Vegan Recipes: Appetizers

Showing posts with label Appetizers. Show all posts

Saturday, March 19, 2022

Zucchini with marigold vinegar and marigold fresh petals

This is a delicious starter or side dish. Cut the zucchini in thin long strips and pan fry with olive oil on both sides for just a minute (don't let them brown, they just need to soften). Chop plenty of Italian parsley and garlic with a pinch of salt and add to the zucchini, with a tbsp or two of marigold vinegar (recipe here). If you don't have marigold vinegar just use some white balsamic or white wine vinegar (but consider making marigold vinegar too!). Let the zucchini marinate for at least two hours, more if possible, then lay on a serving platter and sprinkle with fresh marigold petals. Serve at room temperature of chilled.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Friday, August 4, 2017

Soft tofu and avocado sashimi served on homemade disposable bamboo dishers made with bamboo leaf sheath

There is no much to this dish really, just soft tofu with grated ginger and avocado (add wasabi and say sauce) plus some pickles, mostly bought except for the cucumber (recipe here).

The exciting thing for me here are the bamboo platters! I have some bamboo in the garden and it is shedding leaf sheaths. I love those fancy bamboo disposable dishes that you can buy in home stores, so I though of making my own. To clean the sheaths I just placed them in the dishwasher! Some rolled up a bit, but after a couple of days they were flat again! The dishwasher took away the dirt but some black stains remained, which makes me wonder how ecologically they treat the commercial plates, since they are so pale and spotless! But now I can make my own and doesn't matter if they are a little stained, they are natural and lovely to look at!

Photo and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Capsicum pastry rolls and peperonata recipe

This is one of those creations that happened while using up leftover vegan pastry and a bit of peperonata I had in the pot. The resulting dish was so pretty and delicious that I decided to share it,

Capsicum pastry rolls

Yu must use some cooked capsicums (bell peppers) for this recipes, and I had some peperonata ready:

Peperonata

2 yellow capsicums

2 red capsicums

1 green capsicum

1 garlic clove

half carrot

1 small celery stalk

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more to drizzle at the end)

A little water

salt to taste (if the capers are not too salty)

chopped Italian parsley and fresh basil leaves, plus a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to finish

Wash and cut the capsicums into thin strips. Peel the garlic and cut into two. Wash and chop the carrot and celery into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables, then add the a little water and salt. Cover and simmer on the lowest setting for 45 minutes to one hour, stirring from time to time, and adding more water if necessary. Adjust with salt at the end, if necessary, and finish with some freshly chopped parsley, fresh basil and another drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.

I then used some of the capsicum strips for my pastry rolls: I cut the vegan pastry sheets in long strips and place a thin strip of capsicum on the border of each pastry strip (see photo) and then rolled it up.

To keep the rolls nice and round I place them in a mini-muffin pan, and used some mini-cupcake cases. I sprinkle the top with salt and dried herbs and baked everything at medium heat until the pastry was golden and puffy. Serve hot or cold.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Monday, December 19, 2016

Melanzane fritte (fried eggplants) and photos of peonies

I love fried eggplants, on pasta, on pizza, in a panino, as a side dish… or just by themselves, they are so versatile! Just cut them very thin (I use a bread knife) make them sweat with salt for an hour, rinse them and pat them dry. Fry them a few at the time with plenty of olive oil and a clove of garlic. Drain on kitchen paper and sprinkle with salt. Serve or use as required.

And now a few photos of peonies - now in season!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Monday, June 20, 2016

Cherry tomatoes with raw nut cheese and edible flowers

After the raw vegan mushroom and nut macaroons here is another cute raw vegan appetizer! Make a cross incision at the base of cherry tomatoes, stuff with some raw vegan nut cheese (recipe here) and decorate with herbs and edible flowers. They taste so good and are incredibly pretty!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Raw Vegan Mushroom and nut 'macarons'

White button mushrooms are delicious raw, and they are vitamin rich, apparently they even have vitamin B12. These little savoury mushrooms 'macarons' make a tasty appetizer, and they look really fancy! All you need is mushrooms and some raw vegan nut cheese (recipe here). Remove the stalks from the mushrooms and peel off the top 'skin', the clean them well with a damp paper towel (do not wash). Fill with a little vegan nut cheese and close together like a macaron.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Raw Vegan Nut Cheese

This is commonly called Vegan cheese or nut cheese, although to me it feels more like a very 'intense' dip. Full of protein and spreadable, it stores well for a couple of weeks in the fridge.

Ingredients:

120 g cashews

80 g macadamia

1 small shallot

2 tbsp lemon juice

water (just enough to blend the nuts)

salt and pepper to taste

Soak the cashews for 4 hours, drain and place in a food processor (or use an immersion blender). Add the shallot, peeled and chopped, lemon juice and a little water. Blend until smooth, adding more water if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste (I do this little by little while blending).

Store in the fridge.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Friday, August 14, 2015

Tofu and spring onion skewers

My friends Astuko and Hideko often send me this dried tofu which I find super versatile! I just soak it in water (or stock) and then use it in a variety of dishes. This time I just soaked it in water and then cut each blog into four pieces, and put them in a skewer (soak the skewers too!) with some spring onions.

I sautéed the skewers on both sides with a little rice bran oil to which I added a few drops of sesame oil, then I brushed the tofu and spring onions with a sauce made by simmering a teaspoon of sugar or with two tbsp of water, two of soy sauce (gluten free please use tamari) and a pinch of freshly grated ginger. I turned the skewers over one more time and then I served them, hot and yummy! The scrapings from the pan were delicious on plain rice too!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Monday, June 9, 2014

Fake Fish (made with potatoes, suitable for veg*s)

When I brought this plate to the table everybody laughed, and it is a fun recipe! Finto pesce means fake fish, the original recipe is a kind of pate made with potatoes, mayonnaise, capers and canned tuna (I think very 1960s!). My Mother made it, we lived in the mountains far from the sea, so fish was rare (and frozen or canned). Of course being a veg I don't use tuna for this recipe, but seaweed.

Brush and wash (but don't peel) 1 kg of mashing potatoes, then peel them and pass them through a potato ricer. Add a tbsp of capers, some nori seaweed, shredded, and a few tbsp of Vegan mayonnaise (to taste). Mix well. Shape into a fish and decorate with veggies and more nori ( I cut my nori with a flower cutter). Perfect for summer, and for kids!

Do you have a dish that makes everyone laugh?

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Monday, September 16, 2013

Vegan pot-sticker dumplings

I love this type of dumplings, for the filling I use what I have at hand really, but generally the base is tofu, Chinese dried mushrooms, soaked and boiled first (keep the broth for later) and fresh coriander. For flavouring I used sesame oil, soy sauce and a little fresh ginger. Blend everything into a smooth paste.

The folding is easy if you are doing it with friends. The fact is that after the first ten I got tired and bored, and I had 50 more to do! So I didn't make some particularly pretty ones to look at! My son loves them, and I wanted to make him fold a few ("so that you can learn darling!"), but he politely declined saying that he was going to take some photos of me making them instead (he is so good at finding explanations!). One of the things I do when folding the ready bought dumpling disks is to wet the borders with water so that they stick well. And then I dip (lightly) the bottom of each dumpling in a plate lined with vegetable oil. In this way the dumplings don't stick to the tray, and then to the pot (even if they are supposed to be 'pot-stickers'!)

Easy step by step images (this time by Arantxa, they are from this post)

These can also be simmered in broth (I always make a little broth for a just a few, just simmer them until they come to the surface and then they are ready!) or steamed in dumpling baskets. I learned the pot-sticker method in Japan, where these are called gyoza (but have meat inside).

Cook the dumpling in a very hot pan, and as soon as the bottom has started to brown turn them and brown both side as well. Then cover with a lid and let the steam finish the cooking for a minute or so. At this stage I do add a spoon or two of water or, even better, the stock left over from cooking the mushrooms.

Serve them hot! They can be eaten with chopsticks or fingers, dipped in sweet chilli sauce or soy sauce, Max had about 25!

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini and Max and Arantxa Zecchini Dowling©

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Avocado sashimi

This is the first course of my Japanese Vegan and gluten free dinner...
Raw food is better as a starter, apparently it gets the digestion going, and this is easy to make and really delicious.

For each person you will need:

Half avocado, not mushy

Lemon juice

A little wasabi paste

Japanese pickled ginger

Soy or Tamari sauce

Slice the half avocado like in the picture, not to thin and not to thick (diners need to be able to pick up the slices with chopsticks) then spray with lemon juice. Serve with wasabi, pickled ginger and gluten free soy or tamari sauce on the side.

Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini ©

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Matryoshka doll potatoes

Photo and Recipe by Alessandra Zecchini ©

My thin cut roast potatoes looked like Matryoshka dolls, so I decided to "dress them up".

What do you think?

Monday, August 6, 2012

Daikon and red beetroot raw "crackers"

I used a Japanese plum flower cutter, and a small heart cutter. The daikon and beetroots can be raw of cooked, it actually works well with raw daikon and cooked beetroot, but if you are on a raw diet keep everything raw. For dressing I just added a drop of olive oil and salt before serving.

Monday, July 16, 2012

Aunt Alice's Artichokes

I have to say that the ingredients and cooking method are very similar to mine (and my mother's). We call it Roman style, possibly because both my Mum and my Aunt learned to make this in Rome (and I learned from them). But there are two main differences between my usual recipe which I always make in New Zealand (recipe here) and this one, simply due to ... availability!!! In NZ artichokes are still rare and quite expensive, so when I get a few I cook them with all the hard outer leaves (to be scraped with teeth at the table until you reach the heart) while here in Italy artichokes abound and so we can discard the outer leaves and cook only the tender hearts.

The other difference is that while I cooked the whole artichokes "flower side up", the artichokes hearts with stalks are cooked "flower side down", and in this way you can leave a bit of the stalk in too, they are yummy and tender!

All you need to do is to:

Clean very well the artichokes discarding all the hard outer leaves. Also peel the stalks and keep up to 5 cm attached to the floret. As soon as one artichoke is cleaned drop it immediately in a bowl full of water and lemon juice or lemon slices. Keep the artichokes in the lemon water until cooking time.

Finely chopped Italian parsley with garlic and salt, and then use this mixture to fill the centre of the artichokes (so far the recipe is like for the these artichokes) but then place the artichokes upside down into the pot (like in the photos, I only turned one up to show you what the inside would look like at the end of cooking), add a little extra virgin olive oil, a few more slices of garlic (if you like), another pinch of salt, and a couple of fingers of water. Place on the stove on low, cover with a lid and simmer for about two hours, adding water from time to time, if needed.

Now there is one last thing to be said here: Aunt Alice had a wood fire stove (stufa, a bit like an Aga, I should remember to take a photo sometimes!) and in this way you can cook the artichokes (and many other dishes) really slowly, all they long... so the ones that she makes always have a special taste. Plus she has the patience to clean over 15 artichokes!

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Artichokes Roman Style

Kazuyo gave me 4 artichokes, so we got one each and I cooked them alla romana, the best way to make a few artichokes go a long way. Cut the spikes off, and the stalks and then immediately put the artichokes in water and lemon (so that they don't become black) to wash them. Finely chop plenty of Italian parsley with garlic and a pinch of salt, and use this to fill the centre of each artichoke. Place the artichokes side up in a pot, drizzle some olive oil in the centre of each artichoke and add a little water at the bottom (about 2 fingers). Cover with a lid and simmer on low for a long time (1-2 hours) adding water from time to time. The artichokes are ready when the leaves easily detach with your fingers.

This is Vegan and Gluten Free

To eat the artichokes remove the harder outer leaves with your fingers and just scrape the flesh off with your teeth (keep a bowl on the side to discard the used leaves) until you get to the heart, which can be eaten whole. The remaining stock is excellent for risotto. One artichoke per person is just right!

Friday, April 20, 2012

Aparagus Inari Parcels

I really really like the fried tofu parcels used to make oinari-san, I wouldn't know how to make them, a Japanese friend told me ages ago, but it seemed quite involved... maybe one day, but for the time being they can be bought in Japanese/Asian stores :-). This pack contained 16 tofu parcels.

The parcels are usually filled with sushi rice, but they can also be uses as "containers" (see the image on the packet) and I really liked this brand: not a single parcel broke when I was opening it! I decided to used them with rice and asparagus. The asparagus were simply steamed, and then I cut them and placed then in a bowl with the liquid of the tofu parcels (they are sealed in an sweetish sauce which I thought was a waste to discard).

Wash the sushi rice (or Japanese rice) several times in cold water, until the water runs clear, and then cook it by absorption. The doses are about 1 and 3/4 (three quarters) cups of sushi rice for 2 cups of water, but that depends on the type of pot. You need a pot with a good lid, or you will loose too much steam. I kind of regulate myself by ear now, since I know my pots and pans. Bring the pot to boiling point, lower the heat and simmer until all the water has been absorbed. Once the rice is ready pour it into a bowl and stir it with a wooden spatula, cooling it with a fan if you can. I then add some ready made sushi vinegar, about 2 tablespoons, but this is my personal taste. If I don't have sushi vinegar I use 2 tbsp of rice vinegar, a little sugar and a little salt (to taste, and I don't like to use too much sugar or salt!).

I filled the parcels with rice and asparagus and wrapped them up with a chive.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Swiss Chard bruschetta

My Swiss chard/silverbeet is not big enough to be picked, but I was working in the veggie garden and I broke one entire little plant by mistake. Well, I cut it right back, and maybe it will grow again. I sauté the leaves with olive oil, some onion weed (again) and a few black olives. A pinch of salt and pepper and some grilled bread for bruschetta, and lunch for two was ready, maybe unplanned, but ready!

Monday, January 16, 2012

Breadfruit Chips

When we were in Niue Tony took us to a plantation tour, which was amazing (I will post more about it in the next few days). We returned to our guesthouse with a good stock of locale produce and the first recipe that I am proposing is with breadfruit. I heard a lot about this fruit but never cooked it (although I ate it before and found it quite bland).

Tony told me that I could bake it, boil it or make chips, and since I travelled with olive oil and some luxury salt flakes I decided to go for chips.

Breadfruit needs to be peeled and sliced, Tony peeled it with a machete for me. I cut it into thin slices and pan fried them with a little olive oil (not deep fried) and added some Welsh sea salt flakes. I served it as an appetizer, everybody love it so much that I made it again the evening after. First breadfruit experiment: successful!

Vegan Recipes

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Saturday, March 19, 2022

Zucchini with marigold vinegar and marigold fresh petals

Friday, August 4, 2017

Soft tofu and avocado sashimi served on homemade disposable bamboo dishers made with bamboo leaf sheath

Thursday, December 29, 2016

Capsicum pastry rolls and peperonata recipe

Monday, December 19, 2016

Melanzane fritte (fried eggplants) and photos of peonies

Monday, June 20, 2016

Cherry tomatoes with raw nut cheese and edible flowers

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Raw Vegan Mushroom and nut 'macarons'

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Raw Vegan Nut Cheese

Friday, August 14, 2015

Tofu and spring onion skewers

Monday, June 9, 2014

Fake Fish (made with potatoes, suitable for veg*s)

Monday, September 16, 2013

Vegan pot-sticker dumplings

Sunday, January 6, 2013

Avocado sashimi

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Matryoshka doll potatoes

Monday, August 6, 2012

Daikon and red beetroot raw "crackers"

Monday, July 16, 2012

Aunt Alice's Artichokes

Tuesday, May 8, 2012

Artichokes Roman Style

Friday, April 20, 2012

Aparagus Inari Parcels

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Swiss Chard bruschetta

Monday, January 16, 2012

Breadfruit Chips

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