‘Creativity is a way to share your soul with the world’
This is my healthy vegan version of Amanda Cohen’s popcorn beets, which have been deemed better than popcorn shrimp by the food critics.
Mr. B loves popcorn shrimp, so although I haven’t tried Cohen’s dish, I was inspired to make my own version and see what he thought.
Cohen’s version is soaked in buttermilk spiked with bourbon and deep-fried. I wanted to make a healthier and dairy free version, so I soaked mine in almond milk and baked them to make them vegan and a guilt free snack. She served her dish with a green curry sauce; I used vegan cream cheese and jalapenos to replicate the creamy and spicy compliments.
Mr. B loved this dish, noting it as moreish (as shown by the disappearance of the dish in 5 seconds) and addictive. Success! Thanks Amanda Cohen for the inspiration!
This is a tasha.kitchen original recipe, feel free to copy it, creativity should be shared!
Ingredients
- 2 red beetroots
- 1 cup cornmeal
- ¾ cup almond milk
- Pinch salt
- 2 tbsp. vegan cream cheese
- I tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 jalapeno, sliced
Method
- Preheat an oven to 350c
- Bake the beetroot in salt for 20 mins until slightly tender
- Take them out and let cool, once cooled chop into roughly 2cm x 2cm pieces
- Pour almond milk into a shallow bowl/dish and cornmeal into another
- Coat the beet pieces with the milk and then the cornmeal
- Place pieces on the a baking tray with coconut oil and place in the oven
- Flip over half way and back until the cornmeal is hard
- Sprinkle sea salt on the pieces
- Serve with vegan cream cheese and slices of jalapeño
