By Christine Salins.
Happy bellies make for happy people, and eating plants makes for happy bellies. So say Caroline Griffiths and Vicki Valsamis in the introduction to Eat Plants, Be Happy! (Smith Street Books, RRP $39.99).
Their collection of 130 vegetarian and vegan recipes puts the spotlight on vegetables as the foundation of boldly flavourful meals. “Eating an abundance of plants not only nourishes our bodies, it can lift our spirits and soothe our souls,” write Griffiths, a Melbourne nutritionist and food stylist, and Valsamis, one of the country’s leading food stylists and recipe developers.
“We think everyone should eat more plants, and we don’t just mean two carrots instead of one – it’s about enjoying all the colours of the veggie rainbow. Veggies, in all their wonderful and sometimes weird forms, too often play second fiddle in a meal, and we’re here to change that mindset.”
Each chapter looks at a different group of vegetables: flowers, shoots & stems (eg. artichoke, asparagus, bok choy); leaves & leafy greens (eg. Silverbeet, rainbow chard); seeds & pods (eg. broad beans, green beans, snow peas); fruiting veg (eg. cucumbers, eggplants, jalapeño chillies, tomatoes); roots (eg. beetroot, carrots, parsnips); tubers (eg. Jerusalem artichokes, potatoes); and bulbs & fungi (eg. mushrooms, garlic).
Amongst the leaves and leafy greens are health-giving recipes such as Spinach & green curry coconut soup, while in the Fruiting veg chapter, there’s an intriguing Asian Gazpacho, the Spanish classic with a south-east Asian twist.
In the Seeds & pods chapter, Steamed beans with lemon & pistachio dukkah entices, as do Corn tikkis with raita & tamarind sauce, a spicy, flavoursome way to use up leftover cooked corn. The recipe here includes tamarind sauce, which can be made a few days ahead but should be brought to room temperature to serve.
If you want to ‘veganise’ the recipes, there are tips and helpful substitutions, highlighted with icons on the relevant pages.
Corn Tikkis with Raita & Tamarind Sauce
Makes about 24 tikkis
110 g (¾ cup) frozen corn kernels, blanched
50 g (⅓ cup) cooked peas
2 large boiled potatoes, about 600 g in total
100 g (1 cup) dry breadcrumbs
1 teaspoon garam masala
½ teaspoon chopped chilli
2 garlic cloves, crushed
½ teaspoon finely chopped ginger
small handful of coriander leaves, finely chopped
vegetable oil, for shallow-frying
TAMARIND SAUCE
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1½ teaspoons cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon garam masala
275 g (1¼ cups) sugar
60 ml (¼ cup) tamarind purée
RAITA
250 g (1 cup) Greek-style yoghurt
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 small cucumber, grated and strained
To make the tamarind sauce, heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the ginger, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, cayenne pepper and garam masala and stir for 1 to 2 minutes, or until the spices are aromatic.
Pour in 500 ml (2 cups) water, then add the sugar and tamarind purée, stirring to combine. Increase the heat and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 40 minutes, or until the mixture coats the back of a spoon. Remove from the heat and set aside to cool completely.
Combine the raita ingredients in a small bowl. Mix together with a spoon, then cover and set aside in the fridge until required.
To make the tikkis, put the corn, peas and potatoes in a mixing bowl and roughly mash using a potato masher. Stir in the breadcrumbs, garam masala, chilli, garlic, ginger and coriander, mixing thoroughly.
Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
Scoop out two tablespoons of the mixture into your hand and form into a round patty. Place on a lined baking tray and repeat with the remaining mixture.
Heat 1 cm of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Working in batches, cook the tikkis for 4 minutes on each side, or until golden. Drain on paper towel.
Transfer to a serving plate and serve immediately with the raita and tamarind sauce.
From: Eat Plants, Be Happy!, by Caroline Griffiths and Vicki Valsamis, published by Smith Street Books, RRP $39.99.
