Culinary Hotline - Isabella Niehaus & Louis Jansen van Vuure

Award-winning authors behind ‘There’s a Vegan on My Verandah’, Isabella Niehaus and Louis Jansen van Vuuren give us two irresistible vegan-inspired recipes from their brand-new cookbook, ‘Earthling Food’.

Ingredients:

  • Wild Mushroom and Rooibos Risotto
  • 1 l (4 c) vegetable broth
  • 15 ml (1 T) olive oil
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 250 g mushrooms, sliced
  • 60 ml (¼ c) dry white wine (optional)
  • 250 ml (1 c) Arborio rice
  • 250 ml (1 c) rooibos tea, cooled
  • 125 ml (½ c) grated FAIRVIEW Vegan Parmesan
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • chopped fresh parsley to garnish

How To Make Wild Mushroom and Rooibos Risotto

  1. Heat the vegetable broth in a saucepan and keep it warm over low heat. In a large skillet or saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and sauté until translucent, 2-3 minutes.
  2. Add the minced garlic and sauté until fragrant, 1-2 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook until they release their moisture and become golden brown, 5-7 minutes.
  3. If using, pour in the dry white wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Cook until the wine has evaporated. Add the Arborio rice and toast, stirring constantly, until lightly golden, 1-2 minutes.
  4. Begin adding the warm vegetable broth and rooibos tea to the skillet, one ladleful at a time, stirring frequently. Allow the rice to absorb the liquid before adding more.
  5. Continue this process until the rice is cooked al dente and has a creamy consistency, adjusting the heat as needed to maintain a gentle simmer. This should take 20-25 minutes. Stir in the Parmesan. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Remove from the heat and let the risotto rest for a few minutes to thicken.

Ingredients:

For the baked butternut:

  • 1 medium butternut, halved
  • 15 ml (1 T) olive oil
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • For the tomato and onion relish:
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 clove garlic, finely chopped
  • 10 ml (2t) olive oil
  • 2 x 410g tins whole tomatoes, drained
  • 35 g tomato paste 5 ml
  • (1 t) brown sugar
  • 250 ml (1 c) water
  • salt and pepper to taste

How To Make Baked Butternut with Tomato and Onion relish

  1. For the baked butternut Preheat the oven to 200 °C. Coat the butternut with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
  2. Bake until lightly caramelised and the skin is soft. For the tomato and onion relish Fry the onion and garlic in the olive oil till soft. Add the tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar, and simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Add the water and simmer for a further 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Once the butternut is soft, remove from the oven and scoop out the seeds. Fill the butternut with the relish.

Ingredients:

 

For the pastry:

  • 2 ½ Cups cake flour
  • 150g butter, cubed and chilled
  • 1 Cup icing sugar
  • 2 large free range egg yolks
  • A squeeze of lemon
  • ¼ Cup iced water
  • 3 eggs, beaten with a little water added.
  • Brown sugar. To coat the outside

For the filling:

  • 6 Flavourburst yellow fleshed nectarines, cut into chunks
  • 3 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 2 tsp vanilla paste
  • ¼ tsp salt

How To Make Baked Nectarine Pockets

  1. For the pastry, add the flour and cubes butter to a food processor along with the icing sugar and egg yolks, pulse together until the mixture forms a breadcrumb like texture.
  2. Then add the egg yolks and 1T of water, blend again until the mixture begins to come together, if it still looks too dry just add 1T of water at a time until it comes together.
  3. Cover the dough with plastic wrap and place in the fridge to chill for 30 minutes while preparing the filling.
  4. For the filling combine the nectarines, brown sugar, vanilla and salt and set aside while rolling out the dough.
  5. Remove the dough from the fridge and place on a floured work surface.
  6. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll each piece out to about 3mm.
  7. Place a piece of the rolled out dough inside a small bowl that has been coated with non-stick kitchen spray.
  8. Spoon in some of the nectarine filling.
  9. Dip you finger in the beaten egg and run along the pastry laying over the rim of the bowl.
  10. Cover with another piece of pastry and press down gently along the rim to secure the filling.
  11. Turn the bowl upside down revealing the domed pocket.
  12. Trim off the excess dough and crimp the remaining dough by pleating it over its self.
  13. Brush the pocket with some beaten egg and sprinkle over some brown sugar before poking 2 holes on the top.
  14. Repeat this process with the remaining dough and filling.

Chefs Tip: The pockets can be frozen at this point.  Place your pockets in the fridge to chill while preheating your oven to 180°C.
Place your pockets on a baking tray lines with baking paper or coated with nonstick kitchen spray, then bake for 20 -25 minutes or until the pastry is golden brown. Allow the pockets to cool slightly before serving it with WOOLWORTHS’ vanilla bean ice cream.