Vegan MoFo 12 / Pumpkin Barley Risotto

I am still in the middle of my preparations for my A-Level exam next friday, so I'm just popping in to share a delicious & easy recipe with you....

Pumpkin Barley Risotto

feeds 4-5 people

Ingredients:

250 gr pearl barley, rinsed

1-2 Tbsp. olive oil

1 onion, finely cut

veggie broth

1/2 butternut, peeled and cubed 

olive oil

dried herbs 

salt & pepper

 2 Tbsp. oat cream

optional toppings: nutritional yeast, chopped nuts, pumpkin seed oil, vegan cheese

those were just half of my butternut pieces

Preheat oven to 180°C (350F). Start by preparing your butternut. After you've peeled and cubed it, place the pieces in a large bowl. Add some olive oil, so all pieces are lightly (!) coated. Now add salt & pepper, some dried herbs, and more spices if you like. Spread on a baking tray, lined with parchment paper and roast for about 25 minutes, until tender.

Heat olive oil in a pan, and add the finely cut onion. Sautee for a few minutes, and add the well rinsed pear barley. Stir good and just before the barley will stick to the pan, add veggie broth, until well covered. Let cook for 25 - 30 minutes, and until all excess liquid is gone.

When the butternut pieces are ready, puree with oat cream. Add more cream if you like. Now add the butternut mixture to the barley risotto, stir and let cook for a few minutes. You can still add optional toppings, or fold in some vegan cheese pieces, as I did.

Enjoy!

Florence

Vegan MoFo VIIII / Sunday Dinner

Sorry for my lack of posting, but I am busy studying! Nevertheless, here's what I had for dinner on Sunday night.

Scalloped Cauliflower, Spaghetti with Mushroom Gravy and Seitan Cutlets! 

That was so good, especially the seitan cutlet! I have tried several seitan recipes before, and this was the best yet! So very tender and crispy on the outside.

Scalloped Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower, washed and chopped into florets
lemon juice
water for boiling

1 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
3 Tbsp. olive oil
salt, pepper

2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
3 Tbsp. breadcrumbs
2 Tbsp. chopped nuts
1 Tbsp. olive oil
5 Tbsp. oat cream
2 Tbsp. chopped parsley
a splash of lemon juice
salt, pepper

Put the cauliflower florets in a pan, cover with water, add a splash of lemon juice and let boil until tender.
Mix the apple cider vinegar, olive oil and salt and pepper. Place the cooked cauliflower florets in a baking dish and cover in the vinaigrette. Let stand for 10 - 20 minutes.Preheat oven to 160°C (320F). Mix the remaining ingredients and spread over the florets, and bake for about 20 minutes.

Mushroom Gravy
olive oil

1 small onion, chopped
a handful of button mushrooms, chopped
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
veggie broth
oat cream
dried herbs

Heat up the olive oil, and add the onion and button mushrooms. Sauté for a few minutes, add the cornstarch. Stir, so everything is covered with cornstarch. Add veggie broth until the mixture reaches your desired thickness. Let cook for a few minutes and add some oat cream and dried herbs.

The recipe for the seitan cutlets I will post tomorrow, so look out for it! :)

Vegan MoFo VI / Sweet Potato & Leftover Gratin

For Sunday night dinner, I had some leftover risotto with different vegetables. I decided to spice it up a bit, and in my mind I had the recipe for a shepherd's pie with sweet potatoes, so that's my take on that!

Sweet Potato Top-Layer:
2 sweet potatoes, peeled
1-2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. vegan butter
pepper, herbs, paprika, curry

Cut the sweet potatoes in small pieces. Heat some olive oil in a pan and sauté the sweet potatoe pieces for a few minutes, and sprinkle with sugar and salt. Add some water, just until the pieces are covered. Now cook until tender. Drain the sweet potatoes, and mash with vegan butter. Add spices if desired.

At first, I mixed my vegetable risotto with about 2 Tbsp. of nutritional yeast, and added some mushrooms, that I simply roasted for a few minutes and added some spices. I spread the risotto-mixture in a greased baking dish and on top I added some caramelized onions and lastly I spread the mashed sweet potatoes and some chopped walnuts. Bake with 160°C for about 25 minutes and let sit for 5 minutes before serving!

Notes:
You can use almost any leftovers as a filling. If it is too dry, add some vegetable broth, mixed with some soy sauce.

Trust me, if I say so, this was utterly delicious!! I couldn't get enough! The balance between sweet and salty is perfect, and makes this improvised dish very special!

Vegan Mofo III / Roasted Potatoes & Tomato Basil Falafel

For my third Vegan MoFo-Post I'll show you what I had for dinner. This is so easy, yet delicious. I love roasted potatoes! The Falafel were also very good, the best I've had!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes & Potatoes
2 sweet potatoes, peeled
3 potatoes
olive oil
worcester sauce
salt, pepper
dried thyme

Preheat oven to 200°C (395F).Cut the potatoes and sweet potatoes in long, thin, chips-like pieces and toss them in a bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and some worcester sauce and season with salt, pepper and dried thyme. Place on a baking sheet and roast for about 30 minutes or until crispy.

Red Pepper & Carrot - Sauce
1 small onion
1 red pepper
1 carrot, peeled
white wine
1 tsp. bouillon concentrate
2 tbsp. soy yoghurt

Cut onion in small pieces and heat in some olive oil in a small pan. Add the red pepper and carrot in small pieces and let them fry for about a minute. Now add a splash of white wine and the bouillon concentrate and some water if needed. Let it cook for about 15 minutes, until tender. Take the pan from the heat, add the soy yoghurt and puree the mixture to your desired consistency.

Tomato Basil Falafel
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and peeled
4-5 dried tomatoes in oil
1 small onion, cut
10 fresh basil leaves, cut
worcester sauce (optional)
4-5 tbsp flour
salt, pepper
dried herbs (optional)

Preheat oven to 160°C (320F). Add the chickpeas to your food processor and process until crumbly. Then add the dried tomatoes and continue to blend. As you add the basil and onion, also add the salt, pepper, herbs and worcester sauce as much as you like as this is optional. When you blended everything start adding flour bit by bit, until the dough forms. Now you only have to form balls, place them on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes.



Enjoy!