How to Make Raw Veggies Taste Cooked

Hey there! It's been a while since my last post, but I have been doing a lot of raw recipe creating in the meantime...it's finally summer here and that equals a desire to consume more raw foods! We've been doing very well with our broccoli and kale this year and have been eating heaps of it, picked minutes before supper time. However, a lot of veggies are having to come from out of the yard...it's been a slow, cold summer.

When you want to eat raw food but don't want to feel like you're eating raw food, I suggest marinating. By marinating thinly sliced vegetables in oil, spices and perhaps vinegar, (or a marinara or raw cream sauce) they start to soften. Put them in the dehydrator (or the oven, on low, with door propped open) for an hour or so, and you have warm, soft, delicious veggies that you would think were cooked! This is great when making dinner for someone who may not be all that into the idea of eating raw food...if you don't tell them, they may never know it was raw!

I indicate to start the cooking process on high in the dehydrator for 1/2 hour, and then turn down to 115. This is following Anne Wigmore's research into dehydration - In the first stage of dehydration, the interior temperature of the food does not exceed 115, although the dehydrator itself is getting warmer than that. Using a higher temperature kickstarts the dehydration process and cuts down on drying time...I usually set my oven timer for a 1/2 hour so that I don't forget to turn the dehydrator down. If you are using a regular oven to dehydrate, just keep it on the lowest possible setting with the door propped open a bit, and watch your food, as the cooking times will all be shorter than what I have estimated below.

We've had many variations of warm, raw marinated veggies in the past few weeks, and I will post a few examples of 'recipes' below, with some pictures to illustrate...

Zuchinni Noodles (for one)
1 medium zuchinni
olive oil
salt

Using a mandoline, spiralizer or vegetable peeler, create long strips of zucchini. Toss these with enough olive oil to coat, and season with salt. Place in a glass or ceramic dish in the dehydrator on high for half an hour, then stir and turn down to 115 and cook till tender - about 1/2 hour to 1 hour. Once noodles are nearly tender you can toss with any pasta sauce you like and return to the dehydrator to warm through.


Italian-Style Marinated Veggies (for one)


4 spears asparagus, thinly sliced lengthwise
1 carrot, thinly sliced
1/4 red, orange or yellow pepper, thinly sliced
1/4 small onion, thinly sliced
olive oil
salt
pepper

handful minced fresh herbs - thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil - whatever you've got

Toss the thinly sliced veggies in enough oil to coat, and season. Warm in a glass dish in the dehydrator on high for 30 minutes, then stir and reduce heat to 115. Stir occasionally till veggies are soft and warm and delicious about 1/2 hour to an hour. Change up the veggies and the herbs and spices to complement whatever else you are serving - greek, mexican and indian spices are all delicious.

I use a mandoline to slice the veggies very thinly, which helps them to soften and become 'cooked'. If you don't have a mandoline just do the best you can! (however, mine was only about $35.00 and has been invaluable since I got it, so I recommend investing in one - just make sure you get one with a finger guard as they are extremely sharp.)


Marinated Greens with Fresh Blueberries

2 large handfuls fresh greens (turnip greens, kale, chard, mizuna, etc) per person
olive oil
balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
1/3 cup fresh blueberries per person

Seeds or nuts for the top


Wash and roughly chop the stems and leaves of the greens. Place in a glass container and coat with about 1 tbsp oil and 1/2 tbsp vinegar per serving...enough to coat. Add salt and pepper and massage dressing into the greens with your hands until the volume is reduced by 1/2. Add in berries and toss to coat. Warm in dehydrator on high for 1/2 hour, then stir and continue dehydrating at 115 degrees until greens are tender and warm, about 1/2 hour.

Top with seeds (hemp, sesame etc) or nuts (walnuts, pecans) if desired.

I have also made greens with just oil and salt, then stirred them into zuchinni pasta with a cashew cream sauce...this would work well for any kind of pasta or stir 'fry' idea...


Savory Marinated Mushrooms

1 cup thinly sliced mushrooms per person (a mixture of button mushrooms with other varieties such as King Oyster, Shitaake (cap only!) and Chanterelle is delicious)
1 tbsp nama shoyu or tamari soy sauce per serving (nama shoyu is raw, tamari is not)
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil or sesame oil per serving (most sesame oil is made from toasted seeds but you can get raw sesame oil too)
salt
cayenne

Very thinly slice the mushrooms (this is one thing my mandoline doesn't do well, so I do them by hand). Toss with soy sauce, oil, salt and a dash of cayenne and warm in a glass dish in the dehydrator on high for 1/2 hour. Stir and continue dehydrating at 115 until either soft (1/2 hour) or more cooked and chewy (1 hour).
Use as a side dish or to top a zuchinni pasta with marinara sauce.

Clockwise from top left: Zucchini Pasta with Raw Marinara Sauce, Marinated Greens with Balsamic and Olive Oil, Garden Nasturtiums, Zucchini Pasta with Cashew Cream Sauce, Savory Mushrooms. 

 

Raw Zucchini Pasta with Spicy Avocado Lime Sauce, Raw Marinated Veggies with Asparagus, Carrots, Celery and Mushrooms Topped with Almonds and Mizuna Flowers, Raw Marinated Kale.

The same meal as above, with the addition of basmati rice for the other diner that evening.

Raw Tahini/Sesame Seed Sushi with Avocado and Garden Lettuce, Italian-Style Marinated Asparagus, Mushrooms and Chives with fresh Oregano and Thyme, Marinated Turnip Greens with Blueberries, topped with Garlic Chives.