49 posts tagged “pastas”

I finally made the Pumpkin Baked Ziti with Caramelized Onions and Sage Crumb Topping from Veganomicon (page 194).  I mean, really, everybody has made it, and I finally caught the drift.

Needless to say, it was seriously good.  If you have Veganomicon, and have been waiting just like me, it is high time that you opened it and made this baked pasta dish.  The sage crumb topping mixed really well with the pumpkin flavor and you can never do wrong with the caramelized onions.

The pop overs might just put me over the top and get that popover pan in the store.  I saw a really good one the other day, but thought to myself I would have very little use of it.  Who knew that I came straight home and wanted to make breakfast popovers all of a sudden?  And I fell in love immediately (even though I had to use my muffin pan).  The recipe is by Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic.  Kudos to Susan!  The only change is that I used Ener-G egg replacers to replace eggs.

I made three types of pancakes in Vegan Brunch.  From left to right: banana flapjacks (with optional vegan white chocolate chips), perfect pancakes, and pumpkin pancakes.  They were all extremely good and versatile for any kind of sauce you fancy.  They are also excellent with just the classic maple syrup and butter combo.

I planned to make a lot of the savory goodies in the book, but so far only managed to make the shiitake-dill frittata which was an instant favorite in our family.  More to come in the near future...

This is a wonderfully delicious pasta dish made with fried vegetables and seasoned with only salt.  Simplicity is beauty itself in this case.

I finally made this heavenly vanilla yogurt pound cake from Veganomicon because I found soy yogurt in the local store.  Moist and rich, this pound cake will send fat straight to your waistline if you don't stop eating it soon enough.

I was able to get us Teese and then I put plenty of it on this pizza with the classic mushroom marinara sauce.

Teese melts well, and has a rather mild flavor that blends well with the sauce, but don't try to eat it directly out of the package.  Other soy cheeses will taste better if consumed directly.  For the pizza topping, I will definitely use Teese.

I have many photos in the computer and on the phone but I still haven't found the time or inclination to sort them out, because I am still trying to feel more settled in the new house in Vermont.  Hopefully I will be doing more cooking and baking soon.  We eat pasta every day now, since pasta is such a satisfying thing to eat and quick to make if you have tons of fresh vegetables and lots of herbs and other condiments.  You can easily come up with a new variation any day.

This is a very easy pasta dish to put together.  First, saute/pan-fry some 7-8 cloves of garlic till golden brown.  (In the meantime, boil water and cook enough whole wheat shells for two people.)  In the pan, add chopped broccoli, asparagus, and a little cauliflower and continue cooking for 5 minutes.  Then add a good splash of soy milk and put the lid on.  Steam-fry the vegetables for 5 more minutes.  When done, turn off the heat, and add some chopped water-packed artichokes, basil pesto, dried parsley, paprika, black pepper, nutritional yeast, red pepper flakes and mix well.  When the pasta is cooked and drained, mix the veggie sauce with pasta really well.  Salt to taste.  Serve and enjoy!

I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.  This week's host will be Kitchenetta of Got No Milk.

I also made these Chicago "Red Hot" Poppyseed Buns (recipe by Sandy Smith of At the Baker's Bench).  The buns are light yet substantial and the poppyseeds really shine in them.  These buns are perfect for a good veggie burger or you can simply slather them with butter or jam.

This is a very quick meal to prepare, with restaurant quality.  A few shortcuts make this pasta dish creamy, zingy, hearty, and very gratifying.  Without much ado, the recipe is below.

Spinach and Pinto Bean Pasta
(Makes 2 servings)

6-7 cloves garlic
2 cups portobello mushrooms, finely chopped
1/2 16-oz. can pinto beans, mashed well
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. dried oregano
1 large tomato, finely chopped
1/2 cup Tofutti Sour Cream
1 1/2 tsp. red curry paste
3 roasted long-stem artichokes, roughly chopped
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
A healthy dose of freshly ground black pepper
Salt to taste

Enough whole wheat elbows for two people
1 cup baby carrots, quartered lengthwise
9 oz. fresh spinach

1. Saute garlic and mushrooms over medium heat for 7-8 minutes until garlic is golden and mushrooms have softened a bit.  Take care not to overcook.  In the meantime, cook the pasta (according to the package instructions) and carrots together.  In the last 30 seconds, throw in the spinach.  Remove from heat immediately and drain well.
2. Add the mashed beans and thoroughly mix.  Add the tomato, mix well, and heat through.  Remove from heat.
3. In a large mixing bowl, mix the mushroom and bean mixture with all the ingredients from sour cream to salt.  Add in the drained pasta and veggies and toss to mix well.  Adjust the seasoning if necessary.

Serve and enjoy!

I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.  This week's host will be Hillary of Chew on That.

The March 2009 challenge is hosted by Mary of Beans and Caviar, Melinda of Melbourne Larder and Enza of Io Da Grande. They have chosen Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna from The Splendid Table by Lynne Rossetto Kasper as the challenge.

Lasagne is a dish that few people can resist.  It has certainly transcended the borders.  As my first Daring Bakers challenge, I was really excited to try my hands on a savory dish instead of a giant cake that will tempt me for two weeks and increase my waistline further more.  As vegans, we have always loved lasagne as a all-time favorite in our family.  It's creamy, yummy, doughy, and filling.  What more can we really ask for?

Lasagne of Emilia-Romagna (Lasagne Verdi al Forno)
(Serves 8 to 10 as a first course, 6 to 8 as a main dish)

Preparation Time: 15 minutes to assemble and 40 minutes cooking time

10 quarts (9 litres) water
1 recipe Spinach Pasta cut for lasagna
1 recipe Bechamel Sauce
1 recipe Lentil-Mushroom Ragu
6 pieces vegan Mozzarella cheese

The biggest challenge for me this time is to make fresh homemade pasta from scratch.  Thank God, Bryanna already solved this problem for us vegans long time ago.  I simply used her recipe with 10 oz. fresh spinach (dried as much as possible and really finely chopped).  The dough was surprisingly easy to make and extremely pliable.  Below is my fresh pasta dough ball after kneading and before resting.  I'll definitely try to make some vegan ravioli with the same recipe.  Even rolling out the pasta noodles was much easier than I thought.  I didn't break any piece, amazingly.

The Bechamel Sauce was comparatively really easy.  I simply subbed Earth Balance butter and soy milk.  It's a very simple but delicious white sauce.

For the Ragu, I found an excellent vegan Lentil-Mushroom Ragu recipe recommended by other Alternative Daring Bakers.  It was really tasty and had a great meaty texture.  The original recipe called for puy lentils but I only had red lentils in the cabinet (my mistake).  It didn't affect the taste much, and I added some fresh edamame to add a little more toothsome texture.

I must admit that assembling the lasagne turned out to be a little more work than I imagined.  Since the fresh pasta cooked really fast (5 seconds) in boiling water - because the noodles were rolled to be really thin (newspaper transparency), I decided to cook each layer of noodles and assemble right away.  It was a good thing that I made the sauces before cooking the pasta.  All I remember now is that it was layer after layer and layer after layer.  I topped the lasagne with six big pieces of vegan mozzarella cheese, which turned out to be a perfect addition to the overall flavors.

I was really blown away by the taste of this lasagne.  The fresh pasta was really doughy and had a wonderfully earthy taste from the spinach in the dough.  The Ragu and Bechamel Sauces mixed with the spinach pasta created such a symphony of different flavors and the whole dish simply melted in our mouths.

It took me altogether six hours and a half to finish the whole challenge, and the time wasn't mostly inactive waiting time.  It was really hard work, which I already knew before joining the Daring Bakers challenge.  But it was so worth every minute of work!  Now I don't know how I can ever go back to eating dried lasagne noodles.  Next time I'll make the sauces one day in advance and make plenty of fresh pasta and freeze some.

Maybe you will be interested in checking out the new Daring Kitchen Web site.  You can also be a member if you dare to dream a little.  You will certainly have many nice eats and treats, I promise you.  :)

Gumbo is a very American dish.  Mixing gumbo and pasta together might be an unorthodox approach, but surely worth a try, at least once.  If you happen to have a craving for a pasta that is really spicy and flavorful and has some oomph, this pasta dish will hit the spot.

We first have to make a nice gumbo.  If you have leftover gumbo after making this pasta, serve it over rice, or add some rice into it.  Why not eat it with some good country bread too?

Seitan Tofu Gumbo
Adapted from the Seitan Gumbo recipe by Wes of Don't Lose Your Lunch
(Makes 5-6 generous servings)

2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
2 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, finely chopped
1 large roasted red bell pepper, roughly chopped
3 stalks celery, diced
7-8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 Tbsp. sweet paprika
2 tsp. dried thyme
2 tsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. chipotle chili pepper
2 Tofurky Italian sausages, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 block extra-firm tofu, pressed, cubed
2 cups water
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups diced tomatoes
2 bay leaves
2/3 cup baked roux (see recipe below)
2 Tbsp. dried parsley
Salt to taste

1. Over medium heat, saute onion, garlic, bell peppers and celery in sesame oil and olive oil mix for 5-7 minutes until celery softens a bit.
2. Add everything from tomato paste to chipotle chili pepper and mix well.  Saute for 2 minutes.
3. Add sausages and tofu cubes and mix thoroughly.  Cook for one minute.
4. Add water, broth, tomatoes, and bay leaves.  Combine well.  Bring to boil.  Lower heat to a small simmer.  Simmer for about 30-35 minutes.
5. Add roux, stirring constantly until completely dissolved.  Return to boil so roux can thicken.  Lower heat to simmer.
6. Add parsley and mix thoroughly.  Stir from time to time and cook for another 5 minutes.
7. Add salt and adjust the taste.  Remove bay leaves.

Baked Roux:

2 cups white flour
2 cups canola oil

1. Mix flour and oil, dissolving lumps.
2. Bake in an 8"x8" Pyrex pan for about 3 hours, gently stirring every 30 minutes.

The end result should be darker than peanut butter but lighter than chocolate.  Allow to cool before handling.  Store in a glass jar in the fridge.

Whole Wheat Linguine with Seitan Tofu Gumbo

Cook enough linguine for 2 people according to the package instructions (al dante).  In the last 5 seconds, add some fresh spinach into the pot.
Drain well.  Press lightly to release most water from the cooked spinach.  Put the pasta back into the pot.
Add plenty of gumbo to the pasta and thoroughly combine.  Plate.  Pour a little gumbo on top of the pasta.  Serve.

I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.  This week's host will be Aquadaze of Served with Love.

Hubby made a really great pasta today, just in time for the Presto Pasta Nights #104.  Our pasta dishes are extremely healthy in that the vegetables are never over-cooked (only par-boiled for 30 seconds to 1 minute).  The pasta sauce is more or less fresh because we mix everything in including olive oil and sea salt without cooking it.  The pasta comes out with a freshness from the garden and a richness that comes from each ingredient shining through the whole dish.  And, you only need to spend 10 minutes before you can savor some real yummy and creamy food.

If you can find a good brand of guacamole in your local supermarket, like the Wholly Guacamole we used, then you don't even have to make your own.  But it's a small affair to puree some avocado with peppers and onions in any case.  Feel free to use your own version and add your own twist.

Guacamole Spelt Ziti with Walnuts and Artichokes
(Makes 2 servings)

1/3 cup guacamole (homemade or store-bought)
2 long-stem artichokes, well-drained and chopped
1/3 cup freeze-dried chives
1 to 2 tsp. dried parsley
2 large cloves garlic, minced or crushed
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
A pinch of red pepper flakes.
1/2 tsp. sweet paprika
3 to 4 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste
1/5 to 1/4 cup halved walnuts
6 oz. spelt ziti
3 cups broccoli florets
1/2 cup carrot matchsticks

1. Mix everything from guacamole to walnuts in a large mixing bowl until well combined.  Set aside.
2. Cook spelt ziti according to the package instructions, al dante.  In the last minute, throw in broccoli and carrots.  Strain.
3. Mix the ziti, broccoli and carrots with the above "sauce" in the large mixing bowl to incorporate everything well.  Serve immediately.

I am sending this pasta dish to Presto Pasta Nights, a great event started by Ruth of Once Upon A Feast.  This week's host will be Ben of What's Cooking.