Specials Board: Courgette "Cheese"

Courgette "Cheese" and Vegan Mofo Day 17

I had such a great success with my Broad Bean "Cheese" recipe that I decided to try something similar with other vegetables. As I have a glut of courgettes and pattypans I decided to use them to experiment with.

As courgettes can be quite bland especially when they are larger, I tried to give it a cheese like taste, tricking your taste buds! Now, I wouldn't say this was as successful as my broad bean cheese but it turned out OK. The cheesiness wasn't overpowering and when I make it again I would add more flavour. I based the flavour on my healthy mac 'n' cheese sauce, which also uses a pattypan for the base of the sauce. Vegetables in disguise!

The texture isn't like a hard cheese either, if I'm honest its more like a blancmange texture, so if you're fussy about textures this may not be for you. The recipe makes enough mixture to fill 2 ceramic blocks which hold 300ml of liquid each. The recipe could easily be halved or you could just fill one container. I filled two as I wanted to add another ingredient to the second container to see if it made much difference, and it did! See below for my notes.

The recipe could easily be adapted to suit other flavours or indeed other vegetables, give it a whirl and let me know about your tweaks and experiments.

Ingredients 

500g Pattypan/Yellow courgette, diced
(weight after seeds have been removed)
3 Tbsp Nutritional yeast (heaped)
1 Tsp Mustard powder
½ Tsp Turmeric
¼ Tsp Herbamare
20g Cashews
200ml Almond milk (unsweetened)
2 Tbsp Agar agar flakes

Method
Add the pattypan squash or yellow courgette to a saucepan along with 100ml of water and cook for 10 minutes. You could use a steamer instead if you have one. Drain well and transfer to a blender

Add the nutritional yeast, mustard powder, turmeric, herbamare and cashews. Leave, do not try and process the mixture.

In a clean suacepan add the milk and sprinkle over 1 Tbsp of agar agar flakes. Slowly bring to a boil without stirring. Once the milk has reached boiling point stir and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes stirring every now and again until the agar agar flakes have dissolved.

Pour the milk mixture into the blender and blend at full power (remembering to put the lid on) for a couple of minutes making sure that everything has been incorporated and you have a smooth liquid.

Transfer back to the saucepan and sprinkle over the remaining agar agar flakes. Bring the mixture back to a boil and reduce the heat so the mixture is simmering. Stir to mix in the agar agar flakes and simmer for another 10 minutes or until the agar agar flakes have dissolved.

Pour into containers and leave to go cool before transferring to the fridge. Leave over night before turning out onto a board.

NOTES:
Before pouring the mixture into the second container I added 1 Tsp of garlic powder and ensured it was well incorporated. The taste completely changed and I think I preferred this version if I used the 'cheese' to top crackers.

I also think that chilli flakes would make a great addition and a clove of garlic instead of the garlic powder would work well too. The addition of porcini powder would also be nice and give the 'cheese' a little more depth. See, there are so many concoctions to try, go and have fun with it! 

I'll definitely be making some more varieties and it is a healthy alternative for snacking on.

As well as eating the courgette 'cheese' to top crackers I also tried it on pizza and I was pleasantly surprised with the results. It got a little messy when I grated the 'cheese', but it did grate. I also tried slices of the 'cheese' to top a pizza, which also worked well. The cheese doesn't melt like regular cheese, it holds its shape but does go softer. 

It added that creaminess of cheese to the pizza and I'll definitely be using it again for a pizza topping, I'm guessing its a lot less calorific than vegan cheese too as its based on vegetables. I can't wait to experiment further with this!

Specials Board: Healthy Mac 'n' Cheese

Hands up who likes pasta? It is such a simple ingredient that allows you to have dinner on the table in a matter of minutes. Check out my courgette pasta with creamy basil sauce, which is on the table in less than 15 minutes. Ideal for a week night dinner when you're tired, and so much healthier than a take away.

Before transferring to a vegan lifestyle I used to love pasta with a cheesy sauce such as mac 'n' cheese or pasta with a four cheese sauce, but it used to be laden with calories! Now I'm vegan, I still love a 'cheese' sauce but I am trying to be a healthier individual and don't want to rely heavily on the range of vegan cheeses that are available. I've tried many vegan cheeses and I have been disappointed with some and shocked by others as some of the ingredients used in some vegan cheeses I can't even pronounce!  It's easy to replace ingredients with a vegan substitute and I'm not advising that you give up the substitutes there is a time and place for everything, but everything in moderation! 

Today after scrutinising the label on a vegan cheese substitute I decided to edge on the side of caution and decided to make a "cheese" sauce with no vegan cheeses being used.

I needed a yellow colour to my sauce and a cheesey taste so after raiding my spice rack and store cupboard two ingredients that stood out and had to be included were turmeric and nutritional yeast! I have previously experimented with "cheese" sauces for last years vegan mofo and I used different ingredients to replicate a cheese sauce with varying results. My most successful ones included Mac 'n' Cheese using sweet potato and Mac 'n' cheese using yellow peppers.

Today I'm using another vegetable that's yellow in colour and I'm also inundated with them from my garden, I'm showcasing the pattypan squash!

Ingredients - Serves 2-3 

1 Large Pattypan squash, or 2-3 smaller ones totaling 325g*, cut into chunks
150ml Unsweetend almond milk
55g Cashews
3 Tbsp Nutritional yeast1 Tsp Mustard powder
½ Tsp Ground turmeric
¼ Tsp Pink Himalayan salt
160g Pasta

* You could use a yellow courgette instead if you can't get your hands on a pattypan

Method

Cook your pasta in boiling water as per the cooking instructions.

In a saucepan add the cut up pattypan/courgette and a little boiling water. Simmer for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are al dente, don't cook until soft. Drain the vegetables and add to a blender.

Add the almond milk and cashews and blend until you have a smooth liquid. Add the nutritional yeast, mustard powder, turmeric and salt and blend again.

Drain the pasta and tip back into the saucepan, add the sauce and stir to coat over a low heat. The sauce will thicken over the heat, add a splash more almond milk if you want the sauce a thinner consistency.

I've submitted this recipe to Shaheens "Vegetable Palette Challenge". Shaheen runs the fabulous Allotment to Kitchen blog and every month Shaheen chooses a colour, and you make a recipe with vegetables, fruits or a combination of both with that colour. Its a great idea! The colour for July is Mellow Yellow & Orange, so this recipe fits the bill perfectly.

Once you've posted a recipe you email Shaheen and a round up of all the entries will be posted on her blog before the end of the month.

Specials Board: Courgette Carpaccio

The other day I posted my courgette risotto recipe and I said that my first courgettes of the season would be eaten in a raw dish - well here it is! 

Once I'd picked them I just wanted to take a bite out of them, like you would with an apple, but I resisted .....until I got to my kitchen!

I used an eight ball courgette and a pattypan for this recipe, if you can call it a recipe!

The fresh flavour of raw courgette is subtle but one I will never tire of and these two summer squashes were crying out for just a drizzle of dressing. My tummy was rumbling..............

Ingredients 

1 Eight ball courgette
1 Pattypan summer squash
3 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil*
1 Tsp Capers
Handful of basil leaves
¼ Tsp Mint sauce
Pink Himalayan salt
Black pepper
1 Slice Jalapeno pepper (optional) 
*The most expensive you can afford - you will taste the difference

Method
Slice the eight ball courgette and Pattypan thinly and arrange on a plate.

To make the dressing pour the olive oil into a small ball  Quarter the capers and place in the bowl. Finely shred the basil leaves and add to the bowl. Give the dressing a quick stir so the oil can be infused with the basil.

Add the mint sauce and a good grind of salt and pepper. If you're using the jalapeno, you really don't need much dice finely and add to the bow.

Give everything one more stir before pouring over the thinly sliced courgettes.

Devour!