Ingredients

For the lasagne

1 pack of “tofu leaves” or equivalent (you can also use regular wheat lasagna squares)

For the rocket, basil and almond pesto

a large bunch of arugula, cleaned and blanched in boiling water for 1 minute then drained
a large handful of fresh basil, cleaned
1 garlic clove, peeled
5 tablespoons nutritional yeast (flakes)
10-11 tablespoons finely crushed almonds
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
80 ml filtered water
50 ml extra virgin olive oil

To complete

shaved almonds, to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 180 C. To make the pesto, process all ingredients with the help of a food processor. Once you have reached the desired consistency, set aside. Spread a little olive oil around the inside of a glass or ceramic baking pan (altrnatively, you can use parchment paper, to be placed n a regular baking pan). Put a lasagna square down first and layer on some pesto. Repeat until you have no squares left. Top with a final but thinner layer of pesto, drizzle with some extra virgin olive oil and bake for 15 minutes, until the top begins to get brown. Remove from oven, top with the shaved almonds and let cool 5-10 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

200 g semi-whole rice
5 ripe apricots, cleaned, stoned and quartered (and 1 more for garnish)
50 ml agave syrup (and some for garnish)
180 ml almond milk
the seeds of half a vanilla pod
almond flakes, for garnish

Makes 6-8 servings.

Directions

Cook the rice in plenty of filtered water until slightly overcooked. Drain and transfer into the bowl of a food processor and process for about 1 minute. Add the apricots, agave, almond milk and vanilla and process on medium-high speed until smooth. Divide into bowls or glasses and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Top with fresh apricot wedges, almond flakes and a little agave nectar and serve.

Ingredients

For the filling (quantitites are enough for around 4 baskets)

250 g fresh strawberries, cleaned and cut into cubes
the juice of half a lemon
4 tablespoons agave syrup
fresh and cleaned thyme leaves, to taste
1 vanilla pod, scraped
2 teaspoons cornstarch, dissolved in 30-35 ml cold, filtered water

For the crust (makes around 12-15 baskets)

270 g semi-whole wheat flour
40 g manitoba flour
120 ml extra virgin olive oil
100-120 ml filtered water
half a teaspoon whole sea salt

To complete

shaved almonds, to taste
crumbled almond paste, to taste
unbleached, powdered sugar
a few fresh thyme sprigs, cleaned

Directions

Combine the strawberries, lemon juice, agave syrup, thyme and vanilla in a bowl and toss. Refrigerate for up to 2 hours.
To make the crust, chill wheat and manitoba flour, olive oil and water, by placing them in the fridge at least 30 minutes before you start making the dough. Stir the flours and salt together in a large bowl, then add the olive oil to the dry ingredients and mix with a fork until the oil has been absorbed by the flour. Keep mixing with the fork, as your hands would be too warm, then add the water little by little, just enough to make a good grainy texture. You might not need all the water indicated in the recipe. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and transfer it in the refrigerator for about 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 180° C. Remove the dough (or just some of it) from the fridge and place it on a lightly floured surface, dust your rolling-pin with flour, roll the dough out to the desired thickness (2-4 mm) and cut into squares. Oil some tiny pie pans or molds and sprinkle them with a light coating of flour. Arrange the dough squares in the tins, poke a few holes in the dough with a fork to let the steam escape, trim off any excess round the edges and bake for 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, let cool for a few minutes then unmold and set aside until they’re ready to be filled.
While the baskets are cooking, prepare the sauce. take the strawberries out of the fridge and separate them from their juice. Pour the juice in a saucepan and bring to a gentle boil. Add the cornstarch and keep stirring until a caramel-like texture is achieved. Remove from the heat and set aside.
To assemble the baskets, fill them with the fresh strawberries and sauce. Complete with the shaved almonds, crumbled almond paste and powdered sugar, top with the thyme sprigs and serve.

You can find the same recipe on www.goosto.com.

Ingredients

For the seitan balls

130 g red lentils
300 ml filtered water
250 seitan sausage, minced
100 g plain seitan, minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (from wholemeal bread)
a pinch of whole sea salt
a few fresh thyme sprigs, cleaned
2 teaspoons dried oregano
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
half a teaspoon paprika

For the sauce

1 garlic clove, peeled and cut into halves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a few pinches of powdered cinnamon
half a teaspoon paprika
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
chili powder, to taste
thyme, fresh and cleaned, to taste
dried or fresh oregano, to taste
250 g tomato purée
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
100 ml filtered water
100 g fresh peas
a large handful of raisins
a handful of peeled almonds, very coarsely chopped or crushed

Makes 15 balls.

Directions

Preheat the oven at 180° C. Cook the lentils in the water until they’re and tender (they should absorb all the water). Place them into the bowl of a food processor and process until creamy and smooth. Transfer the lentil mixture into a bowl, add the minced seitan sausage and plain seitan, garlic and olive oil and mix. Stir in the flax seeds, breadcrumbs, salt, thyme leaves, oregano, pepper and paprika and mix again. Take some mixture and shape into balls until there’s none left. Arrange balls on a lightly oiled baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden on all sides. remove from the oven and set aside.
To prepare the sauce, sauté the garlic in the olive oil in a large pan or wok. Add the cinnamon, paprika, pepper, chili, thyme and oregano and keep cooking, while stirring, for less than 1 minute. Stir in the tomato purée, season with the salt, then add the water and peas. Mix, turn the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes and add the raisins. Keep cooking for another 15 minutes or until the peas are tender but the sauce not too thick. Stir in the almonds, transfer the seitan balls into the pan and make sure they’re all covered with the sauce. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and set aside for about 15-20 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

1 carrot, cleaned and grated
2 tablespoons powdered (finely ground) golden flax seeds
130 g almonds, peeled and coarsely ground
a handful of raisins, soaked in filtered water for about 10 minutes then drained
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon
1 teaspoon powdered ginger
half a teaspoon grated nutmeg
half a teaspoon cardamom
a few pinches of vanilla powder
3 teaspoons raw almond butter
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
15 g coconut butter, softened
60 g agave syrup

Makes 15 treats.

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. When you have a homogeneous mixture, wet your hands, form into shaped cookies and dehydrate 10-12 hours or until the desired dryness is reached. This is a moist dough and it might take a while to dehydrate (dehydrating times also depend on the thickness of the dough). If you like these treats to be a little moist, you can certainly reduce the dehydrating time and store them in the refrigerator.

Ingredients

For the custard

500 ml unsweetened and unflavoured almond milk
3 teaspoons agar agar powder
6 tablespoons rice malt syrup
3 tablespoons almond butter

For the berries

black berries (1 small basket)
blueberries (1 small basket)
3-4 tablespoons rice malt syrup
a few pinches of vanilla powder
2 tablespoons lemon juice
lemon zest (from organic lemons), julienned, for garnish

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

Pour the almond milk  into a heavy saucepan and bring to a simmer. Add the agar agar, stirring constantly to avoid lumps (you can even mix the agar agar with an equal amount of cold almond milk or filtered water). Stir until dissolved. Simmer for 3 to 4 minutes, making sure the milk does not stick to the bottom of the saucepan. Remove the saucepan from the heat and pour the mixture into a low ceramic casserole dish. Set aside and allow to cool for at least 2 to 3 hours, or until completely firm. When it’s time to prepare the custard, break the gelatin into pieces and put it in the bowl of a mixer. Add the rice malt syrup and the almond butter and process until very smooth. Pour the custard into ramekins or glasses and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, or until serving time.

In the meantime, clean the berries and combine them in a bowl, add the rice malt syrup, vanilla and lemon juice and toss. Refrigerate until serving time.

Serve the almond custard cold, topped with the berries and lemon zest.

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

150 g rice malt syrup
130 g raw almond butter
20 g raw coconut oil
50 ml almond milk (unflavoured and unsweetened)
65 ml almond cream, or other GMO-free, vegetable cream (unflavoured and unsweetened)
1 teaspoon powdered cinnamon

Makes 2-4 servings.

Directions

Put all the ingredients in the bowl of a mixer and process until smooth. Transfer the mixture into the fridge for about 30 minutes then pour it into your ice cream maker and process according to the manufacturer’s instructions. 40 minutes should be enough to make a creamy, thick ice cream. At the end of the cycle, remove the ice cream from the machine and divide it into bowls. Eat the ice cream right away or keep it in the freezer until serving time.

Ingredients

half a small head of cooked Romanesco broccoli (which should be about 180-200 g)
215 g cooked whole Baldo rice (which is about 150-170 g uncooked), preferably al dente
1-2 tablespoons raw sesame oil
1 tablespoons tahin
half a teaspoon powdered coriander seeds
half a teaspoon powdered cumin
half a teaspoon dried ginger powder
freshly ground black pepper, just enough to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
a small handful of parsley leaves, preferably fresh, cleaned and finely chopped
1 teaspoon cleaned and chopped chives, preferably fresh
2 tablespoons white sesame seeds
2 tablespoons ground white sesame seeds (you can grind them yourself in a spice or coffee grinder)

To complete

3 handfuls of peeled almonds
1 tablespoon flakes of nutritional yeast

Makes 16-18 balls.

Directions

Using a potato masher or fork, mash the broccoli until no large pieces remain. Transfer the broccoli mash into a large bowl, add the cooked rice, sesame oil, tahin, spices, salt, parsley, chives and sesame seeds (whole and ground) and stir well to combine all ingredients. To shape the balls, wet your hands with a little water to prevent the mixture from sticking. They should be slightly smaller than a golf ball. Set the balls aside on a sheet of parchment paper or a tray. In a coffee grinder, finely grind the almonds with the nutritional yeast. Roll the rice balls in the almond-yeast powder and serve at room temperature.

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

5 bananas, preferably Fairtrade, ripe enough, peeled
3 tablespoons almond meal
4 tablespoons agave syrup
a pinch of whole sea salt
a pinch of powdered vanilla
juice of 1/2 a lemon
6 tablespoons raw almond butter
2 handfuls of fresh, ripe raspberries, crashed and blended with 2 teaspoons lemon juice (those should be prepared at the very end, just before serving).

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

Purée the bananas in a blender, add the almond meal, agave, salt, lemon and almond butter and continue processing until very smooth. Place into serving glasses or little cups and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. Top with the crashed raspberries before serving.

Ingredients

For the almond-thyme ‘cheese’ (quantities for 1 cup)

1 cup peeled almonds, soaked in cold water for at least 2 hours (in the fridge)
juice of 1/2 a lemon
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon almond butter (from untoasted almonds)
fresh chopped thyme, to taste

For the pizza base

1 cup wholemeal wheat flour
1/2 a cup natural mineral or filtered water
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
a pinch of whole sea salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar

For the topping

2-3 handfuls of rocket, washed, pat dried and sprinkled with some extra virgin olive oil, a pinch of whole sea salt and a little dried thyme
3-4 fresh figs, washed, trimmed and cut into wedges
almond-thyme cheese, to taste

Makes 1 pizza.

Directions

After soaking time, rinse the almonds and finely grind them in a food processor. Trasfer the ground almonds in a cup, add the lemon juice, salt, almond butter and thyme and mix using a fork or your fingers. Cover and refrigerate for 6-8  hours before using.

Preheat the oven to 180° C. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the water with oil and slowly pour into the flour’s well. Using your hands, fold the flour into the water until mixture comes together. If it’s too wet and sticky, add some more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes and form a ball. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board, and dust your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin with a little flour before rolling the dough out. While rolling it to the desired thickness, dust with more flour if necessary. Fit you pizza to a pizza pan or an oiled sheet of parchment paper. You can now poke a few holes with a fork. The pizza is now ready to be cooked.

Place the pizza base in the oven and bake for about 10-20 minutes (baking time will depend on the thickness of the base). Remove from the oven, let cool and top with the rocket, figs and almond-thyme ‘cheese’ (either cold or at room temperature) to taste.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

This pizza is best served cold or very slightly warm.

Feel free to substitute wholemeal flour with semi-whole. You can also use spelt and kamut (whole or semi-whole) instead of wheat.

Ingredients

150 g semi-wholemeal wheat flour
100 g cornmeal (OGM-free)
50 g almond flour
a pinch of whole sea salt
3 tablespoons cream of tartar
150 ml agave syrup
50 ml extra virgin olive oil
150 ml unsweetened, unflavoured soy milk (OGM-free)
1 tablespoon natural vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest (organic)
200 g long, light green zucchini, grated
8 zucchini flowers, washed, stems and pistils removed, and cut into 4 parts

Preheat oven to 180° C, lightly oil and flour a 20 cm round (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-wholemeal wheat flour, cornmeal, almond flour, salt, and cream of tartar. Mix well. Place the agave syrup, oil, soy milk, vanilla extract and lemon zest in a bowl and stir well. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk until the batter is blended. Stir in the grated zucchini and the zucchini flowers. Make sure everything is well combined. Pour the batter into the cake pan and bake for about 50 minutes or until the top is golden brown and the centre is firm but still moist (use a wooden stick to check donness). Let cool before removing the cake from the pan.

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.

I like to consider the pasta I’m proposing today as a quite sophisticated but at the same time extremely simple, quick, cheap and delicious main course. This is definitely the sort of recipe that turns out to be useful when there are pastivore guests to satisfy, or when a last-minute meal has to be thrown together. If you’re going to test this recipe and can’t find sedani rigati, just go for another kind of wholemeal short pasta, like penne or rigatoni. I think the delicate nuttiness of the almonds and the sharp lemon flavour both pair exquisitely with the sweetness of the leek and shoyu. For my sedani I used organic lemons, an organic leek, organic shoyu and organic pasta. 

Ingredients (makes 4 servings):

300 g wholemeal sedani pasta

4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon shoyu

1 leek, trimmed and finely sliced

½ cup ground almonds

finely grated zest of 3 to 4 lemons

whole sea salt (to taste)

freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil and shoyu in a large non-stick pan over medium heat then gently stir fry the leek until golden, stirring in a little bit of water at a time to moisten the consistency. In the meantime cook the sedani in plenty of boiling and salted water until al dente. Drain the pasta and throw it into the pan where you cooked the leek, add the lemon zest and almonds and sauté for a couple of minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from the heat and season with black pepper to taste.