Bittman’s vegan dishes: Bean burgers and more

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   >>> and this morning on how to cook everything today, a diet of less meat and more plants. if you want to be better, healthier, why not add a few vegan meals to your rotation? mark bitman is here with recipes, for the semi vegan. that appeared in "the new york times" magazine. and he's the author of the "how to cook everything" cookbook. hey mark, good to see you. we've known each other for a long time. you know this is going to be a bit of an uphill climb for me, because i'm a carnivore. talk to me about what you mean by semi vegan.

   >> we all know that eating less meat is good for us.

   >> right.

   >> we all know we eat too much. there's a study i wrote about in the paper yesterday, that we are as a nation, eating 12% less meat than we were five years ago.

   >> people aren't doing it and cutting it out cold turkey , no pun intended.

   >> no.

   >> they're gradually doing it, right?

   >> yeah. and that's the idea. no one is talking about it out entirely. i'm talking about shifting the balance in your diet.

   >> just to be clear, true vegans, no animal products at all, correct?

   >> no meat, no dairy, no nothing. but we're not talking about that. i'm just -- trying to encourage people to integrate more meatless main courses.

   >> maybe one day a week?

   >> one day a week, whatever. settle what are we making, risotto?

   >> yes, but with barley. and so it's a little different. we start with sauteed onions, some dried mushrooms of any time you like, you could use fresh mushrooms, too. a little bit of saffron for color, but just a pinch, it's expensive stuff.

   >> why do you like barley?

   >> it gets that same kind of creaminess that rice does. and it's a whole grain. so you're getting a higher degree of fiber than you would with white rice .

   >> easy or hard to cook?

   >> very easy. this is a 20-minute process or so. you cook the barley, just as you would risotto. you cook the barley until it's kind of glossy. and then --

   >> what kind of stock are we going to add to that?

   >> vegetable stock, because we're being vegan. but actually water. you've got so much flavor in here from onion and mushroom and saffron, that even water would work. a little bit of white wine . and then you add the stock, a little bit at a time and stir after every, every addition.

   >> as you said, 20 minutes , start to finish, you're done.

   >> it's a little bit of work, but pretty easy. let me make this --

   >> you don't have to garnish for me, you know that.

   >> well, okay. i don't have to garnish for you? well i do want to finish it with some other --

   >> it's delicious. i will tell you that.

   >> it's even better now.

   >> now we move on. next you're going to make a bean burger? nothing says good morning like a bean burger.

   >> this is what i had for breakfast.

   >> i thought that was you. what else do we need to know about this?

   >> that it's a lunch dish, actually. you know, a bean burger is not a hamburger. but the idea that you can make a burger with no meat whatsoever and you know, they look great, you can garnish them like that.

   >> i was surprised at how few ingredients there are. it's basically just beans --

   >> we can do it, actually. we've got some onion. some cooked white beans, you could use black, red, whatever you like.

   >> what's this?

   >> this is oats. and you need it basically for binding to hold it together.

   >> this is, that's pretty incredible.

   >> that's the burger, not you, right?

   >> very funny.

   >> okay. and a little chili powder .

   >> could you add some other herbs and spices?

   >> it could go any direction you want to. and a little water if, if it's too stiff, a little water, if it's not stiff enough. a little more oats.

   >> you're going to form it into a patty and put it into a pan and fry it?

   >> right. that's what i'm going to do. and you fry it just like you would a burger.

   >> i want to taste that real quickly.

   >> i don't want to take a whole bun one.

   >> it's going to be hot.

   >> it is. it's also good, i have to say. real quickly the last one is the sweet potato soup ?

   >> this is sweet potatoes and apples, curry powder , coconut milk . this is real crowd pleaser, because it's quite sweet, but naturally so.

   >> this is a side dish or a main course ?

   >> a main course with our barley risotto, for example. and some peanuts and cilantro. you're done.

   >> the message here, don't give up meat completely, if you don't want to, try a little at a time. you're burning your bean burgers.

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