Lemony Eggplant w Artichoke & Kale Sauce on Adzuki Bean Spaghetti

Lemony Eggplant w Artichoke & Kale Sauce on Adzuki Bean Spaghetti
I love eggplant, but at times I have a problem with it absorbing oil like crazy; while that tastes really nice, it doesn't make for the healthiest food. So in this recipe I use lemon juice and smoked paprika to flavour the eggplant and the only oil I use is spray oil, to keep the eggplant (with a thin batter) from sticking to the pan. The sauce has a mild tartness due to the artichokes, but blends lovely with the pasta. I used Adzuki bean pasta in this case, which provides us with proteins and carbs nicely, plus is gluten free 🙂
Cuisine: vegan, cooked
Recipe type: Dinner
Serves: 2
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 60gr of Adzuki bean pasta (or more, if this is too modest for you)
  • 2 eggplants of abt 200g (1 per person)
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • ½ cup non dairy milk
  • 4 tbsp (gluten free or spelt) flour
  • 2 tsp smoked paprika powder
  • 2 pinches of salt
  • a generous grind of pepper
  • spray oil
  • fresh coriander
for the sauce:
  • 2 stalks of curly kale (about 60grams without stem)
  • 160gr of marinated artichoke (about 8 pieces, and mine were store bought)
  • ½ avocado (about 50gr)
  • ½ cup of non dairy milk (I used homemade almond & hazelnut milk)
  • ¼ tsp Himalayan rock salt
To do
  1. rip leaves of the kale and mix with the artichoke, salt, avocado and the milk in a blender or with a stick blender. Add more milk if you like. Pour into a small pot and set aside.
  2. mix the lemon juice, non dairy milk, paprika powder, salt and pepper - keep the flour on the side for now
  3. slice the eggplant (slices of about ⅓cm thick), and dip them in the lemon mixture
  4. when done, whisk in the flour in to the lemon juice, bit by bit
  5. heat a skillet (medium to hot), spray with oil
  6. now dip the eggplant slices in the batter, cover both sides, and place in the skillet
  7. bake for a couple of minutes before turning them over (try not to check too early if they are brown, as then the batter may stick to the pan despite the oil. If you do, spray some more oil and place the slice back)
  8. turn over and repeat with all slices (you could use a small skillet to keep the finished eggplant slices warm)
  9. during this process, cook the pasta
  10. when you're almost finished with the eggplant, heat the sauce
  11. serve eggplant with a few coriander sprigs or leaves, spaghetti plus sauce on the side
Notes
2 Skillets will make a nice difference in prep time 🙂
Nutritional Information
Serving size: (with 30gr of pasta) Calories: 415 Fat: 17gr Saturated fat: 2gr Unsaturated fat: 2gr Trans fat: 0 Carbohydrates: 49gr Sugar: 16gr Sodium: 306mg Fiber: 17gr Protein: 20gr Cholesterol: 0mg

 

Stuffed Conchiglioni w Cherry Tomato, Basil Cream & Smoked Paprika

Stuffed Conchiglioni w Cherry Tomato, Basil Cream & Smoked Paprika
These shells make lovely finger food, or you can have it as part of your main, with a salad on the side. They're fun to eat (with your fingers, of course) and easy to make. Spice 'em up with a bit of chilli sauce at the end, or have them nice and creamy as they are.
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: finger food, pasta
Serves: 26
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 26 conchiglioni (about 120gr)
  • 13 cherry tomatoes
  • ½ cup of grated vegan cheese
  • smoked paprika powder, a decent pinch per conchiglione
for the basil cream:
  • ½ cup Cashew Cream
  • 28 leaves of fresh basil, mixed sizes
  • 1 clove of garlic
  • a good grind of pepper
  • salt, to taste
  • a drizzle of olive oil (optional)
To do
  1. cook conchiglioni till al dente (8min)
  2. heat up the grill of your oven (about 180-190C)
  3. in the meantime, slice cherry tomatoes in halves
  4. add ingredients for the basil cream in the container or bowl of your blender and blend till all smooth - if too thick, add a tad of water (careful here, cashew cream thins easily!)
  5. when conchiglioni are done, drain into sieve and rinse under cold water
  6. in each shell, put half a cherry tomato and a small teaspoon of basil cream
  7. place in an silicon oven dish or a dish lined with baking paper
  8. finish all of them, then sprinkle your grated cheese on top, and place in oven
  9. grill or bake till cheese starts to melt or brown, depending on the type of cheese you can find, making sure the pasta shells don't go dry
  10. when done, put a good pinch of smoked paprika powder on each shell, and if you like, drizzle some nice olive oil over the top
Nutritional Information
Serving size: 1 shell Calories: 33 Fat: 0.8gr Trans fat: 0gr Carbohydrates: 6gr Sodium: 1.1gr Fiber: 2gr Protein: 1.2gr Cholesterol: 0mg

 

Orzo w Onion, Mushrooms, Olives & Basil

Orzo w Onion, Mushrooms, Olives & Basil
A super quick dinner (especially if you have some plain left over pasta). Serves 1, so just multiply to make more.
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: main
Serves: 1
Prep time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • 1 cup of cooked Orzo
  • 2 large mushrooms
  • ½ medium onion, chopped or sliced
  • a few olives, sliced
  • fresh basil leaves, torn or roughly chopped
  • a few cloves of garlic
  • salt & pepper
  • olive oil
  • vegan grated Parmesan cheese
  • a dash of water
To do
  1. if you don't have cooked Orzo, cook it now
  2. in the meantime, slice your mushrooms and onion, and grate or press the garlic
  3. heat some olive oil in a pan, add the garlic, stir and add the onion & olive slices
  4. cook for a couple of minutes and add the mushrooms
  5. add in just a dash of water, just to help the mushrooms stay moist
  6. drain your pasta, add to the mushrooms
  7. heat through, then add the basil
  8. scoop in bowls and top with Parmesan cheese.

 

Leftover Veggie Pasta Soup

Leftover Veggie Pasta Soup
Soup can be a piece of art, or it can be a practical way to get rid of left over dishes and veggies that would otherwise give up the ghost soon. I had left over pasta bake and made it into a soup. There was tofu in the pasta bake, but the soup doesn't need it, so it's optional (about half a block, crumbed) 🙂
Prepared by:
Cuisine: vegan
Recipe type: soup
Prep time: 
Cook/wait time: 
Total time: 
You need
  • your left over pasta bake!
  • (This was in mine::
  • a cup of Orzo (or other pasta)
  • 3 leafs of curly kale or a bit more, finely chopped
  • 2 large Shiitaki muhrooms, sliced or chopped
  • ½ capsicum, chopped
  • 2 tsp minced garlic
  • few sprigs of fresh Rosemary or ½ tbsp dried Rosemary)
  • 1 tbsp white Miso
  • 1 tbsp of veggie stock powder
  • salt to taste
  • pepper to taste
  • any veggies you have left over
To do
  1. boil the water with the stock powder and Miso
  2. add your leftover bake, stir and let it simmer for a while.
  3. serve!