Vegan food for blokes

Being vegan is not easy. You have to deal with the little known fact that 90 per cent of people are actually highly qualified nutritionists. Not to mention the constant, oppressive, existentialist question of what in the world I am going to do when I invariably find myself stranded on a desert island. Just me and a sheep, because apparently they thrive in desert island conditions. But living cruelty-free is not all bad. Especially not with cookbooks such as The Vegan Cookbook by Adele McConnell.

Of course, the most important meal of the day for any self-respecting vegan is what they are going to eat whilst watching the mighty Panthers wreak havoc against the competition in the NRL. To this end, I cracked open the book, cracked open a beer (this step was not in the book, but I feel it was implied) and got cooking. First of all I whipped up some baked chilli vegetable crisps, which are pretty much the ideal snack to accompany footy. Crispy and seasoned with garlic, salt and a few choice herbs they went down a treat.

After getting those in the oven so that they would be ready in time for kickoff, the next job was to get the mushroom and pea coconut korma started. So many curries have a list of ingredients that feels a metre long. But this one manages to keep the ingredient list down, without forsaking the all important taste. A simple spice blend, coconut milk tomatoes, peas and some perfectly cooked mixed mushies soaking up all that flavour, made this another winner for me. Even better, I got it bubbling along merrily, sat down and watched the first half of the game with my big bowl of crisps in hand, and it was done by halftime. The book looks pretty, but not so pretty that I felt bad about slopping food all over the pages as I cooked up a storm. And for me that is the perfect amount of pretty for a cookbook. It is also not as unwieldy and huge as many cookbooks out there, which made it a lot easier for me to move it around in to ever smaller amounts of available bench space (I am not a proponent of the ‘‘clean as you go’’ school of cooking).

The Vegan Cookbook also nails that important balance of having recipes that are a little special - there is nothing here I could have just made up on the spot - but also nothing is intimidating to cook, and as far as I could see no ingredients that you won’t be able to just find at your local supermarket. McConnell is well known to many as the culinary mastermind behind the Vegiehead website. She has nailed the transition from the online sphere to the good old fashioned, food-splattered, printed page. Here’s hoping there is more where The Vegan Cookbook came from. Especially given the abundance of recipes that lend themselves to having them bubbling away on the stove before the game kicks off, then ready to eat at halftime. The richly satisfying South African sweet potato stew eased the pain of a nightmarish second half for my Panthers against our mortal enemies the Parramatta Eels a couple of weeks, after the above mentioned korma.

Chilli peanut and coconut Soup

Serves: 4
200g tempeh, cut into cubes
2 tbsp tamari soy sauce or soy sauce
2 tsp crushed chillies
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1 small red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
160g unsalted roasted peanuts, roughly chopped, plus 2 tbsp chopped peanuts to serve
400ml coconut milk
4 spring onions, thinly sliced
100g bean sprouts
50g green beans, sliced diagonally
1 handful of coriander leaves
cooked brown rice or naan bread, to serve

Put the tempeh in a large bowl and add 1 tablespoon of the tamari and the crushed chillies. Toss well. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over a medium heat and cook the tempeh for 5 minutes, or until golden brown, turning regularly. Remove and leave to one side. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and add the onion, pepper and garlic. Cook for 5-8 minutes until softened. Add the chilli and roasted peanuts, and stir constantly for 2 minutes, until fragrant.
Add the remaining tamari, 600ml(2½ cups) of water and the coconut milk, and bring the soup gently to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, or until the soup thickens slightly.
If you prefer a smooth soup, use a hand blender to process it to your preferred consistency. Divide into bowls and add the tempeh, spring onions, bean sprouts, mangetout and coriander, then sprinkle some chopped peanuts over the top. Serve with brown rice.

Lavender panna cotta

Serves: 4
1 vanilla pod
2 tsp culinary lavender flowers
500ml coconut milk
2 tbsp brown sugar or coconut sugar
½ tsp ground cinnamon, plus extra for sprinkling
2 tsp agar-agar flakes

Split the vanilla pod in half lengthways and scrape out the seeds. Reserve the pod for another use. Using the back of a spoon, crush the lavender flowers.
Put the coconut milk in a small saucepan over a low heat and add the vanilla seeds, lavender, sugar and cinnamon. Bring gently to the boil, then simmer. Add the agar-agar and 2 tablespoons of water, and continue to simmer until the agar-agar has dissolved completely and no trace of the flakes can be seen when you lift up some of the mixture in a spoon. Divide the mixture into four individual ramekins or small glasses. Leave to cool, then put into the fridge to set overnight. Serve sprinkled with cinnamon.

The Vegan Cookbook: Feed the Soul, Taste the Love, by Adele McConnell, is published by Duncan Baird, $28.99.