Tag Archives: Vegan

Romanesco Cauliflower with Crispy Sicilian Topping

If there were ever a dish that could convince me to become a vegetarian, this would be the one! Eating this dish did not leave me feeling deprived of anything. Every bite was satisfying and left me craving for more.

Cauliflower is one of my favourite vegetables. I love it raw in this shaved salad. It makes an excellent substitution for rice in this stir-fried dish, and steamed and mashed with potatoes and cheddar cheese and stuffed into potato skins is one of my favourite winter dinners.

When I saw this beauty at the market, I knew she had to come home with me. This is a Romanesco cauliflower. (I have also seen it called Romanesco Broccoli). It’s crunchier than regular cauliflower with a more delicate and nutty flavour profile. Romanesco is essentially an edible fibonacci spiral. Linda at Garden Betty, does an excellent job explaining that last sentence. Mother Nature is really showing off all her glory here. Each tiny peaked floret is an identical but smaller version of the entire head.

I decided to showcase Romanesco’s delicate flavour by roasting it. Slice the head into thick planks. Little bits will fall off as you are slicing. Just put them in the center of the sheet pan to protect them from burning. Olive oil, salt and pepper and a hot oven are all it takes to turn them golden brown and delicious.

I was on the phone with my big sister Faith, the day I was making this. I told her I was planning to top the romanesco with toasted Panko breadcrumbs, capers and almonds. She suggested adding golden raisins to the mix. Brilliant idea Faith! Every bite offers a perfect blance of flavour and texture. Sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy and nutty. If you can’t find Romanesco, just use regular cauliflower of broccoli. It will be equally delicious.

Click here to print recipe for Romanesco Cauliflower with Sicilian Crispy Topping

Chewy Browned Coconut Butter Cookies

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These cookies are vegan. If you don’t follow a vegan lifestyle, I realize that’s probably not the best opening line if I’m trying to pique your interest and keep you reading this post, but stay with me here. I promise you it will be worth it.

My experiences with vegan baking have been lacklustre. I will take the proffered sweet, politely take a bite, and say “it’s good”. And what I really mean is, it’s good, for vegan. You need that qualifier.

With these cookies, that qualifier is not necessary. These cookies are good. Actually, they’re great. They’ve become one of my favourite cookies. And that’s high praise coming from someone who has over 75 cookie recipes on her blog.The secret ingredient is coconut butter, not to be confused with coconut oil. Coconut oil is just the oil extracted from coconut, whereas coconut butter is ground-up coconut. Coconut butter is available at many health food stores, and online, or you can make it yourself. The talented Dana, over at at minimalist baker has a foolproof recipe.

Those clever folks over at Cooks Illustrated figured out that if you melt and cook the coconut butter, it becomes brown and nutty and delicious. Right out of the jar, it’s almost pure white.Give it some heat and about 7 minutes and this is what happens. And big bonus, your house will smell amazing!No need to pull out the mixer for these cookies. Just stir everything together in a big bowl. You need all purpose flour, of course. Some brown sugar adds to the chewiness. Baking soda and baking powder give lift. No eggs or butter are needed. The coconut butter holds these cookies together. Oh, and don’t forget a pinch of salt!Pro-tip: Use an ice cream scoop to get even sized cookies that will bake evenly. Gently flatten the cookies and sprinkle lightly with flaky sea salt. Not too much, as you’ll add more after dipping in chocolate.The original recipe at Cook’s Illustrated did not include dipping them in chocolate, but coconut and chocolate just belong together! I tempered my chocolate for dipping, and if you have an instant read thermometer and a bit of patience, you should temper your chocolate as well.

Tempering the chocolate before dipping will give the cookies a smooth, glossy evenly coloured coating. Biting into into the chocolate coating, will produce that crisp satisfying snap . Without the tempering process, the cocoa butter separates out and you get a streaky, dull grey coating. I give detailed instructions on how to temper, in the recipe.

Click here to print recipe for Chewy Browned Butter Coconut Cookies.

White Bean Hummus with Herb Olive Salad

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The curious folks over at America’s Test Kitchen have launched a new digital brand, Cook’s Science. I have a great fondness for understanding why things work in the kitchen. If you’re a food science geek like me, you’ll love it. I subscribed to their newsletter right away, and one of the first recipes to pop up in my inbox was this one for a white bean hummus.

The recipe was actually created to highlight the tepary bean. The tepary bean is higher in protein and fiber than other beans and is one of the most heat and drought tolerant crops in the world. At this time they are only available by mail order. Since I was in a hurry to make this, I just substituted dried white kidney beans (also called cannellini beans).

Of course you can buy ready made hummus at the supermarket. And, in a pinch, most of them are ok. Moving up a level from store bought is hummus made with canned beans. Ultimate hummus can really only be made with dried beans. Yes, it takes a bit of planning ahead, but the ultra smooth silky texture you get is worth it. Baking soda and salt are added to the soaking water. Both of these contribute to breaking down the tough cell walls of beans and contribute to the creamy consistency of the finished hummus. The usual suspects of lemon juice, garlic, tahini and cumin are added to this version. Where the similarity ends however, is how the garlic is added. The garlic is first pureed with the lemon juice and allowed to steep for 10 minutes. The infused lemon juice is strained out and the garlic is discarded. Turns out that the acidity in lemon juice, tames raw garlic’s harsh pungent bite. I love this kitchen hack. I’m excited to try it with vinegar and garlic in my next batch of vinaigrette. Be patient when pureeing the beans. It will take a good four minutes to get a silky smooth hummus. The hummus is finished an herb and olive salad. Parsley and dill add a bright verdant freshness and olives pack a briny salty punch. A topping of toasted pumpkin, sunflower and sesame seeds add a delicate crunch.