Bite-size Balls Packed with Pulses, Vegetables and Spices

Ingredients

9 oz yellow split peas or red lentils, soaked overnight
3-5 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tbsp roughly chopped freshroot ginger
1/2 cup chopped fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves
1/2 to 1 tsp ground cumin
l/4 to 1/2tsp ground turmeric
large pinch of cayenne pepper or 1/2 to 1 fresh green chilli, chopped
1/2 cup gram flour
1 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp couscous
2 large or 3 small onions, chopped vegetable oil, for frying
salt and ground black pepper
lemon wedges, to serve

Method

1. Drain the split peas or lentils, reserving a little of the soaking water. Put the chopped garlic and ginger in a food processor or blender and process until finely chopped. Add the drained peas or lentils, 1 to 2 tbsp of the reserved soaking water and the chopped coriander, and process the mixture to form a puree.
2. Add the cumin, turmeric, cayenne or fresh chilli, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, the gram flour, baking powder and couscous to the mixture and combine. The mixture should form a thick batter. If it seems too thick, add a spoonful of soaking water and if it is too watery, add a little more flour or couscous. Mix in the onions.
3. Heat the oil in a wide, deep frying pan, to a depth of about 2 inches, until it is hot enough to brown a cube of bread in 45 seconds.
4. Using two spoons, form the mixture into small balls, about the size of a walnut, and slip each one gently into the hot oil. Cook until golden brown on the underside, then turn and cook the second side until golden brown.
5. Remove from the hot oil with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper. Transfer to a baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.
6. Serve the pakora hot or leave to cool and serve at room temperature with lemon wedges.

Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Source: Vegan Cooking

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Baked Eggplant-wrapped Cheese Rolls with Marinara Sauce

Ingredients

14 oz eggplant, thinly sliced
2 oz cream cheese
1 oz goat cheese
1 cup fire roasted tomato, pureed
1/4 tsp red onion, diced
1 tsp basil, finely chopped
1/4 tsp thyme, finely chopped
1/4 tsp garlic, finely diced
1/4 tsp chili flake
1 Tbsp olive oi

Method

1. In a mixing bowl, fold half herbs and garlic into cream cheese and goat cheese. Set cheese mixture aside.
2. Apply olive oil to eggplant slices and grill until eggplant is soft and pliable. Let cool.
3. Spread cheese mixture to eggplant and roll into roulades.
4. Bake at 375°F for 15 minutes.
5. For marinara sauce, mix remaining herbs, garlic and tomato together and heat until sauce becomes thick and starts to boil.
6. Pour sauce onto plate. Stack hot roulades into a small pyramid. Garnish and serve.

Makes 3 servings.

Source: ciao!

Savoury Soup with Sweet Potato and Lentil

Ingredients

900 mL carton low-sodium chicken broth
1 small onion, diced
1 tbsp of your favourite Indian curry paste
1/2 cup split red lentils
1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 cup milk
2 cups packed baby spinach
2 tbsp lemon juice
plain yogurt for serving (optional

Method

1. Place broth, onion and curry paste in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. Add lentils, reduce heat and simmer covered for 5 minutes.
2. Add sweet potato, continue to simmer covered about 10 minutes until lentils and sweet potatoes are tender.
3. Add milk to hot soup.
4. Puree the soup in saucepan with a hand blender. Add spinach. Stir over medium heat, but don’t boil, just until spinach is wilted, 1 to 2 minutes.
5. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with a dollop of yogurt, if using.

Makes 8 servings.

Source: Dairy Farmers of Manitoba

Vegan Baked Mac and Cheese

Ingredients

1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegan butter
1 large leek, sliced into thin rings
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup Brussels sprouts, quartered
1 cup cauliflower florets, cut to same size as Brussels sprouts
16 ounces large pasta shells
1 tablespoon onion powder
1/3 cup glutinous rice flour
1/2 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon paprika
1 (15-ounce) can coconut milk
1 package vegan mozzarella, cut in small pieces
3 tablespoons white miso
2 teaspoons yellow mustard
1 teaspoon hot sauce
1/2 teaspoon vegan lactic acid (optional)

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375ºF.
2. Into a large saucepan, melt 2 tbsp butter over medium heat. Add leeks, salt, and pepper, and sauté over medium heat until softened. Set aside.
3. Heat a large pot of water to boil. Once boiling, salt generously and add Brussels sprouts and cauliflower. Allow water to return to boil and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Remove vegetables and rinse with cold water to prevent from over-cooking. Drain and set aside.
5. In the same pot, cook pasta in boiling water according to the package directions until al dente. Drain and reserve 1 cup of cooking water. Set aside.
6. For the cheese sauce, into a large saucepan, melt remaining 1/2 cup butter over medium-low heat. Add onion powder and glutinous rice flour and whisk constantly for two minutes, allowing flour to bubble and get slightly toasty.
7. Add nutritional yeast, turmeric and paprika. Whisk to combine (mixture will be dry). Add 1/2 cup of the pasta cooking water and coconut milk. Continue to whisk until smooth, and thickened, about 5 minutes.
8. Add vegan mozzarella and stir to melt.
9. In a small bowl, dissolve miso in 1/4 cup pasta water until smooth. Add mustard, hot sauce, and miso mixture into cheese sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes, whisking constantly to avoid burning. If sauce seems too thick, add additional pasta cooking water to achieve desired consistency.
10. Add lactic acid if using, and season with salt and pepper.
11. Add pasta, leeks, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and cheese sauce to a 9 x 13-inch baking dish. Stir gently to combine. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool slightly before serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Source: Veg News magazine

Rice-noodle Salad with Juicy Spiced Steak

Ingredients

2 limes
1 tbsp hot chili-garlic sauce
4 tsp fish sauce
2 tsp granulated sugar
1/4 (454-g) pack medium rice vermicelli noodles
1 tbsp dark sesame oil
1/4 1b top-sirloin grilling steak, preferably 1-inch thick
2 tsp five-spice powder
handful of snow peas, trimmed
1 small carrot, grated
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Method

1. Put a kettle on to boil. Meanwhile, finely grate 1 tbsp peel and squeeze 1 tbsp juice from limes into a small bowl. Stir in chili-garlic sauce, fish sauce and sugar.
2. Place noodles in a large bowl. Cover with boiling water. Let stand, stirring occasionally until tender, 8 to 14 minutes. Drain, then return to bowl. Toss with sesame oil.
3. Brush steak with vegetable oil. Rub both sides with five-spice powder. Sprinkle with salt.
4. Coat a frying pan with oil and set over medium-high. When hot, add steak. Reduce heat to medium. Cook, 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare. Let stand 5 minutes.
5. Meanwhile, slice snow peas lengthwise if you like. Add to noodles in bowl along with carrot and cilantro. Drizzle with lime mixture. Toss to coat.
6. Divide noodles among plates. Slice steak, then lay over noodles. Serve with lime wedges.

Makes 2 to 3 servings.

Source: Chatelaine magazine