Good news for herbivores, Tuesday November 1 marks World Vegan Day.
World Vegan Day is an annual event celebrated by vegans globally on November 1.
It was established in 1994 to celebrate the 50th anniversary of The Vegan Society.
And with a whole day dedicated to eating meat and dairy-free, what better excuse is there to get some ingredients together and whip up a delicious plate of food?
Here are five tasty free-from recipes you can try at home. Who knows, your friends and family might like them so much they decide to go vegan too.
Tesco: Sweet corn Relish with Tortilla Chips (serves four)
Ingredients
25g vegan margarine
One lime, zested and juiced
One red chili, finely chopped
Two corns on the cob, husk and silk removed
One avocado, finely chopped
100g of cherry tomatoes, diced
Handful of fresh coriander leaves, chopped
Two tablespoons of extra-virgin olive oil
Tortilla chips, to serve (optional)
Method
- Preheat a griddle pan or barbecue until hot.
- Mix together the margarine, lime zest and chopped chili; season. Brush the corn with the spiced margarine, then griddle or barbecue for 8 to 10 minutes, or until golden and slightly charred. Turn it frequently to stop it burning.
- Remove from the heat and allow to cool. Using a large, sharp knife, scrape the kernels into a bowl. Stir through the avocado, tomatoes, coriander, oil and lime juice. Season to taste.
Serve the relish with tortilla chips as a snack or as a starter.
Vegan Nachos (serves one)
Ingredients
For the Nachos
Two large flour tortillas
Half a tin of kidney beans
Two chopped spring onions
Half/quarter of an avocado
One large tomato
Half a lime
For the vegan cheese sauce
200ml of unsweetened, unflavoured almond milk
Five tablespoons of nutritional yeast
One tablespoon of vegan margarine
One tablespoon of plain flour
A pinch each of garlic powder, salt and pepper
Method
- To make the "cheese", melt the margarine. Whisk together the flour and milk, then add it, along with the nutritional yeast to the margarine. Add the seasonings and whisk until it thickens up for five minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the tortillas into triangles and bake for a few minutes until crispy.
- Layer all the ingredients up (mash the avocado and mix with a little lime before you put it on top) and serve.
Tesco: Dairy and Egg-Free Vanilla Cupcakes (makes 12)
Ingredients
For the cupcakes
100g of self-raising flour
50g of caster sugar
Half a teaspoon of baking powder
100ml of soy milk
Two tablespoons of sunflower oil
Half a teaspoon of lemon juice
One and a half teaspoons of vanilla extract
For the icing
200g of icing sugar
Four tablespoons of soy milk
Two teaspoons of vanilla extract
Drop of food colouring
Sprinkles, for decoration
Method
- Preheat the oven to 180C.
- Place cupcake cases into the hollows of a 12-cup bun tin. Measure out the flour, sugar and baking powder into a bowl.
- In a separate bowl, measure out the soy milk and the oil, then stir in the lemon juice and vanilla extract. Tip the soy milk mix into the dry ingredients and whisk quickly until everything is combined. Quickly distribute the mixture evenly across the cake cases. Bake for 25 minutes until slightly browned. (An inserted skewer should come out clean.) Cool on a wire rack.
To make the icing, stir the icing sugar, soy milk, vanilla extract and food colouring together until you have a thick, smooth liquid. Drop a heaped teaspoonful on the top of each cake, allow to spread out fully. Decorate while still wet with sprinkles or sweets as desired. Allow to set.
Aldi: Blueberry and Plum Spiced Jam (serves three)
Ingredients
550g of blueberries
500g of red plums
One flat teaspoon of ground cinnamon
500g of caster sugar
Juice of one lemon
One teaspoon of vanilla essence
400ml of boiling water
Method
- Wash the plums, stone and chop into medium size chunks.
- Pour the boiling water over the sugar in a large saucepan. Add the lemon juice and slowly bring to the boil, stirring to dissolve the sugar.
- Add the chopped plums, cinnamon, vanilla essence and the blueberries. Mix well and bring the mixture back to the boil.
- Simmer, uncovered and cook for about 30 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally until the mixture is thick.
Allow to cool then, whilst still warm, put into some sterilised jars and seal, or put into jars and keep in the refrigerator.
Tesco: Herby Pea Hummus (serves six)
Ingredients
250g of peas
One garlic clove
One tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
One lemon, zested and juiced
One 400g tin of chickpeas, drained (two tablespoons of brine reserved) and rinsed
Two tablespoons of tahini paste
Handful of mint leaves, roughly sliced, plus extra to garnish
Handful of chives, chopped
Crudités, to serve
Griddled pita, to serve
Method
- Cook the peas in a pan of boiling water for two minutes, or until just tender. Drain and run under cold water, then drain again.
- In a food processor, whizz all but a handful of the peas with the garlic, oil, lemon zest and juice, chickpeas and brine, tahini and herbs, until smooth. Season.
Fold through the remaining peas, then spoon into a bowl. Drizzle with a little extra oil and garnish with the extra mint leaves. Serve with pita and/or crudités, as you prefer.
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