Crispy Sweet ’n’ Salty Chickpeas
“To Share or Not to Share” Pizza Pinwheels
Shake & Bake Sweet Potato Fries
LAST-MINUTE GUACAMOLE
Can a party without guacamole really be considered a party? We don’t think so! This is a recipe for our signature guacamole dip. Our favorite way to serve it is with tortilla chips. It’s so quick to make and needs just a few ingredients.
Makes: 1 bowl | Time: 5 min
Ingredients
3 ripe avocados, halved, pitted
1 teaspoon lemon juice
½ teaspoon of salt + more to taste
¼ cup (15 g) cilantro, chopped
Instructions
1. Cut vertical and horizontal lines into the avocados and remove their flesh with a spoon from the skin.
2. In a bowl, add the avocado chunks, lemon juice, salt, and cilantro and mash everything with a fork or potato masher. We like to leave ours a bit chunky, but you can make yours smooth by mashing it until really fine.
3. Enjoy with some vegan tortilla chips or veggie sticks.
Bianca’s Kitchen Hack
How to Pick Ripe Avocados
The trick is to try to remove the stem. It should come off easily. If it is green beneath, it is a good sign the avocado is ripe. If it is brown underneath, the avocado is overripe and will have brown spots inside. If the stem does not come off, the avocado is not yet ripe.
HOMEMADE CRACKERS (5 WAYS)
BASIC CRACKERS
Both of us are huge snack eaters, and homemade crackers are one of our favorite snack recipes to serve at parties or to munch on while bingeing TV shows. You’ll find our basic recipe for crackers below, followed by a few fun variations and twists.
Makes: 2 cups | Time: 35 min
Ingredients
1⅔ cups (200 g) all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ cup (120 ml) water
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. In a mixing bowl, add in the dry ingredients, and whisk together. Then, add in the olive oil and water, and mix. Knead with your hand until it’s a smooth dough. Add more flour if your dough is too sticky.
3. On a floured baking sheet lined with parchment paper, roll out the dough until as thin and even as possible. Use more flour if you need to.
4. Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into individual crackers.
5. Bake them in the oven for about 20 minutes until they become crispy and golden brown.
SPINACH & SESAME CRACKERS
Additional Ingredients
1 tablespoon white sesame seeds
2 loosely packed cups (80 g) fresh spinach
Instructions
1. Wash the spinach and put it in a blender together with the water from the basic cracker recipe instructions (see on pg. 125) to give the crackers a green color, and blend until completely smooth. Follow the rest of the basic cracker recipe instructions with the following addition (see step below).
2. Add white sesame seeds to the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients.
CURRIED CRACKERS
Additional Ingredients
1 tablespoon black sesame seeds
½ teaspoon mild curry powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
Instructions
1. Follow the basic cracker recipe instructions (see on pg. 125) with the following addition (see step below).
2. Add the black sesame seeds, curry powder, and turmeric powder to the dry ingredients before adding the wet ingredients.
RED BEET CRACKERS
Additional Ingredients
¼ cup (60 ml) red beet juice
Instructions
1. Follow the basic cracker recipe instructions (see on pg. 125) with the following addition (see step below).
2. Substitute half (¼ cup) of the water with red beet juice for a lovely pink color before mixing the dough.
POPPY SEED CRACKERS
Additional Ingredients
2 tablespoons poppy seeds
Instructions
1. Follow the basic cracker recipe instructions (see on pg. 125) with the following addition (see step below).
2. Add poppy seeds to the dry ingredients in step 2 and follow the base recipe.
FATAL HUMMUS (4 WAYS)
1: Red Beet Hummus; 2: Cilantro Hummus; 3: Butternut Squash Hummus; 4: Basic Hummus
BASIC HUMMUS
Hummus, the beloved dip/spread made out of chickpeas, is a vegan staple. We want to show you a quick and easy way to make hummus yourself, including lots of options for variations, so you’ll never get bored of it! Feel free to get creative where you can and try your own flavors and twists—hummus is very forgiving.
Makes: 1½ cups | Time: 5 min
Ingredients
1½ cups (250 g) canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tablespoon tahini
¾ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon water + more to thin out
Instructions
1. Put all the ingredients in your food processor or blender.
2. Blend or process until smooth (add more water if the consistency is too thick).
3. For variations, add the following additional ingredients in step 1.
CILANTRO HUMMUS
Ingredients
1½ cups Basic Hummus (see recipe above)
4 stalks cilantro
Instructions
1. Add stalks of cilantro to our basic hummus and process in a blender until smooth.
BUTTERNUT SQUASH HUMMUS
Ingredients
1½ cups basic hummus (see recipe on pg. 129)
1 cup (220 g) roasted butternut squash
Instructions
1. Add roasted butternut squash to our basic hummus and process in a blender until smooth.
RED BEET HUMMUS
Ingredients
1½ cups basic hummus (see recipe on pg. 129)
1½ tablespoons red beet juice
Instructions
1. Add red beet juice to our basic hummus and process in a blender until smooth.
BAKED HUMMUS DIP
Hummus is considered a vegan staple for various reasons, but have you tried it warm? In the form of a delicious baked hummus dip? For this version, we’ve mixed our basic hummus recipe with spinach, which makes it the perfect dip for parties!
Makes: 1½ cups | Time: 50 min
Ingredients
1 cup (250 g) hummus (see on p. 130) or store-bought
½ cup (50 g) defrosted spinach
1 teaspoon olive oil
A few thinly sliced scallions
3 cherry tomatoes, halved
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Mix our basic hummus with the defrosted spinach and olive oil and transfer it to an oven-safe pan.
3. Bake the hummus dip for about 40 minutes.
4. Top with sliced scallions and halved cherry tomatoes and serve with tortilla chips, any of our homemade crackers (see on pg. 124) or veggie sticks.
CHEESY DILL POPCORN
Cheesy dill popcorn: the perfect snack for lazy days full of binge-watching TV. Thank you, nutritional yeast, for making everything taste like cheese. We love you.
Makes: 1 large bowl | Time: 10 min
Ingredients
1 tablespoon coconut oil
¼ cup (60 g) popcorn kernels
½ teaspoon salt
1½ tablespoons nutritional yeast
½ teaspoon dried dill
Instructions
1. In a large pot, heat the coconut oil on medium to high heat; toss in 3 popcorn kernels and close the lid (preferably a transparent one, so you can see what’s going on inside).
2. Once the kernels have popped, take the pot off the burner and add in the rest of the kernels. Give the pot a quick shake and let it sit for 30 seconds before placing back on the burner. Then, place the pot back on the burner and let it cook on medium to high heat until all the kernels have popped.
3. Transfer the popcorn to a large bowl, sprinkle the salt, nutritional yeast, and dried dill on top, and give it a good shake. Done.
CHEESY PARTY POTATOES
The crispy potato rounds are loaded with our vegan cheese sauce, tomatoes, green olives, and lots of cilantro, which makes it the ideal party snack—or a special treat for when you’re craving potatoes. You can easily double or triple the recipe depending on how many people you want to serve.
Makes: 1 large plate | Time: 45 min
Ingredients
3 large potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon curry powder
¼ teaspoon paprika powder
½ teaspoon dried rosemary
3 tablespoons cheese sauce (see on pg. 18)
½ tomato, cubed
¼ cup (35 g) green olives, sliced
1 small bunch of cilantro, chopped
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 480°F/250°C.
2. Use a mandoline slicer to thickly slice the potatoes.
3. Put potato slices in a large bowl and add the olive oil, salt, curry powder, paprika powder, and dried rosemary. Give it a good mix until the slices are coated.
4. Transfer the coated potato slices to a baking tray lined with parchment paper and spread them so they lay flat, not overlapping each other.
5. Bake them in the oven for about 20 to 30 minutes until golden and crisp on the edges.
6. Transfer them to a plate, drizzle with the cheese sauce, and top with tomato cubes, green olives, and chopped cilantro and dig in!
CRISPY SWEET ’N’ SALTY CHICKPEAS
Oven roasted chickpeas are one of our favorite healthy snacks. Our recipe makes for a decent little batch of sweet and salty chickpeas that will make your binge-watching weekends even more of a thing to look forward to. Feel free to play around with different seasonings such as lemon, dill, curry powder, parsley, and garlic or sugar, cinnamon, and cocoa powder for sweet versions.
Makes: 1½ cups | Time: 35 min
Ingredients
17 oz. (480 g) canned chickpeas, drained, rinsed
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon mild paprika powder
Maple syrup, for drizzling
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Pat the chickpeas dry with a clean kitchen towel (don’t worry about removing the skins unless they come off while drying).
3. Place the chickpeas on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and drizzle with olive oil, salt, and paprika powder. Give it a good mix so they’re all coated.
4. Put them in the oven for about 30 to 45 minutes until they’re crispy. Toss them around every 10 minutes to prevent them from burning.
5. When they’re ready, drizzle the maple syrup over them and give them a good mix.
6. And enjoy! They are the crispiest while they’re still hot, but I like them cooled down, too.
Sascha’s Landmine Situation
When Traveling Abroad
Traveling abroad is tricky, especially when you’re heading to a country where people don’t really worry about veganism. If you like to travel to cities, you’re in luck: Helpful websites like happycow.net or vegguide.org specialize in finding vegan options for you. These websites can help you get to know the city beforehand so that you can make it a foodie adventure. Consider buying and hoarding snacks. Stay at a hotel or apartment with a small kitchen (even a microwave can do wonders!). Look for Asian restaurants, as they often offer some kind of veggie sushi dish. Keep an eye out for Italian restaurants—if they’re doing it properly, and some don’t, then there should be no eggs or dairy in their pasta and pizza. But most importantly: Don’t be afraid to ask. You will be surprised at how flexible restaurants can be.
GARLIC HERB BREADSTICKS
Fancy breadsticks are always a great snack for parties. You can serve them with different dips or eat them plain. Rolling the breadsticks can be quite exhausting, so we recommend having a helper when you plan on making breadsticks for a larger crowd!
Makes: 16 breadsticks | Time: 30 min
Ingredients
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 tablespoon chopped oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon salt
1 portion Multi-Purpose Bread dough (see on pg. 110)
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. In a small pot on low heat, add the coconut oil, parsley, oregano, minced garlic, and salt. Give it a good mix until the coconut oil is melted.
3. Cut the Multi-Purpose Bread dough into 16 equal parts and roll each one into ropes between your hands. Repeat for all the breadsticks.
4. Transfer the breadsticks onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper.
5. Brush the breadsticks with the herb garlic oil, then bake them in the oven for about 5 to 10 minutes, until golden.
SWEET & SAVORY MANGO SALSA
This colorful, crowd-pleasing mango salsa is the ideal addition for any party, and just the last-minute recipe you were looking for. You can make this in 10 short minutes. Cut up all the fruits and veggies and give it a quick mix in a bowl. Serve it with tortilla chips and enjoy the happy faces of your guests!
Makes: 1 bowl | Time: 10 min
Ingredients
1 mango, peeled, pitted, diced
1 tomato, diced
¼ red bell pepper, diced
¼ small red onion, diced
1 small avocado, peeled, pitted, diced
1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon fresh mint, chopped
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Instructions
1. Add the diced mango and veggies in a bowl.
2. Add the herbs, salt, and lemon juice. Give it a quick mix.
3. Serve with tortilla chips.
“TO SHARE OR NOT TO SHARE” PIZZA PINWHEELS
We are suckers for bite-sized party foods. We love hosting parties, having friends over, and offering them way too much food. No one goes home hungry on our watch! These vegan pizza pinwheels are our go-to treat because they can be made in only a couple of minutes, you can toy around with different fillings, and you can prepare them in advance. Instead of using Cashew Parmesan, you could also spread some of our vegan cheese sauce in there (see recipe on pg. 18), but don’t use more than ⅓ of a cup or it will get too messy.
Makes: 30 pinwheels | Time: 25 min
Ingredients
1 (9 x 16-inch) vegan puff pastry dough*
¼ cup (65 g) tomato passata
1 pinch of garlic powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon dried or fresh oregano
½ teaspoon dried or fresh basil
1 tablespoon Cashew Parmesan (see on pg. 17)
½ cup (65 g) green pitted olives
Instructions
1. Preheat the oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Roll out the puff pastry dough.
3. Spread the tomato passata on the puff pastry dough, but don’t spread it on the bottom quarter or the tomato sauce will be squeezed out when rolling in the dough.
4. Sprinkle the garlic powder, salt, oregano, basil, and Cashew Parmesan on top.
5. Cut the olives in smaller pieces and sprinkle on top.
6. Roll up the puff pastry dough as tight as possible and close the edge.
7. Cut the puff pastry dough roll in about 30 pieces.
8. Place the pizza pinwheels on a baking tray lined with parchment paper (don’t worry if they don’t look perfect, they will puff up just the same!) and bake them in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.
9. Enjoy them warm or let them cool off.
Sascha’s Landmine Situation
Get-Togethers and Parties
This is an easy one. Bonding over food is a great way to learn about new people. However, it can be considered rude to decline all the food the host has been slaving away to make. Here’s a simple, easy solution: Tell your host about your preferences beforehand and offer to bring something. Many party hosts spend the majority of their day preparing everything for the party to be a success, so in most cases they’re happy to receive some help.
*If you can’t find vegan puff pastry, you can also use store-bought or homemade pizza dough instead, but you will have to bake the pinwheels longer depending on the thickness of the dough.
SHAKE & BAKE SWEET POTATO FRIES
Whether you make these Sweet Potato Fries for a party or as a side dish, everyone loves them! With the shake & bake method you can coat them quickly and evenly in cornstarch and spices. They are delicious with our tzatziki dip (see on pg. 159).
Makes: 2 servings | Time: 50 min
Ingredients
3 medium-size sweet potatoes
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon cinnamon powder
½ teaspoon curry powder
1 dash of cayenne pepper
Fresh parsley for garnish
Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 400°F/200°C.
2. Peel the sweet potatoes and cut them into even fries.
3. Put the sweet potato fries in a re-sealable bag (alternatively, you can do all of this in a large bowl) and add the cornstarch. Give it a good shake until they are all coated. Then, add the olive oil and spices to the bag and shake again until coated equally.
4. Transfer the fries to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and spread them so they don’t overlap each other.
5. Bake in the oven for about 15 minutes, then flip them and bake for another 10 to 15 minutes.
6. Let them cool off a bit before serving, and garnish with fresh parsley.
SLT SANDWICH
Seitan-lettuce-tomato (SLT) is the perfect alternative for the traditional bacon-lettuce-tomato sandwiches, best known as the BLT. We’re using our homemade seitan for the recipe. And instead of mayo, we’re using mashed avocados, which adds a nice creaminess. This is a great snack or take-to-work-lunch!
Makes: 2 sandwiches | Time: 10 min
Ingredients
½ teaspoon olive oil
4 slices seitan (see on pg. 21) or store-bought
4 slices bread (see our homemade Sunflower & Flaxseed Bread on pg. 117)
½ ripe avocado, peeled, pitted
4 lettuce leaves
1 tomato, sliced
Instructions
1. In a pan with olive oil, heat the seitan on medium to high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until crispy on both sides.
2. Add avocado slices on each of the bread slices and mash them a bit.
3. On one bread slice, add the lettuce, sliced tomatoes, crispy seitan. Top with another slice of bread. Enjoy!
