No Empty Bread

Give substance to an old challenge: Three easy-to-prepare, delicious spreads for bread. (Rcp# 25)

Ingredients for ‘No Empty Bread’

• 200 g sweet potatoes, peeled
• 200 g yellow beetroot or parsnips, peeled or brushed
• 200 g Hokkaido pumpkin, without skin and seeds
• 150 g cauliflower, about three medium florets
• 3 handfuls fresh mixed herbs (I used: parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme, broadleaf plantain, dandelion)
• 2 tablespoons cashews (crush)
• 1 large and 1 medium ginger ‘toes’ (as fresh/juicy as possible)
• 7 brown/dark olives, pitted (from jar, in water, such as Kalamata olives)
• 3 tablespoons oat yogurt
• 4 tablespoons coconut oil (virgin)
• 4 tablespoons almond ‘butter’ (stir well before use until you get a smooth cream, possibly cool slightly to keep it integrated)
• 100 ml olive oil (mild)
• 1 tablespoon butter (plant-based)
• 1 flat teaspoon locust bean gum
• 3 teaspoons dark balsamico vinegar
• 1 – 2 teaspoons bear’s garlic in oil
• 1 teaspoon lime juice
• 2 tablespoons agave syrup
• ½ teaspoon basil + oregano (dried)
• 3 small sage twigs or 1 tablespoon dried sage
• knife tip of ground caraway
• freshly ground nutmeg
• pepper (mild, such as ‘Tellicherry pepper’)
• mild salt (e.g. from Himalyan salt range)
• mild canola oil for frying
• 1,5 l hot water
• 2 large paper tea bags (for loose tea)
• Cooking threat
• Blending wand
• High blending bowl (1,7 – 2 liters space)
• Pot with at least 3 liters of cooking space
• Medium frying pan
• 3 sterilized jam jars (must hold 300 ml) with lids
• Small flat freezer boxes

Preparations for ‘No Empty Bread’

1. Wash and peel the ginger ‘toes’. Save the ginger root skin and place it in one of the tea bags. Chop the peeled ginger root into small pieces and set aside. Wash and tie the sage twigs together (with heat-resistant, boil-proof threat) or put the dried sage in the other tea bag. Put the sage and the bagged ginger skin into the (cold) pot and bring to the boil with 1,5 liters of hot water, then turn down to medium heat.
2. Cut the beetroot, sweet potato and Hokkaido squash into large pieces of the same size. Add the beet chunks to the pot with the tea bags. Simmer over medium heat for 5-7 minutes, then add the sweet potato chunks and continue to cook over medium heat for 7-10 minutes. Finally, add the pumpkin chunks. Simmer all together for another 7-10 minutes (until tender, but not too mushy). Remove the pot from the heat and set aside to cool. Take 100 ml of the cooking stock and place it in the refrigerator to cool completely.
3. Wash and chop the fresh herbs with a cradle knife, then set aside in a bowl.
4. Crunch the cashews into pieces of about the same size (not too small). Wash and slice the cauliflower florets about 1 cm thick, then divide the slices into 2-4 pieces so that you have pieces of about the same size. Heat the pan with 3-5 tablespoons of canola oil (medium temperature) and add the cashews. Brown them for about 5 minutes while turning (be careful, they burn easily), then turn down the heat to low and add the “butter” to brown them for another 2 – 3 minutes. Again, be careful, they will darken quickly. Remove the cashews from the pan and set them aside on a plate to cool (carefully remove any crumbs, they will continue to burn, but do not wash the pan). Then reuse the same pan and add 3 more tablespoons of canola oil plus the chopped cauliflower florets. Brown gently, turning, then set aside on the same plate as the cashews.
5. ‘Creme Scheme’ -> Join the following ingredients in the blending bowl:
   1. 1/3 of the sweet potato chunks plus all of the beet chunks
   2. 150 ml cooking stock
   3. 4 tablespoons almond butter
   4. 2 teaspoons balsamico vinegar
   5. 2/3 of the ginger bits
   6. pepper and nutmeg (both freshly ground), knife tip of ground caraway
   7. a pinch of salt

Blend well until a little frothy, then remove from the blender jug and set aside in another bowl to cool completely (in the refrigerator). Makes about 400 – 500g.

6. ‘Better Beige’ -> Carefully clean the used blender jug of any remaining sauce, then reuse it to blend the following ingredients:
   1. cooked 2/3 of the sweet potato chunks (rest)
   2. roasted cauliflower
   3. roasted cashews
   4. dark pitted olives
   5. 150 ml cooking stock
   6. 4 tablespoons coconut oil
   7. 1 teaspoon balsamico vinegar
   8. 1/3 ginger bits (rest)
   9. freshly ground nutmeg
   10. a pinch of salt

Blend well until a little frothy, then remove from the blender jug and set aside in another bowl to cool completely (in the refrigerator). Makes about 500 – 600g.

7. ‘Green Gleam’ -> Carefully clean the used blender jug of any remaining sauce, then reuse it to blend the following ingredients:
   1. cooked pumpkin chunks
   2. chopped fresh herbs
   3. 1 – 2 teaspoons bear’s garlic in oil
   4. 100 ml olive oil
   5. 1 teaspoon lime juice
   6. 2 tablespoons agave syrup
   7. a pinch of salt

Blend well until a little frothy. Stir the 1 (flat) teaspoon of locust bean gum into 60 ml (about ¼ cup) of cold broth (from the refrigerator, the liquid must be cold or this will not work). Whisk gently into a smooth cream until the liquid has absorbed all the solids. Then stir in the oat yogurt until all ingredients are completely mixed. Finally, add the mixture to the remaining ingredients in the blender jug and blend again until slightly frothy. Then remove from the blender jug and set aside in a separate bowl to cool completely (in the refrigerator). Makes about 500 – 600 grams.

---

Place enough of each spread in a sterilized jar to last you (and other household members) 3-4 days. Do not close the jars until the contents have cooled completely. Place the remainder in separate freezer boxes. Allow the contents to cool completely before placing in the freezer. Defrost the sauce in the refrigerator, do not microwave to thaw! Stir occasionally while defrosting in the refrigerator.

---

Side Notes:

• Okay, now I have a good one for the Disasteria: The ‘Green Gleam’ was too bitter and liquid at first. The reason for the bitterness was probably that I used too much bear’s garlic in oil and too much broad leaf plantain in the first draft. I also used a very strong bush basil. To make it milder, and to give the sauce some substance – fresh herb sauces sometimes do not set easily – I reduced the amount of strong tasting herbs (especially the bear’s garlic, it was 4 teaspoons in the beginning!) and added the locust bean gum-yogurt mix. I also added a little sweetness to round out the flavor. So one was obvious after I rethought the amounts and types of ingredients. And the other is something that happens a lot: too bitter/sour/salty or too thin. Bitter/sour/salty can be defeated by a gentle touch of sweet, but also mellowed by the addition of flours and dairy (or dairy substitutes). If you use real milk products, you have to be careful with high acidity, because the sauce can split. To prevent this, I would personally thicken the sauce first and see if it really needs to be mellowed out more or if the first step has already done it.
• The story behind it: We had been eating cream cheese, tofu, etc. with fresh herbs from the balcony meadow all summer (yeah, life can be so hard). So we were definitely ready for a change. The vegetable bread spread you can buy in the store is nice, but usually we get bored very easily (with some exceptions, but sadly few). So I basically did what I usually do when I want to invent a recipe: I checked what we have in store, stocked up on a few basics, and made a plan (see below). But you should really try the results. The ‘Creme Scheme’ and the ‘Better Beige’ immediately created their own standard. And the ‘Green Gleam’ is really a perfect sauce for your Halloween party. It looks awfully green and … swampy.
• Oh yeah, I almost forgot: Try to mix the sauces with little extra taste notes. For example, the ‘Green Gleam’ works really well with a touch of tomato pulp added (makes 4 sauces instead of 3 → more variety with very little extra effort). Putting banana slices or grated cheese on top of the ‘Green Gleam’ is also very good. The ‘Better Beige’ thrives with fresh chives and the ‘Creme Scheme’ is incredible with a little fruit on top (try strawberry slices…).