kale + mustard muffins
On one of the days my mom was in the hospital, I was chatting with one of the nurses and I was thrilled to learn that he had the same semi-plant-based food love that I do. So I asked him what kind of recipes he was interested in lately, and without hesitation, he said he was on the lookout for a savory vegan muffin. Woah. Yes please. Up until that moment I had not really considered a savory muffin, but then I became obsessed with the idea.
Fast forward to a day after that conversation, I arrived home to a package with Anya's (Golubka) new book, The Vibrant Table. Ever since Anya offered me a copy of her newly released cookbook, I was anxiously waiting for the mail to arrive. I've always been a huge fan of her blog, and her recipes are always so inspiring and so healthy. Her book, a direct reflection of her gorgeous blog, exceeded my already enthusiastic feelings towards her recipes.
I opened the book and the first page I landed on was for kale and mustard muffins. YEAH. That savory muffin that I had been obsessing over, and made with some of my absolute favorite ingredients. This was, without a doubt, the combination I want to try first.
When discussing savory muffins with my mom's nurse that day, we talked about how good it might be to toss in some caramelized onions into the savory muffin batter, so I decided to do just that here to sub for the cheese that Anya used. I was not disappointed.
Although I knew that these savory muffins were going to be the first recipe I tried ……. I made sure I went through the entire book, page by page. My book is now filled with sticky notes and at least two dozen bookmarked recipes. I can't wait to try each one. Anya's book is smart, knowledgable, and best of all, beautiful …. my kind of cookbook.
Well done Anya + Masha. We are definitely food-recipe soul sisters.
As with most vegan pastries, these muffins can be a little crumbly because there is no egg, and I opted to leave the cheese out that she had included as a binder. However, if you are not looking for a totally vegan muffin feel free to use the cheese or a lightly beaten egg to hold it together.
These were best enjoyed with a giant smear of super spicy mustard. You know, the French kind that clears your nostrils. Smearing mustard instead of butter on my muffin in the morning made me really happy, and if you are thinking it would make you happy too, then these muffins are definitely for you.
kale + mustard muffins
MAKES
12 muffins
INGREDIENTS
1 large onion (about 2 cups), diced
1 1/4 cups pumpkin seeds
3/4 cups of buckwheat flour
1/2 cup of brown rice flour
1/2 cup of almond flour
1/3 cup of manchego cheese (optional)
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of mustard powder
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1 1/2 cups of full-fat canned coconut milk
1/4 cup of grapeseed oil or another vegetable oil (plus a little more for greasing + for cooking the onion)
2 tablespoons of dijon mustard (plus more for serving + smearing)
2 tablespoons of worcestershire sauce
2 cups of finely chopped loosely packed kale (about 3-5 leaves, stems removed)
1/4 cup of sunflower seeds (or more pumpkin seeds if you prefer) for sprinkling on top
METHOD
- Pre-heat the oven to 400º
- Lightly grease a 12 muffin pan.
- In a small cast iron pan, heat about 1 tablespoon of grapeseed oil over medium heat and add the onion. Cook the onion for 10-15 minutes until it has started to soften and caramelize. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.
- In a food processor, grind 1 cup of the pumpkin seeds into a coarse flour. Lightly toast the remaining 1/4 cup of pumpkin seeds on a dry skillet over medium heat for about 3-4 minutes.
- In a large bowl, combine the ground and toasted pumpkin seeds, the flours, cheese (if using), baking powder, baking soda, mustard powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, grapeseed oil, mustard, and woscestershire sauce, and the caramelized onion. Stir gently to combine.
- Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix lightly with a fork, incorporating the chopped kale while you are mixing. Be careful not to over mix, the batter should be lumpy, and the ingredients should be barley combined.
- Spoon the muffin mixture evenly among the 12 muffin cups, then sprinkle the tops with the pumpkin or sunflower seeds.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until the tops are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Let the muffins cool in the pan, just enough for you to be able to handle them. Then place them on a wire rack to cool a little more before serving. I enjoyed these with a healthy smear of spicy mustard. Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.