Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook (89 page)

Read Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook Online

Authors: Isa Chandra Moskowitz,Terry Hope Romero

Tags: #food.cookbooks

 
 
Filling:
2 pounds black plums (about 10)
1 cup strawberries, hulled, sliced in half
1 tablespoon tapioca flour or arrowroot powder
¼ cup sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon ground ginger
⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
 
Topping:
¾ cup rolled oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup sugar
1½ teaspoons aniseeds
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Pinch of salt
3-4 tablespoons canola oil
 
PREHEAT THE oven to 375°F.
 
 
Prepare the filling:
 
Chop the plums by cutting around the seed (this gets a bit messy). Cut them into slices that are between ¼ and ½ inch thick. Place in an 8-inch square baking pan. Add the rest of the filling ingredients and stir to dissolve the starch. Set aside.
 
 
Prepare the topping:
 
Toss all the topping ingredients except the canola oil into a mixing bowl and mix together with a fork. Drizzle in the oil by the tablespoon while tossing with fork until the topping becomes crumbly and doesn’t look too dry. If you’ve got it by 3 tablespoons of oil, more power to you; but you may need to add another few teaspoons up to a tablespoon, to get the right consistency. Sprinkle relatively evenly over the plum mixture.
Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes; the filling should be bubbly.
Remove from the oven and let cool for about 10 minutes. Scoop into bowls. Top with vegan vanilla ice cream.
INDIVIDUAL HEART-SHAPED APPLE GALETTES
 
MAKES 6 INDIVIDUAL GALETTES
TIME :
1 HOUR 30 MINUTES
 
 
A galette is a thin, freeform pie. Although here we have forced them into the shape of hearts, so they are no longer free. A thin layer of sweet, tangy apricot preserves is spread onto each crust before baking. A little sugar and cinnamon are sprinkled on top of the apple, making a lovely, simple fruit dessert with a crisp, melt-in-your mouth crust for you and those you love. Or just you, six times.
 
Crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour, or ½ cup whole wheat pastry
flour and ½ cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
½ cup nonhydrogenated vegan shortening
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½-¾ cup very cold water
 
Apple filling:
2 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced very
thinly (⅛ inch or less)
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
6 teaspoons apricot preserves
Canola oil spray
 
Prepare the dough:
 
IN A large mixing bowl, combine the flour, granulated sugar, and salt. Add the shortening in three batches by the teaspoon, but you don’t need to be precise about this; you just want to add it in small chunks. Cut the shortening into the flour with each addition, until the dough is crumbly and pebbly.
In a measuring cup, combine the vinegar with ½ cup of cold water. Add the diluted vinegar to the flour mixture in three batches, gently mixing it into the dough with a fork, until the dough holds together when pinched. If need be, add up to ¼ cup more water.
Gather the dough into a ball and knead gently a few times until it holds together. Form again into a ball and flatten just a bit into a disk. Refrigerate for about 30 minutes. If you refrigerate it longer, that is fine; but in that case you may need to leave it out for 15 minutes or so until you can easily roll it.
Fifteen minutes before you are ready to prepare the galette, preheat the oven to 425°F and slice your apples. Also, in a small bowl, mix together the brown sugar and cinnamon and lightly grease a baking sheet.
On a clean, lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a 12 × 15-inch rectangle that is ¼ inch thick. It helps if you flour the rolling pin as well, so the dough doesn’t stick. Use a butter knife to cut four 8-inch hearts from the dough. When you have done four hearts, place them on the prepared baking sheet, roll out your dough scraps, and create two more hearts. Place those on the baking sheet as well.
Roll in the edges of each heart to create a rimmed crust. You will have to do some pulling on top where the two curves meet, but it doesn’t have to be too precise, as long as you get the general heart shape. Now take a butter knife and score the rolled edges on a slight diagonal to create a pretty design. “Score” just means to press gently with the knife’s edge. This not only makes the crust pretty, it also secures the rim in place.
 
➣
If you don’t want to make hearts or are just scared of them (scared of love?), eight-inch circles will work, too!
 
➣
If you don’t have a pastry cutter, cut the shortening into the flour with two knives held together.
Spread a teaspoon of apricot preserves in each crust. Starting from the top, place four apple slices on both sides of the heart, slightly overlapping, to create a fan effect. You might have to press them into the edges if there doesn’t seem to be room; that is perfectly fine. The curved side of the apple slices should go along with the curve at the top of the heart.
Spray with a bit of canola spray, to keep the apples from drying out, and sprinkle with the brown sugar mixture. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the edges of the crusts are golden brown.
Serve warm, with a scoop of vegan ice cream, if desired.
MANGO PEAR PANDOWDY
 
TIME :
1 HOUR 15 MINUTES
 
 
Pandowdy is an old-fashioned American dessert that doesn’t get much play these days. The concept reminds us of the kind of thing a child might decide to do to their food, if they were industrious enough to roll out a pastry. It’s simply a pie whose crust has been smashed into the fruit halfway through cooking. The appeal is in the texture; the top of the pastry stays flaky and crispy and the bottom is mushy and soggy with fruit. We love the sloppy beauty of it. This version is mango and pear with just a hint of ginger and cinnamon, but try the method with any pie you make.
2 mangoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch dice
2 pounds Bartlett pears, cut into ½ inch dice
½ cup sugar
2 tablespoons arrowroot or tapioca flour
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 
 
1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling on top of crust.
1 single pie crust (page 262)
PREHEAT oven to 350 F. Have your pie crust rolled out and ready.
Combine all filling ingredients in a pie plate. Mix until the arrowroot or tapioca is dissolved. Cover with the pie crust, and tuck the edges around the filling and sprinkle with the tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 30 minutes, then remove from the oven.
Slice the crust into roughly ones inch pieces, then use a spoon to smush the crust into the pie. Return to the oven to finish baking for 20 more minutes to half an hour. The filling should be bubbling over and the crust should be browned.
Serve warm, with a scoop of ice cream if you are so inclined.
BANANA-CHOCOLATE CHIP BREAD PUDDING
 
SERVES 6 TO 8
TIME:
ABOUT AN HOUR
 
 
Bread pudding is something of a miracle: stale bread and a few unassuming ingredients transform into an irresistible, old-fashioned treat that tastes great on a cold winter’s night (or morning for a very naughty breakfast). This version is unapologetically decadent, packing in plenty of deep, dark chocolate; creamy, sweet bananas; and a warming hint of cinnamon. This pudding makes the best use of leftover Homestyle Potato Rolls (page 218), or any rustic bread.
6 cups (1-inch cubed) stale bread (about 1 pound)
2¼ cups rice, almond, or soy milk
3 tablespoons arrowroot powder or tapioca flour
½ cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup vegan chocolate chips
3 large, ripe bananas, sliced ½-inch thick
 
 
➣
Try using an ice-cream scoop to scoop the pudding out from the pan and serve as pretty mounds.
 
➣
Impatient types can make bread stale a little quicker by cutting it into cubes, spreading them on baking sheets, and let them dry in a 300°F oven for 30 minutes, until the cubes are firm and rather dry. More patient types don’t bother with the oven step and let that bread sit out on the counter for a few hours.

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