This simple way of cooking stone fruit extracts and melds all the sunny flavours of the fruit in their prime.
Raw chocolate Jaffa cake
If you have one, use a high-powered blender to make the filling – it will produce a very smooth consistency. If you’re short on time, use shop-bought dehydrated orange slices. Start this recipe a day ahead to dehydrate the orange slices and make the filling.
Prep time 30 mins (plus standing, refrigerating, freezing, dehydrating)
Serves 16 (pictured p115)
Canola, grapeseed or olive oil, for greasing 120 gm (¾ cup) almonds
40 gm (⅓ cup) almond meal
25 gm (¼ cup) cacao powder
100 gm (½ cup) activated buckwheat groats (activated buckinis; see note)
60 ml (¼ cup) coconut nectar or syrup
(see note)
20 gm coconut oil, melted
¾ tsp vanilla bean powder (see note)
Chocolate-dipped orange slices
240 gm (1 medium) orange
100 gm vegan dark chocolate (70% cocoa), grated
Filling
300 gm (2 cups) cashew nuts
125 ml (½ cup) pure maple syrup 100 gm (½ cup) coconut oil, melted 35 gm (⅓ cup) cacao powder 1½ tbsp finely grated orange rind 180 ml (¾ cup) fresh orange juice 40 gm cacao butter, melted
½ tsp vanilla bean powder
Chocolate ganache
50 gm (½ cup) cacao powder
125 ml (½ cup) pure maple syrup 50 gm (¼ cup) coconut oil, melted 1 tsp vanilla bean powder
1 For chocolate-dipped orange slices, preheat a dehydrator to 46C. Cut orange into 3mm-thick slices and remove any seeds. Arrange slices on mesh dehydrator trays and dehydrate, turning once, until slices are dry and brittle (12-24 hours, depending on your machine). Otherwise, preheat oven to its lowest temperature, ideally 50C. Line an oven tray with baking paper, place a greased wire rack on top and arrange orange slices on rack. Place tray in oven, leave door slightly ajar so air can circulate and moisture can escape, and bake, turning slices occasionally, until orange is dry and brittle (about 12 hours). Melt chocolate in a small heatproof bowl placed over a bowl of hot water.
Dip orange slices halfway into chocolate, gently shake off excess, place on a tray lined with baking paper and refrigerate until set (15 minutes).
2 For filling, place cashew nuts in a bowl and cover with cold water. Cover and stand for at least 4 hours or overnight. Drain, then rinse under cold water and drain again. Blend cashew nuts with remaining ingredients until as smooth as possible. 3 Grease a 23cm-diameter springform cake tin, and line base and sides with baking paper. Process almonds, almond meal and cacao in a food processor until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add buckwheat groats, coconut nectar, oil and vanilla powder, and process until just combined. Press firmly and evenly over base of pan using a spatula and place in freezer until firm (15 minutes). 4 Pour filling over base and freeze until firm
(2½ hours).
5 For chocolate ganache, blend ingredients in a blender until smooth and silky. Pour ganache over cake and smooth top, then refrigerate until set
(15 minutes). Remove cake from pan and serve topped with chocolate-dipped orange slices.
Note Activated buckinis, and coconut nectar or syrup are available from health-food shops and the health-food section of select supermarkets. Vanilla bean powder is available from herbies.com.au.
Freekeh tabbouleh with pea falafel
These falafel can be prepared a day ahead and refrigerated, ready to fry and serve. Start this recipe a day ahead to soak the split peas for the falafel.
Prep plus cook time 1¼ hrs (plus soaking)
Serves 4 (pictured p114)
150 gm (⅔ cup) cracked freekeh
1 medium (170gm) Spanish onion, finely chopped
200 gm grape tomatoes, thinly sliced
4 cups finely chopped flat-leaf parsley
4 cups finely chopped mint, plus extra leaves to serve
60 ml (¼ cup) red wine vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil
210 gm (¾ cup) green goddess tahini yoghurt
Pea falafel
300 gm (1½ cups) yellow split peas
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 small (80gm) onion, coarsely chopped 1 cup (loosely packed) mint
1 cup (loosely packed) coriander
35 gm (¼ cup) chickpea flour (besan) Rice bran oil, for shallow-frying
Green goddess tahini yoghurt
1 small garlic clove, crushed
2 tbsp lemon juice
2 tbsp tahini
200 gm shop-bought vegan coconut yoghurt 1 tbsp finely chopped flat-leaf parsley 1 (250gm) avocado, coarsely chopped
1 For falafel, soak split peas in a bowl of water overnight, then drain, rinse again and drain well. Blend peas with remaining ingredients, except oil, and 1 tbsp water in a food processor until mixture forms a paste. Season to taste. Using 2 dessert spoons, shape heaped spoonfuls of mixture into ovals and place on an oiled tray. Heat rice bran oil in a frying pan to 160C and fry falafel in batches until browned and cooked through (2 minutes). Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cover to keep warm.
2 For green goddess tahini yoghurt, process ingredients in a food processor until smooth. Season to taste. Makes 1¾ cups.
3 Cook freekeh in a saucepan of boiling salted water until tender (12 minutes), drain and spread on a large tray to cool. Toss freekeh in a bowl with onion, tomatoes and herbs. Combine vinegar and oil, add to bowl and toss to combine. Season to taste. Serve tabbouleh and falafel with green goddess tahini yoghurt and extra mint, and season with black pepper.
Summer fruit parcels
This simple way of cooking, essentially a form of steaming, extracts and melds all the sunny flavours of prime stone fruit. Serve these parcels with a sorbet, vegan yoghurt (see note in cauliflower dip recipe p112) or your favourite soy coconut ice-cream.
Prep plus cook time 50 mins (plus standing)
Serves 4
300 gm (2 medium) peaches, quartered
340 gm (2 medium) nectarines, quartered
450 gm (4 medium) plums, halved
1 tsp vanilla bean paste
¼ tsp mixed spice
60 ml (¼ cup) vegan fortified wine or dessert wine
2 tbsp coconut sugar
2 tbsp coconut flakes, toasted (see note) 2 tbsp slivered almonds, toasted (see note) ` Vegan yoghurt, to serve
1 Preheat oven to 200C. Cut four 30cm-square pieces of baking paper. Combine fruit, vanilla, spice, wine and sugar in a large bowl, toss to combine and stand for 15 minutes for juices to be released. Toss again gently, then divide fruit among paper squares and pour syrup over fruit. Bring in edges of paper to the centre to form a parcel and secure with kitchen string. Place parcels in a baking dish and bake until fruit is just tender (about 30 minutes). Open parcels, sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes and almonds and serve with vegan yoghurt.
Note To toast coconut and almonds, stir continuously in a heavy-based frying pan over medium heat until lightly browned.