Buckwheat and courgette balls with pasta sauce

We absolutely love spaghetti with tomato based sauce. I usually make the sauce using RED LENTILS and other yummy ingredients but this time I enriched the sauce with these little balls made of courgettes and I add some leftover cooked chick peas. Grated cheese on the top is compulsory.....

Ingredients:

1 onion, diced 

1 big carrot, grated

2-3 Tbsp oil

1 tin of chopped tomatoes + 200 gr chopped fresh tomatoes

salt

pepper

dry oregano 

pinch of brown sugar

pinch of chili flakes

3-4 minced garlic cloves

2 handful cooked chick peas

fresh basil

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for the courgette balls:

1 medium size green courgette, about 150 gr

1 egg

50 gr buckwheat flour

1 tsp baking powder

little salt and pepper

fresh basil leaves, torn apart

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500 gr wholewheat spaghetti 

+ 

cheese for topping

+ 

more fresh basil leaves

+

good olive oil 


Heat 2-3 Tbsp of olive oil in a saucepan on a medium to low heat and add the diced onion. Cook until soft. Add the carrots and continue cooking.
Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, sugar, chili flakes and oregano.
Bring to simmer for about 45 minutes. Add the minced garlic and fresh basil right in the end of the cooking as well as the balls and the cooked chick peas.
In the meantime make the courgette balls:
- grate the courgette in a small mixing bawl, add the rest of the ingredients and stir well.
Heat 2 Tbsp of oil in a medium size frying pan . 
Using two teaspoons, form a ball shapes and drop them in the frying pan.
Fry them on medium to low temperature until they get a nice and deep colour.
Place them on a kitchen paper to get rid of some excess oil before you add them to to sauce.
Cook the spaghetti according to the packet and add them to the sauce. At this stage I always drizzle some good olive oil.
Serve immediately with some garlic bread on a side and green leaves salad.....

Super tasty vegan cookies

School holidays has started and we are on week one. The weather is not too bad so lots of outings and picnics are involved. I am still doing a lot of baking especially in the evening when I have more time for myself. I am slightly obsessed with this cookies, I bake them every second day so I always have then for a healthy snack alongside a savory crackers and carrot sticks.. 

Ingredients:

150 gr ground porridge oats

50 gr ground almonds

4 Tbsp maple syrup

1 Tbsp cocoa powder 

50 gr cocoa nibs

handful of currants (optional )

4 Tbsp melted coconut oil

1 tsp vanilla extract

pinch of salt

85 ml water

Combine everything in a mixing bawl , using your hands form a 16 cookies .

Place them on a baking tray covered with a baking paper. 

Bake the cookies for 20 minutes on 170 C . 

Thanks for reading! I would appreciate any comments or suggestions from you.

One pot magic pasta

Inspired by Italian PASTA CRUDI, meaning raw pasta or pasta cooked together with the rest of the sauce ingredients. I have been making Spaghetti crudi cooked with fresh and ripe tomatoes but this is something different. The taste has blown my mind completely and now I am back to eating pasta like crazy. Try with parmesan on the top - it's bonkers !

Ingredients:

serve 4 - 5 

400 gr fresh and ripe tomatoes, chopped

200 gr pasta

2 - 3 handfuls kale

3 cloves garlic, chopped

200 gr cooked beans

zest of one lemon

50 ml olive oil

salt and pepper

1000 ml water

Place all ingredients in a large cooking pot, bring it to boil and simmer for 12 - 15 minutes.

Sprinkle with fresh herbs, add some extra virgin olive oil and freshly grated parmesan.

Keep it vegan - sprinkle some nutritional yeast for cheesy taste and extra B vitamins.

Veggie caviar

I can't have enough of this, since I made it last week, I haven't eaten anything else for snack or lunch.
This spread reminds me of the Balkan's legendary ajvar, it's just the method of prep is different but still deliver a explosion of taste....

Ingredients:

5 Tbsp olive oil

1 aubergine, diced 

1 courgette, diced

1 red or yellow pepper, diced

1 - 2 hot chilies ( optional ) 

1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, grated

3 big tomatoes, diced

2 garlic cloves

Heat the oil in a large frying pan.

Add the aubergines, courgettes, pepper, chilies and onions as well as salt and pepper and saute until lightly caramelised, about 20 - 25 minutes.

 Whizz all the caramelised veggies in a food processor then put them back in the frying pan, add the carrots and the tomatoes.

Cook over a medium heat for an hour, stirring from time to time until you have a thick paste.

Add the garlic right in the end. Add some more oil if is dry. Season it with salt and pepper .

Store this spread into a sterilized jar in the fridge for two weeks.

Ricotta, feta and watermelon bruschetta #2

I made this bruschetta for our Sunday brunch and I was so pleased to see the children happily munching them. My daughter made a comment about the combination as we don't really eat melon with cheese on regular days. However I grew up eating bread and fruit as a snack but then there was plenty of fruit growing in our garden and the cheese was saved for stuffing a peppers usually the shape of a cone, only to be served to the children as an ice cream....those were the days...

You will need:

french bread such as baggete  

ricotta cheese

watermelon cut into cubes

crumbled feta cheese

fresh basil and mint 

Slice the bread and spread with ricotta cheese.You can toasted if you wish.

Mix up the melon and the feta cheese and sprinkle some of the herbs.

Spoon it over the bread, sprinkle with some extra basil and mint.

note: balsamic vinegar goes really well drizzled over