Tag: vegetarian

Chickpea Flour Roasted Red Pepper Loaf

This is a fully grain-free, low-fat, robot-friendly loaf, that is still nice and sliceable and portable. Perfect for a picnic, or (my favorite) topped with a thick slice of tomato and an over-medium egg for breakfast in the morning.

Bits:

  • Dry
    • 1+ Tbsp mustard seeds (and optionally a little oil for frying)
    • 200 g chickpea flour
    • 2 Tbsp corn flour (it’s finer than corn meal, but coarser than corn starch)
    • 1 tsp baking soda
    • 1/2 tsp baking powder
    • 2 tsp salt
    • 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
    • 1/2 tsp berbere spice mix (optional, but recommended if you can find it. I put it in everything.)
    • 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
    • 1/2 tsp zatar
    • ~1 Tbsp black and white sesame seeds
  • Wet
    • 5 roasted red peppers (from a jar. I think this is about 200 g)
    • 175 g carrots
    • 1/4 cup / 70 g roasted mashed yam/winter squash/pumpkin
    • 1 egg
    • 1/2 cup Greek yogurt (I used nonfat)
    • 1-2 Tbsp date syrup (about 20-40 g)
    • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Algorithm:

  1. Heat oven to 300F. Line a baking sheet with parchment and lay roasted red peppers flat on the parchment. Optionally, blot them dry with a paper towel. Put the tray in the oven to dry out the peppers while you prep the other ingredients, about 20 minutes.
  2. Line a 9”x5” standard size loaf pan with parchment paper. Lightly grease paper with butter.
  3. Peel and grate the carrots. Set aside.
  4. Add about ¼ tsp – ½ tsp oil to a small frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds start popping, put a lid or plate over the top and move the pan off the heat.
  5. Combine dry ingredients in a medium mixing bowl (sift chickpea flour as it tends to clump!).
  6. Add wet ingredients except the roasted red peppers and carrots to a small mixing bowl and stir until pretty much smooth.
  7. Take roasted red peppers out of the oven. Chop into roughly ¾” square bits. Set aside. Turn the oven heat up to 350F.
  8. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients except the carrots and roasted red peppers.. Fold with rubber spatula until almost combined.
  9. Gently stir the carrots and roasted red peppers into the mixture until just combined.
  10. The mixture will be thick, more like a rough cookie dough, than a runny batter. Smooth the mixture into the prepared bread pan and sprinkle sesame seeds on top.
  11. Bake 45-55 minutes until a toothpick inserted in center comes out *almost* clean. Check after 20 minutes and put a foil hat over the top when it starts to look darker on top.
  12. Enjoy warm or at room temperature. Wrap any leftovers tightly in plastic wrap and store in the fridge for up to a week.

Savory Tomato Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Tomato Ginger Chutney

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Grain-free    &&    Low-fat    &&    Vegan

I can’t even try to pretend; I’m a bit obsessed with pancakes. These savory pancakes are the perfect excuse to have pancakes for lunch or dinner without feeling too weird about it (honestly, I wouldn’t judge either way). Like my breakfast pancakes, these are made with only chickpea flour, and are also secretly packed with shredded carrots. So there’s your protein and your vegetable, check and check! You can also change it up by using shredded zucchini, hearty greens, onions, or whatever you fancy, instead of, or in addition to, the carrots.

Instead of syrup, these are topped with a bright, flavorful tomato ginger chutney. If you’re not vegan, I’d also suggest adding a dollop of yogurt and/or an over-easy egg to these to really round out the meal.

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Savory Tomato Chickpea Flour Pancakes with Tomato Ginger Chutney

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India

Bits:

For the tomato ginger chutney:

  • 3-4 large (24 oz total) tomatoes, finely diced
  • 4 tsp peeled and minced (or grated) fresh ginger
  • 4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely minced
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp chili powder (such as cayenne)
  • 1 tsp whole yellow mustard seeds
  • 6-8 fresh curry leaves, finely chopped

For the pancakes:

  • 150 g chickpea flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp turmeric
  • 1/4 tsp rasam powder spice mix (substitute curry powder if you don’t have rasam)
  • 1/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1/8 tsp asafoetida (hing)
  • 1 1/4 cups water
  • 1 large tomato, finely diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
  • 1 cup diced onion
  • 1 jalapeño, finely diced (ribs and seeds discarded for milder heat)
  • Butter, ghee, or oil for greasing the pan

Algorithm:

  • Start by making the chutney:
    • Put a medium frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds and curry leaves.
    • When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the remaining ingredients to the pan, and bring to a low simmer. Stir every minute or so for about 10 minutes, until some of the juices have evaporated off and the chutney has thickened slightly. Keep over low heat, stirring occasionally when needed, to keep warm.
  • Make the pancakes:
    • Preheat a large frying pan on the stove over medium heat.
    • Sift the chickpea flour into a bowl. Add the salt and spices through asafoetida, and stir to combine. Slowly add the water, mixing with a fork continuously to maintain a smooth consistency, until you have a thin, smooth batter.
    • Add the tomato, onion, and jalapeño to the batter and stir to mix.
    • When your frying pan is hot, add the minimal amount of low-fat butter to coat the bottom of the pan (or more if you can tolerate it in your diet). Use a 1/4 cup or 1/3 cup measuring cup to scoop the batter into separate blops in the frying pan to make the pancakes. Cook until the edges look dry and bubbles form on the surface of the pancakes before flipping the with a spatula; cook for two to three minutes on the other side. When done, remove the pancakes to a plate and set aside. Repeat with remaining batter
  • Top pancakes with the tomato ginger chutney. (If you’re not vegan, the pancakes and chutney are extra tasty with an added dollop of yogurt or topped with an egg!)

Robot Pizza with Roasted Garlic Sauce

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Grain-free    &&    Low Fat    &&    Vegan Option

Hey. So, I’ve taken a bit of a hiatus. I will catch you up later. But I’ve been thinking a lot about resuming my food blogging! Also, I just saw this perfectly good post I wrote up **PRE-PANDEMIC** sitting here. I didn’t post it right away for reasons, which I will include in the catch-up post. For now, I’ll just say: Thanks for sticking with me. I plan to be back soon. In the meantime, please enjoy some pizza!

Original post:

This was a bit of a project, but so worth it when you want to kick back with some comfort food (and possibly your spouse has been making you super jealous with real pizza that comes in a cardboard box with a tiny plastic table in the middle and is delivered by a guy wearing a cap who inevitably rings the doorbell when the husband’s in the bathroom, leaving you to get the door. Ahh, the true American pizza experience).

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Robot Pizza with Roasted Garlic Sauce

Makes two 11″ pies; serves 3 to 4

60 minutes (including about 45 minutes for roasting garlic. Use extra between-time to cook a vegetable, or throw together a salad to make a complete meal! Let’s be honest, a few leaves of basil on a pizza does not count as a serving of vegetables.)

Bits

– For the crust

  • Corn flour for dusting
  • 315g chickpea flour
  • 65g Greek yogurt (or substitute vegan yogurt for vegan option)
  • 20 g yam
  • 1+ tsp salt
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ¼ tsp turmeric
  • pinch of asafoetida (or garlic powder)
  • 4-5 Tbsp water

– For the roasted garlic sauce:

    Dry:

  • ¼ cup chickpea flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ½ tsp dried thyme (or Italian seasoning or ground sage)
  • ¼ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp smoked paprika
  • 2 tsp nutritional yeast

    Wet:

  • 1 head garlic
  • ½ cup water
  • ¾ cup milk of choice (skim cow milk to keep the dish nearly non-fat, or alternative plant-based milk for vegan option)
  • 1 tsp of Dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp tamari

– Suggestions for the topping (or use toppings of choice):

  • 2 medium slicing tomatoes
  • 4 sliced peppadew peppers
  • Handful of basil leaves
  • ¾ cup low fat cottage cheese, strained/drained of excess liquid (omit to make vegan)

Algorithm:

  • Adjust oven racks to top and bottom thirds of the oven and pre-heat the oven to 450ºF. Sprinkle a couple good pinches of corn flour over two baking sheets.
  • Slice the top off of your head of garlic and wrap it tight in aluminum foil. Bake it in the pre-heated oven for 40 to 45 minutes until garlic is browning and soft throughout.
  • Combine the crust ingredients except the water in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Add 4 Tbsp of water and stir to bring it together into a rough dough. Knead with your hands, and add the remaining little by little until the dough just comes together, but is still dry and kneadable. Knead a few times in the bowl until the dough is smooth. Set aside.
  • Put the dry ingredients for the garlic sauce in a small mixing bowl and set aside.
  • Prep your pizza toppings of choice: slice fresh tomatoes, tear some basil leaves, slice some peppers, put some cottage cheese in a cheese cloth and squeeze out the excess liquid… etc.
  • When the garlic is done roasting, use a knife to remove the soft garlic cloves from the papery encasements in the bulb, and place in a small food processor or blender. Add ½ cup water, and blend until smooth.
  • Add the blended garlic to a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the remaining wet ingredients for the sauce to the saucepan and stir to combine.
  • When the contents of the saucepan are hot but not boiling, pour a small amount into the bowl with the dry ingredients to make a paste. Continue pouring the wet ingredients little by little into the mixing bowl holding the dry ingredients, stirring in between additions, until you get a thin sauce. When most of the wet ingredient mixture has been incorporated, pour the contents of the mixing bowl back into the saucepan and warm over medium heat, stirring continuously for about 3 minutes until the sauce thickens noticeably. Remove from heat and set aside to cool until ready to use.
  • Split ball of dough in half. Spread a pinch of cornflour on a smooth surface or cutting board and use a rolling pin to roll one of the halves into a flat circle (or a rough approximation of a circle) of desired thickness. I rolled mine pretty thin, about ¼-inch thick. Repeat with other half of the dough.
  • Divide the garlic sauce between the two pizzas and spread into a smooth layer. Add other toppings of choice (except basil; that’s best added after baking). Bake pizzas in the oven and bake for about 12-15 minutes until the edges of the crust start to brown.
  • Remove baking sheet from oven and let pizzas cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet. Scatter reserved basil leaves on top of the pizzas. Sprinkle with salt, pepper, and/or chili flakes as desired. Cut into slices and serve!

Carrot Chickpea Flour Pancake with Charred Green Beans and Tomatoes

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Grain-free    &&    Low-fat    &&    Vegan option

I have been a bit obsessed with pancakes lately. Of course they need to be made with chickpea flour, and be low- to no-fat, but beyond that, anything goes! This pancake is something I’ve been making for dinner; it’s a little sweet as it’s made with grated carrots, but it’s not sweet like a breakfast pancake (there’s no additional sweetener). It’s topped with spicy, savory charred green beans and cherry tomatoes. I am going to be very sad when those bright plump cherry tomatoes go out of season (in about two seconds from now), but maybe I’ll find something else for the fall or winter to substitute that goes just as well.

For now, I’ve been making extra green beans and cherry tomatoes (about 1 ½ times the amount given in the recipe below) and using the extra to top a good red lentil dal.

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Dear summer produce, I love you. Yours Truly, Robot Recipes

The recipe for the pancake is roughly based on Anna Jones’s carrot pancake in her excellent book “A Modern Way to Cook“. The charred vegetable recipe is adapted from the recipe “Blistered Green Beans and Tomatoes with Honey Harissa and Mint” from the New York Times Cooking.

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Carrot Chickpea Flour Pancake with Charred Green Beans and Tomatoes

Bits:

     Carrot chickpea flour pancake: 

  • 150g chickpea flour
  • ½ tsp salt
  • ⅛ tsp pepper
  • ½ tsp cumin
  • ½ tsp coriander
  • ½ tsp curry powder
  • ¼ tsp baking powder
  • 1 cup milk of choice
  • 2 medium (~200g) carrots, peeled and grated (you should have ~125g, or 1 ½ cups after peeling and grating)

     Green beans and cherry tomatoes: (hint: make extra to eat on top of your favorite dal!)

  • 1 lb green beans
  • 10-12 oz cherry tomatoes
  • 2 tsp berbere spice mix (use extra if you like extra spice; substitute a mild curry powder if you don’t like much spice)
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp lime juice
  • ½ tsp honey

To finish:

  • Plain Greek yogurt (optional) for serving
  • Fresh chopped parsley for garnish

Algorithm:

Move oven rack to highest position, and preheat broiler on high.

First start the pancake cooking: Combine all pancake ingredients. Preheat a 12” non-stick frying pan / skillet on medium-high. When hot, if your pans have lost a lot of their non-stick-ness like mine have, add a teaspoon of reduced fat butter, or oil of choice and swirl it around the pan as it melts to create a better non-stick surface. Pour the batter into the frying pan and smooth it around with a spoon or spatula. Cover with a lid and reduce heat to medium-low. Let cook undisturbed for at least 20 minutes. The pancake is done with when the top is dry all the way across. Remove from heat and let cool for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, start a medium saucepan of water boiling. Chop ends off of green beans and cut into desired size pieces. Boil green beans for 4 minutes and refresh in cold water.

Halve the cherry tomatoes (unless they’re already tiny).

Combine the berbere spice mix, salt, lime juice, and honey in a small bowl and whisk until smooth.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper, and place the green beans and cherry tomatoes on top. Pour over the berebere mixture and toss until the beans and tomatoes are evenly coated. Spread the beans and tomatoes out into a single layer on the baking sheet and place under broiler. Let cook for about 5 minutes. Check the contents of the baking sheet often, as the difference in time between nicely charred and burnt to a crisp is surprisingly short under a hot broiler.

To serve, slide a spatula under the pancake to loosen it from the pan. Once it’s loosened place a large dinner plate or serving plate over the pan and quickly and carefully flip the pancake onto the plate. Top with charred green beans and tomatoes, or alternately, slice the pancake like a pizza and let individuals top their portions with their desired amount of vegetables. For non-vegans, a dollop of plain greek yogurt is nice. Garnish with fresh chopped parsley.

Chickpea Flour Dutch Baby Pancake

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Grain-free    &&     Very low fat    &&    Low sugar    &&    30 minutes or less

Need a delicious breakfast that won’t take all morning to make? I got ya covered!

The pancake obsession continues! In this installment, we make a single gigantic pan-sized pancake, which can provide a fun change-up from having many smaller buttermilk pancakes, for example. If you haven’t had a dutch baby before, I’d describe it as the cousin of a traditional pancake, but with a texture and taste that’s a bit more reminiscent of custard than bread. And, unlike smaller pancakes that must be made and flipped in many batches, requiring you to stand at the stove and pay attention for quite some time, this is a simple batter that comes together in one bowl, is poured into a large pan, and bakes in the oven for 15-20 minutes, during which time you can kick back and sip your morning coffee until it’s done.

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If you have had a dutch baby before, I will note that the product of this recipe won’t puff quite as much as a dutch baby made with traditional ingredients, but it will still taste just as custard-y and delicious.

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Chickpea Flour Dutch Baby Pancake

Makes one 12″ dutch baby pancake.

Special equipment: 12″ cast iron or stainless steel (oven-proof) frying pan. (Or use a 10″ skillet and one greased 8 oz ramekin)

Bits:

  • 135g (1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp egg whites (equivalent of 3 whole eggs)
  • 40g (2 Tbsp) roasted yam flesh / canned pumpkin
  • 1 cup low-fat / non-fat milk
  • 120g (1 cup) chickpea flour
  • 1/2 tsp fine-grain salt
  • 1 1/4 tsp vanilla
  • 1 Tbsp white sugar (or coconut sugar)
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 1 tsp reduced fat butter for greasing (note: this adds less than 0.75 grams of fat per serving, and is pretty essential to preventing the dutch baby from sticking to the pan!)
  • Optional: fresh berries, date syrup, maple syrup, or a dusting of cinnamon and sugar, for topping

Algorithm:

  • Put a 12″ oven-proof frying pan in the oven, and preheat the oven with the pan in it to 450ºF.
  • While the oven is heating, in a medium mixing bowl, combine egg whites and yam (or canned pumpkin). If you’re using roasted yam flesh, for a more homogeneous consistency in your pancake, blend the egg and yam with an immersion blender until smooth. If you’re using canned pumpkin, just whisk with a fork until egg and pumpkin are combined.
  • Add chickpea flour to egg mixture and whisk with a fork until well combined. Add remaining ingredients except the reduced fat butter, and stir until well combined. You should have a thin, smooth batter.
  • When the oven has come up to temperature, remove the pan from the oven (be sure to use an oven mitt!). Drop in the butter, and swirl to evenly coat the pan. As soon as the pan is coated, quickly pour in the pancake batter, and place the pan back in the oven.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, until puffed and golden brown. Cut into wedges, top with fresh cut fruit, syrup, or a dusting of cinnamon and sugar, as desired. Enjoy!

Fresh Mint & Snap Pea Pasta/Chickpea Bowl

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Grain-free    &&    Very low fat    &&    Vegan option    &&    30 minutes or less

I know I already posted this dish with a rough algorithm for the recipe on Instagram, but I seriously CANNOT stop eating this dish! (Why do mint and peas go so well together?!? Apparently the British already had this figured out, but it’s news to me!) I was hesitant to post yet another pasta recipe, but my continuing love for this one is too great to contain. So, I figured it’s time to get serious about it, write down exactly the recipe I’ve settled on (instead of just winging it every time as I had been), and share it with the world.

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The Insta pic that got this whole thing started.

As I said on Instagram, I saw a recipe in The Irish Times by Nigel Slater from his new book Green Feast (Dear Seattle Public Library, Please add this book to your collection so I can check it out. Sincerely, Robot Recipes) for a pea, paparadelle and parmesan dish. The recipe was super simple, and screaming to be made, but with several twists to make it more robot friendly, and give it a little more zip. The result is a great seasonal recipe; I don’t know about you but my garden is currently in danger of being overwhelmed with fresh mint, and to my delight every other stall at my local farmer’s market has plump, crisp sugar snap peas that taste amazingly sweet even raw. It’s also super fast to throw together for lunch or dinner (or perhaps a pre-dinner snack!).

If you don’t have grain-free pasta on hand, this recipe also works well with canned chickpeas substituted instead. If you don’t have fresh sugar snap peas, just use extra frozen peas.

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Fresh Mint & Snap Pea Pasta / Chickpea Bowl

Serves 4 (makes about 2.5 cups mint pea sauce)

Ready in 30 minutes or less

Bits:

  • 8 oz. box of grain-free pasta (I used Tolerant Red Lentil Rotini in the Instagram pic, and Tolerant Green Lentil Penne in the other two pics); or substitute two 14oz. cans garbanzo beans, rinsed
  • 4 1/3 cups (1 lb. + 1 cup) frozen peas
  • 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth (such as Imagine Organic Vegetarian No-Chicken Broth)
  • 2 – 3 cups sugar snap peas, stemmy ends cut off, and chopped in half if desired for more bite-sized pieces.
  • 1/4 cup (7g) chopped fresh mint leaves; plus extra mint leaves for garnish
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • Black pepper (or lemon pepper) to taste
  • Optional for non-vegans: 1 cup low-fat/non-fat cottage cheese

Algorithm:

  • Cook grain-free pasta according to package instructions. If you use a similar chickpea and/or lentil based pasta like the one I used, after boiling, strain out the cooking water from the pan, and fill the pan (with the pasta still in it) back up with cold tap water. Rinse and strain out the cold tap water. This not only to stop the cooking when it’s done, but also will remove extra starch and prevent the pasta from sticking together.
  • In a small saucepan, combine the frozen peas and vegetable broth. Bring to a boil, and boil for 2 minutes. Strain out the peas, reserving 3/4 cups of the broth. Set peas and broth aside.
  • If using fresh sugar snap peas: Using either the same small saucepan or a second one, fill half full with water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the fresh sugar snap peas and boil for 2 to 3 minutes, until soft, but not mushy. Strain out the water and refresh with cool water to stop the peas from cooking further.
  • In a blender (bonus if you have a high-speed blender!) combine the reserved 3/4 cup broth, 3 1/3 cups (equivalent of 1 lb bag) of the peas boiled from frozen, 1/4 cup (7g) chopped fresh mint leaves, lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. Blend until smooth.
  • Divide pasta, reserved peas (from frozen), and the sugar snap peas (if using) among four deep bowls. Add 1/4 of the mint pea sauce to each. Garnish with chopped fresh mint leaves and extra pepper (or lemon pepper) as desired. I love to top my bowl with about 1/4 cup low-fat cottage cheese as well. Serve and enjoy!

 

Tomato Cobbler with Buttermilk Chickpea Flour Biscuits

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Grain-free    &&    Very Low Fat    &&    Vegetarian

The summer weather is really getting into swing now, but I am lucky to live in Seattle where it almost never gets too hot to turn on the oven. Even if it got super hot, I am probably crazy about cooking and baking enough that I’d turn on the oven anyway.

This recipe is an adaptation of one found in Hetty McKinnon’s beautiful and amazing new book “Family.” I know I’ve said I love her before, but it’s worth saying again; check out all of her cookbooks if you can. Of course I changed this recipe to make it robot-compatible (grain-free and practically non-fat), and I amped up the spices a little bit. The recipe calls for a lot of tomatoes, and would be great for using up those soft wrinkly tomatoes in the back of the fridge that got just past their prime before you could eat them fresh. Or if you can, go to your local farmer’s market, look for someone selling tomatoes and ask them if they have any “seconds”; I get seconds of organic tomatoes at my farmer’s market fo $1/lb, and usually there’s barely anything wrong with them! To be honest, I cut back on the amount of tomato filling when I made this because I just didn’t have the tomatoes, and I thought it was fine.

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The real star of the show here is the buttermilk biscuits! Because of the chickpea flour, they’re not quite as light and flakey as traditional buttermilk biscuits of course, but they’re still full of warm, soft, savory biscuity goodness, without the grain or fat!

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Tomato Cobbler with Buttermilk Chickpea Flour Biscuits

Adapted from Hetty McKinnon’s “Family” cookbook (p.163)

~45 minutes prep, 40 minutes to bake, 10 minutes to cool (total: 1 hour 35 minutes)

Serves 4 to 6

Bits:

Tomato Filling:

  • 1 large red onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 jalapeño, diced fine
  • 4 garlic cloves, crushed with the flat side of a knife and diced fine
  • 4 fresh thyme sprigs (or 2 tsp dried thyme)
  • 2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp chickpea flour
  • 4 lbs tomatoes (any variety), cut into about 1″ chunks
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • Hot sauce to taste (optional, if like me, you like everything to have a little kick)

Buttermilk Biscuits

  • 120 g (about 1 cup) chickpea flour
  • 110 g (3/4 cup) fine-ground corn meal
  • 3 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 1/4 tsp salt
  • 1/4 tsp paprika
  • 1/4 tsp ground cumin
  • 100 g (about 1/2 cup) yam, roasted or boiled until flesh is fully softened
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp nutritional yeast, plus extra for sprinkling
  • 1/4 cup chopped fresh chives
  • 1/2 cup buttermilk
  • 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Algorithm:

  • Adjust oven racks so that one is in the center of your oven, and the other is any distance below that. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC).
  • Make the tomato filling:
    • In a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat, add the red onion, and cook about until caramelized, 15 to 20 minutes; add a tablespoon or two of water if the onion starts to stick to the pan.
    • Add the jalapeño, garlic, thyme, and balsamic vinegar to the pan and immediately add the chickpea flour. Cook for one minute, while stirring continuously; don’t worry if the chickpea flour soaks up all the liquid and looks a little dry.
    • Add the tomatoes, salt, and pepper, and hot sauce if you’re using it. Give everything a few good stirs. The chickpea flour should dissolve into and thicken the liquids in the pan to make a nice sauce. Add water a tablespoon at a time if it’s still to thick, or turn up the heat and cook it down for a couple minutes if it looks too watery.
  • Make the biscuits:
    • In a medium bowl, add the chickpea flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, paprika, and cumin in a bowl, and stir to combine.
    • Treat the yam just like you would butter; add it to the bowl, and using your fingertips, rub it into the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles coarse sand.
    • Stir in the nutritional yeast and chopped chives. Pour in the lemon juice and buttermilk; whisk with a fork until no the buttermilk is incorporated.
  • Put it all together and bake:
    • Lightly grease the sides of an 9″ by 13″ baking dish with reduced fat butter or vegetable oil spray (this adds a negligible amount of fat to the dish).
    • Pour in the tomato mixture. Loosely form 12 balls of biscuit dough (or drop 12 large spoonfuls of biscuit dough) and place them evenly on top of the tomato mixture.
    • Place a baking sheet (or large bit of aluminum foil) on the bottom rack to catch any drips, and place the tomato cobbler on the top rack. Bake for 40 minutes; check halfway through and loosely place an aluminum foil hat over the baking dish if the biscuits start to get too dark.
    • Remove from the oven and dust lightly with extra nutritional yeast. Let rest 10 to 15 minutes. Serve while still warm. Pairs well with a fresh arugula salad.

Grilled Tofu and Bell Pepper Salad with Tamarind Miso Dressing

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Grain-free    &&    Low-Fat    &&    Vegan option

Now that it’s officially unofficially summer (that’s what Memorial Day marks, right?) you may want to have a good grilling recipe in your back pocket, and I’ve got just the one for you!

Grilling and barbecues often conjure images of lots of meat, or vegetables marinated in oil, and heavy “salads” laden with mayo, which can be problematic or just plain unappetizing for vegetarians, vegans, and cyborgs with a digestive intolerance for much fat. But we also don’t want to be left out of the whole outdoors summer food scene either. This recipe combines grilled marinated tofu and grilled bell peppers and onions in a crunchy, fresh green salad with a distinct savory, tangy dressing. The dressing (which also doubles as the marinade for the tofu) may be a show-stealer here. I hadn’t even originally planned to blog this recipe, but I made it for my brother-in-law’s birthday barbecue on Memorial Day weekend, and had several people ask me for the dressing recipe, so I figured I might as well share it more widely here.

It’s nice to have a good recipe on hand whenever someone’s grilling, but if all you want to do is make a meal, getting out the grill and firing it up definitely feels like overkill. In that case, just roast the tofu and vegetables in a hot oven instead (see note below).

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Grilled Tofu and Bell Pepper Salad with Tamarind Miso Dressing

Serves 6

Adapted from Crispy Tofu Salad in Bazaar by Sabrina Ghayour

Note: This recipe works best if you drain the tofu for 30 minutes to an hour, prepare the dressing, and let the tofu marinate at least one hour ahead, or as early as the night before you serve the salad. (This makes it a pretty good make-ahead recipe.)

Also note: If you don’t want to grill, just follow the recipe up to the point you would grill, but then cut the tofu, bell peppers, and onions into bite-sized pieces and stick everything in the oven on a couple parchment-lined baking sheets for about 20 minutes at 425ºF instead.

Bits:

Salad:

  • 14 oz. extra-firm tofu
  • 2 red/orange/yellow bell peppers, or a combination of smaller bell peppers totaling about 1 lb
  • 1 large or two small sweet onions, sliced into 1½-inch squares, and skewered
  • 1 small head curly green or red leaf (looseleaf) lettuce, roughly chopped into bite-sized pieces
  • 2 large carrots, shredded or julienned
  • 3 green onions (green parts only), sliced thinly
  • ½ oz parsley leaves and small tender stems, roughly chopped
  • 1 stem (about 7-8) fresh mint leaves
  • 6 fresh chive flowers (or 6 chives, if flowers not available)
  • Sesame seeds for garnish (optional)

Dressing:

  • 4 Tbsp unsweetened tamarind paste (I love Aunt Patty’s Organic Tamarind Paste)
  • 4 Tbsp white miso paste
  • 1 Tbsp honey (sub equal amount maple or agave syrup for vegan option)
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2 Tbsp lemon juice
  • 2 Tbsp peanut butter powder (Anthony’s is my favorite; substitute regular peanut butter if your digestive system doesn’t throw an error when you ingest fat)
  • 1 tsp rasam powder (substitute a good chili powder if you don’t have rasam powder)
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • ¼ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 2+ Tbsp of water (enough to get desired consistency)

Algorithm:

  • Drain the tofu and wrap in a paper towel, and then wrap that in a dish cloth. Place wrapped tofu in between two dinner plates, and put something heavy like a big cookbook on the top plate to gently weigh down on the tofu, pressing out the water. Leave to drain for 30 minutes.
  • Combine all the dressing ingredients except the water in a pint mason jar, or other similarly-sized container. Add 2 Tbsp of water and stir until the mixture is homogeneous and smooth. Add more water a tablespoon at a time until you have something that is the consistency of a thick-ish salad dressing. A pepper and lemon juice to taste.
  • After the tofu has drained for a bit, unwrap it, and coat it with about 1/3 of the dressing mixture. Put it in a ziplock bag or an airtight container and then into the fridge to marinate for as long as possible before you’re ready to grill, ideally the night before.
  • Cut bell peppers from top to bottom into 3 to 4 long slabs. Remove any stems, ribs, and seeds.
  • Add remaining salad ingredients (from lettuce to chive flowers / chives) to large serving bowl and toss to combine.
  • When your grill is ready, put the marinated tofu slabs, the bell pepper slabs, and the skewered onions directly onto the grill and cook several minutes on each side, until heated through and just starting to get char marks on the outsides. Set aside for a few minutes until cool enough to handle.
  • Cut the tofu and bell pepper slabs into bite-sized cubes, and cut the onion squares into smaller bite-sized pieces if desired. Add these to the salad, and toss again to combine.
  • Drizzle dressing over salad and toss to coat, or (my preference) let others serve themselves salad and add their own dressing to taste (leftovers will last a lot longer if you store the salad and the dressing separately as well).

Spring Pea, Asparagus, and Beluga Lentil Bowl with Mint-Pea Yogurt Dressing

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Grain-free    &&    Fat-free    &&    Vegan Option    &&    30 minutes or less

I’m really getting into spring produce now that spring is in full swing! This bowl is a perfect edible way to celebrate the season. It’s actually a mix of a couple different very spring recipes I came across recently, adapted to what I had in my fridge at the time. It definitely isn’t the most photogenic dish, which made me hesitate for a second about posting it, but it was so delicious, I thought it would be a big shame not to share.

The mint-pea yogurt dressing is a slight adaptation from Hetty McKinnon’s new book “Family“, which is a gorgeous treasure trove of creative and delicious recipes, most of which can be made in under an hour; suitable for a weeknight dinner. I adore Hetty’s first book “Community“, which earned her the reputation in my mind of being the “other” Ottolenghi (plus she’s vegetarian!). Her books are worth seeking out.

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Spring Pea, Asparagus, and Beluga Lentil Bowl with Mint-Pea Yogurt Dressing

30 minutes or less

Serves 4

Bits:

  • 4 medium yukon gold potatoes (or any good roasting potato, or 1 lb cauliflower)
  • Sprinkle of olive oil for roasting (optional)
  • 1 cup beluga lentils (or sub Puy / French lentils)
  • 1 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 lb asparagus, woody stems removed and chopped into 1½” batons
  • 2 cups fresh or frozen peas
  • 4 cups arugula
  • Salt and black pepper
  • Fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped, for garnish
  • Fresh chives, finely chopped, for garnish

For the Mint-Pea Yogurt Dressing:

  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas
  • 1/4 cup packed (10 g) fresh mint leaves
  • 1 cup (250 g) non-fat Greek yogurt (sub vegan yogurt to make the dish vegan)
  • 1 tsp honey (sub maple syrup to make the dish vegan)
  • 1/2 tsp salt, plus more to taste
  • black pepper, or to taste

Algorithm:

  • Roast the potatoes: Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). Fill a medium sauce pan half way with water and set to a boil on the stove. Rinse and chop the potatoes into 1″ cubes. When the water is boiling, add the cubed potatoes, bring back to a boil, and boil for 1 minute. Drain the water and spread potatoes on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Toss potatoes with a couple drops of olive oil and a generous dusting of salt. Roast for 25 minutes until potatoes just start to brown.
  • Boil the lentils: In a small sauce pan, add the lentils, 1 cup of vegetable broth and 1 cup of water. Bring the contents to a boil, reduce heat to medium, cover with a lid, and let simmer 15 to 20 minutes, until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Drain any remaining liquid.
  • Boil the asparagus: Fill a medium sauce pan (rinse and re-use the pan used to boil the potatoes) half way with water, and bring to a boil. Add the chopped asparagus and bring back to a boil. Boil the asparagus for 2 minutes. Strain out asparagus with a slotted spoon and set in a colander or sieve to drain and cool.
  • Boil the peas: Bring the water used to cook the asparagus back up to a boil. Add the peas for both the main dish and for the dressing (2 ½ cups total), cover, and reduce heat to medium. Boil fresh peas for 2 minutes, or frozen peas for 4 to 6 minutes, until warm through. Strain out the water and set aside.
  • Make the mint-pea yogurt dressing: Combine ½ cup of the cooked peas and the remaining dressing ingredients in a food processor or blender, and blend until smooth. Taste and add more salt and pepper as desired.
  • Put it all together: Combine the roasted potatoes, lentils, asparagus, the remainder of the cooked peas, and the arugula in a large serving bowl, or portioned out into smaller dinner bowls, and toss to combine. Drizzle generously with the mint-pea yogurt dressing, and sprinkle with chopped fresh mint leaves and chives. Enjoy!

Note: The dish without the dressing will last a lot longer in the fridge than if you combine it with the dressing and chopped fresh mint and then store it. If you anticipate the possibility of leftovers, have people add dressing and the chopped fresh mint and chives to their individual servings just before eating. Store the salad and the dressing separately in air-tight containers in the fridge, where they will keep for a week. Chopped fresh herbs may or may not last as long, depending on their freshness, so store any extra by themselves.