Just because you are not vegan, yet, does not mean, that you can’t enjoy some delicious vegan dishes and make them a part of your food plan. There are many reasons to reduce and eliminate animal products from your diet, not just because it’s better for you, but also because it’s better for the animals.
In this post I want to share with you 5 recipes, that will whet your appetite and help you re-think your food choices.
I will start with the ultimate comfort food and that is pizza.
1.Vegan Pizza
The unity of basil, tomato and bread comes with its better version of vegan pizza.
Here is what you need to make it:
This recipe makes 12 pita pizzas:
- 12 pitas (plain or whole-meal)
- 12 mushrooms
- 1 red pepper
- 2 small courgettes (zucchini)
- 3 carrots
- for the tomato topping
- Tomato pasta
- Basil
- Olive oil
- 2 medium onions
- 3 cloves of garlic
- Bay leaves
- Cloves
- Salt and pepper
First, make the tomato topping. Finely chop the onions and crush the garlic and season with salt and pepper . Then heat the oil and saute until the mix has a golden color. 
Add the tomato pasata and all the herbs and spices and let it cook on a low heat for about 10 -15 minutes.
While the sauce is simmering you can prepare the vegetables . I use a brilliant vegetable slicer from the salad master parties , that I held in the house . If you haven’t got any vegetable slicer you can simply grate the carrots and the courgettes( zucchini) . Here is how the courgettes look like.
For a bit of extra richness I cooked the mushrooms as well, but if you want, you can just chop them thinly and put them fresh in the oven. Also chop the pepper in thin sticks and that’s you ready to assemble your vegan pizza .
Then your next step is to put the carrots on top. You don’t need to season them, but do season your courgettes with a bit of salt and pepper .
Then put the courgettes and the mushrooms and the peppers . Sprinkle with basil and put in the oven on a 180 C for about 5-7 minutes .
Once your pizza is ready, sprinkle with some olive oil and serve. Enjoy!
2.Vegan Lasagna
Vegan Lasagna, which the whole family can enjoy regardless if they are vegan or not.
Here is what you need
- Lasagna pasta sheets
- 1 liter of tomato pasata
- 3 onions
- 5 garlic cloves
- 2 sticks of celery
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- ground cloves
- sweet red paprika
- nutmeg
- cinnamon
- basil
- 2 bay leaves
- red wine (optional)
For the topping you need :
- olive oil
- 70 ml oat milk
- black pepper
- 1 onion
- 1/2 cup of flour
The first thing to do to prepare the lasagna is to make the tomato sauce. In a food processor you blend the onions, garlic and the celery . Then you saute them in some oil and add the sweet paprika in the mix. Then all the red wine and possibly a bit of water to make sure the onions are nice and soft before you add the tomato sauce.
Let it simmer for 10-15 minutes on a low heat and once the onions are nearly cooked add the tomatoes and all the spices. Cook it for an additional 10 minutes.
Now you have the sauce ready and you can start laying the lasagna. Just put layers of sauce and pasta sheets while you cover the baking tray. Set the tray on a side and make the topping .
To make the topping put the oat milk to boil with the whole peeled onion to flavour the milk. Let it simmer on a low heat for approx 10 minutes. Then sieve the milk and in another pot heal some oil and then add the flour and some black pepper.Whisk. Then pour the sieved milk and whisk until smooth. Its ready .
Pour the topping on the top of the layered lasagna and put it in the oven for 20-25 minutes on a low heat.
Serve it with a green salad . I made a very simple one this evening with baby salad leaves , celery and black olives .
My boys loved it. The best part is that now this is another vegan dish, that is easy and everybody will enjoy.
Vegan cooking is about Nurturing Nature in many forms .You nurture the food, you nurture the people, that you are feeding and promote peace, love and no body gets hurt in the process.
3.Warm falafel wrap
It’s a warm falafel wrap with tomatoes, tatini and lemon dressing with some cucumber, radishes , celery and onion salad.
You can enjoy this easy vegan recipe simply anytime -lunch, dinner or as a mid day snack depending on what you are up to. I do like to keep things simple and here are the ingredients that you need.
You can cook your falafel from scratch , which I have done in the past, using this recipe.
Ingredients:- 3 cups cooked chickpeas (2 x 14oz / 400g cans)
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- Bunch of parsley
- 8 cloves garlic
- 1 Tbsp cumin
- 3 tsp salt
- 2 tsp paprika
- ½ tsp cayenne
- juice of 1 lemon
- 2 Tbsp flaxmeal + 6 Tbsp hot water
- 3 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup chickpea flour
- Preheat oven to 175°C / 350°F.
- Add chickpeas, onion, parsley, garlic, salt, cumin, paprika, cayenne and lemon juice and process into a chunky paste.
- Move mixture to a bowl and add flax meal, baking powder and chickpea flour.
- Pour some olive oil on the bottom of the baking tray . Spoon mixture onto tray into cookie sized bits.
- Cook for 40 minutes, flipping once halfway through
This time I used ready mix for falafel. I find it really handy when I want a quick lunch or dinner. I use Ai’fez Authentic Falafel Mix (150g) which you can buy in most supermarkets or order online the multi pack of 12 boxes.
The only thing I add to the ready mix apart from water is some cayenne pepper. It gives it a nice kick and a bit of spice is always good for you.
So once you make your falafels , you are ready to make your salad. Here are the ingredients for the salad
10 red radishes (grated )
1/2 cucumber -grated
2 sticks of celery, finely chopped
1 small onion -finely chopped
2 purple cabbage leaves -finely chopped
juice of 1/2 lemon
some basil
salt and pepper
olive oil
Once you’ve grated and chopped the vegetables simply season them with salt and pepper and mix them.Let it sit for 1 minute and then add the lemon juice and the olive oil . Its ready.Next season some tomatoes with some salt, pepper and oregano.If you want, you can sprinkle some olive oil as well.
Next make a nice dressing my mixing tahini and the other half of the lemon. It gives it a nice nutty and a zesty kick for you to enjoy.
So that’s you set to dress your wrap. You can use pita bread, ordinary flat bread or a lettuce leaf. The choice is yours. On a cold winter day I like to warm up my flat bread in the oven with the falafels on the top.
Then I put the salad, the tomatoes and the dressing . Enjoy with some salad on the side. This is a very satisfying dish and if you serve it to your guests they would love it too. I have given this wrap to people who are not vegans and they loved it and complimented me on it.
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Nurture, love, connect and share.
Sending blessing and love,
Ivelina
