sauce Archives - vespresso

Roasted Red Pepper Pasta (Vegan)

This creamy and spicy roasted pepper pasta are the ideal option on those busy evenings when time isn’t precisely your friend. With some basic organisational skills, this dish is ready in less than 1 hour. While the water boils, the peppers are being roasted and while the pasta is being cooked, the sauce simmers on the stove. I find that pipe rigate are the perfect option for this type of sauce. Once mixed with the sauce, this type of pasta captures the creamy sauce and you get to enjoy that decadent sauce with every bite. Simply amazing…

Ingredients (for 4 servings):

for the sauce:

2 large red bell peppers
360ml almond milk
1 medium red onion
4 garlic cloves
3 Tbsp active dry yeast
1 ½ tsp corn starch
1 ‘bird’s eye’ dried chili
salt and pepper to taste

for serving:

350g dry pipe rigate
fresh basil leaves
active dry yeast

Method:

Pasta. Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Drain them using a colander and cool them under cold tap water. Drain them very well and place them in a large bowl.
Roast the peppers. While the water boils, take a metal disk, place it on the stove and roast the peppers on each side. Place the roasted pepper in a small saucepan and cover with a lid. Proceed the same with the second pepper.
Peel the peppers. Carefully peel each pepper. Remove the stem and the seeds, give them a quick wash and pat them dry with a paper towel.
Onion and garlic. Peel the onion and slice it carefully. Peel the garlic.
Prepare the sauce. Place the milk, onion, garlic and chili in the bowl of a blender. Mix until smooth. Add the peppers, olive oil, corn starch, and dry nutritional yeast and blend until smooth and creamy.
Cook the sauce. Add the sauce to a medium saucepan and simmer it over low-medium heat until thick (for about 7 minutes).
Serve. Add the sauce to the pasta and mix well. Serve in large bowls and garnish with basil ribbons and nutritional yeast.

Source: www.minimalistbaker.com

Pesto alla Genovese (Vegan)

One of the most famous Italian sauces is undoubtedly pesto alla genovese, a sauce made by smashing together 5 ingredients: fresh basil, olive oil, garlic, pine nuts and cheese (a mix of parmigiano regiano and pecorino romano). The traditional way of making this amazing sauce requires a mortar and a pestle, its name comes from the Italian verb pestare (= to beat). Pesto alla genovese has a great taste, it’s definitely not shy nor delicate, it has lots of bold flavors which complement each other beautifully.

Ingredients:

⦁ 3 Tbsp olive oil (45ml)
⦁ 25g basil leaves
⦁ 1 garlic clove
⦁ 1 Tbsp pine nuts (10g)
⦁ 1 Tbsp nutritional yeast (5g)
⦁ 1/4 tsp salt

Method:

1. Wash the basil in cold water and pat it dry with paper towels.
2. In the mortar, crush the clove of garlic with about 1/4 tsp of salt until the garlic has softened.
3. Begin adding basil leaves about 1/4 of the quantity a time.
4. Add the oil one teaspoon at a time, stirring continuously.
5. Add the pine nuts and crush them as well.
6. Add the nutritional yeast and mix until combined.
7. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container. Refrigerated, it will keep up to one week.

Source: ricette.giallozafferano.it

Chicken Lollipops with Tomato-Chili Sauce

Chicken lollipops are always a great idea, whether you have to prepare a party buffet or a simple lunch. Underneath their crispy crust lays a tender, juicy and flavorful meat. It is a wonderful dish, yet quite simple and budget-friendly.

I make lollipops very often and every time I use only the drumettes (the thick part of the wing, the part that has only one bone). I generally marinate the drumettes with a lemon, olive oil, garlic and sage mixture and I refrigerate them overnight. Yesterday I did the same thing and this morning I prepared some flavorful, tender and adorable lollipops. They were simply amazing but I decided to serve them with a spicy tomato and chili sauce which made them even better.

Ingredients (for 6 servings):

12 drumettes
¼ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 Tbsp milk
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper

for the marinade:

1 Tbsp olive oil
juice and zest from half a lemon
1 tsp soft brown sugar
3 garlic cloves
7 sage leaves
½ tsp sea salt
¼ tsp pepper

Method:

Prepare the marinade by mixing in a large bowl all the ingredients above.
Prepare the drumettes. Grab the thin part and cut the skin and the ligaments surrounding the bone. Scrape the bone with a knife and pull the meat up, towards the thick end. Carefully pull the meat over the fat to create a sphere (picture).
Place the drumettes in the marinade bowl and toss to cover. Place them in a zip-lock bag and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Remove them from the refrigerator and take 3 bowls; place the flour in the first bowl, the bread crumbs in the second bowl and the egg, milk, salt and pepper in the third.
Roll the drumettes in the flour, dip them in the egg mixture and then in the bread crumbs.
Deep-fry them at 340°F/170°C for 7-8 minutes, until golden brown.
Carefully remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel.

Tomato and chili sauce
Ingredients (for 6 servings):
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- ½ small carrot, grated
- ½ celery stalk chopped
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 chili, chopped
- 30ml dry red wine
- 1 chopped tomato tin (400g)
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tsp fresh thyme, chopped
- ½ tsp sugar
- ¼ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp pepper
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a saucepan and add chopped onion, carrot, celery and chili to the pot. Cook on high heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent (about 5 minutes).
2. Add minced garlic, bay leaf and thyme and cook for 1 minute.
3. Add wine and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.
4. Add tomatoes and cook uncovered, on low heat for 30-40 minutes until all the liquid has evaporated.
5. Discard bay leaf, add sugar, salt and pepper and puree the sauce using a blender. Serve warm with chicken lollipops.

Quail Eggs with Garlic & Greek Yogurt Sauce

Since my adorable pultry farm has seen the light of he day Ițve been testing and developing lots of egg-based recipes. We enjoy chicken eggs as well es quail eggs, goose eggs, duck eggs, guinea fowl eggs and if I forgot to mention any other cute feathered creature that carelessly lounges in backyarg, I ask for forgiveness. The business is quite simple we give them love (and corn) and they give us eggs. I’ve noticed that I tend to cook quail eggs more often than any other variety of eggs and I base my decision not as much on the nutrition aspect, but on the fact that it takes no time for them to cook. An whenever I eat a whole quail egg I like to pretend that I’m having a regular-sized egg and I’m just a giant but that’s a whole other level of childness.

My favorite quail egg recipe is also the simplest recipe I know, not to mention it hardly takes more than 15 minutes. For this recipe I like to boil the egg for about 3 minutes. I remove their shell and I serve them with a velvety garlic and Greek yogurt sauce. I don’t know exactly what makes them perfect. Maybe the fact that the simplicity of the sauce make the eggs shine. Maybe the fact that making the aioli sauce reminds me of graceful my grandmother used to make the mayonnaise. Or maybe hypnotic traces the torn bread leave in the yellow sauce. I simply don’t know. Continue reading Quail Eggs with Garlic & Greek Yogurt Sauce

Homemade Tahini

Tahini is a delicious Middle Eastern sesame spread. It has a velvety smooth texture and a lovely nutty flavor. Tahini can be found in the ethnic department of almost every large grocery store but it can also be made at home, from scratch. It’s so easy to make and it’s significantly less expensive than the store-bought version. Tahini is made from only 3 ingredients: sesame seeds, vegetable oil and salt. The process is very simple: the sesame seeds are lightly toasted just until they turn golden and fragrant, and after that they are ground using a food processor (or you can use a mortar, if you’re into extreme sports). The addition of the oil turns the fragrant sesame crumbs into a golden silky spread.

I must confess that I enjoy tahini almost daily. I use it to prepare hummus and baba ganoush, I use it to make salad dressings, I pour it over steamed veggies, rice or pasta or I simply enjoy it with homemade bread, with lime, chili flakes and chives sprinkled on top. Tahini brings flavor to many dishes but it also brings a high amount of nutrients – tahini is high in protein, unsaturated fats, calcium and vit B complex). Tahini is simply divine, and if you haven’t had the opportunity to discover it yet, I strongly advise you to whip up a batch! Continue reading Homemade Tahini

Sweet Chili Jam

Sweet and sour chili jam is an amazing thing! It’s a vegan sauce, made from only four budget-friendly ingredients (chili, apple cider vinegar, brown sugar and garlic). This sauce has the capacity to elevate each and every single dish you can think of, it goes divine with veggies, dairy and meat products, pasta, rice, omelets, burgers or sandwiches. I love chili sauce so much that I’d be even tempted to pair it with tarts and cakes, the only thing that discourages me a tiny bit is the garlic in its composition.

Chili sauce has such a lovely vibrant color. It’s so creamy and dense. It is hot and spicy, fragrant and so flavorful. It is also extremely easy to make at it lasts in the refrigerator up to 2 months. Theoretically. Practically, the jar will be empty in 2 or 3 weeks. I really hope you’ll give it a try! Continue reading Sweet Chili Jam

Pork Tagliata with Chimichurri Sauce and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Tagliata is a grilled or pan-fried sliced stake, generally made from pork or veal. I usually make my tagliata from pork shoulder because I find this cut easy to work with, unpretentious, yet absolutely stunning when prepared well. In this case, I brined the meat for 1 hour (I used this recipe) just to keep it moist long after slicing. I seasoned my steaks with demerara sugar and I fried it in olive oil. It may sound weird using sugar in this equation, but while cooking, the sugar caramelizes into a crispy and delicious crust. I served my steaks with a tangy parsley and basil chimichurri and some flavorful oven roasted cherry tomatoes. Continue reading Pork Tagliata with Chimichurri Sauce and Roasted Cherry Tomatoes