SMOKY TAHINI, HEMP & LIME ZUCCHINI PASTA

Time to get back on track! Since my last post, I have powered through my Master program, completed 6 demanding months of internship/placement, moved back to the other side of the country, gained my accreditation to practice as a Dietitian (yay!), and established my own plant-based Dietetic consulting business (insert exhausted sigh here!). 

Although, as always, I have been busy in the kitchen... the time to post evidence of my efforts and update my blog never seemed to materialise. But today, feeling a little less overwhelmed by daily demands, I've grabbed out my camera and taken a minute to stop and snap a shot of my delish lunch before getting stuck in. 

I was really impressed with how this zucchini pasta worked out! The dash of smoked paprika, generous dollop of creamy tahini, and splash of zesty lime juice really made it shine. 

What you need:

HERBY FIELD MUSHROOM AND WHITE BEAN FILLED RAVIOLI

for the second weekend in a row i have been inspired to smash together a fresh batch of vegan pasta – this time with a flavorful herby field mushroom and white bean filling.

how? 

2 large field mushrooms, thinly sliced 

½ a medium sized brown onion, finely diced 

2 cloves of garlic, minced 

½ teaspoon of dried rosemary 

1 teaspoon of dried parsley 

1 x 400g can of butter beans, rinsed and drained 

1 teaspoon of vegetable oil (i use canola) 

salt and pepper to season 

1 recipe of fresh vegan pasta 

heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. add the onion and sauté for a further 1-2 minutes or until translucent. add the dried herbs and stir to combine. add the mushrooms and sauté until tender (5-6 minutes). season with salt and pepper. add the butter beans to the bowl of a food processor. blitz until the beans are smooth. add half of the mushroom mix and pulse to combine. combine the blitzed mix with the remaining half of the mushroom mix in a mixing bowl and stir to thoroughly combine. adjust the seasoning as desired. 

roll out the fresh vegan pasta to desired thickness (i went as far as setting 5 on a manual pasta machine). spoon out 1-2 teaspoons of mix along the length of your rolled out pasta, leaving sufficient space between mounds to seal your ravioli (2-3 cm between each). cover with a second sheet of your rolled out pasta and press down the pasta around the mushroom mix – allowing any air bubbles to escape as you do. cut into ravioli and set aside ready to cook. 

bring a large pasta pot of salted water to the boil. add the prepared ravioli and cook until al dente (1-2 minutes from when the ravioli float to the top of the pot of boiling water). drain and serve with a drizzle of good quality evoo or, as i have, with a tasty homemade vegan tomato sauce.

serves 4

VEGAN FETTUCINI W/ LEMON CHILLI PARSLEY CRUMBS

whilst scanning through my collection of vegetarian cookbooks, retired from the shelves of my (rather overstocked) bookcase to the shelves of my storage cupboard, i spotted a recipe for spaghetti scattered with golden, crispy, seasoned crumbs. this became my inspiration for the day and the above dish was the result.

FRESH VEGAN FETTUCINI

this was my first attempt at homemade vegan pasta - requiring a good dusting off of the ol' pasta machine, which had been tucked away since the days of having chooks roaming around our backyard (it has been a while!!). i really love the process of pasta making - it amazes me how you can create something so fancy from something so basic!

VEGAN MUSHROOM STROGANOFF

ok, so you don't want to go to crazy on this one, but all good things in moderation - right?! although this creamy, hearty mushroom dish is a little more calorific than a salad... it still packs a healthy punch with a hefty serving of mushrooms for protein, and a whack of parsley for iron! keep your serving size modest and enjoy

how? 

3-4 cups of sliced field mushrooms (or your mushroom variety of choice)

1/4 packet of linguine 

2 teaspoons of vegetable oil

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 medium brown onion, diced

1 tablespoon of vegan worcestershire sauce

1/2 cup of vegan sour cream (i used tofutti) 

2 tablespoons of silken tofu

1/4 cup of hot water

2 tablespoons of parsely

salt + pepper to taste

cook the linguine until tender. whilst the linguine is cooking heat the oil in a large saute pan. once hot, add the onion and garlic and saute until translucent and golden brown. add the mushrooms and cook until tender. add the worcestershire sauce. combine the tofu and vegan sour cream in a small bowl and loosen with the hot water (this can be taken from the cooking pasta). add the cream mixture to the mushroom mix. add the cooked pasta and most of the parsely (reserving some for garnish) and stir to combine. serve topped with the remaining parsley... so good!

serves 4

NO [ADDED] FAT ‘CREAMY’ CHICKPEA MUSHROOM PASTA

tomato based sauces are fresh, tasty and delish… but sometimes i cant fight the craving for a creamy vegan pasta dish. unfortunately ‘creamy’ generally = fattening – with added oils, vegan creams or marg – and since i am still going strong with my plan to drop the kilos… i needed to draw on a little imagination and improvisation. the result – a creamy vegan chickpea and mushroom sauce - yum!

how?

400g tin of chickpeas, drained

2 cloves of garlic, finely diced

¼ cup of low-fat soy milk (or other non-dairy milk of choice)

1-2 stems of fresh parsley, finely chopped

8-10 button or swiss brown mushrooms, sliced

½ packet of linguine or spaghetti

salt and pepper to season

bring a pot of salted water to the boil and cook your pasta. using a blender, food processor of hand mixer, blitz the chickpeas, garlic cloves and soy milk. add salt and pepper to taste. add the mushrooms to a hot frying pan and cook until tender. add the creamy chickpea mixture and cook for a further 3-5 minutes. add a little hot water (from the cooking pasta) if the mixture is looking a little thick/dry. add your cooked (drained) pasta and stir to combine, add the fresh parsley and seasoning to taste. serve and enjoy this vegan deliciousness!

serves 4-6

EASY 'CHEESY' SPINACH SPAGHETTI

one for the popeye fans! an easy, 'cheesy', wednesday night pasta dish - delish!

1/2 packet of wholewheat spaghetti

1 cup of frozen spinach, thawed

1/2 cup of non-dairy milk (i used light soy)
2 tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

1/4 of a large brown onion, diced

evoo for garnishing

salt and pepper to season

boil a pot of water, add the spaghetti. cook until al dente. whilst the spaghetti is cooking saute the onion in a small frying pan until softened and translucent. add the spinach and cook for 3 minutes. add the nutritional yeast, garlic powder, salt and pepper and cook for a further 3 minutes. transfer the mix to a jug and, using a bamix (or other hand blender), blitz the mix until relatively smooth, adding the non-dairy milk as you blend. return the spinach mix to the frying pan and heat through. drain the spaghetti, once cooked, and add it to the spinach sauce mix. toss the spaghetti through the spinach sauce. serve with a drizzle of good quality evoo and sprinkle of extra nutritional yeast flakes.

serves 4

SPAGHETTI + VEGAN 'MEAT' BALLS

wow! delicious... and, apart from the burn i sustained during the frying stage of this recipe, easy to throw together for sunday night dinner! this vegan meatball dish will open the eyes of any carnivore to the satisfying, healthy and hearty possibilities of a vegan diet

how? 

meatballs:

1/4 cup of tvp (textured vegetable protein)

1/4 cup of hot water

1 tablespoon of nutritional yeast flakes

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

1 teaspoon of soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 teaspoons of treacle

salt and pepper to season

2 tablespoons of plain flour 

combine the tvp with the hot water and sit for 2-3 minutes to absorb the water. add the other ingredients except the flour. cover and place into the fridge for 1-2 hours. remove from the fridge and add the flour to thicken and coagulate. roll the mixture into balls roughly 2 cm in diameter. 

makes 8 meatballs 

1/2 cup of vegetable oil (i used sunflower) for frying

heat the oil in a small frying pan and fry the balls until crisp and browned. remove from the oil and drain on paper towel. set aside. 

sauce:

3/4 cup of tomato puree

8 kalamata olives, pitted and roughly chopped

1/2 teaspoon of dried oregano

3 tablespoons of green pepper + garlic topper

combine all ingredients in a small saucepan and heat through, reduce slightly to thicken sauce. 

pasta:

1/5 packet of wholemeal spaghetti 

boil water in a pasta pot, add spaghetti and cook until al dente. drain and combine with the sauce. add the 'meat' balls and gently toss through spaghetti and sauce to coat and heat through.

amaze! 

VEGAN MAC + 'CHEESE'

craving some comfort food on a quite saturday night in?! how bout a warm and gooey bowl of vegan mac 'n' cheese! thanks to chef chloe and her ingenious 'cheese' sauce you will soon me chowing down on some awesome vegan mac 'n' cheese before you know it! 

how? 

1 cup of pasta of choice (i used cappelletti just to be a bit more fancy) 

1 cup of broccoli florets

2 tablespoons of vegan margarine

2 tablespoons of plain flour

1 cup of soy milk

1/4 cup of nutritional yeast flakes

1 tablespoon of tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon of salt

1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder

2 teaspoons of lemon juice

3 teaspoons of agave syrup

cook your chosen pasta in boiling water for duration as listed on packet, adding your broccoli florets 5 mins before the end of the cooking time. drain the pasta and set aside. 

make a roux in a small saucepan by adding the margarine (melt this) and then the flour. cook over a medium heat for 3-5 minutes. add the soy milk slowly to avoid lumps, then add the nutritional yeast flakes, tomato paste, salt and garlic powder and stir to combine. bring the sauce to the boil then reduce the heat and simmer until it thickens. stir in the lemon juice and agave syrup, then add the cooked pasta and broccoli. heat through and serve! so good!!

serves 2

SMASHED CHICKPEA FLATBREAD

these smashed chickpea flat-breads (from jamie oliver's jamie's kitchen cookbook) are one of the best ways to make your own bread at home - they are super easy and go great with salads, pasta dishes (rubbed with a bit of oil and finely chopped garlic), as a pita-pocket, or just on their own as a snack

alas, i am in madrid and don't have the jamie book handy - but if you do these are a definte must!!

they demand you usual bread-making ingredients... so flour, yeast, water, some oil. then to make them special you throw in a can (400g) of chickpeas that you have rinsed and roughly smooshed with a fork along with a couple of teaspoons of roughly ground cumin seeds

i make the dough in the kitchenaid with the dough hook and then leave the mixer bowl covered with some cling film and a tea towel over the top near the window in our lounge room (which is super sunny) until it doubles in size... knock it back and then divide, shape and throw them in the oven in batches straight on the rungs - they puff up and bake in around 8 mins (if i recall correctly) and then can be put on a cake rack until they are cool enough to pack away

serving suggestion

PASTA MONDAYS

wholewheat pasta, tomato, roasted capsicum + mushroom

how?

• 1/2 packet of wholewheat pasta 
• 1 tin of diced tomato
• 3 pieces of pre-roasted red capsicu, sliced
• 4 button mushrooms, sliced
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 teaspoon of EVOO
• watercress to garnish

add wholewheat pasta to pot of boiling water, cook until al dente, drain

saute onion in EVOO, add mushroom, capsicum and tomato

combine and garnish with watercress

serves 4