Spicy beanburgers

I’ve had a copy of Ainsley Harriott’s Low Fat Meals in Minutes on loan from the library for a couple of days and thought I’d dip into it yesterday to see if there was anything good. I love this whole book, not in a gushy sort of ‘dahling it’s fabulous’ way but because we eat many of the ingredients he uses on a regular basis. The photography is beautiful, it has to be said, and that really doesn’t hurt my opinion of the book.

People in the UK will know Ainsley Harriott from Ready Steady Cook and, of course, the Fairy adverts. I’ve never met him but there is something so likeable about him, he’s got an easy manner and a huge grin. I bet he sells lots of books on that alone, in fact I’m fairly sure this is true as there’s a photo of him on the front of this one! I quick search on amazon and I can confirm that he’s on the cover of all his books.

Anyway, back to the book, the layout is clear, consise and easy to read. The recipes all sound so lush and not low fat at all but, that’s the twist, they are and each one has detailed nutrition notes. There’s a techincal bit about the different types of fat in the front and what’s good for you and what’s not.

I made the Spicy Beanburgers on page 126 last night, although with my own slight twist, as usual. Ainsley’s (he doesn’t seem like a Mr Harriott kind of guy, does he?) recipe called for cannellini beans, which I used but I also added kidney beans for a bit of colour. His ingredients included frozen spinach (I chopped some fresh) and breadcrumbs (which I left out). I blended the beans slightly with a hand blender, only because I was too lazy to mash the beans as directed. And I forgot to buy a fresh chilli so I had to use some powdered. The burgers were a huge hit even my brother, who doesn’t like anything consisting of mainly veg, ate two.Ainsley suggested serving them with some yoghurt but I went a step further and made up a quick Raita-type dressing with lots of garlic and cucumber. So delicious, although I’m sure the breadcrumbs would have made much firmer burgers, mine still held together nicely.

The recipe for Spicy Beanburgers is here. Just flicking through the book this morning, I’m drooling over the Red lentil soup with lemon yoghurt and the Crisp filo-wrapped mustard chicken. I’ve got some filo in the fridge….