Capsicum Culinary Studio is celebrating World Vegan Month with some unique and tasty recipes from their chef lecturers.
Cape Town Campus Akhona Swazi’s Chilli Seitan on Lettuce Cups
Ingredients:
- Olive oil, for frying
- 500g seitan (vegan meat substitute – see recipe below)
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
- 5g piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1–2 red chillies, deseeded and chopped
- 1 tbsp light brown sugar
- Zest of 1 lime and juice
- 3 spring onions, trimmed and chopped
- Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Dressing:
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- Juice of ½ lime
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- ½ red chilli, thinly sliced
- Small bunch of coriander leaves, chopped
- 1 tsp light brown sugar
- 1 tbsp olive oil
Seitan
- 1 cup vital wheat gluten
- 1/4 cup chickpea flour
- 1 cup water
Cooking liquid
- 3 tbsp. granulated beef stock
- 3 cups water
- 2 tsp. garlic powder
- 1 tsp. dried thyme
Mix together seitan ingredients together and knead for 3 minutes. Allow to rest.
Prepare cooking liquid by adding all ingredients in a pot and simmer.
Place small pieces of dough (seitan) into simmering liquid and allow to cook for 30 minutes
Once cooked, take out, allow to cool and pat dry.
Seitan can be chopped to a crumbly consistency to resemble mince.
Method:
Heat a large frying pan and add a little oil. Fry the seitan in the hot pan for 5–7 minutes until crisp and brown and broken down to a crumbly consistency. Drain in a sieve, removing excess fat. Set aside.
Wipe out the pan and add a tablespoon of toasted sesame oil. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli. Fry with a pinch of salt and the sugar for 2 minutes. Add the drained seitan and stir
Stir in the lime zest and juice and add the spring onions, stirring for 30 seconds. Turn off the heat.
Mix all the dressing ingredients together and adjust to taste.
To serve, spoon some of the seitan mixture into the lettuce leaves, drizzle with a little dressing, garnish with coriander cress toasted peanuts and serve.
Durban campus Chef Lecturer Caren Marimuth’s Hummingbird Cake
“I was introduced to hummingbird cake a few years ago during one of my travels, and as a carrot cake lover, I easily took a liking to this Caribbean version of banana, coconut and pineapple. So, this fusion of traditional carrot cake and hummingbird cake is a perfect solution to a vegan cake equation.”
Ingredients
- 25g white sugar
- 125g brown sugar
- 250g cake flour
- 5g baking soda
- 5g baking powder
- 2g salt
- 5g ground cinnamon
- 5g ground nutmeg
- 2 bananas, mashed
- 15g flaxseed powder (to be mixed with 45ml water)
- 180ml vegetable oil
- 5ml vanilla essence
- 200g crushed pineapple
- 125g chopped walnuts
- 250g grated carrots, grated
- 60g desiccated coconut
Frosting
- 50ml aquafaba (from canned chickpeas)
- 125g – 250g white sugar
- 5ml vanilla essence
- 10g freeze dried pineapple
- passion fruit (optional)
Method
Line an 8cm cake tin with baking paper, alternatively use spray and cook on silicone moulds.
Preheat the oven to 160°C.
Prepare the flaxseed by whisking a tablespoon of flaxseed powder into 45ml of lukewarm water, allow to stand for at least 5 minutes or until it firms up and becomes gloopy.
Sift cake flour, white sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and spices into a bowl. Add brown sugar and mix until well combined.
In a separate bowl mix mashed bananas, oil, vanilla, pineapple and flaxseed ‘egg’.
Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients, then gently fold in chopped walnuts, carrots and coconut.
Pour into the prepared baking tin or into silicone moulds and bake for 15 – 25 minutes (or until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean).
For the Frosting
Drain the chickpeas and reserve the liquid (aquafaba)
Whip the aquafaba with a handheld mixer or in a stand mixer and when soft peaks are formed start adding sugar gradually, until desired sweetness.
Whip until medium peaks, then mix in vanilla.
Dollop onto the cooled cake/s, swirl and decorate with freeze dried pineapple pieces and passion fruit.
Notes
*Cinnamon and nutmeg can be substituted with ground ginger and allspice for a spicier kick
*For decorating, freeze dried pineapples can be substituted with toasted coconut or candied carrot
