Kale and almond pesto |Vegan Recipe

 Kale and almond pesto |Vegan Recipe

Freshness, liveliness and vivacity. Temperatures are rising and the hot season is quickly depriving me of my strength. I think the best way to fight again the warm temperature is eating the best food. Today, I am going to try a long-standing friend of mine: the kale.

The kale has always been an important part of my diet. In fact, it is mostly grown in my native country, Apulia, a region in Southern Italy. (I strongly advise you to spend your holidays here, if you don’t have any idea about yet). kale is called, in the dialect from Bari, “cole rizz” and it is really a versatile and tasty vegetable: a real superfood! Raw or cooked, rich in vitamins and mineral salts, low in calories, it is a great food against tiredness and weariness. Almonds, a pinch of pink salt, extra virgin olive oil (coming from my Apulia) are the magic ingredients that I am going to put all together to prepare a creamy kale pesto, great spread on toasted bread. I am sure if I have a little of it, I will recharge myself to deal with the crowded streets of London and with busy people who are escaping from this metropolitan atmosphere!

So, let’s keep ourselves with food: we are what we eat!

Recipe

Ingredients for 4 (more or less) people:

  • 400 g of kale;
  • 100 g of toasted almonds;
  • Some parsley leaves (optional);
  • 1 garlic clove;
  • 100 ml of extra virgin olive oil;
  • 2 cherry tomatoes;
  • Just enough pink salt;
  • Just enough pepper;
  • Half a lemon juice.

Instructions:

  • Fill a medium-large sauce pan with water and boil it;
  • After you remove its stems, place the kale in the sauce pan. Cook it for around 1 minute;
  • Drain and cool it;
  • In a blender, roughly mince some almonds and walnuts;
  • Add to the  kale a clove of garlic, cherry tomatoes, some parsley, a pinch of salt, just enough salt and pepper and some lemon juice. Mince all the ingredients and gradually stir the olive oil until the mixture is thick;

I used this yummy pesto to stuff some bread with olives and I must admit I really appreciated the final result!

My advice:

  • Pesto can be saved in a glass container and put in the fridge for up to ten days covered with olive oil on its surface.
  • It is great spread on bread or “bruschetta” (Italian toasted bread topped with oil and chopped tomatoes);
  • This pesto can be prepared by using the curly kale both raw or cooked, however its properties are often undone with high temperature cooking, while vitamins and minerals will remain completely untouched if you eat it raw, even if its taste is a little bitter.

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Chickpea and vegetables curry |Vegan Recipe

Chickpea and vegetables curry |Vegan Recipe

This very easy and cheap recipe tastes absolutely amazing and is super vegan! The strong and intense taste of curry together with the softness of chickpeas mixed with vegetables, intensity the basmati rice flavour which is a thousand taste sensation! It is definitely an alternative dish you have to try!

Ingredients for 4/5 people:

–       250 g cooked chickpeas;

–       2500 g Hokkaido bio pumpkin (deseed);

–       250 g savoy cabbage;

–       ½ onion;

–       1 garlic clove, crushed;

–       1 tea spoon fresh, root ginger, grated or ½ tea spoon of powdered ginger;

–       Sesame or peanut oil;

–       200 ml coconut milk;

–       1 spoon peanut butter;

–       1 spoon mixed Indian spices “garam masala”

–       1 tea spoon turmeric;

–       1 tea spoon dried coriander;

–       Some curry leaves (optional);

–       Just enough salt.

WHERE TO FIND INGREDIENTS:

This clever everyday recipe has the purpose to be affordable to anyone who would like to try an alternative dish, such as Indian curry. For this reason, all the ingredients are easy and smart to find: try at your local supermarket or even in small Indian shops.

HOW TO PREPARE CURRY:

  1. Peel off  Hokkaido pumpkin and chop it finely.
  2. Wash up the savoy cabbage and cut it into stripes.
  3. Add crushed garlic clove and onion. Then put them in a frying pan and slightly brown them together with garam masala, add some water, the turmeric powder and curry leaves.
  4. Cook for few minutes.
  5. Put chopped pumpkin in a pot and add some water. Then cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.
  6. Stir the savoy cabbage with some salt, pour coconut milk and stir it. Put the lid on the pan lower the heat and occasionally stir it for about 20 minutes.
  7.  Add the chickpeas into the pan with peanut butter to make a thick sauce.
  8. Serve with basmati rice.

You can use potatoes or spinach instead of pumpkin.

This recipe is very healthy and filling: it is perfect for everyday or weekend dinner and you can enjoy it sipping a glass of good white or red wine.

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Chickpea Flour and Broccoli Pancakes |Vegan Recipe

Chickpea flour and broccoli pancakes

This recipe is a wonderful start to your week! It is an excellent choice, both for lunch or even for dinner. It is high in protein and totally veggie (as all my recipes) and very easy to prepare.

These pancakes are excellent served both hot or cold, and it is an ideal dish you can made in no time if you want to surprise your friends! Another good thing is that this dish is all but predictable, since it is tasty as well as not very common.

So, you just have to take notes of ingredients and preparation method.

Serves: 4 people

Ingredients:

  • 300 gr chickpea flour
  • 300 gr Fresh Broccoli
  • A cup of water
  • An onion
  • Black pepper (just enough)
  • 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
  • A pinch of turmeric powder
  • A cup of natural soy yoghurt
  • A pinch of salt
  • Parsley (just enough)
  • Lemon juice
  • 100 gr red savoy cabbage salad

Chickpea flour and curcuma powder can be find in any supermarket with no difficulty. They are popular ingredients in Indian and Middle Eastern food, so it is very easy to buy if you need them.

Preparation method:

  • Combine cold water with chickpea flour in a container;
  • Wash and drain broccoli and the onion. Mix them up in a food processor or in a blender;
  • Add some turmeric, some black pepper, salt and parsley in the mixture. Continue mincing it;
  • Add the vegetables to chickpea flour
  • Eventually add some extra virgin olive oil to the mixture;
  • Heat a non – stick pan. Pour a spoonful of pancake batter into the pan and spread it to form a pancake (exactly as sweet pancakes);
  • Chop up finely red savoy cabbage salad and flavour it with some salt. Let it stand for 30 about minutes.

Cook your pancakes for around 2 minutes on medium heat. Cook the other side for a while. When you finish cooking, let them chill. Garnish them with some yoghurt and seasoned red cabbage salad (as side dish).

Enjoy this delicious yummy recipe! ♥

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