Recipe: Quick and Easy Tomato & Bean Soup

After a night of drinking and a morning of having a migraine aura, I felt like something filling, hearty, warm and comforting for dinner tonight. It also had to be easy and quick because I didn't want to be in the kitchen so much so I quickly threw together this soup which was surprisingly delicious. The two kind of beans and pasta make is substantial and adding some fresh veggies makes it even more nutritious.

 Ingredients

Onion
Bell pepper
Olive oil
Vegetable stock
Pasta (preferable something smaller that works well in a soup, I used thin gobetti)
Mushrooms (I used canned but fresh would be better)
Can of diced tomatoes
Passata
Can of kidney beans (drained and rinsed)
Can of butter beans (or another white bean) (drained and rinsed)
Salt, pepper and paprika to taste

Start by sauteing the chopped onion and bell pepper in some olive oil. Add the vegetable stock (the amount depends on how much pasta you're using) and add the pasta. Continue by adding the mushrooms, tomatoes and purée, let it all simmer for a while until the pasta gets softer and then add the beans. Let everything simmer for a while until the vegetables and pasta are completely done and add the salt, pepper and paprika to taste. Serve and enjoy!

I added some sriracha for an extra kick and you can also add some garlic with the onion and bell pepper if you like. It's a really simple but tasty soup which can be whipped up in the blink of an eye basically. I improvised with what I had and wanted to keep it light on the spices but you can add more vegetables if you like or some more spices like oregano or basil.

Read More

Recipe: Pizza with Brussels Sprouts, Red Onion and Chickpeas

Since I went vegan, one of me weaknesses was pizza, and cheese, and obviously those two things were related. I've had some cheese relapses but I got over that now after finding awesome vegan cheese for my sandwiches and the last time I had a slice of pizza with cheese, it felt so fatty that melted cheese (something I used to love) is something I don't want to eat anymore, I don't really like the taste anymore. I also realize that dairy always made me feel so full and blah (not saying I'm lactose intolerant but there's definitely a change in how I feel now after ditching dairy). It's funny how your taste buds can change like that. As a kid I hated Brussels sprouts for example, now I love them and I can't get enough of them. Serve me a bowl of them, simply cooked in water, and I'll happily devour it.

Anyway, I'm drifting off! I have been obsessed by making a pizza with Brussels sprouts, tried it once before but I also added cauliflower because I had that and it had to be used but while that pizza was delicious as well (how could it not be with two of my favorite vegetables?) I had put too many of the vegetables on it so the pizza got soggy. I think I even spread pureed cauliflower on it instead of cheese, which made it hard for the dough to cook through. But maybe that was another pizza experiment. Today, I decided to give it another try and be more careful with the toppings and it turned out delicious. Definitely making this again and again and I'm already looking forward to eating what is left tomorrow. Only thing I forgot was to put garlic on it, which would have made it even better because garlic makes everything better. Next time!

It didn't photograph very well and looks crowded but it was just perfect on the plate.

Ingredients

Pizza dough (I used the ready made kind that you just roll out but you can obviously make your own as well but I'm always too lazy to do that)
Tomato sauce (I had sauce that came with the dough but again, you can make your own)
MushroomsRed onion
Brussels sprouts (cut in halves or more slices depending on their size)
Chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
Vegan cream cheese (Optional but I still had some left of this recipe and it worked really well)
Vegan grated pizza cheese (I get mine from Veganic, a German vegan store but I just found out they have a British branch as well)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

Prepare the dough and spread the sauce on it, then spread the cream cheese on top of that and start putting on your toppings. I started with the onion and mushrooms and the proceeded with the Brussels sprouts because I wanted them roast well. Drizzle some olive oil and balsamic vinegar over it and then add the chickpeas and finish with some grated cheese. Bake until it's done and enjoy!

I absolutely loved this because the dough was crispy and the balsamic vinegar adds and red onion a certain sweetness to the Brussels sprouts (awesome combination, I use it often). The olive oil (and the vinegar as well obviously) keeps things just moist enough and adds a bit of fat. I'm not completely sure what the cream cheese did but I'm definitely doing that again, it seemed to give the pizza something extra I really liked.

Read More

Recipe: Pasta with Lentil Ragout

I bought an awesome vegetarian cook book in the beginning stages of my vegetarianism and it really helped me to find some great new recipes and to understand more about what I should eat to have a well-rounded diet. A lot of these recipes in the books are not vegan but are very easily veganized so this recipes, which after the first time I made it became one of my favorites, is still something I regularly eat. The combination of sweet and spicy is really great and the yoghurt on the side rounds the whole dish off well. Also, pasta with a tomato lentil sauce is something even omnivores will like because the lentils give some bite to the dish and because lentils are tiny superstars, nobody has to worry about getting enough protein and iron either.

Besides veganizing the recipe by substituting the honey for agave syrup and the yoghurt by soy yoghurt, I also made some changes to the original recipe to make it easier to prepare in case I don't have all the required ingredients at home.

Ingredients

Lentils (Dried or canned are both fine, when using dried lentils, it will take a bit longer to cook; when using dried lentils, beluga or puy lentils work best)
Spring onion
Onion
Tomatoes (I use canned tomatoes most of the time because I like the little extra juice from them and they're easier and quicker to use)
Harissa paste (2 tsp)
Agave syrup (2 tsp)
Olive oil
Vegetable stock
Garlic
Fresh mint (I'm not a fan of it so I just use some dried chives instead)
Soy yoghurt
Garlic
Pasta (Penne works really well but I basically make this with any kind I have at hand)
Salt


Heat the oil in a skillet and then add the (spring) onion and lentils. Add the stock (when using canned lentils, I only add a little bit for some taste, when using dried lentils make sure to use enough so the lentils can cook properly) and tomatoes. Add the harissa and agave syrup (either go by the recipe or just add as much or less as you want, depending on your spicy and sweet tastes), cover and let it simmer for a while. In the meantime prepare your pasta and yoghurt. For the yoghurt, mash some garlic into it and add the mint (or chives in my case) and the green part of the spring onions. Mix all of that and add some salt to taste. When the lentil ragout is done, add some salt to taste and serve over the pasta with the yoghurt on the side.

Read More