Tag: easy recipes

Easy Breadfruit Curry

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Easy Breadfruit Curry, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Easy Breadfruit Curry, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Breadfruit is not something that you can find in your local grocery store unless you live in one of the tropical countries where it’s been a staple food for millennia. Yet, it’s a fruit, or maybe I should say a vegetable, that has been taking the fancy of historians, writers, artists and the silver screen perhaps because of its poetic name, breadfruit, that suggest ability to pick your loaf of a branch! Or perhaps because it hails from exotic regions of our planet that one could reach only by taking an epic journey, like the one taken by the “Bounty“, a ship whose voyage and its mutiny is part of actual and the movie making history.

To be quite honest all my knowledge of breadfruit comes from watching different versions of the mutiny on the Bounty movies so I got quite excited when I saw it in my local Indian supermarket. I was looking for some frozen jackfruit and the breadfruit was right next to it. So I grabbed a bag and decided to give breadfruit a try!

Texture-wise, breadfruit is not unlike jackfruit, and they do belong to the same plant family. But, breadfruit is a bit softer, at least in my hands, and less chewy. It worked really well in this simple curry, and pairs really well with simple Basmati Rice.

The recipe is really simple and starts with frozen breadfruit, scallions (green onions), curry powder, green curry and turmeric, and finishes with some rich coconut cream. The dish comes together into a fragrant curry that tastes almost decadent.

Easy Breadfruit Curry

What you’ll need:

14 oz (400 g) bread fruit frozen

6 scallions (green onions)

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 tablespoon green curry paste, like Thai Kitchen (or make your own)

13.5 oz (400 ml) coconut cream

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

  1. Spray a large pan with cooking spray and place over medium high heat.
  2. While the pan is heating up chop scallions, both white and green parts. Add to the pan and sauté for 3-5 minutes.
  3. Add the green curry paste, turmeric and curry powder. Mix everything together and sauté for another minute or two.
  4. Add the breadfruit. You can add it frozen or defrost in a microwave. Mix well, and let sauté for 10 minutes or so until breadfruit is soft, covered in spices and starts to brown.
  5. Pour in the coconut milk and deglaze the bottom, which means use your wooden spoon and coconut milk to lift all the brown bits of caramelized scallions and spices of the bottom of the pan and incorporate them into the sauce.
  6. Decrease the heat to low and let simmer for 15 to 20 minutes.
  7. Serve over rice, couscous or even polenta!!!

    8. Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017

Sweet Potato and Leek Soup

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Sweet Potato and Leek Soup with Tofu Bacon, via Eat The Vegan Rainbow
Sweet Potato and Leek Soup with Tofu Bacon, via Eat The Vegan Rainbow
Soups are part of all cultures and culinary traditions. So it is no wonder that I make pots and pots of soups each week. My absolutely go to soup is Vegan Split Pea Soup or variations of it made with lentils, but over the last few months I have also shared with you a colorful and fabulously satisfying Bean & Leek Soup with Soy Chorizo, and even a vegan version of the New England Clam Chowder.

Why such a soup passion? Well, I grew up eating soup almost every day, and the soups my mom made came in many different shapes, forms and sizes. Soups are a great way to combine different bits and bobs into a one pot to create a satisfying meal for a family. In general, soups are easy to make, very inexpensive, and they store and reheat very well. So, what’s not to love?

This Sweet Potato and Leek Soup is my take on a standard soup that is usually made with potatoes, leeks, butter and heavy cream. I got rid of butter and heavy cream and replaced potatoes with sweet potatoes, making this version a bit sweeter. But, I did not remove all the fun – I made some tofu bacon to top this soup with. The Buddhist Chef makes the most fabulous tofu bacon and I’ve been using his recipe to make crunchy and delicious vegan bacon that works as a snack, in sandwiches and now on soups.

You can top this soup with couple of other toppings if you don’t have time to make the tofu bacon. Chives or green onions (scallions) will work, as will cashew sour cream like the one Angela Liddon shared on her Oh She Glows site, or simple croutons aka piece of toast cut in smaller pieces. Regardless what you put on top of your bowl of Sweet Potato and Leek soup what’s inside it is a tasty, creamy and healthy soup.

Sweet Potato and Leek Soup

What you’ll need:

5 sweet potatoes

2-3 large leeks

2 carrots

4 cups vegetable stock (optional)

3 cups water (or 7 cups if you decide not to use stock)

1 cup almond milk

2 tablespoons potato starch

2 bay leaves

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

  1. Peel and cube sweet potatoes and carrots into a rough chunks. The size of the chunks does not really matter because you will use a blender at the end to create a smooth and creamy soup. But, the smaller the chunks the quicker the cooking so decide for yourself if you would like to spend more time simmering or more time chopping.
  2. Prepare the leeks using the cleaning method of your choice. The leeks are very often full of send and dirt that gets inside the leek so you will need to open them up and wash everything out. I described my preferred cleaning method in one of my previous posts.
  3. Spray the bottom of a large pot with the cooking spray and place it over the medium high heat. Add leeks and sauté for 5 minutes. The leeks should soften and start to brown.
  4. Add sweet potatoes, carrots, bay leave and potato starch. Mix well and sauté for another 3 to 5 minutes.
  5. Add vegetable stock and/or water. mix well and turn the heat on high. Stirring occasionally, bring the pot to boil then turn the heat down to a gentle simmer. Simmer for 15 to 30 minutes, depending on whether your vegetables were chopped into smaller or larger chunks.
  6. Take the bay leaves out and add the almond milk. Using either a counter top blender or a hand held stick blender to blend the soup together and create smooth soup. Top with any topping you like and enjoy!

    7. Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017

Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream

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Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream
Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Fully loaded vegan mushrooms are finally here! Last time I went grocery shopping large white stuffing mushrooms were on sale and they looked so inviting that I had to have them. For most vegetarians and vegans mushrooms are a common ingredient as they add that elusive umami flavor to dishes. I used them fairly often and have featured them in  my Vegan Stuffed Pepper recipe.

This time around it is the mushrooms that are getting stuffed, and the stuffing I decided to go with is yummy, silky smooth and creamy mashed potatoes. Additionally, just to kick it up a notch I made some Cashew Sour Cream by Oh She Glows to add a bit of flair. Finally, sun dried tomatoes on top are for loveliness, color and for a bit of sweetness.

There are really two tricks here. One is to bake the mushroom caps on their own, and the other is to use a blender to purée the potatoes.

To get your mushrooms going I first remove the stems, but I don’t throw them away  as I use them as a part of the stuffing. I place mushroom caps their open ends up on the parchment paper (or foil) covered baking sheet and put them in the oven for about 20-30 minutes. The point is to get the caps soft and to let the mushrooms release excess water. At the end of the baking each mushroom cap should be filled with brown liquid (see below), and I dumped this liquid out. Transfer your mushroom caps into a greased baking dish with tall sides that will help with making sure no stuffing gets out while baking.

Baked Mushrooms, Ready for Stuffing
Baked Mushroom Caps, Ready for Stuffing, via Eat the Vegan Rainbow
Using a blender to purée the potatoes makes them into a creamy heaven that is perfect for stuffing. I would not recommend using the blender method if your end point is mashed potatoes because what you get is quite smooth, but for topping something like a Vegan Shepherd’s Pie or stuffing these mushrooms this method is perfect.

All in all these Vegan Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream are perfect as an interesting appetizer and entertaining, as well as a really great dinner in their own right. The amount of mushrooms I used is huge and it was definitely meant for sharing and enjoying in a large group, so feel free to scale down accordingly!

Vegan Mashed Potato Stuffed Mushrooms with Cashew Sour Cream

What you’ll need (for a 12 servings):

2 24 oz. (680 g) boxes white mushrooms, large

4 medium Russet potatoes

6 scallions

1/4 cup almond milk, plain & unsweetened (or other non-dairy milk)

1 cup of Cashew Sour Cream

1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes, julienned

Cooking spray

What you’ll do:

  1. Preheat oven to 350 F (180 C).
  2. Clean the mushrooms gently with a piece of paper towel. Separate stems from the caps. Keep the stems for later. Place caps, hole side up, on a parchment paper lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes, until the mushroom caps are soft and full of clear, brown liquid.
  3. Take the mushroom caps out the oven, discard the liquid and place them into a deep baking dish well sprayed with the cooking spray. Put aside.
  4. Peel the potatoes, chop them into small cubes and boil until cooked through which can take 15-30 minutes depending on the size of your cubes. Drain the water and let the potatoes cool for 15 minutes. Add almond milk and blend until potatoes are smooth.
  5. Chop scallions, using both the green and white parts, and mushroom stems finely.
  6. Spray a frying pan with cooking spray and sauté scallions and mushroom stems fro 5-10 minutes. Add sautéd scallion and mushroom stem mixture to the potatoes. Mix well.
  7. Spoon the potato mix into mushroom caps and top with a spoonful of cashew sour cream and few slices of sun dried tomatoes. Return to the oven for another 15 minutes.
  8. Bon appétit!

Copyright © Eat the Vegan Rainbow, 2017