wcw NOVEMBER 2023

dining in
Shhhhh… just don’t tell them it’s vegan…
Comfort food recipes can be reinvented for the holiday meal
F Mushroom Wellington T
The holiday dinner table is a place for laughs, good cheer, and
home cooking. Most traditional holiday recipes can be reinvented
without animal products.
F Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Muffins
Candied Ginger Sweet Potato Muffins T
Bursting with flavor, these muffins are perfect for family brunches or for post-meal
noshing. Barley and rice flours, along with flax meal, add a special texture and feel
to the muffins, while the sweet potato and pumpkin purees and candied ginger
contribute a spicy sweetness.
These sweet potato muffins are a creative way to use up sweet potatoes leftover from
your holiday gatherings. Candied ginger tops each muffin for a crunchy, spicy addition
to these sweetly spiced treats.
1 cup barley flour*
1 cup brown rice flour*
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
mix**
1 tablespoon flax meal*
1 tablespoon arrowroot
or
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 banana
1/2 cup sweet potato puree***
or
1/2 cup pumpkin puree***
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 tablespoon molasses
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 cup candied ginger, chopped
Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a muffin tin with a light layer of grease or
nonstick cooking spray.
Whisk the barley flour, brown rice flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and pumpkin
pie spice together in a medium bowl.
Whisk flax meal and arrowroot or cornstarch together in a small bowl. Add 3 tablespoons
of water and mix well.
Add mashed banana, sweet potato or pumpkin puree, maple syrup and brown sugar to
the small bowl with the flax meal mixture. Whisk until thoroughly combined, taking care
not to leave any chunks.
Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, mixing until well combined. Spoon
the batter into the muffin tins until they are 3/4 of the way full. Press the candied ginger
onto the tops of each muffin. Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until toothpick comes out dry.
2 lb. large head cauliflower
– broken into florets
1 Tbsp. coconut oil
1 large sweet onion, diced
2-3 garlic cloves, pressed or
minced
2 tsp. turmeric powder
1 Tbsp. curry blend
1 piece of ginger, 2inch
long, peeled and chopped
2 Tbsp. Thai red curry paste
or harissa paste
3 cups low sodium veggie broth
1 can (14oz) coconut milk
Serves 6
Melt coconut oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add onion and sauté until
softened, about 4-5 minutes. Add in garlic, ginger, turmeric powder, curry, and harissa/
curry paste, then cook for 1 minute, until fragrant.
Add in the cauliflower and broth, and bring to a simmer.
*Found at health food stores or the health
section of some grocery stores.
**Premade pumpkin pie mix is sold in stores
***Use up leftover cooked sweet potatoes
or pumpkins. If starting from scratch,
try this sweet potato puree or pumpkin
puree method.
F Curried Cauliflower Soup
Curried Cauliflower Soup T
This soup is made creamy thanks to coconut milk and cauliflower and it takes just
30 minutes to make.
Sea salt and pepper, to taste
2 Tbsp. fresh chopped cilantro
1 red chili, sliced to garnish
Cover with a lid and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 15-20 minutes, or until
cauliflower is tender.
Stir in coconut milk, then remove from heat. Using a hand blender, process until it
reaches a thick creamy consistency. Season with salt and pepper to your taste.
Ladle soup into bowls, sprinkle chili, fresh chopped cilantro and garnish with lime slices.
Best served hot.
Ambitious, but worth the effort.
FOR THE PASTRY:
One and a third
cups pastry flour
1/2 tsp fine sea
salt
5.6 ounces vegan
butter
1/3 cup plus 1
tbsp cold water
PASTRY
INSTRUCTIONS:
Place flour in a
medium bowl and
add salt and mix
well to combine.
Break the butter
into chunks and
add to the flour
and rub it into the
flour. Don’t rub the
butter in too much.
You want to see
chunks of butter
as this is will make
your pastry flaky.
Add the water little
by little and mix
until you have a dough. Cover and refrigerate 30 minutes.
Form the dough into a rectangle and roll it out until it is 3 times its original length.
Fold the top third of the dough onto the middle of the dough and the bottom third
on top of that.
Give the dough a quarter turn and roll it out again until it is 3 times its original length.
Again fold the top third to the middle and the bottom third on top of that. Wrap in plastic
wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Repeat another 2 times and pastry is ready to use.
INGREDIENTS:
4 large portobello mushrooms stalks
trimmed and cleaned
3 large onions peeled and chopped
3 tbs olive oil
10.5 ounces baby spinach
4 sprigs of thyme leaves picked
1 vegan puff pastry
INSTRUCTIONS
1 tbs dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste
VEGAN EGG WASH:
1 tbs chickpea water
1 tbs almond or cashew milk
1 tsp neutral flavored oil
1/2 tsp maple syrup or brown rice syrup
Place a large frying pan over a low to medium-low heat. Add the 1 /2 tbs of olive oil
followed by onion and reduce heat to low. Season with salt and pepper and cook,
stirring occasionally 15-20 minutes, until the onions are golden brown.
Remove onions from the pan and return the pan to the heat. Add baby spinach and
cook until wilted. Remove baby spinach from the pan and leave to cool.
Increase heat to medium/high and return pan to the heat. Add remaining olive oil and
place mushrooms, top side down. Cook until lightly golden (about 5 minutes) before
turning over and cooking for 5 minutes more or until golden.
Remove from heat, and drain on paper towel top side up as they will release a lot of
liquid as they cool. Transfer onions, spinach and mushrooms to the refrigerator and
cool completely.
Preheat oven to 390. Place a sheet of baking paper on the baking tray and then place
puff pastry sheet on top. Spread half the caramelized onions over the middle third of
the pastry, making sure to leave an extra ¾ inch, border at the edge of the pastry. Top
with half of the baby spinach. Spread Dijon mustard over the mushrooms and season
well with salt and pepper. Place mushrooms on top of the spinach. Top mushrooms
with thyme and the remaining baby spinach and onions.
Carefully roll pastry over the top of mushroom mixture until you have a log. Press down
to seal the edges. Roll over the log so that the seam is facing the bottom.
To make the vegan egg wash whisk all of ingredients together in a bowl. Lightly coat
with the vegan egg wash. Place the pastry in the freezer for 10 minutes before repeating
with another layer of vegan egg wash and freezing the pastry for a further 10 minutes.
Place pastry back on the baking sheet and tray and place in the oven for 30 to 35
minutes, or until golden and flakey.
32 WEST COAST WOMAN NOVEMBER 2023