Embracing Veganuary | Sustainability in 2023

News Monday 23 January 2023

Every month throughout the year IBB Hotel Collection will be promoting one eco-action. To start off the year, this month we are promoting Veganuary! Veganuary is a plant-based revolution that advocates for more people and businesses to embrace a lifestyle that involves the consumption of less animal products.

Why is it beneficial to eat less animal products?

Through the Veganuary campaign, millions of people are encouraged to eat vegan in January and thousands of businesses are encouraged to increase their vegan options to inspire this audience. This action then increases the chances of more people trying vegan options because they are more easily available.

The consumption of less animal products can help the environment, prevent animal suffering, and improve the health of millions of people around the world. We are not advocating for a vegan world because we are free to choose how we live our lives, but if we all make an effort to have a few meat and dairy-free meals per month or make a conscious decision to consume sustainably-sourced food, we will be helping our ourselves and our planet.

Our pledge to sustainability

IBB Hotel Collection is committed to our sustainability pledge for 2023, and we are happy to announce our first eco-action!

We want 60% of all our meal options across our IBB hotels in Europe, as well as our Cugó Gran brand, to be vegan and vegetarian as of 2024.

We want to make a positive impact, and let our actions speak for themselves. We are excited to make this happen and look forward to looking back at this moment a year from now to see how far we have come.

Below we are sharing some tasty vegan recipes, and we hope you will choose to make one of these meals for you and your loved ones. If you would like an overview of our 2023 sustainability initiative, take a look here. Stay tuned for next month’s initiative announcement! We also encourage you to subscribe to our newsletter to keep up to date with our latest announcements, news and offers.

Vegan recipes

Contrary to the stereotype, vegan food can be varied and delicious, and to celebrate that, we encourage you to replicate some vegan dishes at home and tag us in your creations. It is a great opportunity to make the most of local fresh ingredients, to try foods you have not experienced before, and to add colour to your meals.

Creamy Potato & Leek soup

Recipe by: Melissa Huggins for veganhuggs.com

Serves: 1

Ingredients

5 tablespoons olive oil (or preferred oil)
1 tablespoon vegan butter
1 small onion, diced
3 large leeks, cleaned well & thinly sliced (white & light green part only) *See note
5 medium russet potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt, more to taste
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
5 teaspoons dried thyme
5 teaspoon dried rosemary
5 teaspoon ground coriander (optional)
1175 ml vegetable broth (low sodium)
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (optional)
240 ml canned coconut milk (or any unsweetened plant-based milk)

Preparation

Make sure leeks are washed well first. *See note on instructions
Heat the oil, butter and a pinch of salt in a large pot over medium heat. Add the leeks & onion, sauté until softened, about 5-6 minutes.
Add the potatoes, garlic, thyme, rosemary, and coriander. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add the vegetable broth, bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Raise heat so it starts to simmer. Now reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for about 15-20 minutes, or until the potatoes are fork tender.
Remove from heat and remove bay leaves. Stir in the coconut milk and optional lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add more to taste.
Using an immersion blender, blend until smooth and creamy. You can also use a regular blender and carefully blend in batches. Before blending, set aside a few pieces of potato for the garnish.
Serve in soup bowls and top with chopped green onion, fresh ground pepper and a few pieces of cooked potato.

Quinoa Stuffed Butternut Squash with Cranberries and Kale

Recipe by: Erin Clarke for wellplated.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients

2 medium butternut squash about 2 1/2 pounds each
2 teaspoons olive oil, divided
3/4 cup quinoa
1 1/2 cups low sodium vegetable broth or chicken broth
1 bunch kale stems removed and chopped (about 6 lightly packed cups)
2 cloves garlic minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt plus additional for roasting squash
1/2 teaspoon black pepper plus additional for roasting squash
1 can low sodium chickpeas (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
Zest of 1 orange plus 1 tablespoon fresh orange juice
1/3 cup reduced sugar dried cranberries

Preparation

Place a rack in the centre of your oven and preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Halve the butternut squash, scoop out the seeds, then arrange the halves on a baking tray, cut sides up. Drizzle with 1 teaspoon olive oil and sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper. Bake 45-55 minutes, just until the squash is fork tender. Remove from the oven and let cool. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 degrees.
While the squash is baking, place the broth in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the quinoa, return to a boil, then reduce the heat, cover, and let simmer for 12 minutes, until most of the broth is absorbed. Remove from the heat and let sit, covered, for 15 minutes. Fluff with a fork, then set aside.
In a large skillet, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon olive over medium. Add the kale and cook until wilted, about 4 minutes, then reduce the heat to medium low. Add the garlic, oregano, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper. Cook 30 additional seconds, until is fragrant. Stir in the chickpeas, orange zest, orange juice, cooked quinoa, and cranberries.
Once the squash is cool enough to handle, scoop out the flesh, leaving a 1/2-inch-thick border around the sides and a 3/4-inch border along the bottom. Reserve the flesh for another use (or if you don’t mind a super duper stuffed squash, mix it in with the rest of the filling). Stuff the kale quinoa filling into the squash halves, then return the squash to the oven. Bake at 375 degrees until hot, about 10 additional minutes. Sprinkle with cheese and serve warm.

Sesame Tofu

Recipe by: Nora for noracooks.com

Serves: 6

Ingredients (Tofu)

2 (16 ounce) blocks firm or extra-firm tofu
2 teaspoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce *use tamari for gluten free
2 tablespoons cornstarch

Ingredients (Sesame sauce)

1/2 cup low sodium soy sauce (or tamari)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup agave, maple syrup or brown sugar
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
1-2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce, more or less to taste
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Ingredients (For serving)

4 cups cooked rice
chopped green onions
sesame seeds
steamed broccoli

Preparation

Press the tofu: Wrap each block of tofu in paper towels. Place a plate or pan on top of the wrapped tofu, and put a couple of heavy books on top of that. Let the tofu press for 20 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and lightly grease a large baking sheet with oil or line with parchment paper.
Slice the pressed tofu into cubes, then add them to a large ziplock bag (or large bowl), along with the sesame oil, soy sauce and cornstarch. Close the bag, and shake gently to coat. Arrange the tofu evenly on the prepared pan, and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden and crispy.
While the tofu bakes, cook your rice and make the sauce. In a large pan, add the soy sauce, garlic, agave, seasoned rice vinegar and Sriracha hot sauce. Stir and bring to a simmer over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix the cornstarch and water together until smooth, then pour into the pan. Stir constantly until the sauce thickens, then turn off the heat. Stir in the sesame oil.
When the tofu is done baking, add it to the sauce and stir to coat the pieces. Serve with rice, sesame seeds, chopped green onions and some steamed broccoli. Enjoy!

Smoked Aubergine

Recipe by: Alfred Prasad for greatbritishchefs.com

Serves: 4

Ingredients

3 large aubergines
1 tbsp of vegetable oil, plus more for coating
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried red chillies, de-seeded and broken
1 tbsp of garlic, chopped
1 tbsp of ginger, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tomatoes, chopped
Salt

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200°C/gas mark 6
Coat the whole aubergines with oil and place on a grill rack with a drip tray below. Roast in the oven for 30 minutes, then switch to the grill and char-grill the aubergines, turning periodically to ensure the skin is cooked evenly.
Meanwhile, prepare the garnish. Lightly salt the diced aubergine and set aside for 10-15 minutes. Add a dash of oil to a pan and place over a medium heat, then add the diced red pepper and cook very briefly for 30-40 seconds. Remove the diced peppers and set aside, then place the pan back on the heat. Add another small dash of oil and, once hot, add the diced aubergine and cook for 1-2 minutes until soft. Combine the cooked aubergine and pepper and set aside until ready to serve.
Wrap the char-grilled aubergines in cling film and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Once chilled, halve the aubergines and remove the flesh from the skin, keeping four of the skins for plating and discarding the rest. Roughly chop the aubergine flesh and set aside.
Heat oil in a large saucepan. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the broken red chilli and allow to darken – but not burn – in the pan. Stir through the chopped garlic and sauté until browned, then add the ginger and onion to the pan and cook until the onions have softened.
Add the spice powders and sauté for a further 5 minutes, stirring well, then add the chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes begin to break down. Add the chopped aubergine flesh, season well and cook for five minutes until the flesh has warmed through completely.
To serve, place one of the empty aubergine skins on each plate and evenly fill with the spicy aubergine mix. Top the dish with the diced aubergine garnish and finish with the sesame seeds, edible flowers and fresh coriander. Serve immediately.