Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffles

Oh, those little black gold nuggets… A couple of months ago I impulse-purchased a couple of black truffles from The Truffle Farm because, well, (a) they were in season and (b) I’m weak around fine foods… like… completely helpless! So I made this dish –  Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffle.

Vegan Mushroom Risotto With Black Truffle

Mushroom risotto and black truffle is like the perfect marriage made in foodie heaven I think.

I got a bit nervous (like pretty much every time I make risotto). Did I add enough stock? Did I add too much stock? Is the flavour okay? Is it going to be soggy or too dry?

I just wanted it to be good.

Because..

I can’t live with a bad risotto – at least not from my kitchen.

Vegan Mushroom Risotto With Black Truffle

But it turned out beautiful! I don’t know why I worried so much. It was creamy, perfectly al-dente and the flavour of Swiss brown mushrooms…. man, it really made this dish shine. And the thinly shaved truffle… sprinkling it all over the dish was almost like making that crunchy caramel top of crème brulee, it made the dish perfect.

This dish is rich, comforting, and full of the earthy and savoury flavours that I adores so much. I also added a sprinkle of vegan parmesan, and just like that – magic happened.

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Making risotto requires patience. You have to stand there in the kitchen for almost an hour just stirring the thing. But I guess that’s why it tastes so good – because of all the love you put into it. I’m lucky enough to have a Cuisine Companion, a cooking machine that cooks and stirs at the same time, so I don’t have to go to so much trouble. But I’ve made risotto without it before and it wasn’t too bad, as long as your heart’s in it. Besides, that’s how people have made risotto for years – in a saucepan, over a stove.

Vegan Mushroom Risotto With Black Truffle

Mushroom Risotto with Black Truffles

Ingredients

  • 2 cups Arborio rice (I use SunRice brand)
  • 1 large brown onion, diced
  • 4 garlic cloves, diced
  • 200g Swiss brown mushroom, sliced to 1cm thickness
  • ¼ cup extra virgin oil
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 5 cups vegetable stock
  • ¼ cup vegan parmesan
  • 20 gram black truffles (or you can substitute with truffle oil)
  • 1 tablespoon vegan butter (I use Nuttelex)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • pepper

Cuisine Companion Method: 

  1. Place in the bowl fitted with the mixer. Add the oil and onion and launch the P1 slow cook program without the stopper for 3 mins.
  2. Add the rice then launch the P1 Slow Cook program without the stopper for 3 mins. Add white wine and relaunch for 1 min.
  3. Add the vegetable stock stock and launch the Slow Cook Program P2 at 95°C for 15 mins without the stopper.
  4. Meanwhile slice mushroom to 1cm thickness.
  5. Add mushroom at the end of the 15 minute program and then relaunch for 5 minutes.
  6. Add the vegan parmesan, salt, butter and gently mix. Adjust the seasoning.
  7. Sprinkle with shaved black truffle or drizzle with black truffle oil.

Manual Method:

  1. Place stock in a saucepan over medium heat. Cook until mixture starts to simmer. Turn the heat to low and cover to keep hot.
  2. Heat oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook for 3-5 minutes or until onion has softened.
  3. Stir in rice into the cooked onion. Cook, for 1 to 2 minutes or until coated. Add wine. Stir for 30 seconds or until wine has absorbed.
  4. Add ½ cup of hot stock to rice mixture. Cook, stirring, until stock has absorbed. Repeat with remaining stock, ½ cup at a time.
  5. Add sliced mushroom after adding the last cup of stock and cook until liquid has absorbed and rice is tender.
  6. Remove pan from heat. Stir in spinach, parmesan and butter. Set aside, covered, for 2 minutes. Season. Serve with grated parmesan.
  1. Add the vegan parmesan, salt, butter and gently mix. Adjust the seasoning.

Tips:

  • Infuse the rice with the black truffles for five days for a boost of truffle flavour.
  • You can shave truffles using a cheese shaver or a vegetable peeler.

Vegan Mushroom Risotto With Black Truffle

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram and tag me :)

Big love,

Keren

Rhubarb Onion Chutney

Sometimes you feel like something that is both sweet and savoury. So you make something a little like this Rhubarb Onion Chutney…

 

Why I love it

It’s a delicious chutney for whenever you wanted something sweet with a savoury twist. I like it. It’s one of those dishes that plays trick with your head. It looks sweet but it also tastes savoury so you don’t really know what to do with it. It reminds me of the first time I had cranberry sauce with roast (back in my pre-vegan days), it’s weird in a delicious kind of way. This chutney is great with baked tofu or salad… or as a dip with freshly toasted olive bread.

Rhubarb Onion Chutney-2-1

Rhubarb Onion Chutney
Recipe Type: Dips and Sauces
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: Two 300ml mason jars.
Ingredients
  • 1 large onion
  • 1/3 cup xylitol *see notes
  • 1/2 cup dried cranberries
  • 1/3 cup white wine
  • 1/3 cup white vinegar
  • 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 1 knob ginger, grated
  • 1/2 tsp salt
Instructions
  1. Trim rhubard leave and cut into 1cm pieces
  2. Using Cuisine Companion with a chopping blade, Chop rhubarb and onion 5 seconds speed 5.
  3. Add vinegar and sugar and cook at speed 3, 30 min, 100C
  4. Remove the lid and cook for another 30 min, speed 3, 100C until the liquid reduced and the mixture becomes thick.
  5. Transfer to a sterilised jars.
Notes
*Xylitol is a natural sweetener that is extracted from any woody fibrous plant material. It tastes just like regular table sugar but contain less calories. You can replace 1/3 cup of xylitol with 1 cup of normal sugar.[br][br]*If you want a more subtle savoury flavour, use half an onion instead a whole onion.[br][br]*For manual method, chop everything by hand and then bring to a boil on the stove and then bring the heat down to simmer, stirring once in a while until the mixture becomes thick.

 

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram and tag me in the picture. I’d love to see your creation.

Keren x 

Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes

Finally! Gluten free, refined sugar-free, vegan pancakes that don’t suck. It’s super easy to make too!
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Why I love these pancakes

Well what’s not to love. It’s sugar-free, gluten-free, vegan, and the batter sets beautifully to allow for some flipping action. Peanut flour gives this pancake a lovely nutty taste and also gives it a protein boost (the one I use contain 16g protein per 1/4 cup). You can find peanut flour at the health-store (I got mine from iHerb). Combined with banana, these pancakes are mildly sweet, protein-dense and every bit delicious.
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Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Protein Pancakes

Ingredients
  • 1/2 cups gluten-free oat flour* see tips
  • 3/4 cups peanut flour
  • 1 large ripe banana
  • 1 tbsp baking powder
  • 1 cup soy milk
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • a pinch of salt
  • Rice malt or maple syrup
  • Your favourite fruit and topping (I use blueberries and match powder).

Method (Cuisine Companion)

  • Place all ingredient except the peanut flour in the bowl  fitted with the kneading/crushing blade. Mix at speed 10 for 30 seconds. Gradually add the flour through the opening on the lid, still at speed 10, until just mixed.
  • Cook 1/4 cup of batter on an oiled non-stick pan over medium heat.
  • Cook for about 4 minutes until bubbles appear on surface. Flip and cook for another 2-3 minutes or until cooked through
  • Serve with some maple/ rice malt syrup

Notes and Tips

1. Make oat flour by processing rolled oat in a food processor or a blender
2. Mix rice malt or maple syrup with peanut butter for peanut butter sauce.
3. You can also use a blender to mix the ingredients or manually by hand using a whisk.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #littlegreenhabits
Image
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Vegan French Onion Soup with Mushrooms

Here’s my dairy-free take to the traditional French onion soup. Made hearty and satisfying with the addition of mushrooms.

Why I love this soup

This soup is not only comforting and delicious, but it is also good for you. Both onions and mushrooms are loaded with antioxidants and cancer fighting properties. They also help boost the immune systems and are full of beneficial phytonutrients. Too many big words? Basically, just make this :)

Onion Soup with Mushroom-3

Vegan French Onion Soup with Mushrooms
Recipe Type: Soup
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Delicious, nutritious and satisfying bowl of onion soup with the hearty flavour of Mushrooms.
Ingredients
  • 2 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 kg brown onions (6 large onion), Peeled & Quartered
  • 350g button or flat mushroom, sliced
  • 2 tbsp tapioca flour
  • 4 tbsp water
  • 4 cups vegetable stock
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp muscovado sugar or brown sugar
Instructions
  1. Peel and half onions. Slice thinly with a knife or add to Cuisine Companion bowl and chop for 15 seconds using chopping blade at speed 5.
  2. Replace blade to stirring blade. Add olive oil and saute for 10 minutes at 100 C.
  3. Add stock and cook for 30 minutes at 100 C reduce to speed 4.
  4. Add mushroom and cook for 5 minutes/100 degrees/speed 4.
  5. Mix tapioca flour with 4 tablespoon water to form a smooth paste.
  6. Add tapioca paste to CC bowl and mix for 2 minute / 100 degrees / speed 4.
  7. Serve in soup bowls and season with salt and pepper.
Notes
P.S. If you don’t have Cuisine Companion you can make this on the stove top. Just follow the direction and use large pot to cook the soup, stirring as needed.

Vegan Cinnamon Scrolls With Chai Spice

Sometimes, there’s nothing I want more than a freshly baked vegan cinnamon scrolls.

Vegan cinnamon scrolls

This recipe was a result of one of my spurs of the moment ideas. It was inspired by cinnamon scrolls recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Collen Patrick Goudreau, which, I must say, is a must-have for anyone who loves baking.

Vegan Cinnamon Scrolls

So I was enjoying my second last cinnamon scroll I made a few days earlier over a cup of chai tea. It was soft and tender and it tasted so good and ‘matched’  the Rainbow chai tea I was having. Suddenly an idea came to me. Why not combine the two flavours together? It will be sweet, mildly spicy and nutty. Wouldn’t that be nice?

And just like that, these babies were born.

Vegan Cinnamon Scrolls With Chai Spice

Why I love these Vegan Cinnamon Scrolls:

They’re sweet, mildly spiced, comforting and, best of all, they smell amazing…

Chai spices are known for it’s health benefits, antioxidants and phytochemicals with cancer-prevention properties. It also tastes delicious. Though these scrolls don’t score high on the nutritional scale, it is significantly lower in sugar compare to your regular scrolls (especially if you include the icing glaze on top). Mashed banana is added in the dough mix, which makes the dough mildly sweet. As a result, you don’t need a lot of sugar for the filling and you won’t even miss the glaze. It’s has a delicate spicy taste and did I say it smells amazing?

Vegan Cinnamon Scrolls With Chai Spice 

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture

  • 1 cup non dairy milk
  • 1/2 cup non-dairy butter
    1 teaspoon raw sugar
  •  4 teaspoons of instant dry yeast

Chai Spiced Nut Filling

  • 1/4 cup brown sugar (packed)
  • 1/2 cup walnuts (you can also use other nuts or mixed nuts)I’m 
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy butter (I use Nuttelex)
  • Chai spice:
    • 1/4 tsp ground cloves
    • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
    • 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
    • 1 tsp ground cardamom
    • 1 tbsp ground cinnamon

Dough mix

  • 5 cups plain flour (separate 1 cup aside)
  • 2 medium ripe banana, mashed
  • 3 tsp egg replacer powder
  • 6 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp salt

Step 1. Proof the yeast

  1.  Combine the milk, butter and sugar in a bowl. Warm the mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds on in a small pot on the stove. The mixture shouldn’t be too hot to put your finger in.
  2. Add the dry yeast into the mixture. Set aside for 10 minutes. You should see foam and bubbles forming on top of the yeast mixture. If not, your yeast may be too old and no longer active in which case, you’ll need get a fresh yeast pack.

Step 2. Prepare your dough

  1. Whip together the egg replacer powder with the water using a fork until it’s thick and creamy.
  2. Using Cuisine Companion with chopping blade: Add 4 cups of flour into CC. Add the yeast mixture and press P2 pastry setting.
  3. Check after 1 minute. If the mixture is too sticky, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time using the 1 cup of flour you set aside.
  4. Let the program continues until it completes the proofing stage.

Step 3. Prepare the Chai Spiced Nut filling

  1. Prepare CC with chopping blade. Finely chop the walnuts or process in CC into rough crumbs. Speed 5, 15 seconds
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and mix. Speed 5, 5 second.

Step 4. Make the scrolls

  1. Once the dough has risen, fold it out onto a lightly dusted surface and spread out the dough with a rolling pin into a big giant rectangle until the dough is about a ¼ of an inch thick.
  2. Spread the filling around the whole dough. Carefully roll the dough into a log and pinch the edge to seal. Slice into 8 equal pieces.
  3. Leave for another 30 minutes to 1 hour to rise slightly.
  4. Arrange the pieces on a greased baking pan and then pop them in the oven
  5. Bake on 190 degrees Celsius (375 Fahrenheit) for 25-30 min.

Note:

  • You can knead the dough using an electric mixer if you don’t own a cuisine companion. You can also knead the dough by hand if you don’t own an electric mixer.
  • You can also use 2 tablespoon of chai tea mix (the one with dried herbs and spices, not powder) to replace the chai spice ingredients. Ground before using.

Vegan Cinnamon Scrolls With Chai Spice

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #littlegreenhabits. I’d love to hear from you.

Halloween Special – Vegan Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pancakes

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pancake-37

A couple of days ago I found a very old costume from a Halloween party I went to about six years ago. I remember staying up until 3 am to sew my own costume. It was a great night: I rocked it as the Corpse Bride, and even won the best costume award!

Next to being able to walk around in a blue-coloured, blood-splashed wedding gown, Halloween is a great excuse to make and eat anything pumpkin-related! I didn’t want to make yet another pumpkin pie this year so I thought, why not make something for breakfast? And that’s how these Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pancakes were born.

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Why I love it:

Tender pancakes that are healthy, simple and easy to make. They’re sumptuous and I love how beautiful my kitchen smells when I make these. It also makes an impressive pancake stack for the Instagram fans among you.

Pumpkin is loaded in fibre and antioxidants including beta-carotene, which the body converts into a form of vitamin A. It is also rich in potassium, an important mineral that’s crucial for maintaining normal organ functions. Peanut butter on the other hand is rich in protein, healthy fats and tryptophan. And the pair taste beautiful when put together.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pancakes

 

Vegan Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pancakes
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
Vegan Peanut Butter Pumpkin Pancake
Ingredients
  • Dry:
  • 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 tsp allspice (pimento)
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp bicarbonate soda
  • ½ tsp cinnamon
  • ½ tsp salt
  • Wet
  • 1/3 cup packed mashed pumpkin
  • ¾ cup non-dairy milk + 1 tbsp of lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp melted coconut oil
  • 2 tbsp peanut butter
  • 1 tbsp vanilla extract
  • 4 tbsp maple syrup
  • Filling:
  • 2/3 cup packed mashed pumpkin
  • ½ cup peanut butter
Instructions
Cuisine Companion Method:
  1. Combine ¾ cup milk and lemon juice in a large bowl and let rest for 5 minutes to curdle
  2. Prepare Cuisine Companion with the mixing blade, add all the ingredients into a bowl. .
  3. Add remaining ingredients and combine sp 4 / 10 – 30 secs (until smooth)
  4. Let the batter sit for 10 minutes.
  5. Heat up a non-stick pan over low heat.
  6. Add about 1/4 cup of batter to the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, or until the top is looking dry and the edges are dry and firm. Flip over and cook another 2 minutes.
  7. Make your pancake tower using the filling. Place one pancake on plate, layer with 1-2 tablespoon of mashed pumpkin. Place another pancake and layer with 1 tablespoon of peanut butter. Continue until you have a tall stack of pancakes. Top the last layer with mashed pumpkin.
  8. Serve with a generous drizzle of maple syrup.
Manual Method – replace the above step 2-4 with the following:
  1. In one bowl, whisk all the wet ingredients together.
  2. In a second bowl, sift all the dry ingredients together.
  3. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir well until smooth.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #littlegreenhabits. I’d love to hear from you.

 

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Love and greens,

Keren x

Sweet Potato Vegan Donuts

Sweet Potato Vegan Donuts

These vegan donuts were inspired by my recent trip to Melbourne where I had the most amazing donuts (or ‘bronuts‘ as they call them) from Mr. Nice Guy’s Bake Shop in Ascot Vale. They were mind-blowingly delicious: soft, fluffy and sweet. They tasted so heavenly and were a complete and utter indulgence. Coming back to Sydney, I couldn’t help but wonder if I could make my own vegan donuts. I wanted them to be tender and tasty, but healthier, and baked, not fried as in Melbourne. And so after a few experiments in the kitchen, these donuts were born.

Why I love them:

One thing I love about these vegan donuts is how long they stay tender and moist after baking. I’ve made deep fried donuts in the past and they start tasting a bit dry and hard even after just a few hours. These donuts, on the other hand, stay tender and moist for many hours to a few days – you just need to warm them up, with 15 seconds for each in the microwave if they get a bit cold.

They also quite easy to make. I’ve made them both by hand and using Cuisine Companion (CC). I’d use my CC when I make a double batch or being super lazy but really, it’s so easy to make. There’s no kneading involved so the process is fairly simple.

Sweet potatoes are an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin C and rich in fibre and potassium. They’re baked, not fried, and they smell like Christmas morning.

Sweet Potato Vegan Donuts

Sweet Potato Vegan Donuts

Sweet Potato Vegan Donuts

Makes 40 small size donuts

  • 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
  • 1 cup warm non-dairy milk
  • 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 1/2 cups warm mashed sweet potatoes
  • 1/3 cup coconut oil, melted
  • 1 cup raw sugar (*see notes)
  • 4 tsp baking powder
  • 1-1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 6 cups plain or wholemeal flour
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Vegan eggs (equivalent of 3 eggs)

Directions – Cuisine Companion

  1. Make vegan eggs: mix 3 egg replacers with 6 tbsp water and whisk until foamy with a fork.
  2. Mix your non-dairy milk with vinegar. Add yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar, mix to dissolve.
  3. Prepare the CC bowl with the kneading blade. Add mashed sweet potatoes, coconut oil, the remaining sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and half of the flour into the bowl. Mix at speed 7 for 15 seconds.
  4. Stir in the remaining flour and mix at speed 7 for about 20- 30 seconds, just enough to form soft dough. You may not need to use all the flour. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
  5. Turn onto a floured surface; divide into four equal portions.
  6. Roll each portion to 1 cm thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter. Bake at 170C for 10-15 minutes, turning halfway for even cooking.

Directions – Manual

  1. Make vegan eggs: mix 3 egg replacers with 6 tbsp water and whisk until foamy with a fork.
  2. In a large bowl, mix your non-dairy milk with vinegar. Add yeast and 1 tbsp of sugar, mix to dissolve.
  3. Add mashed sweet potatoes, coconut oil, and mix.
  4. Add the remaining sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, nutmeg and half of the flour. Beat until smooth.
  5. Stir in the remaining flour just enough to form soft dough. You may not need to use it all. Do not knead. Cover and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.
  6. Turn onto a floured surface; divide into four equal portions.
  7. Roll each portion to 1 cm thickness. Cut with a doughnut cutter. Bake at 170C for 10-15 minutes, turning halfway for even cooking.

Notes and Tips:

  1. You can use white potatoes in place of sweet potatoes.
  2. If you don’t have a donut cutter, improvise with using the lid of a mason jar and the end of a funnel for cutting the holes.
  3. For healthier alternative you can replace raw sugar with coconut sugar, or you can also use 1/3 cup of Xylitol which has the sweetness of a cup of sugar with one-third of the calories

Sweet Potato Vegan Donuts

Did you make these vegan donuts?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #littlegreenhabits.

Love and greens,

Keren

How To Make a Vegan Omelette

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One of the things I love about plantbased cooking is how creative it is. I mean, who would have thought you can make omelette without egg? As the saying goes, creativity often stems from scarcity. I think it’s true. Take away meat, egg, butter and cheese, and most cooks (and chefs) would be scratching their head when it comes to cooking. Hence the perception that plantbased food is boring and plain. This recipe breaks all the conventional cooking rules and it’s tasty, egg-y, healthy and of course, 100% vegan.

Why I love it:

Though it doesn’t taste exactly like egg omelette, the texture is very close and the complexity of flavour is on point. The addition of kala namak or black salt gives it an egg-y punch. The high sulphur content of kala namak gives it the distinct smell and taste of egg. Who would have thought that salt can taste and smell like egg! Such is the wonder of Mother Nature. You can get kala namak at most health food stores.

It’s low in fat, and contains zero cholesterol. Chickpeas are rich in soluble and insoluble fiber, folate, and magnesium. It’s also a good source of iron and the immune-boosting zinc and copper.

How to make vegan omelette

Tips for making the perfect vegan omelette:

  1. Cook the batter thoroughly. You don’t want runny, uncooked batter. Use a pan with a lid (aluminium foil works too if you have no lid) so you can cook the batter thoroughly.
  2. Use kala namak and nutritional yeast to get that ‘eggy’ taste
  3. Add red onion and non-dairy cheese for savoury, cheesy flavour
  4. Fill with mushroom and spinach to make a big breakfast omelette
  5. Do not overfill as it will make the batter too runny and you’ll end up with scrambled egg instead of omelette. May not be a bad thing.
  6. Serve with some avocado for added creaminess, and some Kinda Bacon for crunch and bacon-y boost.

Omelette anyone?

Vegan omelette-51

 

Vegan Omelette
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 2
Ingredients
  • 1 cup chickpeas, flour
  • 1 cup non dairy milk
  • 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
  • ¼ tsp baking soda
  • ¼ tsp onion powder
  • ¼ tsp garlic powder
  • ¼ tsp kala namak (black salt)
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast
  • ½ tsp salt
  • 3 Tbsp of you favourite filling (optional)
Instructions
  1. Prepare Cuisine Companion (CC) bowl with mixing blade.
  2. Add all ingredients into CC bowl and mix at speed 10 for 60 seconds until mixed through. Scraping the sides of the bowl if required.
  3. Heat a non stick pan, on low heat
  4. Pour ¼ cup batter, cook for 2 minutes and then close the lid and cook for another minute
  5. Add your filling if using
  6. Fold and cook for another 2 minutes until it’s cooked
  7. Sprinkle with some freshly ground pepper and kala namak and serve with some tomato sauce
Notes
I use my trusted Cuisine Companion for this recipe as I often make them double or triple the batch size. If you don’t have a Cuisine Companion, get one :D, or you can blend all the ingredients in a blender.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram. I’d love to see it.

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Vegan Vegetable Frittata

Vegan Frittata

Who says that you can’t make egg-free frittata?

But honestly, if you asked me a year ago if I could make frittata without eggs, I would have said, ‘hell, no!’

Vegan Frittata

Frittata, by definition, is an omelette – specifically an Italian-style omelette filled with various ingredients. And as we all know, you need eggs to make omelette.

Or do you?

Vegan Frittata

Fast forward to the present day. I’ve learned that you can make egg-free omelette. And since you can make egg-free omelette, you can make egg-free frittata. Hallelujah.

Vegan Frittata

To make a vegan frittata you need to use chickpea flour, vegetable starch (I use arrowroot powder but you can also use corn starch or potato starch), nutritional yeast, onion, garlic and mustard powder. All of these ingredients are very important for both texture and flavours so don’t skimp or omit any of them. The recipe yields a texture similar to that the normal frittata, but slightly softer and tender, somewhat like scrambled eggs (without the eggs, of course).

Vegan Frittata

Why I love it: 

It really reminds me of egg frittata! I served mine with Sriracha sauce (I’m a bit of a Sriracha addict) and garnished it with some fresh parsley leaves. The leaves add freshness to the dish, and also make the frittata look pretty and stylish on the plate. It didn’t take long before I made a huge mess of the plate, though.

This vegan vegetable frittata recipe uses no oil apart from greasing the baking dish so it’s perfect for those who are looking to eating more whole foods as part of a plant-based diet. It is full of protein so it’s just like eating real frittata (minus the cholesterol and saturated fat)

Vegan Frittata

 

Vegan Frittata
Recipe Type: Breakfast
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • Omelette batter
  • 1 cup chickpea flour
  • 1 Tbsp arrowroot powder (or cornstarch)
  • 3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp mustard powder, garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 2 ½ cup vegetable stock
  • Fillings
  • 2 cups of chopped vegetables – I use:
  • ¼ cup chopped spring beans
  • ¼ cup diced red capsicum
  • ½ cup chopped asparagus
  • 1 cup shredded kale
  • Seasoning
  • ½ large red onion
  • 3 garlic cloves
  • A pinch of black salt or Kala Namak (optional but highly recommended)
  • Freshly ground pepper
  • [url href=”https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/make-vegan-parmesan/” target=”_blank”]Vegan parmesan[/url]
Instructions
Cuisine Companion Method
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
  2. Chop red onion and garlic cloves using superblade on speed 8 for 20 sec. Transfer into a plate, rinse the bowl and blade and wipe dry.
  3. Add all the dry chickpea batter ingredients into the bowl. Mix for 5 seconds on speed 8.
  4. Add the vegetable stock and cook using speed 5 at 100 C for 5 minutes
  5. The mixture should be thick.
  6. Add the chopped veggies to the batter. Mix at speed 8 for 10 -15 seconds until mixed through
  7. Transfer batter onto greased pyrex pan. Even it out with spatula.
  8. Bake for 25 minutes and then cover with aluminium foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until the centre is not jiggly and the edges are lightly brown. Depending on the type of your vegetables you use you might need more or less time for the batter to cook. Just prick the centre with a fork to test done-ness.
  9. Stand for 10-15 minutes to set.
  10. Sprinkle with a bit of black salt for an eggy flavour boost.
  11. Serve warm with some freshly ground pepper, [url href=”https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/make-vegan-parmesan/” target=”_blank”]vegan parmesan[/url], and your favourite hot sauce.
Manual Method
  1. Preheat oven to 180 C.
  2. Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, cook onion and garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes.
  3. Add vegetable stock. Bring to a boil.
  4. Add the chickpea flour, arrowroot powder and the remaining dry ingredients
  5. Cook for about 5 minutes until the mixture becomes thick. Stir in the chopped veggies and mix.
  6. Transfer batter onto greased Pyrex pan and flatten the surface with spatula.
  7. Bake for 25 minutes.
  8. Cover with aluminium foil and bake for another 25 minutes or until the center is not jiggly and the edges are lightly brown. Depending on the type of your vegetables you use you might need more or less time for the batter to cook.
  9. Prick the centre with a fork to test done-ness. Stand for 10-15 minutes to set.
  10. Serve warm with some freshly ground pepper, [url href=”https://www.passionatelykeren.com.au/make-vegan-parmesan/” target=”_blank”]vegan parmesan[/url], a sprinkle of black salt and your favourite hot sauce.
Notes
Freeze leftovers for up to 4 weeks.[br]Sprinkle with some black salt before serving for an ‘eggy boost’.

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture and tag me @passionatelykeren on Instagram .

Love and greens,

Keren

Vegan Spring Onion Buns

spring onion bun

One of my favourite Chinese breads is the Spring Onion bun. It’s slightly sweet, tender and savoury all at the same time. If you’ve had any oriental (i.e. Chinese or Japanese) bread, you’ll find that they are sweeter and more delicate and tender in texture than your normal bread. They taste like a soft hamburger bun or brioche.

Unfortunately most of these breads are made with eggs or butter so I can’t have them.

And since I don’t want to deprive myself of these comfort foods,  I made my own vegan-friendly version of spring onion buns :)

I use the Cuisine Companion to make them which makes it feels almost like I’m cheating because the machine does all the kneading for me, but, if you want to go manual, it can certainly be done quite easily too.

The first step is to proof the yeast (i.e. ‘waking it up’ in warm sugary water) to make sure that the yeast is still active. It usually takes about 5-8 minutes. After this the process is quite simple – just add the yeast mixture to the dry mixture and knead until it’s elastic and no longer sticky. It would take about 15 minutes by hand or 3 minutes if you use a mixer with dough attachment.

Then you need to let the dough sit in a warm spot until it doubles in size.

Then the fun begins…. You cut the dough into 4 sections, use a rolling pin (or your hands) to flatten them to 1 cm thickness and spread the sliced onion all over the surface of the dough, make a log roll and cut them up in equal portions. Finally into the oven they go while you wait impatiently for them to cook…

 

Spring Onion Buns
Recipe Type: Snack
Cuisine: Vegan
Author: Keren
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 8
Easy savoury and sweet bun for morning or afternoon snack
Ingredients
  • 4 cup bread flour (white or wholemeal)
  • 1 packet (5g) of Instant yeast
  • 1 tbsp sugar
  • 1 cup water
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 tsp egg replacer mixed in 4 tbsp water
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tbsp non-dairy butter or Nuttelex
  • 1/2 cup of spring onion, sliced thinly
  • 1/4 cup of non-dairy milk
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180C. Line pan with baking paper.
  2. Mix sugar and water in a bowl or in a small pot. Microwave for 30 seconds or heat on the stove until just warm (not hot to touch).
  3. Sift flour and baking powder into the cuisine companion bowl. Add yeast mixture and press Pastry Program 1.
  4. For manual method: Sift flour and baking powder into a bowl. Add yeast mixture. Knead gently until just smooth. Leave in warm temperature covered with kitchen towel until almost double in size, about 30-60 min (depending on your weather condition)
  5. Roll out dough to a rectangle using a lightly floured rolling pin. Brush with Nuttilex.
  6. Sprinkle over onion, leaving a 1cm border on 1 long side. Starting at opposite end, roll up dough.
  7. Cut into 8 even slices. Brush with non-dairy milk.
  8. Bake for 25 minutes or until golden and cooked through. Stand in pan for 5 minutes. Serve warm.
  9. These breads are good for freezing too. Just pop in the microwave for 30-40 second to heat up when you’re hungry.

vegan spring onion bun

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you! Leave a comment below and/or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #littlegreenhabits.

Love and greens, 

Keren