Vegan Laksa
Diverse yourself in the delicious range of vegan-style laksa’s.
Ingredients
• 1 can (400ml) coconut milk
• 1 litre (4 cups) vegetable stock
• 3 tbsp sugar 2 tsp sea salt
• juice of ½ lime plus 1 whole, quartered lime for serving
• 300g hokkien or fresh egg noodles 100g rice vermicelli
• 100g tofu puffs (or extra firm tofu), sliced diagonally into triangles
• 120g kale leaves 100g bean sprouts
• handful crispy fried shallots/onions handful of coriander leaves • finely sliced red chilli (optional)
Laksa paste
• 4 eschalots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
• 20g (2.5cm piece) ginger, peeled and sliced
• 2 stalks lemongrass (soft white stem only), sliced
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp dried red chilli flakes
• 1 tbsp sambal oelek (Indonesian chilli paste)
• 4 curry leaves (dried or fresh), roughly sliced
• 3 makrut lime leaves, roughly sliced
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
Steps
1. To make the laksa paste, add all the paste ingredients into a blender or food processor and puree until it is smooth. Heat a large pot on medium-low, add the paste and cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring constantly, until it is fragrant and starting to stick to the bottom of the pot. Stir in the coconut milk, vegetable stock, sugar and season with 2 teaspoons of sea salt. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Squeeze in the juice of ½ lime and taste. If it's too sweet, add another pinch of salt.
2. Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to the boil and add both types of noodles (hokkien/fresh egg noodles usually have the same cooking time, but if you're not sure check the times on the package) and cook according to packet instructions. When the noodles are al dente, drain, refresh in cold water and drain again. Divide the noodles into 4 bowls.
3. Add the tofu puffs and kale to the broth and cook for 30 seconds until the leaves are bright green. Ladle the broth over the noodles. Top with bean sprouts, crispy fried shallots/onions, coriander leaves, lime wedge and fresh chilli.
We credit this recipe to Goodfood.com.au
Loaded sweet potato fries with green tahini, harissa and zaatar salt
This hearty appetizer is exactly what you have been craving.
Ingredients
• 2 tbsp zaatar
• ½ tbsp salt flakes
• 1kg small sweet potatoes, scrubbed, cut lengthways into thick chips
• 1½ tbsp olive oil
• Few coriander leaves to scatter (optional) salt and pepper to season
• Harissa
• 1 tbsp quality harissa paste 1 tbsp olive oil
• Green tahini
• 2 garlic cloves (I used black garlic but whatever you have on hand is great) leaves from 1 small bunch flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
• leaves from ½ small bunch coriander, roughly chopped (reserve the stems for another use)
• juice and zest of 1 lime
• ¼ cup tahini 2 tsp honey
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil
• ¼ cup icy cold water
Steps
1. Preheat the oven to 170C fan-forced (190C conventional).
2. Mix together the zaatar and salt in a small bowl and set aside.
3. Line a large flat baking tray with baking paper and spread over the sweet potato chips. Drizzle with 1½ tablespoons of olive oil and toss to coat. Season with some of the zaatar salt. Roast until golden and crisp, about 45 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, add the green tahini ingredients, except for the icy water, to a blender and briefly blitz to combine. Slowly drizzle the water until relatively smooth. Aim for a runny-yoghurt-like consistency – if it is too thick, slowly add more icy water.
5. In a small bowl, mix together the harissa and remaining one tablespoon of olive oil.
6. Remove the chips from the oven and generously drizzle the green tahini over. Drizzle enough that each chip gets "a taste", but don't drown them in sauce (you will probably have some left over – it makes a great salad dressing and will keep for a week in the fridge). Dollop with harissa, scatter with few coriander leaves, if using, and season with remaining zaatar salt. Serve piping hot
We credit this delicious recipe to Katrina Meynink with Goodfood.com.au
