Vegetarian since 17, taught myself to cook as a matter of urgency when my mother had no idea what to give me. That was over 30 years ago. Now a mother of 2, I emigrated from London in 2002 with my Australian husband. After watching Forks Over Knives, reading The China Study, etc, we chose to go plant-based so stopped eating eggs and dairy a couple of years ago.
Ever since I discovered Red Pepper Nectar (see my Red Pepper Pesto recipe) I have been experimenting with it. It makes a deliciously delicate but aromatic salad dressing.
I felt like creating a bowl and using up what I had available. As always, it’s all about the sauce! Feel free to substitute anything; I like a mix of cooked and raw items. This one uses wholemeal linguine, rocket, shredded red cabbage, quick pickled red onions and then cooked mushrooms and grilled marinated tofu.
Tofu, mushroom, rocket and red cabbage top off noodles with a creamy deeply umami miso dressing.
Author: Deb
Recipe type: Bowl
Serves: -
Ingredients
Handful of rocket
Handful of finely shredded cabbage
Wholemeal linguine
Steamed broccoli
Marinated tofu, grilled
Quick pickled onions (finely shredded, tossed with white wine vinegar for 15 mins)
SAUCE: (makes enough for 8-10 servings)
¾ cup soy milk
2 tablespoons miso paste
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon grated ginger
3 garlic cloves, crushed / grated
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tahini
1 tablespoon bottled teriyaki sauce
1 tablespoon caramelised onion relish
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Instructions
Prepare the other bowl ingredients (or substitute with your own options).
Sauté the mushrooms whole in a large skillet with a lid until they are tender, using a dash of soy sauce or tamari to flavour.
Marinate the tofu in soy sauce, vegetable stock and a little tomato paste for 30 mins, then cook on both sides in a medium pan, turning twice. I used a grill pan to get the stripes. You can also use a sandwich press.
Whilst the pasta and broccoli are cooking, put all the sauce ingredients into blender and blend until very smooth and creamy.
Arrange items in the bowl, top with the broccoli, tofu and mushrooms.
I have always loved this tangy, salty, creamy sauce! Using miso, sesame flour, and soy milk I have managed to significantly reduce the fat in this more-ish sauce. A little goes a long way, this really packs a punch!
Having seen the idea on lots of other blogs (most recently Broccoli Mum’s YouTube channel) I decided to have a go at making this “pudding” and I added a couple of other ingredients. I renamed it as it’s amazingly like a rich chocolate ganache, so much so that you can’t eat very much in one go, I have a tiny ramekin which is about 2-3 tablespoons and that is plenty but really satisfies that desire for a sweet treat. Will last in the fridge for several days.
1 large orange sweet potato, baked until very soft and caramelised
3 tablespoons cacao powder (I used Pana)
2 tablespoons PB2 powder
1 tsp natural vanilla extract
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional - depends on how sweet the potato is)
splash of soy milk (amount will depend on size of potato used) to get blender going
optional: 1 dropper of liquid stevia caramel or toffee flavour
Instructions
Put all ingredients into food processor or blender and blend several times, scraping down the sides between each blitz, until you achieve that thick smooth texture.
Also works very well as frosting for a special occasion cake. 🙂
When on holiday back in the UK last year I came across a vegan “egg” salad sandwich in Marks & Spencers.. needless to say I had to try it! It was so good and realistic that I snapped a photo of the ingredients and decided I would try and copycat it, making any necessary replacements when I got back here. It uses cannellini beans and tofu as the egg replacement. I had just created my vegan mayo so this was the perfect addition for a sandwich. The recent royal coronation was a perfect opportunity to try it out. It has been very well received by vegans and non-vegans! 🙂
Creamy mayo with mashed white beans, tofu, onion and parsley. If you can find (or grow) cress that would be perfect!
Author: Deb
Recipe type: Sandwich filler
Cuisine: English
Serves: 4-6 sandwiches
Ingredients
400g can cannellini beans drained
3-4 tbsp my tofu mayonnaise
(If not using my mayo add ½ teaspoon black salt for that eggy aroma)
200g Macro medium firm silken tofu
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 spring onions (scallions) trimmed and very finely sliced
1 tablespoon finely sliced fresh parsley (or cress if you have it)
1 tsp salt or to taste
black pepper to taste
Instructions
Mash the drained beans in a large flat bottomed bowl with a fork or masher until no whole beans are left. Crumble in the tofu gently into large pieces. Add the mustard, onion, parsley, seasoning.
Add the mayo and stir gently until all well combined
I have tried every single tofu mayonnaise recipe I could find and didn’t like any of them. Until I decided to wing it with the amount of other ingredients I added and bingo! Delicious! Finally I have a low fat mayo that I can dip my potatoes into with abandon!
Light but creamy textured mayo with a lemony hum. If you like add a clove (or more) of crushed garlic to the lemon juice and let it steep before adding in to create more of an aioli.
Author: Deb
Recipe type: Sauces
Serves: 1.5 cups
Ingredients
300g of Macro Slightly Firm Classic Tofu
3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
2.5-3 teaspoons American style yellow mustard
½ teaspoon black salt / kala namak (for the eggy aroma)
½-1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pure maple syrup or other liquid sweetener of choice
2 dessertspoons mashed potato flakes
Instructions
Gently drain and rinse the tofu of all its liquid.
If making the garlic variety, crush or microplane the garlic and drop into a little dish with the lemon juice, leave for 5-10 minutes.
Put all the ingredients into a blender (I used a Nutribullet) and blend until very smooth.
If you want a slightly richer mayonnaise add 12 raw cashews to the mix.
I’ve had these on the back burner for a while. I was trying out some mushroom burger recipes and noticed I had half a block of tofu and some already cooked brown rice that needed to be used up so I added them in and the texture was lovely. Rather than shaping by hand I used a muffin tray which gave them a nice crispy exterior and made portioning them out really easy. Just as delicious cold as a light lunch with a salad or hot with mashed potato and gravy!
Pulse the onion, mushrooms and thyme in a food processor until finely chopped but not a purée.
Tip into a large frying pan, sauté for 7-10 minutes or until most of the liquid evaporates. No need to wash out the processor - put the rice, tofu and miso into the processor and pulse until well incorporated.
Tip the contents into a large bowl, stir in the mushrooms and onion and mix really well until all the ingredients are completely combined.
Pack into muffin trays. This makes enough for 6 small or 4 large roasts.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Cool for 5 mins, tip out onto baking tray and put back in oven for 5-10 minutes.
I am finally getting around to adding my vinaigrette recipes on here! Sometimes you want a traditional, light dressing for a green salad more reminiscent of those oil and vinegar ones we used to make! This is the 1st of three I make on a regular basis. They all keep in the fridge for a couple of weeks with no problem.
Tangy refreshing vinaigrette with a hint of garlic
Author: Deb
Recipe type: Salad dressing
Cuisine: French
Serves: 6
Ingredients
1 clove garlic
4 T vinegar (I used white wine but any kind will work and will change it slightly)
1 T fresh lemon juice
4 T soy / almond milk
2 t date syrup
½ t salt
1 t Dijon mustard
10ml tahini
2 tsp miso
Slice onion
½ cup water
Instructions
Finely grate or chop the garlic and put in the blender with the lemon juice and vinegar. Allow to steep for 10 minutes before adding all the other ingredients and blend until thoroughly combined and silky smooth.
I have been using this method of roasting vegetables for a little while, which I learned from Chef Julia. Basically you mix a little tahini into a couple tablespoons of of vegetable stock and use that to toss with the vegetables before putting in a hot oven (around 220 degrees C). I usually mix them up again around 20 mins in and then just keep an eye on them to make sure they don’t burn.
The sauce is rather pesto-like but with a more pronounced lemon twist. I used pasta from a fantastic local company who make an amazing wholemeal sourdough pasta range, but substitute your favourite pasta, this works well with any shape.
Roasted vegetables alongside steamed broccoli, pasta and a tangy creamy pesto-inspired sauce
Author: Deb
Recipe type: Main Course
Cuisine: Italian inspired
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
Sauce:
½ cup cashews
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 clove fresh garlic
30g fresh basil
2 rounded desertspoons nutritional yeast
4 tablespoons boiling water
1 teaspoon lemon zest
salt & pepper to taste
Toasted pine nuts (optional)
Extra fresh basil, shredded (optional)
1 heaping cup roasted vegetables per person
Suggestions of vegetables:
Butternut Squash
Sweet Potatoes
Capsicums
Red onions
I usually make a big batch once a week and store in the fridge
400g wholemeal pasta - used fusilli
Instructions
Roast your vegetables (see description on my method in opening paragraph)
Meanwhile put all sauce ingredients apart from lemon zest in a blender and blend until smooth. Stir in the lemon zest and allow it to sit at room temperature.
Adjust seasoning as required.
Cook the pasta.
Steam the broccoli.
In a large bowl mix together the pasta, vegetables and sauce.
Top with toasted pine nuts plus more shredded fresh basil if liked.
