Nature’s bounty - recipes from Buffy Ellen Gill’s Be Good: Plant-based recipes for everybody

Look after the planet, your body and your taste buds with these plant-based treats from Buffy Ellen Gill’s new plant-based cookbook, Be Good

Grilled asparagus with hollandaise

Serves 4

This hollandaise is outrageously good — you must try it. It's equally good over steamed cauli, broccoli or green beans.

2 bunches asparagus

1 tsp olive oil

½ tsp sea salt and cracked black pepper

Hollandaise

1 cup cashews

¾ cup water

½ lemon, flesh and juice

½ shallot (or ⅛ onion)

1 clove garlic

1 tsp Dijon mustard

¾ tsp black salt

½ tsp ground turmeric (or 1cm fresh turmeric)

To serve

¼ cup parsley, chopped

½ cup hazelnuts, toasted or activated and chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan bake. Remove the tough ends of the asparagus, place on an oven tray, drizzle and toss with a little oil if desired, and season with salt and pepper. Bake for 12 minutes. If toasting hazelnuts to serve, add them to a second tray for 5 minutes until golden.

2. Meanwhile, add the hollandaise ingredients to a blender and process until smooth. Pop in the freezer to thicken for 5–10 minutes.

3. Serve asparagus drizzled with hollandaise and topped with chopped parsley and hazelnuts.

Notes

• For nut-free: swap the cashews and hazelnuts for hemp and sunflower seeds.
• For oil-free: roast the asparagus without oil or steam them instead.
• The hollandaise thickens as it chills, so thin it down on day two with a little water.
• Roasted chopped walnuts or almonds are also amazing to serve on top.
• Black sulphurous salt gives the hollandaise an eggy flavour, so it’s worth getting. However, regular salt tastes good, too.

Grilled asparagus with hollandaise.

Thai green tofu curry

Serves 4

Made from soybeans, tofu is a fantastic food to add to your diet as it is high in protein, calcium and iron. High-quality, organic, non-GMO soy products have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer, and increase longevity.

1½ cups jasmine brown rice

Curry

4 Tbsp Thai green curry paste

400ml can coconut milk

1 red onion, cut into chunks

750g butternut pumpkin, cubed

1 carrot, sliced into half moons

1 eggplant, cubed

1 broccoli, florets, stems and leaves

1 handful kale, destemmed and torn

2 Tbsp tamari

Juice of ½ lime

1 tsp veg stock powder

½ tsp sea salt

Garlic tofu

300g tofu, cubed

2 cloves garlic, crushed

To serve

Cashews (optional), chopped fresh coriander

Fresh sliced red chilli, or red chilli flakes

1. Cook rice in 3 cups of boiling water, covered for 25 minutes, then turn off and leave to steam.

2. Add curry paste to a large wok or frying pan and stir-fry over medium heat for a few minutes until fragrant and caramelised. Add half the coconut milk and cook until it thickens, then add the onion, butternut, carrot, remaining coconut milk, plus 1 cup of just-boiled water. Once the veges have softened, about 5 minutes, add the eggplant, broccoli and kale and cook until soft but still bright vibrant green. Stir through the tamari, lime juice, stock and salt.

3. Roast cashews on a tray in the oven at 160C for 5 minutes, or until golden, if using.

4. Put tofu in a separate frying pan, season with salt and pepper, and fry until golden brown on all sides, adding garlic for a minute at the end. Add to the curry and stir through. Serve on rice, topped with fresh coriander, chilli and roasted cashews.

Notes

For nut-free: swap the cashews for sunflower seeds or omit them.

You can use any veges in this curry. Cauli, potatoes, peas, green beans and button mushrooms all work well – whatever is in season. You can also replace the tofu with tempeh.

If you want to lighten the energy density of this meal, serve it on lightly stir-fried or steamed cauliflower rice.

Many curry pastes contain fish sauce, sugar and oil. Check the label to find one that doesn’t.

Curry pastes are often already quite spicy, so I don’t add any extra chilli (lest the kids run for the hills). If your curry paste is mild, though, feel free to add ½ teaspoon chilli powder to the curry paste.

Thai green tofu curry.

Waldorf kale salad

Serves 4

Salad

¾ cup walnuts

1 bunch kale (350g), stems removed and finely sliced

1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

400g can chickpeas, drained

2 apples, cored and julienned

1 celery stalk, diced

2 Tbsp capers

Tahini mayo

½ cup water

⅓ cup hulled tahini

3 Tbsp apple cider vinegar

4 tsp Dijon mustard

2 dried dates, pitted

1 tsp sea salt

Pinch ground black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 180C fan bake. Place walnuts on a tray and roast for 8 minutes until golden, then roughly chop.

2. Place the kale leaves in a large bowl with the vinegar, a pinch of salt, and a dash of olive oil, if desired, then massage with your hands until the leaves become bright green and soft. Add the remaining salad ingredients to the bowl.

3. Process all dressing ingredients in a blender until creamy and smooth, then pour over salad and mix everything together to combine. Serve with a few extra chopped walnuts, if desired.

Notes

• For nut-free: replace the walnuts with pumpkin seeds.
• For oil-free: skip the oil. However, it does help to soften the kale more than just using vinegar and salt — you only need a teaspoon.
• You can add a handful of raisins or grapes to this salad for juicy sweetness, too.

Waldorf kale salad.

Edited extract from Be Good: Plant-based Recipes for Everybody by Buffy Ellen Gill, published by Bateman Books, RRP: $45

Be Good: Plant-based recipes for everybody by Buffy Ellen Gill.