Tag: vegan
Bessara
Bessara
Bessara is Moroccan puréed fava beans served 2 ways: as a soup or as a dip. If the puréed fava beans are going to be thin using all of the bean stock, it will then be a soup. If you want the purée to be thick, use only half of the reserved bean stock. Then it will be a dip served with crusty bread. Both deserve to be drizzled with olive oil, a dollop of harissa, and lightly crushed cumin seeds as condiments.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 28 oz canned fava beans peeled; bean broth saved
- 1/3 cup olive oil
- 8 garlic cloves minced
- 2 tsp paprika
- 2 tsp ground cumin
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
Condiments and Garnishes
- olive oil
- harissa
- crushed cumin seeds
Instructions
- Add all of the ingredients to a pot over medium heat. Simmer for 10 minutes.
- Turn off the heat. Purée with an immersion blender.
Spinach and Chickpeas
Spinach and Chickpeas
This Moroccan dish has Spanish influences; with Spain being right across the Alboran sea. What makes this dish unique is that cubed bread is sautéed with garlic and spices, then processed into a paste with red wine vinegar. The paste is used as a thickening agent to bring all of the ingredients together. The spinach and chickpeas are seasoned with smoked paprika and a little freshly squeezed lemon juice to add acidity.
Equipment
- food processor
Ingredients
- 4 tbsp olive oil
- 8 oz baby spinach
- 15 oz canned chickpeas drained
- 1 slice bread cubed
- 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 3 garlic cloves sliced
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp crushed red pepper
- 2 tsp red wine vinegar
- 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
- salt and pepper to taste
- lemon juice
Instructions
- Heat up 2 tbsp of the oil in a sauté pan over medium high heat. Add in the spinach. Season with salt.
- Cook for 4 minutes until it is wilted. Remove from the pan.
- Add in 1 tbsp of oil. Sauté the bread cubes for 5 minutes.
- Add in the last tbsp of oil and sauté the garlic, cumin, and chili flakes for a minute.
- Add the contents of the pan to a food processor. Pour in the red wine vinegar.
- Process into a paste.
- Add the paste back into the sauté pan with the chickpeas and tomato sauce. Cook for 5 minutes.
- Add the spinach back in. Cook for a minute. Season with salt, pepper, and smoked paprika.
Sopa de Zapallo (Pumpkin Soup)
Sopa de Zapallo (Pumpkin Soup)
Most people think of something sweet when they think of pumpkin flavored anything. This is the exact opposite. This soup is as savory as it gets and is high end restaurant quality in flavor; I kid you not. When making this soup, I was a little underwhelmed…until I tasted it. I know something is really, really good when I say “Holy Shit” out loud. The tomatoes help balance out the pumpkin, so it’s not so dominant. What it really tastes like is a cross between tomato soup and butternut squash soup. You can garnish it with green onions and crumbled queso, unless you want to keep it vegan. Either way, if you want to impress some people, serve them this as the soup course.
Equipment
- immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp olive oil
- 1 white onion diced
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp ground cumin
- 4 roma tomatoes chopped
- 6 cups vegetable stock
- 1 small pumpkin seeded, peeled, and cubed
- salt and pepper to taste
Garnish
- green onions finely chopped
- queso fresco crumbled; omit if you want the soup vegan
Instructions
- Heat up the olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Sauté the onions, garlic, tomatoes, cumin seeds and ground, for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the veggie stock. Add in the pumpkin. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is soft.
- Using an immersion blender, purée the soup until smooth.
- Season with salt and pepper. Simmer for a couple more minutes until it is your desired consistency.
