Mains and Nibbles Ideas (mainly Vegetarian)

Carrot & Lentils Soup

Ingredients:

- 500 g baby carrots

- 1 tin Lentils 

- 1 butternut squash

... yes, that's all you need :)

Boil the baby carrots until the soften and the fork can get through them easily. Preheat the oven at the maximum grilling temperature. Cut the butternut squash in thins slices and put them in the oven for 10 minutes. Take them out when they're crisply (they're my favourite delicious and healthier version of crisps!). Low heat the lentils. Once the carrots are cooked, drain them saving a bit of the water, then blend it altogether until you get a smooth cream and add a pinch of salt. Pour it in a bowl, top with the lentils and decorate with the squash crisps.

Vegetarian Lasagna

This is my version of a delicious vegetarian lasagne and for making them you need:

- 500 g of lasagne sheets (I used Barilla green ones)

- 500 g spinach

- 3 packs of chestnut mushrooms

- 500 g ricotta

- Grana Padano

- 1 L whole milk 

- nutmeg

- 100 g flour.

These lasagne requires a bit of preparation but it is worth it! The preparation can be split in different steps:

- make the (light) besciamella (without butter): low heat the milk and gradually add the flour and the nutmeg. Stir until it thickens.

- In a saucepan, cook the chopped mushrooms for 15 minutes with a pinch of salt then blend half of them and mix it with the besciamella.

- Sear the spinach for a few minutes and then mix them with the ricotta in a large bowl.

Preheat the oven at 200C. In a large baking tray, start with the besciamella+mushrooms mix then add the lasagne sheets, make the next layer with the ricotta+spinach and so on. Finish the lasagne sprinkle the top with grated Grana and mushrooms to decorate. Bake for 20- 25 minutes.

Carrot & Thyme soup

Ingredients:

- 1 kg carrots

- 2 potatoes

- 2 springs thyme

- 4 bay leaves

- 2 garlic cloves

- 1 red onion

- 2 chives.

Put the peeled carrots, potatoes, thyme, bay leaves and garlic in a large pot with roughly 1 L of water and bring it to boiling point for 30 minutes.  In the meantime, finely chop the onion and chives and pan-fry (low-heat) them with a couple of tbs rice oil for 10-15 minutes. Once the vegetables are cooked, take out the garlic and drain the water keeping a bit of it. Blend altogether and finally add the onion and chives on top of it.

Eggs in Chickpeas Crust

This is a super a super tasty idea for eating eggs in a different way.

Ingredients:

- 2 eggs

- 1 tin chickpeas

- 5-6 black olives

- spinach

- 50 g quinoa.

Boil the eggs and cook the quinoa separately. Blend the chickpeas with half of the tin water with a pinch of salt then add the olives and a handful of spinach. Once cooked, add the quinoa to the chickpeas mixture. Peel the eggs and spread the mixture all over them then roll the eggs on the gomasio then put them in the oven at 180 C for 20 minutes. Serve with a soup of spinach (simply boil it for 10 minutes and blend it).

Avocado Pesto 

As an Italian, I can't say that this is a real pesto of course! This a creative alternative to the classical version but really tasty and it's a different way of eating my favourite super food: Avocado. It is so rich in nutrients that  should be a staple food in every mainly vegetarian diet so try this recipe and let me know how if you like it!

For 2 people you'll need:

- 180-200 g of pasta (here I used trofie but I would also recommend wholemeal      pasta)

- 1/2 red onion

- 1 tbs rice oil

- 1 and a half ripe avocado (or 2 if they're small)

- 10 cherry tomatoes

- basel

- 30 g walnuts

- 1/2 lemon.

As usual, start doing the soffritto in a pan and while the onion gets brown, dice the cherry tomatoes then add them into the saucepan. Let the onion and tomatoes fry for a few minutes over low heat, in the meantime mash the avocado in a mortar with some leaves of basel and the walnuts. Once you have a smooth cream squeeze half a lemon in it and stir. Put the pasta into the boiling water and a couple of minutes before draining it pour the avocado cream into the saucepan with the onion and tomatoes, and simmer. Add a couple of spoon of the boiling water of the pasta into the saucepan and stir (the starch helps to bring all your ingredient together). Drain the pasta when it is stil "al dente" and add it into the saucepan. Stir well until you have a delicious blend of pasta and avocado cream. Enjoy!