Tag Archive for: vegan recipes

Oat pasta with cannellini beans

Can you think of those simple flavours that spark memories?  Oat pasta with cannellini beans is the perfect combination of traditional flavours and a touch of novelty.

One of the most typical dishes of Italian cuisine is in fact Pasta e fagioli (pasta and beans), a recipe often prepared with Borlotti beans and the addition of lard or bacon, which in the past were useful to give the necessary energy to face the hard work in the fields.

Instead, this version of Pasta e fagioli uses cannellini beans combined with oat pasta, where the wheat protein, gluten, is replaced by the high protein content in oat. Remember that beans are a valuable source of complex carbohydrates, plant proteins, fibre and are cholesterol-free, so the consumption of legumes is always a valuable ally in a balanced diet.

The flavour variation is the presence of sautéed cherry tomatoes with aromatic herbs that transform a classic taste into a fresher, juicier one.

If you love beans and tradition, try my Pisarei e fasò.

Oat pasta with cannellini beans

carbohydrates 13.63g per 100g

Mezzi-rigatoni-di-avena-ai-cannellini

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 500g boiled cannellini beans (about 180g dry beans)
  • 240g cherry tomatoes
  • 140 g Oat pasta Felicia**
  • 1 shallots
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • dried sweet pepper or Crusco pepper
  • bay leaf
  • oregano
  • thyme
  • rosemary
  • chilli pepper
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Soak the cannellini beans for at least 12 hours, then boil them slowly in plenty of water with the addition of a bay leaf and, if available, a piece of Kombu seaweed to facilitate the beans’ future digestibility. Drain the beans and keep the cooking water.
  2. Cut the cherry tomatoes in half and sautée them for a few minutes on high heat in a non-stick pan with a little extra virgin olive oil, a clove of garlic cut in half, a chilli pepper and chopped herbs.
  3. Put a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil in a pan, brown a finely chopped shallot and a clove of garlic and add the cooked cannellini beans, cover with plenty of cooking water or vegetable stock and leave them to take on flavour for 10 minutes.
  4. Keep a few tablespoons of cannellini beans aside and blend the rest with an immersion blender, then reassemble the bean soup.
  5. Cook the oat pasta in plenty of salted water, drain and pour it into the cannellini soup, then complete the dish: place the pasta and beans on individual plates, complete with the herb flavoured tomatoes, a grinding of pepper, a drizzle of oil and some chopped dried sweet pepper or Crusco pepper.

Version with gluten of Oat pasta with cannellini beans

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients.

/0 Comments/by

August salad: Pinzimonio with pistachio and courgette hummus

,

For the month of August, I thought of a salad ideal for sharing with friends: Pinzimonio with pistachio and courgette hummus.

Once you have prepared this delicious hummus, you can use it not only to accompany many seasonal vegetables, but also to top bruschettas or season a pasta dish: a recipe with a thousand possibilities!

Pinzimonio can be used throughout a meal, i.e. it can be an appetiser, a main course or a side dish, it all depends on your appetite and the other courses you have planned for the meal.

You could serve Pinzimonio with Meat mini-pizzas.

pinzimonio-hummus-di-ceci-e-zucchine

Pinzimonio with pistachio and courgette hummus

 5.7g carbohydrates per 100g hummus

Ingredients for 6-8 servings

  • vegetables to taste (courgettes, carrots, celery, cherry tomatoes, etc.)
  • 200g courgettes
  • 150g cooked chickpeas
  • 40g pistachio nuts
  • lemon juice
  • extra virgin olive oil
  • water
  • salt and pepper

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Place courgettes, chickpeas, pistachios and lemon juice in a blender and start blending. While continuing to blend, gradually add water and oil to obtain a creamy texture, then season with salt and pepper.
  2. Cut the vegetables into sticks, while leaving the cherry tomatoes whole and arrange everything in a serving dish with the hummus in a bowl in the centre or put the hummus in small single-serving bowls for each of the diners.

pinzimonio-hummus-di-ceci-e-zucchine

Version with gluten of Pinzimonio with pistachio and courgette hummus

The recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients.

/0 Comments/by

Dessert for all: Chocolate and cherry ganache with no added sugar

What could be more satisfying than a dessert prepared without the addition of sugar and with two of the most delicious ingredients par excellence, chocolate and cherries? The answer is: this Chocolate and cherry ganache, the pleasure of a dessert without the (or perhaps it is better to say ‘with very little’) guilt!!!

Yes, because while this fantastic recipe does not include added sugar and cream, it does not mean that it is calorie-free because it is made with avocado and chocolate, but at the same time, it is calories from nutritionally valuable foods.

Avocado is in fact rich in mono-unsaturated fatty acids (therefore good for our organism), antioxidants (it is no coincidence that it is used in many cosmetic products), vitamins, fibres and mineral salts, so much so that it has an anti-inflammatory function on our body: a true natural supplement. Moreover, for some years now, its cultivation has been spreading to Sicily and Sardinia, making its consumption much more environmentally sustainable for us Italians.

As far as chocolate is concerned, the choice you have at your disposal is very wide, so buy your favourite chocolate considering a cocoa percentage of no more than 55-60% (otherwise you will feel the need to add some sugar to the preparation) and perhaps lactose-free for those who are lactose intolerant: in short, Chocolate and Cherry Ganache is really the dessert for everyone, considering that with the right chocolate it is also suitable for vegans.

Also, since the cherry season is, alas, always too short for such a delicious fruit, indulge yourself with any other fruit to make the accompanying sauce, perhaps following the recipe for Panna cotta with berries.

Chocolate and cherry ganache with no added sugar

 18.83g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for chocolate ganache for 4 servings

  • 200g avocado pulp (approx. 1 avocado)
  • 120g chocolate with no added sugar*
  • 25g bitter cocoa*
  • water, if needed
  • edible flowers for decoration (optional)

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Ingredients for the cherry sauce

  • 400g cherries
  • the juice of 1/ 2 lemon
  • water

Preparation 

  1. Melt the chocolate in a bain-marie or microwave, then let it cool down.
  2. Put the avocado pulp in the blender with the cocoa powder and melted chocolate: blend to obtain a smooth and fluffy cream adding a few tablespoons of cold water if it is too hard.
  3. Stone the cherries and place them in a non-stick pan with the lemon juice and 3 tablespoons of water over high heat so that the cherries release some of their juice: this will take about 5 minutes.
  4. Assemble the cups by placing a portion of chocolate ganache and the cherries with their cooking liquid as a complement: you can serve them cold or warm as you like.

ganache di cioccolato e ciliegie

Version with gluten of Chocolate and cherry ganache with no added sugar

This recipe contains only naturally gluten-free ingredients, so no adaptations are necessary.

/0 Comments/by

Vegetarian main courses: No-cook stuffed tomatoes

We could write pages and pages of recipes with tomatoes, so let’s start with this one: my No-cook stuffed tomatoes, a vegetarian, tasty, fibre-rich preparation that does not require the oven.

The main trick to make good stuffed tomatoes is to drain them and let them lose their water by sprinkling them with a pinch of salt and laying them ‘upside down’ on a surface covered with kitchen paper. Furthermore, it is important to choose perfectly ripe and firm tomatoes to get the best out of this preparation.

And if you like fresh fillings for summer, try my Travel Caprese.

No-cook stuffed tomatoes

6.64g carbohydrates per 100g

Ingredients for 4 servings

  • 720g approx. tomatoes (4 ripe, firm salad tomatoes)
  • 170g yellow and red pepper
  • 50g peas
  • 40g onions
  • 30g breadcrumbs**
  • 30g pitted black olives*
  • 8g capers
  • extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper to taste

**Ingredients specific for celiacs

*Ingredients whose labels must read “gluten-free” (or, in Italy, present on  Prontuario AIC)

Preparation

  1. Cut the tops off the tomatoes, empty them, add a pinch of salt, then place them on a tray covered with kitchen paper to drain the water they produce. Use the inside of tomatoes to add to a soup or sauce.
  2. Meanwhile prepare the filling. In a frying pan, sauté the sliced onion, then add the peas and diced pepper, and cook. Remove from the heat and add the breadcrumbs, capers, chopped olives and season with salt and pepper.
  3. Stuff the tomatoes with the vegetable mixture and serve.

Pomodori ripieni senza cottura

Version with gluten of No-cook stuffed tomatoes

Replace gluten free breadcrumbs with standard breadcrumbs; no other adaptation is needed.

/0 Comments/by