Chelsea Winter Recipes
Supergood plant-based recipes by Chelsea Winter.
French Tomato Tart
This magnificent dish can be served hot, warm or cold, for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner. It’s perfect for a shared table, a picnic or a light meal served al fresco with a fresh salad and a glass of chilled rosé. Oh là là, take me there! Prep 20 minutes, cooking 35 minutes, serves 4-6
Herby cheese spread
1 cup raw cashews (or use tofu; see tips)
¼ cup water
2 tbsp coconut oil, melted
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried dill (or 1 tbsp chopped fresh)
½ tsp salt
¼ tsp finely ground black or white pepper
3 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley and chives
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh sage and thyme (or ½ tsp each dried; optional), plus extra to serve
Tart
1kg ripe juicy tomatoes
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
250g shallots, peeled and halved
big pinch salt
big pinch sugar
350g dairy-free puff pastry
¼ cup canned chickpea liquid (aquafaba), for brushing
To make it gluten-free
Use a GF pastry and mustard.
Place the cashews for the cheese spread in a heatproof bowl or jug and cover with just-boiled water. Leave to soak for 20 minutes or so, then rinse.
Slice the tomatoes about 5mm thick and lay on a couple of layers of paper towel. Sprinkle with salt and press a few more paper towels on top. Leave for 10 minutes.
Place the oil in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium-low heat. Add the shallots along with the salt and sugar and cook, stirring every now and then, for 15-20 minutes until golden and starting to caramelise. Remove from the heat.
Place the drained cashews in a food processor, high-speed
blender or stick blender along with the other cheese spread ingredients, except the fresh herbs, and process until smooth. It may take a while, so be patient and keep scraping down the sides. Stir through the herbs.
Preheat the oven to 190°C fan-bake and set a rack in the lower half of the oven.
If your pastry is pre-rolled, lay it on baking paper on a tray. Otherwise, roll out to 3-4mm thick. Prick all over with a fork. Lightly moisten the edges with water and fold the edges over by 1-2cm, crimping all along with your index finger.
Spread the pastry with the cheese. Top with the shallots and tomato slices. Season with cracked pepper, extra fresh herbs and a little more salt.
Brush the edges of the pastry generously with the aquafaba. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the pastry is golden brown and everything looks lovely and caramelised. Cook for longer if not – the pastry should be nice and crispy, even underneath.
Keeps well for a day or so at room temperature or in the fridge.
Tips
If you prefer, you can use 300g tofu for the cheese instead of the cashews. It’s easier to make in a food processor, but it won’t be quite as creamy.
Veg-Out Lasagne
This dish is deliciously rich and tasty – even grumbly meat-eaters will be showing up for seconds. The thin layers of golden fried courgette, mushroom and eggplant kind of melt together so you don’t get big chunks of anything offensive – perfect for people who aren’t vegetable fans. This recipe doesn’t make the standard enormous vat of lasagne big enough to feed an army, but you can make roughly 1½ times the recipe if you need to feed a crowd. You can add a layer of mashed roasted pumpkin to the lasagne if you like, to bulk it up or in place of something else. I like to wilt some spinach leaves or chopped silverbeet and add a layer of them when I have some on hand. Prep 45 minutes, cooking 1 hour plus resting time, serves 6
Rich tomato sauce
¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed
5 sundried tomatoes, minced
1 stalk rosemary, leaves finely chopped
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes in juice
1½ tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp vegetable stock powder
½ tsp salt
½ tsp finely ground black pepper
Creamy white sauce
3 tbsp grapeseed or other neutral oil (or use a plant-based butter)
¼ cup plain flour
4 cups creamy soy, oat or rice milk
¼ cup nutritional yeast ¼ cup cashew butter (optional)
2 tsp mustard powder (or 1 tbsp Dijon mustard)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp finely ground pepper
Veggie layers
4 courgettes, sliced lengthways very thinly
1 large eggplant, sliced lengthways very thinly
200g Portobello mushrooms, sliced very thinly
3 marinated red capsicums, sliced
To assemble and serve
200g dried egg-free lasagne sheets
grated dairy-free cheese, for topping (optional)
olive oil, for drizzling
basil leaves (optional)
To make it gluten-free
Use GF flour, lasagne sheets and stock. Mustard powder is usually GF, but check the label.
To make the tomato sauce, heat the olive oil in a medium-sized frying pan, heavy-based saucepan or flameproof casserole dish over a medium-low heat. Add the garlic, sundried tomatoes and rosemary and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or so until fragrant but not browned.
Add the tomatoes, sugar, oregano, stock powder, salt and pepper. Stir to combine and simmer gently for about 15 minutes until reduced slightly.
To make the creamy white sauce, place the oil and flour in a medium-sized saucepan over a medium-low heat and cook, stirring constantly, for a couple of minutes until puffy (but not browned). Remove from the heat and add the milk in a slow stream, stirring constantly with a whisk, until incorporated. Add the remaining ingredients, return to a medium heat and cook, stirring constantly with the whisk, for a few minutes until thickened up. Season with extra salt if it needs it. Cover and set aside.
Add a good splash of olive oil to a large frying pan over a medium-high heat. When the pan is nice and hot, add the courgette slices and leave to sizzle until golden on the bottom. Turn over and cook until just tender but not mushy. Season with salt and pepper and set aside. Repeat with the eggplant slices and then the mushrooms. The capsicum doesn’t need frying.
Preheat the oven to 180°C regular bake. Grease a medium-sized baking dish with olive oil.
To assemble, spread a small amount of the tomato sauce over the base of the dish. Cover with a layer of lasagne, a layer of veges, a layer of tomato sauce and some white sauce. Keep layering until it’s all used up – there are no hard and fast rules. It’s good to end on a layer of pasta, then a bit of tomato sauce and/or creamy sauce to top it off.
Sprinkle with the dairy-free cheese, if using, and a drizzle of olive oil.
Season with salt and pepper, cover with foil and bake for 45 minutes.
Remove the foil, turn the oven up to 200°C and cook for another 15 minutes until golden.
Remove from the oven and leave to sit for 10 minutes before serving. Scatter with torn basil leaves if you like.
Hedonistic Hotcakes
You’ll be interested to know that I’ve based this recipe on one from old mate Natalie Portman, of all people (she put mini marshmallows in hers, though). It’s a simple recipe and results in nice fluffy hotcakes in a jif. Prep 10 minutes, cooking 20 minutes, makes 8-10 hotcakes
Hotcakes
2 cups plain flour
¼ cup caster sugar
4½ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
2 cups rice, soy or oat milk
4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp vanilla extract coconut oil, for frying
Serving ideas
maple syrup and a plant-based butter, icing sugar and lemon, banana, berries and coconut yoghurt
To make it gluten-free
Use a GF flour mix without raising agent added. The mixture may be quite fluffy at first, so you can gently smooth each hotcake out in the pan with the back of a spoon, if you like.
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a large mixing bowl. Whisk to combine.
Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and pour in the milk, vinegar and vanilla. Stir gently with a fork until combined and mostly lump-free. The mixture will be puffy, which is ideal.
Heat a (preferably non-stick) frying pan over a medium-low heat. To test whether it’s hot enough, flick a few drops of water into the pan. The drops should dance when it’s ready. If your pan is a really good non-stick one, you might not need any coconut oil. Otherwise, put a teaspoon of oil into the pan, then add about ⅓ cup of mixture per hotcake. Let it cook for a minute or so, until golden brown on the bottom and little holes have appeared on the surface. Flip over and cook for another minute until cooked through.
Keep the hotcakes on a plate in a just-warm oven until ready to serve, then load up with your favourite luscious topping and hoe in like you’re a hungry Homer Simpson.
Crispy Tofu Burgers
I have to be honest and say that, at least for now, I’m done with veggie patties in burgers. I’m a bit of a burger purist and to me the texture is always a bit lacking. So for this book I’ve chosen to forge ahead with other insanely delicious and interesting fillings to mix things up a bit. Tofu never looked so good! Prep 40 minutes, cooking 15 minutes, serves 4-5
2 x 300g blocks firm tofu (organic is best)
½ cup plant-based milk
¼ cup plant-based mayo or aïoli
½ cup plain flour
1½ cups dried breadcrumbs
neutral oil, for frying (e.g., grapeseed)
Sauce
½ cup sweet chilli sauce
2 tbsp soft brown sugar
2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sesame oil
2 cloves garlic, crushed
zest and juice of 1 lime (or ½ lemon)
Slaw
¼ large red or green cabbage, finely shredded
1 large carrot, grated
¹⁄³ cup finely chopped roasted peanuts
¹⁄³ cup plant-based mayo or aïoli
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
To serve
burger buns or plain fresh buns
plant-based mayo or aïoli
To make it gluten-free
Ensure that your breadcrumbs, flour, buns and soy sauce are all GF.
Slice the tofu into either two or three slabs, depending on how thick you want the patties.
Mix the milk and mayo in one shallow bowl, place the flour in another and the breadcrumbs in a third bowl. Have a clean board or plate ready to put the crumbed tofu patties on. Season the tofu patties generously on both sides with salt and pepper. Gently dip each patty first in the flour, dusting off the excess, then in the milk mixture, then coat it with the breadcrumbs. If you want them really crispy, you can dip again in the milk mixture and coat in another layer of breadcrumbs. If you can, refrigerate the patties uncovered for 30 minutes to firm up.
To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
To make the slaw, combine all the ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Season with salt and pepper.
Heat about 1cm oil (or enough to come halfway up a patty) in a medium-sized frying pan over a medium-high heat. When it’s nice and hot (the tip of a wooden spoon handle dipped in should bubble when it’s ready), add a few tofu patties and fry for a few minutes until deep golden and crispy on each side. Set aside to drain on a wire rack set over paper towels while you fry the rest.
If you’re using GF buns, you may want to grill them just before serving; if you’re using nice soft buns, you may not need to.
To assemble, layer the burger up with the bottom bun, mayo or aïoli, a tofu patty, slaw, sauce and top bun. Squish down and enjoy!
Tips
If you prefer a thicker sauce, simmer it very gently in a small saucepan for a few minutes, then allow to cool. You can also add the juice of 1 orange for more tang if you’re doing it this way.
If you can’t be bothered crumbing the tofu, just dust the slabs in well-seasoned flour and fry on a high heat until crispy.
Chelsea’s Famous 10-Second Aïoli
The holy grail of all things garlicky and creamy. I no longer use store-bought aïoli – this stuff is inexpensive, lightning-fast to prepare and goes with just about anything. Smeared on sandwiches and burgers, served alongside roast potatoes or veges, dolloped on just about any type of dinner for a creamy element, used as a dip for chips. We go through it at a slightly worrying rate of knots. Make a double batch if you have a few people in your household. Leave out the garlic if you want a plain but still insanely creamy aïoli. Prep 5 minutes, makes about 300ml
1 cup grapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)
½ cup creamy soy milk (organic is best)
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp white or black pepper
2 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Bullet blender: You don’t need to crush the garlic clove for this one. The most important thing to remember here is not to shake it up first, or it won’t emulsify. Place the oil, milk, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in the bullet cup, twist the base on, then very gently turn it over and place it on the machine. Let it sit for 30 seconds so it separates out into layers. Only then, whizz for just a few seconds or until it turns thick and creamy. Remove the lid and stir through the lemon juice and vinegar.
Stick blender: Easiest for clean up. Place the oil, milk, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper in a tall, narrow container. Your stick blender may have come with one, or use the big cup of a bullet blender, or any tall plastic container or jar (about 1 litre capacity). Let the ingredients sit in the container for 30 seconds to settle. Stand the blender so that it sits firmly at the base of the container, and turn it on without moving it for about 5 seconds. As the mixture starts to emulsify, gently move the blender up and down to combine the ingredients. Add the lemon juice and vinegar, give it a stir, and that’s it!
Blender: Place the milk, mustard, garlic, salt and pepper (not the oil) in the blender and turn it on to a medium speed. Slowly drizzle in the oil in a very thin stream until it’s all used up (make it very thin and slow at first, then you can speed up as you get past halfway). The mixture should thicken and emulsify into a nice creamy aïoli by the end. Add the lemon juice and vinegar and stir through.
Storage: Transfer to a clean glass jar (or airtight container). It keeps in the fridge for a week. It doesn’t freeze well.
Tips
I’ve tried this recipe with other plant-based milks and it’s just not as creamy, so I really recommend you use soy. If you can find organic as well as non-GMO, jackpot!
Don’t try making this with extra virgin olive oil, as the flavour will be overpowering.
However you can substitute ¼-⅓ of a cup of it if you like the flavour.