Two layers Vegan Chocolate Soy Cream Pudding

In Italy I found a really delicious soy cream which inspired me to make a rich chocolate pudding.

Ingredients:

1 tbsp flour

2 tbsp raw sugar

500ml soy milk

120 g best quality dark chocolate

(plus some to grate)

200ml soy cream

Mix the flour and sugar, add the soy milk slowly and then bring to the boil. Add the dark chocolate and stir until thick. Pour half of the mixture into the bottom of for dessert bowl (better if glass, so you will be able to see the two different chocolate layers - alternatively you can use some pretty glasses).

Let the chocolate pudding in the bowl cool down and set, in the meantime stir the remaining chocolate (still in the pot) until cool, then add 3/4 of the soy cream and mix well. Divide between the 4 serving bowls, then top with a dollop of cream, swirl it with a spoon or a toothpick and finish with grated chocolate.

Can you see the two layers in the last photos? Still intense chocolate, but with a creamy heart! Refrigerate and serve, everyone will love it!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Vegan Bolognese Sauce

Usually I don't use this kind of soy meat, I rather make a bolognese sauce with lentils, much easier, but I saw the packet in the supermarket, and for Xmas I like to make lasagne with bolognese sauce, so I went for it.

I soak the textured soy with 500 ml of vegetables stock, it triples in size.

In the meantime I cleaned one large carrot, 2 celery stalks with leaves, 2 shallots, 2 garlic cloves and some Italian parsley.

I chopped the veggies and sautéed them with olive oil,

I added the textured soy and a glass of red wine, then 1 800 ml can of Italian chopped tomatoes, and 3 tbsp of tomato puree. At this point I let the sauce simmer for a couple of hours, adding salt and black pepper from time to time, tasting it to see if it needed more. Soy protein is very low in fat, so I added more olive oil.

It also needed more wine, but I finished the bottle. My husband had opened a nice 10 years old Australian red, to air. I put some of it in too, even if he looked at me badly. That wine was to good to cook with!

But just a little... and it made the sauce so nice :-). In the end he agreed with me, and then the wine needed to be drunk, or used!

Ready!!! Just don't use it with spaghetti please: spaghetti bolognese is not right, use it for tagliatelle, lasagne, or short pasta :-).

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©