AGUACHILE VERDE WITH SETAS

Today I'm finally going to share this long expected recipe: Aguachile verde with setas.

Now, if you're Mexican, you're probably nodding your head with acceptance (I have never met a Mexican who doesn't love aguachile.) If you're not Mexican, chances are you've never heard about aguachile. It is definitely not one of those dishes you find in Mexican restaurants abroad. Aguachile is a typical dish in the west coast area, usually made with shrimps. It is important that the shrimps are really fresh, since they are cooked only in lemon juice. This is the reason why aguachile is more typical in the coast, where the seafood is always fresh.

But enough with the seafood. In this vegan version of aguachile, instead of shrimps, we are using setas (oyster mushrooms.) Otherwise the recipe has all the same ingredients as the typical aguachile de camarón. This recipe is originally from Kimberly Rosales from @vivaverduras.

If you try out this recipe, make sure to start the preparation early enough. The setas have to be marinating some 4 hours before eating, so if you want to have your aguachile by the lunch time, you better start preparing it in the morning.

Otherwise there is nothing too complicated in this recipe. All you need is a blender or a food processor to prepare your green salsa and a big bowl to marinate your ingredients. Some cold beer and nice music in the background, according to my experience, are also a nice addition to the cooking process. ;)

Here comes the recipe!

AGUACHILE VERDE WITH SETAS (one big bowl)

Salsa:

2 chiles serranos
1 clove garlic
1/4 white onion
4 limes
1 cup fresh coriander
salt
black pepper

Aguachile:

500g setas (oyster mushrooms)
2 cucumbers
1 red onion
5 limes 
salt
black pepper
alga nori seaweed

1. Clean the setas by using wet paper towel, do not rinse them with water. Cut the stems away and then using your hands, pull the setas into small pieces (similar size as small shrimps.)
2. Place the setas into a big bowl, squeeze the lemon juice and add some salt. Leave sit in the fridge at least 4 hours, or if possible, overnight.
3. To prepare the salsa, place the chiles, garlic, onion, limes and coriander into food processor and blend until smooth. Add salt and pepper according to your taste.
4. Cut the cucumbers and red onion into fine slices. Place them into another bowl and add the green salsa. Let sit in fridge for 2-4 hours.
5. Finally mix the marinated setas with other ingredients, add salt and pepper to your taste and finish with some chopped seaweed.
6. Serve with tostadas, avocado and fresh coriander.

TOP VEGAN SNACKS

Today I'm going to present you some of my favorite vegan snacks! Are you ready?

I strongly dislike the expression "healthy snacks". There are couple of reasons for this. First of all, the words "healthy" and "snacks" just don't seem to really need each other. Why not just say snacks? The idea of snacks is that they are easy to eat and taste good, right?

Another reason is that I think the words easily bring to mind an image of a huge plate of raw vegetables (nothing wrong with those though, delicious!) or a granola bar, something that in some intuitive level just feels wrong. Healthy snacks should't be something that you can imagine only women from yogurt commercials liking. (They would eat them still wearing their yoga pants and smiling little bit too much.)

Anyway. This is why I prefer to use the expession "vegan snacks". They are green and might be a little bit healthier than potato chips, but equally enjoyable! (And also highly addictive.)

The two snacks I'm presenting today I make quite often myself. The awesome part is that they don't require long preparation or effort, and they do taste awesome! The ingredients can usually be stored in your frigde or freezer, and when ever a snacky mood appears, they are fast and easy to prepare.

Here come the recipes!

KALE CHIPS

1 bag of kale
spray oil
salt

1. Preheat the oven to 300F (150°C).
2. Place the kale on an oven plate and spray with a thin layer of oil.
3. Add some salt (and other spices if wanted: paprika powder, cayenne pepper, black pepper, according to your personal taste!)
4. Cook for 30-40 mins. You can turn the kales couple of times during the cooking if needed.
5. Once the kale chips are all crispy, they are ready. Enjoy!

EDAMAMES

1 bag edamame beans
salt

1. Heat water in a pot until boiling.
2. Add salt into the water and then the frozen edamames. Cook 10-15 minutes or until the beans are soft.
3. Pour out the water and add some salt on top. Enjoy while warm!

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What are your favorite vegan / healthier snacks?

VEGAN AVOCADO PASTA

It's time to reveal the recipe for one of my favorite dishes ever: avocado pasta.

What makes this avocado pasta so special? Some years ago it became a huge hit in Finland, everybody were making it! Now, every time I mention this, people wonder if avocado is a typical ingredient in the Finnish kitchen. NO, it definitely is not. Avocados are usually very expensive and hardly ever in their optimal condition, and that is probably one reason that makes this dish even more appealing for Finnish people. But, since I happen to live in Mexico, I'm going to enjoy this recipe as often as I possibly can. God bless avocados, seriously.

The original recipe is from a Finnish chef called Alexander Gullichsen, who, according to the story, made the pasta for his wife. So it's also some sort of a love story, and who doesn't like those!

Well, the couple has divorced ever since, but the pasta doesn't stop being insanely good! The original recipe is not vegan though, since it has two different types of cheeses in it, but no worries, I have pimped the recipe to be 100% plant-based, and, included a vegan parmesan recipe for you as well. Because as we all very well know, as cherry belongs on top of the cake, so does parmesan on top of pasta.

I have replaced the cheese in the recipe with nutritional yeast (levadura nutricional), a miracle ingredient that makes things taste like cheese. At the moment you can buy nutritional yeast (at least here in Mexico) in vegan stores and some ecological food stores (I bought mine in Bocados de Vida.) The vegan parmesan is also made using nutritional yeast, and another miracle ingredient, hemp seeds. Try it out and get surprised!

Here comes the recipe!


AVOCADO PASTA (2-3 servings)

250g spaghetti
2-3 avocados
2-4 cloves garlic
1-2 chilis
1 lime
1/2 cup fresh basil
2 tbsp olive oil
salt 
black pepper
1/2 nutritional yeast

1. Chop the garlic and chili peppers into small cubes and mix them in a bowl with the lime juice.
2. Cut the avocados into cubes, add them into the bowl and mix.
3. Add chopped basil, and nutritional yeast. Mix.
4. Cook the spaghetti al dente (1-2 minutes less than in the instructions). The boiling water should be as salty as sea water. Take 1/2 cup of the boiling water aside and add it into the bowl with other ingredients. Stir everything together.
5. Strain the spaghetti and add it into the bowl. Mix.
6. Finally add salt, pepper and olive oil. Sprinkle some parmesan on top of the served pasta right before eating. Enjoy right away!

VEGAN PARMESAN

1/2 cup hemp hearts
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

1. Put all the ingredients into a blender/food processor and blend lightly using the burst, for some 10-15 secs (or until desired consistency).
2. Store in a glass jar in room temperature up to 3 months.

PIZZA WITH MASA MADRE - SOURDOUGH PIZZA

This post is made in collaboration with Panina, a local one woman bread business, focused on sourdough baking.

A while ago we got together with Paulina from Panina in order to make a delicious vegan sourdough pizza. Until this moment I had always thought that the problem with most vegan pizzas is the cheese (sometimes the cheese just isn't that great, tbh), but making this pizza with Paulina made me realize it is all about the base! Tasty pizza dough is really the most important part (also the tomato sauce, keep reading!)

Then what is the secret for a tasty pizza dough? While there can be many answers to the question, one of them seems quite obvious to me now: the sourdough, in Spanish known as masa madre.

What exactly is Masa Madre and why is everybody talking about it right now?

I first heard about masa madre from a friend about one year ago, and my first thought was that it was some sort of a new trend. Which, partially is true, sourdough baking is really the trend in the baking world right now (or some years already). However, the sourdough baking is really an ancient thing. It is one of those things that used to be done a lot back in the days, then started to vanish for some time and at the moment is kinda coming back. But why exactly? Why are so many people crazy about sourdough baking?

First of all, sourdough can be a healthier option to bread that is made with yeast (levadura). The sourdough starter is a fermented mixture of flour and water, and contains lots of naturally occurred bacteria. The long fermentation and naturally occurring acids help to break down gluten, which makes it easier for the body to digest and absorb.

Another factor is the taste. Sourdough gives bread a special flavor and texture, a result that you simpy cannot reach by using normal commercial yeast. To put it short: it is much slower process but totally worth it!

Now, everybody knows good bread is not something that is typically sold in every street corner here in Mexico (unlike tacos, those are sold in every street corner!) This is the reason I first met Paulina, the founder of Panina. Paulina is a Mexican chef with a newly found passion for making bread, and with a mission of making better bread here in Guadalajara. She started her sourdough bread business this year and not only sells bread but also offers online classes on How to make sourdough. 

(Take a look at Paulina's online classes here.)

We decided to combine our superpowers with Paulina: her bread making skills and my pizza eating skills, hehe (it's not a joke though). Also, as I was saying, I was curious to know how vegan cheese tastes on a good quality pizza, made with love and patience from sourdough. We used a vegan mozzarella from a Mexican company called Heartbest. What I was happy to notice is that when the pizza is well made since the dough, the less important it  becomes to add lots of cheese and other "fatty" ingredients on top: all you need is a tasty tomato sauce, some good olive oil, little bit of cheese and what ever other ingredients you want to add. All and all: hands down the best vegan pizza I have tasted.

If you want to try this pizza at home, here comes the recipe!


TOMATO SAUCE

400g tomatoes without peel and seeds
10g garlic
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp basil
4 tbsp oive oil
salt
pepper

1. In a saucepan put water to boil with a pinch of salt. Once boiling, add the tomatoes for 2 minutes, take them out and transfer to a bowl with water and some ice to stop the cooking.
2. Remove the skin with a small knife or using your hands, cut each tomato in half and remove the seeds. Set aside.
3. Cut the garlic into very small pieces. Set aside.
4. In a saucepan, add the olive oil and garlic and let brown very little using low heat.
5. Add the tomatoes, oregano and finely chopped basil. Add salt and pepper to your taste.
6. Let cook over low heat for 40 minutes.

SOURDOUGH PIZZA CRUST (2 medium pizzas)

450g white strong flour
50g wheat flour
280g water
100g sourdough starter
10g salt

1. Mix flour, water and starter, leave to stand for 1 hour. Add salt. Let rest for half an hour. Make 3 folds every half hour.
2. Divide the dough in two with the help of a cutter, give each piece a rounded shape with the help of a little flour.
3. Leave to rest for 2 hours and then stretch the dough into a pizza shape.
4. Bake at 240°C for about 5 minutes. Carefully remove from the oven. Add the tomato sauce and other ingredients of your choice, and bake at the same temperature for another 5 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.

(In our pizza we used mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, black olives, fresh basil and zucchini. On top you can add some olive oil and oregano, and some spicy salsa or chili flakes! ;))

Would you like to make a collaboration with Rebel Food Club? Send your ideas in e-mail or dm me in Instagram! Let's make it happen!