Category Archives: Vegan-Vegetarian

Puntarelle, eggs, oranges and avocado salad

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I made this salad for the first time last Easter and is served as an appetizer. It was more successful than I expected. Some of my guests didn’t even know what puntarelle chicory was and they were a little bit intimidated at first. A few years ago I didn’t know much about puntarelle either only that it was a famous vegetable widely used in the Roman cuisine. It was difficult to find it here in the North, but luckily now they are available in our stores starting in December through April.

Puntarelle is a variety of chicory, with serrated leaves, attached to the base of the plant that surrounds the shoots growing inside the plant during the winter. Its flavor is similar to chicory and endive with bitter and peppery-like taste. The shoots are crunchy and can be eaten raw or cooked. When cooked have a mellower flavor and can be used to make wonderful pasta dishes. There are also other ways to eat them cooked, for example, my mom boils them and simply eats them with hard boiled eggs seasoned with olive oil, salt and pepper. When eaten raw they have a stronger and bitter taste and thus they’re often accompanied with anchovies in salads that mitigate the bitterness and compliment the flavor. Continue reading →

Corn and spelt cookies coated with chocolate

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The other day I cleaned and re-organized my pantry and needless to say I found myself with too many open packages of different types of flour. I had better start using them before it gets too warm, so today I chose to use corn and spelt flour and make cookies which I was craving.

I got this recipe from my mom a long time ago. I copied it because I really liked the cookies, and then I let the recipe sit for several years without ever thinking about making it. I do this a lot with some of my recipes. I collect them knowing that some day I’ll try them, but not right away. Then one day out of the blue I know it’s time for one of them. Today when thinking about the corn flour I had to use, this recipe immediately came to mind. Continue reading →

Minestrone: food for the soul

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Minestrone is the Italian word for vegetable soup. Vegetables are cut in small pieces, and to make it tastier a soffritto is added. Soffritto is the base for a lot of Italian dishes. It consists of a small amount of vegetables, thinly chopped and saute in few spoons of olive oil or butter. The vegetables vary from recipe to recipe but the two classics are of onions, carrots and celery for dishes like the ragù alla bolognese, and butter and onions for risotto dishes.

I usually prefer to consume my vegetable soup pureed, and in this case it’s called passato di verdura (pureed vegetable soup). When I saw this recipe on Sale & Pepe Magazine (February 2010), I didn’t think twice and I made it right away. This dish is a complete meal and has all the nutrients you need. The quantity of vegetables and legumes is well balanced and neither of them has an overpowers the complete dish. Continue reading →

Tofu with curry coconut sauce

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This is one of my favorite tofu dishes. Golden tofu in a creamy curry coconut sauce enriched with green bell peppers and roasted peanuts. I never tire of this dish, and whenever I’m craving it, I usually have all the ingredients on hand. There’s always coconut milk in my pantry, and tofu in the refrigerator, the only thing that I might need to get is the bell pepper. I think that even persons not too fond of tofu will find this plate delightful. The recipe is inspired from the Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone cookbook by Deborah Madison a great book, that in my opinion, all vegetarians and non should have. Deborah’s recipes are always so precise that you don’t need to adjust them. My version of this recipe is different from the original one mainly for the lack of certain ingredients but I found a good balance of flavors anyway.

The dish is so easy to prepare that after the first time you won’t need to follow the recipe anymore. It takes about 20 minutes to make. I like to serve it with steamed white parfume Thai or basmati rice but any long grain rice is also fine. Continue reading →

Spezzatino di soia

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Texture vegetable protein (TVP) or, textured soy protein as it’s called in English, sounds like a chemical by-product. In Italian it has a better name, bocconcini di soia , soy chunks. What is TVP exactly? Textured soy protein is a food product made from soybeans. It’s produced from soy flour after the soybean oil has been extracted, then cooked under pressure, extruded, and dried.

It comes in small dry chunks or bits and has to be re-hydrated before you cook it. It’s usually consumed as a meat substitute, and due to its texture it makes good ragù, “meat” stews. It can be also used in many other preparations thanks to its versatility. Its texture resembles meat so not all vegetarians or vegans will appreciate it.

I actually like it but as I discovered you have to find the right quality as not all the brands taste the same. I always buy organic as a start, I don’t want GMO in my food, no coloring and preservatives. I check the shape of the chunks. I find that when they have a regular shape and smooth surface, they are harder and when cooked they don’t blend in well with the other ingredients. On the other hand soy chunks with an irregular shape work much better. Continue reading →

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