Serves: 4

These veggie fajitas from Discover Great Veg bring together black beans with cavolo nero, a leafy vegetable which is rich in vitamins A, C and K. Opt for wholemeal tortillas to boost your fibre intake even further.

Ingredients

• 4 flour or corn tortillas
• 2 red onions, sliced into strips
• 1 tbsp veg oil
• 3 cloves garlic, sliced
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• Pinch chilli flakes
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 2 peppers, cut into slices
• 240g tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 tbsp sun-dried tomato paste
• 200g bag of cavolo nero
• 1 ripe avocado, sliced
• 3 tbsp sour cream

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180ºC and wrap four medium tortillas in foil.
2. Slice the onion into strips then add it along with the oil to a frying pan. Fry on a medium heat for seven to eight minutes until soft.
3. Now add the garlic and spices and stir to combine. Cook for a minute, then add the pepper to the pan. Cook for five minutes, then add the black beans, sun-dried tomato paste and cavolo nero.
4. Stir and cook for a further two to three minutes.
5. Meanwhile, put the tortillas in the oven to heat up for five minutes.
6. Season to taste.
7. Serve the tortillas with the fajita mix, avocado and soured cream.

Serves: 2

This delicious salad recipe from Abel & Cole is guaranteed to freshen up your February meal plan. As well as offering a sweet, fragrant flavour, persimmons are rich in vitamins A and C, both of which play a key role in supporting our immune health. Ideal for staving off those late-winter colds.

Ingredients

• 1 red onion
• 1 lime
• 400g tin of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 chilli
• A handful of coriander
• 2 clementines
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 40g honey
• 2 persimmons
• 50g rocket
• 100g soft goat’s cheese

Method

1. Peel and thinly slice the red onion. Pop it in a small, non-metallic bowl. Squeeze in the juice from the lime, add a generous pinch of salt and scrunch together with your hands for about 1 minute. Set aside to pickle.
2. Tip the black beans into a large bowl with the red onions but don’t mix them in. Halve the chilli and flick out the seeds and white pith for less heat. Finely chop the chilli, coriander leaves and stalks. Peel the clementines and remove as much pith as possible. Break them into segments, then roughly chop them. Add the chilli, coriander and clementines to the beans.
3. Pour the balsamic vinegar into a small bowl. Add the honey, one tbsp olive oil and a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk with a fork to make a dressing. Add to the beans and stir well to mix.
4. Thinly slice the persimmons.
5. Divide the rocket between two plates. Top with the black beans and persimmons. Dot over the goat’s cheese and top with the pickled red onions. Serve straight away.

Serves: 3

Straight from the kitchen of vegan chef and Wild Root founder Charlie Tomlinson, this recipe is the perfect combination of fresh and creamy, with the roasted aubergine, green beans and black beans contrasting with the coconut and peanut butter in the sauce. The above picture shows the recipe being made with lentils, but Tomlinson often switches them out for black beans, as the recipe below recommends.

Ingredients

For the stew:

• 1 onion, sliced 
• 2 cloves of garlic, crushed 
• 1 tin cherry tomatoes
• 100g block of creamed coconut, dissolved in 350ml of boiling water 
• 3 tbsp rose harissa paste 
• 2 tbsp peanut butter 
• 1 tbsp maple syrup 
• Salt to taste

For the roasted aubergine, green beans and black beans:

• 1 aubergine 
• 1 tbsp maple syrup 
• High quality olive oil for roasting 
• Salt and pepper to taste 
• 1 tin black beans, drained and rinsed
• 150g green beans

For the garnish:

• Harrisa oil (½ tsp of harissa and 1 tbsp olive oil) 
• Coconut yoghurt 
• Fresh coriander

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200ºC.
2. Chop the aubergine into one-inch cubes and place into a baking dish. Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle salt over the aubergine, and mix until all sides are coated.
3. Add the black beans to a second baking dish along with olive oil and salt and mix.
4. Put both baking trays in the oven to roast for 15 minutes.
5. In the meantime, slice up the onion and place in a shallow pan on the hob with some good quality olive oil. Fry the onion until soft, for about five minutes.
6. Add the crushed garlic. Continue to fry until it turns slightly brown. Turn down the heat whilst you check on the veg in the oven.
7. Once 15 minutes is up, take both dishes out of the oven. Drizzle maple syrup over the aubergine and put back in the oven. Add the green beans in with the black beans and salt to taste. Place both dishes back in the oven for a further 15 minutes.
8. Prep the coconut milk. Dilute the block of 100g creamed coconut in a jug of 350ml boiling water until completely dissolved.
9. Return to the stew on the hob. Add the tin of tomatoes and coconut milk from your jug to the pan, and stir and simmer on a medium heat for five minutes.
10. Add the harissa, peanut butter and maple syrup into the pan and salt to taste. Leave to simmer for five minutes.
11. Add the sauce into a blender and blend until smooth (optional). If you want to blend the sauce, wait until it has cooled.
12. Return the sauce to your pan to warm through. Once hot, divide into three shallow bowls and top with roasted aubergine, green beans and lentils or black beans.
13. Add an extra garnish of coconut yoghurt or any plant-based yoghurt you prefer. Drizzle over harissa oil and garnish with coriander; serve and enjoy.