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.
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.
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.
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.
