Sweet Potato and Fennel Pizza

Sweet Potato & Fennel Pizza

Yes, sweet potato pizza a pile of carbs. That is true. But my goodness if it isn't tasty, so you know...every thing in moderation! I had the authentic version of this Italian potato pizza at a friend's house and was fascinated. The original, pizza bianco con patate, is generally served vegan and consists of thinly sliced white potatoes, on a sauceless pizza base topped with rosemary and can be found throughout the pizzerias of Italy.

For my version, I joined up earthy sweet potato with fiery chili and subtlety flavoured fennel for something with a little vitamin K and that nostalgic taste of home.

Now, I must admit that this particular recipe is a bit of a cheat because I didn't make the base from scratch - I don't think this is something to be ashamed of because sometimes life happens and while mastering pizza dough is generally and aspiration of mine, it was not on this particular night - but if you are looking to have a pizza party or make your own there are a few good recipes around the web. That said, let's eat!

Sweet Potato & Fennel Pizza

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 small sweet potato
1 chopped layer of a fennel bulb - about 1-2 tbsp
1 pizza base
1 finely chopped deseeded red chili pepper
1 tsp dried basil
2-4 tbsp olive oil

1. Heat your oven to 450F/Gas Mark 8.
2. Peel and very thinly slice your sweet potato into little discs, lightly toss them in olive oil and set aside.
3. Coarsely chop the fennel, toss in olive oil and set aside.
4. Grab your pizza base and place on a pizza tray or baking sheet. Brush with a thin layer of olive oil and add your toppings. Sweet potato first, then fennel sprinkled on top, then chili and herbs.
5. Bake for 10 -15 minutes or until the crust is brown. Drizzle pizza with remaining olive oil.
6. Serve with salad.

Serve with salad greens for a balanced meal

Vegan Recipe: Black Eyed Bean Dip Boats

Vegan Black Eyed Bean Dip Boats make perfect party food!

I grew up eating one recipe for black eyed peas - soul food classic stewed in pork fat. But these little beans are packed with so many nutritional goodies - Omega 6, Omega 3, dietary fiber, protein, folate, iron and potassium - that it's a crying shame not to get them more involved with daily kitchen proceedings. Alongside the soul food recipes of the American south, black eyed peas are found in dishes from Sephardic Jewish, African, South American, Vietnamese, Indian, Greek, Brazilian and Indonesian cuisine. So there is plenty of inspiration for getting creative with these earthy beans.

For this recipe, I wanted to get down with a little bit of finger food, because it's picnic season and eating with your hands is always fun. The main element of this is a Black Eyed Pea Dip that can be dressed as you like in it's tiny tostada. I sandwiched the dip between a green salad base and a chopped tomato topping, but you could easily mix it up with a creamy avocado sauce, cashew crema, or spicy salsa. But I would recommend something with a little bit of  juice - not too much though, you don't want your boats taking on too much water!

I was really pleased with how these came out because as well as being tasty and cute, they're the kind of thing that looks impressive on the pot luck table but doesn't take that long to make! Win and win! Enjoy.

Black Eyed Bean Dip Boats

Makes 9 Boats

Ingredients

3 soft tortillas, 8 inch
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
175g (just over 1 Cup) Black Eyed Peas
2 cloves garlic
1/4 medium yellow onion
1 tbsp jalapenos in brine
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Garnish with chopped salad underneath and chopped tomatoes with cilantro(coriander) on top

1. To make the tiny tostadas, heat your oven to Gas Mark 6/400F/200C and grab a muffin tin from the cupboard. You can use any size muffin tin for this, as long as you can find a stencil that is about 1 inch larger in diameter than each muffin hole. So for a tin that made 3 inch muffins, I got a "stencil", aka "a bowl", that was about 4 inches across to cut my tortillas into smaller circles.
2. Once they're all cut out, I got about 3 per tortilla, brush each side of the shells with a bit of olive oil and place into the muffin holes. The should fit easily if you pinch them into a sort of  wonton shape like a cross. Place in the oven for about 5- 10 mins or until they are brown.
3. While this is cooking, put the garlic, onion, jalapenos, and olive oil into a food processor and blend until smooth. Add more jalapenos if you like it spicier or another spoonful of olive oil if you like it smoother.
4. When your shells are brown, remove from the oven to let them cool. While this is happening prepare your garnishes.
5. To serve, fill shells with shells with salad, then bean dip then saucy topping like chopped tomatoes or guacamole. Yum!

My "stencil"

Cut tortillas in the muffin trays

Black Eyed Bean Dip Boats

Vegan Recipe: Sweet Bean Pie with Coconut Whip Cream

Vegan Sweet Bean Pie with Coconut Whip Cream

This recipe for Vegan Sweet Bean Pie is inspired by the traditional Bean Pie that has been a staple for followers of the Nation of Islam for generations. It is also part of my personal mission to make friends with silken tofu. BUT, as I found out after I cooked it, this is not actually something that could be eaten by anyone in the Nation of Islam because tofu is made from soy, which is actually a forbidden food for that religion! Clever me.

So I went back and forth in my mind about whether or to post this or not, and in the end I thought it was tasty enough to stand alone outside of it's original religious context. It's got seasonings that are similar to the pumpkin or sweet potato pie and pairs surprisingly well with the coconut whipped cream and coconut water instead of milk. And though beans might seem like a strange thing to make a pie out of, there is plenty of precedent for making sweet treats from beans in East Asian cuisines, specifically the candies from sweet bean paste seen in Japanese, Korean and Chinese cooking. So lets just think of this as an opportunity to expand our beany repertoire.

BEFORE YOU START: If you want to make the coconut whipped cream you will need to place a can of coconut milk in the fridge for a few hours so that it will separate.

Bite Sized Sweet Bean Pie

Vegan Recipe: Sweet Bean Pie

Makes one pie large pie

Ingredients:

2 cups cooked navy beans or cannelloni beans
1 vegan pie shell
120 ml of blended sliken tofu
1 cup coconut water (this will come from the bottom of the separated coconut milk that you use for the whipped cream)
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp clove

1 cup thick coconut cream separated from the top of a cold can of coconut milk
2-3 tbsp of powdered sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Instructions:

1. Preheat the oven to 425F/220c/Gas Mark 7 for 15 minutes.
2. Open your can of coconut milk. Carefully scoop the cream from the top of the can in to a large bowl and let stand. It should separate into about 1 cup of coconut water and 1 cup of coconut cream.
3. Blend the coconut water, should be about a cup, and silken tofu in a bowl until smooth.
4. Add spices and beans, and blend until this is smooth.
5. Pour batter into the pie shell and bake in the oven at 425f/220c/Gas Mark 7 for 15mins.
6. Now is a good time to start on the whipped cream.
1. Grab your bowl of cream, which should now be room temperature and add the powdered sugar and cinnamon.
2. Get a whisk or electric beater and whip until it looks like whipped cream.
3. Let stand until ready for use.
7. Reduce the heat to 350f/180c/Gas Mark 4 and bake for another 35 minutes. 
8. Serve warm with coconut whipped cream on top.

Sweet Bean Pie

This post is shared at Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop

Vegetarian Recipe: Meat Free Monday's Curried Eggs with Turmeric Rice

Of course when you're 'Meat Free Monday' in its various guises might be taking over the world. It's hard to keep track of which one is which as there is Meat Free Monday, Meat Free Mondays in the UK, and Meatless Mondays in the US. But general gist of it is these campaigns is to try to encourage all people to go a least one day a week without meat. They say it's good for your health, your pocket, your planet and they're right. Stella McCartney's branch of this movement has even published a book, The Meat Free Monday Cook Book, with recipes for every meal of the day, making it easier than ever for part-time, transitioning, or beginner vegetarians to get into their greens.

I had a go at one of their recipes for Curried Eggs with Rice. It was lovely, simple and extremely quick with a rice cooker. I used basmati rice instead of wild rice, but the final result was still quite satisfying. Here's my version take on it.

Curried Egg With Turmeric Rice

Serves 1-2

2 cups of cooked rice
2 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 small head of cabbage shredded
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp turmeric
2 hard boiled eggs

1. Heat oil in a frying pan on high heat. When it's hot, add in the shredded cabbage and chopped garlic and cook until the cabbage has gone all soft in the middle and a little bit brown on the edges. 
2. Next add in the rice, curry powder and turmeric, then mix everything together until it's that beautiful golden colour. 
3. Finally coarsely chop up your eggs and add to the mixture. Salt to taste and serve.

 And that's all she wrote. It comes out in a beautiful rich yellow tone which looks amazing next to a bold green salad.