J’AIME JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2022

everyone in the UK made the simple swap from
red meat to plant-based just once a week, it would
cut our greenhouse gas emissions by a staggering
50 million tonnes. That’s a reduction of up to 8.4
percent in the UK’s total greenhouse gas emissions -
the equivalent of taking 16 million cars off the road.
“And that’s just if everyone moved to one plantbased
meal a week,” says Martin. “The impact of
that small change is immense, and that’s something
everyone can do.”
Making plant-based food more accessible is at the
heart of Grubby’s ethos.
“From Grubby’s point of view, we’re trying to
educate people as to how simple the cooking
techniques are,” says Martin. “It’s just about learning
them, and trying Grubby can help. People dip in and
out of Grubby, they use it for recipe inspiration, they
enjoy the meals and then go on to cook them again
themselves, which is cool - it means we need to keep
coming up with new recipes to keep people coming
back.”
And introducing people to new ingredients which
can make their vegan dishes as flavoursome - if not
more so - than meat-based counterparts is key to
changing perceptions around vegan cookery.
“Finding nutritional yeast, or using tahini if you’ve
never used it, can be daunting,” says Martin. “There
are all these weird and wonderful ingredients out
MARTIN HOLDEN-WHITE, LEFT,
AND THE GRUBBY TEAM
there but they might be harder to find, and can be
expensive, then you end up with an entire pot which
sits in the cupboard.
“We provide a small portion so there’s no wastage;
Grubby enables people to dabble in plant-based
cooking without fully committing to spending loads
of money on ingredients.”
So what are Martin’s go-to hero ingredients?
“Nutritional yeast is something that really opened my
eyes, especially in dishes like stews and pastas, where
you want that tang and that cheesy element,” he says.
“Add a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast during
the cooking process and you’ll be really surprised as
to what that can deliver. If you’re trying to emulate
dishes like macaroni cheese, it’s perfect for that, and
in a mushroom stroganoff with coconut milk and
smoked paprika, it’s a great combination.”
Cashew nuts are another firm favourite for Martin.
“They’re an absolutely brilliant ingredient,” he says.
“Cashews are great for making sauces; you can blitz
cashews with Oatly cream, soy sauce and a bit of
lemon juice, and you have the makings of a tasty
carbonara.
“Or you can make toppings that have a similar taste
to parmesan; nutritional yeast mixed with salt and
blitzed cashews sprinkled over the top of dishes
makes a great cheesy topper.”
For added zing when it comes to salads, lemon juice
is another of Martin’s must-haves.
“Lemon is everybody’s friend; in vegan cooking it’s
so good for bringing out the flavour in salads, just
pulling everything together.
“And miso paste. It doesn’t just have to be spread on
things and roasted, that tastes great, but you can use
it for other things too. We were testing a mushroom
risotto and put a little bit of miso in the background
of the stock; if you just use a small amount, it has the
same effect as Marmite or Worcestershire sauce - it
gives that umami, you don’t taste the miso, it just
gives a depth of flavour.”
And while vegan cookery can often be based around
meat replacements, such as tofu and other products
designed to taste like meat, Martin is a firm believer
that veg is the way to go.
“We’ve always believed in the power of plants, and
believe that you can create really delicious food by
just making the veg and raw ingredients really sing;
you don’t need meat or meat replacement products,”
says Martin.
“There’s so much you can do with just veg.”
For more details on Grubby, visit
www.grubby.co.uk
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