VEGETARIAN RECIPES EASY AND TASTY

Dear reader,

After the article of the week dedicated to the plant proteins, we'd like to give you some simple ideas for you to use in your kitchen and enjoy its flavor, its nutritional properties and the multiple possibilities they offer.

In our diet traditionally mediterranean, we have resorted to the use of legumes and cereals as a source of vegetable protein in the preparation of stews, along with other vegetables, vegetables and tubers) and in combination with animal protein (meat and fish). So, many of the dishes that we know (stews, casseroles, stews, etc.), our grandmothers and mothers, are drawn in Spanish households in the usual way.

However, legumes, and cereals, as well as nuts, have been finding their way into our kitchen through different preparations from other countries, where its use is also widespread, leading to the development of different dishes, exotic for most of the Spanish, with new textures, flavors and aromas, adding richness and variety to our diet, allowing consume these nutritious ingredients along with others that were being unknown true for us not to be of the crop or regular use in our mediterranean region.

Currently it is relatively easy to get many of these ingredients not native, thanks to its commercialization in stores specific foreign products, health food stores, areas of “bio” and “eco” of some hypermarkets and supermarkets.

It is also easy to access to these tastes in restaurants of typical food (chinese, thai, mexican, Greek, american, Italian, Turkish, etc), or in restaurants vegetarians or vegans.

We are going to offer you some of the recipes are very simple to have as the basis of these ingredients vegetarian protein so that you begin to experience it for yourselves at home and you can surprise your guests with a different menu and is rich in new flavors.

Hummus (chickpea cream typical of the mediterranean, Greece and Turkey)

Ingredients:

– 2 cups of boiled chickpeas

– 2 cloves of garlic

– the juice of 1 lemon

– the same amount of water to which lemon juice

– 2 tablespoons of tahini (sesame paste)

– a pinch of salt

– 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil

– a pinch of sweet paprika

Preparation:

Beat the chickpeas, cooked and drained (you can cook it ourselves or buy them already cooked, aclarándolos previously), along with the peeled garlic cloves, lemon juice, water, salt, and tahini. The tahini or sesame paste can buy it pre-made or to prepare at home by roasting slightly in a pan without oil, two tablespoons of sesame and passing then to the mixer.

If the cream got us has become too thick you can add a little water to taste.

We put the hummus on a plate or serving platter, so as to decorate above with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil and paprika sprinkled. Also we can decorate it with some black olives and a branch of parsley.

We will accompany you with pita bread Arabic, toasted buns (croutons), rye bread or crudités of vegetables cut into sticks.

We can also use it to spread on filling snacks and sandwiches, along with lettuce, tomato, sprouts...

Holds three or four days in the fridge in a closed container.

It is a recipe rich in protein, iron, calcium, omega 3 and fiber.

Chili black bean and vegetable stew typical of Mexico)

Ingredients:

– 3 cups of black beans

– 1 large onion

– 5 cloves of garlic

– ½ Teaspoon of cayenne pepper

– 2 tablespoons of cumin

– 1 tablespoon of herb salt

– 1 tablespoon of black pepper

– 1 glass of crushed tomatoes

– 2 tablespoons of olive oil

– 1 zucchini, 1 carrot, or vegetables to taste, cut into small strips

Preparation:

Fry the onion, vegetables, and a clove of garlic in a pan until the onion is transparent.

Cook the black beans (pre-soaked) in enough water along with the oil and four cloves of garlic.

Before the beans are cooked completely, add the onion, spices, and tomatoes, and cook until ready.

Serve in a fountain or hot frying pan. You can serve it with bread or pancakes corn to fill them, or eat in plate. You can also accompany it with a bit of white rice.

It is a spicy dish tasty, rich in protein, vitamins, fibre and natural antioxidants, immune system stimulant and as an activator of the circulation.

Tofu curry with rice (dish oriental, China and Thailand)

Ingredients:

– Tofu into slices or dice

– 2 tomatoes crushed

– 2 onions chopped -

– 3 tablespoons curry powder

– 1 can of coconut milk

– Red bell pepper, carrot, zucchini, peas, or other vegetables to taste, into small pieces

– 2 handfuls of white rice

Preparation:

Fry the tofu in a bit of olive oil. Add the onion and, when transparent, the tomato.

After 5 minutes, add the curry and mix well.

When well roasted, add the coconut milk and vegetables.

Let it cook for about 20 minutes or until the ingredients are well blended.

Meanwhile, cook the rice, cool it down and drain well, to put it as an accompaniment to the rest of the ingredients.

It is a very tasty dish, in which we can substitute the vegetables last one, by the fruit, as an apple and banana into chunks, getting a delicious dessert or sweet dish of curry (can be served with or without rice, for that is more lightweight). We may also use seitan instead of tofu.

It is rich in protein, fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.