To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
The video for this recipe is up on the Youtube channel. Click the image below to watch & please subscribe!
So – flipping around the internet, I came across a recipe from a blog I love. The blog is Pinch of Yum. I love the blog because the photographs are mercilessly lush & gorgeous. About a year ago, she posted her “life-changing 30 minute masala sauce” and the photos are so great – I just could not get the recipe out of my mind – so – I made it! She offers the recipe for a masala paste & then how to make a sauce from the paste. She served the sauce over her “30-minute vegetarian meatballs.” I did not have the ingredients for the meatballs so I decided to serve my sauce over Gardein beefless tips & chickpeas.
The paste is SUPER easy. You just whip it up in a food processor. The sauce is super easy, too, and she is right! It is delicious! You could serve the sauce over any meat or meatless meat or veggie or even rice or pasta you desire. The paste makes a lot so maybe freeze some.
I did not have onions so I used shallots & scallions. I used two tomatoes & some tomato paste in place of her suggested 1½ cups tomato puree + ½ cup water or broth – just because that was all I had. Worked out great! I recommend you make this sauce & follow her blog. It is really wonderful!
Vegan Life Changing Masala with Beef & Chickpeas
Serves 4 with rice
INGREDIENTS
9 oz vegan beef (or other vegan meat)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas – drained
for the masala paste
2 onions
5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, crushed
3 tablespoon garam masala
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon turmeric
1 tablespoon cumin
1½ teaspoons ground cloves
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
a small pile of of cilantro stems
a fistful of almonds
juice of one lemon
for the masala sauce
1½ cups tomato puree + ½ cup water or broth
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
½ teaspoon salt (taste and adjust)
GARNISH – cooked rice & cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Pulse all the ingredients for the Masala Paste in a food processor until smooth. Put it into a container for storage in the fridge or freezer – reserving only 1/4 cup of the paste for this recipe. The rest is extra!
Heat a drizzle of oil in a skillet. Add 1/4 cup masala paste to the skillet and with a little bit of oil and stir around in the pan until fragrant (3-5 minutes). Add the tomato puree and water and simmer until t’s a rusty-deep-red color – about 5-10 minutes. Add the beef & chickpeas. Add the coconut milk; simmer for 10 minutes or so until thick and creamy. Longer simmer = thicker and better flavor.
Serve over warm rice & garnish with chopped cilantro.
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
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All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
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My original post for shawarma (May 30, 2014) only presented the recipe as a traditional pita sandwich. But – today on my Youtube channel (www.VideoVegan.com) – I offered the idea of making tacos. They are a revelation! I recommend them very highly! Click the image below to watch the video & please subscribe to my channel.
OK! There are not a lot of foods I really miss since I gave up meat 25 years ago but gyros & shawarma are two things definitely on the “miss list.”
I used Beyond Meat vegan chicken & I recommend it very highly – though you can use another brand. At any rate – whatever you use – the longer you marinate if for the better – overnight being optimal.
I made the garlic paste (or a version of it) that they serve at Zankou chicken, here in LA. It is a bright, white paste that has a bit of a gritty texture & seems to be just mashed garlic. I was HORRIFIED to discover – it does have a lot of garlic but it has even more OIL! It is basically an aioli. Or a mayonnaise. Damn. So – it is not a guiltless pleasure but you don’t need tons before you run the risk of setting things ablaze just by breathing your garlic shit storm on them – so do not sweat the calories too much.
Mmmm! Tzatziki!
There are a lot of ingredients in the chicken marinade but only the cardamom is remotely exotic & you probably already have most of them in your cabinets – so do not be intimidated. If you do not have or cannot find ground cardamom – never fear! Substitutes: equal parts ground nutmeg and cinnamon OR equal parts ground cloves and cinnamon OR nutmeg OR cinnamon
Garlic Paste (Toum)
This makes quite a bit but it should keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 small potato (I used a Yukon Gold) – boiled until soft & cooled
1 full cup garlic cloves (peel fresh ones & do not use the pre-peeled cloves as they have been frozen & are not as flavorful)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups grapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)
DIRECTIONS
In your food processor, pulse the garlic, potato, lemon juice & salt until they are pureed. You might need to scrape the sides of the bowl down a few times. Then, VERY SLOWLY drizzle the oil in as the pureed is being spun about. Do this in a very slow & steady stream. Lots of recipes suggested it should take ten minutes. I got it done in under five but if you add the oil too fast – it will not emulsify properly. Check it as you go & if it begins to separate – stop adding oil & keep processing it until it comes together again.
That’s it! You MIGHT want to experiment with an increased quantity of potato & a lesser quantity of oil. I think I will the next time.
Tzatziki
Makes about 1.5 cups
INGREDIENTS
6 oz vegan yogurt
1 TBS lemon juice
1 garlic clove – minced
1/4 – 1/3 cucumber – peeled & diced
pinch of salt
1 tsp or more fresh dill – chopped
DIRECTIONS
Mix that shit up! Add water if you think it is too thick – but not a lot.
Done!
Tahini Sauce
INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup tahini
1/4 cup water
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
DIRECTIONS
Whisk it together. Use thick or water down to drizzle on your shawarma.
Vegan Chicken Shawarma (for Pita or Tacos)
Serves 2 or 3
INGREDIENTS
Flour tortillas (for tacos) or pita bread or wraps or naan
9 oz vegan chicken
4 garlic cloves – minced
1 TBS smoked paprika (or regular)
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS ground cardamom (or substitute from the note above)
1 TBS chili powder
1 TBS ground coriander
1 tsp pepper
Olive oil
juice & zest of 1/2 lemon
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup yogurt (optional) – but adding the yogurt makes a far more mellow marinade so I recommend using it unless you love heavily spiced food
Mix the spices in a large glass container with the vinegar, lemon juice & zest, 2 TBS olive oil & yogurt (if using). This is pretty thick stuff. Feel free to thin it with water if you like. Add the chicken & marinate it for at least an hour or overnight. Try not to use a plastic container as it could get stained or left stinky from the spices.
When you are ready to eat – heat a little olive oil in a pan & heat the chicken. Allow the marinade to come away as you likely won’t want as much in the actual sandwich. When it is warm, assemble the tacos or wraps. Slather some garlic paste on the bread or tortillas & layer the ingredients on top. Add some tzatziki or tahini sauce or hummus & chow the fuck down!
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
~
All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
~
OK! There are not a lot of foods I really miss since I gave up meat 25 years ago but gyros & shawarma are two things definitely on the “miss list.”
I used Beyond Meat vegan chicken & I recommend it very highly – though you can use another brand or even real dead chicken (if you have a taste for hormones & cruelty). At any rate – whatever you use – the longer you marinate if for the better – overnight being optimal.
I made the garlic paste (or a version of it) that they serve at Zankou chicken, here in LA. It is a bright, white paste that has a bit of a gritty texture & seems to be just mashed garlic. I was HORRIFIED to discover – it does have a lot of garlic but it has even more OIL! It is basically an aioli. Or a mayonnaise. Damn. So – it is not a guiltless pleasure but you don’t need tons before you run the risk of setting things ablaze just by breathing your garlic shit storm on them – so do not sweat the calories too much.
I used real yogurt in my tzatziki but they DO make vegan yogurts so – if you are vegan – just use one of those.
There are a lot of ingredients in the chicken marinade but only the cardamom is remotely exotic & you probably already have most of them in your cabinets – so do not be intimidated. If you do not have or cannot find ground cardamom – never fear! Substitutes: equal parts ground nutmeg and cinnamon OR equal parts ground cloves and cinnamon OR nutmeg OR cinnamon
Garlic Paste (Toum)
This makes quite a bit but it should keep in the fridge for a few weeks.
INGREDIENTS
1/2 small potato (I used a Yukon Gold) – boiled until soft & cooled
1 full cup garlic cloves (peel fresh ones & do not use the pre-peeled cloves as they have been frozen & are not as flavorful)
1 tsp salt
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 cups grapeseed oil (or sunflower oil)
DIRECTIONS
In your food processor, pulse the garlic, potato, lemon juice & salt until they are pureed. You might need to scrape the sides of the bowl down a few times. Then, VERY SLOWLY drizzle the oil in as the pureed is being spun about. Do this in a very slow & steady stream. Lots of recipes suggested it should take ten minutes. I got it done in under five but if you add the oil too fast – it will not emulsify properly. Check it as you go & if it begins to separate – stop adding oil & keep processing it until it comes together again.
That’s it! You MIGHT want to experiment with an increased quantity of potato & a lesser quantity of oil. I think I will the next time.
Tzatziki
Makes about 1.5 cups
INGREDIENTS
6 oz yogurt (vegan or not – your call) – I used thick Greek Fage.
1 TBS lemon juice
1 garlic clove – minced
1/4 – 1/3 cucumber – peeled & diced
pinch of salt
1 tsp or more fresh dill – chopped
DIRECTIONS
Mix that shit up! Add water if you think it is too thick – but not a lot.
Done!
Vegan Chicken Shawarma
Serves 2 or 3
INGREDIENTS
Pita bread or wraps or tortillas or naan
9 oz vegan chicken
4 garlic cloves – minced
1 TBS smoked paprika (or regular)
1 TBS ground cumin
1 TBS ground cardamom (or substitute from the note above)
Mix the spices in a large glass container with the vinegar, lemon juice & zest, 2 TBS olive oil & yogurt (if using). This is pretty thick stuff. Feel free to thin it with water if you like. Add the chicken & marinate it for at least an hour or overnight. Try not to use a plastic container as it could get stained or left stinky from the spices.
When you are ready to eat – heat a little olive oil in a pan & heat the chicken. Allow the marinade to come away as you likely won’t want as much in the actual sandwich. When it is warm, assemble the wrap. Slather some garlic paste on the bread & layer the ingredients on top. Add some tzatziki & chow the fuck down!
To see images of my past posts & get links to the recipes – look on my Pinterest board – HERE.
~
All my posts now have a VERY customizable PRINT & PDF option. Create a PDF & save the recipe to your computer or print it out. It offers a “remove images” option & you can delete any part of the post you do not need before printing. The button is below by the Twitter & Facebook links.
~
Oh no! Guess what! Another recipe born of leftovers & other remnants in my fridge. This one commits the crime of combining seafood with cheese but, sometimes, you just gotta cook like an outlaw.
I also used this Jamaican Spice Paste (which is VERY tasty & has quite a kick!)
If you cannot find that kind, do not worry! I guess Lowry’s makes a Jerk sauce & I am sure there are many other pre-made options out there.
I also used this BBQ sauce. You can use your own favorite.
I made this pizza with some pre-cooked frozen shrimp (of which I am not a fan – but someone else bought them & left them here). Grilling shrimp that has already been cooked & then baking it, too? I think you can guess that my shrimp were quite dried out by the end & I think that is evident in the photos. In fact – I found myself picking them off the pizza as I ate it. But that was only because they’d had the bejeesus cooked out of them & they were poor quality shrimp to start with. If you start with better quality raw shrimp – you will not have this problem.
1/4 cup marinara – mine is HERE or use your own favorite
1 tsp BBQ sauce
1/2 cup plus 1 TBS jerk sauce of your choice
12 or so good quality shrimp
Grated pizza cheese (quantity to suit your taste)
Cilantro
DIRECTIONS
Heat your oven to 450-500
Marinate your shrimp in 1/2 cup jerk sauce for at least an hour – or more.
Grill your shrimp – or pan fry them in a little olive oil.
Blend the marinara, bbq sauce & 1 TBS jerk sauce in a bowl.
Roll out your dough & place it on a cooking sheet sprayed with cooking spray or wiped with olive oil.
Spread the marinara blend over the crust & then top with the cheese & the shrimp.
Be SURE your oven has reached at least 450 before putting the pizza in. A hot oven is critical for a crispy crust. Bake the pizza for about 10 minutes or until the cheese is melted & crust is browning. Top with the jalapenos & salsa & chopped cilantro. Listen to Bob Marley & eat the whole fucking thing yourself. I did!
Delightful-Delicious-Delovely 