Category: Recipes

  • Pompoen en andere wintergroenten van de bakplaat

    Dit recept combineert de briljante patate schiacciate met heerlijke wintergroenten uit de oven.

    Het is een supermakkelijke tip voor een vegan maaltijd met pompoen, ideaal voor de koudere dagen. Nog een handjevol sla erbij en je hebt een complete maaltijd!

    Verwarm de oven voor op 180 graden. Kook de aardappels in de schil.

    Snijd intussen je ovengroenten (ik koos voor wortels, bollen en knollen zoals bieten, penen, venkel, zoete aardappel en pompoen dus).

    Verspreid de gesneden groenten op een grote ovenplaat. Leg ook de gekookte aardappelen daarop en plet de aardappelen zachtjes met een pollepel, zodat ze openbreken.

    Verdeel rijkelijk olie of vloeibaar bakvet over de aardappelen en ook wat over de groenten.

    Zet in de oven, ca 45 minuten, afhankelijk van hoe groot je de groenten gesneden hebt. Hoe kleiner, hoe korter de baktijd.

    Maal voor het opdienen zout boven het gerecht, vooral op de aardappelen.

    Heerlijk met frisse (vegan) yoghurt en/of geroosterde pompoenpitjes. Ook lekker met deze zelfgemaakte vegan pesto.

  • Edamame (sojaboontjes) als gezonde snack

    Zin in een gezond tussendoortje? Kook of stoom een handvol peulen van de sojaplant, bestrooi ze met grofgemalen zout en waan je helemaal in Aziatische sferen!

    Dit Aziatische bijgerecht/gezonde tussendoortje is al jaren ook razend populair in Nederland. Ik ken het geloof ik al uit mijn studententijd in Utrecht, toen ik het kreeg geserveerd bij het destijds nieuwe en hippe LEEN.

    Al gauw had ik bij de toko in de diepvries de groene boontjes gelokaliseerd en voor de rest had ik weinig fantasie nodig: gewoon 8-10 minuutjes koken of stomen en opdienen met zout op een leuk bordje – feestje compleet!

    Let op: je eet alleen de ‘erwtjes’ ín het peultje, dus niet het hulletje zelf. Dat is taai. Het leuke is dat je tijden het uithalen van de peultjes met je mond, de zoutkorrels oplikt. Mjam! Én gezond!

    Tip: extra bijzonder met een paar druppels sesamolie van geroosterde sesampitjes.

  • Gele curry met spinazie en kikkererwten

    Klaar in 15 minuten, met maar 5 ingrediënten (plus water en bakvet).

    Giet een blik kikkererwten af, spoel ze met water en bak ze aan in olie tot je ze hoort ‘poppen’. Prak ze grof in de pan met een stamppotstamper of de onderkant van een glazen fles.

    Voeg een blik kokosmelk, een theelepel (of twee) bouillonpoeder en een eetlepel gele currypasta toe. Roer en verwarm.

    Voeg ca 400g verse bladspinazie toe en warm door totdat deze is geslonken.

    Serveer in een kom. Nóg lekkerder de volgende dag.

  • Oven vegetables in pesto sauce

    I love using the oven: it’s so easy to just mix all the ingredients and have the oven work it’s magic. Especially since I became a mother :).

    Here, I had a big tray of cut veggies: bell pepper, broccoli, zucchini, and mushrooms. I added some oil and salt and baked them for 30 minutes at 180 until they were tender and almost done. As you bake the vegetables, they will release fluid. At the end of the 30 minutes, I mixed in a delicious homemade pesto (but yours can be store bought of course) with the fluid and together with the oil they made the perfect, creamy, fresh and green sauce.

    Not a strict recipe but more a ‘this is how I do stuff’. Hope it helps.

    Enjoy!

  • Green vegan pesto with fresh herbs

    Bear leek (EN), daslook (NL), Bärlauch (D). We see it more and more in the ‘wild’ here in Holland and luckily, in Germany, it is not rare to see entire fields of the ‘big leaf garlic’. My mother and her beloved Hans grow it in their vegetable garden so I had the opportunity to bring some with me for dinner.

    This pesto is perfect with basil (the traditional pesto herb) as well. Just use whatever the season brings!

    I love making vegan pestos. Simply use green leafy herbs or vegetables, add nuts or seeds such as walnuts, pumpkin, pine or sunflower seeds, olive oil and a little bit of raw garlic (not too much!).

    For this pesto, I used bear leek, spinach, parsley, walnuts, olive oil and water (just enough to help it ‘run’ in the machine). The quantities/ratios don’t really matter! Just try what you like: more green, or more nutty. It all tastes wonderful.

    By the way the herb chopper that comes with your stick blender (staafmixer) is perfect for making pestos.

    Next blog: this pesto in a delicious oven veggie dish!

  • Vegan bacon alternative

    I used to love the taste of crunchy bacon. Now that I eat mostly vegan, I truly don’t fancy the pig aspect so much anymore. But the chewy, crunchy, salty part… yum! I’m always open to suggestions for that.

    I have experimented around trying to come up with good alternatives and what has worked best so far, is two things: 1) crushed almonds, salted and fried. They taste great and are very healthy but miss the chewy part. Enter number 2): soy chunks!

    Eew, you say? Yeah I know. And it sounds even more horrible in Dutch: sojabrokken. But get over it and bear with me. When you think about it, spekjes/bacon are not really that appetizing either.

    Without further ado, here comes the recipe. It’s not culinary; it’s simple what it is: a great vegan alternative for crunchy, chewy, salty bacon:

    Vegan bacon alternative

    4-6 cups of soy chunks
    1 cup extra strong & salty vegetable or mushroom stock
    4-6 tablespoons of oil (suitable for baking)

    • Mix oil and stock.
    • Add soy chunks.
    • Mix well and wait until all fluid has been absorbed. (While soaking, there might be a smell which some people associate with dog food. Don’t worry; that won’t be there in the end result.)
    • Spread out on a baking tray in the oven and bake for about 30 minutes at 180 degrees celsius, or until light brown and crunchy.
    • Check regularly.
    • Add salt if desired.

    This is great on salads, as a soup topping, on stamppot (a Dutch dish), with potatoes, in a vegan pasta carbonara (sorry Italians), on sauerkraut, beans, etc. You can store them in a jar in the fridge for a few days. Enjoy!

  • Blood orange & coconut chia pudding

    Delicious and simple.

    (You can make this recipe with plant-based milk and coconut ‘yoghurt’ OR use 1 can of organic fairtrade coconut cream without emulsifier. Use the coconut water from the can for the pudding and the thick cream from the same can for the topping.)

    Ingredients:

    For the chia pudding

    2 tbs chia seeds
    120 ml plant based milk of choice (oat, coconut, soy, rice etc all work well) OR coconut water
    1 blood orange (normal orange works as well)
    1 large ts sweetener (agave syrup, honey, sugar etc)

    For the topping

    Coconut yoghurt OR thick coconut cream
    Piece of blood orange
    Mint leaves

    Equipment:

    Blender or immersion blender (Dutch: staafmixer)

     

    Preparation:

    Use a sharp knife to cut first the top cap, then the bottom cap off the orange and then around the flesh, removing only the peel. Scrape orange leftovers from the peel with a teaspoon if you’ve cut too much off.

    Take the pieces apart, remove the white thingy in the middle and add the orange pieces together with the milk or coconut water and sweetener in your mixing glass or blender.

    Roughly blend those three ingredients together using a blender or immersion blender (Dutch: staafmixer).

    Now add the mixture to the chia seeds, stir well and put in the refrigerator. The seeds will soak up the moisture and swell, thickening and gelatinizing the mixture to a delicious pudding. After 1 hour, stir again. After another 30 minutes or more (you could also keep them overnight) take out of the fridge, add coconut yoghurt or thick cream, top with orange and mint… Yummy!

    Delicious!

  • Sweet potato stuffed vegetables

    A perfect example of a vegan dish which has everything you need in a healthy diet. Vegetables, legumes, nuts: fibers, vitamins, healthy carbs and fats. Different textures ensure a rich meal experience!

    3-5 small sweet potatoes
    1 cup red lentils
    1 zucchini
    1 sweet long pepper
    2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes
    Italian herbs
    1 tbs tomato paste
    1 handful cashews
    Salt & pepper
    Olive oil

    Pierce all cherry tomatoes with a knife and put in the oven at 150 C. 

    (For a deeper, more complex and stronger taste, cut and fry onions and garlic until golden brown before adding the sweet potato and lentils. We are cutting back on onions though and this still tasted delicious without them!)

    Trim the rough ends off the sweet potatoes, leave the rest of the peel on. Cut in small pieces, add washed red lentils, dried herbs such as Italian herb mix or bruschetta verde, tomato paste and salt. Boil in water until the lentils and sweet potatoes are soft and the water has been mostly absorbed (add water when too dry, boil longer if too wet). Press to a nice purée using a fork, big spoon or purée utensil. Taste and add herbs or salt.

    Half the zucchini’s and sweet peppers lengthwise. Using a teaspoon, scrape the softer flesh from the inside of the zucchini. Cut the scrapings in pieces and add to the sweet potato mixture. 

    Now stuff the zucchini and peppers with the sweet potatoe mixture. Lay next to the tomatoes on the baking tray, turn the oven up to 180 C and bake for about 25-30 minutes. 

    Chop or break a handful of cashew nuts and add to the vegetables during the last 5 minutes of baking time.

    Serve with the cherry tomatoes, vegan green pesto, black pepper and olive oil.

  • Potato crush… crunch!

    Or, as the Italians would say: PATATE SCHIACCIATE. But that second word looks pretty daunting so I’ll leave it at potatoe crush, because that’s what happened to my beloved when he had his first bite yesterday: he fell in love. Whether with me (the cook) or the potatoe – let’s say it doesn’t matter. Love is love.

    Potatoe crush recipe

    1. Clean potatoes, do not peel and cook until almost or just done.
    2. Preheat oven to 180 C
    3. Place potatoes on baking sheet and moderately crush with a glass or mug
    4. Drizzle with baking oil – don’t hold back, about a teaspoon each 😉
    5. Sprinkle with paprika powder or potatoe spices, salt and black pepper
    6. Put in the oven for 20-25 minutesKudos for this recipe go to @cottoaldente on Instagram – check him out!

    I had them in the oven at 230 C for 12-15 minutes and that worked out perfectly as well.

    These are really good! Enjoy :).

  • Beetroot & blueberry smoothie bowl

    I tend to have food phases, where I eat lots of the same type of food for some time, then move on to something else, and return to it some time later.

    A while ago I was eating about 500g of fresh tomatoes with roasted pumpkin seeds every morning.

    Now, it’s red smoothie bowls. The basic recipe: a basis of cooked beetroot, berries and an apple. Sweeten with dried fruits or a piece of banana. Top with banana, pure cacao and more fruits.

    I buy the ingredients from the store; beetroots precooked and berries frozen. This way, my meal is ready to go in a matter of minutes.

    It’s a great feeling starting off my day with half the daily recommended dose of fruits and veggies already down! (And, tip for parents: my 2-year old daughter loves smoothies too!)

    Red beetroot blueberries smoothie bowl:

    • 2 cooked red beetroots
    • 2 handfuls of frozen blueberries
    • 1 apple
    • 3 dried apricots, prunes, or dates (more or less to taste)
    • 1 tablespoon pumpkin seeds (nuts work as well)
    • Optionally: 1 tablespoon flax seed if you need extra fiber
    • Just enough water so that your blender will run smoothly

    Cut the larger ingredients in blender-suitable pieces and… go!

    Top with whatever you have in stock, more fruits, cacao, crunchy muesli, oats, nuts or seeds.

    Pro tip: add Yogi Tea Curcuma Chai spices by cutting open the tea bag 😁.

    Enjoy!