Italian, Pasta

Pasta with pesto and Mediterranean bean salad

What would a vegetarian blog be without a recipe for pasta with pesto! So here comes my favorite recipe. To make the dish more fulfilling it goes very well together with a bean salad with olives. This is a feast!

Serves 4

400 g spaghetti
1 batch of pesto (recipe below)
1 batch of bean salad (recipe below)

Cook the spaghetti al dente according to the instructions on the package. Mix it with pesto and serve together with the bean salad.

Pesto

10 basil sprigs
40 g pine nuts
60 g Parmesan
1 dl olive oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 pinch of herb salt

Blend all ingredients in a food processor into a smooth paste.

Mediterranean bean salad

1 dl each of three kinds of dried beans, for example, adzuki, kidney and mung beans
130 g olives, e.g. kalamata
0.5 dl olive oil
0.5 tsp herbal salt
1 pinch of ground black pepper

Cook the beans as directed on the packages. Mix them with the remaining ingredients.

Italian, Pasta

Vegetarian Spaghetti alla Puttanesca

I usually tell people that all the recipes I post on my blog are very good, but this one is really a top notch recipe! What flavor explosion. I have used a recipe for Spaghetti alla Puttanesca but replaced the anchovies with green lentils to make it vegetarian.

Serves 5

400 g of spaghetti
2.5 dl dried green lentils
500 g cherry tomatoes, halved
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
130 g olives, e.g. Kalamata
2 red chillies, chopped
30 g parsley, chopped
0.5 dl capers
1 tsp herb salt
0.5 tsp ground black pepper
Oil for frying

Cook the pasta and lentils as directed on the packaging. Fry the onions for one minute. Add the garlic, chilli and tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in capers, olives, pasta and lentils and season with salt and pepper.

Italian, Pasta

Pasta with chickpeas, herbs and chilli

This is a very tasty dish with herbal flavors and spiciness from the chilli. The garlic flavor is very nice despite the large amount. Also, a fruity olive oil and a good parmesan just adds to the goodieness!

Serves 5

500 g spaghetti
460 g cooked chickpeas (drained weight)
2.5 dl olive oil
6 garlic cloves, crushed
2 red chillies, finely chopped
30 g parsley
5 basil sprigs, chopped
1 handful bunch of oregano, chopped
0.5 tsp herb salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
75 g Parmesan cheese, grated

Mix the chilli, garlic and olive oil in a saucepan. Allow the oil to warm slowly over medium heat for about 12 minutes (it should not bubble). Cook the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package. Mix the spaghetti with the chilli- and garlic oil and stir in the Parmesan cheese until it melts. Stir in the chickpeas and all the herbs and salt. Serve the pasta topped with freshly ground black pepper.

Fusion, Italian, Salad

Pasta salad with fresh sprouts and pesto cottage cheese

Pesto is so tasty! It is also very nice mixed with cottage cheese and together with a crisp salad.

Serves 6

Salad

300 g pasta
200 g sprouted beans (e.g. from chickpeas, green peas and adzuki beans)
1 cucumber, chopped
250 g cherry tomatoes
1 head of lettuce, torn into smaller pieces
Olive oil and vinegar to serververing

Cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Blanch the sprouts in double amount of water for about 10 minutes. Mix all the ingredients and serve the salad with the pesto cottage cheese (recipe below) and with olive oil and vinegar curled over.

Pesto cottage cheese with cashew nuts

4-5 twigs of basil
1 dl olive oil
1 dl cashew nuts
40 g parmesan cheese, grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 pinch of herb salt
500 g cottage cheese

Blend all ingredients, except the cottage cheese, in a food processor into a smooth paste. Then stir in the cottage cheese.

Fusion, Italian, Pasta

Lemon and chilli spaghetti with tofu and asparagus

This pasta sauce offers a buffet of wonderful flavors; garlic, lemon, chili and parmesan to name a few. Each of these are good individually, but together they become a heavenly treat!

Serves 4

250 g tofu, diced
1 onion, sliced
250 g green asparagus, cut into smaller pieces
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 red chilli
3 dl cream
2 tbsp lemon juice
0.5 tsp herbal salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
20 g parsley, chopped
75 g parmesan cheese, grated
400 g spaghetti

Fry the tofu for approximately 10 minutes until it has got a roasting surface. Put it aside. Fry onions, asparagus, garlic and chilli for a couple of minutes. Pour in the cream and lemon juice and add salt, pepper and parsley. Let simmer for about 5 minutes. Meanwhile boil the spaghetti according to the instructions on the package. Pull the pan off the heat and stir in the parmesan so it melts into the sauce. Serve the spaghetti with pasta sauce.

Lasagna and gratin, Mediterranean

Pasta gratin with halloumi

A tasty and cheesy pasta gratin with flavours of herbs and vegetables.

Serves 5

300 g pasta
200 g halloumi, diced
2 onions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 zucchini, sliced
250 g cherry tomatoes, halved
70 g fresh spinach
400 g chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp herb salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 pinch cayenne pepper
200 g mozzarella, crumbled
Oil for frying

Preheat the oven to 225 °C. Cook the pasta for about 2/3 of the cooking time stated on the package. Fry the halloumi until it is golden brown. Put it aside. Fry the onions a couple of minutes and include the garlic the last half a minute. Add the crushed tomatoes, tomato paste and all the spices and let simmer for a few minutes. Mix all ingredients, except the mozzarella, in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with mozzarella and gratinate in the oven for about 10-15 minutes.

Pasta, Tex-mex

Tex-mex pasta sauce

Tacos are really good, so why not eat them in the form of a pasta sauce, with a combination of ingredients and flavors giving that tex-mex feeling. It cannot be anything but good!

Serves 6

3 onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
2 dl dried black beans (6 dl cooked)
400 g crushed tomatoes
2 dl creme fraiche
2 dl corn
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 dl water
2 tsp ground chilli pepper
0.5 tsp cumin
1 tbsp oregano
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp herb salt
1 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
500 g tagliatelle
Oil for frying

Cook the beans according to the instructions on the package. Fry the onions for a couple of minutes and include the garlic the last half a minute. Add all other ingredients (except the pasta) and let simmer for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to the directions on the package. Serve the pasta with the sauce.

French, Soup

White bean and pasta soup

This is a surprisingly rich and tasty soup, given its simplicity in both ingredients and cooking! It will probably taste good with pre cooked beans too, which would simplify the cooking even further, since all ingredients can be added simultaneously and just be cooked until the pasta is done.

Serves 4

3 dl dried white beans (equals approximately 7 dl cooked)
1.4 liter water
200 g pasta
1 onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1.5 tsp herb salt
1 tbsp tarragon

Soak the beans for 12-24 hours. Boil them in 1.4 liter of water for about 50 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and cook until the pasta is done, according to the cooking time on the package.

Fusion, Italian, Pasta

Pasta in a cheese sauce with carrots and sunflower seeds

A pasta sauce based on onions, garlic, cream, parmesan and another kind of cheese can never go wrong! Also it is nice to add some vegetables and nuts or seeds. In this case, I have chosen carrots and sunflower seeds.

Serves 5

500 g tagliatelle
3 red onions, chopped
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1.5 dl sunflower seeds
5 carrots, diced
5 dl cream
200 g brie cheese, diced
75 g parmesan cheese, grated
1.5 tsp herb salt
2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
Oil for frying
Freshly ground black pepper for serving

Fry the sunflower seeds until they become golden brown. Put them aside. Fry the onions and carrots for about 5 minutes and include the garlic the last minute. Add cream and spices and let simmer for about 5-10 minutes. Meanwhile, boil the pasta according to instructions on the package. Take off the sauce from the heat and stir in the cheese until melted. Mix the pasta with the sauce and serve with freshly ground black pepper.