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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Mama Ogg’s Ethiopian Lentils and Vegetables

[tweetmeme source="VeganChickie"]I’m very pleased to welcome Mama Ogg as our first guest blogger on Vegan Chickie. You can check out Mama Ogg’s food blog HERE. Mama Ogg was also the inspiration behind the wonderful vegetable ‘stoo‘ recipe which appeared on my blog last year.

Without further ado, here it is:

Mama Ogg’s Ethiopian Lentils & Vegetables

Ingredients:

1 small onion, diced
1 tsp each ginger powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 cup red lentils
water
1/2 large sweet potato, cut into small dice
3-4 medium potatoes, cut into small dice
1 tsp ginger powder,
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp turmeric
1/4 green cabbage, finely shredded
1/4 zucchini, cut into small dice (optional)
4-5 shallots, snipped

Method:

1. In a large pot saute onion til transparent, add spices and fry for a minute or two. Add lentils and 3-4 cups of water and bring to the boil. Simmer for about 30 minutes, checking the water level occasionally.

2. In the meantime, in a separate frypan saute the root vegetables until they brown. Add spices and fry for a minute or two, then add a little bit of water until it’s about 1cm deep. You want to steam the vegetables but cook the sauce off by the end of the dish, so start with a little bit of water and add more if necessary. Cover and simmer gently until the vegetables are almost tender, checking on the water level occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick. Then add the cabbage, zucchini and shallots and stir to coat thoroughly in divine-smelling yellow sauce. Add a bit more water if necessary (only enough to dampen the mix and make sure it doesn’t stick) then cover and simmer for five minutes until vegetables are cooked through but still vibrant.

3. Serve with rice.

Note: Mama Ogg just told me that today she used the leftovers as the filling in samosas with great success. The recipe tastes even better after a night in the fridge.

**If you have a great vegan recipe that you would like to showcase, and would like to be a guest blogger on Vegan Chickie let us know! We’d love to share it (and you!) with the world!

Vegan Lasagne

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]This is another one of those dishes that is SUPER yummy but somehow looks kinda yuk when you take photos of it, but I promise you, it’s very delicious! And quiet easy too despite all the different pans you will use!

Vegan Lasagne

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large can of chopped tomatoes
2 vegetable stock cubes
1 clove garlic minced
1 small red chili chopped finely
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 large red capsicum
10 button mushrooms sliced finely
1 large eggplant sliced finely
2 large zucchini sliced finely
2 fresh tomatoes sliced finely
3 layers of lasagne sheets
Salt and Pepper to taste
Fresh herbs (Basil & Thyme)

Method:

1. Quarter and deseed the capsicum and place it skin side up on a non stick baking tray. Place in the oven on high until skin blisters and blackens – about 20 minutes. Remove and discard the blackened skin and slice capsicum into thin strips. Reduce oven head to 180 degrees.

2. While the capsicum is roasting, make your tomato sauce: in a medium sized pan, on low heat, heat 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, add garlic, browning for 30 seconds before adding the tinned tomatoes, chilli, stock cubes and fresh herbs. Leave the pan on low heat, stirring occasionally for 30 minutes.

3. While the tomato sauce is cooking, in a small fry pan and using the rest of the olive oil in batches, brown 8 of your mushrooms, the eggplant and the zucchini. Set vegetables aside.

4. In a baking dish, place half a cup of your tomato sauce mixture and then place one layer of lasagne sheets on top. top with 1 third of each of the capsicum, mushrooms, eggplant, zucchini, fresh tomatoes and then 1 third of the remaining tomato sauce. Repeat until all your ingredients are used up. Top with the remaining uncooked mushrooms.

5. Bake, covered, in the oven at 180 degrees for 50 minutes, and then uncovered for a further 10.

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 Irish Stew

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]Another slow cooker recipe tonight, a nice accompaniment for the snow storm that unexpectedly swept over us this afternoon! Unfortunately due to technical difficulties with the camera (ie: a dead battery) I don’t have any progress pictures to go with this recipe, just the end result.

Almost Irish Stew
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion leek, chopped
1 1/2 cups baby carrots, halved lengthwise
6 very small white potatoes, halved or quartered
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
2 cups vegetable stock
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
3 large kale leaves – or other dark leafy greens, chopped, cooked until tender and drained

Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add the onion, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the onions to your slow cooker. Add the carrots, potatoes, garlic, beans, stock, bay leaf, wine, tamari, thyme and salt and pepper, Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

3. About 10 minutes before serving stir in the cooked kale (we also added some browned vegan sausages at this point). Serve hot.

Serve up with some fresh bread rolls.. yum!

Vegan White Bean Cassoulet

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]I got a bit distracted while making this one and ended up making it over two nights instead of one, so rather than toasting the crumbs in a frypan and putting them on top of the cassoulet mixture like it says to do in the recipe below, I put the mixture in the fridge overnight and then reheated it in the oven with the breadcrumbs on top. Either way will work fine, and the oven idea might work best for any cassoulet mixture you are reheating from leftovers.

Slow and Easy White Bean Cassoulet
(Fresh From the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion leek, chopped
10 baby carrots, halved
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can white beans drained and rinsed (we used cannellini)
1 can diced tomatoes, with juice
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup vegetable stock
1/4 cup white wine
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon dried thyme
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1/2 cup dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley leaves

Method:
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Add the onion leek, carrots and garlic, cover and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the onion mixture to your slow cooker. Add the beans, tomatoes, tomato paste, stock, wine, bay leaves, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, cover and cook on low for 8 hours.

3. While the cassoulet is cooking, lightly toast the bread crumbs in a small frypan, with the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil over medium high heat.

4. When the cassoulet is ready to serve, remove and discard the bay leaves, top with the crumbs, serve hot, garnish with the parsley.

5. You may also like to serve with some browned vegetarian/vegan sausages.. delish!

Vegan Bean & Vegetable Ragout

[tweetmeme source="VeganChickie"]I have had a bit of a slow cooker fetish lately, I think it has to do with the cold New Zealand weather, there’s nothing like the smell of comfort food wafting through the house all day long while you sit by the fire.

This one is one of my favourites from the slow cooker so far, it’s super easy and very delicious!

Bean & Vegetable Ragout
(Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow Cooker)

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons of Olive Oil
1 medium sized onion, leek, finely chopped
1 large carrot, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 large turnip, peeled and sliced
1 large parsnip, peeled, halved lengthwise and sliced into half moons
1 large sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 1/2 cups of cannellini or other white beans (or one can)
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves or 1/2 tsp dried
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup cooked chopped collards or other dark leafy greens (we used silver beet)
Method:
1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and carrot, cover, and cook until softened – about 5 minutes.

2. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the slow cooker. Add the turnip, parsnip, sweet potato, beans, stock, thyme, salt and pepper. Cover, and cook on low for 6 – 8 hours.

3. About 30 minutes before ready to serve, stir in the collards or leafy greens.

4. Serve hot! (for the non vegans, top with some grated parmesan for extra yum!!)

Nice and easy!

Vegan Vegetable Stew with Pesto

This dish is somewhere between a soup and a stew. It is choc full of vegetable goodness and is super delicious. I just love it!

Farm Stand Vegetable Stew with Basil Pesto
(Vegan Planet)

Ingredients:

For the Stew:
2 ears corn
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large red onion leek, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 1/4 inch pieces
8 ounces green beans, ends trimmed and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 large, ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
2 cups vegetable stock
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium sized zucchini, diced
1 small yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut into 1/4 inch half moons

For the Pesto (there is a recipe for pesto in the book too but this is our own version, if you want you can just use store bought)
Fresh basil (1/4 bunch)
40g pine nuts
2 tablespoons ground linseed
1 tablespoon olive oil
Salt and Pepper

Method:

For the pesto: Toast the pine nuts in a non stick pan, over medium heat, stirring occassionally, until browned.

Grind the basil, oil and salt in a mortar and pestle until it is a paste, add pine nuts and linseed and grind until pesto is at desired consistency.

For the Stew: Cut the kernels from the corn and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion leek, cover, and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the bell pepper, green beans, tomatoes, stock and salt and pepper and bring to the boil.

Reduce the heat to low and simmer, partially covered, until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.

Add the zucchini, yellow squash and corn kernels and cook until tender, about 10 minutes, adding mores stock if the stew becomes too dry. When ready to serve, remove from the heat and stir in the pesto.

We serve this with pita bread, baked in the oven until crispy.

Vegan Shepherd’s Pie

[tweetmeme source=”VeganChickie”]This recipe was such a pleasant surprise.. I always feel a mix of anxiousness and excitement when we try a new recipe, never quite sure how it will turn out and hoping so much that it turns into another favourite dish. Tonight we tried something new from the Vegan Planet cookbook and it was so good that it has shot to the top of my favourites list. We modified the recipe a little because we didn’t have all the ingredients but I will explain that as I go along.

Ultimate Shepherd’s Pie
(Vegan Planet)

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped (we – as always – used leek instead)
1 carrot, chopped
2 cups button mushrooms, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons tamari or other soy sauce
1 cup basic vegetable stock
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in 2 tablespoons water
3 frozen veggie burgers, thawed chopped or crumbled (here, we used 1 can chick peas, 1 can kidney beans, 1/4 cup urid dahl lentils)
1/2 cup frozen green peas, thawed
1/3 cup ground walnuts
1/4 teaspoon sweet hungarian paprika
3 cups mashed potatoes (mashed with Nuttelex)

Method:

Prehead the oven to 180°C. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large pan, add the onion leek and carrot, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste, tamari, stock, thyme, marjoram, salt and pepper. If you are using beans instead of vegie burgers, add them now. Stir in the cornstartch mixture to thicken slightly.

Spoon the mixture into a lightly oiled baking dish. Stir in the peas and walnuts (and vegie burgers if you are using them instead of the beans).

Spread the mashed potatoes over the top.

Sprinkle with the paprika and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Bake until the potatoes are hot and bubbly and the top is golden brown – about 30 minutes. Serve Hot.

This is such a great comfort dish, it is so warming and hearty. Perfect for winter time and so delicious, I am really happy with this one!