The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Vegan Vegie Ribbon Tart

I have seen vegetable ribbon tarts done a few times but always it is more of a quiche type thing, and not vegan. I can't say I've ever had a really good vegan "quiche" that involves silken tofu. I don't know why, it just doesn't do it for me. This tart is made using a thick silky "custard" using non dairy milk and flour to thicken it, flavoured with onion and thyme. It is based on a very thick white sauce. When baked it sets very well, just allow it to cool a bit before serving. It shouldn't be piping hot - just warm, or it can be cooled completely and served cold. I used sweet potato and zucchini, but you could use any vegetable easily sliced into ribbons like beetroot, parsnips, swedes, or carrots. Bake in a loose bottomed flan tin for easy removal.

Base - Savoury Shortcrust Pastry
2 1/4 cups plain flour
1 tablespoon cornflour
125gr vegan butter, softened and cut into cubes
pinch salt
pinch ground pepper
cold water

Sift flour, cornflour, salt, and pepper into a large bowl.
Rub butter through flour using your finger tips until it resembles large breadcrumbs.
Add 1 tablespoon of water and draw mixture together into a ball. If it is still too dry, add water a teaspoon at a time until it holds together.
Roll out and press into your greased tin. Trim edges.
Place in freezer for at least an hour. If you are making ahead cover in clingfilm and leave in freezer until ready to bake.
Blind bake in a 180C preheated oven for 12 minutes, and then remove, and put aside.

Filling
2 zucchini
1 sweet potato
1 1/4 cups non dairy milk
1/4 cup plain flour
2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 tablepoon dijon mustard
1 small onion
1 heaped teaspoon chicken style stock
1 tablespoon dried thyme

Method
1.Cut zucchini and sweet potato into ribbons using a mandolin or vegetable peeler. Blanch ribbons in boiling water for a couple of minutes until just softening. Drain and set aside to cool.
2.onion and saute until softened, and set aside.
3.Arrange vegetable ribbons in a circular fashion in pastry base leaving a bit of a gap for the custard to settle in between and support the ribbons.
4.In a small sauce pan on low heat melt butter and then add flour to form a roux. Add milk slowly whisking vigorously to ensure no lumps as it thickens. Add stock, mustard, and onion, and using a hand blender puree until onion has blended. Add thyme, and keep stirring for a few minutes on low heat  to cook out the flour.
5.Pour mixture over vegetable ribbons, gently spreading over the top and pushing to ensure mixture falls between ribbons.
6.Bake in 180C oven for 20 minutes until  pastry is golden.
7.Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from tin and cutting into wedges to serve.

Warm Beetroot & Blue Lentil Salad with Caramelised Walnuts

This is one of those salads that we always go back to because it is so hearty. You can have it warm when the weather is a bit cool, or cold when the days are heating up. It has the lovely earthy taste of beetroot with the nutty savoury lentils, a little pop of sweetness from the walnuts, and lovely peppery rocket to round it off. 

Makes 6 serves

Ingredients

2 large beetroot, roasted

1 cup cooked blue lentils

4 cups rocket

3/4 cup walnuts

2 tablespoons margarine

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tsp ground cumin

3 tablespoons garlic extra virgin olive oil

cracked black pepper

salt to taste

Method

1.Roast beetroot in their skins in alfoil until soft, and allow to cool.

2.While beetroot is roasting, cook lentils according to packet directions, drain, and set aside.

3. Caramelise walnuts by melting margarine in a frying pan with sugar until syrupy. Toss walnuts through mixture, and then spread out on a tray lined with baking paper and allow to cool.

4. When beet is cool, gently rub off skin - it should slide off easily - wearing gloves to make things less messy! Thinly slice. If you are having the salad warm, toss the beetroot, oil, and cumin in with the lentils and gently warm through on a low heat, or just toss through without warming.

5.  Mix beetroot and lentils into rocket, sprinkle walnuts over, and sprinkle a little sea salt and cracked black pepper on the top

Mac n' Cheese Nachos

My blog reader seems to be full of macaroni cheese and taco cleanse! So I thought why not join the party and put nachos and macaroni together? 

I made macaroni cheese using my go to white sauce recipe  that I use on moussaka and on occasion, lasagne. I smothered the macaroni on top of some crunchy corn chips, added some black beans, leftover tomato and mushroom sauce, chilli sauce, fresh tomato and avocado. I know it sounds like a weird nacho topping but it was so creamy, cheesy, and filling, and I didn't have to make cashew queso or quinoa chilli. Neat when you've run out of frozen containers of the stuff that you usually keep in the freezer for the times when its a table for one and it seems too hard to cook all of that! 

I really liked it, and I have a feeling the Beloved would have liked it too except he's away still and missed out. That means I'll have to make it again! 

Baked Roasted Nori Cakes

I was inspired by a recipe in Caribbean Vegan that uses eggplant and roasted nori to make a type of “fish” cake. The recipe in the book is more of a fritter, as it uses plenty of flour and is deep fried. I liked the idea of using nori to give a sea taste, but I am a little loathe to call vegan dishes after their meaty counterparts as it can give the wrong impression. To the best of my memory, these taste nothing like fish cakes. They are however, utterly yummy and I will make them again. They are more likely to fall apart while very hot, but hold together ok when allowed to cool a bit. Did I mention they are also gluten free!

Makes aproximately 8 cakes

Ingredients

2 lebanese eggplant, diced

3 nori sheets, torn into pieces

1 350gr block firm tofu

1 tsp hot chilli sauce

1 tsp minced ginger

1 tsp minced lemongrass

Pinch sea salt

1 onion

Cornflake crumbs

Method

1.Dice the onion and eggplant and sauté in a little oil until onion is translucent. Set aside.

2.In a large bowl, mash the tofu, and add salt, lemongrass, ginger, and chilli sauce.

3.Tear the nori sheets into small pieces and add to the tofu mixture.

4.Add the onion and eggplant, and stir well to combine. You can leave the mixture in the fridge until ready to use at this point.

5.Using a 1/3 cup to scoop mixture, firm down, and gently tap out onto the cornflake crumbs. Toss crumbs over the cake and around the sides, and place gently onto a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. If they fall apart a bit, just gently press back together.

6.Bake in a 180C oven for approximately 30 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tray.

Vegan Potato Slaw

Whenever I think of coleslaw I think of my friend Phil over at Adventureland Games. I remember making a slaw for a tiki night once and he declared he could swim in a pool of it (perhaps taking a mouthful with each stroke)! Potato slaw and coleslaw are one of those things that everyone loves at a BBQ but they are ridiculously high in kilojoules and mayonnaise. I decided to merge the two with a far healthier, and vegan dressing. Many of the ingredients came out of my garden which made it easier just to use a little of this and that, and I ended up with four generous serves.  You can use whatever greens you like, I just have all of these in the veg patch.

Ingredients

6 desiree potatoes, quartered, and cooked, skin on

3 thin slices of fennel, chopped fine

1 large carrot grated

1 cup shredded red cabbage

1 cup mixed greens shredded – I used red Russian kale, rocket, and Chinese mustard

1 stalk celery finely chopped

3 tablespoons finely chopped leek

1 bunch flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped

Dressing

3 tablespoons tahini

½ avocado

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped thyme

Juice and rind of 1 small lemon

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

½ cup water

Pinch sea salt

Plenty of cracked black pepper

Method

Boil the potatoes until just cooked and still firm, and rinse in plenty of cold water. Set aside.

Prepare all other salad ingredients and toss together in a bowl with the cold potato.

To make the dressing, put all the ingredients in a blender and whizz until well mixed. Toss through potato slaw and serve.

Cookbook Mondays: Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Red Onion Jam

I don't know why people don't like Brussel Sprouts. Is it because they have only eaten them boiled to a yellowy mush and forced to eat them as a child? I fear many such vegetables have been shunned and mocked, the last to be picked as part of a team, or left on the bench while the other more cool and hip fruit and veg get to be in the spotlight. Kale which is so in right now ( I mean Donna Hay jumped on that band wagon after all) was once left to wilt on the bench, and it now has more glamour than the Kardashians. Sprouts and kale are cousins after all, so why not give the Brussels a shot ?

Simon Bryant is one of my favourite chefs, and although he is not a vegetarian does some pretty fantastic work in making them appealing to the carnivorous lot. I loved watching him with Maggie Beer on The Cook and the Chef, he always seemed to balance out Maggie's meat and dairy rich meals with a large helping of vegetables. Add to that a good sense of humour about "cheffy showing off" and a love of really good produce from paddock to plate. I snapped up his book Vegies  as soon as it came out, and we have tried a few recipes - its probably one of my favourite food porn books. He also happens to be a fan of the poor sprout, so we tried his roasted Brussels Sprouts with Red Onion Jam. I omitted the egg yolk and cheese,  and subbed dairy free margarine and soy to make the white sauce. I already had a jar of homemade red onion jam in the fridge, so making it was a snap. It was absolutely DELICIOUS! the jam really makes this dish in my opinion, the sauce is the subtle carrier. Honestly, if you don't like sprouts, give this recipe a try. You may just be converted.

Bon appetit!

Champignon Bourguignon

It's been a little quiet on the blogging front of late. After I had some fun with some superhero snacks I've been busy just working and looking after Mr Sprout and the furkids. I've not been very inspired lately either, just tired I guess and in need of a rest. Sometimes it's all I can do to make dinner, let alone create for a blog. I have been trying to pick a recipe a week that I haven't tried before from my ever growing cookbook and magazine collection, but so often when we are short on time we stick to the speedy meals we know so well! But all that will shortly change...I'll be sharing more about that soon!

Being July the days are short and cold, the sun doesn't peek at us as often, and comfort food is so easy to reach for (and pack on some extra kgs!) Don't get me wrong, raw vegan is great and I eat a lot that way when its warmer. But there is nothing wrong in eating cooked food when it is cold, and also nothing wrong with a lashing of comfort food now and again, especially if your veggie intake is so high. If it's cold and the thought of a winter slaw makes you shudder, go and get the lentil soup. Or in this case, champignon bourguignon. I know what you're thinking, the beef version has high expectations, and doesn't it have mushrooms in it anyway, so just omit the poor dead cow, add some seitan? Yes and no.

I wanted this to be perfect comfort food, full of wintery flavours that warm you through. I looked at a few recipes for the omnivore version and played around with the flavourings. I didn't want this to be a mock meat version of the original, mock meat has a place and there are some truly great products out there, but I like to eat whole foods wherever we can (there are some mock meat products that I truly shudder when I read the ingredients list ). I don't think anything is missing with this version, truly.  I had the added joy of using homegrown shallots, garlic, and herbs; homegrown Russian kale, and made some dauphinoise with some  homegrown spuds to go with it. 

Guillame Brahimi has a recipe that involves pureed carrot to thicken and flavour the dish at the end so there is no need to add flour. I loved this idea because somehow using flour to thicken a red wine dish seems to make it go grey! It also means this dish is gluten free, even better! I decided to forgo the carrot, but some pureed beetroot would add some great flavour and truly make it a bourguignon colour! You can use tinned beetroot for ease, just drain and rinse well to get rid of as much sugar as you can. I also happened to have a little liquid smoke left from making BBQ sauce, so put this in too. It isn't readily available in Australia but I got some from the Country Brewer. They also do online ordering if you don't have one near you. Serve with some mashed potatoes and steamed kale, or be decadent and have with some vegan potatoes dauphinoise. 

Ingredients

300gr button mushrooms

300gr Swiss brown mushrooms

2 large carrots, chopped into chunks

handful of chopped celeriac leaf (you can just use some celery, I just had some celeriac in the fridge)

3-4 bay leaves

sprigs fresh thyme (or 1 tsp dried)

3 shallots ( I mean the bulb kind, not the grassy spring onion some folks call shallots) chopped

1 large garlic clove, bruised and finely chopped

1 tsp Massel beef style stock powder (no MSG, gluten free that's why I use it)

400 ml red wine

100 ml water

1 large cooked pureed beetroot (about 3/4 cup)

few drops liquid smoke (not essential, but adds a certain something)

olive oil

chopped parsley to serve

Method

In a large oven proof saucepan, gently saute garlic and shallots until translucent. 

Add thyme, bay, carrots, mushrooms, and celeriac leaf, and saute for another five minutes or so.

Add wine, water, stock powder, and liquid smoke. Bring to the boil, and leave for five minutes. Turn off the heat and leave to "marinate" for a few hours. you could even leave overnight in the fridge and continue the next day.

Cover and put into a 180C oven, for approx 30 minutes.

Take out, uncover, and add the beetroot puree. 

Put back into the oven and leave uncovered for another 10 minutes. 

Serve with plenty of chopped parsley, cracked black pepper, and crusty bread. 

Vegan Mushroom & Quinoa Moussaka (gluten free)

We love Greek food in our house. The Greeks just know how to make tasty vegetables like marinated artichokes, and char grilled eggplant. There was a fabulous little Greek restaurant in Katoomba called Treis Elies and we went there quite a few times for their ridiculously good veg banquet. We wouldn't eat much all day just so we had room to eat it all. Alas the restaurant is now closed, but we try and replicate some of our favourites at home. I have to say moussaka, in it's herbivore form, is just as tasty - no a lot tastier than it's carnivore counterpart. I've made this version a few times now, and it's now a favourite in our house. When I made this big baking tray last week, with the view to freeze in portions for when I am home late from work or on my own while Mr Sprout is away, my plan was somewhat thwarted. We had some for dinner, and I had a small portion for lunch the following day. When I got home, I found the tray denuded of it's spoils (there was over 1/3 left) and I thought my beloved had portioned it for me. That is, until he didn't eat much dinner and I discovered he had scoffed the lot! 

I'm not a fan of seitan, TVP or similar. I prefer using other ingredients to give a texture to "mince." My fallback is usually chickpeas, lentils, cracked wheat or a combo. Quinoa makes a nice change, and it's gluten free, so if you make the white sauce with gluten free flour, your gluten intolerant comrades will thank you for it.

You can char grill and marinate your own eggplant, or use store bought. This time I used store bought as I didn't have time to make my own, but usually I do it from scratch. Using a mandolin, cut the eggplant into slices (I usually make them thin, about 0.5cm). If they are the larger eggplants, you will need to salt them to take out the bitterness. It will also stop them from soaking up as much oil when you grill them. Place in a colander over a bowl or in the sink for an hour, you will see a pool of brown liquid which means the salt has done it's job!  Give the eggplant a light rinse and let it drain before patting dry. Fry/char grill on a hotplate in vegetable oil until golden and put aside. Drizzle with garlic infused olive oil, a little white wine vinegar and chopped oregano, leaving it covered, overnight in the fridge.

Ingredients

For the quinoa "mince"

3 char grilled eggplant (or store bought)

1  cup quinoa

500 gr mushrooms, chopped

2  x 400 gr tins of tomato puree

1 x 400 gr tin chopped tomatoes

2 large brown onions, chopped

2 carrots,  finely diced

1 stick celery, finely diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

vegetable stock

pepper to taste

1 bunch oregano, finely chopped

1 bunch parsley,  finely chopped

water

Method

Cook quinoa according to apcket directions in vegatabel stock and set aside.

In a large saucepan, gently saute onion, garlic, celery and carrot until tender. 

Add mushrooms, and cook for a couple of minutes more.

Add tinned and puree tomatoes, oregano, parsley, and pepper, and stir through. 

Add cooked quinoa, and about a cup of water, and allow to simmer gently for approximately 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. When it is done you should have a soft porridge consistency. Don't be alarmed if it seems a little runny, quinoa keeps soaking up liquid. Set aside to cool. If you are making this ahead, cover and keep in the fridge until ready to assemble.

For the white sauce

3 tablespoons nuttelex

1 litre of soymilk ( I use bonsoy as it has a good flavour for creamy sauces)

3 tablespoons dijon mustard

1/3 cup gluten free plain flour (I use Orgran)

ground white pepper

pinch salt

Method

In a saucepan, melt nuttelex and add flour, stirring vigorously into a paste. Slowly add soymilk a  little at a time, to ensure the sauce stays smooth. Add dijon, pepper, and salt, and gently simmer for about 10 minutes, still stirring. It should be nice and thick.

To assemble the moussaka, grease a large deep oven tray, and layer eggplant to cover the bottom. Spread some of the quinoa mixture over the eggplant, and repeat until you run out of mixture. I usually get three layers of eggplant. cover the top with the white sauce, and pop into a 180C oven for about 40 minutes, until top is golden. you can drizzle the top with oregano pesto if you like, or just garnish with a few fresh oregano leaves.

Avocado & Corn Risotto with Lime

While we were on holidays on the far north coast of New South Wales, there were plenty of farmers markets where I bought fresh local produce. Being a tropical climate in this area the avocadoes were plentiful, cheap, and delicious. Even thought it rained and rained, and rained some more, it did give me an opportunity to cook and get the creative juices flowing.  I love avocado - so much that sometimes lunch is whole fruit with a little salt and lots of pepper, just as it is. As Summer says goodbye and Autumn begins, the corn is at its peak and is quite cheap, so marry the two together for a rich and creamy summery risotto.  This recipe makes enough for a dinner for two (or if you are like Nigella Lawson, probably one!). Don't make more than you can eat at one meal time, as avocado becomes bitter when overcooked and does not re -heat well. I find the lime cuts through the richness of the avocado and creamy rice, but you can leave it out or use lemon instead.

Ingredients
1 cup arborio rice
1 garlic clove crushed
Massel chicken style stock powder, made up to two litres
1 whole corn cob, grilled, kernals removed
1 large ripe avocado, or 2 small ripe avocados
1 cup baby spinach
1 lime (or lemon if you don't have lime) cut into wedges
fresh cracked black pepper
vegetable oil

Method
Puree the avocado and set aside.
Make up stock in a large saucepan and bring to simmer to keep hot.
In  a second medium heavy based saucepan gently saute rice with crushed garlic for a minute or two until rice is translucent, stirring constantly.
Add one cup of stock and stir until stock is absorbed.
Add corn kernals.
Keep adding stock about half a cup at a time until absorbed and rice is cooked. i like my risotto with just a bit of bite to the grains of rice, but almost soupy, so it slides quickly off the spoon. It shouldn't stick to the spoon like glue!
When you are ready to serve, stir through avocado and spinach, and leave for a minute until spinach is wilted.
Serve with a wedge of lime and cracked pepper to taste.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Quinoa & Sweet Potato Pie

This bright multi layered loaf was inspired by two things - a barley and pumpkin pie recipe, and Mrs Bean's favourite sweet potato and quinoa soup. It is definitely a good thing to have on the Christmas table, and wasn't too time consuming. I did the unthinkable and used ready bought shortcrust pastry. Don't tell Mrs Bean, she will throw her hands up in horror -or possibly wave and point a knife in my direction to emphasise her point in exclaiming my foolishness. In any case, it was a winner with or without vegan gravy.

Ingredients
3 sheets of shortcrust pastry
100gr quinoa
Chicken style veg stock for cooking quinoa
200 gr approx sweet potato
500 gr baby spinach
150 gr beetroot chutney this recipe is very good (or you can be lazy and buy it)
2 large zucchini thinly sliced
1/2 cup semi dried tomatoes, coarsely chopped
cracked black pepper
pinch of chilli powder

Method
1.Cook quinoa according to packet directions in vegetable stock with chilli powder. Drain, and set aside to cool.
2. While quinoa is cooking, peel and cube sweet potato and cook in boiling water until cooked but still firm. Drain and set aside to cool.
3. Gently wilt baby spinach in a pan with a tablespoon of water, and set aside.
4. Line your tin with baking paper, and arrange pastry to fit, reserving a sheet for the lid.
5.Layer the fillings, and put lid on, pinching around the top.
6. Bake in a 180C preheated oven for 25 minutes or until golden brown.
7. Allow to cool slightly before removing from tin and cutting into slices.

Red Quinoa with Grilled Zucchini & Lemon Tahini Dressing

My partner in crime, Mrs Bean bought me some gorgeous red organic quinoa on the weekend. I had been eyeing it for a little while, but was umming and ahhing because it was so expensive. But, I'm glad she did, because I used it to make an anniversary dinner for myself and the Beloved. It was  our wedding anniversary on Monday, and being a work night we couldn't go out and celebrate, so I tried to make the speediest gourmet dinner possible LOL. Anyway, this is what I ended up making. We had it with haloumi, but lemon marinated tofu would be just as delish for a vegan option Dreena Burton has a fantastic one in Viva La Vegan, just replace the thyme with oregano). It's all about making your flavour combo sing! Did I mention this is gluten free as well?

Ingredients 

Red quinoa

1 large zucchini, cut into long lengths

1 red onion

2 tsp chicken style stock powder

2 Tablespoons lemon infused extra virgin olive oil (or  zest of a lemon with regular oil)

1/4 cup approx tahini

fresh oregano leaves

either haloumi or lemon marinated tofu

cracked black pepper

Method

Cook quinoa with stock according to packet directions ( I used approx 1 cup)

Pan grill slices of zucchini and red onion, and set aside

Combine tahini, olive oil, and oregano to make a dressing

Grill or panfry haloumi or tofu.

When ready to serve, pile quinoa onto plate, top with zucchini and onion, and haloumi or tofu, and drizzle dressing over the top. Add some cracked black pepper to taste. 

Beetroot Crust Caramelised Onion & White Carrot Tart

I've been dreaming of this little tart for a few weeks now. I made a carrot pastry for an onion and beetroot tart as part of Christmas festivities, and it got me thinking about other vegetables that would work in a pastry. The colour the beetroot gives to this tart makes me give a little gasp (the photo doesn't do it justice). It's gorgeous, and gives a lovely backdrop for a filling. I made a couple of smaller ones for later use as well because they were just so darned cute. So what to put in this brightly hued case? I have an abundance of white carrots growing at present, and what better way to use some up with some caramelised onion. And no, I'm not confused with parsnips - we have been growing an heirloom variety that dates back to the 1500s called White Belgian. While my favourite carrot is Purple Dragons, the white caramelise beautifully with the onion. I used some eggs laid by our hens, but if you don't eat them, tofu will work just as well. Wilted spinach and almond fetta would go beautifully in this, or some goats cheese and spinach if you eat dairy.

The smell of this cooking in my kitchen was a lovely way to spend the afternoon...although it got somewhat marred by the Beloved who decided it was a good time to use some spray paint in the mudroom and the smell wound its way into the kitchen. Sigh. I had a good wedge of the tart for dinner with some greens,  potatoes, and peas straight from the garden. The crust was crisp, and slightly sweet from the beetroot, so I was right to add a little salt to back it off. I would definitely make this again.

Ingredients

For the Crust

3/4 cup plain flour either white or wholemeal

3/4 rolled oats

1 medium grated beetroot (about 1 loose cup)

200gr margarine

pinch salt and pepper to taste

For the Filling

3 large onions

3 large carrots

fresh dill chopped finely

1 tablespoon sugar

1/4 tsp salt 

pepper to taste

If you eat eggs, use 3 beaten with 1/2 cup milk of your choice- if you don't, use the equivalent in egg re placer, or 1 cup firm tofu pureed with a splash of soy milk or almond milk.

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C

You can either use your fingers to rub the margarine through the flour and oats as if making scone dough,  into coarse crumbs, or use a food processor to pulse )I used the latter method because as per usual I was making a few things at the same time). Add the beetroot and gently press together, distributing it evenly. Your pastry should turn a very bright pink!

Grease a quiche or tart tin and press pastry into the tin. You can roll it out, but I have found it easier to press it in as it is quite a rustic dough. Prick the bottom randomly with a skewer or fork.

Par bake with or without weights (it doesn't puff up much) for about 15 minutes, until the crust feels a bit dry.

While the case is baking saute onions and grated carrot in some olive oil with sugar, salt, and pepper until caramelised (takes 20 -30 minutes) and cool  a little. Add the dill, and eggs (or tofu), and pour into the pastry case. Bake for a further 15 -20 minutes or until set.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Gluten Free Polenta Tarts with Creamy Mushrooms and Tarragon

I love polenta. I love how versatile an ingredient it is, and how it turns into perfect tarts with minimum of work. This would be really nice as an entree, or as a main part of the meal. A bit of cranberry relish on the side wouldn't go astray either...and it's gluten free! Serves 4

Ingredients

For the tarts
2 cups of polenta
3 cups water
1 tablespoon of massel vegetable stock concentrate
pepper to taste

For the sauce
1 punnet of mushrooms - Swiss browns are beautifully flavoured
1 cup soymilk
1/2 cup white wine
1 heaped teaspoon maize cornflour (not wheaten kind)
1 medium onion
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper to taste

Method
In a saucepan place polenta, water, and stock. Stir on low heat until polenta thickens into a stiff porridge.
Smooth equal portions into tart tins with removable bases, smooth, and leave aside to cool.

To make the sauce, gently saute chopped onion and crushed garlic until translucent in vegan margarine. Add mushrooms and white wine, and cook for another 5 minutes. Add soymilk and chopped tarragon. Dissolve cornflour into a little extra soymilk, and stir into mushrooms, until sauce thickens slightly, the consistency of cream. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Invert tarts onto plates, and reheat -either in the microwave on high for one minute each tart, or covered in the oven for about 15 minutes 180C.

Spoon mushrooms over polenta tarts, and top with more tarragon and cranberry relish, if desired.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Gluten Free Canellini Bean Roll with Olive & Herb Stuffing

This recipe is designed to replace seitan mock meats. The use of Xanthan gum acts as the binding agent, which means it is gluten free. This also works really well made into small sausages (without the stuffing of course). I really don't like seitan, at least not on a regular basis. This is digested much more easily. Serve thick slices with onion gravy. 

Ingredients
2 cans cannellini beans, drained
1/2 cup polenta
1 small onion
1 tablespoon vegetable stock concentrate
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
salt and pepper to taste

For the stuffing
1 cup gluten free breadcrumbs
handful of fresh herbs, I used parsley, rosemary, sage, and thyme
1 tablespoon finely diced onion
3 sundried tomatoes
small handful of pitted kalamata olives

Method

Process the beans, stock concentrate, lemon juice, xanthan gum, salt and pepper until smooth. Tip into a bowl and add chopped onion and polenta, stirring thoroughly. Set aside for about 15 minutes until polenta has soaked up excess liquid from the beans and the mixture has thickened.

Put all the stuffing ingredients into a processor and pulse until combined. Add a little hot water at a time until stuffing comes together. Roll into a sausage about 20cm long.

Grease a length of tinfoil, and thickly spread bean mixture.Place the stuffing sausage in the centre, and gently bring up sides of foil to cover the stuffing with the bean mixture. Smooth and touch up to cover all stuffing, and then roll foil and twist ends to form a bonbon. Make sure you make this to fit into a steamer basket - my largest steamer basket is about 20cm long. Place in steamer basket and cook for about 30 minutes. Remove and allow to cool slightly, then unwrap and cut into slices. Easily reheated in oven or microwave, if made the day before, or steamed again to heat.

The Twelve Posts of Christmas: Pumpkin Wellington

On the first day of Christmas my vegie lover made for me...A Pumpkin Wellington with Onion Gravy...

I will admit, I stole the idea from Jamie Oliver for this one. Last year he did the vego spread for Delicious magazine, and this year he has done another one - including a vegan option God bless him. I have tweaked his version considerably to be a bit more Australian, but it's still  Christmassy and above all, absolutely delicious.

Ingredients
2 sheets of ready rolled puff pastry
1/2 butternut pumpkin
1 small red chilli
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp coriander seed
two rosemary sprigs
1 large brown onion
2 garlic cloves
1 cup button mushrooms
3 chopped figs
1/2 cup chopped macadamias
1/4 cup pinenuts
 handful fresh sage
1 cup baby spinach leaves
splash of white wine (or lemon juice if you don't use alcohol)
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C.
Peel and chop pumpkin inot bite sized chunks.
Chop onion into small chunks.
Chop 1/2 of the mushrooms into thick pieces.
In a food processor, chop rosemary, garlic, chilli, cinnamon, and coriander finely. If you don;\'t have a food processor, a mortar and pestle will do, or chop with a knife, and then bash between two pieces of greaseproof with a rolling pin.
Combine onion, and chopped herbs and spices and toss through olive oil on a baking tray. Cover with foil, and bake for approximately 1/2 hour to 45 minutes until onion and pumpkin is soft.
set aside and allow to cool.
Chop macadamias and figs, and add to pumpkin mix.
in a frying pan, saute remaining mushrooms and pinenuts in some olive oil until soft, and add the splash of wine, and sage. Allow to cool slightly and puree with spinach and breadcrumbs. Add salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cool completely. This can be done a day or two ahead and kept covered in fridge until ready to use.

Thaw puff pastry sheets.
Overlap two sheets by about 1 cm, and press firmly to adhere. Spread the mushroom and spinach mix over the pastry. Spoon pumpkin mixture over centre, allowing space for pastry to overlap when folded.
Pull up one side of the pastry to cover some of the filling, and keep rolling, to completely cover. Brush with water to create a seal between the two edges, and tuck ends under so filling won't spill out.
Carefully put onto baking tray and bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

Cut into thick slices to serve, with cranberry relish and onion gravy.

Chickpea Schnitzels

This week called for comfort food owing to the continued cold wet weather. I was beginning to contemplate building an ark, but the rain finally cleared up today...phew! Wednesday night dinner was creamy mashed potato, broad beans and spinach in burnt butter with almonds, and chickpea schnitzel - with home made mushroom and onion gravy.

The schnitzels were pretty quick to make, took me five minutes to put together once the onion and garlic were sauteed, and in the oven for about 15 minutes. I saved 1/3 onion and garlic to make the gravy. The Beloved was pretty keen to just go and buy some Fry's brand schnitzels, but I figured I could just make some up, and they were probably a lot more nutritious, even if the Fry's ones do taste so darn good!

Ingredients

1 can chickpeas

1 onion

1 large garlic clove

1 tsp crushed ginger

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 T tamari

1 T vegan Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp Vegemite

3/4 cup ground pumpkin seeds and linseed

mixed herbs, salt and pepper to taste

Method

Saute onion and garlic in frying pan on low until soft.

Take 2/3 mixture and put into a bowl.

Empty can of chickpeas, rinse and drain. Add to onion and garlic and smash some of them with a potato masher (or whatever you feel like smashing with!).

Mix Vegemite into vinegar, tamari, and Worcestershire sauce, and then add this as well as all other ingredients to the mixture. Add a little water until mixture sticks together. It should be just sticking together like cookie dough, not sloppy. Shape into schnitzels and put onto a greased tray in the oven for about 15 minutes, until outside is crispy. I did 5, but you could easily get 6 if you made them a bit smaller. Serve with gravy.

I'll make a separate post on gravy as I would like to tweak the recipe a bit before Christmas, but the Massel brand instant gravy is pretty good with a dash of red wine or balsamic vinegar if you want to be lazy!

Artichokes with Broad Bean and Corn Stuffing

                                     

I love broad beans even more than I love artichokes. Put the two together and I'm even happier. Since the two are readily available from the garden at the moment I'm enjoying creating with them. 

I had a bunch of beans ready for the picking today, so myself and the Kitchen Fairy shelled them for dinner. you can tell when they are ready to pick for the beans inside by gently squeezing the bulge where the bean is. If there isn't much give, they are ready. You can also eat them young when they are a few centimetres long whole in stirfrys- and the leaves are also edible - why not try them in a  mixed salad? 

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The easiest way to shell them is to pinch the top off, and run a finger down the "seam" popping out the beans as you go. I find it amazing that God created these with their own "Styrofoam" packaging. It's so soft and almost velvety,perfect for protecting the beans within.

What you end up with, is a pile like this. I blanch them for a minute in boiling water, and then cool. You can either eat them with their skin on if they are young enough, or if they are a bit older, you will need to shell them again. These guys were so young and sweet, I hardly needed to.

So, for the stuffing, this is what I did.

3/4 cup broad beans 

1 corn cob, kernels cut off

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

fresh dill, about 1 tablespoon chopped

1 garlic clove

knob of vegan margarine

1 tablespoon lemon juice

inner petals of the artichokes reserved earlier.

In a food processor, I combined the dill, garlic, artichoke petals, lemon juice, marg, and breadcrumbs. I added these to the corn kernels and beans, and then stuffed it into the artichokes. Popped them in the oven for about 15 minutes, and drizzled with a little olive oil when they came out. You could squeeze a little more lemon over them if you wanted to. when the stuffing is eaten, you can eat the petals by sliding the flesh off the petals with your teeth. Excellent dipped in a little garlic butter...

What about the rest of the stuffing? I added some chopped onion, formed them into patties, and fried each side until golden. They will make a great vegie pattie in a sandwich with some lettuce and mayo. Mmmmm....

Vegan MoFo: Raw Stuffed Capsicums

Nothing particularly exciting I know. But it was VERY filling!  The Kitchen Fairy and myself chomped on these not long ago and were surprised at how full we were afterwards. I got some lovely yellow capsicums, and stuffed them with finely chopped vegies like carrot, tomato, cucumber celery, and spring onion, and then I topped them with a sauce of cashews, sundried tomato and tahini. It was so yummy!  I think we'll be eating more of these over Summer.another easy peasy raw recipe to add to the list!

Vegan MoFo: Tamales and Blue Corn Chips

I completely forgot to post these when I made them. How I forgot, I really don't know, because I was super excited when the package from Monteray Mexican Foods in Sydney arrived at what seemed like the speed of light - full of ingredients for me to make tamales and corn chips from scratch. Now, for those in the US it must seem I'm making quite a fuss over something that is quite ordinary, but for an Aussie, tamales are not very common. In fact, I suspect there would be quite a few of us who have no idea what a tamale tastes like, much as there are many Americans that have no idea about the delights of vegemite on toast. But anyway, I'm rambling. I made my tamales with a bean, tomato, and spinach filling, and I wrapped them in corn husks and steamed them away in my rice cooker. They worked out perfectly! And they were a hit. I had mine with Sheese spicy cream cheese, jalapenos, and vegan sour cream. They kind of reminded me of a Mexican flavoured steamed bun. And I had a go at making blue corn chips, which I pretty much, ahem, devoured alone. I'm not going to post the recipes right now, perhaps at a later date when I've done a tweak here and a tweak there, but I think I'll be ordering some more stuff soon. And I can't wait until my home grown tomatillos are ready for picking, because I have a hunch they will be quite spectacular with these! 

Vegan MoFo: Raw Vegan Sushi Rolls

The weather is warming up, I feel Summer coming! This means I want to eat lighter foods, and eat more raw vegan. The Beloved bought me a new raw food "uncook" book while he was in Perth last week, Raw Food Reawakening and I've been inspired again. So tonight I made sushi using cauliflower for "rice" with the usual fillings like carrot, cucumber, alfalfa, and avocado. I made a dressing with tamari, sesame oil, and rice wine vinegar, but unfortunately forgot the pickled ginger - oh well.  It was pretty quick to put together, but a bit more messy than traditional sushi rolls. My little food processor definitely made light work of the cauliflower florets. They need to be eaten straight after you make them, in my experience they just sog too much to take in a lunchbox to work. But they are pretty filling, and just as tasty as the regular kind, without all the empty calories.