Farinata - Italian Chickpea Flatbread

Little more than chickpea flour, water and salt mixed into a loose batter and baked in a pan with olive oil, farinata — literally "made of flour" — is much more than the sum of its simple parts. Crispy, golden and browned on the outside and soft and custardy in the middle, farinata is as much a delight to eat on its own as it is easy to make. It's also delicious served with sautéed mushrooms or aged cheese. I opted to serve the bread as part of a tapas meal, accompanied with some Kalamata Olive Tapenade, with a Mediterranean-style salad and sweet potato rounds to complete the spread.

Traditional fare in northwestern Italy and also in southern France where it is known as "socca", farinata has been prepared since at least Roman times. Plenty of fresh cracked black pepper gives the bread a pleasant bite, and a few fresh rosemary leaves over top of the batter would not be out of the ordinary either. The possibilities are endless and intriguing.

Other recipes featuring chickpea flour from Lisa's Kitchen:

Chickpea Flour Crêpes

Chickpea Flour (Besan) Crêpes with Spinach

Chickpea Flour Pissaladières with Caramelized Fennel & Onions

Chickpea Flour Breakfast Pancakes

Audio accompaniment: Ólafur Arnalds - Nils Frahm - A1

Black-Eyed Pea Pumpkin Curry

Fall comes all too speedy in this a part of the world, however at the side of the cooler temperatures comes colourful clean autumn vegetables like pumpkins. Every pumpkin season I buy some pie pumpkins to roast and freeze so that I even have pumpkin pur?E all yr lengthy. And it's continually an excuse to make one among my preferred treats of the season though I adore them no matter the time of yr, selfmade roasted pumpkin seeds.

Pumpkin season usually brings with it renewed proposal for cooking thoughts too, and the primary sweet pie pumpkin of the 12 months in my kitchen observed its manner into the oven for roasting after which combined with earthy black-eyed peas and Indian spices to make this colorful, filling and nourishing curry. This is an smooth recipe to make too, with maximum of the prep time considering slicing the pumpkin and scooping out the seeds.

What makes using pumpkin uncommon on this recipe is that the skin is roasted with the pumpkin and left on within the dish ? Roasting the skin makes it gentle sufficient to devour very effortlessly, and lets in the pumpkin to have its very own pieces inside the curry in preference to disappearing as a pur?E, but it's miles essential to use a pie pumpkin in preference to a massive carving pumpkin. You can also use a squash if it does now not have a thick or tough skin ? Delicata, acorn, red kuri or freshly harvested butternut squashes would be a very good desire right here as well.

Other pumpkin recipes to attempt from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Baked Pumpkin Falafel with Tahini Lemon Sauce

Chickpea Quinoa Pumpkin Burgers

Essentially Raw Pumpkin Bites

Toor Dal Pumpkin Soup

Walnut Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Pasta with Roasted Mushrooms

Pasta appears from time to time at the menu in Lisa's Kitchen, however when it does, it commonly is turned into a unique dish, even when it comes together in little or no time. Such as this filling pasta coated with a wealthy and creamy pesto that one may think changed into laden with cheese, however if you do not tell your fellow diners, they might effortlessly be fooled. Quite considerable when you upload lots of earthy and meaty roasted mushrooms and protein-wealthy walnuts into the pesto blend, with greater aptitude and vibrancy from sun-dried tomatoes, sparkling lime juice, cilantro, and a hint of warmth from some chilies, it's miles the mushrooms that honestly deliver this dish.

I determined to apply portions of lasagna noodles for the pasta right here because the pesto coats the slightly large bites for a unique culinary experience, however the pesto could pass properly together with your favourite pasta with out diminishing, and perhaps enhancing it, according to flavor.

Other pasta recipes from Lisa's Vegetarian kitchen your can also revel in:

Penne with a Spicy Eggplant and Mushroom Tomato Sauce

Pasta Shells with Roasted Vegetables and Black Olives

Linguine with Pea-Basil Pesto and Mushrooms

Creamy Vegan Cashew Alfredo Sauce with Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Shell Pasta

Audio accompaniment: lovely thunder

Black Beans Simmered in an Aromatic Tomato Sauce

Rather like a rajma, a conventional North Indian dish characterized by using the presence of kidney beans simmered in a spiced and an oh-so-aromatic fragrant tomato gravy that stimulates the appetite before dinner is even ready to experience, this time sweet and creamy black beans take the shining legume position. I ought to have without difficulty named this recipe black bean rajma except that kidney beans did not make an look, that's the distinguishing element of rajma, but this dish stands up in its own right. Though the technique is the same, and the spicing and ingredients pretty comparable, each bean provides its very own specific profile to a dish, and the pearl-like best of the black beans are simply as aromatic and earthy and filling as their kidney bean counterpart, with a hint of natural sweetness for a lovely twist on a traditional. If you cannot riff within the kitchen on a theme, the splendor of making appropriate nourishment is unnecessarily diminished. Have amusing along with your components, and nourish your soul within the technique.

Other black bean recipes to experience from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Curried Black Beans with Tomatoes and Spices

Indian-Style Smoky Black Bean Chili

Black Bean Chili With Mushrooms and Toasted Spices

Spicy Tamarind Black Beans

Audio accompaniment: Nils Frahm - Says

This is my submission to My Legume Love Affair, a monthly occasion celebrating the goodness of legume, administered via me, and kindly hosted this month by means of Sasmita of First Timer Cook. Please see her declaration for info and to participate this month.

Announcement - The 30-Minute Vegetarian Cookbook

Over the 12 years due to the fact that I commenced Lisa's Kitchen, I've had countless humans asking me when I turned into going to put in writing a cookbook. I've usually deferred a solution, however now I can inform every body who's requested that I even have not best written a cookbook but that it is to be had now on Amazon.

I'm excited to announce "The 30-Minute Vegetarian Cookbook," not most effective as it's my first cookbook, however also as it's a reachable compilation of clean vegetarian recipes distilled from my 12 years of revel in as a vegetarian meals blogger. Subtitled "a hundred Healthy, Delicious Meals for Busy People," I've designed this book to make ordinary vegetarian an clean, profitable and nourishing experience, from breakfast through to meals and cakes, with snacks and treats in between. I've additionally included masses of information and pointers to make easy vegetarian cooking as unintimidating as possible.

I'll be sharing excerpts and images over the approaching weeks to offer you a taste of what's internal. Check out my Facebook page for more of those sneak peeks. I'll be looking ahead to seeing your remarks there.

For the ones of you who pick their books on Kindle, a Kindle release is likewise to be had. For the ones of you residing out of doors of the U.S., the book is to be had on Amazon.Ca, Amazon.Co.United kingdom, Amazon.Com.Au, and Amazon.In.

Spicy Indian Smashed Potatoes with Fresh Mint

I do not make mashed potatoes nearly as often as my husband and pals might like, however now that cooler weather temperatures have descended, I do not thoughts indulging in starches on occasion myself. Ordinary mashed potatoes whipped with cream and butter may be exceptional, however I like to get dressed up nearly any type of meals that I cook, and even classics are generally tweaked to suit my fancy. These mashed potatoes ? No longer whipped or mashed too finely, thoughts you ? Are combined with fresh ginger, plenty of chilies, and an collection of Indian spices, after which pan-fried till golden and served with fresh chopped mint. They did not closing lengthy in any respect once I served them up to guests.

Chat masala, a warm, sour and salty Indian spice, is nearly crucial to this dish, and easy to make at domestic or locate at any Indian grocer. But in case you do not have the time to make your personal or go to an Indian keep, stir in a few tablespoons of sparkling lemon juice near the stop of the cooking time as an alternative. The recipe additionally requires "anardana," or floor dried pomegranate seeds, which might be additionally without difficulty to be had at Indian or Asian grocers. If you do not have it or cannot locate it, replacement it with tamarind paste, dried mango powder (amchoor), or ground sumac powder.

Other spiced potato dishes you could revel in from Lisa's Kitchen:

Bengali-Style Crunchy Potatoes

Aloo Gobi (Curried Cauliflower and Potatoes)

Potato Patties Stuffed with Spiced Mushrooms and Green Peas

Potato Patties Stuffed with Spiced Green Peas (Aloo Matar Tikki)

Potato Salad with a Harissa-Style Dressing

Sweet Potato Rounds with Goat Cheese and Harissa

These skinny rounds of baked seasoned candy potatoes are an appealing appealing fall appetizer or hors d'oeuvres, with their wealthy orange shade and topped with a a dollop of soft unripened goat cheese combined with spicy harissa. The warmness from the harissa is tempered by means of the fresh creaminess of the goat cheese to make a super pairing with the candy potatoes. If you're like me and enjoy "little bites" that may be prepared with little fuss, you'll recognize these just on their very own.

Other little bites to revel in from Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen:

Roasted Cauliflower Bites with Sriracha Sauce

Savory Goat Cheese Cakes

Coleslaw Bites with Jalape?O Dip

Olive Cheese Balls