What to serve vegan party guests?

If you’re worried about how to impress your vegan guests, here are some great ideas from nutritional therapist and author, Eve Kalinik. An expert on good gut health and passionate about creating healthy dishes that don’t compromise on flavour, Eve’s recipes are perfect for vegans – but you’ll struggle to keep the non-vegans away from them too!

 

Tofu Coconut-Crumbed Dippers with Satay Sauce

 

These dippers are a fun, delicious vegan dish that’s great for the gut. I have used a ‘breadcrumb’ mix of cashews, peanut butter and desiccated coconut to give a sweet taste and crispy texture that go brilliantly with this easy satay sauce.

 

Serves 2 as a main course

 

280–325g non-GMO organic plain tofu

65g cashews

20g desiccated coconut

1 teaspoon unsweetened peanut butter

Pinch mineral-rich salt

150g coconut flour

6 tablespoons coconut aminos

 

Satay sauce:

1 tablespoon unsweetened peanut butter

1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut yogurt

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon coconut aminos (or you can substitute tamari)

 

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and line a baking tray with baking parchment.

 

Prepare the tofu by patting dry and cutting in half lengthwise. Then cut each half into three and finally cut each of these sections in half diagonally, making 12 triangles in total.

 

To make the coconut crumb, put the cashews, coconut, peanut butter and a pinch of salt into a food processor and pulse until you get fine, even crumbs. Put this mixture to one side.

 

Next, prepare your dipping stations. Put 6 tablespoons of coconut flour on a large plate. Put the coconut aminos in a bowl. On another large plate, put 6 tablespoons of coconut flour and 6 tablespoons of the coconut crumb and stir to combine evenly. Put your tofu pieces through the dipping stations: first into the straight coconut flour to coat evenly, then into the aminos, turning to get all of the tofu covered, and finally into the coconut crumb mix, making sure that the pieces are thoroughly coated. Place them on the baking tray. Bake for 20 minutes and then turn carefully and return to the oven for a further 10 minutes.

While the tofu is cooking, mix together all the ingredients for the satay sauce in a small bowl. Divide the tofu dippers between two plates and serve with the sauce.

 

 

Margherita Cauli Pizza

 

I created this for a vegan friend of mine who was diagnosed coeliac and desperately missed pizza. Feeling entirely uninspired by a lot of the gluten-free versions, I’m happy to report that this recipe did not disappoint. The recipe doesn’t have a flour base and instead uses cauliflower and ground almonds, which give a really lovely, almost crunchy, texture.

 

Makes 1 pizza

 

½ medium–large cauliflower, cut roughly into florets

3 tablespoons ground flaxseed

50g ground almonds

½ teaspoon dried oregano

¼ teaspoon garlic powder

¼ teaspoon mineral-rich salt

 

Cashew cheese:

65g cashews

4 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes

Generous pinch mineral-rich salt

Juice of ½ lemon

120ml filtered water

 

Topping:

1 tablespoon ghee or organic unsalted butter

1 red onion, peeled and thinly sliced

10–12 cherry tomatoes, sliced in half

1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed

Basil leaves, roughly torn

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6 and line a baking sheet with baking parchment.

 

Place the cauliflower florets in a food processor and pulse until you have a fine rice-like texture.

 

In a large bowl, mix the ground flaxseed with 6 tablespoons of filtered water to get a sticky texture. Add the almonds, oregano, garlic powder and salt, along with the cauliflower, and use your hands to mix together to create a ‘dough’. Spread this on the baking sheet to form a circle about 5mm thick and place in the oven for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool and crisp.

 

To make the cashew cheese, place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until you have a smoothish texture.

 

To make the topping, heat the ghee or butter in a frying pan and sauté the onion until soft. Add the tomatoes and then the garlic and cook for a further 2 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir through the basil leaves.

 

To assemble, spread the cashew cheese over the pizza base and then add the tomato topping. Finish with a generous pinch of mineral-rich salt.

 

 

Celeriac and Courgette Crispy Fries

 

These are a take on regular fries with an almond crumb to give them a distinctive crunch. They are excellent for when you have guests and want something to dunk into dips like the raw beets dip below

 

Serves 3–4

 

1 celeriac, peeled and cut into 7.5 x 2.5cm batons

2 courgettes, trimmed into cut into similar sized batons

50g ground almonds

¼ teaspoon mineral-rich salt

 

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Gas 6. Line a baking tray with baking parchment.

 

Place the celeriac and courgetti batons in a steamer for 10 minutes. In a large bowl, combine the ground almonds and salt. Add the steamed veggies and coat thoroughly, then lay them on the baking tray and place in the oven for 30–35 minutes until crispy. Leave to cool for 5 minutes before serving.

 

 

Raw Beets Dip

 

Beetroot has a myriad of benefits: it contains protective antioxidant compounds and is an excellent source of fibre for the gut. All too often we dive into shop-bought dips without much thought, but they can contain hidden ingredients that are not so healthy.

 

Makes 1 small bowl

 

1 beetroot, peeled and roughly chopped

1 garlic clove, peeled

3 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf parsley

3 tablespoons tahini

3 tablespoons cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsweetened coconut yogurt

2 tablespoons pine nuts

1 teaspoon ground cumin

Juice of ½ lemon

½ teaspoon mineral-rich salt

 

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until combined (it won’t be entirely smooth). You may need to stop and scrape to get an even consistency. Transfer to a sealable glass or ceramic container and store in the fridge for up to 3–4 days.

 

 

Recipes from from Be Good To Your Gut by Eve Kalinik