Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Ingredients: 2 blocks of tofu, frozen for one day and then defrosted 3 tbsp olive oil 1 large onion 1 tsp sweet paprika 1/2 tsp hot paprika (or to taste) 2 carrots 4 large potatoes 1 green capsicum (bell pepper) 1 red capsicum (bell pepper) 2l l vegetable broth Salt to taste If you freeze the tofu and then defrost it it becomes porous and easy to cook in stew without breaking up. Also it will absorb flavors really well! Once the tofu is defrosted cut it in big cubes. Chop the onion and sauté with the olive oil. When the onion is translucent add the paprika, the sweet paprika will give flavour, and the hot one… heat, so use this according to taste. Then add the tofu cubes and stir well. Add the vegetables and the hot vegetable broth. Simmer until the carrots and potatoes are ready, but before the potatoes start to break up. Goulash is more like a soup than a stew. If you prefer a thicker stew just cook it for longer, stirring often and breaking up the po...

Potatoes and Cape gooseberries The veggie garden is full of small potatoes, I picked a few, some really tiny, but I didn't want to leave them there, and the kids love them. I washed them and boil them, in three batches, from the largest to the tiniest. After boiling them, the larger (but still new potato size) were then sautéed together with small steamed carrots and green beans in olive oil, garlic, smoked paprika, cumin seeds, chili flakes, coriander seeds, and salt. A very satisfying combo! The smaller potatoes were sautéed with garlic, olive oil, rosemary, sage and salt. A real luxury to eat such small potatoes, but I need to make more space in the garden, and there are plenty more to dig up!  Any suggestions for more tiny potato recipes? Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Chickpea flour, also called gram flour, or besan, or garbanzo flour, is a wonderful product. It is gluten free, high in protein, iron and vitamins, and perfect for vegetarians. I payed $3.50 for a kg bag in the Indian store, and 1 kg goes a long way. My main reason for buying it was to make fritters, like onion bhaji,  while the only Italian dish based on chickpea flour I am familiar with is  Farinata , a kind of savoury pancake, so my repertoire was a little limited. Then the other day I was making some spicy marinated tofu, and I always have leftover marinade when I do this, so I thought of 'scooping it up' with a few veggies and the chickpea flour as a binder. Broccolini flower fritters I started with plain yogurt to which I added a little squeeze of garlic, some freshly grated ginger, a little lemon juice, salt, cayenne pepper, paprika, ground cumin, ground coriander... (well, use whatever takes you fancy really). Then I added a chopped red onion a...

I am used to Italian cats eating almost anything, but New Zealand cats seem to be fussier, so I was very surprised when Marameo jumped on the bench to grab the cooked chickpeas that I was rinsing. I had to give her some, she could not wait, and ate them all. I gave them seconds and then she stopped bothering me. Strange cat!  With my remaining chickpeas, I wanted to make a spicy snack:  this one  from the blog of Araba Felice. Smoked Paprika Chickpea Snack The  original recipe  calls for: 400 g can of chickpeas, 1 tbsp flour 1 tsp sweet paprika, or your favourite spice (in my variation I used smoked paprika instead) 1 tsp salt, about 2-3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil I also added a few cumin seeds. Rinse and pat dry the chickpeas, and mix with the other dried ingredients until the chickpeas are nicely coated. At this point I left the chickpeas in the bowl for about 30 minutes so that the flour and spices ...

In my garden This has to be one of the easiest curries ever, and one of the first I learned to make (alongside Dahl and Palak Paneer ). The kids love it, they love all curries, especially if they have paneer. Matar Paneer Paneer and Pea Curry 1 onion 1 garlic clove 1 tbsp vegetable oil half tsp each of Garam Masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, paprika, salt 1 bay leaf 800 ml can of tomatoes half a tsp of freshly ground ginger 1 cup frozen peas 1 block paneer cheese half a cup of cream (optional) fresh coriander to end Chop the onion and garlic. Heat the oil in a pan and sizzle the Garam Masala, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric, paprika, salt and bay leaf for a few seconds. Add the garlic and onion and sizzle until the onion start to colour. Add the tomatoes and ginger and simmer for 20 minutes, then blend everything with an immersion blender. Add the peas and after 10 minutes the paneer, cubed. Simmer for 5-10 more minutes, then finish with the cream (optional...

This turned out to be a fantastic vegan curry, and quite innovative too: I have never seen a curry made with borage!!! Yes, borage again! I have tons of it in the garden, you can eat the flowers, the stems and the leaves, but I limit myself to the smaller tender leaves. They are prickly, but that goes away with cooking. The only thing to remember is to discard the pods with the seeds that have already formed (they are too hard), like the one in the photo below. Flowers and flower buds are soft, and can be cooked. Sizzle one tsp of fenugreek seeds and one green chili with one tbsp of vegetable oil. Add one small tsp each of turmeric, ground coriander, ground fennel and paprika, and also a good pinch of salt. Add one onion, chopped, and sizzle for two minutes, and then add half cauliflower, cut into florettes. Coat the cauliflower well with the spices. Add one can of coconut milk, and then one can of water (to rinse the coconut milk can). Co...