Running. Cooking. Yoga. Life

I found another mouth-watering vegetarian Christmas recipe that I’m sure would be a hit at any Christmas dinner table.  Lasagna is definitely one of my favorite foods to indulge in every once in a while, and it goes great with some toasted garlic bread and a nice, big salad.  Here it is:

Ingredients

For the tomato sauce

• 1  onion, chopped
• 2 sticks celery, finely chopped
• 2 small carrots, finely chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 2 x 400 g cans chopped plum tomatoes
• 1 pinches sugar, optional

For the filling

• 1 kg frozen spinach
• 300 g cream cheese
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan
• 2 tbsp mint leaves, chopped
• 8-10  lasagne sheets

Method

1. For the tomato sauce: soften the onion, celery, carrot and garlic in the olive oil. It’s best to do this over a really low heat – try not to let them colour. Stir in the tomato purée and continue cooking for another 5 minutes before adding the tomatoes. Simmer uncovered for about 20 minutes.

2. Using a liquidiser or hand held blender, purée the tomato mixture – it should be pretty thick and well reduced. Add a pinch of sugar if the tomatoes taste acidic.

3. For the filling: while the sauce is cooking, put the frozen spinach in a saucepan and heat gently until it has defrosted. Drain off any excess liquid. Set aside to cool.

4. Heat the oven to 180C/gas 4.

5. Put the cream cheese in a mixing bowl and stir until smooth. Add the spinach, half the Parmesan and the chopped mint and mix well.

6. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in an ovenproof dish. Follow with a layer of the spinach mixture and top with half the lasagne sheets. Repeat the process, ending with a layer of tomato sauce.

7. Sprinkle the top with the remaining Parmesan and bake the lasagne for about 30 minutes, until bubbling and golden on top. Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Yummm!  Enjoy and Namaste,Lyla

Namaste!

Tis the Season my friends, and in celebration of Christmas I will be posting vegetarian Christmas recipes and the like. The first one is this: mini mince pies with lemon icing.  It’s pretty quick, easy, cheap to make, and can even be prepared ahead and frozen so they are ready to cook when your guests arrive.  I stumbled on this recipe today while I was looking for Christmas party ideas, hope you all enjoy it!

Ingredients:

• 200g plain white flour, sifted
• 100g cold butter, cubed
• 25g ground almonds
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1 Tbsp water
• 410g jar mincemeat
• 50g icing sugar

For the icing:

• 8tbsp icing sugar
• Zest and juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Place the flour, butter, ground almonds, icing sugar, cornstarch, and water in a food processor and whizz until the mixture forms a ball. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead very gently. Wrap the pastry in clingfilm and chill for at least 30 minutes.
2. Preheat the oven to 200°C, gas mark 6. Roll out the pastry on a lightly floured surface to the thickness of a £1 coin. Using a 6cm pastry cutter, cut out 36 rounds and line 3 x 12-hole mini bun or muffin tins. (You may have to re-roll the pastry; if you have fewer tins, make the pies in batches.) Fill each case with mincemeat.
3. Bake the pies for 10-12 minutes, or until the pastry is just beginning to brown around the edges. Cool for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely.
4. Mix the icing sugar with just enough lemon juice to make a smooth but thick paste. Cover each mince pie with icing and top with a little lemon zest. If packing into boxes, allow to set first. The pies will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container.  Makes 36 pieces.

Yum!  I will definitely be whipping up some of these soon.  Enjoy and Namaste,

Lyla

I’m on a bit of a recipe binge right now…well, a food binge.  I get into these phases of extreme recipe research, and I get some really interesting outcomes sometimes, it’s pretty cool.

So here’s another one I found that seems like a keeper, and it will be cooking in my kitchen within the next few days: spicy rice-filled eggplant.

Preparation Time

30 minutes

Cooking Time

60 minutes

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 150g ( 3/4 cup) basmati rice
• 2 large eggplants
• 1 tbs olive oil
• 1 large brown onion, halved, finely chopped
• 1 red capsicum, halved, deseeded, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp finely grated fresh ginger
• 1/5 tsp finely chopped fresh red chilli
• 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
• 1/5 cup coarsely chopped fresh continental parsley
• 2 tsp finely grated lemon rind
• 2 tbs fresh lemon juice
• 130g (1/2 cup) reduced-fat yogurt
• 2 tbs coarsely chopped fresh mint

Method

1. Preheat oven to 200°C. Cook the rice in a large saucepan of boiling water for 15 minutes or until tender. Rinse under cold running water. Drain well.

2. Meanwhile, cut the eggplants in half lengthways. Use a small sharp knife to cut a 1cm border around the edge of each eggplant half. Scoop out the flesh within the border, leaving about 1.5cm of flesh on the base of each eggplant half. Finely chop the flesh.

3. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and capsicum and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes or until soft. Add the garlic, coriander, ginger, chilli and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds or until aromatic. Add the chopped eggplant and cook, stirring, for 10 minutes or until eggplant is soft. Remove from heat.

4. Add the rice, parsley, lemon rind and lemon juice to eggplant mixture, and stir to combine. Place eggplant shells in a large baking dish. Spoon rice mixture evenly among eggplant shells. Bake in oven for 30 minutes or until eggplant shells are soft and filling is golden.

5. Place the yogurt and mint in a small serving bowl and stir to combine. Serve with spicy rice-filled eggplant.

Enjoy! :)  Here’s another vegetarian recipe for eggplant rolatine if you like, I need to try this one too! :)

Namaste, Lyla

Hello Everyone! :)

I was looking online for some new recipes to spice up my kitchen, and here’s one I found that’s got me drooling and dying for some lentil soup.  Here it is:

Ingredients (serves 4)

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 1 tablespoon mild Indian curry powder
• 400g can diced tomatoes
• 1 liter vegetable stock
• 1/2 cup dried green lentils, washed, drained
• 2 red capsicums, chopped
• 2 (230g) small eggplants, chopped
• plain yogurt and coriander leaves, for serving

Method

1. Heat oil in a large saucepan over high heat. Add onion, garlic and celery. Saute for 5 minutes or until onion is soft. Add curry powder. Saute for 1 minute or until fragrant.

2. Add tomato, vegetable stock, 2 cups cold water and lentils. Cover. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes. Add capsicum and eggplant. Simmer, covered, for 40 minutes or until vegetables and lentils are tender. Season with pepper. Serve soup with yogurt and coriander.

yum yum! Enjoy and until next time, Namaste!

Lyla