Fennel & Cabbage Tahini Slaw with Chickpeas and Cashews

I call this little creation a 'tahini slaw' - it's essentially a coleslaw but the bulk of the creamy dressing is made from delicious nutritious tahini rather than lots of gluggy and nutritionally deficient mayonnaise. It's versatile, of course, so feel free to make your own adaptations. In this recipe I've used not just cabbage but thinly sliced fennel which gives it a wonderful crisp flavour and I've added a can of chickpeas to bulk it up a bit and turn it into a main event dish rather than a side. If you're just bringing it along to a bbq then you can choose to omit the chickpeas.

This recipe makes enough for 2-3 people to have a big bowl of it for lunch or dinner, or for 4-6 people to have as a side salad.

Fennel & Cabbage Tahini Slaw with Chickpeas and Cashews

Ingredients
1/4 medium green cabbage (you can substitute purple cabbage or a mixture of both)
1/2 large fennel bulb
1 small Spanish onion
1 small granny smith apple
1 400g can of chickpeas, drained
1/2 cup roasted cashews
2 tbsp unhulled tahini
1 tsp mayonniase
1 tsp soy sauce
Juice of small 1/2 lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
Cracked pepper, to taste
1 punnet cherry tomatoes, washed and halved.

To Make
1. Very thinly slice the cabbage, fennel bulb and Spanish onion and toss together in a bowl. Cut the core out of the apple and cut into thin matchsticks. Add to the salad along with the chickpeas. Once you've added the apple, sprinkle a bit of the lemon juice over the salad to stop the apple going brown while you make the dressing.
2. Combine the tahini, mayonnaise, soy sauce, remaining lemon juice and olive oil in a small bowl or jar. Mix well to combine. It may be very thick at this stage, but don't worry it will thin out as you mix it through the salad. Season to taste with cracked pepper.
3. Add the tahini dressing to the salad and mix thoroughly until the salad is evenly coated with the dressing. Break up the cashews a bit with your hands and toss them in along with the halved cherry tomatoes. Mix well and serve garnished with extra cashews (optional).

Notes: You can use the cherry tomatoes to decorate the top instead of mixing them through if you like. 

Serves 2-3 as a main or 4-6 as a side salad.

Semolina Halva (Sooji Haluwa)

My best intentions for posting this month have been made insignificant by what is happening in my area of the world at the moment - which is why you haven't heard much from me lately! In the area I live there are currently 4 serious bush fires, a couple of which are burning out of control. Although we live in an area prone to fires, this year the fire season has begun badly - and it's only spring! The hot, dry, windy weather we are having now coupled with the fact that we had an unseasonably warm winter leading up to this has lead to terrifying bushfire conditions. Thousands of hectares of bushland has been burnt and many, many people have lost their homes, their cars, their possessions and, in some cases, their beloved pets. Fortunately there has been no known deaths in my area, which seems miraculous.

Today it has been predicted that the weather will be "as bad as it gets" for bush fires. Hot, dry weather with winds of up to 100km. This could potentially be disastrous for the spread of the fires that are already burning. All the schools and childcare centres have been closed for the next few days, hospitals and nursing homes have been evacuated or relocated and people are being urged to leave their homes if they are not prepared. It's a daunting situation!

We have been spending our days preparing our house and getting our plans in order. I feel that we are *pretty well* prepared now, so I've managed to find time to sit down and share a post with you. Today I will be hovering around with my sprinklers at the ready and hoping for the best. My thoughts and best wishes to all the thousands of other people across Australia that are facing similar situations (there are currently more than 60 fires currently burning in NSW alone, although a lot of these fires are being controlled and contained by our wonderful fire fighters).

So what delicious treats can we wheel out to distract us from natural disasters? How about some delicious Nepalese Sooji Haluwa? This is a really easy halva recipe, made with semolina and crammed full of tasty nuts and plump golden raisins.

Nepalese Sooji Haluwa (Semolina Halva)

Ingredients
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 cup semolina
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups of almond, oat or rice milk
1/3 cup golden raisins
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
2 tbsp dessicated coconut
2 tbsp chopped cashews (about 10 or so)
2 tbsp chopped pistachios (plus more to garnish)
1/3 cup almonds, chopped roughly
Agave nectar, to garnish (or, if you are not a vegan, you can use honey which would be traditionally used)

To Make
1. Heat the margarine in a medium saucepan until melted. Add the semolina and cook over a medium heat, stirring constantly, until the semolina starts to turn brown.
2. Add the sugar and stir it through, followed by the milk, raisins, cardamom and coconut.
3. Bring to a simmer and then add the cashews, pistachios and almonds. Turn the heat right down and cook over a low heat until all the milk is absorbed into the semolina.
4. Transfer to a serving bowl. You can eat it hot or cold. Before serving sprinkle with fresh chopped pistachios and drizzle with agave nectar (or honey).

Serves 6.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Nepal!

Check out my other Nepali/Nepalese recipe posts:

Tomato Achar

Aloo Roti (Potato Roti)

Vegetable Momo with Chilli Sesame Dipping Sauce

Chilli Grapefruit & Orange Salad

Saag Tarkari

Sesame Chilli Fried Potatoes

Chocolate Cranberry Cashew "Cookie Dough" Balls

A quick little recipe for you for this month's Sweet Adventures Blog Hop. The theme this month is "Cookie Monster", but I'm on a bit of a health kick at the moment and I'm currently feeling really good about myself. So the last thing I want to eat is biscuits. I tried my hand at a healthy alternative though - healthy vegan cookie dough bites. Raw, vegan, no flour but with a bit of sugar (nobody's perfect). They make a lovely healthy sweet snack.

Use the links below my recipe to check out the other biscuit-y entries in this month's hop!

Chocolate Cranberry Cashew Cookie Dough Bites

Ingredients

2/3 cup raw cashew pieces

1 tbsp dried coconut

2 heaped tbsp rolled oats

2 tsbp cocoa powder

3 tbsp maple syrup

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tbsp dried cranberry pieces (if you have whole dried cranberries, chop them up a bit) 

2 tbsp chopped dark chocolate pieces (about 20g)

To Make

1. Place the cashews, coconut and oats in a food processor and process until they form a flour consistency.

2. Add the cocoa, maply syrup and vanilla extract and pulse until the mixture all comes together.

3. Transfer to a bowl and stir through the cranberry and chocolate pieces.

4. Roll out into balls using your hands and chill for at least 10 minutes before eating.

Makes 10 balls.

Chickpea, Apple and Cashew Salad with Tahini Dressing

My mum calls me the Salad Queen because I almost never make the same salad twice. I just love making salads - they are so easy and so versatile. A lot of people think that salad is boring which baffles me - maybe they just put lettuce, tomato and cucumber in their salads and then add some store bought sugary dressing? If that is how you view salads then I challenge you to try some of my salads.

There are so many different vegetables and fruits, beans and pulses, nuts and seeds and different dressings to use in salads! This hearty salad is perfect for people who think that salads aren't filling enough to be your whole meal. It's also deceptively healthy - the rich creamy dressing is made with tahini which already has a certain oil content so that means you don't need to add any oil to the dressing - winner! 

Ingredients

1 small or medium sized beetroot

Lettuce (as much as you want for 2 people)

2 tomatoes, chopped

2 tbsp pepitas

1 x 400ml tin of chickpeas OR 1 1/2 cups cooked chickpeas (soak for 24 hours, then boil for 30 minutes)

1 medium apple (see note)

1 cup unsalted cashews

Dressing

2 tbsp unhulled tahini

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 small glove garlic, crushed

Note: The variety of apple you choose will alter the flavour profile of the dish. I chose a sweet apple (like gala or pink lady) to add some crunchy sweetness to the salad. If you use a granny smith you'll have a more sour taste to the salad. Try both and see which one you prefer? :)

To Make:
1. Peel and dice the beetroot. Place in a saucepan and cover with water. Boil until tender (about 15-20 minutes - depending on how big you cut the pieces). Drain and rinse with cold water. Set aside.
2. Spread lettuce between two bowls. Chop tomatoes and layer on top of the lettuce. Then top with the cooled beetroot.
3. Lightly toast the pepitas by dry frying in a pan for about 60 seconds, tossing them regularly until they're browned and starting to pop. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
4. To make the dressing mix together all the ingredients and stir vigorously until smooth and combined.
5. In a bowl toss the cooked chickpeas, diced apple, cashews and pepitas with the dressing to coat. Distribute amongst the bowls and enjoy!

Serves 2