Living Raw Food is a follow up to Sarma's first book and it contains over 100 new recipes inspired by the amazing dishes at Pure Food and Wine.
We'll be talking more about Sarma's book next week (including giving a few away) but this week we just wanted to wet your appetite with a sample recipe from the book. Here is one of my favorites.
Chanterelle and Yuzu Ceviche
with Pineapple-AvocadoPuree and Heirloom-Cherry–Tomato Salsa
Serves 8 | Equipment Needed: Blender
Chanterelle Ceviche Ingredients
1/3 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/4 cup extra-virgin
olive oil
2 tablespoons yuzu juice
1 tablespoon sea salt
4 to 5 scallions, green parts only, thinly sliced
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
5 cups cleaned and sliced chanterelle mushrooms
Chanterelle Ceviche Instructions
Place the orange, lemon, and lime juices, yuzu juice, and salt in a blender and blend until well mixed. (It’s important to blend the salt with the juices very well so that the mushrooms will properly break down while marinating. If you don’t feel like using a blender, whisk the mixture thoroughly and make sure the salt is fully dissolved.)
Transfer the mixture to a bowl and whisk in the olive oil, scallions, and pepper.
To prepare the chanterelle mushrooms, first cut off the coarse end of the stem. Then cut the mushrooms into halves or quarters, depending upon the size. Place the cut mushrooms into a bowl of cold water and massage with your hands to remove dirt. Remove the mushrooms from the water and lay them out on paper towels. Pat the mushrooms dry.
Pour the marinade over the mushrooms and let them sit at least 1/2 hour. Set aside.
Pineapple-Avocado Puree
3 cups chopped fresh pineapple (about 1 small pineapple)
3 ripe, yet firm, avocados, peeled and pitted
1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
Puree the pineapple in a blender until it becomes a smooth liquid. Add the sea salt and avocados and continue blending until very smooth. Set aside.
Heirloom-Cherry–Tomato Salsa
6 cups heirloom cherry tomatoes, sliced into halves
1 1/2 cups finely diced celery (save the celery hearts for garnish)
1 small bunch parsley (about 2 cups), leaves only, roughly chopped, plus additional sprigs for garnish
3 jalapeños, seeded and finely minced
4 to 5 scallions, the white part and 1 inch of green, sliced very thin
1 tablespoon red-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sea salt
Place all the ingredients in a bowl and toss until evenly mixed.
To Serve
Set up 8 martini glasses. Place 2 to 3 tablespoons pineapple-avocado puree in the bottom of each glass.
Top with
3 to 4 tablespoons heirloom-tomato salsa, then about 1/4 cup marinated mushrooms. Repeat once or twice, as needed. Garnish with the parsley sprigs and celery heart stalks.
Yum!
p.s. Sarma has a new blog over at One Lucky Duck. Check it out.
Who ever came up with that phrase "you can't have your cake and eat it too" obviously never met Ani Phyo or heard about the power of raw foods.
Ani's Raw Food Desserts, Ani Phyo's new book, is officially out and officially making mouths water across the globe. This book is collection of 85 "have your cake and eat it too" raw food desserts that will totally blow you away.
We'll be inviting Ani back onto our podcast in the coming weeks to talk more about the philosophy behind the book, but in the mean time she's been kind enough to share the following sample recipe with us.
Enjoy!
Carob Walnut Cookies Makes 8 to 12 Cookies
Sweet raisins, malty carob, and rich walnuts are ground together to make a delicious, dark, sweet cookie. Packed with antioxidants, vitamin E, and EFAs, these cookies keep you trim and your skin radiant.
Ingredients
1 cup raisins
3/4 cup raw walnuts
1⁄4 cup raw carob powder
1 teaspoon mesquite powder (optional)
1⁄8 teaspoon sea salt
Directions Combine the raisins, walnuts, carob powder, mesquite powder if using, and salt in the food processor. Process until the dough begins sticking together.
Press the dough into 2-inch cookie cutters placed on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper. Shoot for a thickness of 1⁄3- to 1⁄2-inch. Or, make 1- to 1 1⁄2-inch balls and flatten.
Place the cookies in the freezer to chill and firm up for 30 minutes or more before serving or transferring to the fridge for serving later.
Will keep for many weeks in the fridge or freezer. Thaw 5 minutes before eating.
Russell on Rawkin Radio In addition to being an awesome raw chef, Russell also has a very powerful health testimony. Listen to Russell talking to radio host Revvell about how he got rid of his acne and begin his live food journey.
Barfi is an Indian sweet. It's often served on holidays and special occasions.
Traditional barfi is made with condensed milk and sugar. This lovely and healthy raw burfi, brought to us by the Kumar brothers (Rishi and Rohit), is made with raw organic nuts and agave.
[1/2] cup rejuvelac (or filtered water), (as needed)
Ravioli Preparations
1. Using a vegetable peeler or a mandoline, cut turnips into 32 very thin slices. Coat in olive oil and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour. If desired, dehydrate at 110°F for 30- to 45 minutes to soften "noodles.".
2. Rinse pine nuts and macadamia nuts, and drain well for at least 10 minutes. Place in a food processor fitted with the S-shaped blade, and process on high speed for 10 seconds.
3. Add rosemary, parsley, thyme, nutritional yeast, salt, black pepper, and apple cider vinegar. Blend on high speed for about 20 seconds while adding rejuvelac (or water) through the top until a smooth, cheesy consistency is reached.
4. Scoop 1 tablespoon cheese onto each turnip slice, and fold in half. Serve 8 raviolis per plate, and coat with Sun Dried Tomato Sage Sauce, recipe below.
1. Soak sun-dried tomatoes in at least 1 cup of filtered water for at least 30 minutes minimum. Strain, reserving liquid.
2. Place sun-dried tomatoes, roma tomatoes, soak water, beets, olive oil, basil, parsley, nama shoyu, nutritional yeast, oregano, thyme, salt, pepper, and sage in a blender; blend on high for 40 seconds or until desired consistency.
Note: Sun-dried tomatoes come in varying qualities. Be sure to get the organic dried variety that's sweet to the taste. Steer clear of the ones in the jar with oils (and, in most cases, preservatives). Depending upon the flavor of the tomatoes, you may wish to add some agave nectar to sweeten this recipe.
Variations Alternatives for the turnips in these raviolis are many. Try watermelon radishes, beets, or zucchini. For smaller produce, cut twice as many slices, use one slice for the bottom, put cheese in the middle, and layer another slice on top, press down gently.
This flavorful combination of napa cabbage, fennel, and the sea vegetable hijiki is one of our all-time favorites when combined with our live hoisin sauce - a sweet rendition of the Chinese cuisine staple.
4 cups napa cabbage, sliced into [1/2]-inch strips
1 cup carrot, peeled, and julienned or grated
1/2 red bell pepper, ribs and seeds removed, and julienned
1 small shallot, thinly sliced
2 cups shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced, or soaked dried black mushrooms
1/2 large fennel bulb, julienned (optional)
2 TB. sesame oil
2 TB. + 2 tsp. nama shoyu
pinch salt
1/2 cup hijiki seaweed, soaked in warm water for 30 minutes
1 cup raisins
1 1/4 cups filtered water
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 TB. sesame oil
3/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes, or cayenne
1 tsp. dulse flakes
1/2 tsp. unpasteurized barley miso
1/2 tsp. stone-ground mustard
16 leaves butterhead lettuce or 8 large chard leaves, stems removed
Directions
1. In a large mixing bowl, combine shredded cabbage, carrot, red bell pepper, shallot, mushrooms, fennel (if using), sesame oil, 1 tablespoon nama shoyu, and salt. Allow to marinate for 45 minutes.
2. If dehydrating, dehydrate at 110 °F for 45 minutes to soften veggies. Remove, add hijiki, and toss. Allowing the veggies to sit in the oil for 45 minutes, without dehydrating will also soften them up a bit.
3. Soak raisins in water for at least 1 hour. Place in a blender with soak water.
4. Add remaining 2 tablespoons nama shoyu, garlic, sesame oil, crushed red pepper flakes, dulse flakes, barley miso, and mustard and blend for 30 seconds or more, going from low speed to high speed until raisins are blended smooth.
5. To serve Chinese restaurant-style, place vegetable medley on a plate. Stack cabbage leaves on another plate, and pour hoisin sauce into a small bowl. Tear off desired size of chard leaf, wrap some veggies in it, and dip in hoisin sauce.
NOTE: The Moo Shu photo above is how the dish is served at the Blossoming Lotus
Restaurant, in a wrapper made from dehydrated coconut meat.
To make the crust: In a food processor, process pecans, raisins, cinnamon, and salt until the mixture begins to stick together. Press the crust mixture evenly in the bottom of an 8-inch spring form pan.
To make the filling: Process the dates, agave, and lemon juice in a food processor until smooth. Add the pumpkin, cashews and coconut meat and process until completely smooth. Add the coconut oil and irish moss and process until well incorporated. Pour the filling onto the crust.
To make the topping: Place the pumpkin and carrot along with the water and lemon juice in a blender and blend until smooth. Add the dates and pumpkin pie spice and blend again until smooth. Spread the pumpkin topping evenly on top of the filling.
Chill at least 3 hours before serving
Servings: 8
Notes
If you don't have Irish Moss, don't fret. You can make the cheesecake without it, but serve it straight from the refrigerator.
If you have an aversion to eating raw pumpkin, peeled carrots can be substituted for pumpkin at any time.
To make a pumpkin drizzle instead of topping, replace the dates with 2 tablespoons of Agave.