Asparagus Soup

Asparagus seem to be the celebration of the new season.

Cook the onion, leek, and garlic. Cook for 3 to 5 minutes, until translucent.  Add the chopped asparagus and cook for a further 3 minutes, until the asparagus begins to soften.

Add the water or broth,  chopped cilantro and lemon juice. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 to 15 minutes, until the asparagus is very tender.

Ladle the soup into a blender and blend until smooth. Alternatively, you can use an immersion blender for this.

Pour the soup back into the pot and bring to simmer. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Spiced Tempura Vegetables

Crispy crunchy fried delights, making eating vegetables bright and fun.

In a heavy-bottomed pot, add about 2 inches of oil from the bottom of the pot. Heat the oil to 180 °C degrees.

Dry Ingredients:

In a mixing bowl, add the flour and half of the potato starch and mix thoroughly. Add the paprika and mix again
Set aside the other half of potato starch to coat your ingredients right before dipping it into the batter.

Wet Ingredients:

In another bowl, add the egg and mix in the cold water. You can add a bigger bowl underneath with water with ice cubes to keep the batter cold.
Mix together the flour mix and wet ingredients in a medium-sized mixing bowl, and beat lightly. There is no need to beat out any lumps.

Coat and fry Ingredients:

Coat the vegetables in a light layer of potato starch.
 Cover the vegetables thoroughly with the batter. Carefully lower the battered vegetables into the hot oil.
The vegetables cook fairly quickly so make sure to watch these carefully. Turn the vegetables every so often so they cook properly. Remove the cooked vegetables. The cooked batter should barely colour. Place them over paper towels on a cooling rack.

Make the mayonnaise: 

Remove the leaves from the parsley, finely chop them, then add them to a mixing bowl with the capers, then stir them into the parsley together with the mayonnaise and the juice of 1 lemon.
Accompany them with lemon juice, and some Maldon salt.

Creamy Salmon with Spinach

Behind every mouthful, there is a mysterious and soothing bite.

Pre-heat your oven to 200ºC.

In an oven dish place the salmon fillets, previously seasoned with salt and pepper, and the spinach leaves.

In a hot pan, sautee the onion and garlic until softened. Add the cream and the mustard. Season with salt and pepper and let simmer. Once it has simmered for a few minutes, add the sauce to the salmon and spinach, coating everything very carefully.

Put in the oven for 20 minutes, or until the salmon is perfectly cooked.

Beet Hummus

Beet hummus – a dazzling appetizer that will please everyone.

Drain the cooked chickpeas and add them to a blender with the garlic cloves, lime juice,  olive oil, sesame seeds or tahini, salt, and the cooked beetroot.

Blend until everything is smooth. Add ice-cold water if needed. (it will make it smoother)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Sweet Sour Sauce

Little gems of crunchiness with a delicious sauce on top.

 

Clean and cut in half the Brussel Sprouts.  Place them in an oven-safe pan and drizzle with olive oil and salt in a pre-heated oven at 200ºC

While the Brussel Sprouts are roasting make the sauce by mixing the coconut aminos, honey and lime together. Taste and add a pinch of salt if needed.

Once the Brussel Sprouts are roasted ( around 25 minutes,) take them out of the oven and drizzle with the sauce on top.
You can add some Parmesan shavings on top.

Salad bowl

A lighter lunch,  with amazing ingredients that is super refreshing .

In a bowl place the greens of your choice, the grain of your choice, chickpeas and add the vegetables. Once done, drizzle with the dressing.

It is important to have all the ingredients previously cooked.

 

 

Veggie Spring Rolls

A meatless recipe that I have enjoyed at home lately and thought you might like it too.

 

To make the spring rolls, fill a bowl or pan big enough to fit the rice paper with warm water. Soak the rice paper in the water for about 30 seconds – until pliable but not soggy. Place the rice paper on a work surface, put a sixth of the filling onto the wrapper and roll up like a fat sausage. Wet the edges of the wrapper, press to seal. Repeat with other wrappers and the rest of the mixture

To serve, leave the rolls whole or cut them in half with a sharp knife. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (if using) and serve with the dipping sauce.

Artichokes with Parmigiano Reggiano and Balsamic Vinegar Reduction

Silky artichokes and Parmigiano Reggiano. A classic marriage of flavours.

This recipe is as simple as it is delicious.

Simply drizzle the cleaned artichokes with olive oil. Place in baking dish and bake in the preheated oven until sizzling, about 1 hour 20 minutes.

Once tender and golden brown, add Parmigiano Reggiano  shavings on top and a drizzle of balsamic vinegar reduction.

Vegetables Nuggets

Boil the potatoes, carrots and onion.

Blend the spinach and cilantro with a splash of water.

Once the root vegetables are cooked, blend until puree consistency. Add a splash of water to thin it out and make it easier to blend.

In a bowl add the flours, egg, salt, spinach and cilantro puree and the potato and carrot puree. Mix well until everything is incorporated.

In a hot pan, add a teaspoon of oil, make small nuggets of the mix, like little croquettes or mini burgers and cook on both sides until golden brown.

Sweet Potato Puree

Boil or steam the sweet potato, once cooked add to a food processor or Vitamix with a tablespoon of ghee and a pinch of pepper. Mash everything very well until creamy. Transfer to a dish and add the parmesan cheese on top.

Chickpea salad

Two cans chickpeas.

Chopped red onion, celery whatever other veggies you have (red pepper, carrots etc) follow your heart. Mayo.

Splash Apple Code Vinegar. Jalapeños if you want.  Salt and Pepper to taste.

Simply mix everything together and add to bread to create a sandwich with lettuce & tomato.

Cous cous with roasted veggies, golden raisins and toasted pine nuts

Cous cous is so insanely easy to make. Just boil water or veggie stock, add the cous cous, remove from heat and cover for 5 minutes. You can even add turmeric to the boiling pot for a nice yellow color. It is best to separate the grains of cous cous by tenderly running a fork through them once they have soaked up the stock

Roast veggies at 425 F for 15 minutes, stirred, added minced garlic and set it back in the oven for 10-15 minutes longer.

Enjoy!