The Vegan Horde - Cast Iron Chef Recipes
Megan Hobza
Hi Veganistas!
I'm sending you The Vegan Horde's recipes from the Cast Iron Chef contest in Whittier on Saturday. We went up against Team Meat and were judged by avid carnivores. AND WE WON.
The secret ingredient was summer fruits, giving us a broad selection to work with, from melons and berries to stone fruit and figs to tomatoes and peppers. Each team made an entree, dessert, chef's choice and an authentic medieval dish.
The Vegan Horde: Medieval Dish
These mock entrails look disgusting and taste amazing. We pretended the vegan team had been driven mad by the smell of Team Meat's food and had gone over to the other side. Because so few people eat organ meats, a lot of folks were fooled by these realistic fake entrails. But, they're just little fruit donuts. Who doesn't like fried nuts and fruit? It's a nice snack food, like something you'd want to eat at the movies. I ate a whole string myself yesterday.
Trayne Roste: A Soltety of Mock Entrails (Mock entrails of batter-fried fruit & nuts)
Soy-free. No gluten-free or nut-free option.
*Indicates summer fruit ingredient
8 pieces strong cotton string 18" long
1/4 cup whole almonds with holes drilled through them (not even kidding)
18 dried figs, halved*
6 oz dates, halved
1/2 cup raisins*
1 1/2 cups oil
7 oz ale (not too hoppy)
1 1/3 cups flour
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 ground ginger
dash of salt
Using a sharp needle, thread the dried fruits and nuts onto the strings. Alternate the fruits and nuts to achieve an uneven appearance. Set aside. Beat together beer, flour, salt and spices. Dip the strings of fruit and nuts in the batter to coat. Fry in oil over high heat one at a time. Fry until golden and drain. (Serve on collard leaves.)
Taken from Harleian MS 4016, circa 1450, translated by Cindy Renfrow in Take a Thousand Eggs or More, 1990, p. 219.
The Vegan Horde: Chef’s Choice
Not everyone likes borscht, but this raw soup is a little different -- closer to a Vampire from a juice bar, but more substantial and seasoned/garnished recognizably as a soup. It gets rave reviews even from folks who don't love beets.
Raw Mexican Borscht
Gluten-free and soy-free. Nut-free option available.
*Indicates summer fruit ingredient
Ingredients per food processor batch:
2 cups beet juice
1 cup carrot juice with 1 celery stalk
3 plums, pitted*
4 medium tomatoes*
2 Persian cucumbers*
1-2 chile peppers, to taste*
1 small garlic glove
¼ sweet onion
1 fresh California Laurel bay leaf, minced
½ bunch parsley, chopped
½ bunch cilantro, chopped
3 green onions, chopped
2-3 Tbsp key lime juice
1 T ground black pepper
¼+ c olive oil (no nut oils)
Salt to taste
Juice the beets, carrots and celery. Blend all ingredientsin a Blentec/Cuisinart. Serve with dollop ofcashew sour cream (recipe below) in shallow bowls, and garnish with minced seeded chili pepper.
Nut-free option has no sour cream.
Cashew Sour Cream
½ bag cashews, soaked overnight
Mango powder*
Nutritional yeast
Salt (a pinch)
Sunflower oil (a little)
Apple cider vinegar (a little)
Blend in a Blentec, add seasonings to taste.
The Vegan Horde: Entree
We'll be serving this at the Tuesday Dinner at HM157 on August 30. It's incredibly complex, but worth it.
Grilled Peaches on Saffron Rice with Creme Fraiche and Lavender Lentils
Gluten-free and soy-free. Nut-free option available.
*Indicates summer fruit ingredient
Grill on Foreman, lightly oiled with:
Olive oil
20 figs, halved after grilling*
10 white peaches, halved before grilling and pitted* (you may parboil peaches to remove skins first, if preferred)
Per plate: Rice, creme fraiche, lentils, ½ grilled peach and 2 grilled fig halves, and top with a dollop of pate. Nut-free option has only lentils and fruit (no rice, pate or creme fraiche).
French Lentils with Lavender
Boil together:
1 c French green lentils
1 T lavender flowers
1 bay leaf
When lentils are cooked, drain. Discard seasonings. Mix with:
1/4 c olive oil (no nut oils)
1/8 c seasoned rice wine vinegar
1/4 minced onion
1 minced clove garlic
1/4 bunch chiffonaded scallions
Salt and pepper to taste
1 T minced thyme
Taste and add more oil, vinegar, salt or pepper as needed. Makes 1 quart.
Cashew Creme Fraiche
1.5 c cashews, soaked
4 T. Lemon Juice
Salt, to taste
In Blentec, blend water, cashews, lemon juice and salt. Process until smooth.
Saffron Rice
3 c brown rice, boiled with 6 c water and
½ c sunflower oil
6 threads saffron
1 T turmeric
1 t each cayenne, cumin, salt
2 t cinnamon
1+ T sugar
Toss with:
2 c raisins*
1 c fried almonds
½ c chopped dates
Curried Nut Pate
• 1 small clove of garlic
• ½”x½” cube of fresh ginger, peeled
• ¼ onion
• 1 sm. chile pepper*, chopped
• 1/3 c. carrot, chopped
• 4 TB grapeseed oil
• 1½ TB curry powder
• 2 tsp honey
• ½ tsp cumin
• ¼ tsp coriander
• 1 tsp each dill, salt
• 1.5 c. pecans, soaked for 4 hours, drained & rinsed
The Vegan Horde: Dessert
This is our classic chocoloate mousse, with ripe red Fresno chile peppers added. I like the spice, for variety, and it reminds me we can make this mousse a lot of different ways (with candied orange rinds and Cointreau, with peppermint, with rum, etc.)
Aztec Chocolate Mousse
Nut-free, gluten-free, soy-free. Please note coconut oil ingredient.
*Indicates summer fruit ingredient
- 6 ripe avocados*
- 1+ ripe red Fresno chile pepper* (can parboil and remove skin, if desired)
- 2 c mixed sweetener (agave nectar, maple syrup, honey, brown rice syrup)
- ¼ c coconut oil
- 1.5 c raw cacao powder
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1 T Kirschwasser
- ½ t sea salt
Slice each avocado open and scoop out the insides. Blend with chile pepper in a food processor or blender. Add remaining ingredients. Blend or process the mixture until fully blended. The mixture should be smooth and the color of chocolate. You can instantly serve the mousse or let it cool in the fridge for at least an hour.
Thanks for reading! To eat food like this with us, Like us at the Tuesday Dinners at HM157 and Beyond!