Meet the Yorkshire food blogger behind Little Miss Meat Fre

On a mission to bust a few misconceptions about a meat-free diet, even vegans have guilty pleasures, says Katy Beskow. Hers are kettle chips. Or chocolate brownies. Growing up in Beverley, Katy became a vegetarian as a teenager, but it was when she moved to London 10 years ago to study physiotherapy that she embraced veganism.

“Initially it was partly for ethical reasons and partly financial,” she says. “As a student I didn’t have much money and I lived next to this amazing fruit and vegetable market. I had this amazing produce on my doorstep and I’d always enjoyed cooking, so I just started experimenting.”

When friends and family began asking for Katy’s recipes she set up a blog as an easy way to share ideas. However, while Little Miss Meat Free was set up as a hobby, Katy soon found she was getting commissions from magazines to provide vegan recipes.

“Honestly, the response was incredible. In recent years there has been a rise in the number of people turning to a vegan diet and I guess my blog hit at the right time. At first I was juggling it with working as a physiotherapist, but I have now given that up to concentrate on my foodie commitments full time.”

Having moved back to Beverley, Katy can often be found at the Yorkshire Wolds Cookery School showing others how to prepare meat-free dishes and she has also just launched her cookbook Fifteen Minute Vegan.

“I want to show people that vegan food can be both quick and tasty,” she says. “There is this perception that you have to spend hours boiling pulses, but it really doesn’t have to be that way. I’ve also purposefully not included tofu or any specialist ingredients, because I want people to be able to get everything they need from their local market or green grocers.

“My mum and dad are now vegetarian because they realised that they can cook cheap, healthy food using just vegetables.

Katy says her store cupboard essentials are pasta, rice and spices. Lots of spices.

“Just like any diet, a vegan diet must be balanced in order to be healthy. I don’t claim that my recipes are super-charged and uber-healthy, but you’ll find a good mix of good food and cheeky treats. I’m not a food apologist, a little of what you fancy does you good.”

One of Katy’s favourite recipes

Rainbow chard, red bean and peanut stew

Serves 4

Ingredients

1tbsp sunflower oil

1 onion, roughly chopped

100g rainbow chard, roughly chopped

3 cloves of garlic, crushed

1tsp dried chilli flakes

1tsp ground cumin

½tsp ground ginger

400g can chopped tomatoes

4 rounded tbsp crunchy peanut butter

240g can red kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1tbsp light soy sauce

Generous handful of fresh coriander, roughly chopped

Pinch of sea salt

Method

Heat the oil in a large pan over a high heat. Add the onion and rainbow chard to the pan and sauté for two minutes until the onion begins to soften.

Add the garlic to the pan, along with the chilli flakes, cumin, and ginger and cook for a further minute. Tip in the tomatoes and spoon in the peanut butter. Reduce the heat to medium.

Add the red kidney beans and soy sauce to the pan. Stir regularly to prevent burning and cook for eight minutes. Spoon into bowls and scatter with the coriander. Season with salt.

Courgette, pea and watercress minestrone

■ Fifteen Minute Vegan by Katy Beskow is published by Quadrille, priced £15.