Mini Falafel Tacos with Sriracha Tahini Lime Sauce

Since nixing gluten and soy from our diet, tacos have become a regular item on our lunch or dinner menus. They’re basically the perfect, fastest and simplest thing to make for a gluten-free, soy-free and vegan meal. Most of the time our tacos consist of beans, rice, salsa and veggies; lately I’ve been trying to recreate how we eat tacos. Falafel tacos became my solution. They are absolutely delicious, and a perfect marriage of two different cuisines.

Usually when I make falafel, I bake it to keep it lower in fat, but for these tacos, the falafel is pan-fried in a little sunflower oil. The bottoms and edges of the falafel become nice and crisp. I whipped up a spicy, tangy sauce for these tacos, which really ties it all together. The sauce is zesty from the fresh lime juice, spicy from the Sriracha, and the tahini really gives it that classic falafel sandwich flavor.

Mini Falafel Tacos with Sriracha Tahini Lime Sauce

1 recipe of my falafel or my ancient red pepper falafel

1 package mini corn tortillas, or 2 packages regular size corn tortillas
Recipe will make a lot of falafel (about 36 balls); you’ll have a lot of leftovers, or a large taco party!

Sriracha Tahini Lime Sauce
3 tablespoons sesame tahini
3 tablespoons Sriracha sauce
3 tablespoons salsa verde
juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon unsweetened coconut milk, or water

To garnish:
3 fresh Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
3-4 leaves green leaf lettuce, chopped

3-4 tablespoons high-heat organic sunflower oil, for frying

For the falafel: Follow my instructions for falafel up until the cooking stage. Roll falafel mixture into tablespoon-size balls and slightly flatten using your palms. Heat a cast-iron skilled to medium-high heat and add 2 tablespoons of sunflower oil, enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan and up about a half an inch or so. Place falafel balls into the hot oil and cook about 2 minutes before flipping to cook the other side, another 2 minutes (until nicely browned). Repeat until all falafel are cooked. Place cooked falafel on a paper towel, or clean cloth-lined lined plate.

For the sauce: In a medium bowl, whisk together the tahini, sriracha, salsa verde, and lime juice until well mixed. Then add the coconut milk, or water, to make a smooth consistency. Pour sauce into a glass mason jar with a lid and keep it in the fridge until ready to use.

To assemble tacos: warm corn tortillas in the oven, toaster oven or microwave. Top each tortilla with 3-4 falafels. Drizzle with Sriracha Tahini Lime Sauce. Garnish with fresh chopped tomato and crunchy green leaf lettuce and more Sriracha Tahini Lime Sauce.

Falafel is taking over my blog! It’s something that we all love to eat around my house. Is there something you make regularly that you just don’t seem to get sick of? For me, it’s falafel, tacos, and anything pumpkin. Nom……

Fruity Tahini Snack Bars

Welcome to the new RansomCakes.com! I feel great about the name change, as Ransom Cakes has been the name of my little baking obsession for years. When I first starting my blog, I had no idea what it would turn into. As it happens, over a year later, it has become my space to share my recipes more than anything else. For more on this, see my About section. Thanks to everyone who reads my blog, likes my facebook page, follows me on twitter, and pins my recipes on pinterest. It is seriously so cool of you all.

On to today’s recipe: Fruity Tahini Snack Bars. I set out to make a gluten-free, healthy-ish, breakfast bar and these fit the bill. They are soft little snack cakes that are just begging to be wrapped in paper, twine and taken along on a picnic. Containing no white sugars, full of healthy dried fruits, gluten-free grains and nuts, protein packed tahini. Also made with fig butter, another fantastic and highly recommended find from Trader Joe’s. If you don’t have fig butter, use fig paste, apple butter or pumpkin butter (yum).

Fruity Tahini Snack Bars
yield 12 servings / 1 – 9×9″ cake/loaf

1/2 cup fig butter (or fig paste, or apple butter)
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil
1/3 cup organic raw agave nectar
1/4 cup tahini
1/4 cup flax milk (or almond, or coconut milk)
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
1 teaspoon alcohol-free pure vanilla extract
1 cup gluten-free oat flour
1/2 cup millet flour
1/4 cup almond flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/4 cup dried fruit (I used a combination of cranberries, currants and blueberries)
3 tablespoons sliced almonds

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Line a 9 by 9 inch square pan with enough parchment paper that all sides are lined as well as the bottom.

In a large bowl, using a strong whisk or an electric beater, combine the fig butter (or other fruit butter), coconut oil, agave, tahini, flax milk (or almond/coconut milk), ground flax seed and vanilla. Mix very well, until smooth and creamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flours: oat, millet and almond. Add the baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt and sift thoroughly. Create a well in the center of the dry mixture and slowly add the wet mixture, using a rubber spatula to gently fold together the ingredients. When batter begins to come together, add the dried fruit and gently combine.

Pour the batter in the prepared pan, sprinkle the top of the batter with sliced almonds, and bake for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, turn off oven, and let rest for about 10 minutes in the pan. Carefully lift the cake from the pan by grabbing the sides of the parchment paper, and place parchment on top of a large flat cookie sheet. Let cool for 15 minutes. Slice into 12 equal bars and carefully space the bars apart so they are no longer touching. The easiest way to do this is by taking the flat side of a large knife and sliding them over and away from each other. Turn the oven back on to 300 degrees Farenheit. Bake for another 15 minutes, until sides are slightly golden. Remove from oven and let cool before wrapping up for lunches or serving with tea.

Make these bars to bring on camping trips, nature hikes or to stuff in your kids lunch box. Honestly though, we had them for breakfast, which was just as fine.

Ancient Red Pepper Falafel Burgers

Today’s recipe is one of my favorites, my Ancient Red Pepper Falafel Burgers – a spinoff from my baked falafel recipe. A delicious burger-size falafel patty with a kick of sweet red pepper. This really is my favorite burger recipe, and it makes a lot so there are plenty of leftovers. Serve them on hamburger buns, corn tortillas, with greens and fresh veggies. I personally love these chopped up and added to a huge salad topped with hummus or tahini sauce.

Ancient Red Pepper Falafel Burgers
makes 10-12 burger-size patties

2 1/2 cups chickpeas, soaked overnight in water
1 cup fresh cilantro
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup sweet onion, chopped
3 ancient red peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil (optional)
1/4 cup flax meal
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (more for a more spicy falafel)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. Drain and rinse the chickpeas under cool water. In a blender or food processor, combine the chickpeas, cilantro, parsley, onions, peppers and garlic. Pulse until mixture is grainy. Pour mixture out into a large mixing bowl. Mix in the olive oil, if using, and then add the flax and the spices (garam masala, paprika, crushed red pepper, salt, pepper). Stir well. Add the baking powder, baking soda. Add the water 1 tablespoon at a time and mix until mixture holds together when squeezed (you may or may not need all the water). Using a 1/2 cup measuring cup, form the mixture into patties and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake 30 minutes. Remove from oven, flip burgers and let rest for 10 or more minutes.

Serve with fresh cucumbers, tomatoes and tahini on a lovely gluten-free burger bun, or in a salad with huge olives and fresh lemon. This is one of the best ways to get my son to eat his veggies and healthy protein packed legumes. He calls them cookies, and hey – that works for me.

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart with Hazelnut Butter Caramel Sauce (V, GF, SF)

I’m happy to be participating in the third ever Virtual Vegan Potluck. This is my second time participating, and suprise – I made a dessert. Last potluck, I brought a delicious Vegan French Silk Pie, which has actually become my most visited recipe on my blog. In the last six months I have ditched gluten and soy, so this time around I’m bringing a wonderfully rich, decadent Chocolate Hazelnut Tart with Hazelnut Butter Caramel Sauce topped with fleur de sel – completely vegan, gluten and soy free.

This dessert is best serve chilled, and removed from the fridge right before serving. When it comes to room temperature, it becomes a little bit soft and crumbly, but is still quite tasty. The filling is almost raw, and although I did not test it, I believe the crust could be made raw by skipping the baking altogether, and freezing before filling. If you try this, let me know! I don’t have a tart pan, so I made it in an 8×8-inch cake pan, which worked great. If you have a tart pan, then yours will turn out even better. I did also make this as 12 mini tarts. If you do this, just cut the baking time by about 10 minutes.

Chocolate Hazelnut Tart with Hazelnut Butter Caramel Sauce
Vegan, Gluten-free, Soy-free
makes 1 8 X 8″ square tart, or 12 mini tartlets

Crust Ingredients:
1 1/2 cup hazelnut flour*
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder, dutch processed – sifted
1 tablespoon organic maple sugar {or vegan cane sugar}, (optional)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup extra virgin coconut oil (or vegan, soy-free butter), at room temperature

Filling Ingredients:
1/2 cup dark cocoa powder, dutch processed - sifted
1/4 cup pure cacao butter, melted
2/3 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon alcohol-free pure vanilla extract

Hazelnut Butter Caramel Sauce:
2 tablespoons organic maple sugar
1 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon soy-free, vegan butter {or coconut oil}
1/4 cup hazelnut butter*
3 tablespoons almond milk
1 teaspoon alcohol-free pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt

*To make hazelnut flour and hazelnut butter, I explain it in this post. You can substitute almond flour and almond butter.

To make the crust: Preheat oven to 350 degrees farenheit. Line an 8×8-inch cake pan with parchment paper so that all sides are covered and crust will be easy to lift out. Sift together the hazelnut flour, almond flour, cocoa, maple sugar and salt until well combined. Add the coconut oil and mix well. Press the dough into the pan so that it covers the bottom and about an inch up the sides. Bake in the center of the oven for 15 minutes, rotate pan, and bake another 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool, then cover and place in the fridge until ready to fill.

To make the filling: Cacao butter is solid at room temperature, so I like to melt it before adding it to recipes. To do this, cut or break off a few chunks of cacao butter and place in a clean glass mason jar. Place the jar in a cup half-full of boiling water. The cacao butter will start to melt slowly. When liquified, measure it out into 1/4 cup (or 4 tablespoons). In a bowl, whisk the warm cacao butter into the sifted cocoa powder until a nice chocolate paste forms, then add the maple syrup and vanilla. Whisk until silky smooth. Pour the chocolate filling immediately into the prepared crust that has been cooled. Spread the filling till it reaches the sides of the crust using a rubber spatula. Cover tart and refrigerate until seconds before serving. Slice the tart into 12 equal squares.

To make the caramel: In a small saucepan over medium-high heat, heat the maple sugar, maple syrup and vegan butter until it comes to a slight bubble. Add the hazelnut butter and almond milk and use a rubber spatula to combine. Allow mixture to return to a slow boil and let cook for about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add the vanilla and salt. Slowly stir with the rubber spatula until creamy. Let cool for a few minutes and pour into a squeeze bottle. Top slices of the tart with the caramel sauce right before serving. Sprinkle some coarse sea salt on top of caramel if you’d like.

Serve with tea or wine, well after a nice vegan potluck dinner.

To go on to the next recipe in the potluck, click here. To return to the recipe before mine, click here. To start from the beginning of the potluck, click here.

Hazelnuts: A How To…

Roasting hazelnuts is fast and simple, and is the starting off point to make my Chocolate Hazelnut Tart with Hazelnut Butter Caramel Sauce.

To roast hazelnuts, start out with a 16 ounce bag of raw hazelnuts. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Farenheit. Spread out the hazelnuts on a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool for a few minutes. Next, you want to remove the skins. I find the easiest way to do this is with clean hands (no towels necessary). Rub the hazelnuts between your fingers and the skins will fall right off. Some nuts will be stubborn and hang on to their skins, that’s okay too. Place the blanched hazelnuts in a container to cool completely.

To make hazelnut meal (hazelnut flour): Place roasted and blanched hazelnuts in a blender or food processor and process until crumbly and resembles flour. To make my hazelnut butter, remove 1 1/2 cups of hazelnut flour from the blender or food processor.

To make hazelnut butter: In a blender or food processor, process 2 1/2 cups hazelnut meal, 1/4 cup pure maple syrup, 1/4 cup almond milk and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Blend until very very smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Roasted Hazelnut Butter

Apple Cake Donuts

If you’re American, chances are you call them donuts, and if you’re anything else but American, they’re doughnuts. I usually opt for the “ough” spelling, but the flavor of these beauties is fabulously Americana – so I’m going with donuts. I’d almost like to call them “Apple Pie Donuts” because the flavor is absolutely of an apple pie, although the texture is a traditional cake donut you’d find in a coffee shop. They are perfectly cakey; sweet from the apple and touch of cinnamon, tangy from the coconut yogurt. The best part of these, they are gluten-free, soy-free, yeast-free…. and vegan of course.

I was a bit lazy with these, not bothering to mess with a doughnut pan, or circle cutters. I treated them more like drop biscuits, in the sense that I scooped them up with an ice-cream scoop, plopped them on a baking sheet, and poked holes in them with my finger. You could definitely treat these like traditional doughnuts if you wanted to, by nicely shaping them into little discs and baking or deep-frying them. But, simply put, I just didn’t feel like it. These are, by far, one of the absolute best recipes I’ve ever created. I’m not kidding, you’ve got to try these.

But, be warned, they are very addicting. And your waistline may not be happy with me for sharing this recipe with you (I know mine is angry). Perhaps make them when you have at least a few other people to share them with!

Apple Cake Donuts
vegan, gluten-free, soy-free, yeast-free
Yield: 10 large donuts

1 cup sweet sorghum flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup brown rice flour
1/2 cup potato starch
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup vegan, soy-free butter {such as earth balance} (or coconut oil), melted
1 tablespoon ground flax seed mixed with 2 1/2 tablespoons water
1/2 cup vanilla coconut milk yogurt {such as so delicious} or other vegan yogurt
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 teaspoons alcohol-free, pure vanilla extract
1 cup peeled, diced apples

For the Glaze (optional):
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoons vegan, soy-free butter (softened)
1 tablespoon warm water
1 tablespoons coconut or almond milk
1/2 teaspoon alcohol-free, pure vanilla extract
a dash of ground cinnamon powder

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. First sift together your dry ingredients, in a large bowl, until they are properly blended: sorghum flour, almond flour, brown rice flour, potato starch, baking soda, xanthan gum, salt, cinnamon. Then, in a separate bowl, use a strong wire whisk to combine the brown sugar and vegan (soy-free) butter. Add the prepared flax seed/water mixture, coconut milk yogurt, maple syrup and vanilla extract. Whisk until creamy and smooth. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, slowly combine the wet to the dry in two batches. Fold the dry into the wet until the mixture starts to come together, then add the diced apples. Continue folding in the apples until the mixture is combined into a smooth dough. It’s important to work gently, as you don’t want to over-mix the batter.

Using an ice cream scoop (one of my favorite baking tools), or an oiled 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop the batter and place on the baking sheet, leave about 2-3 inches of space between the donuts. With a clean finger, poke a hole into the center of each donut, and wiggle your finger around to create a bigger hole. If you’d like, use a doughnut cutter, or a doughnut pan to make more uniform, less rustic-like donuts. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until tops are just barely golden, and the bottoms are golden (or a toothpick inserted comes out clean).

While the donuts are baking, prepare the glaze (if using). The glaze adds a more traditional donut feel and taste. In a small bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar and vegan (soy-free) butter (I used a fork). Then add the water and almond milk, vanilla and cinnamon. Store in the fridge until the donuts are ready. Once the donuts come out of the oven, let cool on the baking sheets for about 15 minutes or more before glazing.

I know I’ve said this before but these go great with coffee!

Please make these, and let me know what you think! No one will ever guess they are vegan, gluten-free and soy-free. I guess the sugary goodness and cakey texture cover that right up!

Molasses Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I love sweet potatoes. In my family we eat them throughout the year (and not only during the holidays). They are so good for you too. Sweet potatoes contain vitamins C and D and are high in vitamin B6; they contain iron and magnesium, potassium, and carotenoids (including beta-carotene). So, why not eat them often? This is a great side dish, or healthy dessert, and it takes only minutes to prepare. It has only a bit of added sugar, and you could leave it out entirely if you really wanted to.

Molasses Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2 – large orange-colored sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons soy-free earth balance vegan butter, melted (or coconut oil)
2 tablespoons natural cane sugar
1 tablespoon blackstrap molasses
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon alcohol-free pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Farenheit. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Skin the sweet potatoes and slice them into 2 inch rounds. Place the sweet potatoes in a large bowl. In a small saucepan over low heath, combine the sugar, molasses, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and salt. Mix well and cook until sugar is dissolved (about 5 minutes). Pour mixture over the sweet potatoes and toss together. Spread the sweet potatoes on the parchment paper lined baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes in the oven without stirring. Remove from the oven and let cool a little bit before serving.

As a side dish, I like to serve this along side of – well, anything really!

During summer, I like to grill sweet potatoes, along with almost every other vegetable too. Warmer days are coming soon, so try this recipe while you still don’t mind heating up the kitchen!

RansomCakes!

Vegan, Gluten-free, Soy-free Recipes