Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This vegan bacon recipe can be life-changing for those former bacon lovers and for new vegans. This is the best recipe so far, considering also that it looks like the real thing in quite a spooky way (with those white stripes and all), and requires just a few easy to find ingredients. The first 'secret' ingredient (and this is my first very own input) is sun-dried (or semi dried) tomatoes, which I soaked in a little hot water for 5 minutes. Then I added a tsp of smoked paprika, 1 tbsp of Japanese soy sauce, 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, half tsp of salt and a little aquafaba (water from a can of chickpeas). I blended everything into a paste (using the nutribullet). The resulting paste should have the consistency of a spread, so add more aquafaba if it is too thick. Don't make it runny. Now for the second main ingredient (and here I got the idea from my friend Lucia who has a vegan bacon recipe  here) : rice paper. I found this to be such a cool idea, plus it ...

This is a really yummy way to cook cauliflower, and to transform a side vegetable into a masterpiece! Remove the leaves and wash the cauliflower under running water, then place whole into a stock pot filled with salted water. Bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes (it will depend on the size of your cauliflower) until it just starts to soften, but it is still nice and firm (i.e. no florets breaking off!).  In the meantime prepare a marinade with plain yogurt and the spices and seasoning of your choice. I used smoked paprika, crushed garlic, cumin, olive oil and salt. Roast the cauliflower until the top is crunchy (I roasted some potatoes and onions at the same times, but the potatoes had been part-boiled before, so about 30 minutes. The cauliflower can be cut into slices, there was a lot and the leftover slices I pan fried the day after and they were even better (like all leftover fried food lol!).  I did try this recipe with a raw cauliflower to s...

I love a nice big pot of lentils, preferibly with some oven fresh crusty bread or a slice of polenta or creamy mushed potatoes. But also as pie fillers, for lasagne, or as a side dish, especially now that the weather is cold in New Zealand. For this recipes wash, soak and rinse 500 g of brown lentils, and then boil them in water with just a pinch of salt until cooked but not too soft or mushy.  In the meantime roughly chop one peeled carrot, one peeled onion, one peeled garlic clove and one stalk of celery with leaves and a few leaves of Italian parsley. This time I also added one green pepper because it was all alone in the fridge, but this is not necessary. Sizzle the vegetables with two tbsp of olive oil until the onions are soft, then add 1 tbsp of tomato puree, and if you like a little smoked paprika or a chili. Stir and sizzle for one minute. Add the lentils and their water and more salt to taste, but not too much as the water will reduce. Cover and s...

This is a great vegan main, full of flavour and proteins. I cooked it for Bence and Judit, they like tofu and they asked for the recipe, so here it is: Ingredients: 10 pieces of dry tofu (Japanese) 500 ml vegetable stock 2 shallots 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 tsp smoked paprika (or more, to taste) 1 can Italian cherry tomatoes (I used Mutti) 1 cup of water (to rinse the tomato can) 1 carrot Salt to taste I used ten pieces of dried tofu (like  this one ), soaked in 500ml of vegetables stock. Dry tofu is like a sponge and it will absorb flavors well (so use some good vegetable stock!). Then I sizzled a couple of finely slices shallots with 4 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, then I added the tofu (soft after soaking in the vegetable stock) and sautéd it on both sides for a minute, then I added one tsp  (well, probably a bit more...) of smoked paprika, sizzled the tofu in the spice for a little longer, and finally one can of Italian cherry tomatoes, one cup ...

Or with capsicums... In the last month I had a larger number of visitors form the US for all of my blogs, and I was asking myself if I am using the right English names for them. There is one person who keeps 'correcting' me ("we call them this and we call them that") so for once (once!) I changed the title! On the other hand... maybe I could call this recipe  Paprika Tofu ! :-) I chopped two stalks of celery, one small onion, and sliced a carrot. I put everything in a large pot with olive oil and sautéed for 5 minutes. I added one yellow, one orange and one red bell peppers/capsicums/paprika and then after 5 minutes I added one can of Mutti tomato pulp (like a thick  passata ), one cup of vegetable stock and one block of tofu cut into cubes. I simmered the lot for 30 minutes, then I added salt and smoked paprika to taste (quite a bit of smoked paprika actually, I love it!). I simmered everything again until the sauce was quite thick, and then I added...

No fuss eggplant and chickpea tajine Slice 2 eggplants and sweat them with salt for 1 hour. Heat a couple of tablespoons of extra virgin olive in the tajine pan, and sizzle 2 cloves of garlic (cut into two lengthwise), a few coriander seeds, a few cumin seeds, chili flakes and rock salt. When the spices start to jump around the pan add a roughly chopped onion and when the onion is translucent (not brown) add the eggplant sliced (rinsed). Sauté for 5 minutes, stirring, and then add the content of a can of chickpeas (with their liquid) and a handful of coriander leaves (or parsley, if you don't have/like coriander).  Now cover with the Tajine top and simmer on the lowest setting for a hour or so. At the end the eggplant will be a mush, and the chickpeas incredibly tasty. Add some smoked paprika if you like it hotter. Serve on couscous dressed with extra virgin olive oil and freshly squeezed lemon juice.  Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecch...

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  ©

 The most famous borlotti beans are from the village of  Lamon  (not far from my Mum's place). Fagioli in Padella Soak the borlotti beans overnight, rinse and then cook with plenty of water and a bay leaf. Usually I add salt only at the end of cooking, then I keep the broth and a few beans for soup, and drain the rest to cook separately or use them in salads. Here I made them ' in padella ' (in a skillet). Sauté a shallot (sliced) or a couple of peeled garlic cloves with two tbsp of olive oil. Add the cooked borlotti beans, then about one cup of Italian tomato sauce (passata) and one cup of bean broth (or vegetable broth). Simmer on low for about 20 minutes, when the sauce thickens add half a tsp of smoked paprika (or some black pepper), adjust for salt and then finish everything with some more olive oil and plenty of fresh chopped parsley.  In the past I didn't use chopped parsley with the paprika, but I do now, if I can: I find that par...

I was not sure if you post this or not... I roasted some veggies, pumpkin, potatoes (previously boiled but not too soft) and orange kumara with red onion... everything was drizzled with olive oil and the first two were seasoned with salt, smoked paprika, garlic, cumin seeds and just a little chili. The kumara and red onion just had salt and olive oil, and once baked I added some Aceto Balsamico Tradizionale di Modena. Everything was so yummy, but ... by mistake I must have deleted the image with the roasted veggies! I looked for it on my phone, it was gone, completely gone! I think that these days I am taking far too many photos with my iPhone, and to make space I need to delete a lot of them, and sometimes I delete them before downloading them!!! Yes, it is not the first time that something like this has happened :-(. Does it ever happens to you? And does anyone know how many pics I can have on my iPhone at any moment? I am so scared of overloading it... thank you and enjoy the...

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 ...

Cut the long eggplants into halves and then quarters, if the 'strips' are too long cut them in half again. Sweat them with rock salt for 30 minutes, rinse well and place into a large roasting pan. Add 4 cloves of garlic, peeled and halved, 300 g of cherry tomatoes, halved (these were from my garden), 3 tbsp olive oil, 1 tsp smoked paprika, half tsp smoked salt, a sprinkle of coriander seeds, and a sprinkle of cumin seeds, lightly crushed in a mortar and pestle. Roast the vegetables for about 1 hour. When the vegetables are nearly done, cook the risoni pasta in plenty of boiling water, drain and pour over the hot vegetables (still in the roasting dish). Add some cubed feta cheese and decorate with flat leaf parsley. Serve immediately, but if you have some leftovers this pasta will be good even cold, the day after. FYI, I have also made this dish using red and yellow capsicums instead of cherry tomatoes, and it was also very good, but I prefer the roasted tomato versi...

Yep more almonds, but for something savoury today. I love dukka, and I wander why I don't make it more often, but as I still have lots of almonds no excuse! My base recipe is in my book Savour , yet the beauty with dukka is that it can be personalized each time, and it is always good. For this one I toasted 100 g of almonds (not blanched) in the oven for 10 minutes, then I added one tbsp of sesame seed, one tsp of cumin seeds and half tsp of fennel seeds and put everything back into the oven for 4-5 more minutes. All in the food processor, and then grind until fine but still a little chunky. At the end I added some smoked paprika and some salt. Dukka can be used as a rub, a topping (great on hummus) and as a dip. And it can be made with a variety of nuts, seeds and spices. The best way to eat it, for me, is to use it with bread: dip some bread in extra virgin olive oil first... And then in the dukka!. Quite addictive, and the perfect party food. It lasts a few days in a sealed tin ...

I am not quite sure if I will have a nut roast or vegetarian polpettone for Xmas this year, but I thought of having a try with the veggies... and then I could not resist buying these baby carrots! I didn't plant carrots (yet), the carrot bed needs some serious stirring of soil, the clay is all compacted down in my garden, and crooked carrots are so hard to clean! Maybe I will plant some in the weeks to come, for now I enjoyed these :-) It takes a while to clean the baby carrots, but then they look so cute! I put them in a pan with butter (you can use margarine) fresh sage and a pinch of salt. Just a little stir, while the butter is frying, and then turn the heat off and cover with a heavy lid: the carrots will cook in their own steam, and stay bright orange and lightly crispy. I washed and boiled the potatoes in salted water until I was able to cut them with a knife (so, not too mushy). Then I cut them in two or three pieces, placed them in a roasting pan lined with baking paper, a...