By Melanie Albert, Founder & CEO Experience Nutrition, Intuitive Cooking Expert, and Award-Winning Cookbook Author
I am so honored to create recipes for the November 2018 issue of Natural Awakening’s Arizona magazine. It has been a dream of mine to cook “my” recipes in a magazine in a cooking class. I’m excited that we will be creating the Fall Thanksgiving recipes in a fun, interactive hands-on cooking class on November 18, 2018, 11am-1pm, at The Farm at South Mountain in Phoenix.
Four Plant-Based Thanksgiving Recipes
The recipes in the article and cooking class are inspired by our local Arizona farmers Fall produce, especially, the Squash Soup, and one of my very favorite desserts, the Sweet Potato Brownie.
- Appetizer: Kalamata Olive Tapenade
- Side Dish: Winter Squash Ginger Soup
- Side Dish: Sweet Potato Brussels Sprouts Fall Veggie Saute
- Dessert: Chocolate Sweet Potato Brownie and Goji Berries (PHOTO CREDIT: Cassie Hepler)
In today’s blog, I’m sharing the step-by-step process to prepare the Tapenade, which has been a favorite at several cooking classes this month. Plus, you’ll see the process to create the soup and a fun plating video. Enjoy!
Kalamata Olive Tapenade
Enjoy refreshing tapenade with local Arizona veggies. This rich appetizer is an update to the olive trays that our family enjoyed with holiday meals when I was a kid. When you make your tapenade, have fun experimenting with a variety of olives and mindfully plate with favorite veggies from your farmers’ market.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, rough chopped
- 1 cup Kalamata olives, pitted and rough chopped
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- 1/4 cup capers
- ¼ cup fresh parsley
- ¼ – 1/3 cup organic extra virgin olive oil
Extras for Plating
- 1 cucumber, sliced
- 9-10 dehydrated tomato slices
- 2-3 red or purple radishes, thinly sliced
- 2 green onions, sliced on the bias
- 2 Tbsp goji berries, re-hydrated in water for 10 minutes
SIMPLE STEPS
- Gather your mise en place
- Mince garlic
- Rough chop the sun-dried tomatoes, soak in water to re-hydrate 5-10 minutes
- In a food processor, pulse garlic and olives until fine, not paste-like
- Remove the olive and garlic mixture from the food processor.
- Place sun-dried tomatoes in food processor and process until fine.
- Add capers and parsley and pulse a few times.
- Place olive/garlic mixture and sun-dried tomatoes/capers/parsley mixture into a bowl and mix with a fork.
- Add olive oil until you reach desired consistency.
- Enjoy the tapenade on cucumbers with a few extra veggies from your local farmers.
Winter Squash Ginger Soup
Yields: 4 servings
Create your Thanksgiving soup with local Winter Squash such as red kabocha or butternut, delicata, or even pumpkins. I especially love the sweetness of red kabocha, which contrasts to the green kabocha with has a more savory flavor. While cooking your soup enjoy the mindfulness and aromatherapy of grating warming ginger, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Have fun plating the soup with a few sliced fresh veggies to add color and a crisp texture to the soup. Enjoy the soup warm or cold.
The components of the soup include: Veggie Stock, Roasted Squash, The Squash Ginger Soup, and the Plating Toppings.
Winter Squash Ginger Soup
Simple Ingredients
- 1 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- ¼ cup shallots, minced
- 1 TBSP ginger, grated
- ½ TBSP coriander seeds
- Pinch sea salt
- 3 cups roasted Winter squash (see recipe below)
- 4 cups veggie stock (see recipe below)
Plating Toppings (per serving)
- 2 small tomatoes, sliced
- 1 radish, sliced
- 5 raw cashews, soaked in water
- 5 slices dehydrated tomatoes
- 1 tsp green onions, cut on diagonal
- 1 tsp micro-greens
- Pinch ground cinnamon
- Pinch ground nutmeg
- Optional: Cashew cream
Cook the Soup
- Pour olive oil into the soup pot and warm for 1 minute.
- Add shallot and ginger and gently cook for about 5 minutes to release flavors.
- Add roasted squash and veggie stock to the pot.
- Bring to a boil.
- Lower to simmer and cook for 30 minutes.
- Pour soup into food processor and pulse a few times for desired smoothness.
Plate the Soup
- Pour soup into a serving bowl.
- Top with local, seasonal veggies, such as tomatoes, radishes, green onions, and micro-greens.
CLICK LINK TO SEE THE BEAUTIFUL SOUP PLATING VIDEO:
https://experiencenutrition.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/D-Soup-plating-video-IMG_4922.movSimple Home-Made Veggie Stock
To enhance the flavor of your soup, make this quick and easy veggie stock, with mirepoix base of carrots, onions, and celery. An option is a box of store-bought organic veggie stock.
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
Stock Base
- 1 medium white onion, rough chopped
- 4 carrots, rough chopped
- 2 celery stalks, rough chopped
- 6 cups water
Aromatics
- 10 parsley stems
- 3 bay leaves
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 tsp black peppercorns
SIMPLE STEPS
- Rough chop the carrots, onions, and celery into 2” pieces.
- Place carrots, onions, celery, garlic, black peppercorns, and water into the soup pot.
- Bring to a boil.
- Reduce to simmer and cook with lid covered for 30 minutes.
- Strain the veggies from the liquid.
- Use the stock in the Winter squash soup.
Roasted Winter Squash
SIMPLE INGREDIENTS
- 3 cups Winter squash, cubed
- 3 Tbsp organic extra virgin olive oil
- 3 tsp ground cinnamon
- 3 tsp ground nutmeg
SIMPLE STEPS
- Toss squash in olive oil, nutmeg and cinnamon.
- Place squash on a parchment-lined sheet tray, making sure the squash does not touch.
- Roast for 15 minutes, flip.
- Roast for another 12 minutes.
Another look at the Winter Squash Ginger Soup
Join our Simple Daily Plant-Based Eating Tips Facebook Page
Purchase Melanie Albert’s award-winning cookbook, “A New View of Healthy Eating: Simple Intuitive Cooking with Real Whole Foods”
A final look at the Thanksgiving Plant-Based Cooking article in the November 2018 issue of Natural Awakenings.
