Tag Archives: vegetables

Lemon infused Carrots and Elderflower infused Beetroots

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Surprise your guest by serving vegetables with a whole new taste to them! First dehydrate your vegetables so that they lose a lot of their moisture, then add a new flavour of moisture by infusing the vegetable for a long time in a chosen liquid. WILL TAKE A COUPLE OF DAYS TO MAKE!

This is such a fun project. You really do need a food dehydrator for this one though. An oven may be used but it will need to stay on low temp for many hours…

I infused the carrots with lemon and the beetroots with elderflower but there are endless possibilities of combinations. A pretty foam and some greens will go nicely with this beautiful dish.

A “sous vide” to cook the vegetables in low temperature is useful for this recipe but not necessary.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Carrots:
12 small and thin carrots
Liquid: 100 ml lemon juice mixed with 200 ml water

1. Wash and scrub the carrots. Then let dry at 45 C for at least 15 hours (depending on the size of your carrot) in your food dehydrator.
2. If cooking in a sous vide: Place your vegetable in a freezer zip lock bag, pour the liquid in, press as much air out as you possibly can (submerge the bag into water up to the top of the bag, that way the air will be pressed out of the bag, then close the bag). Put the bag in the sous vide pan, set it for 60 C and cook for 10 hours. No, the carrots will not get soggy at this low temperature cooking.
3. If cooking in a pan on the stove, let simmer (or just below simmer) in the liquid until almost soft. Then cool and let sit in the juice for another 4-5 hours.

Beetroots:
4 small beetroots
Liquid: 200 ml elderflower syrup and 300 ml water

1. Scrub the beetroot well removing the outer skin. I usually use plastic gloves for this step.
2. Place in a dehydrator 50C for 24 hours. Or in an oven 70 C for 14 hours. Depending on the size of your beetroot.
3. When all shrivelled up it is time to replace the moisture with the elderflower mix.
4. Either place in a bag (as above) and cook in a sous vide 70C for 3 hours, or, simmer on the stove (covered with the liquid) for 60-90 minutes. Take away from the heat and keep in the hot water for another hour. Then keep in the fridge for 3-4 hours.

Now you have “carrolemons” and “elderbeets”. Serve with some greens, an elderflower/beetroot foam and some salt.

Eldeflower/beetroot foam:
150 ml elderflower liquid (that you boiled the beetroots in).
About 1 gram of soy lecithin.

1. Take 150 ml of the elderflower liquid that you boiled the beetroots in.
2. Pour into a shallow dish.
3. Add the soy lecithin.
4. Tilt the dish and, using an immersion blender, whisk air into the mixture. May take a few minutes to get enough foam. Spoon off the resulting foam and let it sit to stabilize a few minutes in a separate bowl.

Spoon the foam onto the dish. Serve immediately (the foam may start to disappear in about 10 minutes).

Crispy Veggie Balls

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These small veggie balls are really tasty and beautiful! Don’t try to make them into a whole meal though, they are far too cumbersome to make, but rather make them as a colorful, decorative garnish to go with any other dish.

You will need 1-2 round tea strainers (see photo), thongs and oven mitts.

Makes about 10 balls

1 red skin potato
1/3rd daikon
½ carrot
1/5th leek
¼ zucchini/courgette
1 tsp salt
Vegetable oil for frying

1. Cut fine julienne slices (thin batons) of the vegetables. (First slice thinly, then cut into batons)
2. Place in colander and add the salt. Let sit for 10 minutes (in order to remove some moisture before frying).
3. Rinse the vegetables and pat them dry with kitchen towels.
4. Heat the oil in a deep pan. Make sure the oil will cover the tea strainer but use a deep pan so that the oil does not reach higher than halfway up the side.
5. Take a small amount of veggies and place in a tea strainer, dip into the oil and let cook for a 30 seconds. Do not overstuff.
6. They should be served warm. I like to make them before hand and then, just before serving, reheat them in the oven.

160921-crispy-veggie-balls-9880160921-crispy-veggie-balls-9866Some tips for frying:
• Dip a small piece of vegetable in the hot oil, if it sizzles then the oil is hot enough.
• Don’t worry if some pieces stick out of the tea strainer, it will just make a more interesting looking ball.
• 30 seconds is usually a good amount of time but check to make sure that they are not still soft or too burnt and adjust you time accordingly.
• Don’t expect them all to come perfectly the first time. It takes some practicing to get the cooking just right and to remove them from the tea strainer without breaking. You will probably start by throwing out every 4th ball…
• If you have two tea strainers going, one can be dropped into the oil while you empty and re-stuff the next.
• Have a small spoon handy to empty out the vegetables if they stick a bit to the net.
• Use a thong and oven mitts so you don’t burn yourself.

Sweet Potato Crunch with Vegetables

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Sweet Potato Crunch with Noodles, Pickled Onion and Salsa

A beautiful vegan dish, served on its own or as a side dish.
This recipe is quite similar to another sweet potato dish I have previously posted. The accompanying vegetables makes it into a new dish though. The potato crunch can be used as a base in many different recipes, even for desserts! An absolute favorite of mine. This is also one of the recipes I have developed under the guidance of Matthew Kenney Culinary School.

If you do not have a dehydrator, you can use a normal oven and bake the Crunch at 175C for 30-40 minutes (depending on the thickness of your Crunch).

Serves 6

Sweet Potato Crunch:
1 large sweet potato
2 carrots
1 red apple
¼ cup lemon juice
2/3rd cup of cashews
1 tsp salt
½ tsp freshly ground black pepper

Zucchini Spaghetti:
3 medium sized zucchini
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp agave
2 tsp fresh thyme

Pickled Red Onion:
2 red onions, thinly sliced
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
3 tbsp olive oil
½ tsp agave
¼ tsp salt

Tomato Corn Salsa:
1 cup diced tomato, seeds removed
1 cup sweetcorn
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp Cayenne pepper
3 tsp lemon juice
2 tbsp cilantro, chopped

Avocado Puree:
2 avocado
3 tbsp lime juice
¾ tsp salt
½ tsp ground black pepper
¼ tsp agave

Garnish:
1 cup rocket salad (drizzled with a little bit of olive oil for shine)
Pea sprouts
3 colors of cherry tomatoes
Chili flakes

1. Clean the vegetables to be used for the crunch mix and cut up in chunks.
2. Process the vegetables and nuts in a mixer.
3. Make 18 (3 per person) small rounds (use a mold to shape them) or rectangular sticks if you prefer (see photos).
4. Dehydrate over night (or longer, depending on the thickness of your rounds), or bake in a 175 C oven for 30-40 minutes depending on the thickness.
5. Spiralize the zucchini and marinate in the oil, vinegar, salt, agave and thyme mixture for about 30 minutes.
6. Slice the red onion thinly, using a mandolin. Marinate in the vinegar, oil, salt and agave for 30 minutes.
7. Combine the ingredients for the salsa. Set aside for the flavors to blend and mature, 30 minutes.
8. Serve the colorful dish on individual plates. Garnish.

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Cod Cake with Yuzu Veggies

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If you haven’t tried Yuzu yet you’re missing out on something! Yuzu is a wonderful citrus fruit from Japan. Can usually be found as a bottled juice in Asian food markets. Or, a possible substitute could be an equal mix of fresh orange-, lime- and lemon juice.

Serves 4

Cod Cake:
600 g cod fillets
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 large red chili, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
1 tbsp dried coriander
1 egg
1 tsp salt
1 lime, zest

Japanese soy sauce

Veggies:
12 Sugar snaps
1 Orange bell pepper
1 Yellow bell pepper
6 Cherry tomatoes
1 Avocado
1 Red onion

Dressing:
6 tbsp Yuzu juice
3 tbsp Olive oil

1. Mix the fish, juice, chili, garlic, coriander, egg, salt and lime zest in a food processor.
2. Spoon into hot, oiled frying pan and fry 5-6 minutes on each side. Take care when turning so they don’t fall apart. Serve with soy sauce.
3. Cut all veggies in small pieces. Mix the dressing and drizzle over the vegetables.

Tomato Rice Cubes with Almond Tomato Sauce and Courgette Spaghetti

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Tic Tac Toe Dinner!

This is a fun dish that can be served together with many different foods.
Go easy on the smoked paprika powder since it can be quite over powering.
Any vegetable you’d like to chop up and include is fine.
I’ve chosen red and white rice since they present themselves so nicely but you may also use quinoa or other grains.
Can be prepared ahead of time and heated in the oven just before serving.

Serves 8

200 ml red rice
Water to boil the rice in
200 ml white rice
Water to boil the rice in
Onion, finely chopped
Salt
Black pepper
½ tsp smoked paprika
50 g Parmesan cheese
3-4 tbsp lemon juice
4 medium sized tomato

1. Cut the tomatoes into fine strips and then chop them into a tomato concasse. Set aside.
2. Boil the rice according the manufacturers specification. Add some salt, when almost done, add some pepper and smoked paprika powder.
3. Fry the onion in a pan, when done, add to the rice.
4. When the rice is ready, remove from the heat and add cheese and lemon juice.
5. Let cool slightly.
6. Stir in the tomato concasse.
7. Using a mold (I use Japanese rice molds) create small rice cubes.
If you save for later, then please refrigerate at this point. If not, then place the cubes on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 5-6 minutes, until piping hot.
Serve the rice cubes with Courgette Spaghetti and Tomato Almond sauce (see below). Chorizo sausage also goes very well with this dish.

Tomato Almond Sauce
Super quick and very rich and tasty tomato sauce.

1 can of chopped tomatoes – 400 g
50 g ground almonds
1 small red chili
1 small garlic clove
300 g (including the oil) marinated roasted red pepper
1-2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Salt

1. Combine all ingredients except the almonds in a blender. Blend well.
2. Pour into a saucepan and simmer a few minutes.
3. Remove from heat and add the ground almonds.

Spicy Cod in a Vegetable Garden

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Marinated, Spiced Cod with Cauliflower Quenelle, Steamed vegetables with Basil Sauce and Broccoli Puree. A delicious, easy and light dish that is very fun to arrange on the plate and serve.

Serves 4
Marinated Spiced Cod:
450g cod fillets, skinned and boned and sliced into serving portions

Marinade:
25 ml fresh lemon juice
2 tbsp olive oil
Finely chopped parsley and coriander, about 100 ml
A pinch of salt
A pinch of ground paprika
A pinch of chili powder

Flaked almonds
Thinly sliced lime

Basil Sauce:
5 g parsley
20 g basil
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp rice vinegar
50 g walnuts
1 garlic clove

150 ml olive oil

Cauliflower Quenelle:
One large head of cauliflower, stems and leaves removed, cut into smaller pieces
60g Parmesan cheese, grated
Salt and pepper

Broccoli Puree:
1 medium size heads of broccoli (about 200g) cut into florets
Salt
50 ml single cream
Salt and pepper
2 tbsp lemon juice
Pinch of nutmeg
1tbsp butter

Vegetables in Napkin Ring:
1 carrot, cut into long strips
1 parsnip, cut into long strips
4 thin, miniature asparagus
1 courgette, cut into long strips
1 small cucumber

  1. Combine all ingredients for the marinade and pour over the fish, refrigerate for a few hours. In order for the marinade to better penetrate, make a few cuts into the fish.
  2. Heat oven to 200C. Place the fish in an ovenproof dish. Season with salt and place the lime slices on top. Sprinkle with flaked almonds. Baked in oven for about 20 minutes.
  3. Place all ingredients for the basil sauce, except the oil, in a blender and process until smooth. While processing, slowly add the oil. Set aside.
  4. Boil the cauliflower in salted water until soft. Drain well (if too much water remains you will have to add more cheese to be able to form the shapes of quenelles). Using a hand held blender, puree the cauliflower in the pan. Add some Parmesan cheese, mix well and season with salt and pepper.
  5. Boil the broccoli florets in salted water. When soft, process into puree with blender. Add some cream, salt, pepper, lemon juice and nut meg and process futher. Lastly add the butter.
  6. Make sure the carrot, parsnip, asparagus and courgette are about the same length. Steam (or microwave) the vegetables until soft but still crunchy (the carrot and parsnip a bit longer than the other). Cut thick slices from the cucumber and remove some of the inside as to create a vegetable napkin holder.

Assembly:

  1. Place a spoonful of sauce on a plate.
  2. Prepare the vegetable napkins by placing the cooked vegetable strips inside the cucumber ring and add to the plate.
  3. Spoon the broccoli puree into a piping bottle/bag. Garnish the plate with some long piped lines and place a slice of fish on top.
  4. Using two spoons, create quenelle shapes from the cauliflower mix.