Moroccan Chickpea Tagine
Jamie Oliver calls Tagine “a sort of stew with attitude”… which sums it up pretty well, I think. “Tajine” is actually the Berber word for the earthenware pot this stew is traditionally slow-cooked in, but any heavy-bottomed pot will do the trick. While there are endless varieties, Morrocan Tagine is typically made with lamb, chicken and vegetables, dried fruits, cinnamon and other spices, and served over couscous. Replacing the meat with chickpeas and eggplant makes for a completely satisfying and delicious stew which in the hot Costa Rica climate, we served over a room temperature barley and toasted almond pilaf.*
Moroccan Chickpea Tagine – Serves 6
Moroccan Chickpea Tagine
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoons ginger, minced
- 8 sundried tomato halves, soaked in 1/2 c water
- 1 lemon, juice and zest
- 2 teaspoons paprika
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 eggplant, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 sweet potatoes or purple yams, cut into 1” pieces
- 1 onion, cut in 1” pieces
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 2 fresh tomatoes, cut into 1” pieces
- 2 red and/or yellow peppers, cut into 1” pieces
- 3 tablespoons dried currents or chopped raisins
- 1 cups cooked chickpeas, drained
- ¼ cup cilantro, chopped
Combine honey and ginger in a blender and blend on high until smooth. Put ginger-honey mix aside. In same blender, blend sun-dried tomatoes with lemon and spices until smooth.
In a deep heavy bottomed casserole or stew pot, heat one tablespoon of oil and add eggplant, stirring quickly to coat. Cook for 5 – 10 minutes, stirring occasionally until eggplant cubes begin to sear and tenderize slightly. Remove from pan.
Saute onions in remaining 2 T oil and a pinch of salt until translucent, add garlic and saute for 5 – 10 minutes until mixture begins to caramelize slightly. Deglaze pan with a tablespoon or so of water if needed.
Add sundried tomato sauce, fresh tomatoes. Bring to a boil on medium heat and add sweet potatoes. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, stirring occasionally until potatoes are just tender.
Add peppers, eggplant, chickpeas, currents and half the honey-ginger mixture. Check for salt and pepper and adjust as needed. Simmer gently, covered, for 45 minutes to an hour, stirring occasionally to make sure all the veggies get immersed into the sauce. Remove from heat, stir in remaining ginger mixture and cilantro and serve with cooked couscous, barley or quinoa.
* A Note About Barley: Barley has a wonderful chewy bite which I prefer to couscous, and although there is a small amount of gluten in barley, it is apparently a different type and more easily digestible than wheat gluten so could be a better choice for those who are not celiac or highly gluten sensitive.
Raw Pad Thai with Young Coconut “Noodles”
The Farmer's Market in Limon
Like the Raw Lasagna, my Raw Pad Thai recipe is also an adaptation from Russell James’ original recipe. (If you haven’t already – sign up for his email list to get the original emailed to you). This recipe is extremely flexible so use what you have on hand. I made this one with tahini because for some reason that is available here but also have made it with almonds, almond butter, and peanuts and it’s great. I used raw bok choy which I was lucky to find in the farmer’s market in Limon and love the combination of that with the arugula, but napa cabbage is great too, and of course if you can get mung bean sprouts (I can’t) then that would add a more Pad Thai touch to the recipe.
Young coconuts and tamarind are easily available in this part of Costa Rica, but you may have to do a bit of sleuthing to find them in your home town. Look for Tamarind Paste in your local Hispanic market (ask for Tamarindo) and both tamarind paste and young coconuts, or “white coconuts” can often be found in the produce section of Chinese or Southeast Asian markets, and in some high-end markets like Whole Foods. You can also ask your local health food store to order you a case of young coconuts – they come 9 to a box – and then cut them all open and freeze the meat and juice to have on hand all the time. I love young coconuts! This is just one of the many ways you can use them.
Raw Pad Thai “Noodles” and Vegetables – Serves 4
Young Coconuts
- 2 – 3 young coconuts
- 1 ½ cups arugula, torn into 3′ pieces
- 2 carrots, ribboned with a vegetable peeler
- 1/2 red bell pepper, julienned
- 4 cups young bok choy, sliced thin on diagonal
- 1 spring onions, sliced thin on diagonal
- 8 basil leaves, chiffonade
- 4 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
Pad Thai Sauce
- 1 oz tamarind paste (or 2 dried apricots, one date, plus 1 T lemon juice)
- 3 T palm sugar, or coconut crystals, or sucanat
- 1 T red miso
- 1 t sesame oil (leave out if using nuts instead of tahini)
- 4 sundried tomato halves, soaked
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 t dulse flakes or kelp powder (optional)
- 1 teaspoons ginger
- 1 teaspoons garlic
- 1 tablespoon lime
- 1/2 jalepeno, seeded and minced
- 6 T tahini
Make Sauce: Combine all sauce ingredients in a Vitamix or other high speed blender and blend until smooth.
Prepare Noodles: Cut open the top of the coconuts with a large sturdy cleaver over a large bowl, being careful to capture the juice. (Use juice for another purpose… like drinking!) With the back of a spoon, gently work out large pieces of the white flesh from the inner shell. (If you are new to this, Dr Ralph gives a thorough video intro to coconut whacking here). Slice the meat of the coconut in to long, fettuccine-like pieces.
Assemble Pad Thai: In a large bowl, toss together all vegetables, reserving a pinch of basil and cilantro for garnish. Pour 1/2 sauce over vegetables and massage gently with your hands to coat well and soften vegetables. Add coconut noodles and toss gently, adding some or all of the remaining sauce to taste. Allow to sit for 1/2 – 1 hour to allow flavors to combine and serve with a sprinkle of herbs and a slice of lime.
Raw Zucchini Lasagna
By popular request, here is the “Raw Zucchini Lasagna” recipe, which, while made with raw zucchini instead of pasta, was not a totally raw dish only because the spinach in Costa Rica is too bitter to serve raw. This recipe is based on Russell James’ raw lasagna recipe, the original which can be found on therawchef.com for free when you subscribe his raw food tips. I really respect Russell James – if you are new to raw food I HIGHLY recommend his Raw Chef Academy Homestudy Course – his videos are very professional and well presented, and the recipes are consistently reliable and good. I don’t think anyone out there is educating on raw food as professionally as he is.
Raw Zucchini Lasagna – Serves 10
While this recipe has many different components, it is actually very easy to put together and extremely flexible. The nut layer can be made with soaked macadamia nuts or pine nuts instead of cashews, the spinach layer can be made all raw instead of cooked, or be replaced with any other vegetable layer, or eliminated completely. You can leave the mushroom part out of the mushroom nut layer, or do a raw version, or leave the nuts out, or eliminate that whole layer as well and just use the cashew ricotta, pasta and tomato sauce. Get creative with what you have on hand. The lasagna can be made several hours in advance and held, but serve it the same day you make it because it is best fresh.
Raw Zucchini Lasagna “Pasta”
- 10 medium zucchini or goldbar squash, peeled
- 1 t olive oil
- 1/2 t salt
Using a mandolin or Chinese slicer or very sharp knife, carefully slice each peeled zucchini lengthwise into even 1/8 -1/4 inch slices. Only use the fleshy outside of each squash discarding or reserving the seedy core for another recipe. Gently rub salt and oil into all the slices, reserving the nicest, most lasagna-like “noodles” for the top. Let sit while you prepare the remaining fillings, tossing gently with your hands occasionally and letting excess liquid drain off.
Texture Tip: texture is everything here. The reason you peel these and the thickness of the slices all add up to a smooth, lasagna-noodle “mouthfeel”, which I think is the whole trick. You may have to adjust the thickness as you go to get it perfect – I find that thinner slices are nicer, but go too thin and you will lose the body after the squash marinates in the salt a bit. Play with it – you can always bury the ugly ones in the middle!
Cashew “Ricotta” for Lasagna
- 2T lemon juice
- 2T nutritional yeast
- 2 yellow peppers, seeded and chopped
- 2T fresh parsley
- 1T fresh thyme
- 2t salt
- 3 cups cashews, soaked 2 – 4 hours and drained.
- 1⁄2 c water if needed
- ½ c (optional) fresh chopped herbs (rosemary, parsley, thyme, basil)
Blend all in vitamix until smooth and creamy, starting with peppers and adding nuts at the end, and water only if needed. Fresh herbs can be added at the end if using. Set aside, use the (unrinsed) vitamix to make tomato sauce:
Sundried Tomato Sauce
- 11⁄2c sundried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour or more
- ¼ small onion
- 2c tomato, seeded and chopped
- 4 t agave/honey or 2 soaked dates
- 11⁄2 T dried oregano
- 1t salt or to taste
- ¼ c olive oil
- 2T lemon juice
Process all in a food processor or vitamix until smooth, adjust for salt/sweet depending on how salty your sundried tomatoes are. Set aside while you make your mushroom filling:
Mushroom Nut Filling
- 2 pounds fresh mushrooms
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 T olive oil
- 1t salt
- 1t black pepper,
- 1T dried sage
- 11⁄2c sunflower seeds soaked 1 hour or more and drained
- 1c sun-dried tomatoes, soaked for 1 hour or more
- 2T dark/brown miso
- 2t dried oregano
- 2t dried sage
- 1T nama shoyu/soy sauce
- 1⁄2t cayenne pepper
- 1T olive oil
- 1T honey/agave nectar
- 1t sea salt
In food processor, chop mushrooms coarsely. Sauté with garlic in 2 T olive oil, salt, pepper and sage, for 5 – 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed and mushrooms are very flavorful. Alternatively, for a truly raw version, spread evenly on dehydrator sheet and dehydrate for 2 – 3 hours until lightly “cooked”.
In food processor, blend nuts and remaining ingredients until combined but slightly chunky still. Combine with mushrooms. Set aside in dehydrator or warm place while you make your spinach filling:
Spinach and Onion Filling
- 2 large onions
- 1 pounds fresh spinach leaves, washed and chopped
- 1 t salt
- 2 T olive oil
Sauté onions in olive oil, salt and pepper until translucent, add spinach and sauté 5 – 10 more minutes until gently cooked. Cool slightly in colander, squeezing lightly to drain excess liquid. Alternatively, to make raw, toss raw spinach with other ingredients and massage gently to soften.
Assembling the Lasagna….
Spread one cup of tomato sauce on the bottom of a large casserole dish, preferably glass. Top with one even layer of zucchini pasta, overlapping each slice slightly. Top with one thick even layer of mushroom filling.
Add a second layer of zucchini (use the ugly ones here and make sure you have enough for one more layer of nice ones for the top. You can skip this layer if you don’t have enough for both.
Top second layer of zucchini with the cashew ricotta, dot with spinach. Top with final top layer of zucchini. Smooth remaining tomato sauce over the top. Cut carefully into 10 -12 pieces with a serrated bread knife and keep warm in dehydrator or low oven until ready to serve.
Not Really Pumpkin Pecan Tart (Raw!)
As promised, here is the raw and still-pretty-rich but much better for you version of the evil Pecan Pumpkin Tart. The “pumpkin custard” which is actually not made with pumpkin at all, is a lightened up version of Matthew Kenney’s Pumpkin Tart with Thyme, found in his cookbook Everyday Raw. This tart requires a couple of days to get all the elements together, but once you have everything it is actually very easy to make and can be done a day in advance. Don’t tell anyone one it is not actually pumpkin, or that it’s raw, until after they have tried it. They will never guess! 
Glazed Pecans
- 2 cups pecan halves (24 nice halves, plus a bit more for snacking)
- 1 T maple syrup
- 1/4 t vanilla extract
- pinch salt, cinnamon, nutmeg
Oat Nut Crumb Crust
- 1 cup oat flour
- 1 cup ground pecans
- 2 T coconut oil
- 2 T coconut crystals
- 1/2 t cinnamon
- 1/4 t nutmeg
- 1/2 t salt
Not Really “Pumpkin” Custard
- 1/2 c cashews, soaked 4 – 6 hours
- 3/4 c carrot juice
- 1/2 c maple syrup
- 1/2 c Irish moss gel (see recipe below. Or substitute 1/4 coconut oil)
- 1/4 c coconut oil
- 1 t vanilla extract
- 1 t cinnamon
- 1/2 t nutmeg
- 1/2 t ginger
- 1/4 t salt
- 1/8 t cloves
Prepare Irish Moss Gel: Rinse 1/2 c dry Irish moss several times, taking care to remove any sand or debris. Soak for 24 hours at room temperature. Rinse one more time (save water for skin care, smoothies, soups or to water plants), top moss with 1/2 to 1 cup fresh water and blend very well (about a minute) in vitamix until completely smooth. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.
Glaze Pecans: Soak pecans in water for 3 – 6 hours. Drain and toss with a pinch of salt. Dehydrate 8- 12 hours. Toss with maple syrup and spices and a tiny bit of salt. Dehydrate again for 12 hours or until completely dry and crunchy.
Make Oat Crumb Crust: Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Pat evenly into 8′ tart pan with removable bottom. Chill well or freeze.
Prepare the Pumpkin Custard: Blend all ingredients in Vitamix on high until slightly warm and completely smooth. Pour into chilled or frozen tart shell and freeze for 2 hours. Refrigerate for 1 hour more to set consistency.
Decorate with Pecans and Serve.
Note: this recipe can be made without the Irish Moss. Increase coconut oil from 1/4 to 1/2 cup.
Happy Thankgiving Pecan Pumpkin Tart
Ok, I just created a “Evil Butter Recipes” category, in honor of this and all the the other summer gallettes I could not resist posting earlier this year. This is recipe based on one my mom used to make at Thanksgiving and people ask me about it every year. (The truth is, neither her nor I ever made it the same way twice, so feel free to play with it). And… I promise to follow up with a raw and healthier version of this recipe soon!
Pumpkin Filling
- 2 whole eggs
- 1/3 cup maple syrup/agave syrup
- ¼ cup cream/soy milk
- 1 ½ cups pumpkin puree (1 can, or one small sugar pumpkin, baked)
- ½ t ground ginger
- ½ t fresh grated ginger
- 1 t cinnamon
- ½ t vanilla
- ¼ t nutmeg
- pinch salt
Pecan Slime
- 1 whole egg
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 T melted butter
- ⅓ cup coconut crystals (or Sucanat)
- 2 T bourbon/brandy/dark rum
- ½ t vanilla
- 1 cup pecan halves, toasted lightly
- pinch salt
1 unbaked pie pastry crust
Preheat oven to 375.
Prepare Crust: Make a Perfect Butter Crust, or use any other pie crust recipe you like. Roll out gently, place in a large (10″) pie plate, tart pan (12″) or quiche dish, trim and flute edges. Chill while you prepare filling.
Make Pumpkin Filling: Combine pumpkin, eggs and spices in large bowl. Add maple syrup and cream. Spoon into crust and smooth top. Combine pumpkin, eggs and spices in large bowl. Add maple syrup and cream. Spoon into crust and smooth top.
Top with Pecan Slime: Combine syrup, eggs and spices. Add pecans. Carefully spoon liquid over pumpkin filling in shell and then hand place slimy pecan halves on top in a decorative pattern.
Bake: Bake for 10 minutes at 375. Reduce oven to 350 and bake for 35 – 45 minutes. Bring to room temperature before serving or transporting.
Brazil Nut Chia Pudding
This pudding has quickly become a staple in our house – it’s a lot like tapioca pudding and makes a great breakfast, afternoon snack, or dessert. Chia seeds are ridiculously nutritious – they are the richest vegetable source of omega 3 essential oils found on the planet, contain almost twice the protein of any other grain, are packed with vitamins and minerals, and are high in antioxidants. They are also full of fiber and will absorb 8 -12 times their volume in water, making them a great slow burning carbohydrate source, which is great for diabetics. All that, and no need to cook! Who knew?
Chia Pudding
- 4 c. fresh Brazil nut (or almond) milk
- 3 medjool dates (pits removed)
- 3/4 c. black or white chia seeds*
- 2 packets stevia powder (optional)
- 3-4 T. agave syrup, to taste
- seeds from 2 inches of vanilla bean, or 1/2 t vanilla extract
- pinch Himalayan or sea salt
Make nut milk, blending one cup of soaked nuts, to 4 c water, and adding dates before you blend and squeeze through the nut-milk bag. (Alternately, you can use a pre-fab nut milk or coconut milk of your choice, skip the dates, and add a bit more sweetener to taste when you whisk in the seeds).
Add chia and remaining ingredients, whisk well to combine and taste, adjusting for sweetness. I use a little bit of stevia in order to get a subtle base-level sweetness, and then top it with a touch of agave. Let sit for 10 minutes and whisk again. Let rest for at least 20 minutes at room temperature to allow seeds to soften and gel up. Serve at room temp or keep in refrigerator up to a week (it will firm up even more overnight).
Top each serving with with a little sprinkle of coconut sugar, agave or maple syrup and a bit of freshly grated nutmeg. Or, try the chocolate version:
Chocolate Chia Pudding: Add 2 T unsweetened cocoa powder and 3-4 T of agave syrup to the pudding, after the seeds have gelled up. Whisk well and enjoy!
*Not all chia seeds absorb liquid the same, apparently and probably what liquid you use makes a difference too. I use 3/4 cup chia to 6 cups fresh nut milk, but have friends in California who use up to 1 cup chia to 4 cups liquid. Play with it – you can always adjust by adding a couple tablespoons seeds to thicken or a splash more liquid to thin out.
For more information on chia seeds, you can start here:
Chia Seed – The Ancient Food of the Future
You can purchase chia seeds at the chia seeds page at NutsOnline. Or look for them in the bulk herb/spice section of your local health food store/community market.
Black & White Chia Seed Puddings
Squeezing the wild nut...
- Adding Chia…
...!
Brazil Nut Milk (Almond Milk, etc)
I recently spent 3 weeks working on a special diet with my dad, who is diabetic, and so have been exploring lots of new healthy breakfast recipes. The basis for so many great breakfasts is fresh nut milk, which is SO EASY to make – it literally takes only 5 minutes in the morning if you have soaked the nuts the night before. It’s actually a great way to start the morning – don’t even bother to rinse the Vitamix afterwards – just use it to make a breakfast smoothie!
Easy Nut Milk
- 1 c nuts (brazil nuts or almonds), soaked 7 hours to overnight in 3 – 4 cups water
- 4 c water
- pinch of salt
- 1 t agave
- 1 t. vanilla
Blend soaked nuts with water in Vitamix on high until completely smooth – about 30 seconds. Pour through a nut bag into a large bowl, squeeze nut bag well to extract liquid. (Discard dry nut fiber, unless you can think of something creative to do with it. I tried…. Dehydrated, there is some potential to make homemade biodegradable packing peanuts, but other than that I could not find a use for it).
Add salt and flavorings to taste. Store refrigerated in a glass quart container for up to one week.
Note: you will need a good nut-milk bag for this. These can easily be ordered online, and probably also found at your neighborhood health food store or Whole Foods type market. In a pinch, I have also used a tea strainer, a fine mesh cloth vegetable bag, and even a (new) nylon stocking as my nut-milk strainer. Trust me… all of this is exactly what gives nut milk a bad name – a $12 nutbag at Amazon is a very worthwhile investment.
Ariana Salad (Vegan Caesar Salad)
Named after a vegan friend of mine who doesn’t like cashews, which I normally use as a base for vegan Caesar salad dressing, this dressing was made with Brazil nuts. Brazil nuts are incredibly high in selenium, a trace mineral and powerful antioxidant which has been shown to strengthen the immune system, help prevent cancer, be great for your heart, and also be a mood enhancer…! 1 – 2 nuts a day will do the trick. Since this recipe was originally adapted from a vegetarian Caesar dressing recipe using a base of feta cheese, obviously you can switch out the Brazil nuts with raw tofu, cashews, feta cheese, or any combination you have on hand. Don’t tell Ariana but I did hers with half cashews and half Brazil nuts, and she loved it! 😉
Vegan Cesar Salad
- 3/4 c cashews, Brazil nuts, tofu (or feta if not Vegan)
- 1 -2 cloves garlic
- juice of one lemon (1/4 cup)
- 1/2 c water
- 1 c olive oil (light is best)
- 1 T umeboshi vinegar
- 1 T capers
- Salt, black pepper to taste
Combine all ingredients in blender or vita-mix and blend. Adjust for salt (use less if doing the feta version).Toss over washed and dried romaine lettuce. Top with freshly toasted garlic croutons and serve immediately. Makes 2 cups.
Truly “Raw” Almonds – where to get ’em.
As many raw foodies are aware, most “raw” almonds are not actually raw because the FDA in its Infinite Wisdom requires all almonds sold to be either chemically treated or steam pasteurized. What to do? Get them imported from Spain and Italy, or… buy them directly from the grower!
I have been buying imported raw almonds from Living Nutz, which for some reason are not subject to the same pasteurization standards as US grown 
almonds. High quality, but pricey. I recently discovered that you can also order from the California almond growers directly.
If you live close to California, I would try ordering almonds from Organic Pastures which also looks like a fantastic raw milk source, but unfortunately, they don’t ship all the way to NYC.
Here is a California almond farm that does, and with free shipping! (In my free-shipping consumer frenzy I just ordered 10 pounds before I realized they were not listed as organic), but still, I like their rebellious nature…
This is what they posted online:
The pasteurization rule allows farmers to sell unpasteurized almonds at road side stands and certified farmers’ markets, so we just set up an “online roadside stand” 
I just don’t understand why my neighbors are allowed to buy my fresh almonds, but folks back east, or in the midwest, or anywhere else for that matter, aren’t allowed to. So, via our online roadside stand, truly raw almonds are available, just waiting to be enjoyed. Check us out! www.homegrownalmonds.com
Silky Chocolate Ganache
This recipe is taken from Sarma Melngailis’ Chocolate Tart recipe which can be found in her cookbook Raw Food Real World. Not only is the original tart recipe fantastic, but it has been the inspirational spinnoff for many many deliciously decadent chocolate treats and this ganache is the foundation.
- 2 c maple syrup (or mix of maple and agave syrup)
- 2 c high quality organic cocoa powder (not alkalized)
- 1 c virgin coconut oil
- 1 T vanilla extract
- pinch salt
Combine all ingredients in a high speed blender and blend 1 -2 minutes until velvety smooth. Store in glass containers as a spread or topping, or pour immediately into prepared crust if using as a tart or bar filling.
Conscious Food Choices 