Vegan Chili Cheese Bites - Burger King
Hey guys,
What a crazy Veganuary it’s been and there has been such a weird wave of vegan fast food, so my challenge was to see if I could go out there and create something super delicious, super easy or super innovative. So some of these recipes have kid-friendly versions and a more adult style, and some are just wacky.
Ingredients
Vegan Greek Style (Sainsburys)
Vegan Melting Cheese (New Roots or Tesco Free From Coconut based Cheese)
Jalapeno
Chilli Flakes
Pepper
Flour
Chickpea Flour
Almond Milk
Mustard
Flour
Chickpea Flour
Vegetable Oil
So the inspiration behind these, are the Burger King Chili Cheese Bites. They are deep-fried balls of cheese, and they are amazing. They have chilli in them and are spicy, so you can choose to do that or not for kids, but I adore them. What we need to do, which I have not accurately shown in these photos is make my classic cheese sauce base. I’ve got loads of examples of this on this site, it’s a roux. So you melt oil to flour, same ratio in a pan. Then add double the amount in a liquid, water, or a type of plant milk. You cook from a ball into a paste, then add further liquid until you’re happy with the consistency.
What you then do is add a mass of your favourite cheeses, I added two kinds that I loved with some chilli flakes, jalapenos pepper, and dried chives.
All that needs to be done now, is for you to wait for your mixture to cool, it should be melted and a gloopy consistency. Pop it into a freezer bag and throw it in the freezer. Now you have to wait for this to cool, because it will be easier and more dough-like the colder it is.
You need to get a bowl of flour, a bowl of chickpea flour mixed with plant milk, I add a couple of tbsp into about a cup of milk. This is. your egg replacer. You flour, egg, flour egg. Pour a suitable amount of vegetable oil into a pan, bring to the boil for about three minutes and you can test one of your cheese balls.
You want it to go golden, not too brown. Sometimes they pop and can get a little malformed, but they are amazing and so easy. Just set some paper towels aside and drain any excess fat. My kid-friendly or keto-friendly version included sprouts and broccoli, they were surprisingly amazing together.,
However, I thought about what kind of food these would fit into if I was making a more grown up version and I thought… omg like a Mezze platter of greeky ish things. So I started to plan exactly what would go with what, and I thought - deconstructed stuffed peppers!
Ingredients
Sweet Pointed Peppers
Chickpeas
Tahini
Vegan Yogurt
Olive Oil
Garlic Cloves
Olives
Cumin
Chilli Powder
Garlic Powder
Paprika
Pineapple
Salad Leaves of your choice (Rocket)
Begin by parboiling the peppers, I sliced them in half and deseeded them. You want to literally just loosen the flesh a little, it’s not gonna do much but just helps them become more melt in the mouth in texture when you roast them. I popped them into the oven with some oil for about twenty minutes as the way to serve the chickpeas and cheese bites for later.
Divide a large can of chickpeas into two. Half of them, add to a baking tray with some oil, pop in a few cloves of garlic. I used five cloves and all of that can go in with the peppers, for about twenty minutes again. The garlic caramelizes and it just pops out of its skin, ready to be thrown into the hummus we’re gonna blend up in a sec.
Throw the remaining chickpeas into a jug, add a large tbsp of tahini, some fresh cubes of salad pineapple, maybe about four. Trust me it brings a sweetness to a humus that is the one. Tsp of Cumin, one of Garlic Powder, one of paprika, two of lemon and blend to the consistency you like. Start adding olive oil to the mixture, a literal drizzle to start and then use it as a way to wet the mixture. Add the garlic when ready and blend. It tastes bomb and serves in one of the peppers.
Grab some olive, some bread to dip and some spicy yogurts, serve your chili cheese bites, roasted chickpeas and hummus all together and you have a legit feast. Let me know how you get on with it!
