VEGAN POTATO ROSTI'S

Anybody that has been out for breakfast to a nice little café or restaurant, knows of the delights known as hand made potato rosti’s. Light and crisp, perfect with a side of grilled mushrooms and wilted spinach on sourdough – not to mention much more elegant and delicious than regular hash browns. 

3 Medium/Large waxy potatoes (I use golden delight)
3 Sprigs of rosemary
¼ cup butter (I use Sunflower Nuttelex)
Salt & Pepper
Sunflower Oil (for frying)  

 

1. Rinse, peel and grate your potatoes (try to do long grates across the whole grater for longer pieces). Squeeze out the water, then place in a clean tea towel and pat out any extra water. Place in a bowl.

2. Pull the rosemary of the woody stalks, and chop to a fine grain. Add the rosemary, along with room temperature butter to the potato, season with salt and pepper (I use a lot of pepper but not too much salt as it isn’t very good for you).

3. Mix all of the ingredients together (I just use my hands – wash hands prior!) until well combined. Preheat oven to 180c.

4. Heat a shallow amount of oil in frypan (be careful of hot oil, hold your hand a few inches above the pan to feel the temperature of the air but be careful if the oil is bubbling as you might get splashed) when hot enough, add a scoop of the mixture (about a tablespoon) to the pan in a clump, and pat down with your utensil until about 1-2 cm’s thick all over. Let each rosti cook on one side until golden brown and stuck together, then flip and cook for only a minute or two on the other side. Repeat this process for each rosti, adding them to a baking tray after each one is cooked – second side down.

5. Place the tray of rosti’s in the oven and cook for another 5-8 minutes until crispy and golden on both sides.

The reason I use the oven and the pan is firstly so that I can arrange other foods whilst they are remaining warm, and secondly to crisp them up a bit more. Add your rostis to your preferred hot breakfast dish, or simply eat them on their own!

Happy December readers :)

VEGAN BANANA COCONUT BREAD

Coconut Banana Bread seems like the most common recipe right? It’s in every free food magazine, all over the Internet and practically done-to-death. However VEGAN coconut banana bread maybe not so much. The main thing about my banana bread is the bananas (of course!) they must be extremely over ripe. I make banana bread when my bananas are too black to be eaten. Freezing them when they are overripe and defrosting them overnight is a great way to always have some on hand!

First of all, if you’re going to be Vegan baking, get yourself some ‘No Egg’, which is an extremely cheap, easy substitute for eggs in baking – available in most health food stores or online. Other replacements are Chia seeds (extremely high in Omega3), Vegetable oil (not such a healthy sub) etc. Also you will need some vegan butter. I use Olive Oil Nuttelex and sometimes Sunflower Oil Nuttelx. These are high in Vitamin D, A and E – and available in most Australian grocery stores.

100g Vegan butter (I use Olive Oil Nuttelex)
1 ½ Cups Plain Flour
½ Cup shredded (or desiccated) coconut
½ Cup Brown Sugar
½ Cup Raw Caster Sugar (or ½ Cup Agave)
1tsp ‘no egg’ (mixed with 2Tbs water)
1Tbs Vanilla Essence (Or seeds of one Vanilla Pod)
1tsp Coconut Essence
1Tbs Cinnamon
1tsp Nutmeg
1tsp Baking Powder
3 Over-ripe Bananas (Almost black)
Handful Walnuts/Dates (Or both)
Demerara Sugar (for topping)
 

1. Ok so first of all you need to line your bread tin with baking paper, and preheat the oven to 180Celcius.

2. Mix your No Egg in with the water (I use a whisk or a fork) get all the lumpy bits mixed through well. Add your butter, sugar (and agave if using) and beat with an electric mixed until well combined (otherwise use a fork and a strong hand!)

3. Mash in your bananas, add cinnamon, nutmeg, coconut ess, vanilla ess and mix until all combined.

4. Sift flour, baking powder, and then add your coconut and stir until combined.

5. Chop your walnuts and dates on a chopping board until you are happy with the size and then fold them through the mixture.

6. Pour into your tin, make sure mixture is rather even and then sprinkle with Demerara sugar.

7. Bake for 20-30 minutes until golden on top and cooked in the middle (I like to check with a skewer)

And there it is – Vegan Coconut Banana Bread. I like to eat mine fresh out of the oven with a nice cuppa, and then chop the rest into slices, freeze any you might not be able to eat in time before going stale (generally 5-7days) and defrost whenever a craving occurs :)

That’s all for now, keep posted for new recipes – The Lush Route