TRY THESE TORTILLAS
What’s growing in your garden or flooding the markets? In Season follows Witt’s many chefs and journalist Virginia Winder in their quest to source the freshest fruit and vegetables and serve them up with simple sense and inspiration.
Inspired by a TV documentary, Graeme Cawsey has turned to a plantbased diet. The Witt chef says the programme focused on cholesterol and the best way of getting it down naturally.
‘‘It says if you go on a plantbased diet, you go back to normal,’’ he says.
Because of his high cholesterol, Graeme turned vegan overnight. That means he no longer has any food that comes from animals. ‘‘I didn’t want to swallow pills, because that’s the answer for everything these days.’’
He’s giving it six months to see if it makes a difference to his health and, so far, has completed three months and lost eight kilograms in weight. He has found the transition easy and now wants to share a meal to inspire others.
‘‘I’m eating more than I was before,’’ he says. ‘‘It’s a good spring clean for the body.’’
His vegan offering features chilli con bean served with tortillas, spicy guacamole, brown rice and quinoa and cashew coconut cream followed by paleo caramel slice.
The chilli con bean is made using three beans – cannellini or red kidney, black turtle and pinto. The flavours of this dish are many layered because Graeme has made his own Mexican spice. ‘‘It’s got two hits. You taste it and then you get another hit with the spices.’’
People could make this dish using dried beans, which are soaked overnight and cooked, or they could use cans of beans.
Because he can’t have sour cream, Graeme has made a dairyfree alternative. The cashew coconut cream is a perfect accompaniment to the chilli con bean and, while the guacamole is spicy, the cream offers a cooling effect.
The brown rice and quinoa dish offers a healthy alternative to plain white rice. Graeme soaks the two grains for 20 minutes then strains and rinses them, adds fresh water and cooks them. The grain-water ratio is 1:3 because the quinoa swells up so much.
‘‘I cook for 30 minutes and then every two minutes I check the rice until the texture is right.’’
He then strains the grains and puts them in a pot with a tightfitting lid and leaves them. ‘‘I treat it like couscous – I put in a little bit of olive oil and fluff it up.’’
The tortillas are made using corn meal, wholemeal flour and a little bit of plain white flour for rolling out the Mexican flat bread.
Normally, these are made in a tortilla press, but Graeme uses his hands instead. After coating a ball of dough with white flour, he flattens it out on a bench dusted with more flour.
He uses the fleshy part of his thumb to shape the bread and then immediately throws the tortilla on to a hot plate, but a barbecue plate or black iron frying pan would also work well.
Once cooked, he has filled tortillas with the bean con carne, rice and quinoa and served these with the spicy guacamole and cashew coconut cream.
For dessert or just a day-time treat, he’s made a paleo caramel slice, which gets a big tick from the food writer.
‘‘There are no refined sugars – everything is whole food,’’ he says.
Dates are the main ingredient for the caramel layer and the sweetness in the base and chocolate topping comes from 100 per cent maple syrup.
Opting for healthy food and cutting out meat and dairy has had other effects on Graeme. ‘‘I feel more positive,’’ says the Level 4 Culinary Arts tutor, who specialises in hot kitchen.
‘‘To be honest, it’s cheaper on the budget. I’m sure my food budget has gone down 50 per cent.’’
And even though at work he often finds himself surrounded with sizzling meat, he has no desire to indulge. For now, Graeme is dedicated to a plant-based diet and is continuing his full-body spring clean.
Chilli Con Bean with Cashew Cream
1 large onion diced fine
3-4 cloves fresh garlic, crushed
1 red, 1 yellow and 1 orange capsicum, diced
1 Tbsp or so of olive oil
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tin of kidney beans, drained (or cook your own)
1 tin of pinto beans, drained (or cook your own)
1 tin of black beans, drained (or cook your own)
1 tin of whole corn kernels, drained
1 cup fresh coriander, rough chopped
Juice of a fresh lime
Salt and freshly ground pepper A decent bundle of fresh green beans
Mexican Spice Mix
1 tsp chili powder (add more if you like)
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp onion powder (or 2 teaspoons crushed dried fried onions)
1⁄2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1⁄2 tsp dried oregano
2 tsp paprika
11⁄2 tsp ground cumin
1⁄2 tsp sea salt
1⁄2 tsp black pepper
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1 pinch ground cloves Freshly cooked brown rice to serve Cashew coconut cream to dollop on top (see recipe)
Roast the capsicums in an oven heated to 200 degrees Celsius. Place the capsicums on a baking tray. Roast, turning occasionally, until the skins are charred and blistered. Transfer the capsicum to a sealable plastic bag. Set aside for 10 minutes. Peel the skin and discard. Don’t rinse the flesh – it ruins the flavour. Saute´ the diced onion in the olive oil for five minutes or until clear. Add the capsicums and the garlic, 3 tsp of Mexican spice mix and cook for another five minutes or so. Stir in tomatoes, corn and all the cooked beans. Lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes, adding water little by little if it gets too dry and starts to stick. Season with salt and pepper. Five minutes before serving, add the chopped green beans and let them just cook through so still al dente. Stir in most of the coriander just before serving and leave a handful aside. This chilli can be served on top of brown rice or on its own in a nice deep bowl. Squeeze some fresh lime and then sprinkle with remaining fresh coriander. For the deluxe version, add a generous dollop of one or both guacamole and cashew coconut cream.
Cashew and Coconut Cream
1 cup cashews
1⁄2 cup coconut cream
Juice of 2 lemons
Salt and pepper
Soak a cup of cashews in water for a few hours or overnight. Place in food processor with coconut cream, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Blend until silky smooth and add more water if you need to get the right consistency.
Hot Guacamole
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped
6 black peppercorns or Mexican spice to taste
2 large avocados
2 Tbsp olive oil
Juice of lemon
Pinch of salt
Pound the garlic, chillies and peppercorns in a pestle and mortar to make a paste. Peel and stone the avocados and mash the flesh well. Squeeze lemon juice on to the avocado flesh and mash further. Stir in the chilli paste, olive oil. Salt to taste, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
Paleo Salted Choco Caramel Slice
Makes 10 to 12 portions
For the base
1⁄2 cup walnuts
1⁄3 cup almond meal
3 Tbsp coconut oil
2 Tbsp raw cacao
1 Tbsp 100% maple syrup
Line a 20 x 10cm loaf tin with baking paper. Place all the base ingredients in to a food processor. Whiz until well combined, it will be a little sticky and crumbly. Press this mix in to the prepared tin, ensure it is pressed evenly. Place the tin in to the freezer.
For the caramel filling:
11⁄2 cups dates
1⁄2 cup coconut milk
1⁄2 cup coconut oil
1⁄2 tsp pink Himalayan salt
Place all the caramel filling ingredients into the food processor (don’t worry about washing it) and whiz until completely smooth – this will take about 5 minutes. Pour this mixture over the top of the base and return to the freezer. For the choc topping:
1⁄2 cup coconut oil
2 Tbsp raw cacao
1 Tbsp 100% maple syrup
1⁄2 tsp pink Himalayan salt (optional)
Using the food processor (again, don’t worry about washing it) add the raw cacao, coconut oil and maple syrup, whiz until completely smooth. Pour the choc topping over the caramel filling, shake the tin slightly to even it out. Sprinkle with Himalayan pink salt if you like things extra salty. Return to the freezer for about 1 hour or until completely set. Once set, cut into slices and eat it all up! Ok maybe not all at once!
Corn Tortillas
1 cup corn meal
1⁄3 cup wholemeal flour
1⁄ cup hot water
12 Tbsp olive oil plus some more to cook the tortillas
Wheat flour to adjust the consistency and for kneading Pinch of salt
In a medium bowl, mix together wholemeal flour, corn meal and hot water until thoroughly combined. Turn dough on to a clean surface and knead until pliable and smooth. If dough is too sticky, add some wheat flour. Cover dough tightly with plastic wrap and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Preheat a cast iron skillet to medium-high. Divide dough into 9 equal-size balls. Using a tortilla press, a rolling pin, or your hands covered in flour, press each ball of dough flat. To not break the dough, coat each ball with white flour (this is extremely important). Immediately place tortilla in preheated pan and allow to cook for about 1 minute, or until browned and slightly puffy. Turn tortilla over to brown on second side for about 1 minute, then transfer to a plate. Repeat process with each ball of dough. Keep tortillas covered with a towel to stay warm and moist until ready to serve.
Brown Rice and Quinoa
1 cup short, medium, or long-grain brown rice
1 cup of quinoa Kosher salt, to taste
10ml olive oil
1 lemon, zest and juice
20g onion flakes
Black milled pepper
1 bay leaf
Rinse rice in a strainer under cold running water for 30 seconds. Soak rice and quinoa in cold water, just covered with water for 20 minutes. Bring 12 cups water to a boil in a large pot with a tightfitting lid over high heat. Add bay leaf, lemon zest and juice, onion flakes and black pepper. Add the rice, stir it once, and boil, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Pour the rice into a strainer over the sink. Let the rice drain for 10 seconds, then return it to the pot, off the heat. Cover the pot and set it aside to allow the rice to steam for 10 minutes. Uncover the rice, add 10ml olive oil fluff with a fork, and season with salt.