Hello and welcome to the Valiant’s kitchen newsletter. Where sometimes life is a hot mess, but the food is always awesome! It’s Thursday, so that means recipes for a weekend date night!
This week we’re sharing some of our favourite Date Night recipes: Lasagna Rolls, Cucumber Quinoa Salad & Hasselback Sweet Potatoes! (if you are viewing this on a computer, click on the recipe names to jump direction to the recipe)
And the best part? All of these recipes can be prepared the night before and stored in an oven safe pan (not the salad of course - just store that in a bowl!) in the fridge overnight. The next day simply pop them in the oven (again - not the salad!), pour the wine and set the table!
If you have arrived here and are not yet subscribed, now is the perfect time to take care of that so you don’t miss out on future vegan goodness:
We’re working on the next few newsletters now, full of Holiday feast recipes, our fav Holiday desserts and gift ideas. Tis the season for everyone to start getting BUSY BUSY BUSY - So how about this week we just jump into the good stuff and show you how to make a a meal that will take less than an hour to prepare, but will look like you spent half a day slaving over the perfect meal!
First the salad!
Cucumber & Quinoa Salad
This recipe is packed with fresh vegetables and herbs and protein packed quinoa (Michael’s favourite grain!)
This salad makes for a great addition to a summer picinic, but with this meal it is the perfect light and fresh companion to the heavier lasagna and sweet potato dishes.
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Use this button for a printable PDF (43k | Black & White PDF file)
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 sweet pepper, chopped
Small container of cherry tomatoes
1 cucumber, diced
2 cups cooked quinoa (cooled)
½ bunch of kale, chopped
1 cup cooked chickpeas (rinsed & drained)
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
For the Dressing:
1/3 cup olive oil
⅓ cup fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp cider vinegar
1 tbsp dijon mustard
½ tbsp minced garlic (2-3 cloves)
1 tsp salt
½ tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 In a large bowl, combine all of your salad ingredients. Toss well to combine.
2 In a small bowl, add all of the dressing ingredients and whisk. (Or add everything to a small mason jar and shake with a tightened lid!)
3 If you are eating it right away: Pour dressing over the salad and toss well. If you are prepping the night before, save dressing separately and toss with salad before eating.
Hasselback Sweet Potatos
Serves: 2
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Use this button for a printable PDF (43k | Black & White PDF file)
2 sweet potatoes, washed and trimmed and halved lengthwise
For the Sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves
fresh pepper and kosher salt
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Lightly oil a baking sheet, or use parchment paper.
1 combine sauce in a bowl and whisk until combined.
2 working with 1 sweet potato half at a time, place wooden spoons (or chopsticks, etc) on each side of the potato. Cut slits down the length of the potato, about ¼ inch apart. The wooden spoon handles on either side of the potato will prevent you from cutting all the way through. Repeat with all of the potato halves.
4 in baking sheet, brush potatoes with maple syrup mixture and season generously with salt and pepper.
5 Roast until golden brown and tender - about 30 minutes.
Vegan Lasagna Rolls
Serves: 4
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 30-40 minutes
Use this button for a printable PDF (50k | Black & White PDF file)
Ingredients
½ package of lasagna noodles (8-10 noodles)
1 red onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced
100 g fresh spinach
½ cup kalamata olive slices
2 cups of diced tomato or marinara sauce
1 cup plain vegan cream cheese, or hummus
1-2 tbsp fresh basil, sliced thinly
1-2 tbsp fresh oregano
Salt and black pepper to taste
½ cup vegan cheese
250 g of vegan sausage crumble (optional)
PreHeat oven to 350 degrees F.
1 Cook the lasagna noodles in a large pot of salted water according to package directions, or until al dente. Drain, cool and pat dry. Lay noodles out on your work space.
2 Ladle about 1 cup marinara sauce (or your favorite tomato sauce) into the bottom of a 9×6 (23x15 cm) baking dish. Set aside.
3 Spread the cream cheese evenly across each noodle. Grind pepper and sprinkle with basil and oregano.
4 Spread the sausage, olive, spinach, onion, diced garlic and cheese evenly across the noodles.
5 Carefully roll each lasagna noodle. Holding tightly, cut the stuffed noodle in half through the middle and arrange in the baking dish so the pleated edges are all facing up.
6 Ladle the remaining marinara sauce over the lasagna noodles. Sprinkle with the basil/oregano, pepper and any remaining vegan cheese. Any filling that fell out while rolling the noodles can be spread across the top now.
7 Cover with Tin Foil and bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil and bake for up to 10 more minutes
Garnish with Vegan Parmesan Cheese and enjoy!