12 Jun 6 Delicious Vegan Recipes To Try

6 Delicious Vegan Recipes To Try In Lockdown

If there was ever a good time to try new vegan recipes, it’s during lockdown. We still need to stay home which is ideal for creative activities such as cooking new dishes. Some of our selection are easy, some complex, but all super tasty and 100% vegan. Try these recipes for yourself!

Crispy Tofu

From Tofu All The Way by Romy of Romy London.

Are you one of those people who try hard to enjoy tofu?!

We have discovered hands down the most delicious, versatile recipe for tofu chunks by Romy, a London-based vegan chef, TV personality, blogger, and friend of the editor! The crispy tofu recipe is rustic, super yummy and goes with any Asian recipes.

It comes from Romy London‘s super generous free ebook Tofu All The Way, which contains 10 outstanding tofu vegan recipes. As well as the one featured here, they include your Tofu Teriyaki, Tofu Katsu Curry, KFC-style Tofu, Sriracha Nuggets, Ramen and even Tofish!

The ebook is available to those who sign up to Romy’s newsletter via her website! Follow her on Instagram here.

Ingredients

1 pack extra-firm tofu (280g) 3-5 tbsp cornflour
2 tsp garlic powder (optional) oil for frying (rapeseed or olive oil)
For this basic recipe to work out, it’s vital that you use extra-firm tofu!

Equipment

Tofu press, alternatively a clean kitchen towel and two chopping boards + something to weigh one down
bowl
Non-stick frying pan

Method

1 Drain the tofu and add it to your tofu press for a minimum of 30 minutes (or up to 2 days, keep in the fridge). If you don’t have a tofu press, you can press your tofu wrapped into a clean kitchen towel in between two chopping boards. Place something heavy onto the top board to weigh it down and allow it to gently and slowly press the tofu.
2 Use your hands to rip the tofu into bite-size chunks. Doing this by hand creates more interesting shapes and textures as well as more surface on your tofu to become crispy.
3 Heat your oil in a non-stick frying pan on medium/high heat. You need to use enough to keep the bottom of the pan oily.
4 Drop your tofu chunks into a bowl of cornflour & garlic powder and generously coat them.
5 Place the tofu chunks in the hot oil in a single layer. Reduce the heat to medium after 1 minute and manually flip your tofu chunks once they become crispy on the bottom (use chopsticks to make this easier!).
6 Once crispy on all sides, drain the tofu chunks on a piece of paper towel.

Add sauces to your crispy fried tofu or serve them with salads, buddha bowls etc.

Tiramisu in a Jar

From: Eat More Vegan by Luke Hines, Published by Plum, RRP $39.99, Photography by Mark Roper.

Serves 4

Ingredients

3 tablespoons espresso, cold
4 tablespoons cacao powder, plus extra
to sprinkle
Luke’s Chocolate (see page 204),
coarsely grated, to serve (optional)
SPONGE
100 g (1 cup) almond meal
125 g (1 cup) arrowroot or tapioca flour 3 tablespoons coconut sugar
1⁄2 teaspoon gluten-free baking powder 1⁄4 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) coconut milk
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) melted coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or powder

Coffee Cream

200 g (11⁄4 cups) cashew nuts, soaked in water for 2 hours, drained
125 ml (1⁄2 cup) espresso, cold
3 tablespoons maple syrup, coconut
nectar or monk fruit syrup
2 tablespoons coconut cream
2 teaspoons melted coconut oil

Coconut Cream

4 x 400 ml cans coconut cream, refrigerated upside-down overnight
2 tablespoons maple syrup, coconut nectar or monk fruit syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or powder

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C and line a 20 cm x 30 cm baking tin with baking paper.

To make the sponge, add the dry ingredients to a large bowl and mix well to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk the wet ingredients. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix everything well to form a batter. Pour the batter into the prepared tin and bake for 15–20 minutes, or until light golden brown and a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean. Set aside to cool completely.

For the coffee cream, place all the ingredients in a food processor or high-speed blender and blitz until smooth. (You may need to stop and scrape down the side with a spatula a few times to ensure everything gets mixed well.) Refrigerate until needed.

For the coconut cream, remove the cans of coconut cream from the fridge, taking care not to shake the cans as you go. Scoop the solid set coconut cream from the cans into the bowl of a food processor or high-speed blender, being careful not to add any of the clear coconut liquid (keep this for using in smoothies, sauces and curries).

Add the remaining ingredients and blitz until smooth and fluffy. (Be mindful not to over-blend here as you will lose the fluffiness.) Transfer to the fridge until needed.

Fried Gnocchi with Garlic Mushrooms

From: Vegan Foodporn: 100 Easy and Delicious Recipes, from Lotus Publishing, by Bianca Zapatka.

Serves 1

Ingredients

300 g (10½ oz) gnocchi (recipe on p. 106)
1 red onion
1 garlic clove
250 g (2 cups) mushrooms
2 tbsp. olive oil
salt
pepper

For the topping

1 tbsp. pine nuts
basil and parsley pesto (recipe on p. 72)
fresh basil
nutritional yeast flakes

Method

Make your own gnocchi or cook shop-bought gnocchi according to the packet instructions.

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Clean and slice the mushrooms.
Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the gnocchi on both sides. Add the garlic, onion and mushrooms to the pan and continue to fry until everything is golden brown and crispy. Season with salt and pepper.

Toast the pine nuts in a separate dry frying pan until golden brown.
Serve the fried gnocchi with pesto, toasted pine nuts, fresh basil and yeast flakes.

Conscious Chocolate Orange & Tangerine Martini

From Conscious Chocolate!

Chocolate Orange Ganache

120g Conscious Orange & Tangerine – chopped
200ml oat,soy or almond or coconut cream

Orange & Tangerine Martini (makes 2)

1 cup chocolate ganache
50ml vodka
100ml vegan cream (preferably almond)
Juice of half an orange

Method

At least a couple of hours before you want to make your cocktails, make the chocolate & orange tangerine ganache.
In a bain-marie, melt the chocolate on a low heat.
When fully melted, take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.
Pour in the vegan cream.
Whisk and mix together until smooth and cool fully.
Shake all orange & tangerine martini ingredients together in shaker with plenty of ice.
Strain into two chilled glasses.
Dip glass rim in shaved chocolate and orange peel.

Broccoli Masala with Cauliflower Rice

From: Eat More Vegan by Luke Hines, Published by Plum, Photography by Mark Roper.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, cut into 4 cm chunks
400 g can diced tomatoes
5 cm piece of ginger, peeled and
roughly chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1⁄2 teaspoon sea salt
160 g (1 cup) macadamia nuts, toasted
and crushed
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 teaspoon chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric
500 ml (2 cups) vegetable stock (see
page 130 for homemade)
250 ml (1 cup) coconut cream
1 cinnamon stick
1 large head of broccoli, cut into florets 2 tablespoons coriander leaves

Cauliflower Rice (makes 800g)

1 head of cauliflower (about 800g), florets and stalk roughly chopped
2 tablespoons coconut oil sea salt

Method

Set a steamer basket over a saucepan of simmering water. Add the sweet potato, cover with a lid and steam for 10 minutes, or until tender and easily pierced with a fork. Drain and set aside.

Add the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, salt and half the macadamias to a food processor and blitz until smooth.

Melt the coconut oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the chilli powder, ground coriander, cumin and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 1 minute, or until the spices are lovely and fragrant.

Pour the tomato mixture into the pan and cook, stirring, for 2–3 minutes. Add the stock, coconut cream and cinnamon stick and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, uncovered and stirring occasionally, for 10 minutes, or until the sauce has reduced slightly. Add the sweet potato and broccoli, cover with a lid and simmer for a further 8 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender and the sauce has thickened up nicely.

Meanwhile, make the cauliflower rice. Place the chopped cauliflower in a food processor and pulse into tiny rice-like pieces (this usually takes six to eight pulses). Melt the coconut oil in a large frying pan over medium heat, add the cauliflower rice and saute for 4–6 minutes, or until softened. Season with salt to taste.

Remove the cinnamon stick from the curry and divide among bowls. Scatter over the coriander leaves and the remaining macadamias, and serve with the cauliflower rice.

Chocolate Mug Cake

From: Vegan Foodporn: 100 Easy and Delicious Recipes, from Lotus Publishing, by Bianca Zapatka.

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 small mashed banana
2½ tbsp. plant milk of your choice
1 tbsp. nut butter
50 g (⅓ cup) flour
1 tbsp. cocoa powder
½ tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. sugar
a pinch of vanilla extract
coconut oil for greasing

For the topping (as preferred):

Chocolate sauce
Granola
Berries

Method

Mix the banana with the milk, nut butter and vanilla extract. Mix the flour with the cocoa powder, baking powder and sugar and add to the banana mixture. Mix well to form a thick, smooth batter.

Grease a microwavable mug with coconut oil and fill with the batter. Bake the mug cake for approx. 3 minutes in the microwave. Add your favourite toppings and enjoy!

Give these vegan recipes a go today! We’ve got nothing but time and cooking is super therapeutic.

For more on plant-based food, click here.