Happy Easter
Happy Easter everyone. I hope you have a lovely rest if you have time off over this mini break. Some people have let me know that they will be starting the online course this weekend. Couldn’t think of a better way to spend a long weekend than immersing yourself in really good cooking.
If you would like to join in the fun, the online course is self paced so you could choose just a few recipes to try this weekend including the fruit in the clouds dessert which is full of so many different pleasurable tastes. I have a discount code for you to use if you feel to purchase the course FOREVERYONE1.
Enrol Now
I will be studying over the weekend and peppering it with cooking in my breaks. I have a few exciting things to try out. For those who want a lovely sharing platter to make this weekend, the recipe I share with you in this blog is the one to try out.
Last week’s vegan foundation cooking course was small. Only 3 lovely people came together. Usually there are 6. It was a real treat and as things worked out I actually got to create a signature dish along side one of the participants. Lynnie chose to make a chimichurri marinated veg and tofu dish. It was so delicious it is definitely on my to make list. Chimichurri is a South American marinade. We paired it with brown rice and a hemp seed tzatziki sauce. It worked a treat.
Chimichurri Share Platter with Hemp Seed Tzatziki
Ingredients
2 eggplants cut in cubes and salted over night
1 fennel bulb shaved (we used jicama as we couldn’t source fennel)
1 cup rice
1 block tofu cut into cubes
2 small sweet potato cut into cubes
300g mushrooms cut into quarters
½ cup parsley garnish
3 tbsp white and black sesame seeds
2 tsp grated ginger
1 small onion diced
3 cloves garlic minced
Chimichurri
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp salt
1 jalapeño chilli
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ cup white wine vinegar
1 cup parsley
2 tbsp oregano leaves
4 spring onions
250ml olive oil (you can reduce this if you don’t want so much oil- even use just 1 tbsp)
Tzatziki
½ cup hemp seeds
¼ cup tahini
¼ cup water
3 cloves garlic
Juice 2 limes
2 tbsp dill
2 tbsp mint
1 finely diced cucumber
Method
- Place the eggplant and sweet potato in 1 bowl, the tofu in another bowl, the fennel in another bowl and the mushrooms in another bowl.
- Make the chimichurri by putting all of the ingredients in a blender and blitzing. Divide the marinade between the vegetables and tofu and mix well. Let sit for 30 minutes or longer to marinade.
- Meanwhile cook the rice. Place in a saucepan with 3 cups of salted water. Bring to the boil then simmer on a low heat for 40 minutes or until cooked through and water evaporated.
- Toast the sesame seeds in a dry frying pan until the white ones brown a bit. Place in a bowl then cook the onion, garlic and ginger in ¼ cup water in the frying pan adding a sprinkling of salt and cook until soft. Set aside.
- Place the eggplant on a baking paper lined tray and place in a 200°C oven and cook for 30 to 40 minutes.
- Place the sweet potato in another tray and bake for 40 minutes.
- In a frying pan, fry the tofu and then the mushrooms until they are a little crisp.
- Make the tzatziki sauce by adding everything except the cucumber in the blender and blending until smooth. Add the tzatziki to the chopped cucumber.
- Mix the sesame seeds and cooked onion, ginger and garlic with the cooked rice.
- Arrange the rice on a platter with a well in the middle. Place the fennel, cooked veggies, tofu, mushrooms and fennel around the outside of the rice and pour the tzatziki in the well in the middle of the rice.
# If you make this recipe please share on facebook or instagram to #veetsvegancookingschool
Cooking School News
We still have 1 place in April the 15th to 17th Vegan Foundation Cooking Course and 1 place in the Raw Cuisine Course and 2 in the Ayurvedic course and 2 in the Macrobiotic course. Would love to have you along for this cooking journey.
Have a great week everyone.
With gratitude Veet
