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Gobi Manchurian

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A rich and spicy recipe that serves 4; feel free to halve the amount of chilli.

Ingredients

1 cauliflower, broken into florets

For the sauce

1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 bunch scallions, chopped
2 green chillies, chopped (1 of these reserved for garnishing)
1 inch ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp ketchup
1 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth, plus 1/4 cup extra for making a cornflour paste
1 heaped tbsp cornflour

For the batter
1 cup flour
2 tsp paprika
1 tsp ginger
1 tbsp vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp chilli paste
1 tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
Enough cold water to make a really thick batter

Method

For the cauliflower

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to the boil, turn off the heat, add the cauliflower and allow it to blanch for 10-15 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.

For the sauce

1. Heat a nonstick pan over a medium-low heat and dry-sauté the onion and scallions gently until the onion is just turning translucent.
2. Add the ginger, one of the chillies, and the garlic and continue to fry until aromatic.
3. Stir in ketchup, tomato purée, soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce, black pepper, and vegetable broth, and bring to the boil. Allow to cook together for a minute or two.
4. Mix the cornflour with enough water to make a smooth paste, and stir in. Allow to cook for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens and is glossy, and remove from the heat.

For the batter
1. Mix all the ingredients, apart from water, together in a large bowl.
2. Add water a little at a time, whisking with a fork, until you have a thick batter that doesn’t drop easily from the back of a spoon.

For the cauliflower

1. Preheat the oven to 200C.
2. Dip the cauliflower florets into the batter one at a time, and place on a parchment- or silicone-lined baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes at, turning once.
3. When all florets have been baked, reheat the sauce and add the battered florets to it, mixing them in carefully to avoid breaking the batter. Allow them to warm through in the sauce (about 4 minutes).
4. Serve with rice, garnished with the reserved chopped green chilli.

Crispy, maple and red Thai chili-glazed, white miso and sesame seitan with roasted Brussels sprouts and millet, artichoke mash

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Baking gives seitan a denser, chewier texture well
suited to this dish.

Ingredients

For the seitan
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
A pinch coarse sea salt
2T tamari
2T sesame seed butter (not the same as tahini)
1t white miso
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
2t cooking oil, divided

For the glaze
1T maple syrup
2t red Tha chili paste (or similar and/or to taste)
Coarse sea salt to taste

For the sprouts and carrots
8 small heirloom carrots, trimmed
12 small small Brussels sprouts, halved
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T olive oil
Coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the millet, artichoke mash
1 1/2 cups water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2 cup millet
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
2T nutritional yeast
1T lemon juice
1t prepared brown mustard
1 scallion, minced
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
1T heaping sesame seed butter
1t dried sumac
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

First, start the seitan, then the millet, and finally the
roasted vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Combine the gluten and salt. Combine the remaining ingredients, ensuring the sesame and miso are both well dissolved with the water and tamari.
Combine the wet with the dry, and mix until a smooth dough forms.
Knead the dough for several minutes, twisting and
palming to stretch the gluten.
Lighlty oil two sheets of aluminum foil with 1t cooking and wrap the seitan securely.
Bake for 40 minutes on the middle rack, turning once.
While the seitan bakes, at the 20 minute mark, start the millet.
In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water and sea salt to a boil.
Add the millet, cover, reduce temperature to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed.
A the 40 minute mark, remove from the seitan oven and let rest 10 minutes.
While the seitan rests, make the sprouts and carrots.
Increase heat to 450F.
Toss the carrots and Brussels sprouts with the oil and sea salt.
In a lightly oiled baking sheet, roast for 10 minutes, and then turn the sprouts and carrots.
The millet should be done around this time.
Remove from heat, and let the millet fluff covered in the pan for 5 minutes.
Glaze the seitan and add to the baking sheet.
Roast for 10 -15 minutes. or until the seitan in a nice golden red to brown. Ovens vary; use the colour as a guide.
While the seitan finishes, mash the millet.
With a food processor or immersion blender, puree the cooked millet with its remaining ingredients except the sumac until smooth.
Set aside to cool and setup.
Remove from the sprouts, carrots and seitan from the oven and let cool 5 minutes.
Season each component to taste, plate the millet with a sprinkle of sumac and serve.

 

 

Tamari, chili, and nori popcorn

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A light snack seasoned with toasted sesame oil, nutritional yeast and sea salt.

Ingredients

1/2 cup popcorn (I use blue)
2T plant-only margarine, melted
1/4t toasted sesame oil
1/2T tamari
1t red Thai chili paste (or similar/to taste)
2T nutritional yeast
1T toasted nori flakes
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Pop the popcorn either by stove top method or using a popper. For the stove top version, use a frying pan with a lid and around 2T canola or avocado oil depending on the size of the pan. Heat the oil on medium high. Add 2-3 kernels when the pan is warm, cover and wait for them to pop. Add the remaining kernels in a single layer, cover and pop. Shake the pan once they start to pop in earnest, and remove from heat once the they start to slow down.

Pour the popcorn into a bowl when it has settled.Melt the margarine and whisk with the sesame oil, chili and tamari. Mix in the nutritional yeast. Pour over the popcorn (or down the sides of the bowl, if you want more even coverage). Toss thoroughly and garnish with nori flakes, sea salt and black pepper to taste.