November is World Vegan Month - a time to celebrate eating, cooking and buying all things plant based.
Undoubtedly two women that have helped drive the move of many to a more plant-based lifestyle in New Zealand are Margo and Rosa Flanagan, otherwise known as The Raw Sisters.
The best-selling authors and cooks will be appearing at the Auckland Food Show this week, showing to crowds how to bring to life some of their recipes, all of which are cost effective, time efficient, sustainable and designed to be super easy and make you feel great.
It's not a 'vegan only' zone - the sisters say neither of them are vegan or vegetarian, and they welcome all eaters into their kitchen.
They've given Newshub some tips for incorporating more veggies into their det, with their top three tips for cooking plant-based this summer.
Start your meal with your plants rather than meat
Our new cookbook, All Eaters Welcome is all about this and making your meals delicious. There is so much fantastic produce around at the moment, so make one or two delicious salads filled with loads of colours and textures. Once you have your plant-based options, then think about what meat will complement the salad best. By focusing on your plants first, you will naturally decrease your meat intake plus you will cater to all diners, whether they eat meat or not.
Don't get caught up on having to follow a recipe
During summer, many of us are away from our home kitchens and are in holiday homes. We don't necessarily have fully stocked pantries or access to a supermarket nearby. We encourage people to have the confidence, freedom and creativity in themselves and use a recipe as a guideline. Use what you have in the pantry and use the produce you have available and on hand at the time.
You can do better than iceberg lettuce, cucumber and tomato salads
No wonder people think plant-based eating is boring and flavourless! A delicious, substantial plant-based salad needs lots of textures, flavours and colours. Think a grain, legume, summer produce, nuts and seeds and a delicious dressing.
Our Roasted Eggplant, Chickpea Smash + Herb Yoghurt is a great example.
Recipe: Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 2 eggplants, roughly cut into chunks
- 2 tbsp Oil
- Sea Salt
- Chickpea Smash:
- 1x 400g can of chickpeas, drained + rinsed
- 1 tbsp tahini
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
- Sea salt
- Black Pepper
- Herb Yoghurt:
- 1/3 cup coconut yoghurt
- Handful fresh herbs, roughly chopped
- 1 tsp pomegranate molasses
- Sea Salt
Method:
- Pre-heat the oven to 200C.
- On a baking tray, place the eggplant chunks and drizzle over the oil and sea salt. Toss to combine. Place in the oven to cook for 25mins.
- While the eggplant is cooking, make the chickpea smash. In a bowl, add the chickpeas and crush using your hands. You want approximately half to be crushed/ half whole.
- Add the tahini, cumin, apple cider vinegar + sea salt to the chickpeas. Mix until everything is well combined. Set aside.
- For the herb yoghurt, add all ingredients into a small blender and blend until a green smooth sauce is made.
- To serve, place the eggplant on the bottom of a flat salad platter. Top with the crushed chickpeas, followed by the herb yoghurt. Alternatively do the above process but divide between 4 individual plates.
- Any leftovers will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
To catch more from Rosa and Margo, tickets to The Auckland Food Show are available from the website.
