Recipes from The Naked Vegan, by Maz Valcorza

Serves 4

A great working-week dinner option, this dish is colourful, filling and delicious, and really easy to prepare when you're short of time. Just chop, whiz up some stuff, and throw it all together.

Lime & tamari marinade:

125ml cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil

2 teaspoons cold-pressed sesame oil

juice of 1 lime

4 tablespoons tamari

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

Vegie mix:

125g broccoli florets

1 red capsicum, seeded and finely sliced

90g julienned carrot

115g bean sprouts

30g shredded bok choy

40g shredded savoy cabbage

½ red onion, finely sliced

1 garlic clove, crushed

Coconut cauliflower rice:

500g cauliflower florets

45g finely desiccated coconut

½ teaspoon Himalayan pink salt or Celtic sea salt

To serve:

4 tablespoons black or white sesame seeds

3 tablespoons coriander  leaves

Blend the marinade ingredients in a high-speed blender until well combined. Pour into a large mixing bowl.

Add all the vegie mix ingredients to the bowl. Toss together, then allow to marinate while you make the cauliflower rice.

Carefully pulse the cauliflower coconut rice ingredients in a food processor until the cauliflower resembles the texture of rice. Do not over-process, or the cauliflower will turn into a purée.

To serve, divide the coconut cauliflower rice among four bowls and top with the vegie mix. Sprinkle with the sesame seeds, garnish with coriander and serve.

BANANARAMA CUPCAKES

Makes 24

Rich in nutrients and utterly delicious, these dainty cupcakes are a super-charged sweet snack.

155g activated cashew nuts

100g activated walnuts

310g activated almonds

125ml coconut nectar

2 teaspoons vanilla powder

45g dried bananas, chopped

½ banana, mashed

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Macadamia & banana frosting:

160g activated macadamia nuts

3 tablespoons cold-pressed extra virgin coconut oil

4 tablespoons coconut nectar

1 banana, mashed

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Topping:

Fresh banana slices

Using a high-speed blender, and working in separate batches, grind the cashews, walnuts and almonds into a flour, tipping each batch into a mixing bowl.

Add the ground nuts to a food processor. Add the coconut nectar, vanilla powder, dried banana, mashed banana and lemon juice, then pulse to the consistency of a moist cake. The mixture should bind to itself when pressed together between your fingers.

Press the mixture into 24 mini cupcake tins lined with plastic wrap, or into 24 mini silicone cupcake moulds, then turn the cupcakes out onto a clean, flat surface.

Blend all the frosting ingredients in a high-speed blender until smooth. Pop into a piping (icing) bag and pipe onto the cupcakes. Top each cupcake with a piece of banana just before serving.

The cupcakes will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for five days, or can be frosted and frozen for several months.

Recipes and images from The Naked Vegan, by Maz Valcorza. Murdoch Books. $39.99, available now in all good bookstores and online.