at all times, you're ready.  Go for it.  A nice, satisfying vegan meal, that will delight you.  Annalena promises that.