A page upon which I indulge my fevered passion for vegan cooking and also have somewhere to reference online recipes when I get stuck in a country house without knowing what the deuce to cook. Read, let's hold hands, it'll be fun.
CHEF'S NOTE: I make this a lot, and it keeps reasonably well so long as you don't drench it in dressing. I never use the cucumber or spring onions - though I do like to add tamari almonds at the end, for deliciousness.
Ingredients
Serves: 8
3 cupsgrated carrots
2 cupsbroccoli coleslaw or finely julienned broccoli stalks
2 cupsmung bean sprots
1 largecucumber peeled, seeded and julienned
2 cups(2 bunches) fresh coriander chopped finely
1 bunchof spring onions sliced finely
To make the dressing:
just over 1/2 cupcup freshly squeezed lime juice
3 Tbspcold pressed sesame oil
2 Tbspagave nectar
1 Tbspapple cider vinegar
2 tspwheat-free tamari
1/4 tspground pepper
1/2 tspsea salt
2 Tbspfresh minced green chilli depending on the heat
3 - 4 tspfreshly minced garlic
Preparation method
Prep: 10 minutes
1.
Toss all of the vegetables together with the coriander.
2.
Place all of the dressing ingredients except the chilli and garlic in your blender and pulse a few times until well combined.
3.
Then stir in the garlic and chilli.
4.
Pour the dressing over the salad and season to taste.
5.
Garnish with sesame seeds or chopped raw nuts if desired. YUM
CHEF'S NOTE: I missed my feller when he went away so I decided to cook a big Greek feast for his return. Two of these recipes were from Veganomicon - the baked beans and the lemony potatoes. The sauteed silverbeet recipe was from Stephanie Alexander.
I used cannellini beans instead of lima beans and could have cooked them longer, though they were still delicious.
I also used a helluva lot more olive oil in the sauteed silverbeet, and squeezed some lemon juice and salt on the top at the end. THIS WAS SO DELICIOUS AND BUTTERY I DON'T KNOW HOW.
With regard to the lemony potatoes...I'm surprised I didn't get a marriage proposal last night, they were that good. Maybe he'll ask me today.
x
Veganomicon Mediterranean-Style Baked Lima Beans
Number of Servings: 8
Ingredients
1 Pound dried lima beans 2 quarts water 2 bay leaves 1 vegetable bouillon cube 2 T olive oil 1 medium yellow onion 1 small carrot 1 (28-oz) can diced or crushed tomatoes 2 tsp red wine vinegar 2 T tomato paste 1 T agave nectar or maple syrup 1 T dried oregano 2 tsp dried thyme 1 tsp salt Pinch ground nutmeg Black pepper 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh parsley 3 T finely chopped fresh mint
Directions
1. Cook lima beans for 30 minutes, researve 1 cup of liquid and dissolve bouillon cube in it. 2. Sautee onion, garlic and carrot together 3. Add in tomatoes and other seasonings and cook for 10-12 minutes 4. In a lightly oiled casserole dish, place beans, sauce, parsley and thyme. 5. Bake covered at 375 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally 6. Remove lid and bake for 10-15 minutes to reduce the sauce and give the beans a dry finish 7. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving
Lemony Roasted Potatoes
(From the cookbook “Veganomicon- The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook” by Isa Chandra Moskiwitz & Terry Hope Romero)
2 1/2 pounds Russet potatoes (medium to small potatoes work best)
1/3 cup olive oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped finely
1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 cup vegetable broth
2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp salt
1 tsp tomato paste
Freshly ground black pepper
Chopped fresh parsley or dried oregano (optional)
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Peel the potatoes, slice in half
lengthwise, and slice each half into wedges no more then 3/4″ thick.
In a large, deep baking pan or casserole dish (at least 10 17-inches
or bigger), combine the olive oil, garlic, lemon juice, vegetable broth,
oregano, salt, and tomato paste. Add the peeled, sliced potatoes.
Sprinkle with freshly ground pepper and toss the potatoes to cover with
the sauce. Cover the pan tightly with foil (or use lid of casserole
dish), place in the oven, and bake for 30-35 minutes until the potatoes
are almost done. Several times during the baking process, remove the pan
from the oven, uncover, stir the potatoes, place the cover back, and
return the pan to the oven.
Uncover the pan one last time, stir the potatoes again, and bake,
uncovered, for an additional 15-20 minutes, until most of the sauce has
evaporated and some of the potatoes have just started to brown on their
edges. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley and/or more dried oregano
before serving.
serves 4-6
Silverbeet,Pine Nuts, and Currants Adapted from Stephanie Alexander's 'The Cooks Companion'
Approx 12 stalks of silverbeet with the leaves 1/4 cup of olive oil 1 small red onion, finely diced 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped (I used three) 1/2 cup of dried currants or raisins 80g pine nuts, toasted Chopped parsley
Separate the leaves from the stalks. Chop the stalks into small dices, roll
the leaves up into a cylinder and slice so that they are shredded.
Heat half the olive oil in a heavy based pan and add the onion, cook until soft and slightly browned.
Add the chard stems and garlic and cook for at least 5 minutes or until the stalks are tender.
Add the leaves drizzled with the rest of the oil and place the lid on to steam until the leaves are soft.
Add the pine nuts and currants and toss to combine.
CHEF'S NOTE: I love Matt Preston. I considered dressing up like him in faux-skin cowdy boots and a white suit whilst making this, but decided against it at the last minute.
I am going to serve this to Calf tonight with Cocoluscious Mango ice-cream and lemon zest.
Ingredients:
6 nashi pears
500ml light red wine (use a cheap pinot)
500ml water
1 cinnamon quill
1 orange
1 vanilla pod
1 cup caster sugar
Method:
1Pick a saucepan that is wide enough to hold all six nashi pears cosily side by side.
2Cut
out a circle of baking paper a little smaller than the saucepan. Keep
it handy. Pour red wine, water, cinnamon and sugar into a saucepan over a
medium heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Using a vegetable peeler, cut
two long strips of orange zest and add to wine mixture. Simmer for 10
minutes.
3Split the vanilla pod, scraping
the seeds into the wine mixture and add the split pod. Peel nashi pears,
leaving on stalks. Place into liquid.
4Top
up poaching liquid with water so the pears just float. Cover with the
baking paper. Poach for an hour or until the pears get soft and almost
jellylike. Remove from heat and leave pears to infuse in the poaching
liquid for 10 minutes.
5Remove pears and
reserve liquid. Remove zest and cinnamon quill. Return saucepan to heat
and simmer for about 10 minutes to reduce to a syrup – will probably
take about 10 minutes.
6Serve pears at room temperature, drizzled with reduced syrup
This was so good, we were both sniffing and simmering like crazy in front of last night's Q and A (and I usually simmer in front of that anyway).
A few notes:
1. I used Massel (vegan) chicken stock instead of vegetable stock. I prefer the saltiness of Massel chicken stock with coconut milk.
2. We roasted half a butternut pumpkin and added it just before serving.
3. Instead of french beans we added choy sum (again, just before serving or else it goes brown), and instead of tofu puffs we just cut up some marinated tofu, along with tinned baby corn. Calf also put in some dried shiitake mushrooms early on in the piece, to give them time to soak up the soup.
4. We didn't use curry powder. This laksa is perfect without it.
5. We topped it with fresh coriander, fresh mint, bean shoots (don't put them into boiling water first, I love Ottolenghi but this is clearly an idiotic instruction), fried shallots and cashew nuts.
YOU WILL LIKE THIS. x
100g peeled baby shallots 8 garlic cloves 25g peeled ginger, sliced 15g lemongrass (soft white stem only), sliced 2 tsp ground coriander 3 large dried red chillies 2 tbsp sambal oelek (or other savoury chilli paste) 4 tbsp vegetable oil 50g fresh coriander 1¼ litres vegetable stock 3 branches laksa leaves (aka kesum leaves), or curry leaves, or both 2 tsp curry powder 1½ tsp salt 2 tbsp caster sugar 400ml coconut milk 100g rice vermicelli noodles 300g bean sprouts 150g french beans, trimmed and halved 250g fried tofu puffs (optional) 4 limes, halved
Put the first seven ingredients in a small food processor bowl. Add half the oil, and the roots and stems of the fresh coriander, and process to a semi-smooth paste.
Heat the remaining oil in a saucepan and fry the spice paste on medium heat for 20 minutes, stirring all the time – you want to cook it slowly without burning. Add the stock, laksa branches, curry powder, salt, sugar and coconut milk, simmer gently for 30 minutes, then taste and add more salt if necessary.
Once the broth is done, steep the rice noodles in boiling water for three minutes and drain. Throw the bean sprouts into a pan of boiling water, drain at once and refresh. Cook the beans in boiling water for three minutes, drain and refresh.
Just before serving, remove and discard the laksa branches (the leaves can stay in the soup). Add the beans, noodles and half the sprouts, ladle into large bowls and top with the remaining sprouts, tofu puffs and shredded coriander leaves. Squeeze lime juice on top and throw one half of squeezed lime into each bowl.
CHEF'S NOTE - I put more tamari and salt in here for taste...basically, stick your finger in it and make sure it tastes delicious of its own accord before you put it on the tofu...salt, my friends, salt!
Ingredients
Tofu marinade:
2 tablespoons tamari
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
2 medium/large cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 (14-ounce) package extra-firm tofu, drained well
Tahini spread:
¼ cup tahini (sesame paste)
2 tablespoons fresh-squeezed lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon tamari
Coconut-walnut crust:
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
3 tablespoon dried, unsweetened shredded coconut
2 tablespoon minced Italian parsley (or basil, dill, cilantro or another herb)
½ teaspoon ground cumin or chili powder, optional
¼ teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
⅛ teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375°F.
To marinate the tofu, place 2 tablespoons of tamari, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 1 tablespoon of water and the garlic in a 9-inch by 13-inch casserole dish and stir well. Slice the tofu lengthwise to form 4 cutlets. Slice each cutlet in half diagonally to make 8 triangles. Place the cutlets in the casserole dish to marinate for 5 minutes, flipping occasionally.
Place the casserole dish in the oven and bake the cutlets in the marinade for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the tahini sauce: in a small bowl, combine the tahini, lemon juice, 2 tablespoons of water and 1 teaspoon of tamari and mix well. Depending upon the consistency of the tahini, you may need to add some more water for a smooth consistency. Set aside.
To make the crust: in another small bowl, combine the walnuts, coconut, parsley, ground cumin, red pepper flakes, black pepper and salt and stir well.
Remove the tofu from the oven. Spread a thin layer of tahini sauce on each cutlet and top with the walnut crust. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 10–15 minutes, until the crust is golden-brown, before serving.
ingredients 2 cups of self raising flour 1 tsp of bicarb soda 1/4 tsp salt 1 tsp of cinnamon 1 cup of sugar 3/4 cup of roughly chopped walnuts 3 eggs lightly beaten (I used egg replacer, you could use a small mashed banana or half a cup of mashed tofu) 1/2 cup of oil (your choice) 1 cup of grated carrot 1 cup of grated zucchini (squeezed to the remove the juice) 1/2 cup of grated apple (squeezed to remove the juice) method 1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees. Grease and line a deep loaf pan. 2. Sift flour and bicarb soda, salt and cinnamon into a large bowl. Stir in sugar and walnuts. 3. Combine egg replacement and oil in a jug. Mix egg mixture, carrot, apple and zucchini into flour mixture until well combined. Spoon mixture into prepared loaf pan. Smooth top. Bake for 50 minutes or until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 minutes then turn onto a wire rack to cool. Ice! cream cheese icing I read quite a few recipes on the web, which calls for a tub of toffutti cream cheese (I use the Kingland stuff where possible I think its much nicer) and 1 cup of icing sugar. I just added icing sugar until it was a consistency I liked (I think about 3 cups). It was a BUTTLOAD of icing and iced 3 cakes so beware!
