Three Delicious, Easy to Do Vegan Recipes for Total Beginners
Photo by the Author
As the saying goes, “Necessity is the mother of all creations.“
I never really used to cook or bake in my life. Actually, I had always dreaded being in the kitchen, having to prepare food.
Then I moved countries and had to snap out of my comfort zone and start using the kitchen a little more.
But it wasn’t until recently, after ten friends said “yes” to my invitation to a “healthy vegan lunch @Ritta’s”, that I had to get my act together and actually bake and cook for ten people.
From that moment on, I was on a mission. I had two weeks to plan and create an excellent, healthy vegan menu, large and varied enough to feed and satisfy all my guests, yet easy and simple for me to prepare. When you’re hunting for ideas, social media can be a lifesaver; one week later, the final buffet menu was born.
A smoothie for a welcome drink, followed by a buffet spread of 10 different dishes and rounded off by a dessert.
I picked three recipes from the menu to share with you today. They are all easy to prepare, require a minimum of ingredients, and are absolutely yummy.
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Recipe #1:
Falafel
Photo by Yolla El Khoueiry
Ingredients
125g chickpeas, soaked overnight
125g white beans, soaked overnight
5 garlic cloves
2 tsp cumin
1/2 bunch fresh parsley
1/4 bunch fresh coriander
1 onion
1 tsp sumac powder (you can replace it with paprika)
1 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp baking soda
1 tbsp sesame seeds
½ tsp salt (you can use more or less, according to taste)
A sprinkle of black pepper (you can use any other pepper you prefer)
Olive oil
Practical tip:
Since I don’t use any flour in this mixture to stick the falafel together, the drier the parsley and coriander are, the better for forming the balls or patties. In this case, having them pre-washed is very helpful.
How to:
Drain the chickpeas and the beans. Leave them in the drainer while you prepare the other ingredients. It gives them time to dry out a little more.
Chop the pre-washed parsley, coriander, and onion.
Grind the coriander seeds.
Put the drained chickpeas and beans, chopped parsley, coriander and onion, ground coriander seeds, as well as cumin, sumac, salt, pepper, baking soda, and garlic into the food processor. Start the appliance at high speed and mix everything to a thick, slightly doughy consistency.
Move the processed mixture into a bowl and let it sit in the fridge for an hour.
Meanwhile, line an oven tray with baking paper.
When an hour has passed, take the mix out of the fridge. Using an ice cream scoop or a tablespoon, take out enough mixture for a falafel piece, tap it into your hand, and form it into a ball or a patty.
Fold in the sesame seeds.
Place the falafel onto the oven tray. When you are through with the whole mix, place the tray in the oven and bake at 180ºC (350ºF) for 15–20 minutes.
When the time is up, take the tray out and, using a pastry brush, lightly brush some olive oil onto each falafel.
Put the tray back in the oven for another 10 minutes. The total baking time should be about 25–30 minutes.
Sahtayn!! (Lebanese for “Bon Appetit!” :))
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Recipe #2:
Foul Moudammas (Fava — Broad beans Lebanese style)
Photo by the Author
As a fully nutritious, traditional Lebanese breakfast dish, Foul Moudammas consists of cooked fava beans topped with lemon juice, olive oil, crushed garlic, onion, fresh finely chopped parsley, and diced tomatoes. It is served with fresh vegetables on the side and eaten with pita bread.
Ingredients (for one portion)
150g dry fava beans soaked for at least 24 hrs, changing the water often. Alternatively, you can use one cup of sprouted fava beans.
3 garlic cloves
The juice of one lemon
½ tsp salt
Topping:
A handful of fresh chopped parsley
1 tbsp diced tomato
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
When sprouted, fava beans are highly nutritious and cook much faster!
To know more about “Sprouting” check out my articles through the links below:
-Why Sprouting Gives The Epic Boost To Every Diet — Especially A Vegan One
-Sprouting 101: The Ultimate Guide to Sprouting Literally Any Seed or Nut
How to:
1. Cook the beans until they are soft.
Photo by the Author
2. Meanwhile, crush garlic with half a teaspoon of salt. Add lemon juice and keep on
the side.
3. Move the cooked, still hot fava beans to a bowl. Using the mortar you crushed the
garlic with, crush the fava beans.
4. Add the crushed garlic-lemon mixture, olive oil, and salt. Mix to combine.
5. Top with finely chopped parsley, green onion, diced tomato, and a drizzle of olive
oil.
6. Serve with sliced tomatoes, fresh mint, and sliced cucumbers on the side.
Enjoy :)
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Recipe #3:
Chocolate Oat Cookies
Photo by the Author
Ingredients
2 ripe bananas
1 tbsp flaxseed egg (ground flaxseeds soaked in boiling water for 5 minutes)
2 cups oats
½ cup crushed roasted almonds
2 tbsp raw chocolate powder or organic carob powder (Most of the time, I use carob powder instead of chocolate. Cyprus is the island of carob, which is delicious, full of nutrients, and tastes like chocolate. I tried it once, and got hooked on it!!)
2 tbsp chocolate chips (I usually break down a chocolate bar in the food processor.)
1 tbsp agave (This is optional, only if you like it very sweet. The ripe bananas already give the mixture some sweetness.)
Makes about 13 medium-sized cookies.
How to:
Mash the bananas in a bowl.
Add oats, chocolate powder, flaxseed egg, and agave.
Mix them all very well with a spatula.
Add crushed almonds and chocolate chips and give it one last stir.
Line an oven tray with baking paper.
Scoop the mix with a tablespoon — one scoop per cookie.
Place each one on the baking paper and flatten it with your hands into cookie shape.
Bake at 175ºC (350ºF) for 12–15 minutes.
Enjoy :)
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Two extra tips for shorter preparation time:
I usually wash all the vegetables ahead of time and store them in the fridge for later quick use. As for the greens, I drain them to the max with a vegetable spinner, then use two different ways to keep them fresh in the fridge:
Place them on a paper towel in a glass container.
Place them on a kitchen towel, fold it up, and put it inside a plastic bag.
Either way, they will stay fresh for up to a week.
2. With my Middle Eastern, Lebanese background, I tend to use a lot of garlic. and onion in my dishes. Here in Cyprus, I buy local fresh garlic when it’s in season. I peel the whole lot as soon as I buy it, then store the cloves in a glass container in the freezer. Every day, I take out as many as needed and leave them to defrost in the sun.