Stuffed white cabbage leaves with lentils

This is a first. I like stuffed cabbage leaves but I always use this dark green curly cabbages (like Savoy) to make them, and I never used the round and firm white cabbages that are used to make coleslaw. But I happened to have a big white cabbage and the outer leaves were sort of green... I managed to remove 7 leaves before the cabbage become to compact to pull apart. Then I washed them and boiled them in salted water (which I later used to make vegetable broth for an Asian noodle soup - never waste!). I also boiled a few more cabbage leaves that got broken while I was trying to pull them away: they were going to be used in the filling.

For the filling I used some cooked cabbage leaves, a couple of slices of vegetarian bacon, chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, smoked salt, chili flakes, coriander seeds and smoked garlic. I mushed everything with my hands and divided the filling between the 7 leaves, and then I rolled them up.

I prepared a soffritto with a shallot, half a carrot, a celery stick, and some chopped parsley, all sautéed with a little olive oil. 

I added the cabbage leaves and let them sauté on one side only for a few minutes.

Then I added one cup of tomato passata (Italian tomato sauce) and one cup of vegetable broth. I covered the pot with a lid and let the cabbage rolls simmer for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes I added the content of a can of Italian brown lentils (their water included) and simmered everything for another 30 minutes.

Well, I just managed to taste one, the other six were two each for the kids and the babysitter (I was teaching that night), to be eaten with bruschetta (actually, just a baguette cut into slices and the brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with salt and baked until golden and crispy, the kids just love it!!). The result? I was pleasantly surprised: I am not a fan of white cabbage, but in this way it tasted great! Pity that I could not get more leaves out of it, maybe I need to boil the whole cabbage and then try to pull off the leaves... next time I will try. Or maybe I will just go back to use my usual Savoy cabbages! :-)

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Leek and edamame Vegan risotto

Chop one large leek and wash it, then sauté with olive oil until soft. Add one cup of shelled edamame (I used the frozen ones) and sauté until the edamame are starting to cook. Add 400 g arborio rice and stir, when the rice is hot and starting to toast add a glass of white wine at room temperature (not chilled). Stir and after the wine has been absorbed add about 1 l of vegetable stock, one ladle at the time, stirring often until cooked. 

Serves 4

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Pineapple Agar Agar Jellies

We all know of the enzymes of certain raw fruit (pineapple, papaya, kiwi etc) that won't make jelly, or agar agar, set. And also that cooking the fruit first will stop the problem. Or using canned fruit! 

But the only canned fruit I use is mango pulp (to make mango agar agar pudding, in fact) and I was just wondering... wondering... if the Fresh As pineapple powder, having been freeze dried, would still have those enzymes... so I tried. 

I used 500ml of water, boiled it and added 1 tsp of sugar, 1 tbsp of Fresh As pineapple powder and 1 level tsp of agar agar. I simmered everything for one minute and then poured it into 4 individual jelly moulds. I used these colorful ones, when the agar is set just remove the lid at the bottom and the jellies should pop down. Should. We actually shook them a bit! The pineapple puddings were fresh and fragrant, not too sweet (the sugar ratio was perfect) and I liked the flavor, although my husband and the kids told me that I could have put in a bit more pineapple powder for more zing! I will try a different Fresh As powder soon for more puddings!!

This is my Vegan entry for this month's Sweet New Zealand, hosted by The Kitchen Maid. 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

eggplant and chickpea tajine with cous cous

No fuss eggplant and chickpea tajine

Slice 2 eggplants and sweat them with salt for 1 hour. Heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive in the tajine pan, and sizzle 2 cloves of garlic (cut into two lengthwise), a few coriander seeds, a few cumin seeds, chili flakes and rock salt. When the spices start to jump around the pan add a roughly chopped onion and when the onion is translucent (not brown) add the eggplant sliced (rinsed). Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring, and then add the content of a can of chickpeas (with their liquid) and a handful of coriander leaves (or parsley, if you don't have/like coriander). 

Now cover with the Tajine top and simmer on the lowest setting for a hour or so. At the end the eggplant will be a mush, and the chickpeas incredibly tasty. Add some smoked paprika if you like it hotter. Serve on couscous dressed with extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice. 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Asparagus, mange tout and peas with champagne

Sauté one finely chopped shallot with a tbsp of extra virgin olive oil. Add the stalks, chopped, of a dozen asparagus, stir for a couple of minutes and then add a glass of leftover bubbly and an organic veggie cube (I only use Rapunzel). Let the wine evaporate then add two cups of frozen peas. Add more bubbly if liquid is needed. When the peas are cooked add the asparagus tips and some mange tout or sugar snap peas. Stir quickly to lightly blanch the asparagus tip and sugar snap peas (you still want them very green and crispy). A feast of different textures and greens, and a perfect side veg.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Nigella Potatoes, slow cooked in a tajine

The original recipe is here, and I have to say that I make it often because it is one of my favourite potato creations. A curious fact: when I published this recipe the first time I pointed out that it didn't have anything to do with Nigella Lawson, I that I called it nigella potatoes because of the nigella seeds. But funny enough after a few days I started receiving the Nigella Lawson newsletter in my inbox. I never signed up for it, so some web robot must have picked up my blog reference and details, and signed me in! Nigella must have a great PR team!

Anyway, back to the potatoes: the recipe is the same but I cooked the potatoes differently because my husband presented me with a big tajine :-).

Nigella Potatoes slow cooked in a tajine

Ingredients:

500 g potatoes (Agria or similar ‘floury’ potatoes)

2 tbsp vegetable oil

2 garlic cloves, peeled

1 tsp nigella seeds

Half tsp ground coriander

Half tsp cumin powder

1 tsp turmeric

Salt to taste

Water

 fresh coriander (or parsley) leaves

Peel the potatoes and cut into 4-5 cm cubes. Heat the oil in the tajine, then and add the garlic cloves and nigella seeds. 

When the seeds start to crackle add the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, and a little salt. 

Add the cubed potatoes and coat well with the spices. Stir constantly, and when the potatoes start to become too dry add a cup of water.

Cover and simmer on lowest setting, stirring from time to time and adding water every time the mixture gets too dry. When all the potatoes are cooked, remove from the heat. It took me about one hour to cook the potatoes this way, in a normal saucepan they usually get quite mushy, but in the tajine they kept their shape beautifully!

Finely chop some washed fresh coriander or parsley (or a mixture of both) leaves, and add to the potatoes. Stir and serve. It was dark when I took the last photo, so the light wasn't good, but the potatoes were delicious!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Pumpkin and coconut soup with coriander and Vietnamese mint

The original recipe is here, but this time I didn't roast the pumpkin because... I had time to cut it! (I don't like cutting pumpkin...). Also I had some celery so I put that in too, plus one carrot and one onion.

I added water and organic veggie stock (Rapunzel), and when the veggies were soft I blended them with an immersion blender. 

 At this point I usually add the coconut milk/cream, but I didn't have any, so I used this coconut powder my husband brought me from a trip to Hainan in China (the place is famous for coconut!). he was told to place the content of a sachet in a cup and add hot water to make a hot coconut drink. We did, and it is ok, basically it is just coconut... but I am not really used to drink hot coconut milk, so I added 4 sachets to the soup instead (we still have plenty more). I simmer everything for a bit longer and then added coriander and Vietnamese mint to flavour.

I love this soup!!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Vegan Nashi Tart

I love nashi pears, pity that the season is short... mostly I eat them raw, cut into thin slices, but since I had quite a few I wanted to make a quick tart. This is too easy! I just used one sheet of ready rolled vegan puff pastry, then I peeled and cut 2 big nashi pears and placed the slices on top. I finished everything with a dusting of icing sugar and placed the tart in the oven until the edges of the tart were puffy and golden. As a final touch I sprayed the tart with some grappa spray. Nashi are good for cooking and baking because they keep their shape and don't become brown! This I will make again, it was even better than an apple tart, which is saying a lot (for me!).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Mandarin Chocolates

This is too easy! I just used some Fresh As  mandarin segments (they are freeze dried) and dipped them in melted dark chocolate (I used Whittaker's 72% Dark Ghana). That's all.

I am entering this super easy and almost "not even a recipe" in Sweet New Zealand, the blogging monthly events for Kiwis. 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Vegan "Cape-pops", and a vegan pear and chocolate pie

Almost cake-pops because they look like cake-pops, but they are not made from cake! In fact these are Cape Gooseberries (therefore I am calling them Cape-pops :-)), dipped in dark chocolate. I left some plain, while I rolled the others in shredded coconut, ground pistachio nuts, and plum powder (my new discovery, I talked about it already in here). I let them set first at room temperature and then, because it was a warm day, in the fridge. These are gluten free too!

But more to come...

I had melted far too much chocolate for the Cape gooseberries, so I made a pie which, I must say, came out better than I had anticipated. But sometimes new discoveries are born out of chance, or leftovers!

I had a few sheets of filo pastry left, I placed them into a 23 cm pie dish lined with baking paper, leaving the corners to spill out. I peeled and cut four pears and placed the slices over the pastry, then drizzled the lot with Frangelico liqueur. I added the melted dark chocolate and closed the four corners of pastry over the filling. I wetted the top pastry with water and I added the rest of the coconut/pistachio stuff on top too (why waste it!). I baked the pie until the pastry was golden, and then I sprinkled a little icing sugar on top (this was the only sugar needed). I pie was perfect! Bittersweet and with an amazing texture, the chocolate had 'melted' into the pear slices... I will need to work on this and make it again, on purpose, and with more filo pastry, but I wanted to share it with you now because to me this was the perfect Vegan pie!!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Polenta cut with a string, like Grandma used to make

Usually I make soft polenta, I always preferred the soft type that you spoon into a plate and cover with a thick wild mushroom sauce or a stew, but memories are coming back of the type of polenta my Grandmother used to make in the North of Veneto: it was dense and stirred with a thick wooden stick in a gigantic pot over a wood fire, and then she pour the hot golden mass on a big wooden tray where it set hard in no time. She kept the polenta in the drawer of the kitchen table so you could get a slice at any time, and attached to the wooden tray there was a piece of string used to slice the polenta, so you didn't even need a knife.

Cutting polenta with a string

Of course I attached a string to my chopping board: I wanted to do the same as Grandma, and I hope that you will like the idea too. Serve the slices with your favorite casserole, or when the polenta is cold just grill the slices or fry them, or cut them really thin and use them instead of pasta for a gluten free lasagna.

Photos and Recipes  by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Tiny new potatoes, two recipes with herbs and spices (and other veggies too...)

Potatoes and Cape gooseberries

The veggie garden is full of small potatoes, I picked a few, some really tiny, but I didn't want to leave them there, and the kids love them. I washed them and boil them, in three batches, from the largest to the tiniest.

After boiling them, the larger (but still new potato size) were then sautéed together with small steamed carrots and green beans in olive oil, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin seeds, chili flakes, coriander seeds, and salt. A very satisfying combo!

The smaller potatoes were sautéed with garlic, olive oil, rosemary, sage and salt. A real luxury to eat such small potatoes, but I need to make more space in the garden, and there are plenty more to dig up! 

Any suggestions for more tiny potato recipes?

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Sweet potato Vegan and gluten free cakes

 One of my favourite Japanese sweet is the baked sweet potato wagashi. I made something similar to this before, and I thought that the New Zealand kumara looks like a Japanese potato... but then I ended up with something completely different :-).

First of all kumara are much softer that Japanese sweet potatoes, then I only had an orange kumara at home (the red ones are better because they are white inside). I thought of baking my kumara, as steaming it was going to make it even softer and in the meantime I drunk a bit of Umeshu,  (my husband came back from Japan with a bottle of Choya Umeshu, sweet plum sake) and decided to soak a few sultanas in some too to add to my cakes. Once my kumara was done I quickly realized that it was going to be far too soft for molding, so I reverted to plan B, i.e. not shaping the sweets by chakin shibori (with a muslin cloth or handkerchief), but simply dropping them on the baking tray with a spoon! For one mashed kumara I added 2 tsp of brown sugar, and then 'dropped' three tablespoons of the mixture on the baking tray. I did the other three adding the sultana soaked in Umeshu, just to make a variation. 

 I baked everything at 180°C for about 15 minutes. To look at them I think that these are among the ugliest sweets I have ever made, but they tasted incredibly good, especially the ones with the sultana. I will make them again, but I will also look for some more 'floury' sweet potatoes (not kumara) so if you know where I can get some in Auckland please let me know!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Daikon and red beetroot raw "crackers"

I used a Japanese plum flower cutter, and a small heart cutter. The daikon and beetroots can be raw of cooked, it actually works well with raw daikon and cooked beetroot, but if you are on a raw diet keep everything raw. For dressing I just added a drop of olive oil and salt before serving. 

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©