Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Udon Noodles With Creamy Tahini Sauce, Roasted Kale & Tofu

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I love tahini sauce thanks to this easy vegan noodle salad. The creamy lemon-y tahini sauce with roasted tofu and kale is so divine. This can be a great weekday dinner. I love the contrast of the crunchy greens and tofu with the creamy sauce. You should give it a try!

Udon Noodles with Creamy Tahini Sauce, Roasted Kale & Tofu

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 200 udon noodles
– 300 g firm tofu, cubed
– 1 bunch of kale, cut the leaves into bite size pieces
– 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
– 1 teaspoon chili flakes
– 4 tablespoon tahini
– 2 teaspoon soy sauce
– juice of 1 lemon
– salt, pepper
– coconut oil (you can use sunflower oil too)

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Press the block of tofu for about 20 minutes to remove most of the moisture, and then dice into very small cubes as well. Arrange the tofu cubes on the parchment paper, sprinkle with 2 teaspoons coconut oil, season with salt and pepper. Roast for about 20 minutes at 180C (350F) or until golden brown. Set aside.

Cook the udon in salted water according to package directions, then drain well and set aside.

Heat 2 teaspoon coconut oil in a pan and saute the garlic and chili flakes for a minute. Add the kale and cook for about 10 minutes until a bit crunchy.

In a small bowl whisk together tahini, soy sauce and lemon juice. Toss the kale and udon together in a large bowl with the roasted tofu and add the tahini sauce.

Shakshuka

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I was inspired by Nicole’s recipe, she calls this baked eggs. I rarely eat eggs but the moment I saw Nicole’s photos I knew I was going to make it. A fellow Hungarian food blogger told me that this meal is called shakshuka. 
Shakshuka is believed to have Algerian and Tunisian origins. It is a staple of Tunisian, Egyptian, Libyan, Algerian, and Moroccan cuisines, and is also popular in Israel. The eggs are poached in a sauce of tomatoes, onions, herbs and spices. You can add vegetables, cheese to it like I did. Be brave and add anything to the meal you would like. It’s great for a lazy weekend breakfast or for a light lunch during the week. We ate it with garlic toast but you can serve it with cooked rice, millet, bulgur wheat or quinoa.

Shakshuka

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1 can tomato
– 2 organic eggs
– 1 mozzarella (ball)
– 1 small zucchini, cubed
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– fresh thyme
– 1 teaspoon chili flakes
– salt, pepper
– olive oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 170C (350F). Tear mozzarella into small strips.

In a baking dish add the can of tomatoes, mashed the tomatoes with a fork, then season with salt and pepper. Add the cubed zucchini, garlic and mozzarella. Crack the eggs on top of the sauce and season with the thyme and chili flakes. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons olive oil on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes at 170C (350F) until the eggs are cooked and the mozzarella melted.

Vegetarian Christmas – Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast

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A nut roast is a rich and savoury vegetarian dish consisting of nuts (walnuts, hazelnuts, brazil nuts, pecans, cashew nuts, pistachio, chestnuts, peanuts), grains, vegetables, vegetable oils, broth or butter, and seasonings formed into a firm loaf shape or long casserole dish before roasting and often eaten as an alternative to a traditional British style roast dinner. It is popular with vegetarians/vegans at Christmas, as well as part of a traditional Sunday roast. 
I made a similar nut roast (Mrs. Myrtleberry’s roast) nearly a year ago. It was love at first sight or love at first taste! 🙂 The main adjustment is to toast the nuts, which brings out a wonderful flavour. This is rich, satisfying and chockfull of protein. 
Even if you are a meat eater you need to try one of them. It is definitely a festive meal with mashed potato and salad.

Cranberry and Pistachio Nut Roast (Jamie Oliver recipe)

Ingredients (serves 4-6)

– 50 g pistachio, toasted
– 50 g almond, toasted
– 20 g dried porcini
– 100 g button mushroom, sliced
– 100 g cheddar cheese, grated (omit to make vegan nut roast)
– 100 g pearl barley
– 1 red onion, finely chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
– 2 small celery root, peeled and finely chopped
– 300-400 ml vegetarble stock
– 1 organic/free range egg, beaten (omit to make vegan nut roast)
– 1-1 teaspoon of sage, rosemary and thyme, leaves picked and chopped
– small handful of whole wheat breadcrumbs
– 1 teaspoon chili flake
– grated zest of 1 lemon
– 4 tablespoons olive oil
– sea salt
– pepper
– 150 g frozen cranberries
– 1 tablespoon brown cane sugar

Method

In a dry non-stick pan roast pistachio and almond for 8 minutes, let cool, chop roughly and set aside. Soak the dried porcini in a little boiling water (enough to cover) for 8-10 minutes. Drain the porcini (keep the soaking water!), chop it roughly and set aside. Butter a 20-23 cm loaf tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper. Cook the sugar and the cranberries in a pan over medium heat for 1–2 minutes, then tip into the tin and spread evenly.
Make the risotto base first. Heat the olive oil in a large pan over low heat. Add the chopped celery root and onion and cook for 10 minutes, until soft. Add the garlic and cook for another minute or two. Turn up the heat and add the pearl barley. Cook for a minute or so until you hear it snap, crackle and pop, then add the porcini soaking water and stir until absorbed.
Add the drained, chopped porcini to the risotto and the hot stock, a ladleful at a time, stirring each one in until it has been completely absorbed, about 20 minutes. Stir as much as you can – this is what will make it creamy. Once the pearl barley is al dente, transfer to a bowl to cool. 
Preheat the oven to 190C (360F). In a pan fry the sliced button mushrooms in a little olive oil over medium heat for 5–8 minutes, until they are just starting to crisp. 
Once the risotto has cooled, add all other ingredients (button mushrooms, pistachio, almond, grated cheese, egg, sage, rosemary, thyme, lemon zest, breadcrumbs and chili flake), season, and mix well. Pile the nut-roast mixture in the tin and pack it down with the back of a spoon. Cover it with foil and bake for 45 minutes, then remove the foil and cook for a further 15 minutes. Once it’s golden brown on top, remove the nut roast from the oven and leave to settle for 10 minutes. 
Use a knife to loosen the tin, then place your serving platter or board on top. Cover your hand with a tea towel and courageously flip the whole lot over, then carefully lift the tin off. 

More vegetarian Christmas recipe:
Pumpkin Pie

Hokkaido Squash "Mac&Cheese" with Swiss Chard

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I was going to post this recipe before I went to Tuscany to visit my amazing Tuscan food blogger friend, Giulia with two other food lovers: Regula and Karin. I got very busy before the journey so I didn’t have time to write the post. The funny thing is that this morning, Giulia posted a very similar recipe, an autumn pumpkin mac&cheese dish on her blog.

I made a vegan version of this meal. I didn’t have experience with nutritional yeast before but I loved the taste of this “cheese” sauce. It’s healthy, savory, creamy and makes you want more.

Nutritional yeast is a deactivated yeast. It is produced by culturing the yeast with a mixture of sugarcane and beet molasses for a period of 7 days and then harvesting, washing, drying and packaging it. This yeast is a source of protein and vitamins, especially the B-complex vitamins, and is a complete protein. It is also naturally low in fat and sodium and is free of sugar, dairy, and gluten and popular with vegans and vegetarians and may be used as an ingredient in recipes or as a condiment.

I used Hokkaido squash to make it but you can use any kind of squash or pumpkin. Recipe adapted with some changes from Oh She Glows.

The real colour of the dish! 🙂
Hokkaido Squash “Mac&Cheese” with Swiss Chard
Ingredients (serves 2)

– 1 cup Hokkaido squash puree (peeled, baked and pureed with a blender)
– 1 cup unflavoured almond milk (or oat/rice/soy milk)
– 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast (flake)
– 1 tablespoon tapioca starch (or corn starch)
– 3 cloves garlic, chopped
– 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
– 1/2 teaspoon chili flakes
– 250 g penne
– 3 big leaves Swiss chard, chopped
– salt, pepper
– olive oil
– coconut oil

Method

Preheat the oven to 180C (350F). Cut the Hokkaido squash in half. Scoop the seeds out of the squash with a spoon. Drizzle the squash with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Bake in the oven for 40-60 minutes or until tender. Then allow to cool.

Meanwhile prepare the cheese sauce. In a bowl whisk together almond milk and tapioca starch until clumps are gone. In a pot heat 1 tablespoon coconut oil, add almond milk + starch and whisk. Stir in the remaining ingredients: nutritional yeast, chopped garlic, mustard and season with salt and pepper. Whisk over low heat until thickened. Blend the sauce with 1 cup of roasted squash. Set aside.

Cook your pasta al dente in salted water according to package’s directions. Drain and set aside.

In a big bowl mix together cooked pasta with the squash-cheese sauce and chopped Swiss chard. Add the mixture into a pan and bake it in the oven for 10 minutes at 180C (350F). Serve with salad.

Roasted Kapia Pepper Sauce with Fusilli

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I love roasted kapia peppers. I just simply sprinkle with olive oil and roast them in the oven. At the end of the roasting the remaining olive oil is mixed with the taste of the peppers and you will get something very yummie. Take a small piece of crunchy bread and dip it into this oil mixture. You will be in heaven, I promise! 🙂
First time I cooked this pasta dish a few weeks ago. I randomly threw all the ingredients together, I didn’t have too much time for cooking. I was going to make a salad with it but because of the lack of time I just chopped some zucchinis into julienne and top the pasta with it. The zucchini’s clean, sweet flavor goes well with the pepper, tomato, spicy sauce. Second time I made this dish for my Budapest Vegan Club’s friends (without the goat cheese) and everyone loved it. I’m sure, you will too!

Roasted Kapia Pepper Sauce with Fusilli
Ingredients (serves 4)
– 500 g fusilli
– 8 pieces kapia peppers
– 4 cloves garlic, sliced
– 4 tomatoes, chopped
– 6 leaves basil
– 4 baby zucchinis, cut into julienne
– goat cheese
– olive oil
– salt, pepper
Method
Heat oven to 180C. Place peppers on a sheet pan, sprinkle with 2-3 tablespoons olive oil and roast for 15-20 minutes until the peppers’ skin gets black. Remove from the oven and let it cool. Peel the skin and remove the seeds carefully. Place it in a bowl. 
Cook the fusilli al dente in salted water according to the package. In the meantime add sliced garlic, chopped tomatoes, basil leaves and 1 tablespoon olive oil to the roasted peppers. Season with salt and pepper and with a hand blender work the mixture until it gets smooth. Pour the creamy sauce over the cooked and drained fusilli and stir well. Serve the creamy fusilli onto plates, top with the zucchini and goat cheese crumbles.

And one more photo that doesn’t belong to this meal… I took it a couple of weeks ago and I really liked it that’s why I though I would share it with you.