Freshly Picked with Simon Toohey – Recipes

Spinach & Almond Curry  

Recipe by: Alice Zaslavsky  

Time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 2 for a main or 4 for a lighter meal 

80ml light extra virgin olive oil  

1 thumb’s worth of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped 

2-3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 

1 brown onion, sliced  

2 tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp ground turmeric 

1 tsp ground cumin 

1 tsp ground fenugreek 

1 tsp salt flakes 

2 bags of baby spinach, washed and spun 

½ cup flaked almonds 

200g baked almond feta  

To serve 

Basmati rice 

Coriander, roughly chopped  

Cook rice according to packet instructions (I prefer the stove-top absorption method best).  

In a large, heavy-bottomed flat casserole dish or heavy-based saucepan, heat a tablespoon of the olive oil and pop in the diced onion and ginger. Stir about, cover with the lid, and turn the heat down low. Allow the onion to sweat away for 8-10 minutes.  

Once the onion has softened, add garlic, salt and spices and stir until fragrant.   

Pop the spinach leaves on top, stir and cover with the lid for 4-5 minutes on low heat.  

Once the spinach has wilted, transfer everything to a blender and blitz. Pour the rest of the olive oil or any oil from the feta jar (about 60ml) in slowly to emulsify and become a creamy gravy. 

Meanwhile, heat a small pan until smoking. Turn it off, add the flaked almonds and toss about a little. Leave to colour (the residual heat is enough).  

Add the gravy back to the pan, and gently stir. Arrange your bits of almond feta to the pan and warm through with the residual heat. 

Serve on basmati rice, topped with the toasted flaked almonds.   

Fried Gochujang Glazed Eggplant in Lettuce Cups with Yuzu Cream  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 25 minutes 

Serves: 4 

1 eggplant 

40ml vegetable oil 

2 tsp white sesame seeds, toasted 

For the sauce 

2 tbsp gochujang  

2 tbsp brown sugar 

4 tbsp water 

Tofu cream  

300g silken tofu 

60ml yuzu (lime juice if yuzu is unavailable)  

1 tsp salt 

To serve 

1 iceberg lettuce 

1 carrot, peeled and sliced into matchsticks  

1 bunch coriander 

Cut the eggplant into cubes.  

In a bowl add the gochujang, sugar and water and whisk until it combines and the sugar dissolves.  

Add oil and eggplant to a hot pan over medium-high heat, stir and then leave the eggplant to begin caramelizing, stirring occasionally. Once the eggplant begins to colour pour over the gochujang sauce and cook until the sauce thickens, and the eggplant goes sticky. Pour the eggplant into a bowl and stir through sesame seeds.  

In a blender, or with a stick blender, blend the tofu, yuzu and salt until combined. 

Cut the stem off the iceberg and peel away the layers so each can be a cup. Cut the carrot into matchsticks.  

To assemble, start with everything in the middle of the table.  Add the fried eggplant into the lettuce cups.  Add the carrot, and top with the cream. Garnish with coriander.  

Confit Garlic with Slow Braised Leeks 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 1 hour 

Serves: 2 

2 bulbs garlic 

200ml grapeseed or neutral oil 

1 bunch rosemary 

1 tsp peppercorn 

Salt  

For the leeks 

2 leeks 

2 tbsp vegan butter 

1 lemon juice only 

1 tbsp coriander seeds 

300ml vegetable stock  

1 slice stale sourdough 

1 bunch parsley 

1tbsp nutritional yeast flakes 

20g roasted macadamias 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

Salt & pepper 

Place everything into a pan and cook on low for 30 minutes or until the cloves are super soft. 

Place the leeks in a pan with the butter and stock and lemon juice and coriander seeds. Place over medium-low heat with a cartouche over the top and cook until the leek is soft and tender. Remove and reduce the stock until it is a dressing like consistency. 

While the leek is cooking, blend the bread, nuts, parsley and nutritional yeast flakes to a crumb.  In a pan over medium heat cook the mixture until golden brown and crisp. 

Once the leek is cooled enough to touch, cut length-ways down the middle.  Opening it up.  sprinkle over the crumble mixture and finally pour over the sauce  

Classic Ratatouille  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 2 hours 

Serves: 6  

For the sauce 

30ml extra virgin olive oil 

1 brown onion, diced  

2 Roma tomatoes, diced  

1 red capsicum, diced  

3 cloves garlic, diced  

Pinch salt 

20ml extra virgin olive oil 

4 banana eggplants 

5 Roma tomatoes 

3 yellow zucchini, or yellow squash 

3 green zucchini 

2 sprigs rosemary 

Salt & white pepper 

Preheat the oven to 150C. 

Cook down the onion, garlic, capsicum and tomatoes in a pot with 30ml olive oil with a pinch of salt, stir and cover with a lid to sweat down for 20 minutes.  Stir occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. 

In the meantime, with a mandolin,  thinly slice the tomatoes, zucchini, squash and the eggplant about 3ml thick.   

Once the pot mixture has cooked down, broken down and lost a lot of its moisture, place them in the blender and blitz to a smooth paste. Season salt and white pepper to taste.  

Pour 100ml the bottom of a non-stick pan then layer the slices, alternating between the vegetables. Stack them around the dish, starting from the outside of the pan and working all the way around until you have reached the middle.  Chop up the rosemary and place on top and drizzle with the remaining olive oil, season with a pinch of salt.  Cover with foil and bake at 150 degrees for 60 minutes, if you have the time cook this dish for up to 90 minutes.  

Zucchini & Corn Fritters with Whipped Bean Curd  

Recipe by: Lynton Tapp 

Time: 30 minutes  

Serves: 4 

For the fritters 

2 large zucchinis, grated  

Corn kernels from 2 cobs of corn (200g kernels, you could use frozen kernels) 

200g cooked quinoa 

150g cornflour 

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tsp salt 

Whipped Bean Curd 

150g silken tofu  

Lemon juice, to taste 

Salt, to taste 

Extra virgin olive oil  

To Serve 

¼ cup coriander leaves 

¼ cup mint leaves 

Pickled jalapenos  

Extra virgin olive oil 

In a large bowl prepare your fritter mix. Add the zucchini, corn, quinoa, cornflour, smoked paprika and salt. Mix thoroughly until you have a chunky batter. 

Preheat a non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat and allow to come to temperature before adding a good drizzle of olive oil and placing heaped tablespoons of the batter into the pan. Cook the fritters for 3-4 minutes a side or until golden brown and crispy. 

Meanwhile to make the whipped bean curd, place the silken tofu into your food processor along with a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt before blitzing on high for 2-3 minutes until you have achieved a smooth consistency. You may have to wipe the sides of the bowl down with a spatula to ensure it is evenly mixed. Adjust the seasoning and set aside. 

Once the fritter mix is completely cooked divide the fritters among 4 plates and top with a good dollop of whipped bean curd before giving a generous topping of herbs. 

Tahini Neri with Fresh Berries, Orange & Vanilla 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time:  

Serves: 2 

For the dressing 

3 tbsp tahini 

1 tbsp icing sugar 

1 vanilla bean pod 

1 lemon , juiced 

1 punnet strawberries 

1 punnet blackberries 

1 valencia orange, cut into bite-size pieces 

1 bunch mint 

Add tahini to a bowl, and add the juice of one lemon. Whisk together until it comes back together, then add the icing sugar and whisk into paste. Add some water to turn it into a pouring consistency. 

Cut the vanilla bean pod in half and remove the seeds. Add to the tahini dressing and stir through.  

Add fruit into a bowl and toss through.  

Pour ¾ of the tahini dressing into a serving bowl, add the fruit on top and drizzle the remaining dressing on top. Add sprigs of mint for garnish. 

Olive Oil Mash with Herby Green Sauce  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4-6 as a side 

450g Kipfler potatoes 

Salt & pepper 

¼ cup extra virgin olive oil 

Herby Green Sauce  

1 bunch chives 

1 bunch basil, leaves picked  

Salt & pepper  

2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

½ lemon, juice  

Boil the potatoes with their skins on until tender.  

Remove the skins from the potatoes while they’re still warm. Mash the peeled potatoes to the texture of your liking. Add a nice pinch of salt and olive oil, stir through.  

Pulse the basil and chives with a pinch of salt and pepper. Pour into a bowl and top with extra virgin olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice, stir through to combine.  

Spoon the green dressing over the mashed potatoes to serve.  

Baked Rice & Eggplant Hotpot with Olives, Dill & Parsley 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 1 hour 

Serves: 2-3 

5 tbsp vegetable oil 

1 leek 

1 eggplant, cubed 

2 garlic cloves, chopped  

¾ cup basmati rice 

50g black olives, seeds removed, roughly chopped 

½ bunch dill 

¼ bunch parsley 

1 tsp cumin  

1 tsp coriander seeds 

½ tsp fennel seeds 

500ml vegetable stock 

Pinch saffron (optional) 

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil, to finish 

Salt & pepper 

Preheat the oven 180 degrees.  

Add vegetable oil, eggplant, garlic, rice, olives, parsley, coriander seeds, cumin, fennel seeds, saffron and vegetable stock. Stir so that all of the ingredients are evenly distributed. Place the leeks on top of the stirred mixture, drizzle over olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  

Place the lid on, and put in the hot oven for 30 minutes, remove the lid and cook for a further 10 minutes.  

Spicy Beetroot Harissa 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4 

1 red beetroot 

3 cloves garlic 

6 dried ancho or cashmiri chillies  

1 tsp coriander seeds 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

1 tsp caraway seeds 

2 tbsp tomato paste 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Salt 

For the leaves 

1 bunch beet leaves 

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1 tbsp red wine vinegar 

1 pinch brown sugar 

Steam the beetroot until tender making sure the water doesn’t evaporate from the pot. Take out and let cool completely, then peel. 

In the meantime. Cook the garlic, and dried chillis in a dry pan to release their oils. Remove the garlic and set aside, place the dried chillies into a bowl and put a plate on top to submerge. Leave for 15 to 20 min until rehydrated. 

While the dry pan is still hot, add the seeds and cook until they are smoking lightly and the smelling aromatic. Place in a mortar and pestle and grind to a rough powder. 

In a blender (or this can all be done in a mortar and pestle and maybe a box grater) blitz the hydrated and drained chillies, also add the garlic and spices and blitz until it comes to a rough paste. Then with the cooled beet, chop into quarters and place in the blitzer, and pulse until it is now a paste. 

In the water that the beet was steamed with, place the leaves.  then shock in cold water.  squeeze all the water out as best as possible.  In a very hot pan, place the oil, then the greens, the vinegar and the sugar and cook until dry.   

Spoon the beet harissa into a bowl place the green in the middle and top everything with oil. Serve with veggie sticks or crackers.  

Rigatoni with Kale Sauce

Recipe by: Tobie Puttock  
Time: 10 minutes 
Serves: 4 

In a small pot add the ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil, add the garlic and heat over medium heat until the garlic starts to brown. Once quite browned add the oil and garlic to the bowl of a food processor. 

Plunge the washed kale into the boiling water for 3-4 minutes and then use tongs to remove from the water and place into the food processor, don’t be scared to drag some of the water over also. Blend the ingredients until you have a totally smooth puree, we are looking for a sauce consistency so if it looks too thick take a small ladle of the pasta water to loosen it up. 

Cook the pasta as per the manufacturer’s instructions but cook for 2 minutes less. Strain the pasta (reserving a cup of the pasta water) and add back to the pot, pour the pureed kale mixture over and place over low heat. If you are worried about overheating the sauce pour a little into a bowl and heat the sauce with the residual heat from the pasta. Use a wooden spoon to gently stir the pasta, onCe again if it’s looking too thick add a little water into the pot to loosen it up. Have a taste and adjust with salt and lemon juice to balance the bitterness from the kale. Add a pinch of cracked pepper, a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, the vegan parmesan (if using), fold through and serve right away with chilli if using.

Deep Fried Broccoli Po’Boy 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 1 hour  

Serves: 4 

1 broccoli 

Tempura batter  

½ cup flour 

¼ cup cornflour 

1 ½ tsp baking powder 

150ml ice-cold soda water 

Pinch salt  

300ml fry oil (vegetable, canola) 

150g silken tofu 

1 tbsp white wine vinegar 

3 dash hot sauce like tobacco 

1 tsp salt 

To serve  

1 French stick or white roll 

2 big tomatoes, roughly diced 

1 iceberg lettuce, sliced  

Place the silken tofu in a blender,  tabasco and white wine vinegar.  Blend until it is smooth and tasty. Set aside.  

Cut the broccoli into manageable bite-size pieces.  Cut the end and outer edges of the broccoli stem off, cut into bite-size pieces.  

To prepare the batter, put everything into a bowl except the fry oil (and the broccoli at this stage) and mix, try to get as many lumps out as possible- don’t worry if you can’t get all of the lumps out, they can create extra crunch.  

Put the fry oil in a deep pan or pot and bring it to 180C degrees (get a thermometer to check this, they are cheap and so useful). If not, test by putting a little of the batter in.  If it starts bubbling nicely, it’s ready. 

Put the chopped broccoli into the batter and move it about to coat all of the pieces. Then, a few at a time, take out of the batter, give a little wobble to get rid of the excess batter then place gently into the hot, hot oil.  Don’t overcrowd the pot, otherwise the oil temperature will drop and make the broccoli soggy and oily. 

Fry for about 8 minutes, turning halfway through, take out and place onto a drying rack or a bowl with a paper towel lining the bottom.  Season with salt and repeat until all of the broccoli has been cooked.  

To finish, slice the iceberg into strips, dice up the tomato and put the bread in the oven for 5 minutes at 180C or until crisp.  

Slice the bread, place the mayo on one side, add the lettuce, tomato and fried broccoli.  

Best Vegetable Stock Ever 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 1 hour (however, the longer you can reduce the stock the better!)  

Serves: Makes around 2 litres  

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

2 carrots 

2 brown onions 

2 celery sticks 

1 clove garlic 

¼ fennel bulb 

5 black peppercorns 

1 bay leaf 

6 parsley stalks 

3 sprigs thyme 

2 cloves 

½ glass white wine 

1.75 litres water  

Pinch salt 

Grate everything with a cheese grater except the herbs, spices and wine.  

Put the oil into the pan on medium-high heat. Dump in the vegetables, a good pinch of salt, herbs and spices and saute until they become soft, approximately 7 minutes. 

Add the wine and cook off, then add 1.75 litres of water. Simmer for a minimum of 20 minutes with the lid off. The colour of the water will change and the flavours will leach out of the vegetables. 

Pour the stock into a large bowl through a strainer. Use the stock straight away or cool it down and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days or freezer it to use later. 

Pistachio Custard Filo Tarts 

Recipe by: Walleed Rasheed  
Time: 1 hour 
Serves: 6  
 
Ingredients  
Filo cups  
2 cups of coconut oil 
8 sheets filo pastry 

Toasted Pistachios 
2 tbsp coconut oil 
3 cups slivered blanched pistachio 
 
Vegan Pistachio Custard  
1 cup toasted pistachios  
2 cups of macadamia milk 
½ cup sugar  
3 tbsp of cornflour + splash macadamia milk to make a slurry- no lumps 
 
Syrup  
2 cups of white sugar 
1 cup water 
2 oranges, juice and peel 
 
Pistachio Jam 
1 cup reserved roasted pistachios 
½ cup syrup  
¼ cup coconut oil  
3 tsp cinnamon 
Pinch salt  

Pistachio Crumb  
1 cup roasted pistachios  
Pinch salt  

Method: 

Preheat your oven to 170C.  
For the filo cups melt 2 cups of coconut oil. Lay 8 sheets of filo, with coconut oil brushed in each layer.  

With a circle cookie cutter, 5cm in diameter, cut 6 circles from the layered filo. Brush some coconut oil in a multi muffin tray, gently press the filo discs into the muffin holes. Don’t throw away the leftover pastry, bake it and use it for decoration or a snack.  Then place each circle in each muffin hole, making sure they are tightly and evenly inside the muffin hole. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked set aside to cool down.  

Fried Bread with Sesame Tofu & Spiced Onions 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4 

Ingredients 

100g wholemeal flour 

150ml water 

Pinch salt and pepper 

40ml extra virgin olive oil 

1 red onion, sliced into wedges 

1 tsp smoked paprika 

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

1 tbsp soy sauce 

½ tsp salt 

200g semi-firm tofu, cut into cubes 

1 tbsp sesame oil 

1 tsp black sesame seeds 

1 tsp white sesame seeds 

To serve 

1 bunch coriander 

Preheat the oven to 170 degrees.  

Coat the onion in olive oil, soy sauce, garlic powder and smoked paprika, place on a lined baking tray and bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until caramelised.  

In the meantime, mix the flour, water, and salt together until a loose batter is made, you may need a little more water if you find the batter too thick.  

In a heavy-based frying pan or cast-iron pan put on high heat and place the oil.  Once the oil is super-hot pour in the batter and spread it around so that it is relatively thin.  Let it fry away until it is golden brown and crisp, being careful not to burn it.  If it’s colouring too quickly you may need to turn the heat down to medium heat. Flip and repeat.  

Take the now crisp pancake out of the pan and place it on a chopping board.  place the sesame seeds in a pan and toast lightly.  Once the white sesame seeds start to change colour, add the sesame oil and then the silken tofu and salt.  Cook on medium heat until the liquid leaches out of the tofu.  Cook most of this out but keep some.  Finish with salt. 

On your pancake top with tofu, making an even spread, finishing with the coriander and reserved sauce from the baking tray. Serve. 

Cauliflower Steak with Cauliflower Puree & Pomegranate Molasses  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 1 hour  

Serves:  4 

Ingredients  

1 cauliflower with leaves attached 

60ml vegetable oil 

Sauce  

¼ cauliflower 

100-200ml oat milk 

1 bay leaf 

2 thyme sprigs 

2 garlic cloves 

Splash of water 

Pinch of salt  

25g panko bread crumbs, toasted  

To serve  

½ tsp cumin seeds 

30g hazelnuts, toasted and roughly chopped  

1 bunch chives, finely chopped 

1 pomegranate, seeds  

20ml pomegranate molasse 

Pinch salt & pepper 

Preheat the oven to 200C.  

Remove the leaves and quarter the cauliflower. Trim a few of the bottom pieces of cauliflower off and place in a saucepan with any other florets that may have come off.  

Heat vegetable oil over a heavy-based pan and colour the cauliflower on cut sides, season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Once coloured, add a splash of water to the tray and cover loosely with foil, so that some of the steam can escape. Put in the oven and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the cauliflower is tender.  

Add half the oat milk, 1 clove of garlic, bay and thyme to the cauliflower in the saucepan.  Cook on medium-low with the lid on until the cauliflower is super soft. If it looks like its drying out too much, add a little more oat milk.    

Finely chop 2 of the reserved cauliflower leaves to resemble the size of bread crumbs (the rest will last for ages in the fridge). Toast bread crumbs with oil and finely chopped cauliflower leaves in a frying pan until golden brown.  

Once the cauliflower is tender, remove the herbs from the sauce and pour into a blender with half of the toasted breadcrumbs, blitz until super smooth. Add more milk if the mixture is too thick. Taste and season.  

In the meantime, roast the hazelnuts and roughly chop.  

Spoon the cauliflower sauce onto a plate, flatten until smooth. Place the cauliflower in the centre of the sauce, top with cumin seeds, pomegranate seeds, chopped hazelnuts, sliced chives and a drizzle of the pomegranate molasses.  

Southern-Fried Drumsticks  

Recipe by: Zacchary Bird 

Time: 1 hour + setting time 

Makes: 4 

2 x (565g)cans young green jackfruit, rinsed and drained 

375ml (1½ cups) chicken style stock 

2 tsp nutritional yeast 

1 tsp onion powder 

5-10 drops liquid smoke 

1 cauliflower  

185 ml (¾ cup) aquafaba 

Canola oil, for deep-frying 

Drumstick spice mix 

110g (¾ cup) plain flour, plus extra for dusting 

1 tbsp brown sugar 

½ tsp sea salt 

½ tsp smoked paprika 

½ tsp onion powder 

½ tsp chilli powder 

¼ tsp garlic powder 

¼ tsp celery salt 

¼ tsp ground sage 

¼ tsp ground allspice 

¼ tsp dried basil 

Pinch of dried oregano 

½ tsp kala namak (Indian black salt or use extra sea salt) 

1 tsp MSG/torula yeast (optional) 

Jackfruit is often mistakenly labelled as ‘vegan pulled pork’ by those who have merely drowned it in barbecue sauce. Instead, try this recipe which allows the jackfruit’s stringy texture and ability to absorb flavour sing. Track down a tin at your local Asian supermarket; you’re looking for the young green jackfruit in brine, as the ripened versions are sweetened in syrup and only appropriate for desserts. The jackfruit is actually a cousin to durian, so don’t bother messing with the fresh stuff unless you absolutely have to. 

Cutaway the hard core from the jackfruit, then squeeze each piece so that any seeds pop out and any excess liquid is removed. Gently pull the jackfruit pieces to make them stringy, then rinse away the remaining brine under warm running water. Squeeze the jackfruit dry. 

Place the jackfruit in a saucepan with the stock, nutritional yeast, onion powder and liquid smoke. Bring the mixture to the boil, stirring frequently, for 10 minutes, then reduce the heat to low and cook for a further 10 minutes or until the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool. Divide the mixture into four portions. 

Starting at the base, cut the cauliflower into quarters. You want to keep the stalk attached to the florets as this will be your ‘chicken bone’. Use a small knife to carefully remove the leaves. Trim the stalks into a rounded bone shape, then cut off the majority of the florets so you are left with a basic chicken drumstick shape. Use the florets to make the Southern-fried cauliflower, by dipping them in leftover aquafaba and spice mix and deep-frying.  

Place a large square of plastic wrap on your work surface and spoon half of one portion of the jackfruit mixture towards the edge closest to you. Lay a cauliflower drumstick on top of the jackfruit mixture with the stalk sticking out the end of the plastic wrap. Add the remaining half portion of jackfruit mixture on top, filling in and loosely covering the florets. 

Pick up the four corners of the plastic wrap and fold them over the jackfruit mixture, twisting to enclose the jackfruit around the florets. Once sealed, gently squeeze the jackfruit mixture to let the excess liquid run down the ‘bone’. Use your hands to mould the jackfruit inside the wrap to evenly cover the cauliflower and mush it into the perfect shape. Repeat for each cauliflower ‘bone’, then place the drumsticks on a tray in your freezer for at least 1 hour to firm up. 

Combine the spice mix ingredients in a large bowl and pour the aquafaba into a separate shallow bowl. Heat the canola oil in a large heavy-based saucepan over medium-high heat. Test if the oil is ready by inserting a wooden skewer or the handle of a wooden spoon into the oil; if it begins to bubble quickly then you’re ready to go. 

Once the drumsticks have firmed up, take them out of the freezer and unwrap the plastic wrap – this is where it gets tricky, because as soon as the jackfruit hits the aquafaba it will want to fall apart, so you need to work quickly. 

Holding a drumstick in one hand, drizzle over enough aquafaba to coat, then place the drumstick into the spice mix and toss extra on top to coat. Use floured hands to press the drumstick back into shape if necessary, then repeat the coating process and set aside while you repeat with the remaining drumsticks. 

Cook the drumsticks in two batches, turning constantly, for 3–5 minutes, until golden on all sides. (Use tongs to turn the drumsticks and make sure you grip them by the fleshy part so they maintain their shape.) Drain on paper towels and serve immediately, picking your jaw up off the ground once you realise how good they are! 

Sesame Smashed Cucumbers with Avocado 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 1–2 

2 Lebanese cucumbers 

½ tsp black sesame seeds 

½ tsp white sesame seeds 

Dressing 

1 tsp sesame oil 

1 tbsp soy sauce 

2 tbsp malt vinegar 

Salt and pepper 

1 sheet nori 

2 spring onions 

1 bunch coriander       

½ cup steamed rice 

1 avocado 

Chop the cucumber into unusual shapes but approximately an inch in length. Put them into a mortar and pestle and break up.  Or alternatively, wrap them in a clean tea towel and hit them with a rolling pin. Toast the sesame seeds and add to the smashed cucumber. Add the soy, sesame oil, malt vinegar, salt and pepper to the cucumbers and mix around.  

Cut the avocado in half, remove the skin and thinly slice, set aside. Wave the nori sheet over the flame of the stove until it becomes soft.  Let sit for 5 seconds and the sheet will become super crisp.  

Cut the spring onion greens on the diagonal, pick a handful of coriander, sprinkle on top. 

Add rice to your serving bowl, top with cucumber, avocado slices, spring onion and coriander. Crush the crispy nori sheet over the dish and pour over the dressing to serve.  

Roast Tomato, Cavolo Nero & Pearl Barley Stew 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 1 hour 

Serves: 6 

4 large ripe tomatoes 

30ml extra virgin olive oil 

1 onion, roughly chopped 

1 bunch cavolo nero 

1 bunch rainbow chard, roughly chopped (reserve the stalks)  

1 stick celery, roughly chopped  

1 carrot, chopped into bite-sized pieces 

4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped 

2 yellow zucchinis, chopped into rough segments   

100g fresh peas 

1.5 litres vegetable stock 

½ cup pearl barley (soak overnight to speed up cooking time)  

1-2 tsp sugar, optional  

Green Sauce  

1 bunch parsley 

1 bunch basil 

1 lemon, zest and juice 

½ garlic clove 

40ml extra virgin olive oil  

Salt & pepper  

Garnish 

Rainbow chard 

Crusty bread, to serve 

In a large heavy cast iron pan on high heat, add the olive oil and the tomatoes and allow to blister like crazy. Keep cooking and cooking until they darken on the skin, split and start to break down.  Turn the heat down if the oil really starts smoking.  Should take approximately 10 minutes.  

Turn the heat to a medium and add the onion celery and carrot, cooking for another 5 minutes or until the onion turns translucent.  Add the pearl barley and cook for 1 minute.  Add the cavolo nero, it might seem like a lot, but these leaves will wilt down to nothing.  Add 1 litre of vegetable stock, reserving the remaining half a litre, then add salt and pepper. Turn the heat down to medium-low and slowly cook away for 10 minutes. The idea is to have the leaves break down and then soak up all the flavour.  Cook for a further 20 minutes.  

In the meantime, in a blender or mortar and pestle add the leaves of the basil and parsley, zest and juice of half a lemon, garlic, olive oil and salt. Blitz until it comes together.  

Finally with 10 minutes to cook, take the lid off and add the squash and rainbow chard, stirring on occasion to make sure everything is cooked. Stir the peas through and turn the heat off, they will cook in the residual heat. Taste the stew and check the seasoning, it may need a little more salt and possibly a small amount of sugar to balance the sweetness.  

In a bowl, ladle in the soup then add a generous spoonful of the green sauce on top. Serve with crusty bread and additional rainbow chard on top. 

Olive & Hazelnut Paste with Grilled Cabbage 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 25 minutes 

Serves: 2 

For the paste 

100g kalamata olives 

50g roasted hazelnuts 

2 tbsp tomato paste 

30ml extra virgin olive oil 

For the cabbage 

¼ green hispi or regular (not savoy) cabbage 

20ml vegetable oil 

2 tbsp maple syrup 

2 tbsp margarine 

1 clove garlic 

2 tbsp dukkah 

1 bunch chives 

Salt & pepper 

Warm all the ingredients with a little oil in a pan,  pour into a blender or mortar and pestle and blitz to a paste. 

Steam the cabbage for 10 minutes. Then in a hot pan add the oil and bring the heat right up. Place the cabbage in. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes on one side, flip the cabbage gently and cook for 5 minutes. Place the maple syrup and margarine into a pan, smash the garlic and place in with the butter. Using a spoon, based the cabbage. When the other side is cooked, remove the cabbage. Chop up the chives finely and blend with the dukkah. Using a spoon, sprinkle over the cabbage, pushing it down, making sure it is sticking. 

Place the olive paste on the bottom of the pan then the cabbage on top pouring a little of the syrup around the cabbage. 

Tomato Entrecote Steak  

Recipe by: Afik Gal  

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4 (adjust the number of tomatoes to match the number of people you are cooking for)  

4 large red bull’s heart tomato 

1 piece of focaccia 

Few sprigs sage\oregano, leaves 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Spicy Green Sauce 

8 green chillis, tops removed halved lengthways, seeds removed, roughly chopped 

3 cloves garlic  

1 small bunch coriander  

Pinch salt  

Pulse, chop  

Pour into a bowl, pour enough olive oil over to cover stir through  

Tomato foam  

1 large tomato  

Reserved tomato  

Blitz in a food processor until smooth  

Pour into a strainer over a bowl, this will help to remove some of the liquid  

Preheat your oven to 250C.  

Remove the tops and bottoms of your tomatoes, reserve the tops and bottoms for the tomato foam.  

Place little pieces of focaccia between the spaces in the tomato steak, as well as a small tear of sage/oregano. Salt and generously sprinkle with olive oil.  

Drizzle a small amount of olive oil onto the tray, place the tomato on top. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until the tomatoes are seared and coloured.  

While the tomatoes are roasting prepare the spicy green sauce. Remove the tops and seeds from the chillis, slice lengthways and roughly chop. Add the coriander, garlic and salt. Pulse to roughly chop the ingredients. Pour the ingredients into a small bowl, cover with extra virgin olive oil and stir through.  

To prepare the tomato foam, roughly chop a large tomato and add it and reserved tomato to a blender. Blitz until smooth and foam. Pour tomato foam into a sieve over a bowl, this will help to remove the liquid from the foam before you serve it.  

Once the tomatoes are ready, strain the tomato foam onto a plate, top with the roasted tomato and sprinkle over droplets of the spicy green sauce. Season with salt and drizzle over extra virgin olive oil to serve.  

Rose Harissa Scramble with Baby Spinach on Toast 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 15 minutes  

Serves: 2 

10ml vegetable oil 

½ red onion, diced 

300g silken tofu 

1 tsp cumin seeds, whole 

1 tbsp rose harissa paste 

1 jarred roasted red pepper 

15ml extra virgin olive oil 

Salt & pepper 

2 slices sourdough 

Cultured oat butter 

1 clove garlic 

Toast the sourdough bread. 

Grilled Peaches with Oat Milk Custard 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 15 minutes 

Serves: 2 

3 peaches 

1 watermelon radish 

1 punnet elderflower 

20g roasted hazelnuts 

Oat custard 

200ml oat milk 

80g icing sugar 

1 tsp cornflour 

1 tsp vanilla essence  

1 lemon, zest only 

Cut two of the peaches in half and rub the cut side with a little oil. Place on a hot griddle pan and cook until the lines are showing nice and dark. Crosshatch the lines and cook for a little longer. Remove from the heat and allow to cool. 

Place the oat milk in a small pan, mix the icing sugar and cornflour together then mix in a very small amount into the dry mixture to wet it.  This helps to stop the dry mixture clumping.  Pour this sludge back into the oat milk, add the vanilla and mix until thickened. 

Place the fruit in a bowl, pour the custard on the side, add the flowers and hazelnuts and small wedges of the fresh remaining peach. 

Brownies 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 1 hour 

Serves: 9-12 

2 tbsp ground flax (heaped) 

½ cup water 

½ cultured oat butter, melted 

¾ cup granulated sugar 

1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed 

1 tsp pure vanilla extract 

½ cup all-purpose flour 

1 cup cocoa powder 

Pinch salt 

1 tsp baking powder 

200g 85% dark chocolate, chopped up roughly 

Preheat the oven to 180C, line a square baking tin with baking paper with little flaps hanging over the side. 

Mix the ground flax and the water together and set aside to thicken and set – this will act as a binding agent. 

In a bowl, whisk the butter, sugar, vanilla extract and flax until all combined. In the same bowl, sift the flour and baking powder, cacao and salt. Mix gently until everything is combined but do not over mix. 

Fold in ¾ of the chopped up dark chocolate, pour into your baking tin and top with leftover chocolate pieces and a tiny pinch of salt. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes.   

When taken out, it might not look cooked, but let cool and the ingredients will start to set.   

Slice into pieces and serve. 

Tempeh & Pesto Wraps 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 4 
 

For the tempeh 

1 portion/packet tempeh 

1 clove of garlic, minced 

1 bunch chives, finely sliced 

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

Salt & pepper 

For the pesto 

1 bunch basil 

50g pine nuts 

30ml extra virgin olive oil 

1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes 

Salt & pepper 

For the wrap 

1 packet wrap style bread 

1 punnet alfalfa sprouts 

1 red or pink cabbage 

2 tbsp vegan Mayo 

½ lemon, juice only 

3 spins of the pepper grinder 

Marinate the tempeh and let sit for as long as possible. Then steam till tender (approx 7 min).   

While the tempeh is steaming, make the pesto.  Add pine nuts to the mortar and pestle and the salt and grind to a paste. Add the basil and grind as well to a paste, finally add the nutritional yeast flakes, grind one more time, then with a spoon, stir in the olive oil to make an amazing paste and set aside. 

Place out the wraps 1 on each plate spread out the alfalfa sprouts.  Then in a separate bowl, shred the red cabbage and pour in the mayo and lemon juice, pepper and mix until combined.  Place these on top of the sprouts. Put on the warm tempeh, pour over the pesto and wrap it up. 

Mushroom Ragu Lasagne with Celeriac Béchamel 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 2 hours + resting time 

Serves:  8 
 

Ragu 

100g swiss brown mushrooms 

4g salt 

50ml vegetable oil 

1 leek, diced 

1 red capsicum, diced 

1 long red chilli, 2 bay 

3 sprigs thyme 

1 stalk celery, diced 

1 carrot, diced 

1 onion, diced 

2 bay 

3 sprigs thyme 

3 cloves garlic, sliced 

300g mixed mushrooms 

30g dried shiitake  

1 tbsp tomato paste 

100ml red wine 

1 x (400g) can cherry tomatoes 

300ml vegetable stock 

½ tsp smoked paprika 

Bunch parsley stalk, roughly chopped 

Plant-Based Bèchamel  

1 celeriac 

300ml oat milk 

2 tbsp nutritional yeast 

¼ tsp salt 

Thyme 

1 packet vegan lasagne sheets 

200g bread crumbs 

2 cloves garlic 

3 sprigs thyme 

Extra virgin olive oil 

Salt 

Method  

Preheat the oven 180C.  

Start by making the cheats mushroom soy sauce. Blitz up the Swiss brown mushroom in a food processor with some salt. Spoon into a bowl and let it sit for as long as it takes to make the rest of the ingredients. 

In the meantime place a large saucepan on medium heat and add the vegetable oil, dice up the leek, capsicum, red chilli with the seeds removed if you would like, celery, carrot, onion, garlic, bay and thyme and place into the pan and cook away for a 10 minutes or so until the onions have become translucent.  This part is the most important part… the longer and slower you cook this part, the deeper and sweeter the flavour will be. But I understand the time thing isn’t everyone’s best ingredient, so cooking it faster is just as delicious.  

Dice up the mixed mushrooms and bung them in. Blend the dried shitake to a powder and throw that in too.  Cook the mushrooms until the liquid has been cooked out. Add the red wine, vegetable stock tin tomatoes, smoked paprika, parsley stalks.  Then add your secret weapon.  Squeeze the liquid out of the salted mushrooms into the pot.  Reserve the mushrooms till the end and keep cooking on medium heat until the liquid has been cooked out again. Cook over a low heat for a further 40 minutes, or until the mixture has reduced.  

In the meantime, peel the celeriac and chop it up into small inch sized bits. Add them to a saucepan with the oat milk, nutritional yeast and salt and pepper and cook until it has gone super soft. Remove the bay leaves and thyme stalks and blitz to a smooth paste. 

Combine the bread crumbs with the thyme and minced garlic.  

Lay a ladle of the mushroom ragu at the bottom of a baking tray, then lay some lasagne sheets on top then more mushroom, then the béchamel then pasta sheets and repeat until you run out of either space, pasta sheets or ragu.  You always, however, want to finish with the béchamel. Top the béchamel with the garlic bread crumb mixture, drizzle a small amount of olive oil to help the breadcrumbs go crispy and top with a pinch of salt. Cover with foil and bake in the oven, after 20 minutes remove the foil and continue baking for another 20 minutes or until the top is delicious and roasty dark and bubbling away. Allow to sit for 30-45 minutes before serving.  

Mushroom Ragu Jaffles with Rocket, Pear & Red Pepper Salad 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 15 minutes 

Serves: 2 
 

200g leftover ragu 

4 pickled onions 

2 big pickles 

4 white bread slices 

20g margarine, room temperature 

For the salad  

2 handfuls of rocket 

1 roasted red pepper skin removed, sliced 

1 pear, sliced  

10ml red wine vinegar 

30ml extra virgin olive oil 

Spread margarine over both sides of the white bread – place the ragu in the centre. The goal here is to fill it the right amount so a little spills out the side when you press it down. Thinly slice the onion and layer on top. Place the other slice of bread on top, put it in the jaffle machine or you can easily do this on a pan on medium-low heat with some oil in to get it nice and crisp and turning it relatively regularly so it doesn’t burn. 

Press the jaffle machine together and cook until it’s all crisp. 

In the mean-time chop up the red pepper and thinly slice the pear and mix it together with the rocket in a bowl. Combine the oil and vinegar, pour over the salad and toss to combine.  

Cut the jaffle into the classic triangle and put on a plate. Hug it with the salad and finally add a pickle.  

Classic Tiramisu 

Recipe by: Nadia Fragnito  
Time: 35 minutes + chilling time 
Serves: 6-8 

½ cup brine from a can chickpeas  

½ cup icing sugar, sifted 

Custard 

2 cups full fat soy milk  

⅓ cup cornflour 

½ cup sugar 

½ cup vegan butter or margarine 

1 tsp vanilla extract  

250g tub vegan cream cheese 

1½ cups brewed espresso coffee, room temperature 

300g vegan sweet biscuits or slices of vegan cake 

4 tbsp coffee or nut liqueur 

½ cup cocoa powder 

To serve (optional)  

1 block 85% dark chocolate (vegan) 

Berries, such as strawberries or raspberries  

Pour the chickpea brine into a very clean bowl. Beat with an electric hand beater or stand mixer on high until stiff peaks form, gradually adding the icing sugar. This could take 5-10 minutes. To check if it is ready, carefully invert the bowl of the aquafaba ‘egg whites’. If the aquafaba doesn’t slide down the bowl then it is ready. 

To prepare the custard, into a medium saucepan, add the soy milk and cornflour and whisk to combine, ensuring the cornflour has dissolved. Add the sugar, butter, vanilla and whisk well. Heat over medium heat, stirring occasionally.  

Once the custard thickens, reduce heat to low and continue to stir for a further 1-2 minutes. Take off the heat and pour into a large bowl.  

Scoop the cream cheese into the custard and beat together with an electric hand mixer until smooth. Fold in the aquafaba a little at a time until it is well combined. This is your custard cream. Set aside. 

Combine the coffee and liqueur in a medium bowl. Dip the biscuits in one at a time for a few seconds, to allow the coffee to soak in a little. If you’re using cake slices, dip into the coffee only briefly. You don’t want the cake to go soggy. Line your dishes or glasses with a layer of the dipped biscuits or cake. 

Scoop custard cream over the biscuits, creating a thick layer. Repeat with another layer of dipped biscuits or cake and a layer of the custard cream. Garnish with a generous dusting of cocoa powder. 

Cover and refrigerate for a minimum of 2 hours to overnight. The tiramisu is best served the next day. Garnish with optional grated dark chocolate and berries.  

Creamy Parsnip Pasta with Leftover Bread Crumble 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 40 minutes 

Serves: 4 

2 parsnips, chopped into small pieces  

200ml nut or oat milk 

2 bay leaf 

½ brown onion, quartered 

2 thyme sprigs 

½ tsp salt & pepper 

1 packet of your favourite pasta 

2 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes 

200g leftover cornbread or regular bread (can be as little or as much as you have) 

1 garlic clove, minced 

½ tsp smoked paprika 

½ bunch parsley, finely chopped 

1 lemon, zest only 

40ml extra virgin olive oil 

Fill a saucepan with water, bring to the boil then add a generous pinch of salt. 

In a pot put your nut milk, I usually use oat as I like the thickness and flavour. Add nut/oat milk to a pot with chopped parsnips, onion, thyme, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a simmer. Cook for 10 minutes on low to medium heat, or until the parsnip is soft.  Place the ingredients into a blender, or use a stick blender, and blitz until super smooth.  The consistency should resemble béchamel.  

Pulse the bread, garlic, nutritional yeast and paprika in a food processor until they are a nice bread crumb consistency. 

Add oil to a warm pan over medium heat. Add the breadcrumbs and cook until they start turning in colour.  Finely dice the parsley, add to the breadcrumbs with the lemon zest and keep cooking until the bread becomes toasty and crunchy. Set aside to cool- it will become crispier as it cools down.   

Add the pasta to the pot of boiling salted water.  When cooked strain the water from the pasta but be sure to save some liquid. Pour the creamy sauce into a pan, add the cooked pasta and a tablespoon or two of the reserved pasta water and mix around until it is all incorporated.   

Divide your pasta amongst plates and sprinkle with the crisp bread crumbs to serve.  

Charred Brussels Sprouts with Pomegranate Molasses & Pistachios 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 30 minutes  

Serves: 4-6 as a side  

300g brussels sprouts, halved lengthwise 

20ml vegetable oil 

Glaze 

½ tsp cumin powder 

½ tsp coriander powder 

Salt & pepper 

30ml pomegranate molasses  

100ml water  

1 radicchio, roughly torn 

To serve 

1 pomegranate, seeds  

100g pistachios, lightly roasted  

Add vegetable oil and sliced brussels sprouts to a hot pan over medium-high heat. Stir the brussels sprouts through the oil and arrange so that the sliced side faces down in the pan.  

Mix the ingredients for the glaze in a small bowl, once the brussel sprouts have coloured, pour in the glaze. Season with salt and pepper. Roughly tear the radicchio and add it to the pan.  

Pour the brussels sprouts into your serving bowl, top with pistachios and pomegranate seeds to serve.  

Bánh Củ Cải – Steamed Radish Cake with Sa Tế  

Recipe by: Thanh Truong 

Time: 1 hour + 20 minutes  

Serves: 6  

Radish Cake 

Mushroom Filling 

6 medium-large dried shiitake mushrooms 

4 Thai red shallots, diced 

1½ tbsp vegetable oil 

1 tbsp light soy sauce 

½ tsp salt 

Daikon 

750g white radish 

1½ tbsp vegetable oil 

2 cloves garlic 

2 shallots 

1 cup water 

1 tsp sugar 

1 tsp salt 

½ tsp onion powder  

¼ tsp ground white pepper 

¼ tsp garlic powder 

Batter 

120g rice flour (extra fine) 

30g tapioca starch (extra fine) 

⅔ cup water (or use residual mushroom water) 

Sate Paste 

2 tsp red pepper flakes 

2 birdseye chillies (seeds removed) 

2 tsp garlic minced 

3-4 stalks lemongrass  

5 red Thai shallots, or 10 Thai shallots  

1 thumb length galangal – blitz  

1 tsp fermented chilli tofu (replacement for fish sauce) 

1 tsp sugar 

6 tbsp vegetable oil 

Salad Mix 

½ navel orange  

2 sticks celery 

1 punnet qukes (mini cucumbers) 

1 pot micro herb – lemon balm, or mint  

Pickled vegetables 

2 carrots 

1 white radish 

60g sugar 

150ml water 

2 tbsp salt 

100ml apple cider vinegar 

Garnish 

A handful of finely chopped spring onions or coriander on top of radish cake 

Method 

For the radish cake, soak the dried shiitake mushrooms in water overnight. Keep the water. Remove stalks and chop the mushrooms. 

Heat saucepan, add boiling water and mushrooms and cook for 2 minutes, adding water as necessary to keep mushrooms moist. As moisture disappears turn heat to medium, add oil, diced shallots, soy sauce and salt. Combine well then transfer to a bowl.  

Cut the white radish top off, peel the skins off removing the fibrous outer shell. Place a wide bowl under grater, and grate the white radish using the large hole side of the box grater. 

Heat oil in a saucepan over high heat and brown diced shallots and garlic for 1 minute. Add grated radish and juices into the saucepan, add water, sugar, salt, and powders into the saucepan and stir well. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.  

Start on the batter mix: Mix rice and tapioca starch well in a bowl and the combine with residual mushroom water and stir until batter is smooth. 

Turn off saucepan cooking the radish and add the cooked mushroom mixture and stir well. Then, add the batter and stir well.  

Oil the cake tin/pan and then move combined batter mix into the pan, flattening the top with a spoon or spatula.  

Add water to the steamer and bring water to boil, ensuring the water level is just below where the cake tin will be placed. Place the cake tin in the steamer. Cover with lid and steam for 30-35 minutes. 

Uncover the wok. And let radish cake cool for 10 minutes. Remove any water on the top layer of batter mix. Cool the cake tin in the fridge (covered in glad wrap)  

Once the cake has been chilled to room temp (about 30 minutes in the fridge), Slice the cake into 3 x 2” rectangles. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Dust the radish cakes with rice flour for extra crisp and then cook in a saucepan for 4 minutes on each side until the skin is crispy.  
 

For the sate paste, blitz shallots and galangal into a fine texture, then add to a large pan with lemongrass stalks and shallow fry on medium-low heat for 10 minutes. Add all of the sate paste ingredients into the pan and fry on low heat for a further 12-15 minutes. Remove the large lemongrass pieces, add fresh chilli and season with fermented tofu and sugar. 

For the pickled vegetables, cut white radish and carrot into 3mm matchsticks. Rub chopped white radish with salt well to remove excess water and odour. Allow to sit for 20 minutes, then rinse thoroughly and drain. 

Combine wet ingredients and sugar to make pickling juice. Whisk well. Split pickling juice into two batches and steep carrots and white radish separately. Allow to pickle for 30-45 minutes. 

For the vibrant greens, cut celery thinly sliced 45° angle, 3mm slices and cucumbers diagonally or use a peeler to make strips. 

Squeeze the juice out of half an orange in a bowl, toss celery and mini cucumbers in a bowl. Place greens on a plate and place lemon balm micro herb and generously place over the greens 

To plate, stack 3 cakes on top of each other. Place sauce ramekin on a plate beside pancakes. Place pickled vegetables and greens adjacent to garnish. 

Ingredients: 

1 granny smith apple 

2 tbsp raw sugar 

1 tbsp caster sugar 

½ tsp salt 

1½ cups all-purpose flour 

¼ cups warm water 

⅔ cup warm oat milk 

7g dry active yeast 

For the icing  

1 cup icing sugar 

¼ cup apple juice 

Vegetable oil, for frying 

1 granny smith apple, cut into matchsticks for serving 

 
Method:  
In a large bowl combine the flour, warm oat milk, warm water, salt, sugar and yeast. 

Grate the fresh granny smith apple, add to the batter mixture and stir through.  

Heat oil to around 170-180 degrees celsius. Use hands or spoon to drop apple batter into the oil to make fritters and leave to cook for 7-8 minutes or until golden and crispy.  

Add icing sugar to a bowl, and whisk in the apple juice one tablespoon at a time until resembling a glaze consistency. 

Take out the apple fritters and drain on paper towel. Add glaze on top and finish with fresh apple matchsticks. 

Episode 12

For the sofrito 

1 fennel bulb 

1 white onion 

50g pine nuts 

½ cup extra virgin olive oil 

2 punnets strawberries 

Salt & pepper 

For the beetroots 

2 golden beetroots 

1 bunch chervil  

Finely dice the fennel and onion and add them to a pan with the oil and nuts. Cook slowly for 30 minutes. In the meantime take the tops off the tomatoes and wash. Crush with a fat knife or use your hands. Place the juice along with the tomatoes into the pan and cook for another 30 minutes. 

While the sofrito is cooking, add the beets to a steaming pot and steam for 30 to 40 minutes or until a knife slides in with a little give so not to lose the texture. 

Place the sofrito at the bottom of the wide bowl. Add the beetroots whole or halved, then add the chervil.  Serve 

Roasted Cauliflower with Burnt Orange & Kimchi Cream  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 40 minutes 

Serves: 4 as a side  

1 cauliflower 

Salt  

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 

200g kimchi  

150g silken tofu  

2 navel oranges  

1 tsp sugar 

Chives, finely chopped   

Preheat the oven to 200C.  

Break the cauliflower into bite-sized florets and add to a big bowl. Toss with a pinch of salt and drizzle with olive oil. Roast on a tray in the oven for 30 minutes or until golden brown.  

In a blender add tofu, kimchi, juice of one orange and sugar and blend until smooth, then strain.  

Cut the remaining orange into segments and cook in a pan until caramelised.  

Fried Beans with Hazelnuts & Preserved Lemons  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 10 minutes  

Serves: 4-6 as a side 

500g green beans 

100g hazelnuts, roasted  

1 preserved lemon, cut into small cubes 

2-3 tbsp vegetable oil  

To serve 

Drizzle extra virgin olive oil  

Roughly chop the preserved lemon into small cubes.  

Roughly crush the hazelnuts, not too small as we still want them to have texture.  

Add vegetable oil to a hot wok, and heat until smoking. Carefully add your beans to the wok, toss in the oil, leave the beans until they begin to colour and blister, then toss them to colour on all sides. Add the preserved lemon and hazelnuts to the beans, don’t get too much heat on these, toss through to warm then serve.  

Drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over the beans to serve.  

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 180C. 

Tomato & Almond Feta Salad 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4 

1 Adelaide tomato 

1 green tomato or black tomato (or just a few different varieties)  

1 bunch purple basil (preferably with flowers on them) 

1 baby chicory/radicchio  

1 jar almond feta 

Salt & pepper 

For the dressing 

1 tbsp red wine vinegar 

1 tsp mustard seeds 

3 tbsp oil from the jar of feta 

Thinly slice the tomatoes lay them on a large flat plate alternating colours, peel the leaves of the lettuce and squeeze in. Pick the basil and wash, crumble the feta on top. 

Make the dressing in a jar, drizzle over the top. Finally, drop the basil leaves over everything add a couple more pieces of the feta and serve. 

Broccoli, Cranberry & Cashew Pizza 

Recipe by: Tim Bone  

Time: 30 minutes 

Serves: 1-2 

Pizza dough  

1 cup plain coconut yoghurt 

1 cup self-raising flour, plus extra to knead 

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil 

Salt & pepper 

1 tsp fresh lemon juice 

Toppings 

2 cloves of garlic finely chopped  

1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets  

¼ cup dried cranberries 

¼ cup toasted cashews 

2 cups plant-based shredded mozzarella or cheddar 

1 tsp dried chilli flakes 

Sea salt flakes  

Freshly cracked pepper 

To serve  

1 lemon, zest and juice 

1 bunch of basil 

Preheat the oven to 250C. 

To make the dough in a bowl (or can be done in a mixer with a dough hook) add sifted flour and yoghurt, olive oil, squeeze of lemon and a pinch of salt and pepper then mix until combined. Knead on a floured bench until dough is a soft springy consistency.  

Knead the dough on a clean board that has been lightly dusted with flour until it comes together in a smooth ball. If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour. Roll dough out 1/2 cm thick and place on a tray lined with baking paper. 

Mix garlic with 2 tbsp of olive oil and brush onto the base of the pizza. Add some cheese to the base to act as the glue for the other toppings. Top with broccoli florets, dried cranberries, cashews and more cheese, sprinkle with chilli flakes and season with salt and pepper. 

Cook pizza in a hot oven for 8-10 minutes or until the base has browned and crisped. Serve with some freshly grated lemon zest and torn basil leaves on top. Season with salt and pepper. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and a drizzle of olive oil. 

Soy Milk Broth 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 20 minutes 

Serves: 2 

¼ cup toasted amaranth or perilla seeds  

½ cup salted mixed nuts  

500ml soy milk 

1 tbsp soy sauce, or to taste  

Serving suggestion 

Hokkien or ramen noodles  

Bok choy, lightly steamed  

Mushrooms 

Baby corn  

Chilli oil 

Pour amaranth into a hot saucepan over high heat. Heat the amaranth until it pops, swirling the pan to ensure it doesn’t burn. Once most of the amaranth has popped, turn the heat off and allow it to cool slightly in the pan.  

Add soy milk, mixed nuts and cooled amaranth to a blender and blend until everything has combined.  

Strain the mixture into the saucepan with soy sauce and simmer for a few minutes to warm the broth. If the broth thickens too much add a dash of water.  

Place your favourite ramen ingredients into a bowl, pour over a generous amount of broth and top with your favourite condiments. I suggest noodles, lightly steamed bok choy, mushrooms, baby corn and a generous spoonful of chilli oil.  

Fried Bean Empanadas with Coriander Dipping Sauce 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 4 

Ingredients 

40ml vegetable oil 

1 garlic clove 

2 leeks 

1 red capsicum 

1 x (400g) can pinto beans 

1 tsp cumin seeds 

½ tsp smoked paprika 

Pinch salt & pepper 

Dough  

300g white cornmeal 

450ml water 

½ tsp salt 

Coriander Dipping Sauce  

1 bunch coriander 

1 bunch mint, leaves 

2 limes, juice only 

1 long green chilli, remove the seeds and vein for a milder spice 

2 tbsp caster sugar 

½ cup water 

500ml vegetable oil for frying 

In a pan on medium heat, add diced garlic, diced leeks, diced red capsicum and a pinch of salt until the leek is translucent and the peppers have leached out their red colouring, for about 10 minutes stirring slowly.  Add the whole cumin and smoked paprika and cook for another 30 seconds.  Add the tin of pinto beans, cooking for 5 more minutes on medium heat. With a masher, mash the ingredients roughly.  You don’t want the consistency of mashed potatoes as a little texture is always nice. Set aside to cool. 

Burnt Pineapple with Coconut Cream & Toasted Coconut Crumble 

Recipe by: Simon Toohey  

Time: 45 minutes 

Serves: 2 

Ingredients  

¼ pineapple, skin and core removed  

1 tsp vegetable oil  

Coconut caramel  

75g caster sugar 

25ml coconut rum  

75ml coconut cream 

Chantilly coconut cream 

1 x (400ml) can coconut cream, chilled  

3 tbsp icing sugar 

½ tsp vanilla extract 

Crumble 

½ cup toasted coconut flakes 

½ cup toasted almonds, roughly chopped  

½ block (40g) mylk white chocolate, grated 

To serve 

Roasted coconut  

Lime, zest  

Add pineapple and oil in a hot frypan over medium heat. Caramelise on each side 

Add ingredients for your cream to a large bowl and whisk until stiff peaks form.  

Pulse coconut and almonds until they break down to a crumb-like consistency. Place in a bowl and mix through the grated chocolate.  

Once the pineapple has caramelised, remove from the pan and set aside. Add the caster sugar to the pan and dissolve. Flambe with coconut rum. Add coconut cream and stir through to create a smooth caramel. Turn off the heat and return pineapple to the pan coating it in the caramel.  

To serve, place a generous spoonful of the crumble on a plate, top with the grilled, caramel-coated pineapple and spoonfuls of your chantilly coconut cream. Top with roasted coconut pieces, a drizzle of any remaining caramel and lime zest for a pop of colour.  

Bánh Xèo – Turmeric Pancake  

Author: Thanh Truong 

Time: 1 hour 

Serves: 3 

Ingredients 

Pancake Batter Mix (Bánh Xèo) 

220g rice flour (00 fine, erawan brand) 

1 tbsp of tapioca starch 

2 tsp of turmeric powder  

325ml juice of fresh young coconut  

200ml coconut milk  

½ tsp salt  

⅓ bunch of spring onion (green part) 

Stir Fry Condiments 

200g baby spinach leaves 

1 shallot, diced  

1 clove of garlic, diced 

1 birdseye chilli, deseeded 

1 tsp of salt  

1 tsp of sugar  

3 cubes of fermented chilli bean curd 

1 tsp of cornflour (dissolved in 1 tbsp cold water) 

100g dried mung beans 

250g fresh bean shoots  

Dipping sauce 

2 tbsp light soy sauce 

1 tsp apple cider vinegar 

2 tsp sugar 

1 clove of garlic 

1 birdseye chilli, seeds removed, finely diced  

Garnishes & Serving Bowl 

1 purple oakleaf lettuce 

1 bunch Vietnamese mint 

1 bunch mint 

1 bunch purple perilla leaf  

Method 

Put Mung beans in a small pot of cold water, and boil on low heat for 30 minutes. Pot Ratio should be ¼ beans ¾ water, so plenty of water. When the beans start to split, they are ready. Remove from pot, drain and remove. 
 

Mix Pancake Batter ingredients in a large bowl. Let it rest for 10 minutes. 

Heat wok, add vegetable oil, add shallot. Let onion brown, then add the garlic. Let garlic brown then add the spinach. When the spinach starts to wilt (1 min) and then add cooked mung beans. Add salt, sugar and fermented bean curd. Toss well and then immediately add cornflour and cook through for 1 minute to thicken the sauce. Add the chilli, and stir through. Add water if required. Set aside. 

Frying Pancake Technique – Using a 28cm diameter non-stick pan, heat on medium heat for a good 1 minute, the pan must be dry, fuming, and importantly sizzling hot –  make sure flame is just hitting the base of the pan, the flame should not be curving around the upward lip.  

Pour oil in the pan, spread by handling the wok and angling in all directions, pour out all oil into a bowl. 

Pour 1 mixture from the rice bowl (approx. 150mls) into the pan.  

Immediately turn the mixture around clockwise to spread the mixture around the wok. Be STEADY, not too quick. 

Close lid for 2 minutes, set a timer. 

Remove the lid, using a teaspoon gently drip oil onto the sides of the pancake, swirling the pancake on an angle at the same time. Add ingredients immediately to one side. Add (1) Mung Bean & Spinach Stir Fry, then place the fresh bean shoots on top. Do not put the lid back on as you want the pancake to dry!! When right crispness, turn over for several seconds and you’re done. 

For the dipping sauce, dissolve sugar in soy sauce and ACV and finely dice garlic and chillies (seeds removed). 

To plate up, place pancakes on 1 side of the dish. Place lettuce, herbs and dipping sauce on the other side to garnish. 

Arepa Stuffed with Avocado and Fried Beans  

Recipe by: Simon Toohey 

Time: 50 minutes 

Serves: 4-6 

Ingredients 

Arepa dough  

300g white cornmeal 

525ml water 

½ tsp salt 

2 avocados 

20ml extra virgin olive oil 

Salt 

Lemon juice  

Lemon Tofu Cream 

200g silken tofu  

45ml lemon juice 

Generous pinch salt  

1 tsp sugar 

Fried Beans 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

1 red capsicum, diced 

2 cloves garlic, roughly diced 

1 onion, diced 

1 x (420g) can kidney beans 

50ml water 

Salt & pepper 

To serve 

1 bunch coriander 

Method 

Preheat your oven to 180C.  

In a bowl, mix the cornmeal, water, salt together to make a very pliable dough.  If you are of the age, then playdough texture is what you are looking for, without the spring back.  

This is the difficult part.  Take 80 grams of dough from the bulk amount and roll into a ball in the palm of your hands. Then press and turn and press back and forth between your palms until the dough has turned into a round patty like shape. Alternatively, you can use two pieces of baking paper and use something flat to press it down.  Don’t make it too thin as you want to be able to cut it open and stuff it. Repeat until all the dough has been used.  

Use some paper towel to spread a small amount of oil in your pan. Place the arepa onto the pan on medium heat and cook for 7 minutes on each side.  Then place them on a lined baking tray and in the oven for 15-20 minutes.  They will take longer than you think to cook all the way through. 

While they are cooking, mash the avocado with olive oil, a squeeze of lemon and salt. Mix together so that the ingredients have combined but the avocado is still a little chunky.  

To prepare the lemon tofu, place silken tofu into a blender with lemon juice, and a pinch of salt and sugar and blitz to a cream.  

Place capsicum, garlic and onion in a frying pan on medium heat with some oil and slowly cook, trying not to get any colour on them.  Cook for 10 minutes or until the onions and garlic have become translucent.  

Add the kidney beans and 50ml of water. Cook slowly until most of the water has been cooked out. Use a masher to mash the beans. You don’t want to mash them all, just enough to make the bean mixture thicken. If you feel that the mixture is becoming too dry, add more water. Taste and season with salt and pepper.  

Cut along the edge of the Arepa, opening it up like a pita. If it is still soft inside, scrape out the soft parts. Fill it with the bean mixture, avocado and lemon tofu, garnish with coriander to serve.