Mouthwatering Boat Recipes (mainly plant based)

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Been on a plant-based whole-foods diet for about 2 and a half years. (99%) I also avoid refined sugars and other processed foods. You can be a vegan and eat cookies and cake... but that's not respecting your body. Wife and I are doing it for good health -- not as "ethical vegans" (although there certainly is a lot of validity to their point of view).

The 1% is situational: Either impulse or lack of alternatives.

Any favourite boat recipes to contribute?
You must have a stack of good ones.

We have had nearly seven years of close to full time cruising now and my diet and cooking techniques have changed dramatically during that time. Back home I rarely cooked pulses (red lentils for soup was about it) and I never used a pressure cooker. Even since starting this vegan thread about 8 months ago, our diets are slowly and naturally shifting even further to plant based food, as it is so convenient and I am enjoying the dishes lots.

There is so much debate on what is a 'healthy' diet, but overwhelmingly most people seem to agree that highly processed food and particularly sugar needs to be avoided. I think severe restriction are not healthy though - limiting certain food with that religious fervour some people develop is unhealthy in itself.

All I can say is that regardless of what may be ideal, heavily plant based boat food and the general lifestyle certainly have me feeling healthier and fitter than I ever have. Even with meat consumed rarely and dairy only in small quantities, my energy levels are so high I am dangerous at times .

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

WEST AFRICAN PEANUT STEW

2 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, very finely chopped
2 tblspn grated fresh ginger
2 red chilies, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 heaped tblspn (about ½ cup) chunky peanut butter
3 cups water
2 stock cubes
2 x 400 g cans whole tomatoes with liquid, roughly broken up
400 g tin chick peas, well rinsed and drained
400 g tin kidney beans, well rinsed and drained
1 kg orange sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
½ kg carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
½ cup chopped parsley
½ cup chopped walnuts
(recipe also had collard greens, but I had none on hand so omitted this)

- In a pressure cooker with the lid off sauté onion and garlic until slightly coloured
- Add rest of ingredients except parsley and walnuts, stir until simmering, seal and bring to pressure
- Turn off heat and leave at least half an hour to allow the sweet potato to cook (I left it several hours)
- Sprinkle individual serves with chopped parsley and walnuts

West African peanut stew revisited:

I have been looking forward to making this stew again. The flavour of the base is just lovely and definitely makes it onto my short list of favourite casserole type boat meals .

I used a mug of dry chickpeas this time and treated them to a 12 hour soak and rinse before bringing them to pressure, turning the gas off and leaving them until evening (about an hour is actually enough to cook them). Sounds fiddly, but this is actually easier than the hassle of carting tins on board and storing them.

About 1.5 kg of carrots were chopped up and the sweet potato omitted. Ordinary potatoes last better and could be used instead (to prolong their life, as well as that of sweet potatoes, carrots, beetroot and cabbage etc I find it helps to keep them in brown paper bags). No fresh chilli was left, so a couple of teaspoons of dry chilli flakes were substituted. I also added a teaspoon of turmeric and would add that again.

I left the stew sit for an hour after bringing it to pressure, took off the lid, brought it back to a brisk boil and ladled the extras in 700 ml glass jars to keep for the next few days. The little indentation on the lid of these jars loudly pops down as it cools and should still be down before consuming. I find it a very easy way to store stews and soups for a week or so, in winter without refrigeration (use this technique at your own risk ).

If dark red kidney beans are omitted and turmeric added as I did this time, the colour of this dish sings even more loudly. You could serve it with mashed potatoes or rice or pasta or quinoa or just plenty of crusty fresh bread. Mashed up a little, topped with cheese and grilled, it is good on tortillas.

It has been well over two weeks since I last saw any shops or tavernas, although NornaBiron dropped off some carrots (the last of them used here), leeks and parsley about 12 days ago when we caught up (many thanks xxxxx), so supplies of fresh veg are getting low. I am just heading off on an expedition with my backpack to find the nearest village. It is always a total surprise what I may find .

A couple of the sealed jars of stew is behind the bowl:

[downunder]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Boatman61 that's an "off topic" recipe. Since when are butter and eggs vegan?

I will take the recipe anyway. Thanks Boatman.

[Seaworthy Lass]

TOMATO AND LENTIL BASE

Probably about the most common recipes I come across using lentils are ones made with a base of sautéed onions and garlic, tinned tomatoes and salt or a stock cube, pepper, herbs and spices. These dishes are particularly good on board as lentils and tinned tomatoes keep for years unrefrigerated, herbs and spices easily for at least a year and onions and garlic for months. The combination is high in nutrients and about as cheap as any meal can be.

Dinner can be thrown together without a lot of planning, as unlike many other pulses, lentils do not need to be presoaked (although I have read it does aid digestion if you do so - a tip for Boatie ).

Having an extensive selection of spices and dried herbs on board really allows you to easily lift meals like this out of the mundane and at the same time provide variety.

Variations are limitless, as apart from herbs and spices any assortment of vegetables can be thrown in as well (fresh or tinned), as well as dried fruit and nuts, grains and pasta, altering the flavour, colour and texture.

Eg: Add tomato paste, oregano, thyme and sage and this mix turns into a bolognese type dish. Finely chopped walnuts and a bit of soy help mimic a meat sauce. Kidney beans with heaps of red chilies makes a 'Mexican style' meal. Turning it into a curry is easy and even better if you mix your own spices instead of using curry powder (I'll post my recipe later). Adding lots of ginger with chilli and coconut milk is one of my favourite variations, as is adding peanut butter to this and making it a sate type dish. It is also good as mulligatawny. Using fragrant Moroccan spices is another option.

Super accommodating, all these turn into good soup with just the addition of more water added initially (don't do it later, it just makes it taste watery).

[Seaworthy Lass]

This is an excellent combination .

Recipes vary dramatically with proportions and exactly what spices are used for Moroccan Ras El Hanout. Mace, allspice, anise and cloves are also sometimes added and some of the ones I use omitted (there are even versions without cumin). Just google it and see what variations you get. Various combinations tend to be passed down as closely guarded family secrets. I deliberately leave out cloves as they remind me of dreaded dental visits .

It is even better if you can get any of the spices whole and grind them, but ready ground is OK and all that was available to me recently. If using whole spices, lightly toast them first before grinding them.

MOROCCAN SPICE MIX (Ras El Hanout)

4 parts ground cumin
2 parts cumin seeds (leave whole)
2 parts ground cardamon
2 parts smoky paprika
2 parts ground ginger
2 parts ground cinnamon
2 parts ground turmeric
2 parts ground coriander seeds
1 part ground cayenne pepper
1 part ground nutmeg

When using 4 flat tsp (typical amount for a dish) add freshly ground:
½ tsp salt (omit if using a stock cube)
1 tsp pepper

- Blend all of the spices in a bowl or plastic bag. Transfer to a glass jar and store in a dry, dark place
- Before using, lightly toast in a dry frypan and add salt and pepper

[Seaworthy Lass]

Moroccan it was last night and here is the very easy recipe. I added a whole pack of frozen peas, as that was all that was available in the tiny store I found (the twice weekly boat with fresh supplies hadn't come in yet). A kilo was probably a bit much, but the only other alternative was throwing the excess out, so in they all went .

MOROCCAN LENTIL STEW

1 mug brown lentils, soaked few hours if you have time, otherwise just rinsed and drained

2 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
2-3 onions, peeled and chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 heaped tblspn (4 teaspoons) Moroccan 'Ras El Hanout' spice mix
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 x 400 g tins whole tomatoes and juice, roughly broken up
2 tsp honey
3 cups water
2 stock cubes
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
(Optional : any veg eg carrots or sweet potato or peas)

Rind of 1 lemon
1 cup dried cranberries or sultanas

¼ cup mint or parsley, chopped
1 red onion, peeled and cut in thin wedges
½ cup pistachios or hazelnuts, toasted
few extra cranberries

- Sauté onions and garlic until golden in an open pressure cooker
- Add spices and cook over low heat a few minutes, stirring continually so they don't burn
- Add tomatoes, honey, water, lentils, stock cubes and pepper
- If using hard vegetables such as carrots or potatoes add now
- Bring to pressure, turn off and leave at least an hour to cook without heat
- Before serving reheat, adding lemon and cranberries (I added a kg of semi defrosted frozen peas at this stage yesterday and simmered about 5 minutes)
- Serve with mint or parsley tossed through and topped with red onion and nuts and a few jewel like cranberries scattered on top.

This has been added to the recipe index in post #1.

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

TOMATO AND LENTIL BASE

Probably about the most common recipes I come across using lentils are ones made with a base of sautéed onions and garlic, tinned tomatoes and salt or a stock cube, pepper, herbs and spices...

We recently formed a new foodie habit that involves a regular visit to a local mediterranean restaurant. One particular dish is always available there, and I always manage to find at least a little of it on my plate. It's a seemingly mundane (by the names of the ingredients), but in reality scrumptuous dish they call "Mjadarah". Their version of your lentil/carmelized onion recipe does not include the tomatoes, which would probably make it even better. I'd like to know the exact combination of herbs and spices they use, so I could duplicate it myself.

Tomatoes enhance the flavor of other things they're mixed with, because (according to a health food book I recently read) they contain the natural version of the MSG flavor enhancer)

[NornaBiron]

Sweet and sour courgettes for dinner for us tonight with fried rice and sichuan green beans. Recipe taken from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking: Amazon.co.uk: Fuchsia Dunlop: Books

Thinly slice 2 courgettes, sprinkle salt over and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze excess water out of courgettes. Heat 2tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil (not olive oil - wrong flavour) and add two garlic cloves, finely sliced. Stir fry until fragrant. Add courgettes, stir fry until hot and just cooked. Add 1/2tsp sugar and 1tsp chinkiang vinegar (I use a mix of rice vinegar and balsamic). Stir a couple of times and serve immediately.

I forgot to take a pic but this dish has become a favourite so I'll add one next time!

[frank_f]

Originally Posted by NornaBiron

Sweet and sour courgettes for dinner for us tonight with fried rice and sichuan green beans. Recipe taken from Every Grain of Rice: Simple Chinese Home Cooking: Amazon.co.uk: Fuchsia Dunlop: Books

Thinly slice 2 courgettes, sprinkle salt over and allow to drain for 30 minutes. Squeeze excess water out of courgettes. Heat 2tbsp sunflower or groundnut oil (not olive oil - wrong flavour) and add two garlic cloves, finely sliced. Stir fry until fragrant. Add courgettes, stir fry until hot and just cooked. Add 1/2tsp sugar and 1tsp chinkiang vinegar (I use a mix of rice vinegar and balsamic). Stir a couple of times and serve immediately.

I forgot to take a pic but this dish has become a favourite so I'll add one next time!

Aren't courgettes the same as zucchini? Where do the green beans come in?

Thanks

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Sailor_Hutch

We recently formed a new foodie habit that involves a regular visit to a local mediterranean restaurant. One particular dish is always available there, and I always manage to find at least a little of it on my plate. It's a seemingly mundane (by the names of the ingredients), but in reality scrumptuous dish they call "Mjadarah". Their version of your lentil/carmelized onion recipe does not include the tomatoes, which would probably make it even better. I'd like to know the exact combination of herbs and spices they use, so I could duplicate it myself.

I have never come across Mjadarah, so I Googled it. All of the recipes I looked at just had salt, pepper and cumin as the only additions to caramelised onion, lentils and rice. Sometimes extra caramelised onions were added on top. Will have to give it a go .

[Seaworthy Lass]

I can't say these are in the same league as my usual truffles that are laden with double cream, egg yolks, butter and dark Lindt chocolate , but they are still good.

I used Sailor g's recipe for Healthy Brownies, but added twice as much cocoa to make them more chocolaty and I poured in a decent slug of Scotch. I have no food processor on board, but it didn't take long to chop the dried fruit into a paste.

We had a campfire with pizza on the beach last night (I used the last jar of the African stew on the pizza) and these truffles with a nip of Scotch rounded off the evening very nicely .

TRUFFLES

1 cup dry medjool dates, pitted
¼ cup dry figs
¼ cup dry cranberries
¼ cup single malt Scotch
1 tblspn extra virgin olive oil
½ cup good quality unsweetened cocoa, sifted
1 cup almonds, ground
Cocoa, chopped almonds and desiccated coconut for coating

- Chop dates, figs and cranberries until paste like (if your fruit is very dry soak it in a little hot liquid first)
- Mix in Scotch, then oil
- Add cocoa and almonds
- Knead a few minutes until well combined
- Roll into about 40 small balls
- Coat ⅓ in cocoa powder, ⅓ in chopped almonds and ⅓ in desiccated coconut
- Refrigerate

I will try them next time with dried apricots instead of the figs and cranberries and I'll add half a cup of coconut and use rum instead of Scotch. I think just about any combination of dried fruit and nuts and alcohol could be used, although dates are particularly sweet and have a good smooth truffle-like texture.

Again, this is a good boat recipe, as all the ingredients will keep well for months unrefrigerated (store the almonds below the waterline in summer) and they are easy to make with limited facilities. Thanks Sailor g .

The recipe has been added to the index in post #1.

[NornaBiron]

Originally Posted by frank_f

Aren't courgettes the same as zucchini? Where do the green beans come in?

Thanks

We had the sweet and sour courgettes (zucchini) WITH szechuan green beans and fried rice. I didn't put the bean recipe up!

[StuM]

> ¼ cup single malt Scotch

????
What a waste.

I bet you couldn't tell the difference between single malt and a cheap blend with all of those ingredients.

[Blue Crab]

Yesterday ... all my truffles seemed so far away.

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by Blue Crab

Yesterday ... all my truffles seemed so far away.

Now it looks as though truffles are here to stay .