A vegan tapas bar that is a feast to be shared among friends. Made with fresh ingredients such as veggies and lentils. A very healthy vegan snack feast
Take a bowl and add 1.5 cup of yellow corn meal (Polenta). Add 4 cups of cold water to the polenta and 1/2 tsp of baking soda. Soak for 1 and 1/2 hours
Cut the spaghetti squash into 2 pieces. One should be about 3/4 and the other will be a 1/4. Refrigerate the 3/4 piece for a future recipe
Place the 1/4 piece of spaghetti squash on a baking dish. Remove the seeds and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and place in the oven for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow it to cool
For the Sweet Potato and Parsley
Take 2 medium sized sweet potatoes and peel off the skin
Cut them into bite sized pieces and place them inside these Belle Cuisine Individual Round Porcelain Bowls
In each bowl, add 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped) and 2 sprigs of finely chopped curly parsley
Add 1/4 tsp of sea salt and 1/8 tsp of black pepper. Mix well and shut the lid
Place the bowls in the oven and cook for 25 minutes until they are soft. I found these to be the best part of my vegan tapas feast. The sweet potatoes practically melt in your mouth because they cook so perfectly in the porcelain bowls
For the Patatas Bravas
In a bowl, add 1/4 cup of soft tofu, 3 Tbsp of hot sauce. I added 1 tsp of agave and 1/4 tsp of lime juice
Blend on low speed and set aside
Take 3 baby potatoes and cut them into halves
Place the cut potatoes in a bowl and add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, 1/2 tsp of salt and 1 tsp of dried oregano. Mix well
Place the seasoned baby potatoes in the escargot dish and place them in the oven. Bake for 20 minutes and then allow them to cool for a few minutes
Top them with the red sauce, garnish with cilantro and place them on the vegan tapas bar
For the Reduced Balsamic Sauce
In a medium sauce pan, add 1 cup of balsamic sauce. I used a pomegranate-infused Balsamic vinegar which is easy to purchase in your grocery store or online
Add 4 tsp of brown sugar and bring it to a boil on medium heat. When the mixture is about half its amount, turn of the stove and set it aside for a few minutes
Transfer the contents to the white porcelain provence vinegar cruet. It is such a useful and heavy duty container to store the balsamic sauce
Do not wash the pan that we used to make the sauce. It will come in handy for making other vegan tapas items
For the Green Olives Saute
In the balsamic pan, add 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil and set it to low heat
Take 1/4 cup of red onions, finely chopped and add it to the heating oil
Take 2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped and add it to the onions
Add 1 cup of green olives, preferably stuffed. Mix well and add 1/8 tsp of black pepper
Mix well and serve them in white porcelain ramekin. This olives have a tangy and sweet flavor
For the Black Olives Saute
Use the same pan that was used to make the green olives.
Add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil and warm it at medium heat for 30 seconds
To the pan, add 1/2 cup of black olives, 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped), 2 Tbsp of Red onion (finely chopped) and 1/4 of a red pepper chopped into small pieces
Add 1 tsp of balsamic vinegar and mix well. Add 1/4 tsp of black pepper to the olives and give it a final stir
Serve them in white porcelain ramekin
For the Lightly Tossed Sweet Tomatoes
We are going to use the same pan again. This pan is going to get so much use today
Cut 5 campari tomatoes into four pieces each
Add 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil and heat it on low heat
Add 1 clove of finely chopped garlic in the oil
Add the tomatoes and quickly toss them. Add 2 tsp of the reduced balsamic sauce to it and toss gently
Serve them in white porcelain ramekin
For the Spicy Spinach and Chickpea Salad
In the same pan, add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil, 3 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup of red onions (finely chopped) and about 1/2 cup of the liquid from the can of chick peas
Add 1/2 cup of dry red wine, 1 cup of chick peas and 1/2 of a red pepper (finely chopped)
Bring it to a boil and make sure most of the red wine has burned off
Add 1 cup of baby spinach with the end stems removed. Don't stir the pan; Just let the spinach wilt
When the spinach has wilted to 1/2 its size, add 1/2 tsp of salt and 1/4 tsp of black pepper
Mix well and serve in individual-sized white porcelain square baking dish. They are so perfect because you can heat them directly in the oven
For the Broccoli Bowls
Cut 10 broccoli florets, 1 large carrot and 1/2 of a red pepper into very tiny pieces.
Open a can of black-eyed peas and drain them. Place them in the a strainer and run them under cold water for about 1 minutes. The goal is to wash away as much of the salt as possible
Place the peas and veggies in a bowl. Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 3 cloves of garlic (finely chopped) and 1 tsp of dried oregano
Add 1 Tbsp of extra virgin olive oil and mix well
Place the veggies in the black square baking dish and place it in the oven. Bake for 25 minutes and then remove from the oven. Place them on the vegan tapas bar
For the Polenta Bites
Boil about 3 cups of water. While the water is boiling, drain the excess liquid from the soaking polenta
Add the polenta to the boiling water while stirring vigorously with the other hand. Make sure there are no lumps
Keep stirring until the water has evaporated and the polenta has thickened
Turn of the heat and spread the polenta on a small casserole dish. The layer shouldn't be more than a 1/2 inch thick
Place the casserole dish in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes
While the polenta is cooling, take 1 Japanese eggplant, 1/2 of a red bell pepper and 1/4 of red onion into bite size pieces
Take 3 cloves of garlic and chop them finely
In the same pan, add 2 tsp of extra virgin olive oil and heat on low heat for 30 seconds
Add the garlic cloves to the oil and let them brown. Add the veggies and mix well
Let them cook for 10 minutes or until the eggplant skin is tender. Add 1/2 tsp of salt, 1/2 tsp of black pepper, 1/2 tsp of dried oregano and 1/4 tsp of lime juice
Mix well, turn off the heat and set aside
Remove the polenta from the fridge and use a small cookie cutter to cut circular shapes from the polenta. I used the cookie cutter of 3.75" in diameter
I stacked 2 polenta rounds and then topped with the eggplant and pepper mixture. Drizzle some of the reduced balsamic sauce on each polenta bite and garnish with chopped parsley.
Serve it on this White glaze square small plate. They are the perfect size for these polenta bites, mainly because they have a very small raised edges. It is also oven safe, so, you can put the polenta bites on them and place them in the oven to re-heat
For the Spaghetti Squash Crostini
The spaghetti squash should be ready by now, so, take a fork and shred the inside of the squash with it. This will make huge strands and that is perfect
Take the strands and place them on a plate. Set aside
Cut 1/2 of a red pepper into julienne strands. Do the same for 1/4 of a red onion
Take 3 cloves of garlic and chop them finely
In the same pan, add 1 tsp of extra virgin olive oil and heat on low for about 15 seconds
Add 1/4 tsp of cumin seeds and let them brown for about 10 seconds. Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds
Add the peppers and onions to the oil and saute for about 6 minutes or until the peppers start to brown.
Add the spaghetti squash and mix well. Adjust for taste and cook for 2 more minutes
Add 1 tsp of the reduced balsamic sauce and set aside
Take a French baguette and slice them diagonally. You can choose them to be as thick or as thin as you want. I like my crostini on the thinner side
Lightly toast the crostini and let them cool for a few minutes
Spread a thick layer of red pepper hummus on the crostini. I used about 3 tbsp on each crostini
Top the crostini with the squash and pepper veggies. Optionally, drizzle the balsamic sauce before serving
I served crostini on this basalt matt slate serverware. It retains the heat from the crostini so that it doesn't get soggy