Vegan Lentil and Barley Soup

[tweetmeme source="VeganChickie"]My love affair with my slow cooker continues! Today’s recipe: Lentil and Barley Soup! Jam packed with veggies and lovely and spicy, this one is definitely going to become one of my stand by recipes, especially once winter comes. Serve with some crusty bread rolls.

Lentil and Barley Soup in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients:

1 tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tbs minced ginger
1 small red chili finely chopped
1 leek, chopped
2 zucchini, chopped
3 ribs of celery, chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 cup pearl barley
1 cup brown lentils
2 small potatoes, peeled and chopped into 1cm cubes
5 cups water
1 cup vegetable stock
2 tbs tomato paste
1 cinnamon stick
1 bay leaf
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried sage
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt & Pepper to taste

Method:

1. Turn the slow cooker to high, add the oil, garlic, chili and leek, cook for 10 minutes with the lid on.

2. Turn the slow cooker on low and add the rest of your ingredients, stir well and cover. Cook on medium for 8 hours.

3. Remove the bay leaf and cinnamon stick. Serve!

Garnish with fresh coriander or parsley! YUM!

Note: The longer you leave this recipe, the more stew-like it becomes. The first night we ate it as a clear soup as pictured and reheated it the following night as a stew – delicious!

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Vegan Conchiglie Cacciatore

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]Technically this recipe is called Pappardelle Cacciatore, but I’m quite lazy when it comes to eating pasta and eating pappardelle or fettuccine really is a lot of effort, so generally I prefer to use Penne or Shell pasta, which is the reason for the name change. The recipe is from “Vegan Planet” and is based on a chicken cacciatore recipe. Vegan Planet is one of my favourite cookbooks and it’s yet to let me down, this recipe was no exception. The recipe actually calls for tempeh, but I wasn’t able to find any tempeh at all in our town so instead I used some vegan sausages (sundried tomato and kalmata olive). It worked quite well, I cooked it the same as the recipe suggested for the tempeh. Personally I think the recipe would be fine with just the vegetables, but tempeh is a great source of protein so I can definitely see the benefit of including it.

Note: The second time I made this I made it with mashed potato instead of pasta and I actually enjoyed it even more that way, so that is definitely an option as well.

Vegan Conchiglie Cacciatore:
(VEGAN PLANET)

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
1 8oz package of tempeh cut into 1 inch pieces
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
2 carrots, coarsely chopped
1 green capsicum, seeded and coarsely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
1 large can undrained diced tomatoes
1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 teaspoon minded fresh marjoram, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Pasta of your choice

Method:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the tempeh and cook, stirring, until lightly browned on all sides, about 5 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

2. Deglaze the pan with the wine, stirring to scrape up any browned bits of tempeh from the bottom. Reduce the wine by one-half on medium heat and set aside.

3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan. Add the celery, carrot, capsicum and garlic. Cover and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tomatoes, rosemary, marjoram, salt and pepper and simmer for 15 minutes. Add the tempeh and wine and simmer for 15 minutes to blend the flavors. Reduce the heat to low and keep warm.

4. Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally, drain and plate, top with the sauce and serve immediately.

Vegan Minestrone (slow-cooker)

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]Well after the success of slow-cooker week I think I’m going to declare next week slow-cooker week too. All of these recipes were so easy and SO cheap as well, which is good because the foodie car needs new tires!

All-Day Minestone:
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion leek, minced
1 celery rib, chopped
1 large carrot, chopped
1 garlic cloves, minced
4 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 medium sized zucchini or yellow summer squash – diced
6 cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup raw ditalini or other small soup pasta
1/4 cup pesto

Method:
1. Pour the oil in the bottom of the slow-cooker. Add the onion, celery, carrot and garlic. Cover and cook on high while you assemble the remaining ingredients.

2. After they’ve been prepped, add the green beans, chickpeas, tomatoes, zucchini and stock. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on LOW for for 7 to 8 hours.

3. About an hour before you’re ready to serve, add the raw pasta to the slow cooker and cover.

4. Just before serving, stir in the pesto.

NOTE: you can use cooked pasta if you prefer instead of raw, just add it to the soup when you add the pesto.
The omnivore of the household sprinkles grated parmesan cheese on top for extra delish.

Vegan Lentil Bolognese

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]I’ve decided that this week is going to be slow cooker week in the foodie household, starting with Vegan Lentil Bolognese.. and oh wow, this recipe was good! And I don’t just mean that in the being polite to the cook kind of way, I mean that in the oh my goodness I need another bowl even though I’m so full I can barely move kind of way. Bolognese was always one of my favourites when I was a kid and it’s one of those dishes that I have really missed as a vegetarian (that and the Hainanese Chicken Rice I used to love to eat when I was in Singapore – Anyone got a good vegan substitute for that recipe?). Well, I will no longer be pining for the bolognese of my past because I’ve definitely found a replacement for this particular comfort food.

The inspiration for this recipe came from “Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker” but I’ve modified it quite a bit.

Note: Although I used fettuccine in this recipe I actually prefer to use a shell pasta, that way the lentils are cupped in the pasta and more evenly distributed throughout the meal.. with fettuccine or other long pasta then you are likely to end up with a pile of lentils on your plate at the end.

Vegan Lentil Bolognese

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of olive oil
1/2 cup white wine
1 medium leek, minced
2 carrots, minced
2 celery rib, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 small red chili, minced
1 800g can of crushed tomatoes
1 cup dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
2 tablespoons tomato paste dissolved in 1 cup of hot water
Pinch of mixed spice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves
Fettuccine or other pasta of your choice
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese or soy Parmesan to serve

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the leek, carrot, celery, chili and garlic. Cover, and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and simmer for 2 minutes.

2. Transfer the vegetable mixture to the slowcooker. Add the tomatoes, lentils, tomato paste mixture, mixed spice and season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook on low for 7 hours (couldn’t be easier!!!)

3. When ready to serve, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water, stirring occasionally. Drain well.

4. Just prior to serving, stir the parsley into the sauce. Place the cooked pasta in a serving bowl, top with the bolognese and serve immediately with the cheese (or not, it’s just as good without it!).

Tomorrow I’m pulling out the slow cooker again but I’m not sure yet whether I’ll make White Bean Cassoulet, Minestrone, or Irish Stew, they are all on the menu for the coming week.. any requests?