What I Ate Wednesday #3

Woohoohooooo!!! I'm super psyched that it's Wednesday!

Normally it's just another day of the week, but lately it's been oodles of fun meeting new bloggers through the Peas & Crayons blog hop...or link party or whatever the heck you want to call it...

I've been MIA for the past couple of weeks because frankly, I ran into a string of less-than-overwhelming recipes that just weren't post-worthy. On the positive side, I lost 6 pounds...a lovely state of being that I'm sure will be short-lived now that my recipe radar appears to be back in working order, but one that I'm more than happy to trade in for a good meal!

Quinoa and Zucchini have been on my list of favorite things this week - partially because we have a boatload of it in the kitchen but probably more so because Q and Z are my favorite letters besides X, which I also find strangely appealing...

Before anyone bothers to psychoanalyze that too much, here's some of the yumminess that I've been snoshing on this week...

Stuffed Zucchini with Spanish Rice and Vegan Cheese (recipe coming soon)

UH-MAY-ZING Cherry-Zucchini Bread

Zucchini Bread Oatmeal (recipe coming soon!)

E2D Seared Tofu and Sassy Swiss Chard

Quinoa & Black Bean Salad with Orange-Lime Vinaigrette 

Quinoa Stuffed Peppers with Rigatoni Marinara (recipe coming soon!)

If you want to join the party, head over to Peas & Crayons and sign yourself up!

Sassy Swiss Chard with Raisins and Pumpkin Seeds

Sooooo here's what became of the two pounds of Swiss chard that we hauled out of the garden yesterday. Please excuse the sad photo - I was too lazy (and hungry) to set up a decent shot. I realize it looks like one big rendolent mess, but it was really quite yummy.

I've been getting quite bored of "recipes" featuring greens cooked in olive oil with some salt and pepper (can one really even call that a recipe??) so I pulled one from yet another new favorite book, Pretty Delicious by Candice Kumai - you might remember her from Top Chef's first season? Although this is almost as simple, it's got some nice nuances that make it look far more complicated than it is.

Anyway, I love this book because like me, she's not a fan of "diet" food, favoring "smart swaps" and delicious real food that keeps calories to a minimum without sacrificing flavor. Most (if not all) of her recipes can be easily "veganized", which is a big fat bonus.

Enjoy!

Sassy Swiss Chard with Raisins and Pumpkin Seeds
adapted from Pretty Delicious
Serves 6

2 pounds Swiss chard, stem ends trimmed
1/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup golden raisins (I used regular ones since that's what I had, but the golden ones will add a nice color contrast)

Cut the colorful stems from the leaves and slice them cross-wise into 1/4" pieces. Place them in a bowl and set aside.

Next, work in batches to cut the greens into a chiffonade: pile a few on top of each other and roll them lengthwise (think "thick cigar"), then slice them cross-wise into 1/4"-wide ribbons. Place them in a separate bowl, NOT on top of the stems - otherwise you'll have the dig the stems out from underneath like I did. That's what I get for not reading the recipe through first. Lesson learned.

Ahem...toast the pumpkin seeds in a small skillet over medium heat, shaking the pan often, until they're nice and fragrantly toasty, about 3-4 minutes. Transfer to a small non-plastic bowl and set aside.

Heat the oil in a large (really large) non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion and salt and cook about 4 minutes, stirring often, until it begins to soften. Next stir in the chard stems and cook those for about 4 minutes until they, too, begin to soften. Then throw in the greens and - you guessed it - stir often. You'll really need to keep stirring to get the fresh stuff down to the cooking surface of the skillet. It looks like an impossible mound but it will eventually cook down. Just keep stirring...it should only take another 4-5 minutes.

Finally, stir in the raisins and remove from heat. Sprinkle with the lemon juice and turn everything out onto a serving platter. Finish by topping it with the toasted pumpkin seeds and enjoy!

Quinoa & Black Bean Salad with Orange-Lime Vinaigrette

I'm crazy for quinoa these days. Mom bought a monster-sized bag so I've been looking for good uses - and this refreshing salad with a fruity twist is definitely one of them. The sweetness of the mangoes, the brightness of the mint, the kick of the jalapeno and the crunch of the jicama make it a groovy little party in your mouth. Woohoooooo!!!

I've also been obsessed with Clean Food - one of my favorite cookbooks that I left for mom in the hopes that she might divine some inspiration. Alas, she enjoys eating food more than making it so I have reclaimed this little baby for myself. There's something about eating clean that seems to replace cravings for "comfort food" with a ravenous desire to eat loads of fruit and veggies, drink gallons of water and tea, and do insane amounts of yoga - a state of being that I sorely need to get back in touch with.

So far, so good!


Quinoa and Black Bean Salad with Orange-Lime Vinaigrette
Adapted from Clean Food by Terry Walters
Serves 8

3/4 cup quinoa
1-1/4 cups water
pinch of sea salt
3 cups cooked black beans (or 2 cans, drained and rinsed)
1/2 cup chopped red onion
1 mango, peeled, pitted and diced
1 cup jicama, peeled and diced
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup toasted sunflower seeds (optional)
1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds (optional)

Orange Lime Vinaigrette
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons lime juice
1/4 cup orange juice
2 jalapenos, seeded and minced
1/2 cup chopped fresh mint
sea salt and fresh cracked black pepper

Bring water to a boil and add the quinoa and salt. Cover, reduce heat and simmer until all water is absorbed (about 15 minutes). Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Combine beans, onion, mango and jicama in a large bowl. Fluff the cooled quinoa with a fork, add to bowl and fold gently to combine.

In a small bowl, whisk together the vinaigrette ingredients. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to coat.

Fold in the tomatoes and seeds just before serving. Deeeee-lishhhhhh!

Vegan Cherry Zucchini Bread

If anyone has been wondering why the posts have been so sparse lately, here's the scoop: I've run into an unusual string of utterly average recipes that, whilst I managed to make them edible, I've not found to be post-worthy. [insert long string of crude expletives here]

Admittedly, many have been based on recipes that attempt to "veganize" something familiar and I'm sorry to say, some things just don't work in vegan form. And before anyone gets all up in my grill about my lack of kitchen skills, let me assure you that I always follow recipes with unfamiliar ingredients with obsessive precision to make sure I don't do them any undue injustice...and because there are few things I find more mortifying than watching someone politely choke down a bad meal that I prepared.

Having said that, this little string of failures has only increased my resolve to find some seriously kick-ass vegan recipes that will knock the smug socks off my family, who is always quick to say, "We told you so!" whenever a vegan recipe fails to transport them to culinary nirvana.

So trust me when I tell you that this next one is a real winner.

In fact, I was feeling so competitive that I also made Anna Getty's non-vegan version from Easy Green Organic and did a side-by-side taste test. Can you guess which one is vegan?

Buon appetito!


Heavenly Cherry Zucchini Bread
Adapted from this recipe at Hell yeah It's Vegan
Makes 1 loaf

3 tbsp ground flax seeds whisked into 1/4 c + 1 tbsp warm water
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup grated zucchini, packed
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 cup dried cherries (or raisins, or apricots or whatever you may fancy)

Preheat the oven to 350. (No, I still don't have an oven of my own. I've been visiting Mom this month!)

Grate your zucchini. Make sure to pack it before measuring.

Mix together flax seed mixture, oil, applesauce, sugar, and vanilla.

Add zucchini and stir till just combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together remaining dry ingredients. Add them to the wet ingredients and stir just until moistened and everything is incorporated evenly; some lumps are fine. Add the dried cherries (or any other fun extras) now.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of loaf comes out clean. I recommend checking it after 40 minutes.

Let it cool a few minutes before removing and slicing.

Crumble Topping (optional)

If you want to make this a really decadent treat, top it off with this sweet crumble. I don't have a snap of this as I'm really trying to cut out blatantly unnecessary calories these days but I just know it would be heavenly. If you make it, send me a pic and make me insanely jealous!

1/4 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds
2 tablespoons unsalted [vegan] butter

Combine the dry ingredients and cut in the cold butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Set aside and sprinkle evenly over the batter just before baking.

Note: I was totally out of sorts yesterday and my process was totally out of order. I actually forgot the zucchini so that didn't get added until I was about to pour it into the pan. Oh, and the egg substitute - the flax seed mixture - yeah, totally didn't see it sitting in the corner until I had already poured the batter in the pan. Despite having made a huge mess remixing and re-pouring, it still turned out great. Curious to see what following the directions yields next time...

BBQ Portabella Sliders

Photo courtesy of How Sweet It Is

Let me first start off with a confession, lest I be stoned, flogged or otherwise ostracized for pulling a fast one: this is NOT vegan cheese in the photo.

Sorry.

Having said that, the reason I'm sharing this is because these scrumptious little suckers are a great example of a Sneaky Vegan meal (sans or substituting the cheese) that was prepared and posted by Jessica from How Sweet It Is: an awesome blogger who - as a self-outed vegetable hater - is about as far from vegan as one can get and still posts some really amazing vegan and vegetarian stuff.

It just goes to show that great vegan food can be found anywhere - even in the most unlikely of places, kitchens and blogs. So when you're looking for good vegan recipes, definitely check out the usual suspects, but stay open to other "omni-sources". You never know where more yummy nuggets like these might be hiding...

Thanks Jessica - I can't wait to try these!


BBQ Portobello Sliders
recipe courtesy of Jessica at How Sweet It Is
makes 6 sliders

6 baby portobello stuffing mushrooms
6 slider buns
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 red onion, sliced
2-3 ounces gouda, sliced into squares (not sure vegan gouda exists, but any vegan cheese will do)
1 avocado, sliced
1/2 cup bbq sauce, for drizzling and dipping

Heat a skillet on medium-low heat and add 1/2 tablespoon olive oil. Add sliced onions with a pinch of salt and let caramelize, stirring occasionally. Cook for about 8-10 minutes, then turn off heat and set aside.

While onions are caramelizing, brush mushrooms with remaining olive oil and sprinkle both sides with pepper, paprika, onion and chili powder. Heat a skillet ( or a grill) on medium heat and cook until mushrooms are juicy and tender – about 5 minutes on each side. With 1-2 minutes remaining, add a slice of gouda on top to melt.

Assemble sliders by placing the mushroom on the bun, then top with onions, avocado, and a hefty drizzle of bbq sauce.

Note from Jessica: if you can’t find slider buns in your local store, just buy dinner rolls. I did this for years before grocery stores actually started selling slider buns!


Update: made these for Mom and they were delish - even with vegan cheese =) Pair them up with these Spiced Sweet Potato Fries and use the Maple BBQ Sauce in that recipe. Heaven!

What I Ate Wednesday #2

Sooooo y'all wanted to know what a blog hop is, yeah?





From what I understand (in my embarrassingly limited knowledge of the blogosphere), a blog hop is this fun little dealio wherein bloggers convene to introduce themselves and meet other bloggers. One of my personal favorites is "What I Ate Wednesdays" at Peas and Crayons where bloggers are invited to share their meals for the week. Everyone adds thumbnail image links to their blogs and it's a super cool way to find other like-minded bloggers as well as some great new recipes.

So here's what I've been cooking up this week:

Blackberry-Peach Vegan Crepes

Lavender Vanilla Oatmeal

Sun-dried Tomato-Basil Risotto with Balsamico

Raw Vegan Salted Chocolate Truffles

If you've been reading for a while you'll probably notice that a few of these are making repeat appearances. I've been super crazy busy the past couple of weeks and sadly, I haven't had time to play with many new recipes. That's the beauty of having a stockpile of go-to recipes that you know will be winners every time. Got to try them out on some out-of-town guests too and they were surprised, stunned, downright shocked to find out (afterwards) that they were vegan meals. Win Win WIN!

So now that y'all know what a blog hop is, would you guys be interested in sharing links to your recipes here if I start one?

Blackberry Peach Crepes

I could eat breakfast all day, every day.

I always thought pancakes, crepes and other decadent delights were for people who had the luxury of time to spend hours preparing. Very happy to say that these are not only delicious, but super quick to whip up and pretty healthy as breakfasts go so they're guilt-free all the way around. Like most Italians, The Bear isn't a big breakfast eater - cappuccino and biscotti is his "sit-down" version of the first meal of the day - so I was super psyched to see him scraping the bowl before I even started cooking!

Blackberry Peach Crepes
makes six 6" crepes

1/2 cup soymilk
2/3 cup water
1/4 cup Earth Balance vegan butter, melted
1 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons water (to thin if needed)

Garnishes
a handful of fresh blackberries
one peach, sliced
powdered sugar

Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk until smooth and thin. If it gets clumpy or doesn't drip easily off the whisk, add a couple tablespoons of water. Transfer to a 2-cup measuring cup (for easy pouring) and refrigerate for 30 minutes.

While the batter is refrigerating, have some coffee and prepare your fillings.

Melt a small pat of vegan butter in a skillet on medium heat. Pour out a small amount of batter and either swirls the skillet to create a nice, thin, round layer or use the backside of a ladle to lightly spread it into a circle. They should be thin enough to cook through.

Flip carefully when the top is covered with bubbles and starts to look set. Cook until lightly browned on each side.

Top with berries and peaches (or any other fruit you happen to have around) and a sprinkling of powdered sugar and serve with fresh-squeezed OJ - a beautifully bright way to start your day!

Raw Vegan Salted Chocolate Truffles

I'm a total sucker for salted chocolate and these little gobs of goodness are my new favorite obsession. They're a super-healthy sweet treat and so easy to make it's almost silly. The basic recipe is pretty versatile and just begging to be experimented with. I promise to get back to real food soon but I just had to share these with you guys.

They're the best weekend inspiration I can think of today.
Happy Friday everyone!!


RAW VEGAN CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
makes 16 1-inch balls of deliciousness

1 cup pecans or cashews or walnuts
1/3 cup cacao powder
1-2 teaspoons raw cacao butter (you can substitute any nut butter for a hint of extra flavor)
1-2 tablespoons coconut butter
1 cup pitted dates
1 pinch Sea Salt, plus extra for topping
splash of vanilla extract
2 teaspoons maple syrup

Firstly, process nuts into crumbs. Add cacao powder, cacao butter, coconut butter and dates, followed by salt and maple syrup, into food processor. Process the mixture until it's smooth and forms itself into a ball.

Roll the mixture into 1-inch balls. One tablespoon should yield a 1-inch ball.

Enjoy them as is or press them in a sprinkling of the topping of your choice. This time I used saffron sea salt, pink sea salt and organic orange peel with a couple of pumpkin seeds.

Pop 'em in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set, and keep them refrigerated for as long as they last in your house.

Weekend Inspiration: Two Ways to Live Life

Hey everyone! Sorry for the lunar silence - my poor little laptop had a mini-stroke and I've been forced into an internet sabbatical. Must admit, it was kind of nice. I highly recommend trying it once in a while. Nice way to unplug and reconnect with all things non-digital.

But happy to say that I'm back online - and back in the kitchen! - so some new recipes (and, for those of you who've asked, a better explanation of what a "blog hop" is) are forthcoming. Cross my heart...

In the meantime, came across this a while ago (though I've since forgotten the source) and thought it was a lovely bit of weekend inspiration. Enjoy!

What I Ate Wednesday

Ok seriously, am I the only person in the blogosphere who's just now finding out about blog hops?

In any case, I was super psyched to find this one at Peas and Crayons through the awesomely awesome Lindsay over at Green Food Green Thumb and I've found a bunch of cool blogs (not to mention yummy recipes) that I can't wait to check out:




So far my favorite is Heather at Kiss My Broccoli - girlfriend cracks me up and her photos look delish!

Let me know what you guys think of this idea and if you join in, please share what you find.

As for my eats, here are some highlights from the past week. Through this little blog project of mine, I've managed to build up quite a stockpile of go-to vegan meals that are earning permanent slots in our menu rotation, some of which the Bear specifically requests. That's progress!!

Soy-milk cappuccino (finally learned how to make soy milk foam!)

Buckwheat Pancakes for breakfast

Lunch: Simple Spinach Salad with Strawberries

Din Din: Grilled Pepper Fajitas with Aromatic Black Beans and Tequila-Spiked Guac

Thinking of starting some Sneaky Vegan blog parties here so shout out if you're interested.

Cheers everyone!

Sneaky Vegan BBQ Ideas

Photo courtesy of Amazon

Looking for some vegan BBQ ideas for the 4th of July weekend?

Here are some great options to enjoy in mixed company:

Start things off with some tequila-spiked guac and chips.

Give your sweet potatoes a cilantro-lime twist.

This black-bean and corn salad with tomatoes and avocados is a delicious protein-rich side dish.

Grill up some Portabello and Pineapple Teriyaki Burgers, these yummy Quinoa Burgers or even Gwyneth's veggie burgers.

Fire up some grilled peaches with ginger coconut caramel.

Make some strawberry-basil lemonade and serve it up in mason jars with paper straws.

Try making your own ginger and lemon beer

Or, if you don't have time to go the DIY route, stock up on these vegan beers.

Going as a guest? Bring this delicious vegan dessert!

If you need more ideas for this weekend (or the rest of the summer) find yourself a great vegan BBQ cookbook and have at it!

Anyone readers out there who have have some great BBQ recipes to share? Let us know!


Have fun and be safe everyone!

Balsamic Roasted Beets

Whenever I get to wondering whether there's a point to adding any more recipes into the overly-saturated blogosphere, someone sends me a recipe request.

Really, honestly and truly, I can't thank you guys enough for letting me know that this little blog of mine is actually useful to someone out there. Your comments, posts, and retweets are without a doubt what keeps me going. As Paul said to Julia, "You are the butter-like vegan substance to my bread."

Lisa, this is for you. It's my absolute most favorite-est way to prepare beets. I hope you like it!

Balsamic Roasted Beets

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons shallots, thinly sliced (red onion works as well)
1 tablespoon honey maple syrup
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 medium beets, cooked and thickly diced

Line a baking sheet with foil. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.

Whisk the vinegar, shallots (if ya got ‘em) and honey syrup in a medium bowl to blend. Gradually whisk in the oil. Season the vinaigrette with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the beets in a small bowl with enough dressing to coat. Place the beets on the prepared baking sheet and roast until the beets are slightly caramelized, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes. Set aside and cool.

Eat 'em straight up or toss them in a salad. Add some candied walnuts and orange slices and you've got heaven on a plate.

Incidentally, the Bear goes nuts for these! It's like catnip for...uh...Bears.

Warm Butter-Lettuce Salad with Green Garlic and Fresh Peas

This sweet little summer salad got so many lovely comments I wanted to share this super simple recipe:
5 ingredients. 10 minutes. And my salad-hating Bear LOVED it. Win.

Warm Butter-Lettuce Salad with GreenGarlic and Fresh Peas
adapted from Saveur
Serves 2

2 tablespoons vegan butter or olive oil
1 small head butter lettuce, washed and hand-torn into large pieces
2-3 stalks green garlic, thinly sliced (or 2-3 cloves garlic, finely chopped)
1 cup of fresh or frozen peas
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

Heat 1 tablespoon vegan butter or olive oil in a large skillet over medium-low heat. Add the garlic, season with salt, and cook, (stirring often) until soft but not browned, about 3 minutes. Turn the heat up to medium, add the peas and cook until they're bright green and tender, about 4 minutes.

Stir in the remaining butter or oil along with lettuce and 1 tablespoon of water, season with salt and pepper. Stir until lettuce is just wilted, about 1 minute, remove from heat and serve with breadsticks or some toasted whole-grain rolls.

Great on it's own or a perfect side dish to this pasta or these fritters.

Tomato-Spinach Tofu Skillet

The Bear was out of town for a couple of days so I took this opportunity to play with some of my vegan cookbooks.

My advice to Sneaky Vegans who want to encourage others to eat more vegan meals has always been this: test recipes that feature any kind of food substitute - soy, seitan, tofu, etc - and make sure it actually tastes good (and not just "good-for-vegan-food" good, I mean the "so-gobsmacking-good-you-want-to-stick-your-head-in-the-bowl-and-bathe-in-it" kind of good) before you try to sneak it past an omni. Sure non-vegan recipes can suck sometimes too, but those seem to be more easily forgiven and quickly forgotten.

Another thing I do when the Bear isn't home is work ridiculously long hours. So the other night I found myself starving to death after realizing that I hadn't eaten since the night before. I had pre-emptively purchased a block of tofu at the beginning of my little husband-holiday so I immediately pounced on this opportunity to use it. I don't use it a lot as I'm not a fan of processed food but the truth is, I actually like tofu. At least when it's in a recipe that's built around it rather than thrown in as a placeholder for something else. It's all about expectations folks.

This is one of the easiest dishes to make and it's wonderfully versatile as you can substitute all kinds of spice blends to vary the flavor. This is one I tried.

Scrambled Tofu
adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance
Serves 2 as a stand-alone meal or 4 for brekkie served with potatoes and toast

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped in 1/2" chunks
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 pound extra-firm tofu, drained but not necessarily dry
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (optional, as I didn't have any but it was still good!)
1 medium tomato, chopped
2 handfuls of freshly washed spinach

Spice Blend
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried thyme, crushed with your fingers
1 teaspoon ground paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric (you can also substitute curry powder)
1 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Saute the onions for about 3 minutes until softened. Add the garlic and saute another 2 minutes. Then add the spice blend and mix it all up for another minute. Add 1/4 cup water and deglaze the pan. Be sure to scrape up all the garlic and spices. Yum.

Crumble the tofu and mix it in well. Don't crush or mash it, just fold it in until everything is well combined. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat a bit if you find the tofu is sticking. If you happen to have nutritional yeast (this is still on my list of things to get) this is where you'd mix it in. I'm told it's delicious, but I didn't miss not having it so up to you.

Throw in the chopped tomato and spinach, mixing well to get the spinach cooked down. I realize it's probably easier to saute the spinach first, but doing it at the end keeps it from shrinking into nothingness. Same for the tomatoes, to keep them somewhat in tact rather than reducing them to mush.

Depending on how much water the tofu was retaining, you may need to add splashes of water here and there if it gets sticky. When the veggies are cooked to your liking, serve it up and enjoy.

The bear saw this photo when he came home and wants me to make it for him. So for all the folks out there who think vegan food doesn't look appetizing...eat THAT!

Veggie Num Num: Pomegranate Lentil Tart

Photo and Recipe courtesy of Veggie Num Num

If only I had an oven.
Sigh...

For those of you who are lucky enough to have this masterpiece of modern invention in your kitchens, consider treating yourself to this mouthful of amazingness from the fabulous Trudy over at Veggie Num Num.

Lentils. Pomegranate. Mint. Swoon.

I can't imagine a more vivacious combination of flavors. It just screams SUMMER IS HERE!

You can find a printable version of the recipe on her guest post at this gorgeous blog.

Bookmark 'em both folks. They're keepers!


Spicy Lentil Tart with Pomegranate and Mint
Serves 4

1 sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry (thawed)
1 free-range egg lightly whisked or 1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1 cup brown lentils, rinsed
3 cups vegetable stock
2 bay leaves
1/2 cinnamon stick
1 Tbsp pomegranate molasses
2 Tbsp warm water
1 tsp black peppercorns
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1/2 tsp salt flakes or rock salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 red onion, finely diced
1 red chili, seeded and finely diced
1/2 cup pine nuts, roasted
1 cup flat leaf parsley, roughly chopped
1 cup fresh mint, roughly chopped
1 tsp sumac
1/2 pomegranate, seeds only

To serve
1/2 cup tahini paste
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
1/2 Tbsp water
Extra lemon wedges

Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F.

Bring the stock, lentils, bay leaves and cinnamon stick to a gentle simmer in a large pot, allow to cook for 15-20 minutes over a medium/low heat, stirring occasionally until the lentils are tender and liquid absorbed. Remove the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and strain off any excess liquid, set aside.

Grind the black peppercorns, salt flakes or rock salt, cumin, paprika and coriander seeds together in a mortar & pestle or spice grinder to form a fine spice powder.

Combine the pomegranate molasses with the warm water until smooth, set aside.

Lay the thawed puff pastry sheet out on a baking tray, carefully score a 3cm (1 inch) border around the outside and brush with the prepared egg or non-dairy milk being careful not to brush over the score mark.

Place in the oven and bake for 10 minutes until the pastry just begins to puff and golden, remove from the oven and set aside.

Meanwhile fry off the onion in the olive oil for a few minutes over a medium heat in a large frying pan until soft, add the cooked lentils and prepared spice powder and continue to cook for 3-4 minutes over a medium heat.

Add the pomegranate molasses & water mixture and the pine nuts, fry the lentils until they just begin to brown and stick to the bottom of the pan, add the fresh herbs reserving half the mint and stir though.

Spoon the lentil mixture onto the prepared puff pastry sheet, sprinkle over the sumac and return to the oven for 15 minutes until pastry is golden.

Meanwhile whisk the tahini paste with the olive oil, lemon juice and water until smooth.

Remove the tart from the oven a serve sprinkled with pomegranate seeds and reserved mint. Accompany with the tahini dressing and wedges of fresh lemon.

If anyone makes this, PLEASE share the results so I can live/taste vicariously.