In My Kitchen November: Polenta Crusted Adzuki bean & Vegetable Loaf

This month In My Kitchen I'm sharing a few newish gadgets that bring me much delight, and a recipe I've created using them. 

Let me introduce to you my new Tupperware gadget - 

Extra Chef

I debated long & hard about if I should get one of these as they are a little pricey. In the end, I have decided it has been so so worth the money! It is incredibly versatile, works just as well as my electric food processor and yet runs just on my arm strength!!!! ;-) Gotta love anything that is environmentally friendly and helps with jiggly arm syndrome!
It has a great capacity, but at the same time doesn't take up much cupboard space (considerable less space than a traditional food processor). It is incredibly easy to clean and all the attachments store inside the compartment itself.
I use it for so many things, but it especially comes in handy for when I want to add vegetables to dishes where I don't want them to be chunky.

Let me also introduce to you my new electrical gadget - 

Digital Pressure cooker

I never had much luck with the stove top pressure cooker that I had - so I offloaded it and waited for a good special on an electric one. I was over the moon when Target had a massive homewares clearance and this was less than half price. I quickly informed my husband that it was to be part of my birthday present! Thankfully, he took the hint!!!!

I am REALLY REALLY happy with it's pressure cooking ability. Not only for making legumes from dried instead of relying on canned ones, but also for making soups, stews, as well as cooking rice and other grains.
I LOVE the saute function, as it means I can toss in my onions and garlic and saute them in the same pot before adding other ingredients, saying on washing up. 
The non-stick coating is fantastic meaning I can saute without using oil, and also the insert goes into the dishwasher - a MUST for all our cooking gadgets as I hate washing up!!!!
It is *meant* to be multi-function meaning it can slow cook also, however after several trys with the slow cook feature on maximum length I have been disappointed to find the meal virtually uncooked. So, alas I haven't as yet been able to offload my other slow cooker as I was hoping to with a multi-purpose machine. Though, I find that with this machine I have no real use for a slow cooker as I can pop this on anytime and the keep warm function works amazing. Also everything that I previously would of done in the slow cooker has worked fantastically well being pressure cooked.


And now let me show you a recipe I made using both of these new gadgets:

POLENTA CRUSTED ADZUKI BEAN 
AND VEGETABLE LOAF 

Loaf:
1 onion
3 garlic cloves
1 carrot
1/2 head broccoli
2 celery stalks
1/2 capsicum
2 cups cooked adzuki beans
1 teaspoon each: dried oregano, cumin, turmeric, paprika
1/2 cup tomato paste
Topping:
2 Tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/3 cup polenta
1/3 cup panko breadcrumbs (regular breadcrumbs work fine however I particularly like the added crispiness that panko crumbs provide)


Place all the vegetables roughly chopped into a chopper, or food processor.

Process until all ingredients are finely chopped. (You can do this by hand if you would rather, for the best outcome you need all ingredients very finely chopped.)

In a large bowl, lightly mash the adzuki beans (I used the back of a spoon, depending on how soft your beans are you may need a proper masher) and stir in all the herbs and the tomato paste. 

Add the vegetables to the bowl and stir until well combined.
Press the mixture into a large baking dish (I used a 30cm x 20cm). Press down well.

In a smaller bowl combine the ingredients for the topping/crust. Press the crust over the bean mixture and gently press down. (For a gluten free version replace the breadcrumbs with more polenta.)

Bake in a preheated oven for 35-40minutes until golden brown on top.

Slice and serve.

Delicious with roasted potatoes (as I had but somehow managed to delete the picture)!
My hubby and daughter love this in a burger!

(Note: I have made this several times and I usually include frozen spinach that has been defrosted prior to adding it to the vegetable mix - however on the occasion I was taking pictures I defrosted the spinach and then forgot to stir it in!)


Share what's in your kitchen at Fig Jam and Lime Cordial.

Question of the day:
Have you ever debated about purchasing a kitchen gadget and had it work out more valuable than you initially thought?

Bean & Eggplant Loaf

This makes a great substitute for meatloaf.
Easy to prepare as just a bit of chopping and mixing and then the oven will do the rest of the work for you! Makes a big loaf that can be frozen and used as leftovers.


You'll need:
2 cups cooked adzuki beans
1 small eggplant
1 Tablespoon Italian herbs
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup besan flour
1/2 cup tomato cooking sauce

Mash the beans, not til they are completely mushy, leave a few whole pieces.

Chop the eggplant into small pieces.

It always amazes me that an eggplant can look so small and yet when you chop it up there is soooo much volumne to it!
In a bowl combine the eggplant with the beans & the herbs & the crushed garlic. Stir until combined. Add the besan flour and the tomato sauce. The mixture will hold together.

Press the mixture into a lined baking loaf tin & press down with the back of a spoon.

Bake at 180C for 45 minutes.

Remove from baking tin, peel away baking paper and slice.

So many ways to serve this!
On mash, with salad, in a sandwich..... You pick your favourite!

Shown here over polenta:

Since this is healthy... and it's Friday - I'm going to submit this recipe across at "Healthy Vegan Friday" hosted by the veggie nook blog!

Check out the blog to submit your own recipe :-)

Adzuki Bean Soup

I love aduzki beans.
I wonder why they aren't as popular in cans as many other types of beans???

Thankfully they aren't hard to cook.
My favourite way to have them is in my adzuki bean burgers.
They are also really yummy in soup.  

For this soup you'll need:
1 x 800g tin whole peeled tomatoes
1 cup uncooked adzuki beans
1 leek
1 large brown onion

I use my slow cooker for this soup. You could do it on a stove top if you wanted to also.
I put the adzuki beans in the slow cooker and pour boiling water over them & leave it to soak overnight.
In the morning, I drain & rinse the beans & then place them back into the slow cooker along with the tomatoes, & the chopped leek & onion. I add about a cup of water.
Lid on & let the slow cooker do its thing for the next 8 hours on low.
I find this amount of time also works well for actually cooking the beans so its handy not to have to cook them separately first.
If you can stir the soup every 2 hours it will help the tomatoes to break apart - or else just do it at the end :-) They will be so soft that the side of a soup spoon will gently break the tomatoes into pieces that you can then stir through the rest of the soup.

I love my slow cooker - it makes Tuesday evenings wonderful! :-)

Serve in bowls with a sprinkling of dried oregano - or fresh basil if you have some on hand.

Adzuki bean burgers

This is my all-time favourite veggie burger.
They are easy to make and taste delicious
They can be served as part of a main, or a lunch time meal with salad or on a bread roll.

You'll need:

1 cup adzuki beans
150g firm tofu
1 cup bread crumbs
1/4 cup tomato paste (or tomato sauce if you prefer but the paste has a stronger flavour)
1 tablespoon Italian herbs






Mash the adzuki beans and tofu together in a bowl.

Stir in the breadcrumbs, tomato sauce & herbs.













Mix til well combined.














Shape into patties either with your hands or a hamburger press.

Heat a non-stick fry pan.
Place patties in the fry pan & lightly dry-fry each side til golden brown.

Serve as desired.
Picture shows on a bread roll with lettuce & sweet chili sauce!

Makes 4 patties.