Easy Vegan Pasta

A simple vegan pasta dish tonight: asparagus, tenderstem broccoli, avocado and lemon juice with spaghetti.

Asparagus and Lemon Pasta Ingredients (for 2 people)

150 g spaghetti

3 stalks tenderstem broccoli, cut into short pieces

4 stalks asaparagus, cut into short pieces

1 ripe avocado

1 lemon

ground black pepper

Asparagus and Lemon Pasta Recipe (ready in 15 minutes)

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water for 10 minutes.

2. Steam the broccoli and asparagus for 5-10 minutes, or until the stems are tender.

3. Cut the avocado into small pieces and mash some of the pieces with a fork.

4. Drain the pasta, mix in the mashed avocado, chunks of avocado, asparagus and broccoli.

5. Squeeze the lemon over the pasta and season with the black pepper.

6. Serve with a side salad.

***

This vegan lemon pasta recipe is quick and easy to make, perfect for busy weekday evenings. I love to cook this dish to mark the start of asparagus season. The sharp lemony flavor combines with asparagus, pasta, and avocado in a light and fresh dish that is the perfect way to welcome in summer.

Birthday Sushi

Yesterday I turned 25. My boyfriend made my favorite food: vegan sushi.

That's avocado maki, cucumber maki, sweet potato maki, and garden maki
(and 25 candles).

And that's tofu, tenderstem broccoli with ginger and garlic, and jasmine tea.

Best birthday ever!

I created an article for GoodVeg, How to Make Vegan Sushi, which gives instructions for rolling maki.

Morrocan Chickpea Tagine

This vegan tagine recipe is based on the root vegetable tagine recipe from The Gate Vegetarian Cookbook by Adrian and Michael Daniel. I added chickpeas as a vegan source of protein and served the tagine with almond couscous.

Tagine (also spelled tajine) is a Moroccan dish which is named after the clay cooking pot that it is cooked in. 

The funnel-shaped lid of the tagine is at a cooler temperature than the rest of the pot, so the steam condenses and runs back down into the stew, keeping it moist.

Beautiful Tagines

You can buy beautiful tagines online, or you can cook this chickpea and squash tagine recipe in a large saucepan - although you might have to add some extra liquid and remember to keep stirring to distribute the heat.







Moroccan Squash and Chickpea Tagine Recipe

Ingredients (Serves 4-6)

Ingredients for tagine

2 cinnamon sticks
1 tsp cloves
3 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground turmeric
1 large onion, finely chopped
100g grated fresh ginger
1 hot red chili
6 garlic cloves
2 x 400g cans of chopped tomatoes
100g dried dates
1 butternut squash, chopped into bite-sized pieces
1 x 400g can of chickpeas
100g fresh spinach, pureed
handful of fresh coriander

Ingredients for couscous


200g (dry weight) couscous
1/2 liter hot vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
50g flaked almonds
small amount fresh coriander


How to make Chickpea Tagine


1. Start by toasting the coriander seeds and cinnamon sticks in the tagine (or saucepan) over a low heat. Once they have started to give off their delicious aroma, take them off the heat and grind using a pestle and mortar (or a coffee grinder).
2. Fry the onion, garlic, ginger, chili, ground spices and turmeric in 1 tbsp of olive oil.
3. Use a food processor to puree the spinach and the dates.
4. When the onions have browned, add the squash, chickpeas, tomatoes, spinach and dates to the tagine (or saucepan). Add enough liquid to make sure that all the squash is covered. Make sure the heat is turned down low, put on the lid, and simmer for 40 minutes.
5. While you're waiting for the tagine to cook, make the couscous by adding dry couscous to hot vegetable stock and covering for 5 minutes. Once the couscous is soft, separate out the grains with a fork to make it fluffy, and stir in the flaked almonds, olive oil and coriander.
6. Once the squash is cooked and tender, add the coriander and then serve the tagine with almond couscous that you prepared in step 5.

This is a deliciously sweet and spicy tagine recipe. Enjoy!

Vegan Goulash Recipe

Goulash is a Hungarian dish that is traditionally made with meat. You can make vegan goulash with beans such as kidney beans, cannellini beans, or haricot beans - or a mixture. Goulash is strongly spiced with paprika, and you can add extra flavor by using garlic and fresh coriander.

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

1 can (400g) kidney beans

1 can (400g) cannellini beans

2 cans (800g) chopped tomatoes

3-4 medium-sized potatoes, diced

100g fresh spinach

1 large onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

4 tbsp paprika

1 liter vegetable stock

handful of fresh coriander

Vegan Goulash Recipe

1. Fry the onion and garlic in a large saucepan until they start to brown. Add the potatoes and fry for a few minutes longer.

2. Add the tomatoes, beans, paprika, and most of the vegetable stock.

3. Leave the vegan goulash to cook for 30-40 minutes, until the potatoes are soft. Add the rest of the stock as needed to stop the goulash from drying out. The consistency should be that of a thick stew.

4. Add the spinach and stir it into the goulash. It will look like a lot of spinach at first but it reduces dramatically in size as it cooks.

5. Add the fresh coriander and serve immediately.

Vegan goulash is filling enough to eat on its own, or you can enjoy it with crusty bread.