Zizi's Adventures - Real Food, Real Stories

Vegan Broccoli Cream Soup

by

Let’s start the new year with a delicious, nutritious, vegan soup: broccoli cream soup. It’s very easy and quick to make, you only need 25-30 minutes.

Did you know that the word broccoli comes from the Italian plural of broccolo, refers to “the flowering top of a cabbage”. Broccoli is high in vitamin B1, B2, B3 and C, as well as dietary fiber; it also contains multiple nutrients with potent anti-cancer properties. When you cook something from it, use also the stalk – peeled, don’t throw it away!

Instead of cream potato makes the soup creamy and silky. Potato contains vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B6 and C, potassium, magnesium, iron and zinc. The fiber content of a potato with skin (2 g) is equivalent to that of many whole grain breads, pastas, and cereals.

All in all, this soup is a healthy option to start the new year with (especially after Christmas indulgences :)).

Vegan Broccoli Cream Soup

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 1 medium head of broccoli (about 400 g), peel stalk, stalk and florets chopped
– 1 onion, chopped
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 1 medium potato, peeled and diced
– 1 liter (4 cups) vegetable stock + water to thin, as needed
– salt, pepper
– olive oil
– freshly squeezed lemon juice + baguette to serve

Method

In a pan heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil and sweat onions and garlic until soft (5-6 minutes). Add vegetable stock, potato and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer with a lid on top for about 10-15 minutes. Add in broccoli and cook until the vegetables are tender. Season with salt and pepper.

Remove soup from heat and purée with a hand blender until smooth (if you find it too thick add a little bit more water to thin). Serve immediately in bowls with baguette on the side, dribble olive oil and lemon juice on top.

Mushroom Bruschetta

by

Isn’t this mushroom beautiful? Its name is cloud funnel, a type of wild mushroom. It appears both in conifer-dominated forests and broad-leaved woodland in Europe and North America. When it’s cooked it has a strong, spicy aroma. Mixing with button mushrooms, fresh herbs and lemon juice it gives a tartish ragout. You can use any kind of wild or farmed mushrooms or a combination of both.

This bruschetta is a quick weekday dinner. Use good quality of sourdough bread and it’ll be perfect!

Mushroom Bruschetta
(Recipe: Jamie Oliver – Jamie At Home)

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 300 g mixed mushrooms (I used cloud funnel and button mushroom), wiped clean, sliced
– 2 cloves garlic, chopped
– 2 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves picked
– 6 sprigs of fresh parsley, chopped
– 20 g butter
– 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
– juice of 1 medium lemon
– salt, pepper
– olive oil
– 4 slices of sourdough bread + 1 clove garlic

Method

In a large pan heat 2-3 tablespoons olive oil. Add mushrooms to the pan, give it a shake. Add the chopped garlic, thyme and parsley. Season with salt, pepper, chilli and leave to fry for 5-6 minutes.

Once the mushrooms have got some colour going on, add butter and lemon juice. Toss again and add 2-3 tablespoons of water into the pan to make a creamy sauce. Simmer for 1-2 minutes more until you have a simple sauce.

Toast the bread slices, rub them with garlic. Pile the mushrooms with the sauce on top of the bread.

Serve immediately!

Raw Tabuleh

by

Raw tabuleh… why is it raw? And how? Raw because I replaced the cooked bulgur with cauliflower. The tiny little white specks look pretty much like bulgur when mixed with all the other ingredients.

The idea comes from a friend of mine, Giulia, who made cauliflower-walnut pesto for me, Karin and Regula last October when we visited her in Tuscany. Then and there I fell in love with Tuscany: the landscape, the weather, the crisp fresh air, the cypress trees and the food we ate and made at Giulia’s gorgeous place. Tuscany has a very special kind of magic that you feel immediately when you arrive.

I made this tabuleh salad for a picnic spent with great friends in a park in Budapest. You can eat it as a salad with other yummie bits and pieces or as a side dish with grilled vegetables or meat.

Raw Tabuleh

Ingredients (serves 4)

– 1 medium sized cauliflower (about 400 g), cut into small florets
– 3 bunches of parsley, chopped
– 1/2 bunch of mint, chopped
– 4 tomatoes (about 350 g), chopped
– 2-3 spring onions, chopped
– 150 ml extra virgin olive oil
– 100-150 ml freshly squeezed lemon juice
– salt, pepper

Method

Place cauliflower florets (use the stems to eat it raw or make soup) in a food processor then blend into grain-size pieces. Place it in a large bowl and toss with the chopped parsley, mint, tomatoes and spring onions. Add olive oil, lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.

Place the bowl in the fridge and leave it there for at least 2 hours.

Picnic with friends in Istvan Szent Park, Budapest…

Raw Zucchini Spagetthi With Creamy Tahini Sauce

by

Although I’m ovo-lacto vegetarian I cook and bake a lot of vegan meals too. I’m also interested to challenge myself with making raw meals. Raw foodism can include any diet of primarily unheated food, or food cooked to a temperature less than 40C (104F) to 46C (115F). It is believed that foods cooked above this temperature have lost much of their nutritional value and are less healthful or even harmful to the body. Also rawfoodblogs prove that the meals are made from simply ingredients are so colourful, tasteful and nutritious.

I love pasta and I eat a lot. In the summer heat I  don’t like cooking when the kitchen is already steamy and hot. I decided to try something new and make a different kind of ‘pasta’. This raw version of spagetthi is very versatile, it can be eaten as a salad or a main course.

Raw Zucchini Spagetthi with Creamy Tahini Sauce

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 4 baby zucchini (either yellow or green, about 10-15 cm / 3,93-5,90 inch long)
– 2 tablespoons tahini
– 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
– 1 tablespoon soy sauce
– 3 tablespoons nutritional yeast (flake)
– 2 tablespoons water
– a pinch of chili flakes

Method

With a julienne peeler slice the zucchinis (until the middle of the zucchinis, seed parts). Place the sliced zucchinis in a bowl and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together tahini with lemon juice, soy sauce and nutritional yeast. Dilute the sauce with 2 tablespoons water, then add chili flakes and mix until smooth. Pour the sauce over the zucchini spagetthi and work it in with your hands.

Green Asparagus And Pea Ricotta Pesto Spagetthi

by

I love summer because the markets (and of course nature) is colourful, bright and fragrant. Every Saturday I get up early to go to Budapest’s biggest organic farmers market. The vegetables and fruits are grown with care by the farmers I got to know in the last few years.

Since we have owned a small parcel in a community garden I appreciate the farmers hard work even more that’s why I like supporting them. As much as possible I always use fresh stuff, so the food I prepare is full of healthy ingredients that are straight from the plant or that are made with as little processing and as few added flavorings as possible, keeping nutrients and original flavors intact.

This is how this simply pasta dish was born. Green vegetables and herbs (bought at the market) lightened with creamy, white ricotta and a touch of lemon juice.

Enjoy!

Green Asparagus and Pea Ricotta Pesto Spagetthi

Ingredients (serves 2)

– 200 g spagetthi
– 150 g ricotta
– 140 g fresh green shelled peas
– 180 g green asparagus, discard the wooden parts
– 1 clove garlic
– 125 ml extra virgin olive oil
– juice of 1/2 lemon
– 6 pieces of basil leaves
– 3 pieces of mint leaves
– sea salt and black pepper

Method

In a medium sized pan bring water to a boil. Put the peas and asparagus into the water and blanch them for 1 minute, then drain and pass them under cold water for a few seconds to keep the nice bright green colour.

Add salt into the boiling water and cook the spagetthi al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a food processor blend peas, chopped asparagus with all the remaining ingredients (ricotta, garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, basil and mint leaves). Season with salt and pepper.

Pour the creamy pesto sauce over the cooked spagetthi and stir well. Serve the creamy spagetthi onto plates, top with fresh peas and black pepper.