Tag: vegetarian

Vegetarian Lasagne

Today I’m going to share a great vegetarian lasagne recipe I found in an old Australian Healthy Food magazine.

We have just returned from a quick get-away in Melbourne. The food at all the little cafés and restaurants is always great.

We went to this out of the way little Italian place and had the best lasagne and tortellini. Though these were not vegetarian dishes it did remind me of this recipe and I thought I would share it.

This Vegetarian Lentil and Ricotta lasagne is full of flavour, quite filling and is a great way to get more vegetables into your diet. I halved the below recipe and it fed 2 people for 2 nights.

Vegetarian Red Lentil and Ricotta Lasagne.

Ingredients

½ cup red lentils

2 teaspoon Olive oil

3 garlic cloves – crushed

1 large onion – chopped

1 small red capsicum (**I left this out as we don’t like capsicum)

**I added sliced mushrooms instead

2 zucchinis – sliced

1 stalk celery – sliced

2 x 420g cans diced tomatoes

2 tablespoon. tomato paste

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 ½ cups ricotta cheese

12 lasagne sheets (I use Gluten Free sheets)

½ cup grated cheddar cheese

¼  cup grated parmesan cheese

 

White Sauce ingredients

1/3  cup corn flour

3 cups milk

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

¼ cup grated parmesan cheese

 

Method

*Preheat oven to 180 c.

*Rinse the lentils then put them in a pan with enough boiling water to cover them. Simmer for 30 minutes then drain.

*Heat oil in a large pan and add garlic & onion. Cook for approx. 2 minutes. Add the celery, capsicum and zucchini and cook for 2 -3 minutes.

*Add lentils, tomatoes, tomato paste, oregano and 1 ½ cups water. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for approx. 30 minutes.

*Meanwhile make the White Sauce.

*Mixing the corn flour with 2 tablespoons of milk until smooth. Pour into a saucepan with remaining milk and stir over low heat until the mixture thickens. Add the nutmeg and add pepper to taste.

*Put the ricotta into a bowl and mix in ½ cup of white sauce.

*Spread a layer of tomato lentil mixture over the base of your lasagna dish. Then put a layer of lasagna sheet. Add another layer of tomato lentil mixture and top with a layer of the ricotta mix.

*Keep layering the lasagna sheets and then tomato and ricotta layers till done.

*Pour over the white sauce and sprinkle with the grated cheeses.

*Bake for an hour, covering with foil if the top starts to brown too much.

Let it stand for about 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

Enjoy.

Till the next post,

Live Clean and Prosper

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry, a recipe

Today I’m sharing a favourite recipe – Cheesy Cauliflower Curry.

This last week has been so busy with work and other commitments, I’m glad I got back into meal planning. It was really helpful having meal ideas bookmarked, knowing that all the ingredients were in the fridge and pantry.

The original recipe for this dish comes from a book called ‘The Inspired Vegetarian’, that I received from a very dear friend.

We are still endeavouring to eat more of a plant-based diet. So with that in mind, this is an easy recipe to create and is a repeat winner according to Scott. Though not good for anyone on a ‘dairy free’ diet, it is a very tasty dish and quite filling.

As per his suggestion, I am sharing it with you today.

Cheesy Cauliflower Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients,

1 medium sized Cauliflower, cut into small florets.

1 medium onion, diced

2 eggs, hard-boiled and chopped

3 tbsp plain, gluten free flour

2 tbsp margarine or butter

1 tsp curry powder (I used 2)

2 cups milk

100 g grated cheese

½ tsp thyme (I used fresh thyme)

1 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp of toasted pepitas (or if you prefer – a handful of ‘soup croutons’ )

Method

*Sauté the onion and put aside into an ovenproof dish.

*Steam the cauliflower till just tender. Drain and add to ovenproof dish, mixing with the onion.

*Scatter over chopped egg.

*Put flour, curry powder, butter into a saucepan and mix well.

*Slowly add milk, mixing till the sauce thickens.

*Add chopped herbs and allow to simmer for a minute or two, to allow the flavours to develop.

*Remove from Heat and stir in ¾ of the cheese.

*Pour the sauce over the cauliflower mix and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

*Scatter the pepitas (or croutons) over the top and put the dish in the oven under a hot grill until golden.

 

We ate this as a main meal, however it would also work well as a side dish.

 

I hope you enjoy this dish as much as we do.

 

Till the next post,

 

 

Live Clean n Prosper

A Great Coconut Curry recipe

Today I thought I would share a great curry recipe.

Since my last post, Scott and I have been eating primarily a plant-based diet.

This is intended to help our bodies eliminate any toxins and improve our digestive system. I am also hoping to shed a couple of ‘cruise kilos’. So far I am on track. We are both feeling better and interestingly our sleep has improved.

Recipes for Inspiration

There are many great recipes that I regularly use for meal inspiration and this is 1 of our favourites.

The original recipe is in a small booklet that I got from The Source Bulk Foods last year. I have made a couple of small additions.

This quick, easy and delicious meal has many health benefits.

  • Garlic contains antioxidants that protect against cell damage and ageing.
  • Onions have antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects.
  • Broccoli is high in many vitamins and minerals.
  • Cauliflower provides a significant amount of antioxidants
  • Capsicum is very high in vitamin C
  • Studies show that tomatoes and tomato products may reduce the risk of heart disease and several cancers.
  • Turmeric contains curcumin, a substance with powerful anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

You can add or change out the vegetables to suit your tastes, or what you have in the fridge. Though it is a vegetarian curry, it can easily be changed to a meat curry by simply adding your choice of diced meat.

Coconut Curry

serves 4

Ingredients

½ onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

½ broccoli cut into small flowerets

½ cauliflower cur into small flowerets

4 small potatoes diced

½ capsicum roughly chopped

2 tbsp tamari sauce

2 heaped tbsp. curry powder

2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tin diced tomatoes

400ml coconut cream

bunch of fresh coriander roughly chopped

* Cooked rice, noodles or quinoa to serve

Method
  • In a large saucepan, cook the onion and garlic till the onion is translucent
  • add the spices and stir for a minute
  • add all the rest of the ingredients (except coriander and rice/noodles)
  • bring to the boil, then reduce and simmer until the vegetables are cooked
  • add ½ the coriander and stir through
  • serve on rice or noodles
  • sprinkle rest of coriander on top

When I first made this, I thought that the sauce would split. This is not the case.

It becomes a really creamy sauce.

 

Till the next post,

 

Live clean n prosper