When I was growing up in Llanelli we always referred to the Conservative club as ‘The Con Club’. There was no malicious intent in this, after all, in those days, the Conservatives, in Llanelli at least, were not even significant enough to be regarded as a sideshow. I have noticed that in Cardiff the Conservative clubs are referred to as ‘Cons Clubs’ and even labelled as such on their signage. I suspect this is because when you add the ‘s’ it sort of dilutes the meaning of ‘con’ which, when you strip away all the bollocks, is what all political parties, and in particular the Conservatives, are – a great big fat con.

Riverside ‘Cons’ club – open for business – hmm!

But never mind about all that – I’ve typed the word ‘Conservative’ far too many times for my mental health so I want to turn to the issue of making a decent vegan burger.

This one is pretty good :

Vegan Black Bean and Mushroom Burgers – Gluten Free

We made these last night, I forgot to write down the ingredients so I hope I haven’t forgotten anything

Makes about 6 burgers

• 2 or 3 cups of cooked black beans – mashed roughly
• bunch of spring onions (scallions) – sliced thinly
• 1 chilli – chopped
• 4 large cloves garlic – crushed
• 2 tablespoons gram flour
• 1 tablespoon ground flax / linseed
• 1 dessert spoon chia seeds (optional)
• 1 huge mushroom – chopped finely
• salt
• pepper
• tamari
• some liquid from the beans
• rapeseed (canola) oil for frying
• a bit more gram flour for coating

Mix all the ingredients adding salt, pepper and tamari according to your taste – the mixture should be firm but moist

• Form into burger shapes
• coat with a little gram flour each side
• chill before cooking if you like
• fry on a moderate heat until browned and warmed through

voila!