Sun Dried Tomato Basil Pesto

My favorite pasta sauce!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup walnuts
2 garlic cloves
2 cups fresh basil leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes in oil
1 lime juice
1/3 cup olive oil


PREPARATION

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth.
Serve with pasta!
You can keep it in the fridge for 3 days.

Spinacheese Linguine

Quick. Easy. Tasty. Creamy. Nutritious. Yum!

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

300g linguine* 

2 cups spinach leaves

4 garlic cloves

Extra virgin olive oil

Salt

1/2 tsp sage

1/2 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp Aleppo pepper**

"Cheese" sauce:

- 1/2 tofu block (soft)

- 150g Cheddar style vegan cheese***

- 1 garlic clove (small)

- 1/2 cup soy milk

- salt to taste

*I really like "Barilla". Use rice pasta for GLUTEN-FREE.

**If you don't have it, use chili flakes or black pepper (but really, consider getting some Aleppo pepper someday... it's sooo good!)

***I used "Vegan Gourmet" for this recipe.

PREPARATION

  

Cook the linguine (follow package instructions). 

While you cook the pasta, prepare the sauce and the spinach:

Spinach:

Wash the spinach.

Peel and mince garlic cloves.

Place a skillet over medium heat and add 2 tbsp olive oil. 

Add garlic and stir for 1 minute. 

Add spinach and stir for 1 minute. 

Add salt to taste.

Ready! Turn off heat and reserve. 

"Cheese" sauce:

Place all the sauce ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth. 

Place a pot over medium heat and add 1 tbsp olive oil. 

Add sage, thyme and oregano and stir for a few seconds. 

Add "cheese" sauce and stir. 

Cook it for 3-5 minutes, keep stirring. Turn off heat.

Serve the plates and sprinkle Aleppo pepper over the sauce and spinach. I always add a little raw extra virgin olive oil to all pasta dishes... Enjoy!

Non-Meatballs With Squash Sauce (Indian Style)

INGREDIENTS (for 2-4)

4 defrosted veggie burgers (the vegetable kind, not the "mock meat" kind)

3 tbsp unbleached all purpose flour

1 large onion

1 small butternut squash

1/2 cup soy milk

1 green onion or fresh cilantro (for decoration)

1 tbsp shredded fresh ginger

Salt to taste 

Vegetable oil

Spice mix:

- 1 tbsp ground turmeric

- 1 tsp ground cumin

- 1 tsp ground coriander

- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp asafoetida

- 1/2 tsp chili powder

- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

PREPARATION

Place the defrosted veggie burgers in a large bowl and mash them together. You don't need a smooth paste, just destroy them a little!

Then make meat-less meatballs with it. Depending on the size, you could make either 12 or 6 (3 or 2 meat-less meatballs from each burger).

Place the flour in a bowl and batter the non-meatballs with it. Reserve.

Place a skillet with 6 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat. 

Fry the non-meatballs until golden brown, carefully turning them while cooking so they fry evenly.

Then place them in a plate and reserve.

Mix all the spices in a bowl and reserve.

Peel and chop the onion into small pieces.

Peel and cut the butternut squash into small cubes.

Place a skillet with 3 tbsp vegetable oil over medium heat and add spices. Stir for a few seconds and add the onion, squash and ginger. Stir well and fry for about 10 minutes.

Add 1/3 cup water, stir and cook for another 10 minutes or until water is absorbed.

When the onion is golden brown and the squash is soft, turn off heat and pour the cooked vegetables into a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and pour back into the skillet.

Lower heat and add the soy milk slowly while stirring. Cook for a couple of minutes and add the non-meatballs (be gentle, you don't want to destroy them now).

Cook for 5-10 minutes, keeping heat at low. 

Turn off heat. Chop the green onion or cilantro (or both) and sprinkle on top of the non-meat balls.

Serve immediately!

You can serve this plate with basmati rice, any Indian bread you like or green salad. I usually do the "Indian Fest Night" and cook many different dishes to share with friends (Dhal, Cumin Rice, Palak Tofu, Samosas, Cucumber and Lime Salad...), so we can have a lot of flavors in our table as well as a balanced meal. I looooove Indian food.

Salmorejo With Avocado (Andalusian Cold Tomato Soup)

This cold tomato soup is typical from Andalusia, Southern Spain, the land of my ancestors. 

The traditional recipe does not have avocado in it, but I love the creaminess it adds to the already delicious soup.

INGREDIENTS

6 large red tomatoes (sweet, organic, flavorful  -forget about the other ones!)

1 avocado

1 slice fresh bread

1 or 2 garlic cloves (depending on how garlicky you like it...)

4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (if you have Spanish olive oil, this is the moment to use it)

2 tbsp white wine vinegar (or apple cider vinegar, if you don't have the wine kind)

1 tsp sugar

1/2 cup cold bottled water

Salt to taste

PREPARATION

How to peel the tomatoes:

Prepare a big bowl with cold water and reserve.

Place a large pot with water over high heat and bring it to boil. 

Wash the tomatoes and make a small cut on every one (around the stem part) and throw them in the boiling water for a few seconds. Remove them quickly from the boiling water using a strainer and place them in the bowl with cold water (you don't want to cook them).

Now you'll be able to peel the tomatoes very easily!

Cut them in quarters and reserve.

Wash the avocado, cut it in half, remove the pit and peel it. 

Place the avocado and tomatoes in a food processor and blend. 

Add the bread, tearing it into pieces with your hands and blend.

Add the rest of the ingredients and blend until smooth.

Place it in the refrigerator for a couple of hours before serving.

Serve very cold!

You can keep it in the refrigerator in a proper container for two days.

Avocado Grapefruit Salad

5-minute delicious salad!

INGREDIENTS

1 avocado

canned grapefruit slices*

1 green onion

Salad dressing:

2 tbsp olive oil 

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

1tbsp orange juice

1/2 tsp sugar

salt to taste

*You can find them in the refrigerated area of your produce section

PREPARATION

Cut the avocado in slices and place them in a salad plate.

Add the grapefruit slices.

Cut the green onion into very thin slices and sprinkle on top of the avocado and grapefruit.

Whip all the dressing ingredients in a bowl and add to salad.

Corn Soup With Avocado

INGREDIENTS (for 2)

1 onion
2 cups sweet corn (cooked)*
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can coconut milk (14 fl oz)
1 avocado (small)
lemon pepper (or black pepper)
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp shredded fresh ginger
salt
6 tbsp olive oil

*Frozen sweet corn also works for this recipe!


PREPARATION

Cut the onion into fine strips.

Put the olive oil in a big pot over medium heat. Add the onion. 

Fry on medium heat until golden, stirring often. It can take about 10-15 minutes.

Add the sweet corn, stir, cook for 5 minutes.

Add the vegetable broth and cook for 10 minutes.

Place the soup in a different bowl where you can use a hand-blender, or place it in a big food processor or blender. Blend until you have a smooth puree.

Strain the puree mixture to remove corn peels. This is an important step for texture. 

Place the puree back in the cooking pot.

Add the coconut milk slowly while stirring, and cook for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste.

Turn off the heat, add ginger and sesame oil and stir. 

Serve on bowls.

Cut the avocado in strips and place it on the soup. It will remain on the surface.

Add lemon pepper and serve immediately.

Squash Kaffir Lime Cous Cous

INGREDIENTS (for 2-3)

1 cup bulgur*

1 small butternut squash

2 carrots

1 large zucchini (or 2 small)

1 large onion (or 2 small)

3 red tomatoes

1/2 cup prunes (optional)

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp sugar

Salt

Olive oil

Spice mix:
- 1 tbsp turmeric

- 1 tsp ground cumin

- 1 tsp ground coriander

- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper

- 3 bay leaves
- 5 kaffir lime leaves

*Many times you'll see this listed as Cous Cous... but Cous Cous is the entire dish, not just the grain. The grain is called "bulgur".

PREPARATION

Mix all the spices in a bowl. Reserve.
Cut the onion into thin strips.

Pour about 8 tablespoons olive oil in a pot and heat over medium heat.
Fry the onion until it begins to brown.
Add spices to pot and stir well for a few seconds.

Peel the squash and cut into cubes. Add to pot. Add prunes. Stir well.
Peel the carrot. Cut carrots and zucchini into large chunks. Reserve.

Grate tomatoes and add to pot. Stir well.

Add vegetable broth, kaffir lime leaves and bay leaves to pot.
Reduce heat, stir well and cover. Let simmer about 15 minutes.
Add carrots and zucchini and cover. Cook for 10 minutes on low heat.

While cooking, place the bulgur in a large, wide bowl.
Salt to taste and add a dash of olive oil (not much, just a little). Stir with a fork.

Put 1 1/3 cups water in a pot and boil.

Turn off heat and pour gradually over the bulgur. Mix with a fork or your hands, separate balls that form. Continue adding water and mixing until it runs out.

Cover the plate of bulgur and allow the water to absorb, about 10-15 minutes.
Uncover the bulgur and make a mound with it, leaving a hole in the middle (like a flat volcano).

Salt the vegetables to taste, mix well.
Pour the vegetables over the bulgur. You can decorate the "volcano" of bulgur with the pieces of squash, carrots and zucchini. Then pour some of the broth on top.

Serve with the remaining broth in a separate bowl with a spoon so everyone can add more broth to their plates (or not), depending on preference.