Roasted Vegetable Spaghetti with Capers and Pine Nuts

So many of my favourite ingredients come together to form this thoroughly comforting dish. You can use leftover roast veggies of any kind in it as well, you may just need to cut them up smaller.

Keeping my foot in the door with one post a month at the moment and hoping to be able to increase it soon!

Roasted Vegetable Spaghetti with Capers and Pine Nuts

Ingredients
1/2 medium eggplant, diced into 1cm cubes
1 zucchini, diced into 1cm cubes
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 x 400ml cans of diced tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp pine nuts
300g thin spaghetti

To Make
1. Spray a baking tray lightly with olive oil and spread the diced eggplant and zucchini out. Spray with additional olive oil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Roast for 10-15 minutes at 180 degrees. 
2. Meanwhile, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a pan and cook the onions and garlic until the onions are softened and translucent. Add the canned tomatoes and tomato paste and bring to a simmer.
3. Add the roasted veggies and simmer for up to 5 minutes, just to soften any that may have dried out in the roasting. Stir through the capers and leave on a very low heat to stay warm while you cook the pasta.
4. Cook the spaghetti to al dente according to the instructions on the packet, with thin spaghetti varieties this may only take a few minutes. Drain the spaghetti and stir the sauce gently through.
5. Toast the pine nuts in a dry frypan until golden and then remove from the heat immediately. 
6. Serve up the spaghetti and sprinkle generously with pine nuts. 

Makes 4 fairly modest serves or 2 very generous serves (or 3 just right?). 
Depends on how much you love pasta!

If you love pasta as much as I do, you might want to check out all my other pasta recipes too :)

Vegan Nutmeat Bolognese with Zucchini and Carrot Spaghetti (low carb)

Like every other Australian kid, I grew up eating a lot of spaghetti bolognese. It's so commonly cooked in Australian homes that it's practically a national dish. Nobody in my family was vegetarian or vegan at the time, but my father used to switch around between making our bolognese with meat or with nutmeat. Even as a kid, I loved the nutmeat one more than the meaty one. When I grew up I learnt to cook it for myself and made it often. I introduced it to my Italian best friend and even he loved it more than the meat version. He wasn't a vegan then, but he is now and it's become the lunch we always cook whenever we catch up at, in either of our kitchens. So, it's a sentimental dish for me, and one I probably should have shard on the blog earlier.

Usually, I'd have it with thin spaghetti (the thinner the better!), but cutting back on my carb intake has meant experimenting with other options. These zucchini and carrot noodles taste wonderful with this sauce, and make for a much lighter meal. I've left mine raw, and then ladled the hot sauce over them which cooks them just slightly. You can also blanch them for a minute before eating to soften them up, but don't cook them much or they will break apart and become mushy. You'll want a julienne slicer to get them nice and noodle-y, but I seem to recall mine cost less than $2 from eBay.

 

Vegan Nutmeat Bolognese with Zucchini & Carrot Spaghetti

Ingredients1 tbsp. Olive oil

1 onion, diced

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, finely diced

1 x 400g can of nutmeat, chopped finely

2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes (or even better - 1 can diced, 1 can crushed)

1 tbsp. Tomato paste

1 tbsp. Soy sauce

Pinch of nutmeg

1/2 cup fresh oregano, chopped finely

Cracked pepper, to taste

1 zucchini, julienne sliced into noodles

1 carrot, julienne sliced into noodles

(or, use spaghetti)

To Make:

1. Heat olive oil in a pan and sauté the onion until just starting get translucent. Add the garlic and carrot and fry for a moment. Then add 1/3 cup water and simmer, covered, until the carrot is cooked through.

2. Add the chopped nutmeat, cans of tomatoes, tomato paste, soy sauce and nutmeg. Add 1/2 cup water and bring to a simmer. Simmer, uncovered,  for about 15-20 minutes by which point the sauce should have reduced and thickened nicely. Stir in the fresh oregano and add cracked pepper to taste.

3. Shred your zucchini and carrot into noodles using a julienne slicer and divide between two bowls. Ladle the hot sauce over them. If you like, sprinkle with some (vegan) parmesan cheese.

Makes enough sauce for 3-4 people, and enough noodles for 2.

Kale & Macadamia Pesto

If you've never made your own pesto then this should be the year you try it, because you're missing out! Home made pesto is so bright, fresh and delicious! It's also much better for you, generally using less oil and, of course, no preservatives or additives. If you make your own pesto, but you've never made kale pesto, then this should be the year you try it because you're missing out! Kale makes the tastiest pesto, and it's also a lot cheaper than basil. I've posted kale pesto once before, my Kale, Almond and Orange Pesto, but this one has an Australian flair, with delicious creamy macadamia nuts.

Kale & Macadamia Pesto

Ingredients
1 bunch kale, washed
1/2 cup macadamia nuts
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tbsp lemon zest
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Salt and pepper to taste

To Make
1. Remove the tough stems from the kale and tear up into pieces.
2. Combine all ingredients in a food processor and blitz into a paste. You can have it as chunky or as smooth as you prefer (I like mine a bit chunky!).

Makes about 2 jars.

To have with pasta:
1. Cook some pasta al dente and then drain. Stir a generous drizzle of olive oil through the hot pasta and then add lots of kale pesto. Stir until all the pasta is coated in pesto and then eat hot or cold as a salad.

Vegan Dulce de Leche Tiramisu

I mentioned in my last Argentinian recipe post, the Fugazza (Caramelised Onion Focaccia), that there is a lot of Italian influence in Argentinian cuisine. Just in case you didn't believe me - here is another Argentina-meets-Italy recipe. I've created my own vegan version using my home made dulce de leche and a home made 'mascarpone cream' type thing. Anyway - enough introduction. Here is it (fyi: it was absolutely delicious).

Ingredients

The Cake

1 cup soy milk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1/3 cup canola oil

½ cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 ¼ cups wholemeal plain flour

½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp bicarb soda

Dulce de Leche 'Mascarpone' Cream
1/4 cup cashews, soaked for 1 hour
300g silken tofu
1 can coconut cream, refrigerated over night
2 tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tbsp sugar
Pinch of salt
1 1/2 - 2 cups Vegan Dulce de Leche (you can vary this according to personal taste)

You'll also need
1 cup strong black coffee, sweetened (or substitute 1/2 cup kahlua or other coffee liqueur)
Chocolate shavings, for decorating.

To Make
The Cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.

2. Combine the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few moments to curdle.

3. Add the sugar, canola oil and extracts and mix well (I use a whisk for this), then sift in all other ingredients and mix well to combine.

4. Line a medium sized lightly greased square baking dish with baking paper. Pour in the cake batter.

5. Bake for 20 minutes – or until golden on top and a skewer comes out clean when inserted.

6. Set aside to cool completely (you can work on the other bits of the tiramisu while it cools).

7. Once cooled, cut into smaller, more manageable sections and slice in half lengthways.

Dulce de Leche Cream:

1. Drain the cashews (which you have soaked for at least an hour) and place in a food processor with the tofu, lemon juice, sugar and salt. 

2. Open the tin of coconut cream which you have had in the fridge (at least) overnight. Scoop out the thick solid white layer and reserve the remaining clear liquid for another used (such as a curry or a smoothie). Add the solid while layer to the food processor and process until completely smooth. This may take a while, as you want the cashews completely smooth as well - so be prepared to process it for up to 5 minutes, scraping down the sides and stirring often.

3. Once completely smooth, transfer to a bowl and stir the dulce de leche through. Keep in the fridge while you prepare your ingredients for assembly.

To Assemble:

1. In an individual dessert glass, layer a piece of the vanilla cake on the bottom and sprinkle generously with the sweetened coffee. Then add a layer of dulce de leche cream, then another layer of cake and finally more of the cream. 

2. Repeat until you have made enough portions or you run out of ingredients. 

3. Garnish them with shaved chocolate and keep in the fridge until ready to serve. Can be made in advance and will keep well for up to 3 days.

Makes 10 individual portions.

NOTES~

~For the more boozy alternative, use kalua instead of the sweetened coffee. 

~ This can also be made into one large tiramisu instead of individual servings.

This month I'm featuring lots of recipes from Argentina!

Check out my other Argentinian recipe posts:

Vegan Dulce de Leche

Fugazza (Caramelised Onion Focaccia)

Sweetcorn Empanadas

Alfajores (Dulce de Leche Sandwich Biscuits)

Pumpkin & Jalapeño Empanadas

Salsa Verde Potato Salad (otherwise known as Green Potatoes)

Around the holiday season you find yourself often in the position of being asked to "bring a dish" to any number of events. Potato salad is a classic, but give the tired old mayonnaise dressing a miss and try out this fresh and tangy salsa verde.

Ingredients

1kg chat potatoes

1 bunch parsley

1 tbsp capers

1 dill pickle, roughly chopped

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1 tsp red wine vinegar

3 tbsp olive oil

2-3 shallots, chopped (scallions)

To Make

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil and add the potatoes. Simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender when pierced with a knife. Drain and set aside.

2. Combine the parsley, capers, pickle, lemon juice, vinegar and 2 tbsp olive oil in a food processor. Process until you get to your desired consistency. You can either leave it a bit chunky (like a traditional salsa verde) or continue until it's smooth. 

3. Cut any of the larger potatoes in half, if desired. Stir through the dressing. Sprinkle with chopped shallots (scallions) and drizzle with the remaining olive oil. There is no need to add salt, as the capers are quite salty already. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Serves 6.

Rocket Pesto Fettuccine with Tomato, Olives and Artichoke Hearts

Having the rocket pesto already made up in a jar in the fridge makes this seriously a 10 minute dinner - and it tastes so special you would never know you spent less time on it than in your morning shower. 

Ingredients

1 cup Rocket Pesto

1 packet fettuccine

2 tbsp olive oil

4 tomatoes, diced

1 cup marinated artichoke hearts

1/2 cup kalamata olives

2 tbsp fresh lime (or lemon) juice

Salt and cracked pepper, to taste.

To Make

1. Cook the pasta in plenty of boiling water until al dente. Drain and return to the pan.

2. Add the olive oil immediately and stir through the pasta - this will stop it drying out and sticking together.

3. Stir through the rocket pesto until it coats the fettuccine evenly.

4. Add the tomatoes, artichoke hearts, olives, lemon juice and salt and pepper. Stir through and serve immediately!

Serves 4.

Homemade Vegan Rocket Pesto

This little jar of heaven is a must to keep in the fridge a) because you can smear it on your sandwiches and vegie burgers and b) if you stir it through some hot pasta it makes a seriously sensational and super quick dinner or lunch.

Ingredients

200g fresh rocket

1/3 cup olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 red chilli (most seeds removed)

Juice of 1 lemon

70g pine nuts (1 pkt)

To Make: 

1. Put the rocket and olive oil in a food processor and process until smooth.

2. Add the garlic, chilli, pine nuts and lemon juice and process again until all ingredients are finely blended and it looks nice and pasty.

3. Use immediately or store for up to 2 weeks in a jar or sealed container in your fridge.

Makes 1-3 jars (depending on the size of your jars). Makes nice gifts too :)

Try our Rocket Pesto Fettuccine with Tomato, Olives and Artichoke Hearts. 

Homemade Spinach, Pine nut and Fenugreek Ravioli with Roast Pumpkin and Tomato

That's right I said home made ravioli! Now before you get into a bit of a panic because it is all just too hard let me assure you that actually it is very easy and once you have tried it once the next time you will whip it up so quick you won't even notice. Home made ravioli is ridiculously rewarding because sadly when you buy ravioli ready made it only seems to come in two kinds - beef and spinach and cheese. That's all very well but what about all the other things you can put in ravioli? Think pumpkin! Think mushrooms! Think eggplant! Maybe even zuccini! How great does that sound??

Ingredients:

Ravioli:

1 tbsp olive oil

1 teaspoon whole fenugreek seeds

¼ cup pine nuts

4 leaves spinach (silverbeet), chopped very finely

2 button mushrooms, finely diced

Small handful of fresh basil, finely chopped (or substitute 1 tsp fresh basil paste)

1 ½ cups fine semolina

½ cup plain flour

1 tbsp olive oil (extra)

½ cup water

Roasted Vegies:

Olive Oil (yeah, more of it.)

400g pumpkin

500g Roma tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp balsamic vinegar

Fresh rocket, to serve

To Make:
1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celcius.

2. Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a heavy based saucepan or frypan and fry the fenugreek seeds until slightly golden – only a few minutes. Remove from the saucepan and grind to a fine powder in a mortar and pestle, food processor or spice grinder. Put the powder aside.

3. With the oil left in the pan toast the pine nuts until slightly browned and then either chop roughly with a knife or smash lightly in the mortar and pestle.

4. Now using the same saucepan lightly fry the chopped mushrooms and then add the spinach and basil and sauté until wilted. Take off the heat and mix through the pine nuts and 1/2 teaspoon of the fenugreek powder. Set aside.

5. Chop the pumpkin into small (1.5-2cm) pieces and the tomato into 8ths.  Drizzle a baking dish with oil and mix the vegies around in it to coat. Chop the cloves of garlic in half (just leave the skins on) and chuck them in as well. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes or so or until the pumpkin is tender (the tomato will cook a lot faster so it will disintegrate a little and become saucy). When it has 5 minutes left to cook add the soy sauce and balsamic vinegar and mix through, return to the oven.

6. While those are baking away make the pasta: combine the flour and semolina in a food processor and pulse to combine. With the food processor still on drizzle in the olive oil and gradually add the water. The mix should become sticky and clump together on one side, so if it seems to dry add some more water.

7. Turn out onto a well floured bench and knead very briefly to coat in flour until it is no longer sticky. Cut into 6 equal pieces. Put each the first piece though your pasta roller according to its instructions and roll to about a size 4 sheet of pasta. Put aside on the floured bench (keep everything well floured people, otherwise it will stick to your bench). Do the same with the next piece of dough.

8. So now you have two lasagne sheets lying next to each other on the bench.  Put a teaspoon full of the spinach mix in two rows along the sheet (Ok I explained that badly so just look at the picture:)

9. With a pastry brush or your finger brush a line of water around the edge of each box (remembering to do the outer edges of the sheet). Place the second lasagne sheet over the top of the first and press down gently to get the air out and to flatten the mix slightly. Then if you have one of those great zig zaggy cutters use that to cut the ravioli into squares (your pasta roller will probably come with one as an accessory), if you don’t have one just cut neatly with a knife. Put each piece aside while you do the same with the rest of the dough and mix.

10. When they are all done your vegies are most likely cooked so take them out. Bring a generous amount of water  to the boil in a big saucepan and gently add each piece of ravioli. Boil for 2 minutes or so and then drain.

11. Mix the vegies through the ravioli and serve on a bed of fresh rocket.

Serves 3-4.  

Multigrain Minestrone Soup with Chestnuts

Adding chestnuts to just about everything in is a habit I picked up when living in China when roasted chestnuts were sold cheap on the side of the road all winter. They add a lovely nutty sweetness to this soup which is a perfect one for using up all the little bits of vegies in your fridge, I just used whatever bits of vegies I had in my fridge so you can substitute any vegies that you have.

Ingredients:

5-6 raw chestnuts

1 litre vegetable stock

1/2 cup green lentils

3 tbsp brown rice
4 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2 tbsp bulghur
3 tbsp quinoa
2 carrots, diced
1 celery stick, diced
1 cup of finely chopped cauliflower
3-4 button mushrooms, diced
5 tbsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1/3 cup fresh or frozen peas
1 zucchini, diced
1/3 cup soup pasta
1-2 handfuls of baby spinach
Salt and pepper to taste

To Make:
1. Preheat the oven or grill to high (as in over 200 degrees Celsius) and roast the chestnuts until they are slightly blackened on the outside and the shells are cracking. Remove from the oven and let cool before removing the shells, incuding as much of the dark brown skin underneath the shell as possible. Chop the chestnuts roughly and set aside to use later.
2. Bring the vegetable stock to the boil and add the lentils, brown rice and garlic. Simmer covered for 10 minutes while you prep all your other vegies.
3. Add the quinoa, bulghur, carrot, celery, cauliflower, mushroom, tomato paste, paprika and peas and simmer for a further 10 minutes or until the grains are well cooked.
4. Once all the vegies and grains are cooked add the pasta, zucchini and chestnuts and simmer, stirring frequently, until the pasta is cooked (you may need to add a bit more water to stop all the pasta and grains sticking to the bottom).
5. Once the pasta is cooked through turn off the heat and stir the baby spinach leaves through and then serve immediately.

Serves 3-4.

Fresh Vegan Basil Spaghetti with Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce

Ok - so I know most people think that making your own spaghetti is just too hard, and truthfully I used to be one of them. But I recently discovered the other day that it is ridiculously easy! Home made fresh pasta has such a great delicate flavour and means that you can get creative with the pasta. Once you can make your own gourmet pastas you can make the pasta the star of the dish and complement it with a nice simple sauce. So go and borrow somebody's pasta rolling machine and give this a try - once you realise how easy and delicious it is you'll go and buy one of your own :) This spaghetti is fine to eat the same day but the longer you dry it the better it will hold together when you cook it - so overnight is ideal!

On the other hand - if you don't feel like making your own spaghetti then you can substitute some spinach fettuccine or other special store bought pasta.

Ingredients:

Basil Spaghetti

1 1/2 cups fine semolina

1/2 cup wholemeal flour

1-2 tbsp olive oil

2/3 cup water

1 loosely packed cup fresh basil leaves

Roasted Tomato Garlic Sauce

6-7 fresh tomatoes

3 cloves garlic

1 onion

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tsp raw sugar

8-10 pitted kalamata olives

3 tbsp chopped oregano

To Make:

1. Preheat the oven to approximately 180 degrees Celsius.

The Pasta

1. Shred the basil in a food processor. Add the semolina and flour and process briefly to combine. With the food processor still on gradually add the water and olive oil. The mix will begin to look like breadcrumbs and then as it mixes will turn into a thick dough. 

2. Dust the a workspace with some flour and turn the mix out onto the flour. Knead very briefly to add a bit more flour to the mix, if the dough is too sticky add some more flour.

3. Cut the mix into 8 equal portions and put through your pasta roller according to it's instructions. You will probably find you need an extra set of hands to help.

4. As you roll out the spaghetti lay them flat carefully on a piece of greaseproof paper (try not to make the strands too long - try for about the length you would get in a packet of ready made spaghetti) and leave to dry. I would advise that you leave it for a minimum of half an hour but I actually recommend several hours. The best would be overnight, the longer you leave it to dry the more the pasta will stick together when you cook it. I dried my first batch for 30 minutes and it broke up into short lengths when I cooked it, then I dried my second batch for 5 hours or so and it stayed together beautifully. 

The Sauce

1. Chop the tomatoes in half and then chop each half into 4-6 pieces. Slice the onion into thin wedges and peel and roughly chop the garlic.

2. Drizzle a baking dish with olive oil and add the tomato, onion and garlic. Stir well to coat with oil. Put in the oven and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the onion is cooked and the garlic has softened.

3. Stir in all the remaining ingredients and return to the oven for about 5 minutes while you make the pasta.

And then..

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Once the water is boiling add your basil spaghetti to the boiling water and stir gently to prevent sticking. Fresh pasta doesn't take long to cook and your spaghetti should be cooked after about 1 or 2 minutes of boiling. Drain.

2. Serve topped with the Baked Tomato Garlic Sauce!