“What people want is quick, easy recipes,” says Helen Tzouganatos.

Helen is also a mother of three and says her cooking is practical by necessity.

Her test kitchen is her actual kitchen and the kids give “brutally honest” feedback.

While her passion has always been food, Helen’s first career was a corporate one.

Discovering she had coeliac disease at an IVF clinic 18 years ago propelled her into the world of gluten-free cooking and she’s since published four cookbooks and hosted a gluten-free cooking show.

Along the way, Helen’s learnt a lot about how to make household cooking easier and faster.

“Even if you’re not gluten free, if you coat your chicken schnitzel in cornflour — as opposed to regular flour — it’s crunchier,” she explains.

And cutting vegetables into smaller pieces helps reduce your cook time.

For example, “if you’re making an express bolognese and you want it to caramelise quickly, cut the carrots and celery and onions smaller and it will caramelise much faster”.

This is also where tinned food — from tuna, to tomatoes, to butter beans — comes into Helen’s ethos as a nutritious and pragmatic cook.

We don’t always have the time to cook beans from scratch, but a tin of butter beans can deliver a fast, economical, wholesome and high-protein dinner, she says.

Tips:Helen says the butter bean brine — from the tin — and the miso creates creaminess in this recipe, even though it’s dairy free. If you prefer tinned chickpeas or cannellini beans, they can be easily swapped for butter beans here.You could use uncooked beans — instead of tinned — and soak them overnight or for six hours instead and “you’ll get a creamier result”, but the difference is “marginal”.The spinach could be substituted for alternative greens, such as rocket or bok choy.Carrots, sweet potato or other “limpy vegetables that have been left in the fridge” could also be added. If using, start the recipe by sautéing them.This recipe can be a main meal or if you’re feeding big appetites, it can be a satisfying side.Helen says you could also try a shakshuka spin on the dish for breakfast or brunch by cracking a couple of eggs on top and popping the lid on until they’ve cooked to your liking. If you’re cooking this recipe for dinner, leftovers make a good lunch the next day. 

Posted 3h ago3 hours agoSat 4 Apr 2026 at 2:00am