B00AG0VMTC EBOK (27 page)

By Jane Esselstyn

Like Van Gogh’s painting, this will become one of your masterpieces! It is one good-looking dish! Serve it when you need to win points or have virgin-plant-strong eaters over for dinner. It can be rolled up ahead of time, or have guests roll their own. This recipe has lots of directions, but a visual image of the finished product really helps keep it simple. Enjoy this warm or cold.

One 8-ounce box long whole wheat lasagna noodles

15 ounces tofu, light and firm

2 teaspoons fresh oregano, minced

2 teaspoons fresh thyme, minced

6 fresh basil leaves, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, diced

One 8-ounce package mushrooms, sliced

1 zucchini, diced

1 yellow summer squash, diced

1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced

Salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 bunch Kale

1 cup Kale Pesto (
here
)

2 to 4 cups Fast and Fresh Marinara Sauce (
here
) or store-bought marinara with no oil added

Boil the lasagna noodles according to the package directions (these need to be long, not square, noodles) until done or just slightly al dente. Remove from the heat and drain. Balance the noodles around the edge of the pot so they will dry and not stick to each other, or wrap in plastic. Do
not
add oil to the lasagna noodles.

In a food processor, combine the tofu and 1 teaspoon each of the oregano and thyme and all of the basil, and pulse until it has the texture of ricotta. In a hot sauté pan, cook garlic, onion, and mushrooms, covering the pan with a lid for a moment or two to release some of the moisture from the onion. Decrease the heat to medium. Add the zucchini, yellow squash, and bell pepper. Cook until all of the vegetables are soft. Add the remaining oregano and thyme, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the tofu-walnut mixture and the cooked veggies and mix well.

Meanwhile, strip and cook the bunch of Kale in an inch of water. Drain and set aside.

Now for the building of the Vertical Lasagna rolls: On a cutting board or a clean work surface, lay out one lasagna noodle. Spread a layer of the Kale Pesto uniformly along the length of the lasagna noodle. Lay a cooked Kale leaf (or two) flat on top of the pesto. Take a scoop of the tofu-veggie mixture and layer it
inch thick uniformly along the length of the lasagna noodle. Starting at one end of the coated noodle, begin rolling it up until you reach the end of the noodle. Place the rolled-up lasagna, vertically balanced on its flat surface, on a plate, serving dish, or lasagna pan if serving warm. Repeat until all of the noodles and/or filling are used up.

If placing on a platter, these will look like the beautiful swirls in Van Gogh’s painting
Starry Night
. Pour warm marinara sauce generously over the tops and sides of the vertical lasagna rolls. If heating them up, cover with aluminum foil and place in a 350°F oven for 15 minutes. Serve warm with extra sauce and enjoy the compliments!

Variation:
Use 2 sweet potatoes—cooked, peeled, and pureed—instead of Kale Pesto.

By Jane Esselstyn

Kale is king. Kale Pesto is queen.

16 ounces whole wheat pasta

2 cups fresh spring greens

1 cup Kale Pesto (
here
)

Cook the whole wheat pasta according to the package directions.

Lay a bed of spring greens in the bottom of eight bowls. On top of each bed of greens, add a serving of hot cooked pasta. Dollop 2 tablespoons of Kale Pesto on top of each bowl of pasta. Serve warm!

By Jeff Novick

Jeff Novick is a dietician, nutritionist, chef, comedian, and one of the leaders in the plant-strong revolution. If you ever get a chance to see him lecture, jump on it! You’ll want to take this dynamic, knowledgeable, and cuddly man (who can do perfect handstands) home with you. Here is one of our favorite Novick burgers.

One 15-ounce can kidney beans (or 1½ cups cooked)

One 15-ounce can chickpeas (or 1½ cups cooked)

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

½ cup cooked brown rice

½ cup sweet potato, cooked, peeled, and mashed

¼ cup salsa

1 tablespoon curry powder

Other spices, such as garlic (optional)

Three to four 100 percent whole-grain buns

Condiments of choice: mustard, ketchup, relish, tomato slices, red onion slices, spinach, romaine, guacamole (optional)

Drain and rinse the beans and chickpeas. Transfer them to a bowl and mash with a fork or potato masher. Add the oats, rice, sweet potato, salsa, curry, and any other spice of choice and mix to combine well.

Divide the mixture into 8 or 10 equal-size pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and then form into a patty. Transfer to a plate and let the patties air-dry in the refrigerator for 5 to 10 minutes.

Grill the patties in a nonstick pan over medium heat, or place under a broiler, until golden brown, about 3 minutes. The potato makes the burgers soft and quick cooking, so watch them when grilling. Flip and grill the opposite sides of the patties until golden brown. Serve either open-faced or on a whole-grain bun with all your favorite condiment options, a plate full of your favorite veggies, and a salad.

Tip:
Make sure the bottom side of the burger is done before flipping so that the burger won’t break into pieces.

By Lindsay Nixon

One of my whole-food, plant-strong, no-added-oil kindred spirits is Lindsay Nixon, author of the highly popular and mightily delicious
Happy Herbivore
cookbooks. Lindsay is a dynamo. I am thrilled she has contributed to the recipe section.

One 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 tightly packed cup baby spinach, finely minced

2 tablespoons tomato paste or ketchup

1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon ground cumin

cup quick-cooking oats

Hot sauce, your favorite

3 to 4 whole wheat buns

Condiments of choice: mustard, ketchup, relish, tomato slices, red onion slices, spinach, romaine, guacamole (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, mash the black beans with a fork until no whole beans are left, but they are not total mush like refried beans. Add the minced spinach, tomato paste or ketchup, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, oats, and hot sauce to taste (as much as you like) to the beans and stir until well combined.

Using your hands, shape 4 patties and place on the prepared pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, until firm and lightly crisp. Carefully flip over and bake for 2 to 5 minutes more until lightly crisp on the outside.

Serve either open-faced or on a whole-grain bun with all your favorite condiment options, a plate full of your favorite veggies, and a salad.

By Vanessa Mirecki

These little lentil balls of love will spruce up any pasta dish. They also make for great appetizers dipped in salsa, hummus, or Kale Butter (
here
). Smoosh down to form a patty.

1 eggplant

1½ cups cooked lentils

¾ cup Grape-Nuts cereal

1 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

Freshly ground black pepper

2 tablespoons chia seeds

Chipotle powder

Smoked paprika

Six 100 percent whole-grain buns

Condiments of choice: mustard, ketchup, relish, tomato slices, red onion slices, spinach, romaine, guacamole (optional)

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line two sheet pans with parchment paper.

Place the eggplant on a sheet pan and bake in the oven for 20 to 40 minutes until soft. Remove the eggplant from the oven and peel off the skin (resembles a penguin removing its tuxedo, if it could). Puree the eggplant pulp with a fork or in a food processor until smooth.

Put the lentils, eggplant, cereal, parsley, onion, oregano, vinegar, and black pepper to taste in a large bowl. Add the chia seeds, chipotle powder, and smoked paprika to taste. Stir until uniformly mixed. Using your hands, form ping-pong-size balls or patties. Place the balls or patties on the lined sheet pans. Bake for about 35 minutes. Serve either open-faced or on a whole-grain bun with all your favorite condiment options, a plate full of your favorite veggies, and a salad.

Inspiration from Laurie Buckley and Lindsay Nixon

Laurie Buckley, a passionate healthy eating specialist from the Plano, Texas, Whole Foods Market store, adapted this from Lindsay Nixon’s recipe. She told me, “I like to use black quinoa because the end result looks frighteningly like beef. LOL.” (FYI: “P.S.” = plant-strong.)

1 cup black quinoa and 2 cups water, or 2 cups cooked quinoa

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons low-sodium tamari sauce

1 teaspoon granulated garlic

1¼ teaspoons granulated onion

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 tablespoon chili powder

Dash of ground cinnamon

2 to 3 tablespoons ketchup or tomato paste

1 tablespoon prepared yellow mustard

teaspoon liquid smoke (optional)

One 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

½ teaspoon garlic granules

½ teaspoon ground cumin

½ teaspoon chipotle powder

½ tablespoon chili powder

Hot sauce

¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Four to six 100 percent whole-grain buns

Condiments of choice: mustard, ketchup, relish, tomato slices, red onion slices, spinach, romaine, guacamole (optional)

If starting with uncooked quinoa, in a saucepan combine the water, quinoa, vinegar, tamari, granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon, ketchup, and mustard and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cover until almost all the liquid is absorbed, 15 to 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. If desired, add
teaspoon of liquid smoke.

If starting with 2 cups of cooked quinoa, in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, to the quinoa add the vinegar, tamari, granulated garlic, granulated onion, paprika, oregano, chili powder, cinnamon, ketchup, and mustard and stir to combine. Add liquid smoke, if desired. Remove from the heat and let cool for 15 minutes. Mix well.

In a food processor, pulse the pinto beans—do not puree; keep them chunky. Transfer to a bowl and add the rolled oats and quinoa mixture. Mix well. Add the garlic granules, cumin, chipotle powder, chili powder, hot sauce to taste, and cilantro. Shape the mixture into patties.

In a nonstick frying pan over medium-high heat, cook each side until browned. Serve either open-faced or on a whole-grain bun with all your favorite condiment options, a plate full of your favorite veggies, and a salad.