Hairy Bikers go veggie with new recipes (2024)

It’s safe to say that Si King and Dave Myers, the TV duo better known as The Hairy Bikers, are dedicated meat lovers. In their 2016 recipe book Meat Feasts, they wrote: ‘There’s something about the smell of meat cooking that signals a feast – a steak on the grill, a roast in the oven, a casserole bubbling: they make your mouth water.’

So it comes as something of a surprise to discover they’ve gone vegetarian – at least part-time – and are so enthusiastic about their new regime that they decided to write a book about it.

The latest in their multi-million-selling Hairy Dieters spin-off series of books features entirely meat-free dishes. A vegetarian diet is, they say, not only an easy way to lose weight ‘because vegetables are lower in calories than meat’, but also gives a fibre boost for the digestive system.

Gone are the juicy slabs of beef and chargrilled chickens, replaced by grains, pulses and clever ways to cook tofu.

Quite a U-turn, I suggest when I meet them, though the pair – these days more slimline than ever – stress that they are not full-time vegetarians. They stay away from meat for about four days a week and say they’re enjoying the variety that veggie cooking brings to their diets.

‘This is a veggie book for meat- eaters,’ Si, 50, says. ‘Simple as that.’

Dave, 59, adds: ‘When I was growing up, especially when I was a student in the 1980s, vegetarian food was a plate of brown stuff.’

Si continues: ‘And you got bored halfway through it. What we’ve done is make great-tasting food that just happens to be less calorific and have no meat. It’s full of texture, flavour, seasonality – and that’s what we do.

‘Even when we make our veggie versions of meat dishes that we love, they are not substitutes trying to replace meat, but vegetarian versions that don’t need it. For example, our mushroom pie with chestnuts is so rich, so creamy. Love a steak and kidney pie? Have this instead and you don’t feel cheated.’

The pair say their conversion wasn’t a conscious decision. They met up at the end of last summer and discovered that they had each been eating green for weeks without realising. Si explains: ‘Dave and I chatted over the summer holidays – he lives in France and I had been in Italy – and we talked about what we had eaten. I said to him, “You know what, I’ve been out here for a month, and I’ve hardly had any meat at all.” And he said, “You know what, King, neither have I.” ’

Dave says: ‘We realised that we had lost weight while being away for the summer, still eating a lot, eating healthy, but hardly any meat. We are still overweight but we are not morbidly obese any more.

‘Some of these dishes are about 220 calories, so you can actually eat double,’ he adds with a chuckle.

Si interjects: ‘As with all our books, we’ve stuck to ingredients that you get in the normal supermarket.’

Summing up their mission, Dave claims: ‘We want to enthuse people about giving veg a go. Trust us. Do it.’

Are they right? Why not try these five mouthwatering recipes from the book and decide for yourself…

Sweet Potato Saag Aloo

Saag aloo is usually made with regular potatoes, but we like our sweet potato version. The great thing about these little beauties is they are richer in nutrients – particularly Vitamin C – than white potatoes and lower in starch. They count towards your five a day, too, while regular potatoes don’t.

Serves 4

200 calories per serving

Prep: 15 minutes

Cooking time: 25 minutes

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large flameproof casserole dish or a deep frying pan. Add 1 onion, thinly sliced, and cook it quite briskly until it’s softened and very lightly browned. Add the 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped, 20g fresh root ginger, grated, and 1 tbsp mild curry powder, stirring until combined.

Add 2 sweet potatoes, diced, to the pan and stir to coat them with the garlic, ginger and spices, then add 1 tomato, diced, and 300ml vegetable stock. Season with salt and pepper. Bring the stock to the boil, then turn down the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently until the sweet potato is just cooked. This should take no longer than 10 minutes, but check regularly from 5 minutes as you don’t want the sweet potato to go mushy – it should still have a little bite to it.

Loosen the sauce with a little more stock or water if necesssary.

Add 150-200g bag of baby spinach, thoroughly washed, to the pan and cover the pan again until it has wilted down. Stir very carefully to combine without breaking up the sweet potatoes.

Add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve garnished with sliced green chillies and a few springs of fresh coriander.

Socca and Salsa

We must warn you: these chickpea flour flatbreads – called socca or farinata – are addictive! You can leave them plain, just seasoned with salt and pepper, or jazz them up with lots of herbs and caramelised onions as here.

Serves 4

262 calories per serving

Prep: 15 minutes

Cooking time: about 30 minutes

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in a frying pan and 2 red onions, sliced into thin wedges. Fry them over a medium heat for at least 10 minutes until they have softened and started to caramelise. Set aside. Put 150g chickpea (gram) flour in a bowl with a generous pinch of salt and whisk to remove any lumps. Gradually pour in 250ml of water and continue to whisk until you have a smooth batter with the consistency of thick double cream. Stir a tablespoon of olive oil and whisk to emulsify. Set the batter aside.

To make the salsa, mix in a large bowl 4 tomatoes cored and diced, ½ small red onion finely chopped, 1 small red chilli finely chopped, 1 tsp rosemary finely chopped, zest of ½ lemon, 1 tsp red wine vinegar, 1 tsp olive oil and small bunch of basil finely chopped. Season well with salt and pepper.

You can make 2 large socca in a 25cm non-stick pan, or 4 in a smaller pan. If making 2 large socca, heat the pan and spritz with low-cal oil spray or pour a few drops of oil into the pan and rub it over the base with kitchen paper. Pour half the batter into the pan and swirl to cover the base. Sprinkle over half the onions and half the rosemary, then cook over a medium heat for a few minutes until browned and crisping round the edges.

Flip the socca over to cook the other side or put the pan under a medium grill to finish the cooking. Transfer it to a board or a large plate and repeat. If you are cooking 4 socca, split the batter into 4 and proceed as above, using a quarter of the onions and rosemary each time. Cut the socca into wedges or serve whole with the salsa.

Tofu BLT

Bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches are one of our favourite things, but we know we shouldn’t be eating bacon too often. With this marinated smoked tofu you get almost the same lovely savoury smoky flavour but it’s much better for you. Win, win, we say.

Serves 4

286 calories per serving

Prep: 10 minutes (plus marinating time)

Cooking time: 15 minutes

First make the marinade: in a bowl, mix 1 tbsp chipotle paste, 1 tbsp maple syrup, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tsp mustard and season with salt and pepper.

Put 200g smoked tofu, cut into 12 thin slices, on a plate and very carefully spread the marinade mixture over them, turning them over so they are completely coated. Leave them for at least half an hour, preferably longer, to marinate.

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and when it’s hot, add the tofu slices and fry them for 2-3 minutes on each side until crisp round the edges.

Prepare 8 thin slices of bread, 2 large tomatoes, sliced, 4 thin rounds of red onion, and a few leaves from a cos lettuce. Spread 4 of the slices with a little low-fat mayonnaise.

Layer on the tomatoes and onion, add the tofu and lettuce and top with the remaining slices of bread.

Meatless Meatballs

These veggie versions have the same lovely comforting mouth-feel as the meaty kind. The family will love ’em!

Serves 4

249 calories per serving; 337 calories with sauce Prep: 25 minutes

Cooking time: up to 50 minutes

Cook 100g brown lentils according to the packet instructions and set them aside in a bowl. If using ready-cooked lentils, use 250g. Preheat oven to 200C/Fan 180C/Gas 6. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a frying pan and add 1 small chopped onion and 1 medium carrot, grated. Cook over a low heat until the onion has softened, then add 100g spinach or chard, washed and finely shredded. Cook until the greens have wilted.

Add 1 garlic clove, finely chopped, and cook for another minute, then add 1 tsp cumin, ½ tsp cinnamon and ½ tsp cardamom. Season with salt and pepper.

Add 50g breadcrumbs, 25g pine nuts lightly crushed, zest and juice of 1 lemon and 2 tbsp finely chopped parsley to the bowl with the lentils, then the cooked vegetables.

Stir in 1 egg. Form the mixture into 12 balls of about 40g each and arrange them on a baking tray. Bake for 10-12 minutes until lightly brown.

To make the tomato sauce, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large saucepan. Add 1 large onion, finely chopped, and soften. Add 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and cook for another minute or so. Add two 400g cans of tomatoes and 200ml red wine, 1 tsp dried oregano and a pinch of cinnamon. Pour in 100ml of water, then season. Bring the sauce to the boil, then turn down the heat to a simmer and cover pan. Cook for 30 minutes, then take the lid off the pan. Continue until thickened.

Finely chop a small bunch of parsley. Put the sauce in a large, shallow flameproof casserole dish or a deep frying pan and stir in 1 tbsp harissa paste, some parsley and a squeeze of lemon juice. Add the lentil and spinach balls in a single layer. Cover and heat on the hob for a few minutes until everything is piping hot.

Mushroom, Leek and Chestnut Pie

There’s nothing quite like a pie, and this version is so tasty and comforting that you won’t even think about steak and kidney.

We’ve made it top crust only to keep the calories down, and we use our special potato pastry which we know you love. This makes a scrumptious family supper.

Serves 6

287 calories per serving Prep: 30 minutes (plus chilling time)

Cooking time: about an hour

To make the pastry, peel 275g floury potatoes, preferably Maris Pipers or King Edwards, and cut them into chunks of about 3cm. Put them in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and bring to the boil. Cook for 10-15 minutes or until very tender.

Drain the potatoes in a colander, tip them back into the saucepan and leave them to dry out for a while – the drier the better. Mash until smooth – don’t add any butter or milk – and leave to cool. Rub 40g chilled butter, diced, into 80g plain flour in a bowl, then add 200g of cooled mash and a tablespoon of semi-skimmed milk. Season with a pinch of salt. Work everything together into a dough, handling it as lightly as possible. If it’s too dry, add a touch more milk, but only a teaspoon at a time. When you have a smooth dough, roll it into a ball, cover it with cling film and chill for at least half an hour before using.

To make the filling, put 15g butter in a large saucepan and melt it over a low heat. Add 2 leeks, sliced, put a lid on the pan and leave the leeks to cook for 5 minutes. Turn up the heat slightly and add 350g chestnut or button mushrooms, sliced. Cook for another 4-5 minutes, then add 2 garlic cloves, chopped, and a large sprig of thyme leaves.

Add 1 tbsp plain flour and stir until you see a roux has started to form around the vegetables. Stir in 1 tsp Dijon mustard, then add 100ml Marsala or red wine and stir until it is well incorporated.

Gradually add 200ml vegetable stock and bring the mixture to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer, while stirring, until it has thickened.

Add 200g vacuum-packed chestnuts, left whole, cover, and remove the pan from the heat. Transfer the filling to a pie dish and leave it to cool. Remember, if you are using a deep pie dish, place a pie funnel in the centre.

Preheat the oven to 190C/Fan 170C/Gas 5. Take pastry out of the fridge, and roll it out on a lightly floured work surface, until it is large enough to cover your pie dish. It will be fairly thin, about 3mm. Using your rolling pin, carefully lift the pastry and place it over the pie. Cut a hole for the pie funnel if you are using one. Wet the rim of the pie plate with water and press the pastry firmly on to it, then trim the edges and crimp them. For a good colour, glaze the pie with beaten egg.

Bake the pie in the preheated oven for 40-45 minutes until the crust is a deep golden brown. Serve with green vegetables.

• The Hairy Dieters Go Veggie, by Si King and Dave Myers, is published by Orion at £14.99. Order your copy for £11.24 (25 per cent discount) until June 4 at www.mailbookshop.co.uk, or call 0844 571 0640