Day 3 Vegan MoFo: Savoury Za’atar Socca

Jessica DeMarra — Thu, 03 Sep 2015 12:00:34 +0000

Day 3 of Vegan MoFo is all about making meals that are quick, easy, and delicious! My mind went straight to stir fry but as soon as I started making one, I realized that all the chopping was not all that quick. Maybe I am a slow chopper but I wanted a meal that was 30 minutes or less, served 2 people, protein packed, filling, and was a hot meal versus my go-to zoodle bowls here and here. I have teased you all with this recipe on Instagram and now here it is! I had attempted a similar recipe to this one before but the chickpea flour was so bitter, I barely ate half of it. I rejected the idea entirely until it started to pop up on the blog world more and more. My problem: I wasn’t cooking it long enough! I thought it was cooked like a regular pancake but this savoury pancake needs a longer cooking time to cut down on the bitterness of the flour. Once the cooking time was perfected, this recipe became a regular lunch time meal. Mark, who hated chickpea flour, loves this recipe. Action plan: Make the batter, then the sauce, chop your veggies while cooking the soccas, and serve! A hot meal in less than 30 minutes that is filling and made with whole ingredients. Whoohoo!

3 recipes down, 27 more to go! See you all tomorrow for Day 4: Weird Food Combo. Missed Day 2? Check it out here.

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Savoury Za'atar Socca

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Prep time

10 mins

Cook time

16 mins

Total time

26 mins

This savoury chickpea pancakes takes less than 30 minutes to make from start to finish- including the sauce! This dish is filling, protein packed, and delicious. Perfect for a savoury breakfast or light lunch. Top with whatever vegetables you like! In the winter, roasted vegetables would be a great toppings. Feel free to use any toppings you like. This recipe is vegan, gluten free, nut free, and soy free. This recipe makes 2 9-inch crispy soccas + extra sauce.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Breakfast, Lunch

Cuisine: vegan

Serves: 2

Ingredients

For the Savoury Socca:
1 cup chickpea flour
1 cup + 2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, divided
1 teaspoon za'atar
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
¼ teaspoon red pepper chili flakes + more for garnish
Za'atar Tahini Sauce:
4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons tahini
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white miso
½ teaspoon pure maple syrup
½ teaspoon za’atar + more for garnish
Splash of filtered water to thin out if necessary
Toppings:
1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
10 fresh basil leaves, cut into ribbons
½ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of fine grain sea salt
Sliced avocado
Pea shoots
Za'atar

Instructions

In a bowl, whisk together the chickpea flour, water, 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, baking powder, and salt. Whisk for about 15 seconds until it is completely smooth with lots of bubbles. Set aside while you make your sauce.
Add all the for the sauce ingredients to the blender and blend until smooth. Set aside until ready to dress your soccas.
In a bowl, mix together the tomatoes, basil, oil, and salt. Set aside until the socca is ready.
In a non-stick skillet over medium heat, heat ½ tablespoon oil until hot. Add ¾ cup of the socca batter and cook for 5 minutes. Flip and cook the other side for 3-4 minutes. Keep the socca warm while you cook the second one. Add the remaining ½ tablespoon of oil, heat, and cook the second socca.
Top with tomato basil mixture, avocado, pea shoots, Za'atar Tahini sauce, and extra za'atar.

The post Day 3 Vegan MoFo: Savoury Za’atar Socca appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce {Vegan & Gluten-Free}

Jessica DeMarra — Thu, 09 Oct 2014 13:03:37 +0000

With VeganMoFo being at a close, I decided to take a little break from my kitchen and computer to catch up on things I neglected over the month long cooking fest: the heaps of laundry, my kitchen in a constantly state of chaos just begging to be cleaned, caught up on snuggles with my overly affectionate cat who cried at my feet when I was cooking and I broke in a new book that wasn’t food related. However this break was very short lived since omg Thanksgiving is only 13 days away!! What??! Where did that come from? So my apologies for the break but I had some recipe testing to do!

Until this year, I have worked every Thanksgiving at a barbecue restaurant and it always is a real life hell since the staff is reduced but it is still crazy busy. I am literally running for 6 hours until we close but there is a silver lining to working on this holiday: the annual staff potluck dinner after the shift. All the staff, including those who aren’t working but come in help close down the restaurant: putting up chairs, the endless sorting and rolling of cutlery, bussing tables and cleaning every surface in that place. We all work hard so all of us can sit down and enjoy a meal together. You would think working in a restaurant we would be having meals together all the time but this couldn’t be further from the truth, with the exception of sharing a plate of cold fries.

The people I work with are not just coworkers, they are my friends: we help each other move, go on vacations together, drink (heavily) together and are always there for you when you need them to cover your section so you can shame eat a kid’s dessert in the bathroom before you have a mental breakdown. The last one happens a lot more than you would think.

There are a lot of funny and painfully accurate articles on BuzzFeed on how it is to be a server but my coworkers make it worth it to crack a fake smile to a rude table and speak to them with a voice 10 octaves higher than your normal voice. These people help me in so many ways and I am thankful to them every single time I punch in to start my shift.

When I said I wanted to create this site, not one of them questioned me or suggested that I may be in way over my head, even when I did. They were all supportive, offered their help when they could and have been my taste testers since I started. This post is dedicated to them, the people that make my job survivable, the people who I get silly drunk with, who make my birthday so special every year and the people who I look forward to seeing everyday, hands down my favourite part of my job. I am thankful to all of you.

I hope you are spending your holiday with your loved ones, whether family you are born into or the one you made for yourself. Happy Thanksgiving from Sprouts and Chocolate!

Vegan Thanksgiving Roundup From Blogs I Love:

Fork and Beans: Thanksgiving-themed Foods

Oh She Glows: The Best Shredded Kale Salad

Vegetarian Snob: Comforting Coconut Butternut Squash Fall Soup (Don’t forget to download their 12 Fall Favourite: Vegan Warming Comforting Seasonal Recipes E-Book! I downloaded one and LOVE it!)

This Rawsome Vegan Life: PUMPKIN CASHEW CREAM CAKE with CHOCOLATE SAUCE

Post Punk Kitchen: Stuffed Thanksgiving Burger

Lunchbox Bunch: Ginger-Maple Fall Spiced Tofu Cubes

Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash

2014-10-09 06:40:06

Serves 4

This Thanksgiving Sprouts and Chocolate has gone gluten-free! This meal won't take you all day to make and it is made with whole ingredients to have you feeling great after your big meal, instead of wanting to take a nap. Delicata squash is amazing and will have you reconsidering how easy this fall ingredient is to make: easy to cut (no cleaver needed), doesn't require an hour in the oven and doesn't need to be peeled! Hooray! This recipe makes enough to serve 4-half squashes stuffed with herb and Dijon dressed lentils.

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Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 30 min

Prep Time

30 min

Cook Time

1 hr

Total Time

1 hr 30 min

For the Vinaigrette

2 tablespoons red wine vinegar (apple cider vinegar is a good choice too)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
½ teaspoon fresh chopped thyme

For the lentils

1 ½ cups du Puy lentils, picked through to remove any pebbles and rinsed over a fine mesh strainer (if you can’t find these pebbly French lentils, green lentils are a good substitute)
3 springs of thyme
4 garlic cloves, smashed and papery skin removed
3-4 cups vegetable stock

For the Delicata Squash

2 delicata squashes
1 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Pinch of fine grain sea salt and cracked black pepper

For the stuffing

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 cup finely diced onion, about ½ of a medium sized onion
1 cup finely diced celery, about 2 trimmed celery stalks
½ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 green kale leaves, de-stemmed and cut into fine pieces
¼ cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves, finely chopped + more for garnish
6 sage leaves, chopped fine
Pinch of cracked black pepper

For the Vinaigrette

Whisk all the ingredients together and set aside until the lentils are cooked and ready to be dressed.

For the lentils

Put the lentils in a 3- quart pot and top with the thyme and garlic (these will be picked out later). Add the stock to cover the lentils by about 2-inches and bring to boil over medium-high heat.
Immediately lower to a gentle simmer, cook uncovered until the lentils are tender (try a few lentils since they can cook unevenly depending on size), about 30-40 minutes.
Meanwhile, prep the squash for roasting and the ingredients for the stuffing. When the lentils are fully cooked, remove the garlic and the thyme and dress them with the vinaigrette while they are still hot.

For the stuffing

In a large pan over medium heat, heat the olive oil until shimmering. Add the onions, celery and salt and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 7-8 minutes.
Add the garlic and sautee until fragrant.
Add the kale, herbs and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally until kale is softened and bright green. Add the dressed lentils and mix until lentils are fully incorporated. Keep warm until squash is ready to be stuffed.

For the Delicata Squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or tinfoil. Wash, dry the squash, cut lengthwise and scoop out seeds.
Set squash on the lined baking sheet, drizzle with oil, salt and pepper and roast for 25-30 minutes, turning the squash with a spatula (not tongs! The skin is delicate and will tear with metal tongs) halfway through cooking time until the flesh is soft and can be easily pierced with a fork.
Transfer roasted squash to a serving platter and stuff with lentil-stuffing, garnishing with more parsley. Serve with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce (recipe card below).

Game Plan

1) Prep all the vegetables needed for the lentils and the stuffing
2) Get the lentils going and pre-heat the oven
3) While the lentils are cooking and cook the vegetables for the stuffing (minus the kale and herbs) 4) Roast the squash and while it is cooking finish off the stuffing
5) Clean as you go!
6) Stuff the squash and garnish with extra parsley
7) Serve with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce

By Jessica DeMarra

Sprouts & Chocolate http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/

Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce

2014-10-09 06:47:41

Since squash is already fairly sweet, I decided to do a savoury cranberry sauce to balance the dish out. Serve with Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash. This recipe makes about 4 cups and can be made the day ahead. Bring up to room temperature or warm up in a saucepan to serve.

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Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

40 min

Total Time

50 min

Prep Time

10 min

Cook Time

40 min

Total Time

50 min

Ingredients

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Earth Balance traditional spread (or vegan butter of your choice)
1 large yellow onion, peeled, cut in half and chopped about1/4 inch thick
¼ teaspoon fine grain sea salt
2 ripe Bartlett pears, peeled and large diced
¾ cup dry red wine
1 cup water
¼-1/3 cup pure maple syrup
12 ounce bag of cranberries, picked over and rinsed
Pinch of cinnamon
2 springs of thyme

Instructions

In a large saucepan over medium high, add the oil and vegan butter until shimmering. Add the onions and cook for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally until softened. Turn down heat to medium-low, adding 1 tablespoon of water to the onions. Cook for 25-30 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden brown. If your onions are browning too quickly turn down heat.
When the onions are golden brown, add the wine; scraping the brown bits off the bottom of the pan. Cook wine until it is a thicker consistency (like a glaze), about 3 minutes. Add the pears and stir to coat with the oil/butter and wine mixture, cook for 3 minutes.
Add the water, turn up the heat to medium-high heat and bring to boil. Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil. Turn down heat to medium and allow to simmer for 6-7 minutes until most of the cranberries have burst. Remove the thyme before serving.
The sauce will thicken as it cools. Serve warm or at room temperature with Lentil-Stuffed Delicata Squash.

By Jessica DeMarra

Adapted from Cinnamon and Pear Cranberry Sauce

Sprouts & Chocolate http://www.sproutsandchocolate.com/

The post Lentil-Stuffed Roasted Delicata Squash with Savoury Pear & Onion Cranberry Sauce {Vegan & Gluten-Free} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

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Day 3 Vegan MoFo: Savoury Za’atar Socca

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