3 plant-based recipes that make it easy to eat meatless
Whether you are trying to eat less meat, pack your meals with the healthiest vegetables, or go completely meat and dairy-free, the idea of making plant-based recipes can be seriously daunting.
If you are struggling to find inspiration, below vegan cookbook author Leozette Roode from HSI-Africa shares easy meals that you can try this week.
With November being World Vegan, Capsicum Culinary Studio has collaborated with Humane Society International-Africa where HSI-Africa will help equip the school’s lecturers and students with the knowledge and skills in plant-based cooking to meet this growing demand.
These are some of the tasty dishes that will be introduced to the lecturers during the sessions. All the dishes rely heavily on local ingredients and are less expensive and more sustainable than similar dishes using animal products.
Chickpea omelette with cashew sauce
Serves: 4 small omelettes or 2x big omelettes
Ingredients
1 cup chickpea flour
1 ½ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
¼ tsp turmeric
½ cup nutritional yeast
5 grinds kala namak (black Indian salt - optional)
¼ tsp bicarbonate soda
1 ½ cup nut milk
Salt and pepper
For the sauce
½ cup cashews, soaked in hot water overnight (Tip: if you haven’t soaked it, you can place the cashews in water and microwave it for 2 minutes).
1 cup nut milk
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder
Salt and pepper to taste
Oil for frying
Filling: Fried mushrooms, spinach, peppadews, green peppers, onion, tomatoes, meat-free strips or sausages, refried beans, fresh avocado, herbs.
Note: Use a non-stick pan with a lid!
Method
Place all the omelette ingredients in a food processor or blender and mix until smooth. Scrape the sides down from time to time.
Prepare your filling ingredients and set aside or keep warm.
Make the sauce: drain the cashews and place them in a blender (a high-speed blender or nutria-bullet works fantastic). Add the nut milk and spices and blend until the mixture reaches a smooth and creamy consistency. Set aside
Add ½ tablespoon of oil to a non-stick pan (non-stick is important).
When you think it is hot, test the oil by adding a tiny drop of the mixture into the pan. If the drop of batter bubbles profusely, the oil is ready.
If using a 25cm pan, add ½ cup of the omelette mixture to the pan and swirl in order to get the liquid to reach all of the edges of the pan. Close the pan with the lid. Let it look over low heat until small bubbles appear across the surface of the omelette. Carefully flip the omelette and cook on the other side for 5 more minutes.
Slide the omelette onto a plate.
Add your filling, along with a dollop of the cashew cream to one-half of the surface of the omelette. Carefully flip the other half over the filling to close the omelette.
Serve with crispy toast for breakfast or a side salad for lunch.
Tofu scramble
Serves: 2
Ingredients
2 tbsp oil
1 large onion, chopped
1 punnet mushroom, sliced
¼ tsp salt
1 pack of firm tofu, drained
1 tsp turmeric
¼ tsp black salt (kala namak)
½ tsp Ina Paarman garlic and herb seasoning
2-3 tbsp nut milk or 1 tsp vegan margarine
2 cups spinach, cored and chopped into chunks
6 peppadews, quartered
Salt and pepper to taste
Baby spinach to serve
Method
Heat one teaspoon of oil in a non-stick pan and fry the onion until translucent. Set aside.
In the same pan, fry the mushrooms by adding a sprinkle of salt and putting a lid on the pan until the mushrooms have released all their moisture. Remove the lid and simmer until all liquid has evaporated. Set mushrooms aside.
Crumble tofu into pieces by using your hand or a potato masher.
Add the crumbled tofu to a clean pan, along with another teaspoon of oil, and fry for 1 minute, stirring constantly until starting to brown.
Add the nut milk or margarine if using, season with the spices, and mix well.
Add the cooked onion and mushrooms, as well as the chopped spinach and peppadews, and mix thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper.
Serve on seed bread toast with your favourite chutney and baby spinach leaves on top.
Thyme, cinnamon, and orange sponge cake
Ingredients
Canola oil or Cook & Spray
For the cake
2 cups nut milk
1 sprig of fresh thyme
1 ¾ cups cake wheat flour
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp orange extract
⅓ cup olive oil
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
For the frosting
2 ½ cups icing sugar
3 tbsp vegan margarine
2 tbsp nut milk
3 tsp orange extract
Zest one orange
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Spray a 20cm round cake tin with Cook & Spray or smear with margarine.
Place the nut milk in a pot along with 2 cinnamon sticks and a few fresh sprigs of thyme. Bring Almond milk to a boil and then turn down the heat. Let the nut milk simmer for 15 minutes to infuse the flavours.
Sift together the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.
Remove infused nut milk from the stove and mix 1 ⅓ cups of the milk with the rest of the wet ingredients in another mixing bowl.
Whisk the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until well combined.
Pour the cake mixture into the tin and tap the tin on the kitchen counter to remove any air bubbles.
Bake cake for 30 minutes.
Remove the cake from the oven and insert a cake pin or toothpick into the centre of the cake. If it comes out clean, the cake is done.
Move to a cooling rack to cool completely.
While the cake is cooking, prepare the frosting: Add the icing sugar, vegan margarine, milk, and orange extract into a mixing bowl. Use an electric mixer to mix the icing until smooth and creamy (start mixing at the lowest speed possible and slowly increase). The consistency of the frosting must be thin enough to spread evenly over the cake but thick enough for it not to slide off the cake. If it is too thin, add more icing sugar. If it is too thick, add more milk.
When the cake is completely cool, spread the frosting over the cake.
Decorate with lemon zest and fresh thyme.