Ingredients

200 g cooked lentils
200 g pomegranate kernels
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
the juice of half a lemon
2 tablespoons apple vinegar
1 tablespoon rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
a large handful of fresh parsley, cleaned and chopped

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Combine the lentils and the pomegranate kernels in a sald bowl. Add the salt, olive oil, lemon juice, apple vinegar and rice malt syrup and toss. Stir in the cumin and coriander, finish with the chopped parsley, toss and serve slightly cold or at room temperature.

Ingredients

2 chili peppers, cleaned and julienned
6-7 cm ginger root, peeled and juiced
the juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon agave syrup
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
1 small spring onion, cleaned and sliced
150 g thai rice
1 broccoli head, divided into florets
4-5 champignons, cleaned
2 handfuls peanuts, toasted and salted
1 tablespoon mirin
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1 tablespoon rice malt syrup
1 teaspoon rice miso
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
half a teaspoon dried ginger powder

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Place the chili peppers in a jar, add the ginger juice, lemon juice, agave syrup and salt, mix and secure with the lid. Refrigerate for at least 6 hours. Remove form the firdge, add the spring onion, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours and until almost ready to serve. Cook the rice. In the meantime, blanch the broccoli florets in boling salted water until bright green and slightly softened. Drain and set aside. Separate the chili and onion from the juice, transfer them into a bowl and set aside. Keep the juice in the jar and stir in the mirin, rice vinegar, rice malt syrup, rice miso, toasted sesame oil and ginger powder. Seal with the lid and shake to combine. Slice the champignons and drizzle with a little lemon juice. As soon as the rice is cooked al dente (it should have absorbed all the water, if not, drain it), divide it into the individual serving plates or bowls, add the broccoli, the mushrooms, the peanuts, the chili and onion and pour the lemon-ginger-miso sauce on top. Serve immediately.

Ingredients

1 large cucumber, cleaned and cut into sticks
1 teaspoon pink peppercorns
1 teaspoon juniper berries
1 teaspoon wild fennel seeds
2 garlic cloves, peeled and cut into pieces
half a small chili pepper, cleaned and cut into pieces
2 teaspoons rice malt syrup
120 ml cold, filtered water
half a teaspoon whole sea salt
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
50 ml apple vinegar
the juice of 1 lemon

Makes 1 jar.

Directions

Place the cucumber sticks in a glass jar (mine was 600 ml). Add the pink peppercorns, juniper berries, fennel seeds, garlic and chili. In a bowl, mix the rice malt syrup, water, salt, rice vinegar, apple vinegar and lemon juice. Pour the water-vinegar mixture onto the cucumber sticks, shake gently, secure with the lid and refrigerate for 12-15 hours. During this time, shake the jar now and then. The marinating time can be longer, if you prefer a more vinegary taste.
These cucumber sticks are excellent added to a raw mixed salad, or paired with steamed vegetables but you can also use them as a sandwich filling. The same marinade can be used up to 2-3 times within a couple of days. These cucumber sticks should be eaten within 2 days.

Ingredients

250 g peeled potatoes
1 large zucchini, cleaned and cut into pieces
1 clove of garlic, peeled and cut into halves
2-3 cm fresh ginger root, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons shoyu
a pinch of Himalayan salt
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
200 ml unsweetened and unflavoured oat milk
150 g plain tofu
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
3 teaspoons mild curry powder
a handful of fresh basil, cleaned
a few fresh thyme sprigs, cleaned
4 teaspoons agar agar powder mixed with 100 ml unsweetened and unflavoured oat milk
50-60 g vegan ham, chopped

Makes 4 servings (or a 25 cm long terrine).

Directions

Boil the potatoes in lightly salted water. In the meantime, sauté the zucchini with the garlic and ginger in the olive oil and shoyu over medium heat. Season with the salt and pepper, stir and keep cooking until the zucchini are almost soft. Remove from heat and set aside. When the potatoes are ready, drain them and transfer into the bowl of a blender. Stir the vegetable stock powder into the (200 ml) oat milk and pour the mixture over the potatoes. Add the tofu, nutritional yeast and curry powder and blend until smooth. Throw in the basil and thyme, blend again for a little while and transfer the mixture into a heavy bottomed saucepan. Simmer over low heat for around 5 minutes then add the agar agar mixture, keep cooking for another 3-4 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat, add the zucchini and vegan ham, stir well and transfer into a terrine mold and let cool at room temperature for at least 3 hours. You can transfer then the terrine into the fridge until serving time or serve, sliced, at room temperature.

Ingredients

For the seitan ragù

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (and 2 more when ready to serve)
half an onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 small carrot, cleaned and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, cleaned and finely chopped
1 teaspoon powdered vegetable stock
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
150 ml white wine
350 g seitan, finely chopped (you can use a food processor)
100 ml filtered water
500 g tomato puree
1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
1-2 teaspoons dried thyme
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
a small handful of fresh parsley, cleaned and finely chopped
chili powder, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
paprika, to taste

Makes about 6 servings (you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it and save it for later).

For the polenta

500 ml filtered water
500 ml vegetable stock
a few pinches of whole sea salt
150 g fine cornmeal

Makes 2-3 servings.

To complete

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

To make the seitan ragù, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, vegetable stock and salt and sweat until the vegetables are slightly soft and translucent. Add the wine and the seitan and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously, until the wine has evaporated. Pour the water and tomato puree, add the rice malt syrup, the herbs and spice and stir well. Simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Remove from the heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and stir.
To make the polenta, heat the water and vegetable stock in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the salt and whisk in the cornmeal until fully incorporated, stirring constantly (use a wooden spoon).
Lower the heat and cook, stirring almost continuously, for about 15 minutes or until you reach a velvety texture. Remove from the heat and divide the polenta between individual serving bowls, spoon the warm seitan ragù on top, sprinkle with black pepper and serve.

Ingredients

270 g soft, silk tofu
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
4-5 fresh chives sprigs, cleaned and finely chopped
half a teaspoon ground or powdered piment d’Espelette
the juice of 1 lemon
130 ml extra virgin olive oil

Makes 1 medium jar.

Directions

Place the tofu into the bowl of a mixer. Add salt, chives, piment d’Espelette and lemon juice and blend on medium speed. Continue to blend while slowly pouring the oil until the mixture has thickened. Transfer the mayonnaise into a bowl or jar then refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving.

Ingredients

150 g rolled oats
300 ml filtered water
almond milk, unsweetened and unflavoured, to taste
a few pinches of mace powder
a few pinches of cinnamon powder
concentrated apple juice, to taste
1-2 handfuls of pomegranate kernels
half a red apple, cleaned and diced
1-2 handfuls of raisins

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Place the rolled oats in a large bowl and cover them with the water. Cover with a plate or kitchen foil and let soak overnight in a cool place. In the morning, divide the oats into 2 individual serving bowls, add the almond milk, spices and the rest of the ingredients and serve. If you prefer, you can lightly warm the oats up with some milk just before dividing them into the bowls.

Ingredients

For the apricots

700-750 g fresh and ripe apricots, cleaned, pitted and cut into thin slices
4 tablespoons rice malt syrup
the juice of 1 lemon
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
half a teaspoon dried ginger powder
half a teaspoon cardamom powder

For the crumble

300 g almond meal
5-6 tablespoons muscovado sugar
a few pinches of cinnamon powder
1 large tablespoon cocoa powder
a pinch of whole sea salt
70 g pure cocoa butter, melted
30 ml extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon almond butter

Makes 4-6 servings.

Directions

In a medium bowl, combine the apricots, rice malt syrup, lemon juice, vanilla extract, ginger and cardamom powder. Mix thoroughly and refrigerate for about 2 hours.

In a large bowl, combine the almond meal, muscovado, cinnamon, cocoa powder and salt. Add the cocoa butter, olive oil and almond butter and rub ingredients together using your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs. Refrigerate for about 45 minutes.

Remove the apricots from the fridge, arrange the crumble randomly on top of the fruit and serve cool.

Ingredients

For the cake

200 g semi-whole wheat flour
80 g wholemeal flour
120 g almond flour
40 g unsweetened cacao powder, sifted
50 g muscovado sugar
half a teaspoon vanilla powder
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
a pinch of whole sea salt
180 g barley malt syrup
100 ml extra virgin olive oil
200 ml almond milk, unsweetened and unflavoured
100 ml almond cream (or other vegetable cream, GMO-free)

For the chocolate sauce

300 ml almond milk, unsweetened
4 tablespoons rice malt syrup
2 teaspoons ginger juice
1 teaspoon natural vanilla extract
1 teaspoon dried ginger powder
a pinch of whole sea salt
3 tablespoons unsweetened cacao powder, sifted
half a teaspoon cornstarch, dissolved in 1 tablespoon filtered cold water

For the chocolate ganache

150 g dark chocolate (70% cacao), broken into pieces
200 g rice malt syrup
50 ml almond cream (or other vegetable cream, GMO-free)
half a teaspoon fine ground Himalayan salt

To complete

chopped candied ginger (candied with dark brown sugar), to taste
dark chocolate curls (made with a vegetable peeler dragged down one side of the chocolate block from top to bottom), to taste

Makes 16-20 squares.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180° C, lightly oil and flour a 20 cm square (stainless steel) cake pan, or alternatively, lay down a sheet of parchment paper on your cake pan. In a large bowl, sift together the semi-whole wheat flour, wholemeal flour, almond flour, cacao powder, muscovado, vanilla, cream of tartar, cornstarch and salt. Mix well.
Place the barley malt syrup, extra virgin olive oil, almond milk and almond cream in a bowl and stir well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is blended. Make sure everything is well combined. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 50 minutes. The centre of the cake should be firm but still a little moist (use a wooden stick to check donness). Let cool before removing the cake from the pan.

To make the chocolate sauce, place the almond milk, rice malt syrup, ginger juice, vanilla extract, ginger powder and salt in a saucepan and start cooking over low heat. Add the cacao powder while you keep stirring. Cook for another 2-3 minutes, then add the cornstarch and cook for another minute or until the sauce is slightly thick (don’t stop stirring while it thickens). Let cool for a few minutes but not too long as the sauce will thicken a bit further as it cools.

When the cake has cooled, remove it from the pan and cut into squares. Poke a few holes in the squares, using a fork or stick. Pour some chocolate sauce over them little by little and let it soak in. Set aside for a while, to let cool again and let the sauce make everything moist. In the meantime you can make the chocolate ganache. Place the chocolate in a saucepan together with the rice malt syrup, almond cream and Himalayan salt and simmer over low heat, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat as soon as the chocolate has completely melted and everything is combined. Let cool for a bit then pour the ganache over the top of  the cake squares and garnish with the candied ginger and chocolate curls.

Ingredients

200 g semi-whole Manitoba flour
100 g whole rice flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
a pinch of whole sea salt
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
100 ml agave syrup
100-120 ml oat milk
half a teaspoon of essicated ginger powder
half a teaspoon cinnamon powder
2-3 pinches of powdered cloves
3-4 pinches of grated nutmeg
a pinch of mace powder
a pinch of vanilla powder
a pinch of cardamom powder
2 firm apples (I used Golden Delicious)

Makes 12-14 muffins.

Directions

Preheat oven to 170° degrees C. In a large bowl combine the Manitoba flour, rice flour, cream of tartar, salt and spices. In another bowl combine the oil, agave and milk. Whisk well and fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients (preferably using a wooden spatula). Stir gently until the ingredients are combined but make sure you don’t over mix the batter. Add the apples and stir againg just to make sure they’re evenly incorporated into the batter. Fill the muffin cups or muffin tray with the batter, using a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven, transfer to a wire rack and let cool for about 5 minutes before removing from the muffin tray or muffin molds.

Tips, thoughts and ideas

You can either use single greaseproof muffin cases or paper cases placed in a muffin tray. If you spoon the batter directly into the muffin tray, make sure you lightly oil the molds and sprinkle them with flour.

Ingredients

2-3 cups filtered water
2 teaspoons dried mint
a pinch of powdered cloves (or 1-2 whole cloves)
a pinch of powdered star anise (or 1 whole star anise)
200 g whole grain cous cous (I used whole spelt cous cous)
Himalayan salt, just enought o taste
2 tablespoons raw sesame oil
2-3 handfuls of raisins, soaked in filtered water for 10 minutes then drained and pat dried
3-4 chopped medjol dates, stones removed
2 handfuls of pistachios, peeled
2 handfuls of almonds, peeled
1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
a pinch of chilli powder
seeds from 1 pomegranate
fresh mint leaves, to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

First, make the spicy mint tea. Bring the water to a boil, add the mint, cloves and star anise, stir, remove from the heat and let everything infuse for about 1 minute. Filter and set aside.

Place the cous cous in a salad bowl (preferably large and low) and pour some of the mint tea over it (just enough to cover the cous cous). Cover with a lid and let the cous cous ‘cook’ for 1 to 2 minutes. Check doneness and add some more tea (which should be still very hot) if necessary, pouring it little by little. When the cous cous is ready (it should be al dente) fluff with a fork, add the salt and sesame oil and toss. Add the raisins, dates, pistachios, almonds, cinnamon, chilli and pomegranate seeds and toss again. Sprinkle with some fresh mint leaves. Serve at room temperature.

Ingredients

250 g chickpeas, soaked for 8-10 hours then cooked in filtered water with a pinch of whole sea salt (use canned chickpeas only if you really have to)
8-10 cherry tomatoes (I used black cherry tomatoes), washed and cut into wedges
4 large handfuls of fresh parsley, rinsed, pat dried and more ore less finely chopped
half a red onion, peeled and finely sliced
juice of 1 lemon
a small handful of fresh mint leaves, washed and pat dried, whole or chopped
half a teaspoon of ground cumin
chilli powder, just enough to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Cook the chickpeas in a pressure cooker or large pot until al dente. Rinse them under cold running water, put them in a salad bowl then let cool completely (first at room temperature, then in the fridge). In the meantime, prepare the vegetables. Once the chickpeas are chilled, add the tomatoes, the parsley, the onion, the lemon juice, the mint, the cumin and the chilli powder. Toss and sprinkle with the the olive oil and salt then toss again and serve immediately.

Ingredients

For the soup

1/2 ripe pineapple, peeled, cored and cut into pieces
2 cucumbers, ends cut off, washed, peeled and cut into pieces
1/2 shallot, peeled and chopped
2 handfuls of almonds, peeled and soaked for 1 hour
juice of 1 lemon
3 teaspoons agave syrup
3 cm fresh ginger root, peeled
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (and some more for the garnish)
1/4 teaspoon Himalayan salt
1/2 teaspoon powdered coriander seeds
a pinch of ground white pepper
a pinch of chilli powder (and some more to garnish, if desired)
1 cup of natural mineral or filtered water, chilled

For the pesto

3 handfuls of Brazilian nuts
2 cloves of garlic
4 large handfuls of fresh basil
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
zest of 1 lemon
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
natural mineral or filtered water, just enough to reach the right texture

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Place all the soup ingredients in the bowl of a food processor or blender and purée. You can add some more water if necessary. Once you finish processing, let the soup cool completely (freeze for the first 30 minutes then transfer into the fridge for another 30 minutes). In the meantime, you can prepare the pesto.

Coarsely chop the nuts in a food processor or coffee grinder. Peel and mince the garlic. Wash the basil leaves and break them with your fingers. Place the nuts and garlic in a (preferably marble) mortar and pound briefly with the pestle. Add the basil, salt and lemon zest and pound a bit more.  Slowly pour the olive oil  while you keep stirring with the pestle, then add the water, little by little, until you get  to the right texture (it should still be  a bit chunky to better complement the very light consistency of the soup).  If you don’t have a mortar, you can use a food processor to make the pesto but be careful not to overprocess and overheat the mixture, which would lose  both colour and taste. However, the best option is to use a mortar and pestle method. As soon as the soup is completely chilled, divide it into  individual serving cups and top with a dollop of pesto. Sprinkle over a little chilli powder, finish with another little drizzle of olive oil if desired and serve.

Ingredients

1 ripe cantaloupe pulp, seeds removed, cut into cubes
2 cucumbers, peeled
1 garlic clove, peeled
2 cm fresh ginger root, peeled
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
the juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons apple vinegar
half a teaspoon whole sea salt
ground white pepper, to taste
ground paprika, to taste
red chili powder, to taste
1 red pepper, diced
half a cup filtered water

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

In a blender, puree all the ingredients except the diced red pepper. When smooth, divide the soup among serving bowls and stir in the diced red pepper. Taste for seasoning and serve chilled.

Tips, thoughts, ideas

The sweetness of ripe cantaloupe is the key to this delicious cold dish. Characterized by a distinctive spicy-fruity taste, this soup works beautifully on a hot day as an appetizer or as a quick meal.