Katy Beskow 15 minute vegan fast, modern vegan cooking

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Katy Beskow
15-minute vegan
fast, modern vegan cooking

Why vegan?

As a life-long animal lover, I have been a vegetarian from childhood. I became vegan when I moved to London and stumbled across a colourful fruit-and-vegetable market, which left me intoxicated with new sights, fragrances, and tastes. Every Saturday morning, I rushed to the market as early as I could to get the freshest produce and be back in time to be inspired by a day of food TV programmes. I didn’t have Nigel Slater’s kitchen garden and I couldn’t afford to shop in Nigella’s delicatessens, but I had a brown paper bag full of colourful fruits and vegetables waiting to be cooked into something delicious (even if it was in the tiniest of kitchens, with just two pans and a cracked jug). I had a limited budget and discovered that by not using any expensive animal ingredients I could experiment even more with flavours and textures.
People choose to become vegan for many reasons, including ethical values, environmental issues, sustainability, reduction of food costs, and health improvement. For me, any health benefit of a vegan diet is a happy side effect of choices that are primarily ethical. More questions are raised about where food is from, the ethics, production, and environmental and humanitarian impact created by what a consumer chooses to purchase and eat. Due to this, there are more people than ever reducing their meat and dairy intake, whether it’s to live a vegan lifestyle or simply to try something a bit different in their diet. This book isn’t designed as a resource for discussing the politics of veganism, but as a celebration of great, fast food that can be enjoyed by everyone. Vegan food is no longer considered bland and minimalist. If we see past the ‘meat-and-two-veg’ style of eating and look at better ways to prepare, eat, and enjoy our food, a world of new flavours, textures, and dishes awaits. So many people eat the same old meals, perhaps due to habit or lack of confidence in the kitchen, but not truly enjoying their food, which is a good indication that it is time to shake things up and try new ingredients and methods of cooking.
Reducing dairy and eggs isn’t as difficult as it may initially seem. Many of us have a learnt dependence on dairy products, rather than trying something plant-based that can be equally as delicious. Think you can’t enjoy a bowl of chilli without a cooling swirl of soured cream? Slice over a creamy avocado. Wonder how you will ever get that soup so thick and rich? Use coconut milk. There’s an alternative for everything, which just involves stepping outside the box.
Vegan food lends itself particularly well to fast cooking, as the basic ingredients are easy to prepare and cook. There are fewer food-safety concerns compared with the storage, preparation, and use of meat, fish, dairy, and eggs; just be sure to wash your fresh vegetables thoroughly, store non-dairy milk and yoghurt products in the refrigerator, and ensure any beans and pulses are cooked thoroughly before consuming. Great vegan food doesn’t have to be complicated – and I promise it won’t be bland. Every recipe in this book has been tested to ensure it is packed with flavour, using the simplest and fastest methods. After all, we want to be eating the food, not waiting for it to cook!

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