Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey – Recipes

Episode 9

Soy Bean Falafel Pita 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 1 hour  
Serves: 4 

Ingredients

Falafel  
1 bunch parsley, chopped 
2 slices of bread, blitzed into breadcrumbs  
Big pinch salt 
½ tsp smoked paprika 
½ bicarb 
1½ tbsp chickpea flour 
½ tsp baking powder 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
5 spring onions, finely chopped 
3 cloves garlic, minced 
20ml extra virgin olive oil 
3 cracks of black pepper

Vegetable oil, for frying 
1 red onion, thinly sliced  
40ml red wine vinegar 
More parsley 
2 carrots, grated  
1 cucumber 
1 tsp sumac 
½ lemon – juice only 
100g hummus 
4 flatbreads 

Method

• Soak the soybeans overnight.  Pressure cook for 15 minutes.   
• Place the beans, bread crumbs, salt, smoked paprika, bi-carb, baking powder, spring onions, minced garlic, cumin seeds, pepper, olive oil and chickpea flour in a large bowl and mash with a potato masher until everything is broken down. The mixture should be mashed until it becomes combined and slightly rough.  If there are some full beans that is fine too this doesn’t have to be perfect.  The different sizes of the soybeans create a better texture at the end. 
• Roll into balls and set aside. Heat some vegetable oil in a pan over medium heat, fry the falafels until golden brown on both sides.  
• Thinly slice the red onion and place in the red wine vinegar.  
• Chop a few bunches of parsley. Grate the carrot.  
• Cut the cucumber into long strips and place in a bowl with oil, sumac, salt and lemon juice. 
• Warm the flatbreads in the oven until nice and warm. Cut the top off the flatbread and push 3 soybean falafels down the centre and with a fork, squish them down.  Then add the onion, cucumber, carrot and parsley and finally a generous amount of hummus. Drizzle over a squeeze of lemon to serve.  
• Roll the baby up and enjoy. ‘

Cornbread with Zucchini Tomato Salad 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 
Time: 40 minutes  
Serves: 6 

Ingredients

2½ cups cornmeal or polenta 
1¾ cup oat milk 
½ tsp baking powder 
½ tsp bi-carbonate 
2 tsp salt 
2 tbsp flaxseed mixed with 4 tbsp water 
½ cup + 2 tbsp vegetable oil 
4 tbsp cultured oat butter, softened  
Pinch salt

Zucchini Tomato Salad 
1 yellow zucchini (green will be fine too) 
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil  
Pinch salt 
1 punnet ripe cherry tomatoes (different colours if possible) 
1 bunch basil 
1 bunch parsley 
1 bunch dill 
2 tsp fennel seeds 

Dressing  
2 tbsp golden syrup 
4 tbsp lemon juice 
8 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
½ tsp salt & pepper 

Method

• Preheat your oven to 220C.  
• Place a 10 or 12-inch pan into your pre-heated oven.  It is important that this is searing hot as it will create an amazing crunch bottom and sides.  If you don’t have a cast-iron then a heavy-based frypan will work well enough. 
• Place everything into a bowl and mix until combined.  Don’t work it too hard as you want the mixture to be slightly crumbly.  This is a dryer style bread, so it really craves liquids as a topping. 
• Pull the pan out of the oven and onto your stove with an element on high to keep the temp of the pan.  Add the reserved tablespoon of oil in the pan and let it start smoking.  
• Pour in the mixture (please be gentle not to splash yourself here) spread the mixture evenly with the back of a spoon or spatula.  Let it cook for 1 minute on the pan then place it in the oven for 12 minutes, check with a skewer, if it comes out clean it’s done.  
• Take the cornbread out of the oven and let it cool in the pan.  By letting the mixture cool, you are letting the bread set and become solid.  This will mean the bread won’t break or crack when transferred to a chopping board.  Place the oat butter on top of the cornbread and spread it around so it soaks up all the flavour. 
• Roughly chop the zucchini, toss with some olive oil and salt and pour into a hot pan. Cook for a minute or so, or until the zucchinis have coloured but haven’t cooked through, add to a bowl season with a pinch of salt and add fennel seeds. Cut the tomatoes into different shapes and add to the zucchini. Pick the leaves from the basil, parsley and dill and run a knife through them to break up lightly but keep them chunky.  Throw them in the bowl as well. 
• In a jar use a stick blender to combine the golden syrup, lemon juice and salt. Slowly add the olive oil in the jar, continue to blitz until the dressing has combined.  
• Pour the dressing into the salad and mix it all together. 
• Slice a nice slice of cornbread and place the salad next to it.  Finishing with a good sprinkle of salt. 

Whipped Hummus 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 
Time: 15 minutes 
Serves: 1-2 cups worth 

 Ingredients

1 x (400g) can chickpeas, ½ the aquafaba (liquid in the tin) reserved  
¼ clove garlic 
1 lemon, juiced  
3 tbsp tahini 
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 
Salt & pepper  

Method

• Drain the chickpeas, but reserve the liquid.  
• In a blender place the chickpeas (minus the liquid), garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, salt and pepper, and blend to a smooth paste.  In a separate bowl whisk the aquafaba until it has aerated and become light.  Then whisk through the hummus mixture.  
• Pour more olive oil over the top to serve.  

Chai-spiced Granola with Poached Prunes & Nut Mylk 

Recipe by: Alice Zaslavsky 
Time: 1 hour (+ overnight soaking time)  
Serves: makes approx. 1kg 

Ingredients

Dry ingredients 
2 cups oats 
1 cup brown rice flakes 
1 cup coconut flakes 
½ tsp ground cardamom  
½ cup roughly chopped macadamia nuts 
½ cup roughly crushed almonds 
1 cup dried apricot 
1 cup dried cranberry  
½ cup sunflower seeds 
½ cup pepitas 
1 tsp salt flakes 
1 tsp cinnamon  

Wet ingredients 
1 orange, zest and juice 
½ cup maple syrup 
½ cup veg/peanut oil 
30g wet chai mix (my favourite is Monks Chai) 

Macadamia milk 
2 cups raw macadamia nuts 
4 cups filtered water 
1 pinch salt flakes 

Poached prunes 
250g un-pitted prunes 
1 cinnamon quill 
2-3 star anise 
5-6 cardamom pods 
5-6 cloves 
1 cup water, boiled 

To serve (optional) 
Coconut yoghurt  
Banana (or a fruit of your choice), sliced  

Method

• Preheat oven to 160C and line an oven tray with baking paper. 
• Pop all of your chosen dry ingredients into a big bowl.  
• Meanwhile, heat the maple syrup, oil, and chai in a small saucepan until it starts to bubble. Remove from the heat and add your orange juice.  
• Pour the syrup over the dry ingredients through a fine sieve and stir together with a wooden spoon or silicone spatula.  
• Spread granola mix over the lined oven tray. Whack into the oven.  
• After 5 minutes, pull the tray out and stir the mix around. Do this again 3 more times, for 20 minutes in total (or 25 minutes if you prefer slightly more golden granola!). On the last stir around, mix through your orange zest.  
• Allow the mix to cool on the tray.  
• Once the granola has cooled, transfer to an airtight container(s) and store in a cool dark place for up to 3 months.  
• For the macadamia nut milk, blitz macadamias and filtered water together, then pass through a clean muslin cloth or nut mylk bag. Store in the fridge for up to 48 hours. Nut mylks will separate, so give it a little stir before you use it.   
• For the prunes, boil a cup of water, and pour over prunes and spices in a glass container with a lid (a pyrex is perfect). Allow to steep overnight.  
• Serve with macadamia milk, coconut yoghurt (born cultured is my preference), poached prunes, banana, or just scoff straight out of the jar.  

Episode 8

Asian Style Guac  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 15 minutes 
Serves: 4-6 

Ingredients

3 avocados  
½ shallot, diced   
3 kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced  
1 red chilli, seed removed, finely diced 
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil 
2-3 limes 
2 tsp coconut aminos – mash 
Salt  
2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil  

To serve 
1 tsp black sesame seeds 
½ bunch chives 
1 packet corn chips  

Method

• Add the avocados, shallot, lime leaves, chilli, sesame oil, juice of 2 limes and the coconut aminos to a bowl. Mash to bring everything together. Taste and season with salt and extra lime if it needs it. Loosen with extra virgin olive oil and stir through.  
• Spoon into a serving bowl, top with black sesame seeds and chives. Serve with corn chips. 

Dark Chocolate Tart 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 2 hours  
Serves: 10-12

 Ingredients

Pastry 
200g all-purpose flour 
125g vegan butter 
1 tbsp caster sugar 
½ tsp salt 
2 tbsp ice-cold water 

Filling 
200g 85% dark chocolate or any vegan chocolate of your choosing 
300g silken tofu 
50ml soy milk (or any other nut milk) 
60g coconut sugar 
Pinch salt

Spiced figs- if you can’t find any spiced figs to buy you can make them  
5 figs  
100ml water 
20ml balsamic vinegar 
50g caster sugar 
1 cinnamon stick 
2 cloves 
1 bay leaf

To garnish  
Dried rose petals (optional) 

Method  

• Preheat oven to 180C.  
• For the pastry, chop the vegan butter up into manageable chunks, then pulse in a blender with everything until it comes together to a crumbly dough.  If it doesn’t add another tablespoon of water.  Alternatively, squeeze the cold butter between your fingers until it is all broken up and the dough is looking a little like cornflakes mixed with bread crumbs. Add the water sugar and salt and work in briefly but do not overwork, otherwise the butter will melt and the gluten will start to activate. 
• Wrap in baking paper and set in the fridge for 30 minutes. 
• Gently roll the dough out between 2 pieces of baking paper to 2ml thickness.  Using a 22cm tart tin, place your tart tin upside down over the dough, gently cut around, don’t cut too close to the tin, you can always remove any excess pastry.  
• Turn the tart tin back over and slide the rolled and cut dough into the tin.  Gently pushing it down to cover all the available space.  For best results, place the tart tin with the pastry in the fridge for another 30 minutes.   
• Take the baking paper and scrunch it in your hands. Place the paper on the dough and pour rice or grains over it to cover and make sure it is hitting all sides.  Bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes or until it is golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let it cool. 
• To make the filling, set a bowl over a pot with water and place on the stove on high heat.  Chop up the chocolate into small chunks and put in the bowl along with the sugar, a pinch of salt and the milk. 
• As the chocolate melts keep stirring until it all is melted and the sugar is pretty much dissolved.  Place the tofu and the choc mixture into a blender or a bowl with a stick blender attachment and blitz until smooth.  Pour into your pre-baked tart tin and place in the fridge to set. 
• For the figs,  slice a cross in the top that goes halfway down the fig.  Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and place on medium heat.  Reduce the liquid by ¾ but always be gentle when stirring as you don’t want to break them up.  The syrup should be sweet sticky. Remove the fig.   
• Top the set tart with the spiced figs, a few spoonfuls of the fig syrup and a scattering of rose petals. 

Hemp Burgers with all the Trimmings 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 30 minutes  
Serves: 4

Ingredients

¼ cup hemp seeds 
1 x (420g) can chickpeas (with 40ml of the liquid) 
3 tbsp chickpea flour or hemp flour or plain flour 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
1 garlic, roughly diced 
¼ brown onion, diced 
1 tsp coriander powder 
1 tsp salt & pepper 
40ml extra virgin olive oil

To serve 
1 iceberg lettuce 
Brown onion (reserved from the onion used in the patty)  
2 tomatoes 
100ml rose harissa 
4 bread buns 
50g cultured oat butter 

Method

• Add the hemp seeds, chickpeas, chickpea flour, cumin seeds, garlic, onion, coriander powder salt and pepper to a bowl and with a masher, mash to a paste.   
• Divide the mixture into 4, using wet hands shape the mixture into a patty shape, place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and lightly oiled. Repeat until all the mixture is done.   
• Heat 40ml of vegetable oil in a large, nonstick frying pan, on medium-high heat. When the oil is hot gently place the hemp burgers in the pan and press very lightly with a spatula. Cook on each side for 5 to 10 minutes, turn and repeat for an extra 5 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, slice the tomato and other half of the onion in rounds. Tear the leaves off the iceberg, slice the buns in half. Spread the insides of the rolls with oat butter. Remove the burgers from the pan and place the buttered buns down to toast while the burgers rest. 
• Once toasted, layer the bun with some rose harissa, chickpea mayo, the hemp seed patty, onion, lettuce, tomato and then burger bun.  

Tomato Lox & Schmear Bagels

Recipe by: Zacchary Bird 
Time: 1 hour + marinating  
Serves: 4 

Ingredients

Cream Cheese (makes 600g) 
400g (14 oz) raw cashews 
150g (5½ oz) dairy-free yoghurt 
2 tsp lactic acid (or ½ tsp citric acid) 
1 tsp sea salt, plus extra if needed 
2 tsp white vinegar, plus extra if needed 
1 tbsp nutritional yeast, plus extra if needed 
1 lemon, juice and zest  
2 tsp capers with 2 tsp of brine 
Large handful dill 

Lox  
6 firm, slightly under-ripe tomatoes 
4 nori sheets, shredded 
125 ml (4 fl oz/½ cup) soy sauce 
1 tbsp ground ginger 
1 tsp liquid smoke 

To serve 
4 bagels, sliced in half 
250g (9 oz/1 cup) Dill cream cheese (from the recipe above) 
1 red onion, thinly sliced 
2 tbsp capers, rinsed and drained dill fronds, to garnish (optional)

Method

• To prepare the creamed cheese.  
• Soak the cashews in plenty of cold water for at least 8 hours, or boil for 15 minutes, then drain and set aside to cool. 
• Place the cashews in a food processor and process for 1 minute, scraping down the side of the bowl as necessary. Add the yoghurt and continue to process until the mixture becomes smooth. 
• Add the remaining ingredients, then taste and adjust the flavour if necessary, adding more salt, vinegar or nutritional yeast. Process for a few more seconds – you’ll know it’s ready when the cheese is creamy without any graininess from the nuts. 
• Transfer to an airtight container and store in the fridge for up to 1 week. 
• To make this cream cheese even more spectacular, make a dill cream cheese by adding the zest and juice of 1 lemon, 2 teaspoons of capers along with 2 teaspoons of brine from the jar and a garlic clove to the cream cheese mixture before processing to combine. Add a large handful of dill fronds and process briefly, then store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. 
• To prepare the lox, score a shallow cross into the top of each tomato. Bring a saucepan of water to the boil over medium-high heat, add the tomatoes and boil for no more than 1 minute. Drain and plunge the tomatoes into a bowl of ice-cold water. This means you can easily remove the skins while keeping the raw tomato texture we want for this dish. 
• Cut each tomato into eight wedges. Use your fingers to remove and discard the seeds and squeeze out any liquid, leaving only the core and firm flesh. If desired, slice these pieces even more thinly to replicate the thickness of smoked salmon. Pat dry with a paper towel. 
• Place the nori in a small bowl of hot water for 1 minute to hydrate. Drain, then place in a large bowl with the soy sauce, ginger, liquid smoke and tomato. Set aside in the fridge to marinate for at least 1 hour or until required. 
• Toast the bagels, then smear 2 tablespoons of dill cream cheese on each toasted bagel half. Top with the marinated tomato, red onion and capers, then garnish with a few dill fronds (if using). Serve warm. 

Episode 7

Roast Cauliflower Soup with Deep Fried Black Olives 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey
Time: 45 minutes
Serves: 3-4

  Ingredients

1 cauliflower
3 cloves garlic
1 brown onion
Salt & pepper
1L vegetable stock 
2 bay leaves 
2 thyme sprigs 
¼ tsp ground nutmeg 
50ml extra virgin olive oil

Deep Fried Black Olives 
100g Kalamata olives, pitted
200ml vegetable oil 

To serve 
Bunch parsley, roughly chopped 
4 slices of sourdough bread, toasted 
Chunk cultured oat butter

Method

Vegetarian Kebabs with Burghul 

Recipe by: Walleed Rasheed  
Time: 45 minutes 
Serves: 4

Ingredients

For the kebabs 
2 zucchinis 
2 green capsicum 
2 red onions 
2 red capsicum 

For the Burghul 
1 cup fine Bulgur 
2 cups of vegetable stock 
2 cups of sultanas 
2 cups of slivered almonds 
Coconut or extra virgin olive oil for toasting

For the dressing  
3 cloves garlic crushed 
1 tbsp cumin 
1 lemon, juiced 
¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil 
Small bunch of coriander 
Salt & pepper

Method

Episode 6

Chips with All The Seasonings 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey
Time: 30 minutes
Serves: 6 

Ingredients

4 large Desiree potatoes 
1L vegetable oil 

Chilli Garlic Salt 
2 tbsp fried garlic chips 
1 tsp salt 
¼ tsp sugar 
¼ tsp chilli powder

Mortar and pestle all together 

Lemon Australian Bush Pepper Salt 
1 tsp salt 
½ tsp native bush peppers 
1 lemon – zest only 
¼ tsp sugar 

 Mortar and pestle all together 

Nacho Cheese Seasoning 
¾ tsp smoked paprika 
¾ tsp onion powder 
¾ tsp garlic powder 
2 tsp nutritional yeast flakes 
1 tsp salt 
½ tsp sugar 

• Prepare your favourite topping (or all of them!) 
• Heat vegetable oil to 140C. 
• Chop the potatoes into lengths, to get nice and thick chips. Rinse under cold water to remove excess starch.  
• Place the chips in the oil at 140C for 8 minutes to cook through and take out of the oil and place into a tray. You don’t want too much colour on the chips at this stage. Let rest for 10 minutes to cool. 
• Raise the temperature of the fryer up to 180C and re-fry the chips for a few minutes until they are crisp golden and delicious.  
• Drain for a few minutes to remove excess oil. Pour into a tray and season with your topping. Or, serve with all of your toppings in separate bowls and let people season with their favourite combinations.  

Dal with Tempered Spices 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 45 minutes 
Serves: 4-6 

Ingredients

1 cup toor dal/arhar dal/split pigeon peas lentil
, soaked overnight in 2L water with 1 tsp turmeric  
1 medium red onion, diced 
4 large garlic cloves, minced 
1 thumb ginger, minced 
3 tbsp vegetable oil
 
1  tsp cumin seeds
 
1 tbsp coriander seeds
 
1 tsp fenugreek seeds (optional) 
2 medium tomatoes chopped
 
1 tsp coriander powder
 
1 tsp garam masala
2 tsp Kashmiri red chilli powder 
1  tsp turmeric powder
Salt, to taste
 

Tempering 
4 tbsp vegetable oil 
½ red onion diced 
1 clove garlic 
1 tsp cumin seeds 
2 dried long red chillies
 
1 heaped tsp Kashmiri red chilli powders  

To serve  
2 tbsp coriander, chopped 
 
Steamed rice 
Naan 

Method

• Remove the carrot tops, reserving 3cm of the stalk.  
• Add carrots and oil to a hot pan, cook for a few minutes to colour.  
• Add the lentils, vegetable stock, red wine, bay leaf & thyme to a pot, cover and cook over low heat for 25 minutes.  
• Add stock, brown sugar, oat butter, salt and pepper to the carrots, cover with a cartouche and cook over medium-low heat for 25-30 minutes or until the liquid has reduced. Remove the cartouche and season with salt.  
• Serve the lentils, top with the caramelised carrots and spoonfuls of the sauce. Garnish with sprigs of reserved carrot tops and serve with a wedge of lemon.  

Cheats Pizzas 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 30 minutes 
Serves: 4 

Ingredients

1 pack flatbreads  

Toppings- the toppings are really up to you, choose your favourite combinations, these are some ingredients I love to use  
200g tomato paste with no cheese pesto or hummus or any sauce 
50ml water 
½ tsp dried oregano 
½ tsp dried thyme or fresh 
½ tsp salt and pepper 
1 red, brown or white onion, sliced 
1 red, green or yellow capsicum, sliced 
1 tub fresh cherry tomatoes 
100g Kalamata olives, pitted  
100g sundried tomatoes 
200g sweet potato or pumpkin, roasted 
Any fresh herbs 
1 tub plant-based cheese 
30ml balsamic vinegar 

Salad  
1 packet rocket 
½ red onion, thinly sliced 
Any fresh herbs like basil, parsley, thyme 
Balsamic vinegar  
Extra virgin olive oil  
Salt & pepper 

Method

• Preheat your oven to 180C.  
• Heat a large pot over medium heat. Add oil, leeks, mushrooms, a pinch of salt and a splash of water, cover with a lid and sweat down for a few minutes. Add thyme to the mushrooms, remove the lid.  
• Add the peaches and tarragon to the mushroom mixture, stir through. Cook, uncovered until the liquid has cooked off.  
• Add flour and stir through, this will prevent the flour clumping when you add the stock. Add the stock and stir through, coating everything. Cook for a few minutes until the sauce thickens. Stir in the peas and pour the mixture into your baking tray.  
• Layer the mashed potato over the mushroom mixture, don’t worry about making it too smooth the lumpy bits will crisp up in the oven. Finish with olive oil and finally cut the bottom and top off the bulb of garlic placing it in the middle of the pie and pushing it down so it is half out and half in. 
• Cook for 35 minutes or until the potato is golden brown. Remove from the oven and set aside for 30 minutes before serving. Squeeze the garlic bulb over the pie, be careful it will retain its heat, releasing the roasted garlic cloves to serve.  

• Place the polenta, vegetable stock, oat butter and salt in a pan and mix around and cook until the polenta has thickened to a paste. Add the chopped rosemary, thyme and paprika and nutritional yeast.   
• Once thick, pour into a square 8 x 8-inch baking pan that has been lined with baking paper, cover with cling film so it doesn’t form a skin. Place the mixture in the fridge and let cool and set for about an hour. 
• Once cooled, take the mixture out of the fridge and out of the tin. Then carefully cut the polenta lengthways to look similar to a thick cut chip. Roll them in some polenta to form a crust before frying. 
• Heat a neutral oil (such as vegetable oil) to 180C. Fry the chips in batches for 5 minutes or until the outside is nice and crispy. Remove from the oil and place on a wire rack to drain excess oil. Season with a pinch of salt.  
• With a whisk or a stick blender, blend the syrup and lemon together. While blending, slowly pour in the oil until it emulsifies. Taste and season with a pinch of salt.  
• Stack your fries on a serving platter and drizzle with the truffle syrup.  

• Add the walnuts, bread, stock powder, garlic, liquid smoke and parsley into a food processor and process until it resembles a medium-fine crumb. If you’d prefer a chunkier mince, your ragu will turn out a little crunchy in texture. To avoid this, you can soak walnuts overnight to soften. 
• Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick frypan. Fry the walnut mince for a few minutes until brown. Stir through the passata and basil and simmer on low for 20 minutes, stirring often. 
• Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of salted water until al dente.  
• Before turning off the heat, check the ragu for seasonings, adding salt and cracked black pepper to taste. 
• Stir the cooked pasta through the walnut ragu, adding a dash of reserved pasta cooking water if the sauce is too dry. Taste and season with salt and cracked black pepper to taste.  
• Serve with a sprinkling of vegan parmesan cheese and a generous drizzle of olive oil. 

Roasted Radish & Kohlrabi Salad with Apple, Pine Nuts & Puffed Rice 
Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 45 minutes 
Serves: 2  

Ingredients 

1 bunch red radishes 
10ml extra virgin olive oil 
Pinch salt & pepper 
1 kohlrabi, remove leaves and outside  
1 green apple 

Dressing  
2 tsp Dijon mustard 
2 tbsp maple syrup 
½ lemon, juice 
1 bunch radish stems 
100ml vegetable oil  
2 tbsp toasted pine nuts 
2 tbsp puffed rice (optional) 

To serve 
1 radish, thinly sliced  
2 tbsp raisins  

Method

• Remove leaves from the radishes, clean and reserve. Place the Radishes in a bowl with oil, salt and pepper and bale in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. 
• Meanwhile, cut the kohlrabi and the apple into thin rounds, then use a knife to cut the rounds into matchsticks. Place the apple matchsticks in acidulated water (a big bowl of cool water with lemon juice). This will stop them from going brown and will season with a soft flavour of lemon juice.  
• Meanwhile place the cleaned radish stems in a bowl with the mustard, maple syrup, apple cider vinegar, lemon juice and blitz with a stick blender. While blending, slowly pour in the oil until it starts to emulsify.  Pour through a fine sieve or cheesecloth to remove any bits. 
• Remove the radish from the oven and let cool slightly.  Slice in half.  Squeeze the water from the apple and kohlrabi and dry on to a paper towel.   
• Place radishes, apple, kohlrabi, pine nuts and puffed rice in a large bowl. Pour over half of the dressing and toss together with your hands. Place the salad on a large platter, top with raisins and disks of thinly sliced fresh radish for a pop of colour. Serve with remaining dressing. 

• In a heavy-based pot, pop shiitake and baby king browns in the pan and, keeping the heat super high, wet fry the mushrooms off with a splash of water, until they start to colour. Keep a close eye on the water, if the pan looks to be a little dry, add another splash of water to keep everything loose and moving.  
• Meanwhile, take the open coconuts and tip the juice through a fine strainer and into a jug or bowl. Scoop out the flesh from those coconuts using a large spoon and rinse lightly (the husk tends to stick, but if some doesn’t budge, it’s just ruffage!). Cut the flesh into strips and set aside. 
• Heat a griddle pan to smoking hot and cook the king brown mushrooms until browned on both faces.  
• Pound the garlic and ginger to paste with the chilli. Once you’re happy with the colour of your mushrooms, add some oil to the pan and chuck in the aromatic paste. Fry off until fragrant.  
• Pour in the coconut juice and add the seared king brown mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, wood ear, lions mane (these mushrooms are more delicate, so are better off un-fried). Bring to a simmer and allow it all to bubble away for 20-25 minutes. With a couple of minutes to go, add the coconut amino and tamarind (and extra chilli, if you’re that way inclined). Taste for seasoning, add coconut sugar syrup if more sweetness is needed, or fysh sauce for more salt. Add enoki and turn the heat off.  
• Arrange coconut flesh strips and grilled mushrooms in a bowl, pour over hot broth and mushrooms. 
• Garnish with herbs, lime cheeks and extra chilli and serve.

• Add oil to a hot pan over medium heat and shallow fry the currents for a few minutes or until they puff up. Pour into a bowl and set aside to cool.  
• Place all the remaining salad ingredients into a bowl.   
• With the dressing, in a jar, add all the ingredients and shake.  Once it has come together, pour over the salad and mix to coat the salad in the dressing. Add the currants and stir through.  

Sago Pudding 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 45 minutes 
Serves: 6 

• Cook the sago in the water until fully see-through, about 5 minutes. Strain and rinse with water to remove as much starch as possible.  Place in a baking tray, place in the fridge for 20-30 minutes or until it has cooled completely. 
• In the meantime, put the coconut milk in a pot with the pandan leaves and water, bring to a simmer then turn off the heat.  
• In a small pot add the palm sugar with the 2 tbsp water, a pinch of salt and chilli and melt. 
• Finally, pour the hot coconut milk into the sago tray and drizzle with the syrup, top with roasted peanuts and pinch of chilli.  

Spanish Style White Bean Casserole with Spinach & Tomato 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 
Time: 45 minutes  
Serves: 4-6 

• Place a medium to large pot on the stove on low heat with the vegetable oil in it. Dice up the onion, garlic, red and green capsicum and place in the pan with the oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper.  Slowly fry this mixture for as long as time will allow you. This is the base that will make the dish sing at the end. Cook until the oil is released from the ingredients but there is no browning at all. It is important to cook the ingredients low and take your time. This can take up to 30 minutes. But if you don’t have the time – quick and hot in the pan will be fine too.   
• Add in the paprika once all is cooked and then the bay and thyme and cook for 30 seconds. Pour in your stock, cans of white beans with one tin of the juice and discard the juice of the other, tomatoes and potatoes in the pot.  Cover the pot with a lid and let it cook away for 30 minutes up to an hour.  
• Just before serving, stir through baby spinach and with a potato masher, mash a few times, this will make it creamy, rich and delicious.  
• Finish by sprinkling over the parsley and lemon zest.

• Preheat your oven to 180C.
• Remove tops from the strawberries and place in a baking tray, cut side down. Bake in the oven for 10-15 minutes or until plump.
• Warm the oat milk in a saucepan over low heat until it begins to simmer. Pour over the chopped chocolate and stir. The residual heat will melt the chocolate.
• Blitz the silken tofu with the chocolate and a pinch of salt until it all comes together. Pour into a bowl and set aside to set at room temperature for half an hour.
• Place a spoonful of ganache on a serving plate. If you want to take this dish to the next level, sprinkle raw sugar over the ganache, use a blowtorch to dissolve the sugar and form a Brulee. Top with roasted strawberries, slices of fresh strawberry for a pop of colour, fennel and a sprinkle of ground pink peppercorns.

Momos with Spicy Cabbage and Mushroom

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes 
Makes: 25-30 momos 

Ingredients 

Dough  
2 cups all-purpose flour 
¾ cup warm water 

Filling  
4 tbsp vegetable oil 
½ green cabbage 
100g button mushrooms 
3 cloves of garlic 
½ red onion diced 
Big thumb ginger 
1 tsp cumin powder 
1 tsp coriander powder 
½ tsp turmeric powder 
Pinch salt  

Red Sauce  
1 x (410g) can whole tomatoes 
¼ cup water 
2 tbsp soy sauce 
2 tbsp malt vinegar 
1 tsp caster sugar 
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli or ¼ tsp chilli powder 
5 almonds 
Pinch salt 

• Mix the flour and water together and knead for 5 minutes. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.  
• Thinly slice the green cabbage, fine dice the mushrooms, onion, garlic and ginger. 
• In a pan add the vegetable oil and place on high heat. When the oil is hot, place the chopped cabbage in with a pinch of salt and fry for 3 minutes, stirring as little as possible. Now add the mushrooms. Cook until the mushrooms have released their water, and the water has been cooked out.  Add in the rest of the chopped ingredients with another pinch of salt and stir to fry it all off.  You are aiming for colour on the cabbage here and not really on the garlic or anything else.  Cook for another 5 minutes. 
• Finely stir in the spices and stir for 30 seconds to remove the raw spice taste.  Place the mixture into a tray to cool and wipe out the frying pan. 
• For the sauce, place the can of tomatoes, water, soy, malt vinegar, caster sugar, chilli and almonds into the same frying pan and cook for 15 minutes on medium heat until the mixture starts to bubble then reduce so the bubbles aren’t so crazy.  Place the ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. Pour into a serving bowl and set aside.  
• Back to the dough. Cut your dough in half and pat down on a folded bench. Place the dough into a pasta roller or use a rolling pin, folding the dough each time you roll it. Lightly dust with flour if it begins to get sticky. Use a cutter, or even a mug, to cut out your dumplings.  
• Place a round of dough in the centre of your hand, and place a dessert spoon amount of mixture in the middle of the dough and fold internally, pleating one fold over the other and so one until it is all connected. 
• If like most people trying to fold dumplings (for the 1, 2, 3 or even 10^th time), it isn’t as easy as the pros make it out to be. So here is my cheat way because, in the end, I want fully formed momos, not broken crazy ones that have lost all their filling.  With the strip of dough from the pasta machine, place it along a floured surface,  place a dessert spoon of filling in the middle and all the way along the dough. Then, fold one side of the dough over the other like a book.  With a cup or a pastry cutter cut the dough gently press the edges together to seal the dumpling. 
• Place the dumpling in a steamer and steam for 5 minutes or until the pastry is cooked. 
• Serve with red sauce.  

Mushroom & Leek Toastie 

Recipe by: Tim Bone  
Time: 30 minutes 
Serves: 2 

Ingredients 

1 loaf sourdough bread, sliced 
Nuttelex spread 
500g mixed mushrooms e.g oyster, Swiss brown, enoki, Shimeji. Sliced.  
4 cloves of garlic finely chopped 
2 leeks, white part only washed and sliced  
6 fresh thyme sprigs 
4 sprigs of fresh rosemary chopped 
Vegan feta style cheese 
Salt & pepper 
Extra virgin olive oil 

• Heat 2 pans on the stovetop, with 1 tbsp of olive oil in each pan. In one pan sweat the leeks over medium-low heat until nice and soft. In the other pan over medium-high heat add the mushrooms, rosemary and thyme, with a pinch of salt, and fry until nice and caramelised. Add garlic and season, cook for a further minute. Pour the cooked mushrooms and leeks into a bowl and stir to combine.  
• Spread the nuttelex on the bread slices, the buttered sides will be the outside of the toastie. Build the toasties by topping a slice of bread with the leeks and mushrooms, crumble over the feta and top with another piece of bread. and spread Nuttelex on the outside of both slices of bread. 
• Cook toasties in a pan over medium heat on both sides with a lid on until golden and toasted. Once the toastie is almost ready add a little splash of water to the corner of the pan, put the lid back on and cook for a further 30 seconds.  
• Slice toasties and serve with a sprinkle of sea salt on top

Sate Tempeh with Pan Fried Bok Choy  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 35 minutes 
Serves: 2 

Ingredients 

1 block of tempeh 
1 tbsp peanut oil 

Sate 
2 garlic cloves 
2 shallots  
3 red chillies seeds removed 
½ cup smooth peanut butter 
1 cup coconut cream 
¼ cup ketchup manis 
2 tsp soy sauce 
¼ cup unsalted roasted peanuts 
1 lime, juice only 
1 tsp sugar  
Salt, to taste  

Bok Choy 
10ml peanut oil 
1 bunch bok choy, sliced lengthwise 
1 clove garlic, roughly sliced 
1 lime 
Salt  

To serve 
½ cup rice 
1 bunch coriander 
1 long red chilli, sliced  
¼ cup unsalted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped  

• Chop the block of tempeh into lengths.   
• Blitz chilis, garlic, shallots, peanuts splash peanut oil to a crumb consistency.  
• In a pan place the oil, mince the garlic, dice the shallots and the red chillies and put in with the garlic. Mortar and pestle the peanuts to a crumble and stir through.  Bring the mixture to a quick bubble, reduce the heat and cook until it is slightly thickened.  Add the lime juice and stir. 
• In a frypan, place in more peanut oil, the tempeh and fry until crisp on one side.  Turn the tempeh over and paint the satay over the cooked crispy side.  Repeat when turned one more time then take out and let rest, the sauce will colour quickly so be quick at this stage.  
• Slice the bok choy lengthwise, leaving on the stems.  In the same pan turn the heat up until it is smoking hot. Pour in peanut oil and put in the bok choy cut side down and cook on this side for 2 minutes.   
• Add garlic and lime juice to the bok choy and cook for 30 seconds. Sprinkle with salt and take out of the pan. 
• Bowl of rice on the side.  Coriander and sliced red chilli with a couple more crushed peanuts to finish. 

• Preheat the oven to 160C.  
• Soak chia seeds in ½ cup water for a few minutes until they form a gel-like consistency.  
• In a large mixing bowl mash, the bananas with the salt until you have a coarse paste. To the mixing bowl add the remaining ingredients and use a spatula to fold everything through. Place contents into a lined 20cm brownie tin (you want the slice to be about 4cm in thickness). Top with some extra macadamias and pistachios and bake for 1 hour. 
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the tray.  

Rosti with Tomato Salad & Avocado 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 30 minutes  
Serves: 2  

Ingredients 

2 Dutch cream potatoes, grated 
30ml vegetable oil  
1 avocado 

Tomato Salad  
½ lemon, juice only 
2 tbsp agave 
100g cherry tomatoes (different colours), roughly chopped  
30ml extra virgin olive oil 
Salt & pepper  
½ bunch basil, roughly torn 

• Heat oil in a pan over medium-high heat. Add the grated potato to the hot pan and cook until it becomes crispy on one side, in the best way. Flip the rosti and cook again on the other side. 
• While the rosti cooks, chop the tomatoes. Before adding the tomatoes to a bowl, squeeze the juice into the bowl to help release some of the juice. Add agave, lemon juice, olive oil, salt, pepper and basil to the tomatoes, stir through.  
• Once the rosti is golden brown, slide onto a serving plate. Top with the tomato salad and generous spoonfuls of the dressing. Scoop avocado onto the rosti, season with salt to serve.  

Soba Noodles with Smashed Cucumber & Sesame 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 20 minutes 
Serves: 1-2 

Ingredients 

1 packet soba noodles 
3 spring onions, finely sliced 
1 tbsp + 3 tbsp sesame oil 
2 tbsp golden syrup 
½ tsp chilli flakes 
½ cucumber 
½ bunch mint 
½ bunch coriander 
1 tsp toasted white sesame seeds 
1 tsp toasted black sesame seeds 
1 lemon 
Pinch sal

• Fill a pot with water and bring to the boil. 
• Pick and wash the mint and coriander. Roughly chop the cucumber into small but odd shapes, place in a mortar and pestle and smash, then cover with the 1 tablespoon of sesame oil and half the toasted sesame seeds along with salt, chilli, golden syrup. Add the juice of half a lemon, mint and coriander. 
• Turn a burner on a low flame and cover with a heatproof wire wrack. In the mean-time, season the whites of the spring onion with a pinch of salt and a drizzle of sesame oil. Place them on the wire rack and cook for a few minutes, turning occasionally, until they begin to colour.  
• Mix the soy, golden syrup, 3 tablespoons sesame oil, 1 tablespoon water and chilli flakes in a bowl and add ¾ of the chopped spring onions.  
• When the water starts boiling, pour in 1 tablespoon salt and place the soba noodles in, giving a gentle stir so they are all immersed in the water and not sticking together.  After 3 minutes or when they are cooked through, remove from the water and rinse with cold water to cool them down. 
• Transfer your noodles to a serving bowl.  Top with the cucumber and herb salad, finish with the leftover sesame seeds, spring onions and drizzle over the dressing. 

Tempura Eggplant Tacos 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  
Time: 45 minutes 
Serves: 5 

Ingredients 

500ml vegetable oil 
1 eggplant cut into strips 1 inch thick – at least 1 slice per tortilla that you will be using  
½ cup plain flour 
¼ cup cornflour 
½ tsp smoked paprika 
1 ½ tsp baking powder 
160ml soda water, chilled 
½ tsp salt 
1 tbsp aquafaba cream 

Salsa  
10 cherry tomatoes 
¼ red onion 
1 lime juice and zest only 
1 red chilli, halved, seeds removed  
½ tsp caster sugar 
½ tsp cumin seeds 
Salt  
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil  
10 sprigs coriander roughly chopped, to garnish 

Aquafaba Mayonnaise  
100ml aquafaba (liquid in chickpea tin)  
100ml extra virgin olive oil  
1 lime, juiced  
1 tsp sugar  
Pinch salt 
10 tortillas 

To serve 
Fresh limes, wedged  

• Pour the vegetable oil into a wok or pan and heat to approximately 180C. 
• Use a whisk to mix the plain flour, cornflour, paprika, baking powder and cold soda water together in a bowl.  With chopsticks or tongs, coat the eggplant strips into the tempura batter mixture and then place gently into the oil.  Cook for 3 to 4 minutes, you don’t want any or very little colour on the tempura).   Take out of the oil and rest on a cooling rack. Season with salt. The batter will go crisp as it cools.  
• Place the tomatoes, onion, chilli, lime juice, cumin seeds, caster sugar, salt and oil in a stick blender and pulse so that it comes together, this will keep everything chunky yet relatively similar sized pieces. Pour the salsa into a bowl and garnish with a few sprigs of coriander. This salsa is fresh and light to counterbalance the fried eggplant. 
• To make the aquafaba mayonnaise, add aquafaba, lime juice, sugar and salt to a stick blender. Bring together and gradually add the oil in a slow stream, as the mayonnaise begins to form you can begin to add the oil quicker.  
• In a large dry pan on medium-high heat place the tortillas.  Heat them through for 30 seconds on each side, put on a plate and cover with a tea-towel to keep warm. 
• Place the warmed tortillas on a plate with 1 or 2 strips of fried eggplants, top with the salsa, and aquafaba mayo. Season of salt and a squeeze of lime to serve.