LET’S EXPERIMENT: Cauliflower and Lentil Pasta Sauce
It’s not everyday that I get to experiment like this.
I typically stick to the same few recipes, and even when I go out of my bubble, I tend to use a lot of the same stuff.
But today I wanted to be a little more creative. I had some lentils and a half head of cauliflower to use up, and was (surprisingly) in the mood for pasta. So there wasn’t anything I could do except create a new dish!
Shucks.
This is a vegan, gluten-free sauce, that could be classified as a mix between cheese and Alfredo. You can also use white beans if you want it to be the same colour as an Alfredo sauce. And if you do eat cheese, you can grate some in at the end! Everyone wins!
Make this because: You’ll never have another pasta sauce with this much protein and veggies. Or maybe you will, but it won’t taste like this. Fact*
Ingredients:
1/2 head, cauliflower
2 handfulls, lentils (drained and rinsed).
2 lrg clove, garlic, minced
1 large, shallot, diced
1 t, nutmeg
3-5 T, Nutritional yeast
1 T, Paprika
S&P
Soy/Almond milk (roughly 1/2 C)
Oil.
Directions:
Saute onion/garlic in oil.
Boil cauliflower for 5-7 minutes then drain.
Blend Lentils/Cauliflower together and add a little bits of milk at a time until you get the right consistency.
Now add in Gar/Onion, paprika. Blend again and put in saucepan.
Add nutritional yeast (and/or cheese) and stir.
Pour over fav pasta. I baked mine in the oven for 15 minutes at 400•.
You can do the same or just dig in!
Paprikash and Spaetzle
I’m not sure if you know this, but I am not a Hungarian Gammy.
I know, I know. Quite the shock.
And although I may not be a sweet little old grandmother, I do like to pretend while I’m in the kitchen. This is why I decided to make Chicken Parpikash with Spaetzle.
In case you didn’t know - that roughly translates into “Paprika Chicken with mini flour dumplings.”
I’d like to note that this picture does not give justice to the paprika party that will take place in your mouth. And if you don’t trust me, then obviously you have never eaten my food. And I’m a bit hurt.
Getting hungry yet?
I tried this dish as a teenager at a friends house for dinner. Gammy made it that night. She was an outstanding cook. So now I pass along a recipe, made vegetarian for all of you pie-hole fans. And of course, I’d like to share the Spaetzle recipe as well because even on it’s own, it was cray cray good. Like, Cray Cray
Okay, let’s get to it. This doesn’t take long at all (since we aren’t using real chicken!!) so you’ll be eating in about an hour.
PAPRIKASH (originally found here - modified by me)
Ingredients:
1/2 cup flour
3 tablespoons Paprika
Salt/Pepper
4 Pieces, Mock Chicken
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup chopped onion
1/8 t cayenne
3 cups broth
1 cup sour cream
Directions:
Mix flour, 2 T Paprika, and some S&P (use your judgement).
Dredge Chkn in mix and set aside.
Cook onion, cayenne, 1 T paprika in oil.
Add Chkn and cover in broth (I ended up using just under 3 cups of broth, FYI).
Bring to boil, then simmer for 10-20 minutes, or until Chkn is cooked.
Add 1/2 your Sour cream and the rest of the flour mix from step one. Add some stock from the paprikash and mix well.
Add back to Paprikash and simmer for five minutes. If it is too thick, add some water. Remove from heat, add remaining sour cream and serve over Spaetzel.
SPAETZLE (originally found here)
Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives
Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg-milk mixture. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick. Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce to a simmer. To form the spaetzle, hold a large holed colander or slotted spoon over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula or spoon. Do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Dump the spaetzle into a colander and give it a quick rinse with cool water.
*Hey guys! I didn’t want to do this method, so I just used two spoons, and made small tiny little baby dumplings and dropped them into a pot. It’s all the same. Just remember, these things are filling, so make them as small as possible.*
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the spaetzle; tossing to coat. Cook the spaetzle for 1 to 2 minutes to give the noodles some color, and then sprinkle with the chopped chives and season with salt and pepper before serving.
WOAH! Crazy, AMIRIGHT!
We had the best meal that night, and I can’t help but feel sorry for you, as you were not there. But fear not! That’s why I post all these amazing recipes. So you can cook at home, save money. eat healthier, and be like Gammy.
Don’t let me down. Not again.
Til next time,
Dave.
Pasta Bake
I’m not sure why I feel this way, but pasta is boring.
And yet there are constantly people telling me how amazing it actually is.
To be fair, I’ve never really put any effort into making it delicious, so I have no excuse. I mean, if you just put sauce to pasta and never think about expanding the recipe - you probably feel the same way I do.
So I gave it a shot. And surprise surprise… pasta can be pretty good when you put in a little extra effort.
Now, I wasn’t quite ready to make my own pasta (yet), but I was ready to spruce up some pasta & sauce… even if it was JUST so I could write this post (caught me!!).
As a green, I used B.Sprouts, which you can look up here. I then decided to make a “crust” that would be broiled once the pasta was done cooking. Now, with pasta, I wouldn’t suggest a pie crust or flakey crust, but I had an idea of what would be good.
This is what I had in mind.
Ingredients:
1 tsp Turmeric
2 tables butter (earth balance)
1/2 cup, grated cheese
2 tbls Nutritional Yeast
4 tbls Bread Crumbs
2 tsp Red Chili
Directions:
Once your pasta is cooked, add white sauce and set aside (one day i’ll make my own sauce, promise).
Set oven to broil.
Melt butter in a bowl. You don’t want it to cook. Just enough to melt slightly.
Add all ingredients and mix together with hands/stir. What you want is the cheese/crumbs/yeast to be stuck together.
Once mixed, top your pasta (evenly) and broil in the oven until the top has browned.
What you end up with is a delicious crust that is cheesy and tasty and awesome.
I actually ate the entire meal - which was supposed to be my dinner and a lunch.
Stop judging me. You’ll do the same once you try it.
Oh, and listen to this band. They’re so good. And coming back to Toronto in a month or so. Also, the video is also made entirely out of food (ice cream cone microphones for the win!!).
Dave.
“Go Stuff Yourself” Shells
It is freezing cold. Last night we all gathered together to watch the winter classic and instead of taking the streetcar home with two borden babes, I decided it would be a good idea to get some exercise and walk (Front to Bloor on Spadina). Needless to say, it was a terrible decision. Today was no different. I walked home from work in minus 1,000,000 degree Toronto weather with no gloves (why?) and no scarf (why?). Dumb.
But when you’re in that kind of cold, you start to think. And I was thinking about dinner. Something hot. Something new. Something filling.
I didn’t want to make a soup, and I didn’t want to spend my night in the kitchen.
So I decided to go sans recipe and make stuffed pasta.
This is incredibly easy to make (do all the steps at once) and didn’t take me more than 40 minutes (rice takes time, ya know).
Make this. My new roomie Kate was super impressed.
Ingredients:
2 cloves Garlic
Half Onion
1/3 green pepper
One Carrot
3/4 cup rice (add water and cook per instructions)
Half pack of Yves ground round
One Pack of Giant shells
One Jar, pasta sauce
Lemon Juice
Goat cheese (optional)
Avocado (optional
Directions:
Boil pasta, cook rice. Preheat oven to 350.
Once pasta is done, run under cold water and separate all shells. Leave to cool.
Heat oil in a frying pan, sauté onion and garlic.
Add Grn pepper, Yves ground and carrot. Once rice is done, toss it all in and add lemon juice. Just enough to give it a taste. And salt if needed.
Fill each shell with 1 tablespoon (approx) of mix and add sauce to top. If you are using avocado, add a slice to the top of each.
Place on baking sheet and bake for ten minutes.
Remove and cover with more sauce (if needed) and goat cheese.
Eat them up. Eat all of them up. Maybe share them if you’re a nice person like I am. But if not, just eat them all up.
