Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

I love beans and lentils, but I also love salads and raw food, my body feels like it needs them! I usually mix cooked beans with raw salad vegetables, but when I remember I get some bean sprouts, and I particularly like this crunchy bean combo from  Sproutman . I can just eat the sprouted beans as they are, with a drop of olive oil and lemon juice, 

When I brought this plate to the table everybody laughed, and it is a fun recipe!  Finto pesce  means fake fish, the original recipe is a kind of pate made with potatoes, mayonnaise, capers and canned tuna (I think very 1960s!). My Mother made it, we lived in the mountains far from the sea, so fish was rare (and frozen or canned). Of course being a vegetarian I don't use tuna for this recipe, but seaweed. Brush and wash (but don't peel) 1 kg of mashing potatoes, then peel them and pass them through a potato ricer. Add a tbsp of capers, some nori seaweed, shredded, and a few tbsp of mayonnaise (to taste). Mix well. Shape into a fish and decorate with veggies and more nori ( I cut my nori with a flower cutter). Perfect for summer, and for kids! Do you have a dish that makes everyone laugh? Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Ingredients 2 yellow capsicums (Bell peppers) 2 orange capsicums (Bell peppers) 1 red capsicum (Bell pepper) 1 garlic clove half carrot 1 small celery stalk 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more to drizzle at the end) 1 tbsp tomato puree A little water 1-2 tbsp capers salt to taste (if the capers are not too salty) chopped Italian parsley to finish Wash and cut the capsicums into thin strips. Peel the garlic and cut into two. Wash and chop the carrot and celery into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables, then add the tomato paste, a little water, the capers (rinsed) and a little salt (unless the capers are already too salty). Cover and simmer on low for 30 minutes, stirring from time to time, and adding more water if necessary. Adjust with salt at the end, if necessary, and finish with some freshly chopped parsley and another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil. Serve hot or cold, with some nice crusty bread ...

The sauce is a bit like a caponata, or at least, the caponata that I make! Eggplants and capsicums are more affordable now, and are among my favourite vegetables: Ingredients: 1 eggplant, 3 capsicums (red, yellow and green) 1 stalk of celery (optional) 1 garlic clove (peeled) 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus some to drizzle) one  2 tbsp black olives a few capers salt to taste Cut the eggplant into cubes and sweat with salt for 30 minutes. Rinse well. Cut the capsicums into cubes as big as the eggplant, and the celery cut into thin slices, if using. Place all the veggies plus the garlic into a pot that can be covered with a lid, add the olive oil and sauté for a few minutes, then cover and simmer on low for about an hour, adding a little water from time to time and stirring often. I usually add the olives, capers (rinsed) and salt halfway through the cooking (actually, I add them when I remember...) and cook until the eggplants are mushy ...