The Vegan Aruba team’s favorite recipes

It’s that time of year when you have dinner parties to attend or to host. Or some of us just get in the mood to cook a little special to chime in with the special season. So we thought we’d share some of The Vegan Aruba team’s favorite recipes with you!

Pumpkin Soup

Let’s start off with Cristina’s favorite soup recipe. This one’s great as an appetizer!

INGREDIENTS 

• 1 Large pumpkin (approx. 1 kg)

• 1 Large yellow onion (chopped)

• 2/3 Large garlic cloves (crushed)

• 1 Tsp fresh ginger (finely chopped)

• 1 Tbsp coconut oil

• 1 Can of coconut milk (400 ml)

• 1 Tsp thyme

• 1 Vegan bouillon cube

• Cayenne pepper to taste

• Salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 200°C, cut pumpkin into medium cubes and bake for 30 minutes or until soft. Skin should be easily peeled off

2. Add coconut oil to a large pot and sauté onions, garlic, and fresh ginger

3. Once cooked, add vegan bouillon, pumpkin, and coconut milk together with all the spices and bring to a boil

4. Turn down to a low heat and allow pumpkin to cook until easily mashed

5. Transfer into a blender or use an immersion blender until getting a creamy smooth texture (add a splash of water if consistency is too thick)

Roasted Smoked Tofu “Turkey” a L’orange

with roasted carrots, onions, potatoes, and vegan gravy

Now we’re moving on to Meredith’s favorite that you can use as a great entree. You’re sure to wow your dinner party with this one!

INGREDIENTS

• 7 packages of “Super Firm” Tofu (If it’s not super firm, then make sure you press the water out first)
• Tofu marinade: 2 Tbsp Liquid Smoke + 1/2 – 3/4 cup Tamari (gluten free soy sauce)
• 4 bags baby carrots
• 4 bags baby yellow potatoes
• 3 large yellow onions (or 6 small)
• Vegan butter
• 5 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 liters orange juice (no pulp)
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup Coconut sugar
• Vegan Gravy (See recipe below)
• Herbs de Provence (or a spice mix with sage, thyme, rosemary & marjoram) – you’ll use a few tablespoons

Vegan Gravy

(Gravy recipe is adapted from ohsheglows.com)

• 7 cups vegetable broth (I used “Better than Bouillon” paste to make the broth)
• 1 cup + 3/4 cup nutritional yeast
• 2 Tablespoons dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup tamari
• 6 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup tahini
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses
• 3 teaspoons maple syrup
• 3/4 cup olive oil

METHOD

*Preheat oven to 200C

Step 1: Remove tofu from package and rinse under cool water. Slice super firm tofu into slices (about 8 or 9 slices per package). Place tofu in a bowl or tupperware to marinate. Pour tamari and liquid smoke over the tofu and let sit (use enough tamari so that all of the tofu has some tamari on it)

Step 2: Sautée carrots, baby potatoes, and thickly sliced chunks of yellow onion in a large pot with vegan butter and garlic. Stir and cook and medium heat for 5 minutes.

Step 3: Add orange juice to just almost cover the vegetables (use only what you need to just barely cover everything) and then add the coconut sugar and stir. Let simmer at medium-low for 15 minutes.

Step 4: Transfer the vegetables/orange juice mixture into a large oven-safe baking dish and then lay tofu slices on top of vegetables. Pour vegan gravy over the tofu until the tofu is completely covered in the gravy. Sprinkle the Herbs de Provence over the tofu so that all of the tofu has a good sprinkling of spices. (Any leftover gravy can be simmered in a small pot and reserved on the side for pouring later).

Step 5: Put the dish in the oven at 200C and cook for 15 mins. Carefully remove from oven and stir just enough to pour some of the liquid from underneath onto the tofu, then place it back into the oven for 15-25 minutes until cooked to your desired brownness. When done, tofu should be slightly browned and the carrots and potatoes should be cooked through.

Baby spinach and roasted chickpeas salad

with a zesty orange dressing

Now, what’s a dinner without the sides? Next up is Varsha’s salad recipe that will go well with that delicious tofu turkey!

INGREDIENTS

• 2 cups baby spinach
• a handful of arugula
• 1/4 cup cherry tomatoes
• a medium sized mango
• half cup of roasted chickpeas
• 1/4 cup cubed cucumber
• 1/4 cup loose corn
• a handful of chopped cilantro

Roasted Chickpeas

• 1/2 cup of chickpeas
• 1 tsp cumin powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp onion powder
• 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• salt & pepper to taste
• 1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

Dressing

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• a squeeze of orange juice
• 1 tbsp orange zest
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper to taste

METHOD

1. Roast your chickpeas: coat your chickpeas with all the spices mentioned above. Spread your chickpeas evenly on a pan. Put these in an oven at 180 C for about 15 minutes or until your chickpeas look golden brown.
2. Throw together all your salad ingredients in a medium sized bowl. Use a fork and spoon to mix the ingredients together.
3. Mix your dressing ingredients with a fork or whisk and keep aside.
4. When ready to serve, pour dressing over your salad and mix well.

Vegan Gingerbread Cookies

(RECIPE FROM DOMESTIC GOTHESS)

After a nice entree comes: DESSERT! Next up we’ve got Mellaney’s favourite cookie recipe. It’s a great way to have fun with your kids too!

INGREDIENTS

• 150 g (1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp) vegan block butter (I use Naturli Vegan Block)
• 120 g (2/3 cup) light brown soft sugar
• 100 g (3 ½ oz) golden syrup
• 50 g (1 ¾ oz) black treacle (or molasses)
• 3 ½ tsp ground ginger
• 3 ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp ground allspice
• 3/4 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
• 380 g (3 cups + 2 Tbsp) plain (all-purpose) flour (plus extra for dusting)

Vegan Royal Icing

• 300 g (2 ½ cups) icing (powdered) sugar sifted
• 1 Tbsp lemon juice (plus extra as needed)
• 2 Tbsp aquafaba (or use extra lemon juice or water instead)

METHOD

1. Place the butter, sugar, golden syrup and treacle in a medium saucepan over a low heat and stir until melted. Remove from the heat.

2. Add the ginger, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and bicarbonate of soda and whisk until smooth. The mixture will foam up a bit.

3. Add the flour and stir with a wooden spoon until well combined and no dry patches of flour remain. Wrap the dough in clingfilm or an environmentally friendly alternative and refrigerate for a couple of hours until it is firm enough to roll out.

4. Roll the dough out either on a lightly floured surface or between two sheets of baking parchment to about 3-5mm thick, depending on how thick you want your cookies.

5. Cut out as many shapes as you can with your choice of cookie cutters. Bring the scraps together into a ball and re-roll to cut out more shapes.

6. Place them well spaced apart on a couple of baking sheets lined with baking parchment. (They will spread a little as they cook so make sure they have a bit of room).

7. Place the trays in the freezer for 15 minutes until firm. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 180°C/350°F/gas mark 4.

8. Bake the cookies for 8-12 minutes depending on whether you want them soft or crunchy and how big they are. Little ones will cook more quickly than larger cutouts. The cookies will still be very soft but will firm up as they cool. I bake mine until they are beginning to brown around the edges.

9. Leave the cookies to cool on the trays for a couple of minutes then carefully transfer them to a wire rack and leave to cool completely.

10. Once the cookies are cold make the royal icing. Place the sifted icing sugar in a bowl and stir in the lemon juice and aquafaba. The icing should be thick but pourable. If you drizzle some back into the bowl the pattern should disappear after 10 seconds or so. If it is too thick stir in a drop more lemon juice, and if it is too runny add some extra sifted icing sugar.

11. Transfer the icing to a piping bag fitted with a small round writing nozzle and decorate the cookies as you like.

12. Leave the decorated cookies to dry flat for a couple of hours before storing in an airtight container.

     

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Together these recipes make a whole 4 course menu! Which recipe are you going to try? We hope this serves as inspiration for your next lunch or dinner. It’s great around the holidays. But it’s nice to have a good meal, like this, any time of year!

Let us know which recipe you’re going to try or you love the most!

Author: Varsha Melwani

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