Lilly Higgins: How to impress a vegan

Cooking for vegans can be tricky to get your head around at first. I tend to add a fried egg on top or a dollop of mayonnaise before realising my mistake.

We often eat vegan meals at home, but always by chance. My sister, a vegetarian, called recently while we were having dinner, and I assured her our pizzas were all vegetarian-friendly.

I pointed out the smoky paprika-marinated aubergine one, the balsamic mushroom one, the feta and olive one, but forgot to mention the tuna hiding beneath. Of course, it was the first one she picked up and bit into.

I usually have beetroot burgers or bean burgers in the freezer, and they are perfect for cooking up when everyone else is eating lamb chops. I have been making this mushroom and bean loaf for a while now and I usually freeze it in thick slices. You could make it in a muffin tray, too; just line each muffin cup with a little greaseproof paper. They are perfect portion-sized vegan meals and they freeze really well. Just pop them in the oven while frozen and heat through; it usually takes about 25 minutes.

Linseed is often used in vegan recipes, especially baking, as a binding agent instead of egg. Chia seeds of psyllium husks do the same job. Nutritional yeast gives this a delicious savoury, almost cheesy taste, but you can just add a pinch of salt instead. Coating kale with a little oil and a sprinkle of nutritional yeast before baking makes incredibly moreish kale chips. It’s really great on popcorn too. It’s often used in dips or nut-based sauces to give a cheesy taste. Nutritional yeast is deactivated so it won’t cause bread to rise or ferment. It’s high in B12 and is a complete protein, so an important food for vegans.

I’ve made lots of variations on this loaf. You can use chickpeas or butter beans in place of the kidney beans. Just remember to use lots of fresh herbs for plenty of flavour.

Smoked paprika, garam masala, chillies or lemon zest all help lift the flavours. This creamy tahini sauce is one I often use to drizzle over burgers – or it’s a perfect dressing for kale salad.