Thug Kitchen, by Kitchen Thug. (Hachette, $35.)
The Thug Kitchen team has struck gold by providing delicious, healthy and easy-to-prepare recipes for everyone who's spent their life avoiding the lentil pushers but still wants to be kind to their body.
ROASTED BEER AND LIME CAULIFLOWER TACOS WITH CILANTRO COLESLAW
Makes about 6 tacos
1 head cauliflower
¾ cup beer*
¼ cup vegetable broth
1 tbsp lime juice
1½ tsp soy sauce or tamari
1½ tbsp of your go-to chipotle hot sauce
1 to 2 cloves garlic, sliced
1½ tsp chilli powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp garlic powder
pinch of salt
1 tbsp olive oil
½ yellow onion, chopped
6 corn tortillas
1 avocado, sliced
Quick Lime and Coriander Slaw (see below)
Crank your oven to 200C. Grab a rimmed baking sheet.
Chop the cauliflower into small florets no bigger than a 20-cent piece. In a saucepan, warm the beer, broth, lime juice, tamari, hot sauce, and garlic over medium heat. Add the cauliflower and simmer for about 1½minutes. Drain.
Toss the spices, salt, and olive oil together in a large bowl. Add the cauliflower and onion and stir 'til those f--kers are coated. Dump it on the baking sheet and bake until browned, stirring halfway, about 20 minutes.
To make the tacos, warm the tortillas in the oven or microwave for a hot minute and then pile them high with the cauliflower filling, slices of avocado, some of the slaw, and top with plenty of salsa.
* Whatever you are cool with drinking the rest of is fine here. Just no coffee stout or anything heavy like that.
QUICK LIME AND CORIANDER COLESLAW
½ head of green cabbage
1 small carrot
2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp olive oil
⅛ tsp salt
⅓ cup chopped fresh coriander
Cut the cabbage into the thinnest strips you can and make sure those pieces are no longer than five centimetres. This is a great time to get good with your knife if you are looking for a silver f--king lining in all that chopping. Chop the carrot into thin matchsticks of the same length. Got that shit down now, right? In a small glass, mix together the lime juice, vinegar, oil, and salt. Add the dressing right before you are going to eat and toss that shit well. Add the coriander and serve.
GRILLED EGGPLANT WITH SOBA NOODLES
Makes enough for 4 people or just 1 if you want to save this stuff for lunch all week.
Eggplant and marinade:
½ cup rice vinegar
¼ cup water
¼ cup tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp agave syrup or other liquid sweetener
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 medium eggplant
Noodles:
250g soba noodles
1 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1 tbsp rice vinegar
3 tbsp water
½ cup fresh basil cut into thin ribbons
1½ tbsp sesame seeds
Mix up everything for the marinade in a glass. Slice the eggplant crosswise into half-centimetre rounds. Place the eggplant in a large pan of some kind and pour the marinade over that shit. Let the eggplant marinate for at least 15 minutes or up to 1 hour if you've got the f--king time.
While the eggplant marinates, cook the soba noodles according to the package directions. Drain the noodles and rinse them with cool water so that they aren't still cooking. Place them in a large bowl and add the toasted sesame oil and rice vinegar. Stir it all up.
Bring your grill or grill pan to a medium heat (around 300F to 350F). Oil the grill grates. When the eggplant is done marinating, grill the eggplant slices (but don't throw away that marinade) on each side 2 to 3 minutes or until you see some grill marks. If the eggplant begins to look a little dry, take the slices and dip them in or brush them with the remaining marinade and continuing cooking them until done. Eggplant hydration. Boom.
When all of the eggplant is done cooking and has cooled slightly, cut it up into one-centimetre squares. Mix together half a cup of the leftover marinade and the three tablespoons of water. Pour that mess all over the noodles and mix. Toss in the eggplant and basil and mix again. Top with sesame seeds and serve at room temperature or cold.
* You can use wholewheat pasta or whatever here, but soba noodles – made of buckwheat flour – taste way better.
