ratatouille pasta

 

Overview

Time: 55 minutes 
Dishes: large skillet, medium pot

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

When my son told me that he had a hankering for Ratatouille, I thought - great, I can make that. 

Then he told me he had made it before - the authentic way, and I thought - hey, I can do that. 

Then he told me it took him 3 hours to make, and I thought - yeah, um, no.  

Although I agree with him wholeheartedly that Ratatouille should be made properly - cooked so that all the vegetables sing in harmony but each keep their integrity; not be overcooked but be properly cooked to perfection. However, I could not devote 3 hours to it. 

After preparing the dish, while complaining that it was not layered properly in thinly cut disks, he managed to keep shoveling the pasta into his mouth, so I will follow his actions and not so much listen to his gripes. In the meantime, my husband was head down into the bowl of pasta and by the time I got back to the kitchen there were only a few lingering squash pieces left in the pan. 

In order to cook the dish properly, you have to cook it in stages, very much like the Hungarian Lecso or the Spanish Sofrito. Only after the current layer is partly cooked, do you add the next ingredient. The ratatouille is then braised in broth and finally baked in the oven.

It sounds complicated, but take a look at the recipe - it is easy to prepare and the instructions are clear. 

Don't miss out.     

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Chop the onion first and add to the  pan.
• Then mince the garlic and add it. 
• Chop the squash and eggplant while the onion cooks.
• Chop the tomato while the squash cooks.
• Cook the pasta while the ratatouille bakes.
• Save some cooking pasta water in case the ratatouille is too dry, but it shouldn't be needed.

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Ratatouille Pasta

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

weekday/weekend

Preheat oven to 400-F

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, diced

1/2 teaspoon red chili flakes 

6 garlic cloves, minced

3 medium summer squash (18 ounces), cut into 1-inch dice

1 medium eggplant (14 ounces), cut into 1-inch dice

2 medium tomatoes (15 ounces), chopped

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 1/4 cup vegetable broth

12 ounces pasta 

1/4 cup minced parsley 

1. Onion: Heat the oil in a large oven-safe skillet over medium heat. Add onion and chili flakes and garlic. Cook until the onion is golden, covered, about 8 minutes. Stir as needed.  

2. Squash: Add the squash and eggplant to the Onion. Cook until squash is starting to brown, 4 minutes. Stir as needed.   

3. Tomato: Add the tomato and paste to the Onion. Mix well. Cook until the paste is browning, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.    

4. Broth and Bake: Add the broth to the Onion. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer. Cover and cook for 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 400-F. Uncover and transfer to oven. Bake for 25 minutes. Alternately, transfer to an oven-safe dish to bake.  

5. Pasta: Cook the pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside. 

6. Serve: Remove from the oven and stir in the parsley. Taste and adjust seasoning. Toss with Pasta. Serve.       

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

knoephla dumpling soup

Overview

Time: 45 minutes
Dishes: large pot, large bowl 

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I bring you a German soup, which is byway of Minnesota and the Dakotas, where there are large settlements of German emigrants from the Russian Empire (source: Wikipedia). Although I gathered this tid-bit from Wiki, most of the recipes I researched also alluded to Germany, Russia and the middle United States. 

This is traditionally a chicken and dumpling soup, finished with cream or milk at the end. Of course, it takes nothing to substitute chickpeas and nondairy milk to make this soup. The dumpling recipe uses aquafaba (the liquid from your can of chickpeas) and does a beautiful job of keeping the dumplings together and billowy-soft. 

I rolled my dough too thick and wound up with huge dumplings. Make sure to roll them at most 1/2-inch or even better, 1/4-inch, to get smaller and daintier dumplings. Don't get me wrong - this was really delicious, even with my gargantuan dumplings. 

This soup is almost as thick as a stew, with all the vegetables and dumplings, and is very lightly creamy. It isn't as thick as a cream of broccoli soup (for instance), but instead has a hint with the milk. The dumplings and potatoes also help to thicken the soup a bit. It is rich and certainly classifies as a comfort soup. If it is chilly where you are right now, this is a perfect soup to make today. 

Although you can definitely have this soup on the table in 45 minutes, the ingredients list is a bit lengthy, so I've classified it for the Weekend. I leave it up to you to decide. 

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Remember to save the liquid from the chickpeas (the aquafaba)
• Peel and chop the potatoes while the soup comes to a boil.
• Prepare the dumpling while the soup cooks.
• Cut the dumplings at least into 1/2-inch disks, but if you have the patience to roll it into 1/2-inch rope, cut into 1/4-inch disks.

 

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Knoephla Soup

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 to 6 servings 

weekend

1 tablespoon olive oil 

1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, reserve the aquafaba (liquid)

2 carrots, sliced

2 celery ribs, sliced

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 bay leaves

1 tablespoon Easy Savory Broth Mix or 2 teaspoons Better Than Bouillon

1/2 teaspoon thyme  

8 cups water

1 1/2 pounds potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch dice

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

7 tablespoons soy milk

3 tablespoons reserved aquafaba 

2 cups soy milk

2 tablespoons minced parsley

1. Base: Add the oil to a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the chickpeas, carrot, celery, onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Cook until the onion is golden, about 5 minutes. Stir as needed. 

2. Seasoning: Add the garlic, bay leaves, broth mix and thyme to the Base. Stir and cook for 1 minute.   

3. Broth: Add the water, potatoes and chickpeas. Increase heat to high, bring to boil, reduce to strong simmer, and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.  

4. Knoephla: Combine the flour, baking powder, 3/4 teaspoon salt and pepper (to taste) in a large bowl. Add the milk and aquafaba. Knead in the bowl until the dough is smooth. Add 1/2 - 1 tablespoon more flour only if needed. Roll the dough into a 1/2-inch thick rope. Cut off 1/2-inch pieces and add to the simmering Broth. Cover and continue to simmer the soup for 10 more minutes.   

6. Finish: Add the milk and parsley to the Broth. Taste for seasoning. Discard bay leaf. Serve. 

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

sausage and butternut squash stew

  

Overview

Time: 45 minutes
Dishes: large pot, measuring cup

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I sit here totally stuffed! This stew is perfectly amazing - flavorful, with vegan sausage, cumin, fennel, smoked paprika, and topped with a horseradish crema. Really easy to make, too, but cutting that butternut squash has its own set of challenges, though there are tips and tricks to make it easier. 

For more info on how to cut your squash easily, check out my post HERE, or buy already cut squash, or go it the quick and dirty way: 

• use a sharp knife to cut the neck from the bulb, 
• peel the neck portion with the knife (as it sits on the cut end ; don't worry about how much rind you cut off - just cut!), and 
• worry about the bulb portion another time. 

I used Field Roast sausage in this vegan stew, but you are welcome to use whatever plant-based sausage you like. There is huge flavor punch from the cumin, fennel and smoked paprika to help out any mild-flavored sausage.

The butternut squash is a flavor affinity with horseradish, sausage and kale, therefore do not skip the easy to make crema; it will round off the flavors deliciously!  

If you need inspiration for your weekly menu, check out ours HERE.

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Gather your ingredients.
• Chop sausage while onion cooks.
• Chop potato while sausage cooks.
• Chop squash while broth comes to boil.
• Chop kale after squash is chopped.
• Make sauce while stew cooks.

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Sausage and Butternut Squash Stew

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

weekday

Serve with crusty bread.

1. Base: Add the oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, fennel, cumin and sausage. Cover and cook until the onion is browned, about 5 minutes. Stir as needed.        

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 small onion, diced

4 garlic cloves, smashed

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

4 links (about 13 ounces) vegan sausage, sliced 

2. Roux: Add the flour and the paprika to the Base (flour first, so the paprika doesn’t burn). Stir and cook for 30 seconds. 

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon smoked paprika

3. Liquid: Add the broth to the Roux. Mix well. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer. Add the potatoes, squash and kale as they are chopped. Salt as needed. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender, about 15 to 20 minutes.  

6 cups vegetable broth

1 pound red potatoes, chopped (peeled, optional) 

4 cups chopped butternut squash (about 1 pound) 

1/2 bunch kale, sliced into thin ribbons

4. Cream: Mix the sour cream, horseradish and sugar. Serve the stew in bowls, add a dollop of Cream and add fresh ground pepper.  

1/2 cup nondairy sour cream

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon sugar   

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

vegan vegetarian meatless plant-based

pot roast charcuterie

   

Overview

Seitan - prep 15 min, cook 3 hours
Roast - prep 15 min, cook 1 hour
Dishes: slow cooker, large roasting pot, oven

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I am so excited to bring you this meal! At first, I thought it would be really difficult and time-consuming, but it turns out to be easy enough for a family-centered weekend meal. I offer you Pot Roast Charcuterie!

The roast is made with a spin on my Aquafaba cookbook pulled-seitan recipe and it is perfect for a pot roast style meal. The seitan falls apart as is expected, because it is laced with smashed chickpeas. Not to worry, though, because the chickpeas are so inconspicuous that when I told my diners that it had chickpeas, they were quite surprised.

The roast takes 3 hours to cook, but only 15 minutes to prepare, including kneading (use a bread machine or stand mixer, if you want to). If doing it by hand, less than 10 minutes. 

After browning the onions and potatoes, a simple roux is prepared and the gravy's base is created. Add the roast, return the vegetables to the pan and roast for 1 hour. 

How you present it is up to you - you can serve it like a regular pot roast or you can go one step further and present it as a charcuterie plate. I highly recommend the later, especially if you have an extra 5 minutes to spend on presentation. Adding some pickles, whipping up the horseradish crema and slicing some bread is not hard at all and makes a lot of difference. 

It brought my family to the table, where we gathered around the tray and not only enjoyed the pot roast, which was really delicious, but each other's company as well. 

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• Make the roast the day before. It is best cooled before prepared as a pot roast.
• Heat your pan high heat. Pan fry the onion and carrot while you chop the potatoes.
• Pan fry the potatoes while you gather the broth and flour.
• Use a sturdy wooden spatula to remove all the brown bits at the bottom of the pan after you add 1 cup of the broth.
• Prepare the horseradish sauce, the tray and the pickles while the roast bakes.
• Add the roast to the tray first and then surround with the other ingredients.
• Serve family style.   

(Printer-friendly doesn't seem to be so friendly. Just select the text between the arrows (including the white space to add margin on the top), right-click, select Print, and now it's printer-friendly. Can also be saved as PDF:  choose Save as PDF in Destination drop-down, instead of a printer.)

Pot Roast Charcuterie

www.ZsusVeganPantry.com

Makes 4 servings 

weekend

Preheat oven to 350-F.

1. Vegetables: Add the oil to a large, oven safe pot over high heat. Add the onion and carrot and brown. Remove to a plate. Add the potatoes and brown. Remove to the plate.         

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 small onions, quartered

4 medium carrots

4 medium potatoes, quartered 

2. Roux: Add the flour to the pot. Stir well with a wooden spoon, scraping the bottom to loosen any browned bits. Add 1 cup of the broth, stir well to avoid loops. Add the rest of the broth, tamari, thyme and Rosemary. Stir well. Bring to simmer. Remove from heat. 

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon tamari 

1 teaspoon fresh or dried thyme

1 teaspoon fresh or dried Rosemary

3. Pot Roast: Add the seitan and reserved Vegetables to the Roux. Transfer to the oven and cook for 1 hour.   

1 Pulled Seitan Roast

4. Cream: Mix the sour cream, horseradish and sugar. Serve the stew in bowls, add a dollop of Cream and add fresh ground pepper.  

1/2 cup nondairy sour cream

2 teaspoons prepared horseradish

1/2 teaspoon sugar   

5. Serve: Serve the  Pot Roast with the Cream on the side or prepare as charcuterie by arranging the Pot Roast in the middle of a tray, with the Vegetables around it. Add slices of bread, pickles, radishes, the gravy and the Cream.   

Slices of bread

Dill and/or sweet pickles

Sliced Radishes 

© 2021 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.

Pint It!

chicago deep-dish pizza - as easy as it gets

Overview

Time: 75 minutes
Dishes: bowl, large cast iron pan or springform pan

Hello, hello Dear Readers!

I really love deep dish pizza but it has always been such a chore, for some reason. This meatless, vegetarian, and vegan pizza, however, took me about 20 minutes to assemble, including the relaxing time for the dough. 

The breakdown of the difficulty is as such: 

• If you use a store bought dough, it's easy.
• If you make the dough, it's moderate, but 
• In either case it needs to bake for an hour, so difficult? 

Not sure how to classify something when you don't actively do anything to it, but I'm going with moderate in this case, assuming you make the dough.

Letting the dough relax in the pan for about 15 minutes allows you to be able to stretch it so that it reaches up the sides, otherwise it just springs back down. Drape the dough over the side, use a knife or a fork to hold it there (if it's relaxed, that's all that it will take) and then when it is layered, allow it to gather and scrunch up on the sides, as in the picture below.

I made this with Beyond Meat sausage, which is really tasty, but improvise: add all vegetables (zucchini and pepper are great), add seitan, add homemade sausage - you decide. I went traditional with vegan sausage and spinach. 

Enjoy!

Speedy Cooking Tips:

• If making the dough, prepare it when you have time and put it in the fridge.
• While the dough is relaxing/warming, thaw the spinach in water and squeeze dry. 
• Prepare any other ingredient and preheat the oven while dough is relaxing.

 

Chicago Deep-Dish Pizza

Makes 4 servings 

moderate

Preheat oven to 450-F

1. Dough: Combine the ingredients in a bread machine or food processor with plastic blade. Knead the dough until smooth, Dough cycle for bread machine and 2 to 3 minutes for food processor. Leave in bread machine or remove and set in a bowl to double, about 1 hour.

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoon water

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 teaspoons yeast (1 package)

2. Add the Dough to an oiled 12-inch cast iron pan. Spread out to the sides and set aside to relax 15 minutes. Then press the dough up the sides of the pan.

3. Layer the ingredients on top of the Dough in order:  

6 to 10 slices vegan white cheese

4 links Beyond Meat sausages, crushed with hands

1 (16-ounce) bag frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed well

1 tablespoon pizza seasoning**

1 (28-ounce) can crushed fire-roasted tomatoes

2 tablespoons nutritional yeast

4. Arrange the edges of any dough hanging over the pan so it looks nice. Brush any visible dough with olive oil. Bake in the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, until the pizza is bubbling or internal temp is 165-F. Cover the pizza with a silicone mat when the dough is getting too brown. Remove from the oven and allow it to sit for 10 minutes. Serve.

 

 ** Pizza Seasoning: blend of dried garlic, onion, chili flakes, salt, basil, oregano. Substitute with 1/4 teaspoon of garlic powder, onion powder, basil, oregano and chili flakes and 1/2 teaspoon salt.

© 2020 Copyright Zsu Dever. All rights reserved.