Eggplant moussaka, pumpkin quinoa salad, roasted brussel sprouts with tahini and maple.

Made for a feast in Reykjavik, Iceland.



Eggplant Moussaka with pine-nut cream (from http://www.theppk.com):

For the vegetable layer:
1 lb eggplant
1 lb zucchini
1 1/2 lbs russet-type baking potatoes (using large, long potatoes works perfectly in this recipe)
1/4 cup olive oil

For the sauce:
1/4 cup olive oil
4 large shallots, sliced thin
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup vegetable broth or red wine
2, 15 oz. cans crushed tomatoes, with juice
2 teaspoons oregano
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 bay leaf
salt to taste

Pine Nut Topping:
1 lb. soft tofu
1/2 cup pine nuts
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon arrowroot powder
1 clove garlic
pinch nutmeg
1 1/4 teaspoon salt or to taste
white pepper to taste

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

Extra pine nuts for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 400. Lightly oil three baking sheets or shallow pans.

Wash and trim stem from eggplant and zucchini. Scrub and peel potato. Slice the eggplant, zucchini and potato, lengthwise, into approximately 1/4 inch thick slices. Rub eggplant slices with a little salt and set aside in a colander in the sink or in a big bowl for about 15 minutes to soften, briefly rinsing with cold water and squeezing out any excess liquid water.

Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper and place each vegetable on a separate baking sheet. Distribute 1/4 cup oil between the three sheets and sprinkle vegetables with salt (except eggplant if salted already). Toss to coat, making sure each piece is completely coated with oil. Spread vegetables out with minimal overlapping. Roast the zucchini and eggplant for 15 minutes or until tender. Roast the potatoes for about 22 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Remove from oven and let cool.

While vegetables are cooking prepare the tomato sauce. Add remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and minced garlic to a large heavy bottom sauce pot. Bring to medium heat and let garlic sizzle for about 30 seconds, then add shallots and cook until soft and translucent, 3 to 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer until slightly reduced, another 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, oregano, ground cinnamon and bay leaf. Partially cover and simmer over medium-low heat for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring occasionally. Sauce should reduce slightly. Turn off the heat, remove bay leaf and adjust salt.

Make the pine nut topping:
In a food processor blend together pine nuts and lemon juice, scrapping the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula until a creamy paste forms. Add tofu, garlic, arrowroot, nutmeg, salt and white pepper. Blend until creamy and smooth.

Lightly oil a 9 x 13 pan and pre-heat oven again to 400 F. Spread 1/4 cup of sauce in the pan, then add a layer of the following; eggplant, potatoes, sauce, and half of the breadcrumbs. Spread all of the zucchini on top of this. Top with a final layer of eggplant, potatoes, sauce and breadcrumbs. Use a rubber spatula to evenly spread the pine nut topping over the entire top, smoothing out any uneven spots. Scatter a few pine nuts on top if desired. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until top is lightly browned and a few cracks have formed in the topping. Allow to cool 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Roast Pumpkin salad with bulgur (we used quinoa) - (via Jesus)



ingredients
1/4 cup of bulghur
1/4 medium pumpkin, cut small and roasted
2 tbsp of sunflower seeds
1/4 cup of toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup of chopped, dried cranberries
1/4 cup of cooked lentils
1/4 cup of chopped fresh herbs... I used parsley but mint on its own or with parley would be good too
Squeeze of lemon juice and a glug of olive oil for dressing

method
1. Cook the bulghur just like you would white rice, 1:2 bulghur to water in a small pot over medium heat with the lid on. It took about 20 minutes, just stir and test at the 15 minute mark to see how its going. 

2. In the meantime toast the pinenuts and roast the pumpkin, chop up the dried cranberries and fresh herbs. 

3. When everything is ready toss in a large bowl with the dressing and serve immediately. 




Roasted Brussel Sprouts with tahini and maple (also via Jesus): (p.s. please note these are about the BEST FUCKING BRUSSEL SPROUTS YOU WILL EVER EAT IN YOUR LIFE)

ingredients
500 gms of brussel sprouts, ends trimmed and yellow leaves removed
1 tbsp of olive oil
sea salt and pepper
1 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp of maple syrup (or rice syrup - liquid sweetner of choice)
1 tbsp of sunflower seeds (optional)
1 tsp sesame seeds (optional)

method
1. Preheat oven to 205 degrees celcius. Toss the brussel sprouts in the olive oil and sprinkles of salt and pepper (I love loads of salt but do it to your taste) and roast for about half an hour, shaking the pan every 5-10 minutes to get even coverage. The brussel sprouts are done when they look like a roast potato (see picture). 

2. Remove sprouts from the oven and put into a heat proof bowl. Drizzle the tahini and maple syrup over them, toss to cover sprouts evenly then sprinkle with sunflower seeds and serve.

Carla's zucchini fritters.

From Easy As Vegan Pie.net.

I just winged this recipe, a combination of a couple from Veganomicon. The mixture was almost like pancake batter which I then pretty much cooked just like a pancake. They were super yummy!

ingredients
2 zucchinis - grated
1/4 cup of chutney
1 tsp of tomato paste
1/2 cup of flour
1 small onion diced
1 clove of garlic - minced
salt
pepper

method
1. Combine. Heat a pan with a thin layer of oil on medium heat. Scoop with a ladle into pan and thin out the surface of fritter so it resembles a thick pancake. Flip when brown.

note: I served with Nanna Pats tomato relish and rocket pesto. This would rocked with some grated Cheezly in it as well, you could also add some corn!

CHEF'S NOTE:

We added 1/2 cup of nootch and an extra 1/3 cup plain flour, as the first batch I ever made of these was a bit wet.  Today we also added 1 'egg' egg replacer which made them hold together really well.

Served with Tofutti sour cream, which we mixed with minced garlic, lemon juice and dill.  HURRAY!

Green bean Greek casserole and kickass sausage rolls.

Green bean Greek Casserole:

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs. green beans, cleaned and trimmed
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2-3 medium potatoes, cut in large wedges
• A large handful of baby carrots
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
• 2 tbsp. tomato paste
• 4-5 ripe tomatoes, skinned and crushed (substitute 1 cup canned crushed tomatoes)
• 1½ cups warm water
• 1 tsp. sugar
• 1 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
• Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

In a large Dutch oven or pot, heat the olive oil over medium high heat. Add the onion and saute until translucent. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about one minute.

Add the green beans, potatoes, and carrots to the pot. Dissolve the tomato paste in the water and add, along with the crushed tomatoes, parsley, and sugar. Lower the heat to medium low and simmer covered for about an hour or until the green beans are tender but not mushy.

In the last ten minutes of cooking, add the chopped fresh dill and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Note: Be sure to monitor your liquid levels while the beans are cooking. You can add a little bit of water if needed.

Vegan sausage rolls (from Where's the Beef?)

125g pecans
stale bread to make ~1/2 cup breadcrumbs
1 onion
300g silken tofu
1 cup rolled oats
1 Massel beef-style stock cube
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons soy sauce (you can use less - the end result will be less salty and brown, and therefore less resemble a 'real' sausage roll)
ground pepper, to taste
3-4 frozen puff pastry sheets (~25cm square, Borg's is vegan)
water or vegan milk for brushing pastry
sesame seeds

My preferred way of prepping this filling makes maximum use of my food processor. If you don't have one, chopping and mashing will do the job just fine. Start by processing the pecans until they're thoroughly chopped, but not all gone to powder. Tip them into a large mixing bowl, then toss the bread into the food processor and whizz it until it's crumbs. Toss the crumbs in with the pecans and move onto the onion. Chop it into 8 chunks and process them briefly until they've a 'finely chopped' kinda texture. Add them to the mixing bowl, and finally whizz up the tofu until it's a smooth mush. Add it to the mixing bowl, as well as the rest of the filling ingredients: rolled oats, a crumbled-up stock cube, garlic powder, soy sauce and pepper. Stir everything together well.

Now preheat the oven to 200 degrees C and lightly grease a baking tray. Thaw out your puff pastry, and slice each sheet in half so that it makes two rectangles. Spoon the filling down the centre third of each pastry rectangle; lightly brush another third with water or milk and then roll the pastry, starting from the empty third and tucking it into the brushed third. Slice the roll into halves, thirds or quarters as you wish and place them on the baking tray. Make a couple more diagonal cuts in the top of the roll, brush the top with more water/milk and sprinkle over some sesame seeds. Repeat with the remaining filling and pastry. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until they're golden brown and flaky. Serve with lots of sauce

Asparagus quiche.

This vegan quiche is particularly wonderful in the summertime when asparagus is in season and grilling always sounds like a good idea. Feel free to use this recipe all throughout the year, though, and substitute whatever fresh veggies you have on hand!

Prep Time: 30 minutes

Cook Time: 50 minutes

Total Time: 80 minutes

Yield: One 9" Quiche

Ingredients:

• For the Grilled Asparagus:
• 1/2 pound fresh asparagus
• Olive oil, for brushing
• Salt and pepper
• For the Quiche:
• 8 ounces block-style dairy-free cheese of your choice, crumbled
• 2 12.3-ounce packages firm silken tofu, drained
• 1/2 cup plain soy milk or almond milk
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 3 T. finely ground cashews
• 3 T. cornstarch
• 3 T. dairy-free cream cheese, such as Tofutti
• 1 t. salt
• 1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 t. garlic powder
• 1/2 t. onion powder
• 1/4 t. turmeric

Preparation:

1. Grill the asparagus. Heat the grill to high heat. Brush the asparagus spears with olive oil. Lightly salt and pepper, and grill for about 5 minutes, or until just lightly browned and still crisp. Remove from the grill, cut into pieces and set aside.

2. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9" pie plate and set aside.

3. Prepare the quiche. Sprinkle about 1/2 of the crumbled dairy-free cheese in the bottom of the pie plate. Spread the asparagus on top of the crumbled dairy-free cheese. Set aside. In a blender, process the tofu, soy milk, nutritional yeast, ground cashews, cornstarch, dairy-free cream cheese, salt, freshly ground pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, and turmeric until smooth. Stir in the the remaining crumble dairy free cheese using a wooden spoon. Pour the mixture into the prepared pie plate.

4. Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown, or until a toothpick inserted into the center emerges clean. Serve warm or cold

CHEF'S NOTE:

I used a pie crust with this, and only one tbsp plain flour.  It worked really well.  I also added two tbsp of white miso to make it creamy and salty.  IT WAS THE SHIZZ I MEAN IT.

Carrot and coconut salad.

Ingredients

Serves: 4

• 4 medium carrots (about 500 g) peeled, cut into matchsticks
• 3⁄4 cup (60 g) Italian parsley leaves
• 4 tablespoons shredded coconut, toasted
• 3 tablespoons hazelnuts, toasted, chopped
• 3 tablespoons sultanas
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin, toasted

Preparation method

Prep: 15 minutes

1.

Place carrots, parsley, coconut, hazelnuts and sultanas in a medium serving bowl.

2.

Combine oil, juice and cumin and stir into salad. Divide salad among individual serving bowls.

Ginger miso dressing.

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp soyaki (or more soy sauce)

1 tbsp (yellow, mild) miso

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp mirin

1 tbsp fresh, grated ginger

2 tsp sesame oil

CHEF'S NOTE: I made this today and poured it over soba noodles, blanched broccolini and snow peas.  To top it off I added Teriyaki tofu, avocado, cherry tomatoes and coriander.  IT WAS FUCKING BRILLIANT.

Carla's blue cheezly gnocchi with broccolini.

From Easy As Vegan Pie.

ingredients
yields 4 medium meals
1 carton of Isola rice cooking cream
1/2 stick of blue cheezly, grated
gnocchi for 4 people*
1/2 bunch of broccolini, sliced thinly


method
1. Heat the rice cream on low and add the blue cheezly, it should be all melted and hot by the time the gnocchi has finished cooking.

2. Throw the gnocchi in salted boiling water, when it rises to the top its cooked.

3. Toss the gnocchi in the sauce and add the broccolini. The heat will be enough to cook the broccolini.

notes: Store bought dried gnocchi is vegan, I use 2 handfuls per person for a serving.
style points: For extra deliciousness add 1/4 block of smoked tofu, cubed small to the heated cream sauce.