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Sweet Potato Pizza with Barbecue Tempeh and Bean Béchamel

With a soft and dense base, this isn’t like traditional pizza dough, but it’s filling, satisfying, full of flavour, and probably too nice to share. But if you insist on sharing, this will serve 2.

Ingredients

For the Base

700g sweet potato, peeled, cooked, and cooled until tender
100g rolled oats
100g coarse wholemeal flour (or flour of your choice)
2 tbsp ground flaxseeds
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp salt

For the Béchamel

1 cup white beans (I used butter beans)
11/2 cup soy milk
2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 tbsp yellow miso
1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder

For the Tempeh

150g tempeh, steamed for 15 minutes, and chopped small
2 tbsp barbecue sauce
2 tbsp water
2 tbsp soy sauce (or to taste)
1 tbsp maple syrup

To assemble

Steamed kale, as desired

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 200C. Line a 9″ dish with silicone or parchment (I used a loose-bottomed flan tin for easy removal).
2. In a food processor, blend the sweet potato. Add the oats, flour, flaxseeds, garlic powder, and salt until potatoes are smooth and all ingredients are well combined.
3. Place the potato mixture into the prepared dish and smooth out. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes until the top starts to turn golden.
4. Meanwhile, make the béchamel by blending all the ingredients.
5. Mix the barbecue sauce, water, soy sauce, and maple syrup in a shallow dish. Add the tempeh and toss.
6. When the potato is ready, invert onto a baking tray and return to the oven for 5-10 minutes more until what is now the top is lightly golden.
7. Remove from the oven, spread with béchamel, add kale, top with tempeh, and bake for 10 minutes more. Cut and serve.

Lime-Marinated Tempeh Skewers

A very simple dish that’s perfect for barbecues and al fresco dining. This serves 2.

Ingredients

1 tbsp hot lime pickle (if you can’t find this, use the juice of 1 lime, 1 tsp mango chutney, and a pinch of chilli flakes
2 tbsp tamari
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp dried mint, or 1 tbsp of finely chopped fresh mint
lime rind, to garnish
200g tempeh, steamed 15 minutes and then cubed
1 red pepper, coarsely chopped
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
8 cherry tomatoes

Method

1. Soak four bamboo skewers in boiling water.
2. Mix the pickle, tamari, vinegar, maple syrup and mint in a large, shallow bowl.
3. Add the tempeh, and toss to coat. Leave to marinade for at least 30 minutes.
4. Load your veggies and tempeh onto the skewers, brush with some marinade and griddle, grill or barbecue until cooked. These were cooked on a griddle pan for 10 minutes.
5. Serve with rice, with remaining marinade poured over, and garnish with lime rind.

Sticky BBQ Cauliflower Bites

A simple budget recipe that’s a great way to sneak vegetables into those who are somewhat reluctant to eat them, but also a real treat for everyone else.

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp each salt and pepper
1-1.25 cups water
1 large head cauliflower, cut into evenly sized florets
1 cup barbecue sauce

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C. Lay a silicone mat or parchment paper on a large baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, whisk the flour, salt and pepper together.
3.Whisk the water into the flour, starting with 1 cup and adding extra if needed. You should have a thick, pancake-like batter without lumps.
4. Dip each cauliflower floret into the batter to coat evenly, before shaking off excess. Place the florets on baking tray. Reserve any remaining batter.
5. Bake for 10 minutes, and then flip. Cover any gaps in the batter with the reserved batter, and bake for another 10 minutes.
6. Remove cauliflower from oven, brush with barbecue sauce, flip and brush the other sides. Bake for 10 minutes more.
7. Serving suggestion: mashed potato and a suitable-for-vegan dip.