Authors: Ani Phyo

Ani's Raw Food Essentials (31 page)

BOOK: Ani's Raw Food Essentials

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KALAMATA OLIVE CROSTINI

MAKES 9 SERVINGS

Crostini
means “little toasts” in Italian and are made by slicing bread thinly, then toasting and grilling it so it's crispy. Drizzle with olive oil or salt or serve with your favorite toppings; use as a garnish for soups; or use like croutons, broken up, on salad. The buckwheat gives this recipe a lighter, crispier texture.

Â½ cup dried buckwheat groats
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup flax meal
1Â½ cups filtered water
Â½ cup pitted and chopped kalamata olives

Grind the buckwheat into a powder, then place in a high-speed blender. Add the celery, flax meal, and water. Blend until smooth. Add the olives last; pulse lightly to mix into the batter.

Spread the batter evenly on a lined 14-inch-square Excalibur Dehydrator tray. Dehydrate for 6 to 8 hours at 104Â°F. Flip onto tray, peel away the liner, and score into nine squares. Score each slice diagonally so you have a total of eighteen little triangular toasts. Dehydrate for another 4 to 6 hours, until dried.

VEGETABLES

The act of cooking food steams away much of the food's water content. In the same way, dehydration is one way to “cook” vegetables in raw food.

Light dehydration will help to soften tough vegetables, such as asparagus, and wilts red bell peppers and onions to take their crunch away.

Dehydrating for longer periods of time, on the other hand, removes all moisture to create a light, crisp texture. Coating your vegetables in olive oil will help to soften them while also slowing down how quickly and fully their water is lost in your dehydrator.

BASIC BUCKWHEAT BATTER

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Coat any vegetable with this basic batter and dehydrate, to add a light and crispy crunch to the outsideâsimilar to a tempura or panko (Japanese bread crumb) batter, but lighter and healthier for you.

If you don't have Buckwheat Crispies on hand, just use buckwheat groats instead.

2 cups Buckwheat Crispies (page 63), ground into a powder
1 teaspoon sea salt
Â½ teaspoon cayenne

Place the buckwheat powder, salt, and cayenne in a bowl and mix well.

OPTIONS:
Dip slices, sticks, or spears of your favorite vegetables and even fruit into this batter, and dehydrate to add a crunchy outer layer. To help the powder stick better, you may want to toss your veggies with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil first.

BUCKWHEAT-BATTERED “FRIED” ONION RINGS

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

Thinly sliced onion is dipped into buckwheat batter and dehydrated to create a battered and fried, delicious onion ring. The texture is similar to that of a lightly fried tempura batter, and the flavor is delicious!

The longer the onions are dehydrated, the milder the onion flavor will become. Using a sweet onion gives a milder onion flavor.

4 cups thinly sliced sweet onion
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons filtered water
1 recipe Basic Buckwheat Batter (page 115)

Prep the onions by tossing in the oil and water. Then, dip the onions into the Basic Buckwheat Batter to coat well.

Gently place the onions in a single layer on two lined 14-inch-square Excalibur Dehydrator trays, and dehydrate at 104Â°F for 4 to 6 hours, or until completely dried and crisp.