Vegetarian Recipes: For A Balanced Vegan Diet - Part 2

This is a continuation from my previous 2 artciles about vegetarian food and recipes. Due to the restriction of space and limit of words I will write all the recipes in few parts and add more as I go along.

These recipes are taken from different cultures and I've personally cooked and tasted them, cause I don't want to waste your time in trying something I haven't tried and loved myself. I guarantee that each and single one of them taste great and they are a refreshing change from all the repeated vegan recipes you see everywhere.

Here are the new recipes:

This soup is lovely to have on those cold winter days. It stays fresh in the fridge for upto 4 days stored in a plastic airtight container.

Swiss Chard With Brown Lentils

1 cup brown lentils
2 lb (1 kg) Swiss chard
3 medium potatoes
7 cups water
4 garlic cloves
1/2 teasp of dried mint
3 medium onions, chopped small
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1/4 cup of lemon juice
1/3 cup of vegetable and olive oil mix
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup flour 1/4 cup water

First, put the lentils in the saucepan with the 7 cups of water. After it boils, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 more minutes Add the chopped Swiss chard to the lentils along with the cut up potatoes (small squares), lemon juice, cumin and salt. Let it boil for appr. 10 minutes.

Brown the onions in the oil. Crush the garlic with the mint and add with the onions to the lentils when they start boiling.

Dissolve the flour in 1/4 cup water and stir into the lentils.

Cook on low heat for another 5 minutes or so, taste it, if you would like more lemon or salt, add a little more depending how you like it. Enjoy!!!

Cheese Pastry

Ingredients:
1 packet of Puff Pastry
300 gms of Fetta Cheese or any cheese you prefer
half a bunch of parsley
1 egg
100 gms melted butter

Mix the cheese with chopped parsley, white pepper, 1 egg. You don't need much salt with feta as it is salty.
Line the pan with a baking paper. Spread one sheet of puff pastry at the bottom of the pan. Brush it with melted butter spread the cheese mixture on top and put another puff pastry sheet on top. Baste the top sheet with melted butter. Make a few small holes on the top of the pastry and pour the remaining melted butter on top.

Bake in an oven at 180 degrees for approximately 30 minutes or until the pastry sheets are almost golden in color. This dish is best accompanied with a green salad.

Hummus
This can be eaten as a meal in itself with pitta bread and a green salad and pickles, or it can be used as a dip with pitta bread or crispbread. It can stay fresh in the fridge upto 5 days.

2 cans of chickpeas
2 lemona
200 gms of Tahini
a few tbsps olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
salt
chilli powder (optional)

Put the cans of chickpeas in a food processor , add the tahini, juice of 2 lemons, 3 cloves of garlic (or less, according to personal taste), a few tablespoons of water and process until smooth and creamy.
Put on a flat dish, drizzle the olive oil on top and sprinkle with a pinch of chilli or cayenne pepper.

Potato Salad
5 potatoes
1 lemon
1/2 bumch of parsley
3 spring onions
4tblsp olive oil
salt and black pepper
Chilli powder (optional)

Boil the potatoes, peel and cut them into cubes. In the bowl add to the potatoes chopped parsley, chopped spring onions, juice of 1 lemon, the olive oil, salt, pepper and chilli powder. Toss the ingredients. This can be eaten as a dish itself with some pita bread.

Aubergines With Cheese and Tomatoes
Ingredients 2 lb Aubefrgines ( sliced lengthwise)
75ml oil
1 tbsp tomato paste
2 cloves of garlic (optional)
225 g mozzarella cheese sliced
1 can of tomatoes or 5 chopped tomatoes
50g Parmesan cheese, grated
salt and ground black pepper

Tomato Sauce:
put 2 tbsp of olive oil in the pan and fry the garlic lightly. Add the tomatoes and 1 1tbsp tomato paste, salt and pepper and let it simmer on a low heat for 15 minutes. Put aside to cool.

Sprinkle the aubergines lightly withn fllour and fry in a large frying pan. Take out of the pan and spread them on an absorbent paper to absorb the oil. Arrange a layer of aubergines on the bottom of a well greased pan. Cover with a thin layer of cheese and then a little tomato sauce. Continue making layers until all the ingredients are used up. Sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese and drizzle a bit of the olive oil. Cook in the oven for 25 minutes. (serves 6)

Cauliflower Fritters
Ingredients:
1 Cauliflower, cooked and separated into flowerets
oil for deep frying
Butter
125g flour
pinch of salt
2 eggs, separated
150 ml water
4 tablespoons milk

To make the batter, sift the flour and salt into a bowl. Add the egg yolkds, water and milk and mex well. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff and carefully fold into the mixture. Dip the flowerets into the batter and deep fry, a few at a time for 1 to 2 minutes or until they are golden brown. Drain on kitchen towles and serve hot.