List of All Articles with Tag 'food'

Global food prices ticked up last month after Russia pulled out of a deal to allow the safe passage of ships carrying grain from Ukrainian ports.

PARIS The United Nations food agency's world price index rebounded in July from two-year lows as vegetable oil

Product kiosks are popping up at Costco locations, casting doubt over the role of human product demonstrators.

By Michelle Nichols UNITED NATIONS More than 75 countries will "commit to take action to end the use

We all know how important it is for the whole family to follow a nutritious diet and enjoy tasty meals together, but with the chaos that the school summer holidays bring, that can be no mean feat. We are here to help with five simple yet flavoursome recipes from Discover Great Veg to keep everyone at the dinner table happy and well nourished. With a range of cuisines to choose from and packed full of delicious vegetables, the whole family can enjoy sharing healthy meals together. For a fun family mealtime idea, the vegan Mexican bean, spinach and nacho crumble will have everyone coming back for seconds! One portion contains three of your five a day and costs just £1.25 to make. Containing vitamins K and A, low in fat, and a source of fibre, folate and protein, it can also be cooked in your slow cooker. Introduce the kids to wonderfully leafy green kale in the family-friendlypork and kale meatballs with spaghetti. If you don’t have pork, try using chicken, turkey or beef to make the meatballs. And for a healthy twist on the classic chilli, try the chicken and kale chilli. Flavoursome and high in protein, yet low in fat it is also a source of vitamin C and high in vitamin K. Everyone loves a pasta bake! Suitable for vegetarians, the spinach pasta bake is packed full of vegetables and contains 3 of your 5 a day. Or for another injection of spinach, try the cheesy baked eggs, which makes a stunning centrepiece and is also suitable for vegetarians. Both dishes are high in vitamin K and A, and a source of folate. Mexican bean and spinach nacho crumble Cost: £1.25 per portion Prep time: 10 minutes | Cook time: 25 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 red onion, chopped 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp chilli powder 400g can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed 400g can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed 1 corn on the cob, kernels removed 250g frozen diced butternut squash 400g can chopped tomatoes 2 tbsp tomato ketchup 260g bag spinach 100g tortilla chips, roughly crushed Method: Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the onion for 3-4 minutes, add the spices and then add the beans, corn kernels and squash and fry for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes, with half a can of water and the ketchup. Bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach and stir until wilted. Transfer to a heatproof serving dish, sprinkle with crushed tortilla chips and grill for 1-2 minutes. Cooks tip: To cook in a slow cooker, prepare as above, stir in the tomatoes, water and ketchup and bring to the boil. Transfer to the slow cooker and cook on LOW for 4 hours. Stir in the spinach and finish as above. Pork and kale meatballs with tomato spaghetti Cost: £1.45 per portion Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients: 250g bag kale 2 tbsp oil 1 red onion, finely chopped 500g minced pork 1 tsp Italian seasoning 3 tbsp sun dried tomato pesto 250g spaghetti 400g can chopped tomatoes 2 tsp balsamic vinegar Method: Cook the kale in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain well. Squeeze out the excess moisture from half the kale and finely chop. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan and fry the onion for 4-5 minutes until golden, transfer half to a large bowl and mix in the pork, chopped kale, Italian seasoning and 1 tbsp pesto, season and mix well. Divide into 16 balls. Set aside the remaining onions. Heat the remaining oi in the same frying pan and fry the meatballs for 10-15 minutes until cooked through Remove and set aside. Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti according to pack instructions, drain, reserving a little of the cooking water. Return the reserved onions to the same frying pan, add the chopped tomatoes, vinegar, remaining pesto and kale and bring to the boil, stir in the spaghetti and a little of the cooking water and stir to evenly coat. Season. Serve the tomato spaghetti topped with the meatballs. Cooks tip: Try using minced turkey, chicken, lamb or beef instead of the pork. Chicken and kale chilli Cost: £1.95 per portion Prep time: 15 minutes | Cook time: 30 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients: 1 tbsp oil 1 leek, sliced 1 clove garlic, chopped 2 tsp chilli powder 1 tsp ground cumin 500g minced chicken or turkey 2 tbsp tomato puree 400g can chopped tomatoes 400g can black beans, drained and rinsed 250g bag kale 1 ripe avocado, diced Soured cream and cooked rice to serve Method: Heat the oil in a large saucepan and fry the leek and garlic for 1 minute. Add the spices and then the minced chicken and fry until browned. Add the tomato puree, chopped tomatoes along with ½ can of water and the beans. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Meanwhile, cook the kale in boiling water for 3-4 minutes, drain well then stir into the chilli. Season to taste. Serve topped with avocado, a spoonful of soured cream on a bed of rice. Cooks tip: Try minced pork instead and serve on top of jacket potatoes. Spinach and pasta bake Cost: £1.44 per portion Prep time: 20 minutes | Cook time: 20 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients: 75g cashews 1 carrot, sliced 1 sweet potato, diced 300ml almond milk 50g vegan hard cheese, grated 300g macaroni pasta 260g bag spinach 1 tbsp vegetable oil 1 leek, sliced 100g cherry tomatoes, halved 50g homemade breadcrumbs Method: Preheat the oven to 200C, gas mark 6. Cook the cashews, carrot, and sweet potato in boiling water for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and puree in a food processor with the almond milk until smooth, season and add half the cheese alternative. Cook the macaroni in boiling salted water for 10 minutes, add the spinach until wilted, drain well and return to the pan. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the leek and tomatoes for 3-4 minutes until softened. Mix the sauce and leek mixture into the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer to an ovenproof serving dish, sprinkle with remaining cheese alternative and breadcrumbs and bake for 20 minutes until golden. Cooks tip: Try new potatoes or butternut squash to replace the sweet potatoes. Cheesy baked eggs Cost: £1.25 per portion Cook time: 25 minutes Serves: 4 Ingredients: 1 tbsp olive oil 2 leeks, trimmed and sliced 2 cloves garlic sliced 10 cherry tomatoes sliced 200g spinach 4 large eggs 100g mature cheddar grated Seasoning to taste Method: Preheat your oven to 180C. Add the oil to a medium pan on a low to medium heat then add in the leeks. Fry for 8-10 minutes until soft and caramelising. Now add the garlic and fry for a further minute. Add the tomatoes and spinach to the pan and cook down for 1-2 minutes. Turn off the heat and season well. Transfer the mix to a medium high sided baking dish. Crack the eggs on top of the veg mix. Sprinkle the grated cheese over the top and pop in the oven for 8-10 minutes. Take out of the oven and serve with some crusty bread For more recipes and inspiration, visit discovergreatveg.co.uk Read More A week’s worth of summery recipes (even when the weather is dire) The dish that defines me: Frank Yeung’s prawn wontons Discovering Sierra Leonean flavours in South London How to make cassava chips How to make a traditional Sierra Leonean rich cake How to make West African brasied beef shorts in peanut and coconut milk

A steakhouse has unveiled its new vegan-friendly menu item: a filet mignon worth $69. Charley’s Steak House, a fine-dining steakhouse restaurant based in Florida, recently introduced its wood-fired plant-based steak filet. According to Fast Company, the steakhouse is the first in the US to sell a vegan steak. While the filet looks and feels like real beef, it is actually made using fermented soy and wheat, beet juice, coconut oil, fortified iron, and B1. The six-ounce vegan steak was made possible by the food startup, Chunk Foods. On the Charley’s Steak House menu, the item is labelled as the “F U Filet Mignon - Freaking Unbelievable Plant-Based by Chunk,” right next to its hefty price tag of $69. Seth Miller, the chief operating officer of Charley’s parent company, Talk of the Town, told Insider: “It’s not an inexpensive product. To deliver the quality that we want, it’s going to be an added expense to our guests.” One of the biggest challenges to creating the plant-based steak, according to Fast Company, was “mimicking the texture, colour, and taste of traditional meat”. However, plant-based food companies like Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods have successfully managed to dominate the vegan food industry with their ground beef substitutes. Now, both companies have also joined in on the vegan steak craze. In October, Beyond Meat introduced its vegan steak tips, with 21 grams of protein per serving starting at $7.99. That same month, Impossible Foods announced it was launching a plant-based version of filet mignon. Despite the growing demand for vegan-friendly menu options, one celebrity chef has “banned” vegans from his restaurant for “mental health reasons”. In June, celebrity chef John Mountain revealed on the Facebook page for his restaurant, Fyre, that the establishment would no longer be catering to vegan diners after he received a negative review from a customer criticising the lack of plant-based options. “Sadly all vegans are now banned from Fyre (for mental health reasons),” the post on the restaurant’s Facebook read. “We thank you for your understanding. Xx.” The post also included the caption: “Yep. I’m done,” and the hashtags #vegan, #not, #pleasegoelsewhere, #veganfreezone, and #nomorevegans. The restaurant reportedly addressed the customer’s complaint in a response of its own, in which it noted that it tried to “accommodate everyone” before encouraging them to “feel free to share your sh**ty experience”. “Thanks for your negative review… please feel free to share your sh***y experience and I look forward to not seeing you again. How very childish. You and all your vegan mates can all go and enjoy your dishes in another venue, you are now banned,” the restaurant replied. Meanwhile, a vegan family sparked backlash after they sent a letter to their neighbours asking them to close their windows when cooking meat. In a handwritten letter, a family member complained that the smell of meat wafting from their neighbour’s home was making the plant-based family “sick and upset”. “Hello neighbour, could you please shut your side window when cooking please? My family are vegan (we eat only plant based foods) and the smell of the meat you cook makes us feel sick and upset,” the letter read. However, many people criticised the vegan family’s “entitled” request for their neighbours to shut their windows when cooking meat. “I would fire up the smoker and do a 12-hour brisket, with a sausage sizzle for lunch thrown in,” one person said. “Entitled much?” “Jesus, what is the world coming to when you can’t cook a steak in your own kitchen,” another commented. “None of their business what you cook,” said someone else. “Complain about what they cook and see how that goes.” The Independent has contacted Charley’s Steak House and Chunk Foods for comment. Read More Taco Bell sued for false advertising over Crunchwraps and Mexican pizzas Eating meat creates four times more greenhouse gases than being vegan, landmark study finds Woman goes viral for cooking ‘perpetual stew’ for 40 days straight Subway contest offers winner free sandwiches for life. But there’s a caveat London chef apologises after criticism for all-white, all-male kitchen team How to make West African brasied beef shorts in peanut and coconut milk

Grab the gelatin and the hot dogs and head to the kitchen to make these meals from the Great Depression.

The coconut is a truly tropical fruit, which spread on its own to tropic coastal zones all over the world. The flesh and milk from coconuts are widely used in African cooking in relishes, sauces, desserts – you name it,” says Maria Bradford, author of Sweet Salone. Braised beef short ribs in peanut and coconut milk Serves: 5 Ingredients: 5 beef short ribs 2 tbsp sunflower oil Steamed coconut rice or fonio, to serve Salt For the peanut and coconut sauce: 2¼ tsp cumin seeds ¾ tbsp coriander seeds 1 tsp West African Pepper Blend (see below) ¾ tbsp curry powder 3½ tbsp coconut oil 2½-3 large onions, finely chopped 25g garlic, grated 25g ginger, grated 1-2 Scotch bonnet chillies, seeds left in, finely chopped 45g tomato purée 250g fresh tomatoes, chopped ½ tsp coconut sugar 300ml coconut milk 3 bay leaves 3 thyme sprigs 100g unsalted smooth peanut butter (use one without palm oil) 500ml beef stock For the West African pepper blend: 2½ grains of paradise 2 tbsp black peppercorns 2 tbsp white peppercorns 1 tbsp cubeb pepper 3 tbsp allspice berries Method: 1. For the West African pepper blend: toast all the peppercorns in a dry pan over medium heat until fragrant. Allow to cool, then grind in a spice grinder or pestle and mortar. Store in an airtight jar. It will stay fresh for up to three months. 2. Preheat the oven to 150C/130C fan/300F/gas mark 2. 3. For the sauce, lightly toast the cumin and coriander seeds in a hot, dry frying pan until aromatic. Grind in a pestle and mortar or food processor, combine with the West African Pepper Blend and curry powder and set aside. 4. For the short ribs, heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan over high heat. Season the short ribs with salt and add to the hot pan, frying on each side until golden brown, turning regularly. The aim here is not to cook them but to sear them and add flavour. Make sure to brown them well all over, then remove and set aside. 5. For the sauce, heat the coconut oil in a large heavy-based casserole or Dutch oven (use one with a lid). Add the onions and cook gently over low-medium heat until caramelised and very sweet. This will take up to 30 minutes and it’s important not to rush this process. Add the garlic, ginger and chillies and cook, stirring, for five minutes more. Add the spices and cook for a further five minutes on low heat, stirring to prevent sticking. 6. Add the tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, coconut sugar, coconut milk, bay leaves, thyme sprigs, peanut butter and beef stock to the pan. Stir well to combine, bring to the boil then add the short ribs to pan, making sure they’re all covered by the sauce. 7. Cover with the lid and cook in the oven for four to five hours or until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Remove from the oven, taste and add salt if needed. Serve with steamed coconut rice or fonio. ‘Sweet Salone’ by Maria Bradford (Quadrille, £30). Read More A week’s worth of summery recipes (even when the weather is dire) The dish that defines me: Frank Yeung’s prawn wontons Discovering Sierra Leonean flavours in South London How to make cassava chips How to make a traditional Sierra Leonean rich cake In Horto: Hearty, outdoorsy fare in a secret London Bridge garden

Chef Maria Bradford remembers the first time she came to Peckham market. Originally from Sierra Leone, she moved to England in her late teens, and after four years she was desperately homesick. She was living in Kent and felt far removed from her home of Freetown – until she went to Peckham in South London. “The first time I ever came to Peckham, it was such a shock. I didn’t think a place existed like that [in England] – it reminded me so much of the hustle and bustle in Freetown,” she says. “All of a sudden, you get off the train and you come to this place and you’re like, Oh my God. I’m home.” Bradford, now 42, says she “desperately needed” a place like Peckham, and has been coming to the market regularly ever since. We’re back there today – on a hot but overcast London day, and Bradford is showing me how to pick out the best Sierra Leonean ingredients. We go on a weekday, as she says a weekend would take us a lot longer to get round, once she’s spoken to all the aunties in the community who want a chat. As we walk through the market, Bradford starts talking about Sierra Leonean cuisine. “I would say it’s quite healthy. We eat lots of leaves and greens, and we eat a lot of seafood as well. There’s lots of layers to Sierra Leonean food, because we mix things like smoked fish and meat in the same dish… Because we use fish more as a flavouring.” The words that spring to mind when she thinks about the food of her homeland? “Healthy, homely, comforting.” Bradford continues: “I don’t know if that’s because I’m Sierra Leonean, it brings me that calmness and home feeling. That warmth. It feels like I’m sitting at the back of our house with my mum, my nan, my grandmother, my aunties and everyone – we’re sitting around cooking, and it feels like comfort.” When she really wants to feel comforted and soothed, Bradford whips up a bowl of egusi soup (egusi – also known as melon seeds – is a thickener, and the recipe includes oxtail, goat meat, white sorrel, smoked barracuda and Scotch bonnet chillies) that Bradford says is like a “food hug, because when you eat it all you want to do is sleep”. After looking at some of the outdoor stalls full of colourful produce – bright pumpkins, squat varieties of cucumber, browning plantains – we go into Bit By Bit, a Sierra Leonean shop run by Sarian Karim-Kamara. Karim-Kamara immediately starts singing Bradford’s praises (“you’re flying the Sierra Leonean flag – we’re so proud of you!”) and thumbing through her new cookbook, called Sweet Salone – a nickname for the country. The shop is full of speciality ingredients you’ll need to make some of the recipes in the book – from the brightly coloured red palm oil (a staple in the country) to frozen cassava leaves and smoked barracuda. Bradford is keen to promote local shops such as this one, saying: “People are really friendly and want to talk about the ingredients – they don’t just know about the ingredients, they know what to do with it, how to promote it… It’s nice to step into these shops and have conversations, because you might learn so much more than what you bargained for.” As well as running the shop, Karim-Kamara is an FGM campaigner – she’s just launched a new campaign with the Mayor of London – and runs a food bank out the back. “For three years I’ve been supporting refugees and asylum seekers, but the food bank is open now to the community because everyone is struggling,” she says. Karim-Kamara adds she doesn’t talk much about it because “some people are really shy… The way we do the service is people come to the back and help themselves”. We move onto another shop selling West African ingredients – including jute leaves, black velvet tamarind and white hibiscus – and Bradford strikes up a conversation with the shopkeeper, who says she’ll pre-order the cookbook and give it to her daughter, so traditional Sierra Leonean cooking continues down the generations. “The children that are born here, they don’t really know how to cook the traditional stuff,” Bradford says after this exchange. “They’ll be more gearing towards the Afro-fusion side. It’s really important we keep the core traditional stuff, and also keep it separate.” But Bradford is an advocate for Afro-fusion dishes as well, describing it as “taking traditional Sierra Leonean ingredients and using techniques we wouldn’t necessarily use to extract as much flavour from those things”. After working as an accountant for 10 years (which she hated), Bradford did an evening course at prestigious cooking school Leiths and set up a catering company, and now uses her classical training to give a spin on the dishes she grew up eating. Examples of Afro-fusion recipes in the book include cassava chips with truffle and Parmesan, and the oxtail pepe stew – which has red wine added, a French technique she drew upon to deepen the flavours. Whether it’s traditional dishes or Afro-fusion flavours, Bradford – who is still based in Kent – uses cooking to connect with her roots. It started when she first moved to the UK and was missing home. “So I started cooking, making stuff I like to eat with stuff I can get my hands on,” she says. One of the first dishes she made was peanut soup (“you can get peanut butter anywhere, and you can pick up chicken anywhere”) and it grew from there. “Cooking and throwing those things together to feel like you’re home, connecting back to Sierra Leone.” ‘Sweet Salone’ by Maria Bradford (Quadrille, £30). Read More A week’s worth of summery recipes (even when the weather is dire) The dish that defines me: Frank Yeung’s prawn wontons How to make cassava chips How to make a traditional Sierra Leonean rich cake How to make West African brasied beef shorts in peanut and coconut milk In Horto: Hearty, outdoorsy fare in a secret London Bridge garden

If you are not familiar with cassava, it is tuber with a waxy, bark-like outer skin and a starchy centre,” explains Maria Bradford, author of Sweet Salone. It’s a staple in Sierra Leonean households, and Bradford adds: “This recipe combines my beloved cassava with European ingredients, such as Parmesan and truffle. “The flavour is every bit as good as potato chips, if not better, with just the right subtle hint of earthy truffle. They’re crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, perfectly salted and mixed with Parmesan to take them over the top. A simply luxurious snack!” Cassava chips with truffle oil, Parmesan and saffron mayo Serves: 6-8 Ingredients: For the cassava chips: 1kg cassava 1 tsp sea salt 60g parmesan, grated Sunflower oil, for deep frying Parmesan shavings, to serve 3 tbsp white truffle oil For the saffron mayo: Large pinch of saffron 2 tbsp hot water 300g good-quality mayonnaise 1-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped Method: 1. To peel the cassava, cut the cassava crosswise into five to eight-centimetre pieces. Using a sharp knife, cut lengthwise through the bark-like exterior and into the pink skin beneath. Place the tip of the knife under the skin to loosen it and pull off the skin and bark. Cut into chunky chip-sized pieces. 2. As you work, rinse the cassava and put the pieces in a large saucepan with cold water so it doesn’t discolour. When all are cut to size, add the salt and bring the pan of water to the boil. Boil until the cassava pieces are tender when pierced with a knife, about 25 minutes. 3. Meanwhile, make the saffron mayo. Crumble the saffron threads into a small bowl and pour over the hot water. Let it steep for 10 minutes. 4. Stir the mayonnaise and garlic together in a bowl. Add the saffron water and stir to combine. Taste and season with salt. 5. When the cassava is tender, drain it in a sieve and set aside until completely dry. 6. Heat the oil for frying in a deep, heavy-based pan no more than half full. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small breadcrumb into the hot oil. It should sizzle and turn brown in 20 seconds. 7. Working in small batches so as not to overcrowd the pan, fry the cassava chips until nicely golden, five to 10 minutes per batch. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a baking sheet lined with paper towels. 8. Toss the fried cassava chips with grated Parmesan and the white truffle oil. Serve with the saffron mayo on the side. ‘Sweet Salone’ by Maria Bradford (Quadrille, £30). Read More A week’s worth of summery recipes (even when the weather is dire) The dish that defines me: Frank Yeung’s prawn wontons Discovering Sierra Leonean flavours in South London How to make a traditional Sierra Leonean rich cake How to make West African brasied beef shorts in peanut and coconut milk In Horto: Hearty, outdoorsy fare in a secret London Bridge garden

I have fond childhood memories of the preparation process involved in making this cake,” says Maria Bradford, author of Sweet Salone. “We would often cream the butter and sugar by hand using a wooden spoon in Sierra Leone and this could take hours, but the end result was worth it. The next step is where Sierra Leonean ingenuity comes in. We would butter the inside of empty powdered milk tins and use these as baking tins. “The cake was then baked outside in the open on an improvised oven, with a large pot placed on top of three stones, with sand spread across the base. We put the cake tins on top of the hot sand in the pot and put the lid on. Our fuel was wood or charcoal, and when the fuel was very hot, we put lumps of hot charcoal on top of the lid of the pot to brown both the top and bottom of the cake.” Sierra Leonean-style rich cake Serves: 6-8 Ingredients: 150g butter, plus extra for buttering 150g caster sugar 3 eggs 50g plain flour 150g self-raising flour 1-2tbsp full-fat milk Finely grated zest of 1 orange 1 tsp natural orange flavouring (I use Steenbergs’ Organic Orange Extract) Method: 1. Make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature. Generously butter an 18-centimetre cake tin. Preheat the oven to 180C/160C fan/350F/gas mark 4. 2. Using an electric hand-mixer, cream the butter and sugar together in a large mixing bowl until the mixture is pale, light and fluffy (10-15 minutes). Don’t rush this step; the more thoroughly the butter and sugar are combined, the lighter the cake will be. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating the mixture well between each addition. Add one tablespoon of flour with the last egg to prevent curdling. 3. Sift both flours into the bowl and gently fold in, adding just enough milk to give a mixture that drops slowly from a spoon when the spoon is held away from the bowl. Fold in the orange zest and orange flavouring. 4. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until golden-brown on top and a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean. 5. Turn the cake onto a cooling rack and leave to cool. Slice and enjoy. ‘Sweet Salone’ by Maria Bradford (Quadrille, £30). Read More A week’s worth of summery recipes (even when the weather is dire) The dish that defines me: Frank Yeung’s prawn wontons Discovering Sierra Leonean flavours in South London How to make cassava chips How to make West African brasied beef shorts in peanut and coconut milk In Horto: Hearty, outdoorsy fare in a secret London Bridge garden

The ban could compound a worldwide rise in rice prices for a host of reasons, experts say.