Hello Hello! It's almost Thanksgiving and I love sharing my kitchen's creations with my family and friends . For this Thanksgiving dinner I made 3 irresistible appetizers that vegans and non-vegans will love as much as I do.
The first one, that I shared the recipe a couple of days ago, is a super easy creamy carrot and ginger soup, here is the link for the recipe:
https://www.jenlifessence.com/single-post/2019/11/21/CREAMY-CARROT-GINGER-SOUP
The other 2 appetizers are a Lebanese-inspired recipe called Moussaka Lebanese (Maghmour) and the main ingredients are eggplants and tomatoes. I tried the original recipe that is accidentally vegan in an Arabian restaurant and my cousins, uncle and aunt, who are not vegan, loved it, so I adapted the recipe to a low carb style because the original has some chickpeas and other ingredients that are no low-carb.
The third recipe consists of Brussels sprouts, and let me tell you that they are in season right now, so they are cheaper and super fresh, I got inspired by the Brussels sprouts with bacon, that is a traditional American recipe, but instead of bacon I used Tempeh and the recipe became more nutritious and delicious for my opinion.
Then, without more, let's jump to the recipes!
Lebanese Moussaka (Maghmour)
Ingredients:
1 eggplant
2 tomatoes
1/2 onion
1/2 green pepper
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
Fresh coriander leaves
salt to taste
Instructions:
In a saucepan or deep pan add a tablespoon of coconut oil, if it is solidified, melt until it turns liquid, over medium heat.
Add the cumin seeds and cook for about 30 seconds, until you start to smell the cumin.
Then add the ​​chopped onion, cook for 2 minutes, until the onion is translucent.
Cut the tomato and cilantro and add them to the pan, cook with a lid for 3 more minutes.
Meanwhile, cut the eggplant into small cubes to cook faster (recommendation: if your eggplant is not organic, peel it first)
Cut the pepper into strips.
Add the eggplant to the pan with the chopped pepper, cook with the lid for 5 minutes. It will look like a lot of eggplants, but it will gradually reduce, as it is cooked it will release liquid.
Keep stirring every 2 minutes so it doesn't stick to the bottom.
After 5-6 minutes add salt to taste.
Optional: To add more protein to the recipe, I used 1/2 cup of cashew seeds and 2 tablespoons of hemp seeds.
Add the cashew seeds to the pan and cook for 3 more minutes.
You can add more spices like cumin powder, more cumin seeds, black pepper, seasoning of your choice.
Remove the pan from the heat, add the hemp seeds and 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil.
Garnish with large leaves of lettuce or cabbage as it is shown in the picture, and on top with olives and / or capers.
Brussels Sprouts with Tempeh
Ingredients:
2 cups Brussels sprouts
1 package of organic tempeh (8 oz / 227 g)
1/4 cup walnuts or almonds
2 green onion stalks
1/4 cup chopped onion
fresh coriander leaves
1 leaf of oregano de la tierra (Cuban oregano) or dried oregano
Salt to taste
Ingredients for the sauce:
3 tablespoons tahini
1/4 cup of water
1/2 fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Optional: add crushed garlic clove if you want more flavor.
Instructions:
In a pan add a tablespoon of coconut oil, if solidified, melt until it becomes liquid, over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook for 1 minute.
Reserve a little of the green onion to decorate and add the rest to the pan along with the chopped cilantro and oregano, cook for 30 seconds.
Cut the tempeh into cubes and nuts in small pieces and add them to the pan, cook until the tempeh is golden.
Optional add some seasoning of your choice and salt to taste.
Meanwhile, wash and cut Brussels sprouts in half.
In a separate saucepan, add a tablespoon of coconut oil and saute Brussels sprouts for 2-3 minutes over medium heat.
Then add salt to taste and up to 1/4 cup of water to steam Brussels sprouts. Cook over medium heat for 4-5 minutes, until soft.
When the tempeh is golden, cook them for the other side for 2-3 more minutes until golden brown.
Serve in a large bowl or tray, add the Brussels sprouts, the tempeh and to decorate I am using watermelon radish, you can use cucumber or radish and nuts, as seen in the photo.
When serving, add tahini sauce to add more flavor to this rich recipe.
For the tahini sauce:
In a bowl, add the tahini and dissolve it in water until it has a creamy consistency, if you prefer more liquid sauce add more water, then add salt, pepper to taste and lemon juice.
I hope you have a day full of peace, harmony and love, and although every day we should feel grateful, this day is dedicated to giving thanks for everything we have, for the roof where we sleep, for the water we drink, for the food that we put in our mouth, for being able to walk, for our job, for the fact of having family and friends that help us, for our partner who supports us and loves us as we are, for our pets that fill us with joy, and for the simple fact of being alive!