Beautiful food that’s quick to put together. Easy to obtain ingredients, stunning photography and simple instructions. Bianca Zapatka is the next generation of vegan cooks and her new book, ‘Vegan Foodporn’, is undeniably sexy.

“Tasting starts with the eyes”. It’s so true, isn’t it? Those hungry walks round the supermarket where you overload your trolley with things that catch your eye that you never intended to buy. The way we can’t help but gaze when a waiter brings a plate of food out to the table next to us. How our eyes are drawn to the photos in a recipe book that immediately get us licking our lips.

In her new book, ‘Vegan Foodporn’, German food blogger and Instagram-star Bianca Zapatka shares 100 of her favourite recipes that we guarantee will do just that. They’re quick, they’re easy, and they look so tantalisingly good they could seduce even the heartiest of meat eaters. Just take a look at the beautiful food photography on Bianca’s Instagram page – a far-cry from the outdated idea that it’s bland and boring, or difficult; this is the next generation of vegan cooking and it’s undeniably sexy.

Studies have shown that plant-based diets can help people with type-II diabetes, decrease cholesterol, blood pressure, and lower the risk of heart disease. Couple that with concerns about climate change and animal welfare, and plant-based diets are becoming more the mainstream. And yes, you will still get enough protein – just ask David Haye and Venus Williams.

At a time when many of us are ‘eating our way through quarantine’, here at Lotus Publishing we wanted to share with you a little taste of what’s on offer in Bianca’s Foodporn. Choosing one recipe was not easy, though! We love her ‘basics’, like cashew ricotta, vegan parmesan, nut milk and homemade pasta. Her French toast roll-ups make for a very good start to the day. The quinoa, tomato and paprika dip is brilliant with salads and crudites in this weather. But a versatile recipe we think all the family can enjoy into is her Tortilla Lasagne. Bon appetit!

Publication date: 30^th May 2020.

Tortilla lasagna

Ingredients

• 2 tsp. olive oil
• 1 red onion
• 1 garlic clove
• 1 red pepper
• 1 green pepper
• 1 tsp. cumin
• 1 tsp. ground paprika or chilli powder
• 1 tin (400 g) black beans
• ⅔ tin of sweetcorn (190 g)
• 360 ml (1 ½ cups) tomato sauce
• ⅔ tsp. salt
• 6 corn tortilla wraps (20/22 cm [7 x 9 in.] diameter)
• 80 ml (⅓ cup) vegan mayonnaise, aioli or sour cream
• 1 chipotle jalapeño in adobo sauce or a little chilli sauce
• 170 g (2 cups) vegan cheese, grated
• guacamole to serve

Cooking instructions

30 mins – makes 4 portions

• Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F) and lightly grease an ovenproof dish (21 x 21 cm [8 x 8 in.]).
• Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Halve the peppers, remove the seeds and dice.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and add the onion, garlic, diced pepper, cumin and paprika. Fry for around 3–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are well browned and the spices are fragrant. Rinse and drain the beans and sweetcorn, then stir them into the vegetables, season with salt and set aside.
• Cut the tortillas into strips.
• Mix the jalapeño or chilli sauce with the vegan mayonnaise.
• Spread a little tomato sauce onto the base of the dish. Lay half the tortilla strips on top, so that they overlap. Spoon half the vegetables over the top. Add the vegan chilli mayo and half of the remaining tomato sauce on top, smooth out a little and cover with half the cheese. Repeat the whole process to create another layer: Lay over the rest of the tortilla strips, top with the vegetables and the rest of the tomato sauce and sprinkle over the rest of the cheese.
• Cover the dish with foil (or baking paper) and bake for 15 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake for another 5–8 minutes until the lasagne is fully baked and the cheese is beautifully melted.
• Leave to cool for 3–5 minutes before cutting into portions. Serve with guacamole and fresh herbs.