The Sexy Vegan Cookbook (13 page)
Read The Sexy Vegan Cookbook Online
Authors: Brian L. Patton
Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Cut the greens off the beets, and wash and coarsely chop them. Wash and dry the beets. Toss the beets with the olive oil and a pinch of salt and a pinch of pepper. Individually wrap the beets in foil, leaving little openings for steam to escape. Roast the beets for 1 hour, or until a fork easily pierces them. Remove the beets from the foil, and when they’re cool enough to handle, scrape off their skins with a small spoon. Cut the beets into bite-size cubes.
Heat a dry pan over medium heat, and add your cashews, toasting them until they are a little brown on one side, 1 to 2 minutes, and then toss them to brown on the other side, another 1 to 2 minutes. Just keep an eye on them, since those little bastards burn easily. Remove from the pan to cool. When the cashews are cool enough to handle, roughly chop.
In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients until combined.
In a large bowl, toss the lettuce, beet greens, and fennel with half of the dressing. Pile the salad in the middle of a serving plate, artfully arrange the beets around the edges, and drizzle with the remaining dressing. Finally, top with the chopped cashews.
Food should appeal to all five senses. And this salad is a perfect example of something that stimulates sight, smell, texture, and taste, and if you listen really closely, it gives you great decorating tips.
One 14-ounce block extra-firm tofu, drained (see Tip,
page 35
)
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons curry powder
3 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour (or another flour, like garbanzo, rice, etc.)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of pepper
½ head red leaf lettuce, roughly chopped or torn
½ medium cucumber, thinly sliced
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1 medium beet, grated
1 medium carrot, grated
1 small Thai chili, minced (you can use less depending on how hot the peppers are)
½ teaspoon tamarind paste
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon low-sodium tamari or soy sauce (see WTF,
page 25
)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon agave nectar
Slice the tofu crosswise into six 3-inch-thick rectangles. In a frying pan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Spread the curry powder, flour, and salt and pepper on a shallow plate, stir to combine, and dredge both sides of the tofu slices in the seasoning. When the olive oil is just barely starting to smoke, carefully place the slices in the frying pan. Let them fry on one side for 3 to 4 minutes, until browned. Then flip and brown on the other side, 3 to 4 minutes. In a small bowl, whisk together the dressing ingredients. In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cucumber, scallion, beet, and carrot, and toss with the dressing. Pile the salad on a plate and place the fried tofu on top in an artful fashion.
THAT SHE CONSTANTLY ASKS ME TO MAKE AND
WON’T SHUT THE HELL UP ABOUT
This
is
a very good salad, so I don’t really blame her.
½ head romaine lettuce, chopped into bite-size pieces
1 cup diced cucumber
1 cup drained freshly cooked or rinsed canned chickpeas
1 cup sliced hearts of palm
½ cup diced celery
2 cups Croutons (see recipe,
page 82
)
¼ cup sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon agave nectar
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and pepper
To make the dressing, in a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, mustard, and agave nectar. When they are combined, stream the olive oil into the bowl, whisking steadily. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
In a large bowl, combine the lettuce, cucumber, chickpeas, hearts of palm, and celery, and toss with the dressing. Scatter the croutons on top.
A killer side dish for the Black Bean Burger with Kajillion Island Dressing (see
page 197
).
3 cups shredded green cabbage
Salt
2 tablespoons vegan mayo (see WTF,
page 42
)
Juice of ½ lime
1 teaspoon ground chipotle
1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
2 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup shredded carrot
½ cup drained freshly cooked or rinsed canned black beans
½ cup fresh or thawed frozen corn kernels
Pepper
In a colander, toss the shredded cabbage with a very generous amount of salt (¼ cup or so) and let it drain in the sink for at least 60 minutes, ideally 90. Rinse the cabbage really well with water to wash away the salt. (I know, this sounds counterintuitive — remove water, then add water — but trust me, it works.) It’s very important to taste the cabbage at this point to make sure that it’s not salty. If it tastes salty, give
it another rinse. Spin-dry the cabbage in a salad spinner or pat dry with a paper towel. Now it’s ready to become slaw.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayo, lime juice, chipotle, and cilantro. In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, scallions, carrot, beans, and corn, and toss with the dressing. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
Ahhh…cabbage bound for slaw: to salt or not to salt? What the hell am I talking about? Well, if you make this recipe without salting your cabbage, after about an hour, you’ll have a watery and flavor-diluted slaw on your hands. There’s a shitload of water in that there cabbage, and salting it removes that water before it becomes part of your dressing. If you’re going to serve this slaw right away in all its fresh and crunchy gloriousness, don’t worry about salting it beforehand. However, if it’s going to sit in a huge bowl all day at a barbecue, or you plan on keeping leftovers for tomorrow, then definitely salt it. This will keep it crunchier, fresher, and flavorful-er, longer.
I am by no means an eggplant lover. I can deal with it if it’s breaded and deep-fried, or sliced super thin and baked until crispy topping a pizza, but keep it away from me in any other forms…especially that goddamned baba ghanoush, BLAH! This preparation, however, has shot to the top of the list of “Ways in Which I Will Consume Eggplant.” The eggplant takes on a crunchy, almost pickle-like texture, and the zingy marinade penetrates its every fiber. You have to make this one the day before you plan to eat it, but it’s totally worth the wait.
10 ounces eggplant, cut into 2-inch-thick slices (about 5 slices)
teaspoons salt, plus more as needed
¼ cup thinly sliced scallions
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ cup red wine vinegar, plus more as needed
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ teaspoon chili flakes
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh Italian parsley
½ teaspoon finely chopped fresh thyme
Pepper
8 ounces fusilli pasta
½ cup roughly chopped kalamata olives
½ cup roughly chopped oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes
½ packed cup baby spinach
First you need to salt the eggplant slices, which removes excess water and bitterness and allows the marinade to penetrate thoroughly. In a colander, toss the eggplant slices with 2 teaspoons of salt, coating both sides of each slice, and spread out the slices, so that they are not on top of one another. Let them drain in the
colander for 90 minutes. Rinse the eggplant really well with water to wash away the salt, and pat dry with paper towels. Finally, cut the eggplant into ¾-inch cubes.
Place the eggplant, scallions, garlic, vinegar, oil, chili flakes, parsley, thyme, ½ teaspoon of salt, and a pinch of pepper in a zip-top bag. Gently slosh the eggplant around so it gets coated, squeeze the bag to suck out as much of the air as possible, and place in the fridge to marinate for at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.