My current favourite overnight oats

We all have our favourite versions of muesli, or overnight oats, or whatever.  I do like my recipe for bircher muesli, but this version is my current favourite and is quicker to make.

1/2 cup muesli (we use Lidl's Deluxe version)

1 apple

Frozen fruit, to taste (raspberries, or berry mix)

1 cup oat milk or kefir.  Oat milk is nicer; kefir is probably better for you.  

Grate your apple into a bowl, then stir in the rest of the ingredients.  The fruit should thaw overnight in the fridge.  

It isn't very photogenic, so here is a pack of frozen fruit which might be in one of our freezers.  Or something similar.

Ninoo Smoothie

No, I don't know who Ninoo is or was, but I suspect he is/was employed at the café across the road where I first came across this delicious drink.  It is lovely, but at £5 a go, rather expensive for every day, so I thought I would have a go at making my own, and it seems to be very successful!

Blend together in a blender or smoothie maker:

1 banana

1 shot espresso (if you don't have an espresso maker, just make very strong coffee!  You need about the amount you would have in an espresso)

1 heaped tsp drinking chocolate

About 200 ml oat milk.

I didn't know I liked oat milk until I tried this - certainly a great deal nicer than cows' milk, which I am not fond of.

Inspired by Five Guys veggie cheese sandwich

 

The Five Guys veggie cheese sandwich is one of the best vegetarian (or vegan, you can have it without the cheese) options that I've ever had at a burger bar.  Their burgers are okay, but this - basically, all the toppings without the burger - is delicious.  Anyway, Becca at Easy Cheesy Vegetarian has a recipe for a copycat version, and I thought I would make it this evening, but I didn't have any burger buns, so I thought I would put it on a jacket potato.  And then I added some extra veggies.....

Butter

Olive oil

2 medium/large potatoes

1 medium onion

1 yellow pepper

Chunk of butternut squash

1/2 punnet mushrooms

1/2 medium (or 1 small) courgette

Chunk butternut squash

1 chilli pepper

Squoosh of garlic paste, or a couple of cloves of crushed garlic

2 spoonfuls Greek yoghurt (or butter, or non-dairy spread)

2-3 slices cracked black pepper cheese (or Mexican, or grated cheese, or whatever), omit if vegan

Rub the potatoes with olive oil and sprinkle with salt - rosemary salt is brilliant if you have any.  Stick a skewer in them, and cook at mark 6 for about an hour.  Or pierce several times and microwave for about 10-12 minutes, but you won't get the crispy skin that way.

While the potatoes are cooking, chop the vegetables (peeling the onion and the squash), and place in a pan with a knob of butter and the olive oil.

 Cook on a medium/low heat for about 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with herbal salt.

When cooked, open the potatoes and add the yoghurt, butter, or whatever you are using.  Pile the vegetables on top, and top with the cheese.  I love that stuff, but do find it sticks together rather, so I ended up tearing it roughly.  

It was delicious, and I am full!

Butternut squash fritatta with bacon, potatoes and spinach

 This time of year it's all about the squashes!  Or pumpkins.  I had a lovely white squash which we had half of roasted with a sachet of pre-cooked curried chickpeas, which we had on its own, and the second half with jollof rice which we had acquired from church lunch, and which was served with sea bass and a roasted pepper. All very good, and we had the jollof rice twice more, stretched with mushrooms, onions and lardons, served once with roast vegetables (including butternut squash) and once as egg fried rice!  

However, that was the end of the rice, and tonight's meal was inspired by something I saw on Facebook this morning.  It will do us twice, as it was very filling!

3 potatoes, thinly sliced

Chunk of butternut squash, cubed

Packet pre-washed spinach

Packet lardons (smoked or unsmoked, as you prefer)

A couple of spoonfuls of grated cheese

4 eggs, beaten

Seasoning - apart from salt (it doesn't need much because bacon) and pepper, I used a little dried sage and rosemary.

Spritz of neutral cooking oil

Take a large sauté pan with a lid and add a spritz or so of cooking oil into it.  Heat over medium heat, and then add the sliced potatoes. 

Cover, and allow to cook in their own steam while you peel and chop the butternut.  When the potatoes are nearly done (about 5-10 minutes) add the cubed butternut and the herbs,

if using, stir, cover again and continue to cook for several more minutes. Then add the lardons, and cook them, stirring all the time, and then the spinach (I did it in two lots) and stir until it is completely wilted down.

Finally, sprinkle with grated cheese, and then pour over the beaten eggs. 

Leave it to cook, covered, for a few minutes until the cheese has melted, and then put under a pre-heated grill for about 5 minutes until it is all brown and gorgeous!   

To make vegetarian: Omit the bacon, and perhaps use veggie Parmesan or a stronger cheese to make up the lack.

To make vegan: Omit the bacon and cheese, and instead of the eggs, use a gram flour batter, as in this recipe.  I think I might try this.....

"Yelm", or home-made lemon squash. Updated 10 September 2021 and again 12 August 2022

It was my father, I think, who first called it "Yelm",  as a way of distinguishing it from other kinds of lemon drink.  Certainly my family have been making it for well over 50 years - I remember taking a supply to school in empty whisky bottles, which slightly disconcerted the House Mistress and Matron - it would have been a lot worse had I been bringing in whisky or gin in empty lemon squash bottles, of course.... Yelm, by the way, is very nice mixed with gin if you like gin.

Measurements are in Imperial, as that's what we used back in the day.  I'll put rough metric equivalents in brackets.

Rind and juice of 3 lemons
2 oz citric acid (approx 50g)
2 lbs sugar (a little less than 1 kg) (see note)

3 pints boiling water (1.75 litres)
Optionally, you could add elderflower blossoms or crushed mint (I love mint in lemon drinks so I used the latter).
Empty bottles - to take at least 2.25 litres

You can also use limes as well as, or instead of, lemons; if you use just limes, then use 4 as they are apt to be smaller.  Oranges work if mixed with lemons or limes, but render the finished drink too sweet on their own.   Today (September 2021) I am going to make lime and mint.

PLEASE NOTE: You really don't need 2 lbs of sugar - I'm now using 500g, and my mother just uses 1 lb.  So if you wish to cut down on sugar.... it's really "to taste".  Ordinary squash seems vilely sweet in comparison!

Mix everything together in a large jug or bowl and stir until the sugar and acid have dissolved.  Strain, and pour into bottles (if you don't strain, it doesn't last so long as the citrus peel is apt to go mouldy); keep in the fridge and dilute to taste.  I imagine that if you wanted lemon barley water, you could use this as a base instead of making from scratch......

Not quite....

This was not quite a croque-monsieur and not quite a Welsh rabbit!  I don't know what to call it, but it was very good except that the sauce had too much mustard in it for my taste!  Also, I didn't really measure....

Large handful grated cheddar (50-100 grammes)

Dollop of butter (25 g?)

2 tsp plain flour (again, this was a dollop, as it was the end of my little jar I decant it into)

1 tsp Dijon mustard (N.B. this was too much for my taste; if I do this again, it will be half the amount)

1 tbs white wine (or beer, but we had none in the fridge)

1 tsp Worcester sauce

About 25 grinds of black pepper

4 slices sourdough bread (or ordinary bread)

2 cooked sausages, sliced lengthwise

Extra grated cheese, for sprinkling

Lettuce and tomato to garnish

Grill the bread on one side only.  Put the first 7 ingredients into a saucepan and cook, stirring all the time, until it is pretty much boiling, the cheese has melted and the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan.

Spread two of the slices of toast on the untoasted side with a small amount of the sauce, and then stick the sausages on it.  Top with the other slices, toasted side down, and cover them with the rest of the sauce.  Sprinkle with grated cheese, and put under the grill again until it melts.  Serve with a side salad.

Tortelloni bake

This was inspired by Easy Cheesy Vegetarian's recent post, and also by my original macaroni cheese recipe.

1 packet fresh tortelloni (your choice of filling)

2 small onions

2-3 cloves garlic

1 tbs sunflower oil or similar

1 tin tomatoes

1 tbs plain flour 

Seasoning: salt, pepper, dry mustard powder, herbs or spices as liked

Handful grated Cheddar (didn't measure, probably around 50g)

1 tin sweetcorn

1/2 packet halloumi cheese

Chop your onions and garlic and fry gently in the oil in an oven-proof dish (cast iron is ideal).  While this is happening, boil your tortelloni for 3 minutes.  Drain into a sieve.

Meanwhile, put the tinned tomatoes, flour, seasonings and the liquid from the tin of sweetcorn (if there is any - some brands are more-or-less vacuum-packed) and blend until smooth.  

When the tortelloni have finished cooking, put the blended tomato mixture on top of the onions, raise the heat and stir vigorously until it comes to the boil and thickens.  At which point, turn off the heat and add the grated cheese and the sweetcorn,

stir, and then add the tortelloni and stir in, flattening off the top. 

Now cover the top with sliced halloumi,

and bake at mark 6 for about 30 minutes.  

Very lazy fish pie

The only way this could be lazier is if you bought it as a ready-meal!

1 packet fish pie mix (mixed fish - salmon, cod and smoked haddock), thawed and drained

1 hard-boiled egg, peeled and chopped (I even bought these ready-boiled in Germany!)

1 tsp fish seasoning (I used Dunn's River, but other seasoning mixes are available)

A couple of tablespoonsful of frozen peas or broad beans

1 packet pre-made parsley sauce

1 packet gnocchi

Put the first five ingredients in an oven-proof dish and stir.  Top with the gnocchi.  Put in in an oven you have pre-heated to Mark 6, and leave to cook for about 50 minutes.  So easy it couldn't be easier.

Fennel, onion and red pepper sauce

 This was fantastic with sea bass, but not very photogenic, so this is a generic picture of fennel that I found on the web: 

Ingredients

2 tbs olive oil

1/2 bulb fennel

1 red sweet (bell) pepper

1 onion

Salt, pepper, other seasonings to taste - I used za'ataar and Dunn's River fish seasoning

Chop the vegetables, removing the white ribs and seeds from the pepper.  Cook in the olive oil over a medium heat until they are cooked, stirring fairly frequently.  This will take about 15-20 minutes.  Transfer to a food processor and blitz until smooth, adding a bit of lemon juice if it is too dry.  Serve with fish.  

Poireaux vinaigrette

This is a traditional French starter, perfect for St. David's Day.

1 leek per person, cut into small pieces 

1 heaped tsp. Dijon mustard (or any other kind; I do prefer the kind with seeds in it, but you could even use mustard powder instead, although arguably not so much!)

C 2 tbs wine vinegar 

C 4 tbs olive oil

Steam the leeks until they are cooked. Meanwhile, put the mustard and vinegar into a blender and add the oil in a steady stream while it is running. The mustard with emulsify the mixture, which is what you want. Season as liked - I didn't think it needed any more, but you might.

Pour a judicious quantity of the dressing on to the hot leeks and stir well. You want to coat them, not give them a bath, so you may have some dressing left over, depending on how many leeks you have. Allow to cool, and refrigerate before eating. They are meant to be eaten cold. 

Ratatouille and redcurrant sauce

This was delicious with duck and roast potatoes and parsnips, but I think it would be lovely with chicken or any meat - or with a nut roast, come to that!

1 small red onion

1 small or 1/2 large courgette

1/2 red or yellow pepper

1 tomato - you guessed it

1/2 punnet mushrooms (c. 125 grammes)

A little salt, pepper, Everyday seasoning and herbs (I used what I call "Scarborough Fair" mix - parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme)

1 tbs olive or other oil

About 100 ml water

1 tbs chicken or vegetable stock powder

1 large tbs redcurrant jelly

Pre-heat the oven to Mark 6 (200 C; 400 F).  Slice the vegetables and place them in an oven-proof tray.  Season and pour on the oil, and stir very thoroughly.  Roast for about 40 minutes.  Transfer to a saucepan and, using a stick blender, reduce to a puree, but you can leave some of the vegetables whole if you cba to do it thoroughly.  Add the jelly, water and stock powder, taste to check the seasoning and rectify if necessary, bring to the boil and simmer for about 5 minutes.  

Liver and bacon casserole

 Serves 2

1 tbs olive or other oil

1 large onion

Several cloves of garlic

1 portion ox or pork liver

2 rashers bacon

1/2 punnet mushrooms (I forgot these, and regretted it; it was nice, but would have been a lot nicer with the mushrooms)

1 tin tomatoes

1 small tin peas

Seasoning - it won't need salt, but I used pepper, herbs and a dash of Worcestershire sauce

Heat the oil in a large pan, add the chopped onion and garlic, cover, and allow to cook on a low heat for several minutes, until the onion is translucent.  Now raise the heat, add the liver and the bacon, let cook for a few seconds and then turn over.  Add the rest of the ingredients (I forgot the mushrooms - if you use them, cut them in half or break into several pieces unless they are tiny), cover, turn down the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

Serve with a green vegetable and, if liked, a source of carbohydrate - mashed potato, pasta, rice... I used German dumplings, just for a change.

Chickpea and vegetable curry with red rice

1/2 cup chickpeas, soaked overnight and then cooked in a pressure cooker for 12-15 minutes

OR 1 tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 red onion, peeled and chopped

2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed

1 red or yellow pepper, chopped

chunk of butternut squash, peeled and diced

Either 1-2 small or 1/2 large courgette, diced

1 tin tomatoes

Sloosh tomato paste

2 tbs olive or other cooking oil

Curry powder, either your own blend or a proprietary one

Salt, pepper, etc

To serve: your choice of rice.  I used red rice, as I have recently come across it in a local vegan take-away, and it is utterly delicious - much nicer than brown, and quite a different thing to white.

Fry off the curry powder in the oil for a few minutes, then add the onion and other vegetables, which you stir well and leave to cook for a few minutes.  Then add the tomato paste, the tin of tomatoes, and any other seasoning you choose - I used salt with thyme (a blend from Brockwell Park), freshly ground mixed peppercorns, and a spoonful each of Dunn's River ginger/garlic/pimento and All-purpose seasoning.  I also added a teaspoonful of sugar, which is lovely with tomatoes - doesn't make it sweet, but does lift it. Allow to cook for 20-25 minutes until the vegetables are done, then serve with rice, and if liked, chutney, yoghurt, etc.

The red rice is cooked like any other kind - rinse, cook off in a little oil, add twice as much boiling water, stir, cover, leave on minimal heat for 45 minutes and then let sit for at least 10 minutes to absorb any remaining water.

Pork and bean casserole

As it is a Bank Holiday, we went out for the afternoon, so for once I thought ahead and put a casserole in the slow cooker!

1/2 cup dried cannellini beans - I only had 1/4 cup, so made it up with flageolets, which I had more of.

4 rashers belly pork

4 rashers back bacon 

1 large onion

1 clove garlic

2 large carrots

3 potatoes

1/4 cabbage

1 tin chopped tomatoes

A little water

Seasoning, to taste - I used rosemary, sage, pepper, season-all and a little Worcestershire Sauce.

Soak the beans either overnight in cold water or for 2 hours in boiling water (at least, water that was boiling when you put the beans into it.  Cook in a pressure cooker for 10-12 minutes.

Meanwhile cut the pork and bacon into cubes, dice the onion, carrots and potatoes, crush the garlic and shred the cabbage.  Put the onion and garlic into a large pan in which you have put a little cooking oil, and cook until transparent.  Then add the meat and allow to cook for a bit, stirring frequently.  Once it has browned, add the rest of the vegetables and stir.  Allow to cook for a few minutes, then add the tinned tomatoes and a little water (not much).  Season, and then transfer to a slow cooker.

I put this back into the Instant Pot as it was out, and cooked it for 6 hours on medium, but it wasn't quite cooked (I don't think the Instant Pot is so good as a dedicated slow cooker; it is extremely wonderful as a pressure cooker and pressure steamer, but not so good as a slow cooker), so put it on to cook at high pressure for 6 minutes.  

 

Healthy ice cream, aka frozen smoothie

I found this recipe when I first went on-line, over 25 years ago now.  I hadn't made it for ages, but we had some slightly over-ripe strawberries that weren't going to survive in the fridge and needed frozen, so.....

1 banana, sliced and frozen (open-freeze on a plate so the chunks don't stick together)

1/2 punnet ripe strawberries, frozen (or you could use pre-frozen strawberries)

1 standard tub, or 2 tbs thick Greek yoghurt

2 tsp honey (optional)

I found I'd too much yoghurt to fruit, so added some frozen raspberries.

Exact quantities are not important, nor, indeed, is the kind of fruit other than bananas!  I've also used fruit juice instead of yoghurt and honey (useful if you want it vegan) - you can always omit the honey if you prefer, too, but it does add a bit of sweetness that is necessary in a frozen dessert.  You could also use a fruit  yoghurt instead.... experiment!

Put everything in a food processor - a blender isn't sturdy enough - and work until it comes out as really smooth and delicious ice-cream.

If there is more than you want to eat in one sitting, put it in a freezer-proof container and put in the freezer.  It will freeze rather hard, but you can take it out of the freezer a little before you want to eat it.

Sandwich fillings: Hummus and fishpaste

These are two separate things, you understand!  I always thought I didn't really like home-made hummus, but discovered recently that you should take the skins off the cooked chickpeas, and believe me, it is well worth spending five minutes or so doing that.

So, hummus:

1 tin chickpeas (one of the rare occasions I'll use a tin!)

1 large tbs tahini

1 tsp garlic paste (or crush a couple of cloves of garlic, up to you)

2 tbs lemon juice

Scant tbs olive oil

Seasoning as liked.

Drain the chickpeas and rinse well.  Now put into a bowl and cover with cold water.  Using your hands, rub at them until the skins come off, which float to the surface and you can discard.  You don't have to get absolutely every skin, of course, but it's worth repeating a couple of times until you are fairly confident you have the vast majority of them.

Now put the peas, and everything else, into a food processor and work until smooth, and then go on working for awhile until it is really smooth and creamy.  Adjust seasoning as necessary.

Fishpaste

I tin salmon - pink or red, your choice

1/2 tub cream cheese

Scant tbs lemon juice, wine vinegar, or, if you have some pickled vegetables (I see I haven't yet posted my recipe for those, but am still experimenting.  If you want a recipe, google "Bread and butter pickles"), the juice from the jar.

Seasoning as liked

Maybe a small sloosh of tomato paste, for colour?  Up to you.  I didn't.

Drain the salmon and, if you can be bothered, remove most of the skin and bone.  Put it, and all the other ingredients, into a food processor and work until smooth-ish.  

Cauliflower Cheese for Beginners

The Swan Whisperer volunteered to make cauliflower cheese for supper, and then said he hadn't the faintest idea how to do it!  So I said I would write out the basic recipe, step by step, so he could have a go.  Here it is!

You will need:

1/2 cauliflower, outer leaves removed, cut into chunks.  

1 small tin sweetcorn, drained

Roughly 3-4 oz cheddar, grated

About 25 g butter

1 cup (250 ml) milk

2 heaped tsp plain flour 

A little salt

A little black pepper

1/2 tsp dry mustard powder

2 hard-boiled eggs, shells removed

1 large tomato, sliced except I don't think there is one (never mind!)/  

2 slices bread

A few sprigs of fresh parsley

Microwave steamer

Cheese grater (and plate to put grated cheese on)

Small saucepan

Oven-proof dish (small casserole dish is fine, or one of the pyrex ones)

Sharp knife

Cappuccino whisk (or ordinary egg whisk)

Wooden or plastic stirring spoon

Small food processor

Boil the eggs for 10 minutes from cold, unless you already have hard-boiled eggs in the fridge.  Cool them at once under cold running water.  Put the cauliflower into the microwave steamer and add 250 ml boiling water.  Microwave for 5-6 minutes.  Grate the cheese and leave it on a plate.  Open and drain the tin of sweetcorn. Peel the eggs.

Put the butter into a small non-stick saucepan and allow to melt.

Meanwhile, put the milk, flour, salt, pepper and mustard into a jug, and whisk with the cappucino whisk until it's mixed and frothy.  Pour this over the butter in the saucepan, and stir continuously until it boils.  When it is boiling and has thickened nicely, take it off the heat and put in about 2/3 of the grated cheese and the contents of the tin of sweetcorn.  Stir well.

Put the cauliflower, which should have finished steaming by now, into the ovenproof dish, and tuck a hard-boiled egg each side (I usually put these by the handles, so I can find them again).  Pour the sauce over the top, and flatten it off as best you can.

Now, if there is a tomato, slice it and place the slices on the top.  If not, don't bother.  Put the slices of bread, the parsley, and the grated cheese into the food processor and blitz until it is breadcrumbs.  Spread this on top of the cauliflower mixture.

If you make this earlier in the day, cover it and refrigerate it until about 45 minutes before it's wanted.  Preheat the oven to Mark 5, uncover the dish and put it in the oven for 30-45 minutes, until bubbling and crisp.  Serve with new potatoes.

Quick lunch rolls

1 small carton natural yoghurt

The empty carton full of self-raising flour (I prefer wholemeal)

Pinch of salt

Other seasonings as liked.

Before you start, place a lid frying pan on the stove on a very low heat. 

Now put the yoghurt into a bowl, wash and wipe the container and fill it with flour. You may need a little more, depending on the consistency of the yoghurt and the type of flour.

Add seasonings - I used a pinch of mixed herbs and a spoonful of dukkah, but didn't really notice them.

Pumpkin  or sunflower seeds would work well, I think.

Stir it all together, and then knead it until you can form it into balls which you then flatten into little cakes. You can make flatbreads, if you prefer.

Now place these into the pan that has been heating on the low heat all this time. No oil or anything. Cover, and cook for 5 minutes, then turn and cook the other side for 5 minutes.  Split and serve hot! 

Instant Pot Risotto - updated 16 March 2021

 Some years ago now, I experimented with a slow cooker risotto, which didn't really go anywhere.  However, recently I have been learning how to make risotto in the Instant Pot, which is a very different technique to a normal risotto.  It is also a lot quicker - I don't really mind a risotto taking a long time to cook when I'm in the motor home (where it is a staple), but at home, it's nice not to be stuck in the kitchen!

1 onion, peeled and chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/2 cup risotto rice

About 125 ml white wine (cooking wine is fine)

Extra vegetables, as liked (I used mushrooms and a courgette, of which more anon)

Up to 250 ml stock (chicken is nicest, but vegetable is fine if you're vegetarian), ideally hot

Seasoning, as liked

1 tbs cooking oil

1 knob of butter 

1/2 packet shaved parmesan, or vegetarian equivalent

Put the Instant Pot on to sauté (I always do this on medium, as I find it gets too hot on high), and add the cooking oil; after a few minutes, add the onion, garlic, and extra vegetables, if using.  Stir vigorously and then add the rice, stir again.  Add the wine, and stir until it is almost all absorbed.

Then add the stock and seasoning, and put the lid on.  Turn to manual and high pressure, and set for 6 minutes.  When it beeps, reduce the pressure manually at once, to stop it overcooking.  Then add the butter and cheese, and stir vigorously so it all comes together in the lovely gloop that is risotto.

I made a bit of a nonsense of tonight's, if I'm honest - it didn't occur to me that the courgettes would add a good 50 ml of fluid to the mix, and so it was too wet, and not the nicest I've ever made.  But it was still edible.  But I shouldn't have added so much stock.

UPDATED 16 March 2021  I decided to make this with a courgette and half a punnet of mushrooms, and, given the amount of liquid those vegetables are apt to render, I reduced the amount of stock to 150 ml.  I was a bit nervous lest it prove too little, but, in fact, it was absolutely perfect!  I think, had I used butternut squash instead of courgette, I would use 200 ml stock, as it doesn't render so much.  But for a courgette and mushroom risotto, 150 ml is perfect!

Caribbean-style bean stew

I have too many Caribbean friends, and there are too many great Caribbean restaurants/take-aways round here, to want to do much in the way of Caribbean-style cooking, but I came across this video on YouTube yesterday, and decided to create my own version of it.  I'm very glad I did; on the other hand, there should probably have been more beans in it!  

• About 3/4 cup dried red kidney beans
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 small carrots
• 1 small leek
• 1 red chilli
• 3 peppardew peppers (which I just happened to have - optional!)
• 1 chunk butternut
• 1 sloosh tomato paste
• 2 tbs cooking oil
• 1 tbs soft brown sugar
• 2 tbs dried coconut milk
• 2 tsp bouillon powder
• Salt, pepper, 1 tsp each dried thyme and dried parsley, Dunn's River ginger/garlic/pimento and everyday seasoning

Soak the beans and bicarbonate in plenty of boiling water for a couple of hours.  Drain and rinse, then put the beans in a pressure cooker with enough water to come about 1-2 cm above them, and cook on high pressure for about 15 minutes, allowing pressure to reduce at room temperature.

Put 1 tbs of the cooking oil into a sauté pan and add the vegetables which you have peeled/chopped/crushed/whatever, as appropriate.  Stir thoroughly, cover, and allow to cook for 5-10 minutes.  Then place the remaining tbs of oil in a heavy-based pan and add the sugar.  Heat this and allow to caramelise, but not burn, and then add the beans with their cooking liquid.  This will froth up, so be very, very careful and only add a bit of the water at first, until it gets under control.  Stir thoroughly, then add the part-cooked vegetables and the rest of the ingredients, and a bit more water if you think it needs it.  Bring to the boil, stir thoroughly, and reduce to a simmer.  Allow to cook, covered, for about 15 minutes while you cook rice to go with it.

Another vegan recipe for the collection!