Tag: tomatoes

Tortilla Soup (Vegan)


Hearty and flavorful, this Mexican – inspired soup is the best option whenever you feel like eating something satisfying and flavorful but time isn’t exactly your best friend. The juxtaposition between the hearty and tangy soup and the crunchy tortilla croutons is simply wonderful. This dish is ready in practically no time and it requires only budget-friendly ingredients. It’s so tasty that I find it simply impossible to limit myself at just one bowl. It’s packed with veggies, each and every one of them doing its own thing, transforming this dish into a color and flavor symphony. Simply amazing…

    Ingredients (for 6 servings):

    • 1 can of corn
    • 1 can of red kidney beans
    • 1 can of chopped tomatoes
    • ½ red bell pepper
    • 1 medium onion
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 3 Tbsp olive oil
    • 800ml vegetable soup
    • juice of 1 lime
    • 1 tsp oregano
    • 1 tsp cumin
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • ¼ tsp chili

    for the tortilla croutons:

    • 2 large tortillas
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • 1 tsp brown sugar
    • ¼ tsp cumin
    • ¼ tsp paprika
    • ¼ tsp garlic powder
    • ¼ tsp salt


    Method:

    Preheat de oven at 400°F/204°C (treapta 6). 

    Peel the onion and give it a chop. Remove the seeds from the red bell pepper and cut it into small cubes. Peel the garlic and mince it.

    Preheat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat and sautee it until translucent. Add the minced garlic and sautee it as well until fragrant. Add the spices and give the ingredients a stir.

    Add the canned tomatoes and the soup and bring the pot to a boil. Simmer the soup for about 5 minutes.

    Add the beans and the corn and boil it for about 15 minutes.

    Meanwhile prepare the tortilla croutons. Slice them into 2 cm thick ribbons, lay them over a parchment paper-lined tray and bake them in the preheated oven until golden.

    Carefully remove them from the oven, drizzle the 2 Tbsp of olive oil over them and sprinkle them with the spice mix.

    Serve the soup in large bowls garnished with the tortilla croutons.


    Pasta e Fagioli (Vegan)



    This Italian-inspired dish is so delicious and extremely easy to make. Basically, we are speaking about some small pasta cooked in a basil-flavored tomato broth, together with buttery cannellini beans, carrots, celery and onion. With some organisatory work done ahead this no fussn dish takes no longer than 30 minutes. Those vegetables I’ve mentioned above combine together in a genuine taste symphony, creating an absolutely delicious dish which is also heart and packed with nutrients. If I’d have to place it in a category I’d say it stays somewhere between a soup and a stew. I love my pasta e fagioli on the thick side but if a soupier dish is your cup of tea, please feel free to add more liquid.

    Ingredients:

    • 2 Tbsp olive oil
    • 2 medium onions (200g, chopped)
    • 2 large carrots (200g, chopped)
    • 3 celery stalks (150g, chopped)
    • 4 garlic cloves
    • 10 basil leaves
    • 2 bay leaves
    • 1 can of crushed tomatoes
    • 4 – 5 cups of vegetable broth
    • 2 cans cooked cannellini beans (500g)
    • 1 cup dried small pasta (120g)
    • salt and pepper to taste

    Method:

    1. Broth. I heated the vegetable broth over high heat. If you use room temperature broth, it would take longer for the soup to reach boiling point.
    2. Vegetables. Peel the onions, carrots and garlic cloves. Chop the onions, celery and carrot. Finely chop the garlic and basil.
    3. Sautee the vegetables. In a large saucepan heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and sautee them until translucent. Add the garlic and continue cooking until fragrant (about 1 minute). Add the carrot and the celery and sautee for further 3 minutes.
    4. The liquid. Add the chopped basil and bay leaves. Add the crushed tomatoes and about 4 cups of hot soup. Cover the saucepan and bring it to a simmer. Lower the heat to medium and cook the soup for 15 minutes. Add the cannellini beans and cook for further 10 minutes.
    5. Pasta. Finally add dry pasta and cook it until tender (about 10 minutes). Season with salt and pepper and serve in large bowl with olive oil drizzled on top.

    Source: www.themostlyvegan.com

    Zucchini Pasta alla Marinara (Raw Vegan)



     

    I’ll give you four reasons why these marinara zoodles are amazing:

    1. since they aren’t cooked using heat, these noodles are an excellent method to include more raw nutrient-packed fruit and vegetables in your diet
    2. since it’s a raw dish, you don’t need a heat source, a detail which is most welcomed on these hot summer days
    3. this dish doesn’t take more than 15 minutes, form picking the tomatoes to garnishing the dish with the irreplaceable basil leaf
    4. since it’s august, the organic garden tomatoes are ripe and juicy, which brings a delicious flavor to the dish

    The veggie spiralizer does an amazing job, but if have some spare time, it can be replaced with just a cutting board and a sharp chef’s knife. You just have to cut the zucchini in parallel ½ a centimeter – thick slices. Then you have to cut each slice into thin noodles. Obviously, it tends to be a rather laborious job, but it surely does the trick. Continue reading Zucchini Pasta alla Marinara (Raw Vegan)

    Melanzane alla Parmigiana – Parmesan Eggplants

    plating

    my-garden

    before-baking

    baked-dish

    I’ve always had mixed feelings about eggplants, I haven’t been able to figure out whether I like them or not. They are so big, and shiny and… weird. I try almost daily to find a way to include them in my diet, especially because I personally grew them in my own veggie garden. I find their taste at least interesting but I cannot stand their spongy texture. Yet, there is a delicious Italian dish, melanzane alla parmigiana or parmezan eggplants which is a cross between a lasangna and a moussaka. I don’t know what makes this dish exquisite, maybe the way the tomato sauce’s acidity amplifies the taste of the eggplants or the way the parmesan’s taste dances together with the earthiness of the eggplant. Maybe all the reasons combined, but the taste is simply amazing! Continue reading Melanzane alla Parmigiana – Parmesan Eggplants

    Tuscan Bean Soup

    tuscan-bean-soup

    chopped-ingredients

    soup

    As soon as the first leaf turns brown, I immediately start preparing soups, creams, stews and other semi-liquid and preferably hot dishes. I simply love the idea of having a melting pot on a stove, a pot that simmers quietly and makes the entire kitchen smell like fall. On this chilly Saturday morning, I decided it’s suitable, if not perfect, to make a delicious Tuscan bean soup, a flavorful Italian cannellini bean and prosciutto soup. It is so easy to make, you just have to saute some prosciutto, onion, carrots and celery, you deglaze the pan with wine, you cover the ingredients with cubed tomatoes and broth and you let the soup simmer. Before serving you add the beans and some baby spinach and the soup is ready. Simple as one, two, thee! The most intriguing part of this dish, and the source of its complex flavor profile, if I may, it’s the addition of a parmesan rind. This element gives the soup an unbelievable flavor! Next time you’ll be tempted to throw away a parmesan rind, think again and let the rind elevate a Tuscan bean soup. You won’t regret it! Continue reading Tuscan Bean Soup

    Ratatouille

    plating

    vegan-ratatouille

    ratatouille-french-baguette

    I remember watching Ratatouille (the movie, not the dish) when I was a senior in high school and I instantly knew that this veggie stew would become my favorite dish. I was wrong, but only by a few years. The very next day I did the groceries and I made my first Ratatouille, a blend, boring, half-decent stew. So I forgot about Ratatouille and its humble existence. But last year I decided it was about time to rewatch that delightful movie and the dish simply enchanted me. Again. So I did some research, I made the dish and I simply felt in love. Ratatouille is a rustic, almost an austere dish, that kind of dish that makes you fall in love with it over and over again.

    There are so many recipes for Ratatouille, you can saute it, you can bake it, you can serve the veggies firm, almost raw or you can simmer them slowly, until tender and incredibly flavorful. My favorite version is so simple but it’s quite time-consuming. After you chop the veggies, you saute them in olive oil, one veggie at a time, until you caramelize them nicely and this creates an amazing depth of flavor. Of course you can saute them all together in a large pot, but the result would be a nice stew, and not a decadent Ratatouille! Continue reading Ratatouille

    Dinner Rolls Served with Guacamole and Quail Eggs

    Dinner roll, guacamole & quail egg
    Dinner roll

    Lately I’ve been making guacamole every other night. It’s delicious, healthy and so easy to make. And when I spread it on a fluffy homemade dinner roll, I’m in heaven.
    Continue reading Dinner Rolls Served with Guacamole and Quail Eggs

    Tagliatelle Made from Scratch Served with Beef Ragù / Lentil Ragù

    Tagliatelle & Ragu

    Beef and lentils ragu

    I might have mentioned my eternal love for pasta. Here’s the thing: if I’d have to choose between chocolate and pasta, I’d choose the latter. Oh, and I love chocolate, I just love pasta even more. My obsession for pasta began during early childhood. I remember that my grandmother used to make huge sheets of dough, which were later cut into delicate ribbons and served with poppy seeds or walnuts. Later I learnt that those exquisite ribbons were in fact tagliatelle.

    Today I have a propose for you: tagliatelle made from scratch, served with two types of ragù. The first one is a classic beef ragù, decadent and flavorful and the second one is a vegan lentil ragù, nutritious yet incredibly tasty. Why should we include lentils in our diet?

    Continue reading Tagliatelle Made from Scratch Served with Beef Ragù / Lentil Ragù