Topic 5 Plant-based recipes: Vegetarian alternatives rich in high-quality protein
As many people tend to eliminate the animal products from their diets, these recipes can act as alternatives for a healthier diet.
Visual taken from Canva.com
Ingredients (4 persons)
1 kg borlotti beans, 500 g mashed tomatoes, 200 g spelt, 1 onion, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 2 garlic cloves, rosemary, sage, laurel leaf, parsley, 50 ml olive oil. If you like, you can add 100 g pancetta or raw ham.
Soften 1 kg of borlotti beans in water overnight. The next day, boil them until well done and mash them with some water.
Wash the spelt and leave it in water to soften for about 30 minutes.
Prepare a mixture of the chopped onion, carrot, celery, garlic, rosemary, sage, laurel leaf, parsley, pancetta. Sauté for about 10 minutes in the olive oil, then add the mashed tomatoes and after 10 minutes add the mashed beans.
Simmer for another 10-15 minutes, then add the spelt.
Cook the soup for 40 minutes.
Serve with a sprinkle of extra virgin olive oil.
Allergens: gluten, celery
Good source of: protein, dietary fibre, potassium, phosphorus, magnesium and iron from borlotti beans. Spelt provides mainly fibre, magnesium and potassium.
Visual taken from Canva.com / the last one from Italian Cuisine Cooking School
Ingredients (4 persons)
For the seitan: 200 g manitoba flour, around 100 ml water
For the stock: 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 1 small onion, around 500 ml water, 1 teaspoon paprika, 1 teaspoon curry, 1 garlic clove, 3 tablespoons soya sauce.
For the sauce: 200 g tomato puree, 1 carrot, 1 celery stalk, 50 ml extra virgin olive oil, 1 bay leaf, some thyme, 1 garlic clove, a few sage leaves, 1 teaspoon oregano.
Seitan
Mix water and flour together to make a dough ball, then soak it in warm water.
After a couple of hours start washing the dough: about 4 times, alternating hot and cold water. The last wash has to be in cold water. Wrap the loaf in a cotton towel and cook for about an hour and a half in the stock over low heat.
Cool it in the cooking liquid. Once cool, cut into very small pieces or chop in a food processor.
Visual taken from Canva.com
Sauce
Sauté the carrot, garlic and celery stalk in olive oil.
Add a spoonful of chopped parsley and then add all the remaining the herbs.
Once the sauté is well fried, add the seitan and tomato puree and simmer for half an hour.
Allergens: gluten, celery
Good source of: protein, carbohydrates, water, lipids and fibre. Minerals: abundant phosphorus, potassium and calcium, selenium, sodium, magnesium.
Visual taken from Canva.com