Turns out you can still eat meat without the carbon footprint – just make it plant-based. That’s the ethos behind Henry Firth and Ian Theasby’s new book. The duo behind the best-selling BOSH! series have released (dun, dun, dun...) Meat, which shows you how to cook delicious dishes that feel and taste like meat, but are in fact 100 per cent plant-based. After “giving veganism a whirl” for a month in 2015 (“before it was cool,” they add) – partly prompted by a desire to improve their health and partly after watching the eye-opening environmental documentary Cowspiracy – the pair made the switch permanent and launched BOSH. The rest, they say, is history – and it’s certainly a successful one. But going cold turkey (ahem) wasn’t all smooth sailing. “Initially, the main thing we missed was choice,” Theasby tells The Independent. Back in 2015, when he walked into a restaurant or a supermarket, there simply wasn’t much on offer. “In Pret, you’d get a hummus wrap if you were lucky. If you went to Tesco, you might get a really dry, crumbly falafel sandwich and that was it,” he says. But, fast forward eight years, “you walk into a supermarket today and it’s not what can I eat, but what shall I eat? Because there’s so much choice.” Theasby and Firth are the first to admit that even enduring vegans get cravings sometimes. In their new book, they say: that’s okay! Plants can be meat too. “If you think about a burger, it can made from an animal or it can be made from a plant. We accept that now,” says Firth. It might be strange to hear a vegan say that “we should celebrate meat” but “it’s got wonderful flavours, wonderful textures, but you can make it from plants, either from using vegetables or using some of those products that are now everywhere in the supermarket, which are pretty damn good.” The keyword is texture, says Theasby. “One thing that people lack when they first start eating plant-based is texture, so what we wanted to do was produce a book that was packed full of bite and chew so your mouth doesn’t miss anything when you first go plant-based. Some of the recipes in there you would not be able to guess are plant-based.” The recipes in Meat use a combination of meat alternative products and straight-up plants to achieve this. For example, there’s a section at the start that details how difficult it was to recreate bacon. Using a mix of chickepas and seitan (also known as vital wheat gluten), with flavourings like miso and colourings like beetroot, they create a kind of red and white dough that is rolled out, kneaded and cut into the shape of a piece of bacon. “It looks like bacon, it has the same mouthfeel as bacon, it’s got the same flavour profile as bacon,” says Theasby. “It’s a magic thing.” Don’t let that put you off, says Firth. “People do get a bit freaked out and they’re scared of ultra-processed stuff and of what’s in it. It’s good to read the label but it’s also good to not be scared by new things just because they’re new.” If you aren’t freaked out, however, we’ve got three sneakpeak recipes from the new book to put your mind at ease. Crispy Korean-style ‘chicken’ wings “These wings are SO crispy and delicious! Seriously, we love them. You can eat them as they come or you could push the boat out and serve them in a sandwich with a little plant-based mayo, kimchi and lettuce with a side of fries. They’d also go well with a side of rice and a little salad. Whichever way you choose, we’re pretty sure you’ll love them as much as we do.” Serves: 4-6 as a side Ingredients: For the sticky marinade: 4 garlic cloves 2.5cm piece of fresh ginger 150g gochujang 120ml toasted sesame oil 2 tbsp rice vinegar 2 tbsp light soy sauce 4 tbsp light brown sugar ¼ tsp ground white pepper For the ‘chicken’: 2 x 280g blocks extra-firm tofu 6 tbsp cornflour ½ tsp sea salt ¼ tsp ground white pepper Vegetable oil, for shallow frying For the garnish: 1 fresh chilli or a pinch of dried chilli flakes 1 spring onion A few toasted sesame seeds, for sprinkling Equipment: Fine grater or microplane Blender (optional) Frying pan Saucepan Method: Line a plate or large bowl with kitchen paper Make the marinade: Peel the garlic and ginger and grate with a tine grater or microplane. Combine with the rest of the ingredients and either blitz in a blender or combine in a bowl and stir into a nice smooth paste Prepare the chicken: Press the tofu to remove excess liquid. Tear the tofu into rough chunks about 3 x 2cm. Add the tofu to a mixing bowl along with half the marinade and fold to coat. Sprinkle the cornflour, salt and pepper into the bowl and fold to coat and combine, making sure the tofu is really well covered. Cook the chicken: Pour 1cm of oil into a frying pan and heat over a medium-high heat until the oil bubbles around the end of a wooden spoon that’s held in the oil. Carefully lower the tofu chunks into the hot oil and cook for 2-3 minutes until golden and crispy, turning them regularly to ensure a really even cook. Remove carefully and drain on a plate lined with kitchen paper. Finish the dish: Put the remaining marinade into a saucepan, bring to a simmer and cook until thick and shiny. Add the cooked tofu to the sauce and quickly fold it through to ensure a good coverage. Spoon the tofu into a serving bowl. Trim and thinly slice the spring onion for the garnish and finely chop the chilli (if using fresh chilli). Garnish the tofu with the chilli or chilli flakes, spring onion and toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately with some cold beers! Lebanese-style ‘lamb’ flatbreads with minty yoghurt “Making flatbread may feel like a labour of love but, really, it involves just a handful of cupboard ingredients and a few kneads to create delicious flatbreads that are impossibly soft on the inside with a glorious golden crust on the outside. You could serve them with anything, but we’ve stacked them high with a crumbled tempeh lamb spiced with mint, lemon and chilli, and drizzled them with a zesty mint yoghurt. “This recipe is good for 2, so if you need to serve 4 simply double everything. Deeeeelicious!” Serves: 2 Ingredients: For the flatbreads: 140g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast 1 tsp caster sugar 1 tsp baking powder 1 tsp dried mixed herbs 1 tsp table salt 80ml lukewarm water 1 tbsp olive oil Plant-based butter, softened, for brushing For the ‘lamb’ topping: 300g tempeh 1 onion 2 garlic cloves splash of olive oil 1 tsp ground cumin ½ tsp ground coriander ½ tsp ground nutmeg 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp chilli powder 2 tbsp mint jelly 1 lemon Sea salt For the mint yoghurt: A few fresh mint leaves 150g plain plant-based yoghurt 1 tbsp mint jelly 1 lemon Sea salt To serve: Handful of fresh mint leaves Handful of pomegranate seeds 1 tbsp toasted pine nuts Pinch of dried chilli flakes Black pepper Equipment: Large saucepan 2 large flat pans (or 1, and cook the flatbreads in batches) Pastry brush Method: Make the flatbread dough: In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (the flour, yeast, sugar, baking powder, mixed herbs and salt) until there are no lumps. Pour in the lukewarm water and olive oil and bring the mixture together to form a dough ball (ensuring you incorporate every part of the mixture). Place the dough ball on a lightly floured surface and knead for 6-10 minutes until the ball bounces back when pressed. Place the ball back in the bowl, cover and leave somewhere warm for at least 30 minutes Make the lamb topping: Crumble the tempeh into small pieces using your hands. Peel and dice the onion and garlic. Place a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the olive oil. Add the diced onion, garlic and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 5-10 minutes until the onion begins to soften. At this point, add the spices and crumbled tempeh with a dash of water. Mix well and cook for 5 minutes, then stir through the mint jelly. Halve the lemon and squeeze in some lemon juice, catching any pips in your free hand. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 10 minutes Make the mint yoghurt: Thinly slice the mint leaves. Put the yoghurt in a small bowl and mix through the mint jelly, sliced mint leaves and a pinch of salt. Halve the lemon and squeeze in some juice, catching any pips in your free hand. Spoon into a small serving bowl Cook the flatbread: Place 2 large flat pans over a medium heat (over separate flames). Take the flatbread mixture from the bowl and halve it. Place each piece on a lightly floured work surface and push down using your hands or a rolling pin to create a round, flatbread shape – it should be quite thin as it will become thicker in the pan. Once the pans are hot, add the flatbreads and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden all over and cooked through. If you don’t have two flat pans, cook the flatbreads in one flat pan, one at a time. Assemble the flatbreads: Place the flatbreads on 2 serving plates and brush with some butter. Spoon the lamb mixture on top of the flatbreads then drizzle over some mint yoghurt. Time to serve: Chop some mint leaves and sprinkle them over the top of the flatbreads, along with a pinch of black pepper, the pomegranate seeds, pine nuts and chilli flakes (or your favourite toppings) Orzo ‘meat’-balls “Orzo – a type of pasta – is an ingredient we don’t use very often but when we do use it, we’re always left wondering why we don’t use it more often because it’s lovely. On the subject of lovely, the inspiration for this magnificent recipe came from the queen of cooking herself, Nigella Lawson.” Serves: 4 Ingredients: For the meatballs: 20g flat-leaf parsley (including the stalks) 3 garlic cloves 2 tbsp chia seeds 600g plant-based mince 3 tbsp panko breadcrumbs 4 tbsp nooch (nutritional yeast) or grated plantbased parmesan 2 tsp sea salt 2 tsp ground black pepper For the sauce: 1 small onion 20ml olive oil 1 tsp sea salt flakes 250ml plant-based white wine 2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes 3 tbsp tomato puree 1 tsp paprika ½ tsp dried chilli flakes 1 tbsp red wine vinegar 1 tbsp light brown sugar 2 tbsp plant-based butter 285ml cold water 250g orzo pasta To serve: Handful of fresh parsley Sprinkle of nooch (nutritional yeast) or plant-based parmesan Small bag of fresh rocket Squeeze of lemon juice Equipment: Large heavy-based saucepan with lid Make the meatball mixture Finely chop the parsley and set aside Peel and finely chop the garlic Soak the chi a seeds in a bowl with 4 tablespoons of cold water for about 10 minutes until it forms a gel Ingredients: Place all the ingredients for the meatballs into a large bowl and mix together with your hands, being sure not to overmix, as it will make the meatballs dense-textured and heavy. Make the meatballs: Pinch out pieces of the mix and form them into walnutsize balls, putting them on a clean plate as you go. You should get about 20 meatballs. Make the sauce: Peel and finely dice the onion. Heat the oil in a heavybased saucepan that’s large enough to take the meatballs and pasta. Add the chopped onion with the salt and cook over a medium heat, stirring every now and again, for about 10 minutes until softened. Add the wine and simmer for a further 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, tomato puree, paprika, chilli flakes, vinegar, brown sugar and butter. Fill both the empty tins with the water, give them a good swill, pour into the pan, bring the sauce to a simmer, put the lid on and cook for 30-35 minutes. Cook the meatballs: Drop the meatballs gently into the simmering sauce. Bring back to the boil, turn the heat down again to a simmer, put the lid back on and simmer the meatballs for 15 minutes. Add the pasta: Tip in the orzo, stir gently and increase the heat to bring the mixture back to a bubble. Simmer for 15 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked. You will have to stir it occasionally throughout this time to make sure the orzo isn’t sticking to the bottom of the pan. Time to serve: Chop the parsley (to serve). Spoon the pasta into bowls, sprinkle with parsley, nooch and a handful of rocket, add a squeeze of lemon juice and tuck in. ‘BOSH! MEAT’ by Henry Firth and Ian Theasby (HQ, HarperCollins). Read More The dish that defines me: Mallini Kannan’s baked honey-soy salmon Breakfast for dinner and four other things you should cook this week How to save money in the kitchen according to top chefs Money-saving chilli con carne that absolutely slaps with flavour How to pimp up your instant ramen (and save money) Do it for the Gram: Speedy but spectacular goat’s cheese linguine

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Steve Clarke has told his Scotland players to “stop this run” of defeats next month after losing 4-1 to France in Lille. The Scots went into the friendly knowing they had qualified for the 2024 European Championships after Spain beat Norway at the weekend to ensure a top-two finish in Group A. Scotland had lost 2-0 to Spain last week on the back of a 3-1 loss to England at Hampden Park in the 150th Heritage Anniversary match and the French were even classier. Clarke made eight changes from Seville – goalkeepers Liam Kelly and Zander Clark played a half each on their debuts. Scotland stunned the home side when midfielder Billy Gilmour guided in the opener after 11 minutes – his first ever senior goal. However, France defender Benjamin Pavard scored two headers, skipper Kylian Mbappe added a third from the spot before the break after a VAR intervention saw referee Tobias Stieler judge Scotland defender Liam Cooper had held Olivier Giroud and substitute Kingsley Coman hammered in a fourth. After victory in their first five Euro qualifiers, Scotland have lost three in a row and Clarke wants to get that winning feeling back in the final two qualifiers against Georgia next month before the final game against Norway. He said: “We can take away the memory of the qualification but we lost two games in the camp. “We don’t like losing. I don’t want them to be comfortable losing or happy to lose. We have lost three in a row now and I have asked them to make sure that when we got to Georgia that we stop this run Steve Clarke “We spoke about that after the game. It is important we set our standards higher than that. “We have lost three in a row now and I have asked them to make sure that when we got to Georgia that we stop this run. “We want to finish on the same points as Spain so the target is to finish with 21 point which will make it a good campaign.” Clarke, who was “happy” with his team selection, acknowledged the superiority of the home side. He said: “I thought we started the game really well, the first 15 minute was good and we got ourselves in front. “To concede a goal from a corner was disappointing because we know France can score from open play and we try not to give goals away from set plays. “The third goal – I don’t think VAR should have got involved in the decision, it was soft and when the referee goes there he has to be strong to stick with his original decision. “Both players were at it and that takes the game away from us. “The second half was OK but France are always a threat with their pace and power and quality. “So lots to learn, lots to improve. We know we are not at that level yet. “It is level we are going to strive to get to and the harder we strive the better team we will be.” After sealing qualification to Euro 2024 with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands on Friday, France boss Didier Deschamps was happy to finish the camp off with a convincing win He said: “It was a very good week, When you win you are always happy. “The most important thing was against the Netherlands on Friday night and the fact that we have shown so much quality tonight as well, it is a great satisfaction for us. “We created lots of chances against a team that can defend pretty well and has a lot of qualities. So we are very happy.” Read More Michael O’Neill wants Shea Charles to learn from dismissal on frustrating night Republic of Ireland heading in the right direction – striker Callum Robinson Scotland come back to earth as France recover from early fright Shea Charles dismissed as Northern Ireland lose at home to Slovenia Jordan Henderson has ‘no regrets’ over Saudi Arabia move despite being booed Rassie Erasmus expects England to have ‘some beef’ with South Africa

In case you haven’t heard, Monday, July 24 is International Self-Care Day. The annual holiday is meant to be a subtle reminder to care for your mind, body, and soul seven days a week, twenty-four hours a day (hence, the date!). But, how do you go about investing in self-care? When time (and budgets) are already crunched, it can be hard to carve out some things that are just meant for you. If that sounds like your struggle, we’ve got you covered. Part of our job at Most Wanted is to test out everything — from buttery soft leggings to TikTok viral cleaning products to spine-aligning mattresses — in every budget to let you know what purchases are actually worth it, and what will actually make your life easier, better, and even more functional.

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