Ingredients

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
half a shallot, peeled and minced
350 g raw pumpkin pulp, cut into cubes
350-400 ml filtered water
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
1 yellow pepper, cleaned, peeled and diced
fresh, cleaned oregano, for garnish
dehydrated red peppers, for garnish

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

In a heavy-bottomed saucepan, heat the olive oil over a medium heat and cook and stir the shallot until translucent. Add the pumpkin, water, salt and pepper, cover with the lid, turn the heat down and cook for about 15 minutes. Stir in the pepper and cook until the pumpkin and pepper are perfectly tender. Remove from heat and blend until you reach a very smooth consistency. Reheat the cream soup if necessary and serve with the fresh oregano and dehydrated red peppers.

Ingredients

2 whole wheat friselle
320-350 g fresh ripe tomatoes, sliced or cut into pieces
dried oregano, to taste
fresh and cleaned basil, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Soak the friselle in filtered water until they are moist (but not too moist), then carefully squeeze the remainng water out of them and crumble them into a salad bowl. Add the tomatoes, oregano, chopped basil, olive oil and salt. Toss and refrigerate for about 2 hours before serving.

Ingredients

For the seitan balls

130 g red lentils
300 ml filtered water
250 seitan sausage, minced
100 g plain seitan, minced
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons flax seeds
2 tablespoons breadcrumbs (from wholemeal bread)
a pinch of whole sea salt
a few fresh thyme sprigs, cleaned
2 teaspoons dried oregano
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
half a teaspoon paprika

For the sauce

1 garlic clove, peeled and cut into halves
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
a few pinches of powdered cinnamon
half a teaspoon paprika
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
chili powder, to taste
thyme, fresh and cleaned, to taste
dried or fresh oregano, to taste
250 g tomato purée
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
100 ml filtered water
100 g fresh peas
a large handful of raisins
a handful of peeled almonds, very coarsely chopped or crushed

Makes 15 balls.

Directions

Preheat the oven at 180° C. Cook the lentils in the water until they’re and tender (they should absorb all the water). Place them into the bowl of a food processor and process until creamy and smooth. Transfer the lentil mixture into a bowl, add the minced seitan sausage and plain seitan, garlic and olive oil and mix. Stir in the flax seeds, breadcrumbs, salt, thyme leaves, oregano, pepper and paprika and mix again. Take some mixture and shape into balls until there’s none left. Arrange balls on a lightly oiled baking pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until golden on all sides. remove from the oven and set aside.
To prepare the sauce, sauté the garlic in the olive oil in a large pan or wok. Add the cinnamon, paprika, pepper, chili, thyme and oregano and keep cooking, while stirring, for less than 1 minute. Stir in the tomato purée, season with the salt, then add the water and peas. Mix, turn the heat to low and cook for about 15 minutes and add the raisins. Keep cooking for another 15 minutes or until the peas are tender but the sauce not too thick. Stir in the almonds, transfer the seitan balls into the pan and make sure they’re all covered with the sauce. Remove from the heat, cover with a lid and set aside for about 15-20 minutes before serving.

Ingredients

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (and a little more when ready to serve)
1 white onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 small carrot, cleaned and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, cleaned and finely chopped
13-15 Piccadilly tomatoes (or other baby tomatoes), cleaned and diced
half a large yellow pepper, cleaned and diced
1 teaspoon powdered vegetable stock
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
350 g plain seitan, finely chopped (you can use a food processor)
100 ml filtered water
400 g tomato purée (with no other added ingredients)
1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
2 handfuls olives (I used Taggiasche), seeded and halved
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
half a teaspoon ground celery seeds
chili powder, to taste
freshly ground green pepper, to taste

Makes at least 6 servings (you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it and save it for later).

Directions

Heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, carrot, celery, tomatoes, pepper, vegetable stock and salt and sweat until the vegetables are slightly soft. Add the seitan and sauté for a few minutes. Pour the water and tomato purée, add the rice malt syrup, olives, herbs and spice and stir well. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Remove from the heat, add 2-3 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and stir again. Serve with your favorite pasta. Alternatively, it’s excellent on polenta but also to make risotto.

Ingredients

For the seitan ragù

3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (and 2 more when ready to serve)
half an onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 small carrot, cleaned and finely chopped
1 celery stalk, cleaned and finely chopped
1 teaspoon powdered vegetable stock
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
150 ml white wine
350 g seitan, finely chopped (you can use a food processor)
100 ml filtered water
500 g tomato puree
1 teaspoon rice malt syrup
1-2 teaspoons dried thyme
1-2 teaspoons dried oregano
a small handful of fresh parsley, cleaned and finely chopped
chili powder, to taste
freshly ground white pepper, to taste
paprika, to taste

Makes about 6 servings (you can refrigerate it for up to 2 days or freeze it and save it for later).

For the polenta

500 ml filtered water
500 ml vegetable stock
a few pinches of whole sea salt
150 g fine cornmeal

Makes 2-3 servings.

To complete

freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions

To make the seitan ragù, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a large heavy-bottomed saucepan. Add the onion, carrot, celery, vegetable stock and salt and sweat until the vegetables are slightly soft and translucent. Add the wine and the seitan and cook for a few minutes, stirring continuously, until the wine has evaporated. Pour the water and tomato puree, add the rice malt syrup, the herbs and spice and stir well. Simmer over low heat for about 1 hour. Remove from the heat, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and stir.
To make the polenta, heat the water and vegetable stock in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and bring to a boil. Add the salt and whisk in the cornmeal until fully incorporated, stirring constantly (use a wooden spoon).
Lower the heat and cook, stirring almost continuously, for about 15 minutes or until you reach a velvety texture. Remove from the heat and divide the polenta between individual serving bowls, spoon the warm seitan ragù on top, sprinkle with black pepper and serve.

Ingredients

1 large leek, cleaned and chopped
3-4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
freshly ground black pepper, to taste
200 g semi whole wheat flour
100 g whole rice flour
a quarter of a teaspoon cinnamon powder
half a teaspoon whole sea salt
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
a few pinches of dried oregano
70 ml extra virgin olive oil
200 ml oat milk, unsweetened and unflavoured

Makes 12 muffins.

Directions

Preheat oven to 180° C. In a large pan or wok, sauté the leek in the olive oil then add the pepper and water, stir and keep cooking for another 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside. In a large bowl, combine the wheat flour, rice flour, cinnamon, salt, cornstarch, baking soda, cream of tartar and oregano stir to blend. In another bowl combine olive oil and oat milk and whisk well. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and add the leek. Stir gently until the ingredients are combined but don’t over mix the batter. Fill the muffin cups or muffin tray with the batter, using a spoon. Place in the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is lightly browned and a toothpick or knife inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Remove from the oven, let cool for a couple of minutes, unmold the muffins, place them on a wire rack and let cool. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

4 peppers (I used yellow peppers), washed
150 g semiwhole rice (I used Carnaroli), rinsed under cold running water
150 g seitan, finely chopped
1 zucchini, cleaned and cut into cubes
8-10 cherry tomatoes, cleaned and cut into quarters
a handful of capers, soaked in filtered water for 10-15 minutes then rinsed and drained
a handful of raisins, soaked in filtered water for 5-10 minutes then rinsed and drained
a handful of pine nuts
dried oregano, to taste
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
whole sea salt, just enough to taste

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

Preheat the over to 170° C. Cook the rice in filtered and lightly salted water until al dente (use 2 parts water for 1 part rice). Cut each pepper in half, remove seeds and white ribs. Place the peppers in an oven pan, drizzle with olive oil and bake the peppers for 10-15 minutes. When the rice is cooked, drain it well (in case some cooking water is left) and transfer it into a large bowl. Add the seitan, zucchini, tomatoes, capers, raisins, pine nuts, oregano, olive oil and salt then toss to mix. Spoon some of the rice into each pepper half, cover the oven pan with foil then bake for another 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven, drizzle with some extra olive oil and serve warm or cool.

Ingredients

1 garlic clove, peeled
a pinch of whole sea salt
a pinch of white pepper
a pinch of chili powder
6-8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
juice of 1 lemon
fresh thyme leaves, to taste
fresh oregano, to taste
250-300 g plain seitan, broken into small, bite-sized chunks

Makes 2 servings (or more if served as finger food).

Start by pounding the garlic in a mortar and pestle, then add the salt, pepper, chili, oil, lemon, thyme and oregano. Using the pestle in a circular motion, coarsely grind the mixture then set aside. Break the seitan into small, bite-sized chunks. Place a heavy bottomed pan on the heat and wait until it’s hot. Dip the seitan chunks in the marinade making sure they’re completely covered and cook until they’re evenly golden brown. Transfer the seitan onto a serving plate, pour the left-over marinade (if any) over, and serve. You can also enjoy the seitan as finger food, using toothpicks or skewer sticks.

Makes 2-4 servings (1 pizza).

Ingredients:

For the almond-basil pesto

1 clove garlic

fresh basil leaves (a good handful)

almonds (a good handful)

6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

whole sea salt (to taste)

For the tomatoes

4-5 tomatoes (I used Piccadilly, an italian variety. Any other plum tomato, like San Marzano, would work just fine. And I wouldn’t mind trying with cherry tomatoes)

extra virgin olive oil

whole sea salt (to taste)

freshly ground black pepper (to taste)

fresh oregano (a good handful)

For the pizza base

1 cup kamut flour

½ cup warm water

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

¼ teaspoon whole sea salt

1 teaspoon organic cream of tartar

Directions

Finely chop the basil leaves and garlic with a knife. In a large mortar, crush the almonds with a pestle. Add the chopped basil leaves and garlic and grind the mixture against the sides of the mortar until you get a coarse paste. Add the olive oil and salt and stir well until incorporated.

Slice the tomatoes and drain off the excess water. Place the tomato slices in a bowl, season with a pinch of salt and pepper and drizzle with fresh oregano and olive oil.

Preheat the oven to 180 ° C. Sieve the flour, salt and baking powder on to a clean work surface and make a well in the middle. In a jug, mix the yeast, sugar and olive oil into the water and leave for a few minutes, then pour into the well. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix the water with oil and slowly pour into the flour’s well. Using your hands, fold the flour into the water until mixture comes together. If it’s too wet and sticky, add some more flour. Knead for about 5 minutes and form a ball. Place the dough in a floured bowl, cover it with a damp cloth and let it sit in a warm place for 10 minutes. Turn the dough out on a lightly floured board, and dust your hands, the dough, and the rolling pin with a little flour before rolling the dough out. While rolling it to the desired thickness, dust with more flour if necessary. Fit you pizza to a pizza pan or an oiled sheet of parchment paper. You can now poke a few holes with a fork. The pizza is now ready to be cooked.

Place the pizza base in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes. Remove from the oven. Spread some pesto evenly over the pizza base and lay over the tomato slices. Top with the remaining pesto. Drizzle with the olive oil and sprinkle with some more fresh oregano (when fresh isn’t available, dried will do). Return to bake for another 15 minutes or until the tomatoes soften. Let cool then garnish with some more oregano and olive oil if you like. Slice and serve.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

You can prepare the pesto and the tomatoes either before making the dough or just before rolling it out.

This pizza turns out slightly sweet. It tastes great with pretty much any kind of topping.