This Festive Season, instead of a table strewn with the grilled, roasted and fried corpses of slaughtered animals, why not lay out a fantastic spread of fantastic raw food?
Mango Avocado Salad
This really is one of the best combinations ever. Simple, elegant, and sensuous.
1 Large Avocado, peeled, pitted and chopped
1 Tablespoon Lime Juiced
2 Teaspoons Olive Oil
1 Tablespoon Cilantro Leaves
1 Tablespoon Black Sesame Seeds
Instructions: Hand mix all of the ingredients together and serve.
Raw Pumpkin Bread
3/4 cup Almond Pulp*
1/4 cup Golden Flax Meal**
1 cup Pumpkin Puree***
1/2 cup Date Paste****
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. allspice
1/4 tsp. cloves
1/2 smidgen salt
Directions: Mix by hand and form into a loaf about one and a half inches thick.
Dehydrate at 40°C for 8 hours on a non-stick sheet then remove the non-stick sheet and dehydrate for additional 16 hours and enjoy!
Optional: To make a dryer bread, slice the bread and dehydrate for an additional 8 hours.
* To make almond pulp, make almond milk and strain out the pulp.
** To make golden flax meal, put golden flax seeds in a dry blender and blend to a powder. Brown flax meal will also due just fine.
*** To make pumpkin puree, peel and seed a small pumpkin (don’t worry about getting all the stringy part off), roughly chop the pumpkin, and toss it in the food processor. Process until it is a consistent texture, but it will never be smooth.
**** To make date paste, put pitted dates in either a blender or food processor and add as little water as possible to achieve a paste.
Cauliflower Tagine
1 small head of cauliflower
1 turnip, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1 tbs. garlic, minced
1 tbs. shallot, minced
2 dried apricots, diced
2 dates, diced
4 leaves kale, chopped
2 tbs. pine nuts
2 tbs. olive oil
1 tbs. soy sauce
1 tbs. tamarind, soaked at least 30 minutes in 3 tbs. water
2 tsp. cumin seed
2 tsp. corriander seed
1 tsp. fresh tumeric root
1 tbs. cilantro
1 tbs. mint
1 jalapeno, minced
To prepare the cauliflower, you want to break it down to the smallest pieces you can — the best way we’ve found is to grab a large piece and start by snapping off the big stem and begin to “flake” the smaller pieces off by working around the head using your thumb to pull them apart. It’s a little tedious to be sure, but you really want small pieces here.
Add them to a large mixing bowl. Dice the carrot, turnip, dates and apricot into small 1/4” pieces. Mince the jalapeno, shallot and garlic. Shred the kale into 1/4” strips. Add all of these plus the pine nuts to the cauliflower mixture. Add the olive oil and soy sauve, stir to combine. Push the soaked tamarind pulp through a fine mesh strainer over the bowl. Stir to combine. Add the freshly ground cumin seed, coriander seed, grated turmeric root, black pepper, chopped mint and cilantro. Stir to combine.
Check for seasonings — it may need a pinch of sea salt to balance the tamarind. At this point you could eat it as is — or you can dehydrate it for two hours at 40°C to bring all of the flavors together. You may need two dehydrator shelves so it lays in a single layer.
Garam Masala Gobi
1 head cauliflower cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup brazil nuts
1/4 cup olive oil
lemon to taste
3 T garam masala
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 bunch cilantro for garnish
Directions: Place bite size pieces of cauliflower in large bowl. Blend nuts, oil, lemon, cayenne, salt, masala until smooth. Toss cauliflower in sauce and place in a dehydrator 1-2 hours. Sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Don’t have a dehydrator? Use your oven! Place temp settings on low and open the oven door every so often to cool the dish down. Use an oven thermometer to monitor temperatures to try and stay lower than 40°C.
Chocolate Bars
(makes 15-20 pieces)
Nougat filling
1 cup almonds, unsoaked
1 cup cashews, unsoaked
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon water, or more if needed
Caramel
1 cup dates
1/4 cup maple syrup
juice of one half lemon
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ teaspoon sea salt
1 cup water
Milk Chocolate
1 cup cocoa powder
1 cup maple syrup
½ cup coconut oil
¼ cup water
Soak dates in the water and lemon juice for an hour. Reserve soaking water.
Meanwhile, make nougats.
In a coffee grinder, grind cashews into a fine powder. Remove. Process the almonds into a fine powder. Place nut powders in a large bowl. Add honey and water. Stir until mixture is a thick paste-like consistency. Form nougat into miniature candy pieces. Place nougat pieces on a plate and put in the freezer for an hour.
To make the caramel, process soaked dates, coconut oil and sea salt in a blender. Using soaking water one tablespoon at time, blend until you achieve a thick creamy mixture. Spread caramel on top of nougat pieces and return the candy to the freezer while you make the chocolate. In a large bowl, whisk cocoa powder, maple syrup, coconut butter and water together until smooth and creamy. Pour chocolate over candy pieces and freeze an additional hour or until chocolate sets hard.
Meat-Free BBQ “Chicken Fingers”
Batter Ingredients
2 Cups Carrots
2 Cups Sprouted Lentils
3/4 Cup Orange Juice
1/4 Cup Onion
4 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 Tablespoons Honey
1 1/2 Tablespoons Curry
1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning
2 teaspoons Sea Salt
Instructions for the raw version of imitation chicken, delicious served with honey-mustard sauce. First process the carrots in a food processor until diced. Second, add in all of the other ingredients, then blend until well blended. (These should not be completely smooth, but more grainy looking). Then pour onto a suitable baking tray and dehydrate at 40°C for 10 hours. (flip half way through if possible)
Notes: These will seem a little soupy before you dehydrate them, just pour them out and try to build them up as much as possible, you don’t want them to be paper thin. It is very important to use the right amount of orange juice.
Apple-Butternut Soup
10 apples, cored
1 large butternut squash, peeled
2 oranges, peeled
1 lemon, peeled
1 med. red onion, peeled
3 C almond milk
1-1/2 C pumpkin seeds
1 bunch parsley
1/4 C tarragon, dried
In a food processor, combine all ingredients and process thoroughly.