19 Oct Vegan Summer Braai Delights
Being vegan needn’t mean you can’t enjoy the smoky smell of a braai and divine, slightly charred goodies fresh off the grill. Veggies and fruits lend themselves well to braaing too!
1. Marinated Meaty Mushroom Burgers
Giant mushrooms make a great, easy vegan burger or steak replacement.
Ingredients
For the Marinade
- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 2 tbsp red wine vinegar
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp olive oil
- Pinch salt
For the burger
- 4 large mushroom caps
- Burger buns (optional)
METHOD
- Whisk all the sauce ingredients together in a bowl
- In a rectangular container place the Mushies top side down
- Pour the marinade over and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours
- Grill on the braai for 5 minutes on each side, turning 4 times
- You can serve these up with a bun garnished with lettuce, grilled onion, and tomato or chilli sauce and whatever other yum things you love on burgers, or you can use it as the mains to replace meat.
You can also use this marinade for veggie sosaties – dice veggies such as mushrooms, baby marrows, onions and peppers, marinate and arrange on a skewer to grill on the braai. You can remove the veggies from the skewer and make a yum veggie hotdog with them too.
Cauliflower also marinates beautifully with this, chop, marinate and braai some cauliflower steaks. That simple!
2. Lime Grilled Avocados
You can have these delish avos as a side dish or use them as a filling in a bun. Garnish with some chilli sauce and vegan cream cheese if you like. Adapted from: loriesmississippikitchen.com.
Ingredients
- 1 avocado (or however many you want to make)
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Lemon/lime wedges
- Natural salt and coarsely ground black pepper
METHOD
- Cut the avocado in half lengthwise and remove pip
- Brush with extra virgin olive oil
- Squeeze lime/lemon juice generously over the avo
- Season with salt and pepper
- Place flat side down on the grill and braai for 4-5 minutes, or until char marks appear. Use a spatula to gently remove them, not tongs
3. Quinoa Stuffed Bell Peppers on the Grill
Quinoa is great for a meatless braai because it’s high in protein and has a lovely nutty taste.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup pre-cooked Quinoa
- 1 Small Baby Marrow, diced
- 1/4 cup Red Onion, diced
- 1 clove crushed garlic
- 1/2 cup Mushrooms, diced
- 1 cup fresh Spinach
- 1/2 cup cooked or canned lentils
- 1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes
- 3 Bell Peppers, (1 Red, 1 Yellow, 1 Orange)
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
METHOD
- Dice the Baby Marrow, Red Onion, Mushrooms
- Add to the Quinoa
- Cut up fresh spinach and add to quinoa.
- Add Lentils Garlic and Tomatoes to the Quinoa
- Salt & Pepper to Taste
- Cut Bell Peppers in Half Lengthwise and remove seeds and centers
- Stuff Bell Peppers with Quinoa mixture
- Grill until Bell Peppers are softened and a little charred for taste
- You can also roast them in the oven
4. Vegan Cream Cheese
This vegan cream cheese makes a great addition to any savoury veggies you may braai. Dollop it on your mushroom burgers or avos, add it to your stuffed peppers or grilled veggie rolls.
Ingredients
- 2 cups raw cashews soaked for 2 – 4 hours (soaking optional)
- 1/4 cup – 1/2 cup filtered water
- 1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 1/2 cup nutritional yeast
- 2 to 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
- 1 teaspoon salt
METHOD
- Whizz them all together in a blender and voila! Add salt to taste.
5. Grilled Summer Peaches With Sweet Cream
This simple dessert is super delicious and you can use the cream sauce to drizzle over all sorts of fruit dishes. Fruit is great to grill and you can make fruit “sosaties’’ from chunks of diced fruit such as apples, pineapple, peaches, and bananas, and cherries too.
Ingredients
- 4 ripe peaches, halved
- ½ cup cashews
- ¼ cup macadamia nuts
- ½ can full-fat coconut milk
- 3 dates, pitted
- pinch of sea salt
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Crushed nuts such as pecans or hazelnuts
METHOD
For the peaches
- Place the peaches cut side down on the braai
- You can add a bit of coconut oil to the surface to prevent sticking
- Cook for about 10 minutes, or until tender
For the Sweet Cream
- Add all of the remaining ingredients to a food processor or high-speed blender and blend until smooth
- Set aside in the fridge to cool
Once the peaches are cooked, place 1-2 tablespoons of the Sweet Cream on top of each of the peaches and sprinkle with crushed nuts.
Why not get out in the open and soak up the summer? Happy summer braaing!
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