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

For the tofu

the juice of half a lemon
3 tablespoons shoyu
2 tablespoons apple vinegar
half a teaspoon powdered ginger
the juice of about 6 cm fresh ginger root, peeled and grated
50 ml sesame oil
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons maple syrup
200-250 g organic, firm tofu, cut into cubes

For the peppers

2 cm fresh ginger root, peeled and julienned
1 garlic clove, peeled and cut into halves
3 tablespoons apple vinegar
the juice of half a lemon
4 tablespoons rice malt syrup
a few pinches of whole sea salt
half a red pepper, cleaned and blanched in boiling water then rinsed under cold running water and peeled
half a yellow pepper, cleaned and blanched in boiling water then rinsed under cold running water and peeled

To complete

black sesame seeds, to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

In a bowl or jar mix the lemon juice, shoyu, apple vinegar, ginger powder and ginger juice, sesame oil and toasted sesame oil and maple syrup. Place the tofu cubes in a bowl, pour the marinade over, cover and refrigerate for at least 6 hours, tossing occasionally. The longer the marinade time, the tastier the tofu. In a glass jar, combine the ginger, garlic, apple vinegar, lemon juice, rice malt syrup and salt. Cut the peppers into strips and place them in the jar. Secure with the lid and refrigerate for at least 5-6 hours. Remove the peppers from the fridge around half an hour before serving. Once the tofu has marinated, heat some marinade in a wok or large heavy-bottomed frying pan and cook the tofu over medium heat until golden on all sides. Serve the tofu and the peppers with some of the left-over tofu marinade and the sesame seeds.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

The pepper marinade can be reused at least once to marinate other peppers or different vegetables such as cucumbers, carrots, radishes, zucchini -which will all pick up a peppery flavour.

Ingredients

150 g chickpeas, to be soaked in filtered water for around 9 hours then rinsed and drained
200 g soy yogurt, unsweetened, unflavoured and GMO-free
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon mild curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
whole sea salt, just enough to taste
1 small cucumber, cleaned and diced
1 long green pepper, cleaned and diced
a large handful pf fresh parsley, cleaned and finely chopped
1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted then ground into powder
freshly ground white pepper, to taste

Makes 2 servings.

Directions

Cook the chickpeas until al dente. Rinse them under cold running water, drain well and let cool. In the meantime, combine the soy yogurt, olive oil, curry powder, turmeric and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. When the chickpeas are completely cold, transfer them into a sald bowl, add the cucumber, green pepper, parsley and garlic and toss. Stir in the spiced soy yogurt, add the cumin and white pepper, toss again and refrigerate. This salad is best served very cold.

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

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

200 g black chickpeas, soaked in cold filtered water for at least 9 hours, or overnight, then washed and drained
150 g quinoa, washed under cold running water
half a red pepper, cleaned and cut into cubes
half a yellow pepper, cleaned and cuto into cubes
8-10 cherry tomatoes, cleaned and cut into quarters
1 carrot, cleaned and cut into cubes
2 hanfuld black pitted olives, chopped
a handful of fresh parsley, cleaned and finely chopped
a handful of fresh basil, cleaned and finely chopped
extra virgin olive oil, to taste
whole sea salt, just enought to taste

Makes 4 servings.

Directions

Cook the chickpeas in unsalted water (add the salt to the pot when the chickpeas are almost completely cooked as salt hardens the outer layer). Cook the quinoa al dente in lightly salted water in a separate pot. Drain well and let cool. When the chickpeas are cooked, rinse them under cold, running water, drain well and let cool. Once the quinoa and chickpeas are cold, transfer them into a sald bowl the stir in the red and yellow pepper, tomatoes, carrot, olives, parsley, basil and toss. Season with the olive oil and salt, mix well and serve.

Ingredients

180 g whole grain farro medium-short pasta ( I used ‘torchioli’)
water and whole sea salt, just enough to cook the pasta
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and more or less finely chopped
1 yellow pepper (stem, core and seeds removed), diced
1 long, medium-hot, sweet red pepper, Italian or Mediterranean (stem, core and seeds removed), diced
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced
a pinch of whole sea salt
a pinch of chilli powder
1 large handful of capers, soaked in water for 10-20 minutes to remove excess salt
1 handful of fresh parsley leaves, 1 handful of fresh mint leaves, 1 handful of fresh basil leaves, washed and pat dried with a paper towel

Directions

Bring a pan of plenty water to a boil. Heat the oil in a large pan or wok over medium heat then add the carrot, peppers, garlic and salt and sauté for a few minutes (the carrot and peppers should stay crunchy). As soon as the water is boiling, add some salt and cook the pasta until al dente. Drain the pasta then put it in the pan where you previously cooked the vegetables. Rinse the capers and add them to the pasta. Sprinkle with the chilli and add a little more olive oil if needed, then  mix and sauté over medium heat for 30-40 seconds, making sure the pasta does not stick to the bottom of the pan. Remove from the heat, add the parsley, mint and basil (chopped or whole), toss and serve.

Thoughts, tips, ideas

This pasta is delicious served warm but can be also enjoyed cold as a summer picnic pasta. It can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 6-8 hours.