March 2023 COTM - Shannon Martinez Month

[MelMM (Mel)]

Welcome to the reporting thread for our March cookbooks of the month. This month is Shannon Martinez month, so we have three books to cook from.

SMITH & DAUGHTERS: A COOKBOOK (THAT HAPPENS TO BE VEGAN)
https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/smith-_-daughters_-a-cookbook-_that-happens-to-be-vegan_-by-shannon-martinez/9781743792070

SMITH & DELI-CIOUS: FOOD FROM A DELI (THAT HAPPENS TO BE VEGAN)
https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/smith-_-deli_cious-by-shannon-martinez/9781743793671

VEGAN WITH BITE: BECAUSE TASTE MATTERS
https://www.hardiegrant.com/au/publishing/bookfinder/book/smith-_-deli_cious-by-shannon-martinez/9781743793671

I’m pretty excited about this one because this is one of my favorite authors. For those of you without access to the book, there are many recipes online (more than EYB links to). I will try to compile them and post them here.

[MelMM (Mel)]

Online Recipes from Smith & Daughters
Panqueques Piquantes (Corn & Jalapeño Pancakes) - p. 28
The Best Tofu Scramble - p. 34
Hot Cheddar & Pickled Jalapeño Dip - p. 46
White Truffle Forest Mushroom Pâté - p. 50
Oyster Mushroom & White Bean Ceviche - p. 53
Jalapeño & Corn Fritters - p. 57
Fresh Guacamole - p. 61
Pan-Fried Peppers with Crispy Garlic - p. 62
Sope de Tortilla (Tortilla Soup) - p. 77
Peruvian Pasta Bake (Sopa Seca) - p. 78
Chargrilled Tofu Adobo - p. 80
Jackfruit Carnitas - p. 81
Chilean Shepherd’s Pie (Pastel de Choclo) - p. 86
Albóndigas con Picada de Almendra (Spanish Meatballs) - p. 89
Crab Cakes (Pasteles de Cangrejo) - p. 93
Kale & Leek Bake - p. 99
Garbanzos Estofados (Chickpea Stew) - p. 100
Warm Hearts of Palm Salad - p. 106
Artichoke & Chickpea Salad - p. 109
Chargrilled Capsicum Salad - p. 115
Brazilian Slaw - p. 116
Arco Iris Salad (Seasonal Tomato & Quinoa Salad) - p. 119
Ensalada Crujiente (Pickled Radish & Cucumber Salad) - p. 120
Ensalada con Patatas Bravas - p. 123
Melon Salad with Pickled Pineapple & Jalapeño - p. 124
Green Apple & Jalapeño Hot Sauce - p. 148
Spiced Mexican Flan - p. 164
Warm Mexican Corn & Blueberry Puddings - p. 166
Warm Spanish Doughnuts - p. 168
Chocolate Paté (Pan con Chocolate) - p. 174

[GretchenS]

Thanks so much @MelMM for all the links! That was a ton of work!

[MelMM (Mel)]

Online recipes from Smith & Deli-cious
Larb - p. 47
Panzanella - p. 48
Thai Peanut Noodle Salad - p. 53
Sweet Potato, Chipotle & Orange Soup - p. 62
Corn Congee - p. 69
Thai Curry Pumpkin & Coconut Soup - p. 70
Spicy Piquillo Pepper & Chickpea Soup - p. 76
Chilli - p. 88
Broccoli, Lemon & Mint Risotto - p. 91
Bolognese - p. 92
Carbonara - p. 95
Lasagne - p. 105
Mac & Cheese Sauce - p. 111
Korean Hotpot - p. 116
Spaghetti Squash & Sausage - p. 118
Spanish Baked Beans - p. 121
Cheesy Broccoli Pie - p. 136
Shepherd’s Pie - p. 139
Coconut Jam Slice - p. 144
Brownies - p. 152
Passionfruit Shortbread Sandwich Cookies with Raspberry Buttercream - p. 155
Chocolate Chip Rosemary Cookies - p. 157
Doughnuts - p. 170
Doughnut Glazes - p. 174
Vegemite Cheesy Scrolls - p. 185
Rice Paper Bacon - p. 194
Mayonnaise - p. 200
Eggnog - p. 219
Salty Caramel Pretzel Shake - p. 221

[MelMM (Mel)]

Online recipes from Vegan with Bite
Shakshuka with Coriander Dumplings - p. 23
Turkish Mince with Hummus and Spiced Butter - p. 25
Okonomiyaki - p. 26
Korean Mung Bean Pancakes - p. 38
Smiith & Daughters French Toast - p. 41 (original does not call for gluten-free bread, use what you like)
Soufflé Pancakes with Maple Syrup - p. 42
Japanese Potato Salad - p. 40
Radicchio, Peach and Asparagus Salad - p. 50
Penang Char Kway Teow - p. 66
The Most Perfect Roast Potatoes - p. 84 (Original recipe suggests Yukon gold, kipfler or desiree potatoes)
Laksa - p. 93
Dan Dan Noodles - p. 98
One-pot Burrito Rice - p. 101
Mapo Tofu - p. 114
Chicago Deep Dish Pizza - p. 122
Apple and Spiced Rum Fritters - p. 131
Sticky Fig Pudding - p. 133
El’s Rum, Rye and Sea Salt Cookies - p. 136
Apricot Crumble Cake - p. 138
Black Forest Olive Oil Cake - p. 141
Tropical Splice Pavlova - p. 147
Apple, Strawberry and Rhubarb Pie - p. 148
Hummus and Friends - p. 162
Pizza Sauce - p. 163
Sichuan Chilli Oil - p. 164

[MelMM (Mel)]

Looks like I forgot the link to the chocolate chip rosemary cookies, so here it is.

[MelMM (Mel)]

SHAKSHUKA - Vegan with Bite, p. 23

This is a dish I’ve been meaning to veganize for a long time, but never got around to it. I probably would have just used baked or fried tiles of tofu, but Ms. Martinez has come up with these delicate dumplings. The dumplings remind me of the pipa tofu in Dunlop’s EGOR, except the Dunlop ones are fried, which, come to think of it, might not be a bad idea for these! Anyway, this recipe looks more complicated than it is. To make the dumplings, you blitz tofu, cilantro, baking powder, salt, pepper, No Egg, flour, nutritional yeast, and garlic in a food processor. Spoon into quenelles and give them a brief cook in simmering water. You will swear they are going to fall apart, but they miraculously stay together (mostly). I noticed that they firmed up a bit after sitting on a tray for a while after boiling, and that’s a good thing, so I would consider making the dumpling first, rather than trying to do it while the sauce cooks.

The sauce starts with a sauté of onion and bell pepper, then you add garlic, bay leaf, cumin, smoked paprika, a cinnamon stick, chile flakes, pepper, turmeric, and salt. Then tomatoes go in - the recipe calls for diced, I generally only keep whole peeled on hand, so I pulsed those in a blender. The sauce simmers for 20 minutes, then the dumplings go in and simmer for 5 minutes more. You finish the dish with fresh cilantro, parsley, and lemon juice.

This sauce… classic Shannon Martinez. She is liberal with her seasonings, to say the least. There is a full tablespoon of cumin in there. A full tablespoon of red pepper flakes. There are many recipes where I feel a need to bump up the seasonings, but that is never the case with Shannon’s. We gobbled this up with some pitas on the side to soak up the extra sauce.

[MelMM (Mel)]

I should say something about the No Egg. She’s referring to Orgran No Egg, which is basically starch, leavener, a stabilizer, and citric acid. It is comparable to Ener-G Egg Replacer in the U.S. I used a different powdered egg replacer that contains some psyllium, and I would recommend that. Mine is not from Bob’s Red Mill, but similar to theirs. What she is not asking for is a liquid egg replacer, like Just Egg, and I would not recommend using Just Egg in this application.

[GretchenS]

The dumplings sound wonderful and very intriguing. Thanks for the notes about the egg replacer as well. Your imagination and intrepidness never fail to inspire me!

[MelMM (Mel)]

The imagination is all Shannon Martinez in this case!

[MelMM (Mel)]

GARBANZOS ESTOFADOS - Smith & Daughters, p. 100

If there were one Shannon Martinez recipe I could get you to try, it would be this one. I’ve made it countless times. You can find a link to the recipe in my post upthread, so I won’t go into the details of prep. I will say this: Your potato choice is critical for this recipe. You need to use red, waxy potatoes. Do not use russeets. Do not use Yukon golds. You need a potato that will hold it’s texture in a stew. I have learned this the hard way, so trust me. Red potatoes. I have made this exactly as directed on the stovetop, and I have adapted for the Instant Pot (12 minutes, starting with cooked chickpeas). I am not a fan of canned chickpeas, but they actually work fine here, thanks to the extra cooking.

I cannot recommend this recipe highly enough. It’s hearty and satisfying, and bursting with flavor. It definitely show’s Martinez’s Spanish bent.

[articshark (Dawn)]

MELON SALAD w/PICKLED PINEAPPLE & JALAPENOS, pg. 124

I planned on making some BBQ ribs and thought this recipe and the Brazilian Slaw- posted below- would be good accompaniments. I wasn’t wrong.

First you pickle the pineapple and jalapeños for 3-12 hours before use. The pickle brine is made up of apple cider vinegar, sugar, juice and zest of 1 orange, juice and zest of 1 lime, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon stick, cilantro/coriander stems, bay leaf, and black peppercorns. You bring it to a boil, simmer til e the sugar is dissolved, then let cool for 15 minutes to let the flavors meld. Pour over the pineapple and jalapeños.

To make this super delicious and easy salad, you slice the honeydew melon long ways thinly. Lay them on the plate. Them place cubes of cantaloupe and watermelon above the honeydew. Place pickled pineapple and jalapeños imperfectly between the melons. Drizzle some of the pickling juice over the melons as a sort-of vinaigrette. Lightly salt with salt flakes and cracked pepper. Toss some mint leaves over everything.

Enjoy!

So, my jalapeños were super hot. I should’ve tasted them and only used one. Mr. Shark found them too hot to eat. I did not. I found the moon perfectly foiled the heat, especially with the sweet hit of pineapple and mint every once in a while. But next time. Lesson learned.

I love this melon salad. And I can see me eating a lot of this come summer. Because while the melons in the stores are all being imported now… late summer, well, this will be spectacular.

I served this with pork ribs and Brazilian Slaw. Which I shall report one below.

[articshark (Dawn)]

BRAZILLIAN SLAW, pg. 116

[The photo for this is on the plate with the Melon Salad. I didn’t repost that same picture here. Also, both recipes can be found on the internet and the links are above in Mel’s post.]

The longest part of making this is making the aioli and thinly slickly all the components. Frying off the corn and the mushrooms didn’t take that long at all. And those two ingredients are the only cooked ones in this slaw.

I cheated on the aioli and one the vegan portion of this recipe. I used normal aioli, aka Duke’s Mayonnaise, as my dressing base. To this I added the juice and zest of one lime. I also grated in one garlic clove. Salt and pepper to taste and then a little more as this needs to cover a LOT of slaw. Viola. Dressing made.

Then you fry off corn journals until lightly roasted. Set aside. Fry oyster mushrooms in tamarind- I used soy sauce because that’s what I had although sometime Is have tamarind and others aminos, until crispy. Set aside. Then the real work begins.

You matchstick carrots and granny smith apples, thinly slice red onions and green pimento olives, thinly shred purple cabbage, and pick the leaves from cilantro and parsley.

You put all the ingredients into a big bowl, add in enough dressing to lightly coat, and toss. Correct the seasoning.

To serve, she has you fry off some corn tortillas into strips. I didn’t do this. Then you add in some chili and lime salt.

Since I didn’t use the chili/lime tortilla chips, I just sprinkled some TJ’s Chile Lime on top of the salad and around the plate. Then served it with ribs and the Melon Salad.

[Lambchop (DeMarko)]

Beautiful plate of food - think of all the anti-oxidants in that! Looks very delicious and appetizing too.

[GretchenS]

I am so going to copy this exact plate of food for company this summer!!

[articshark (Dawn)]

If you do, I would grill the corn instead of pan-frying/charring them. I think the grill’s smokiness would play very well with this dish. Also, I would add more mushrooms and less cabbage. That’s just me.

The Melon salad needs no other adjustments than determine how hot or not your jalapeños are.

[MelMM (Mel)]

Folks, I forgot to put it in the post, but since we have three books we’re cooking from, please include the book title in your reports as well as the recipe title. Thanks!

[MelMM (Mel)]

CRISPY TOFU WITH CHILLI AND THAI BASIL - Vegan with Bite, p. 107

I have made this twice now. The first time, I didn’t have any green beans, so used snow peas instead. The second time I had the green beans, but no basil, so I used cilantro. No matter, it’s good no matter how you make it.

The recipe has you toss tofu with oil, cornstarch, onion powder, garlic powder and salt. The first time I made this, I followed my instincts and tossed the tofu with the salt and seasonings first, then the cornstarch, and finally the oil. The second time I did it as the recipe suggests and tossed with the oil first, then the cornstarch and seasonings. My instincts were the right way to go here. If you toss with the oil first, the cornstarch clumps and doesn’t get distributed evenly. You are then supposed to bake this. I recently upgraded my Breville Smart Oven to a model with air-frying capability, so I air-fried at 400F for 20 minutes. Which was perfect.

For the stir-fry, you are to start with minced garlic and chile, then add the tofu and green beans, and finish with a sauce that is made from soy sauce, vegan oyster sauce, stock, sugar, and cornstarch. I changed the order a bit here, and I suggest you do the same if you have a hot wok. I started with the green beans, and let them get mostly cooked before adding the garlic and chile. Then the tofu went in, followed shortly by the sauce. The second time I made this, I included ginger in addition to garlic, and used dried flakes instead of fresh chile. I also reduced the stock and added a couple tablespoons of bourbon. I would make those changes again in the future.

We liked both versions of this. Served with brown rice the first time, white the second.

[LulusMom1 (Kari)]

This sounds so good.

[articshark (Dawn)]

It is really good. I just keep eating spears of pineapple. lol