#fabtaste

A super healthy, low carb and vegan dish. Pretty easy to make and not too intricate with basic ingredients you probably have at home.

Name of the dish: Zoodlelicious al Pomodoro Culinary owner: ©laudia               Number of ingredients: 5 Time to invest: 40 minutes Category: Savory, Vegan, Low-Carb, Healthy, Lunch, Fresh Ingredients for 2 servings:

2 large Zucchini

2 large tomatoes (each about 200g)

1 medium onion

3 garlic cloves

fresh basil

spices (dried Italian herbs, pepper, salt, paprika powder)

1 tsp. olive oil

almond slices as topping (could be substituted with pine nuts)

Use a zoodle maker/slicer and prepare the 2 washed zucchini

Transform it into angel hair

Set aside

Put a small pot on the stove. On medium heat, add the olive oil and then the peeled onion (cut in stripes) and the garlic (minced). Cut the tomatoes into small cubes and add when the onion and the garlic are halfway fried. Add the spices and let it simmer on low for 15 minutes. Add the basil towards the last 2 minutes. You can add some starch if you prefer a thicker sauce, also some sugar is optional.

Take a large pot and fill it up with water (3/4th). Bring it to a boil. Add all of the zucchini angel hair and let it boil for 3 to 5 minutes depending which texture you prefer (al dente?).

One way would be to add the zucchini into the ‘Pomodoro sauce’ in order to coat it. I simply drained the zucchini, added it on the plate and put the sauce around it. Top it off with almonds and fresh basil.

I am sure you have had carrot or pumpkin soup before. Why don’t you try this “Oriental” version with warm spices – you’ll be surprised how these opulent spices complement the rather plain taste of the pumpkin and the carrots. The lentils will provide the protein source.

The cooking process is lovely with the smell of these spices! Be aware, your neighbors might knock on the door to get their sample ;-)

Name of the dish: Moroccan Carrot Soup (with Lentils and Pumpkin) Culinary owner: inspired by this recipe on A Cedar Spoon and refined by me     Number of ingredients: 9            Time to invest:  1 hour Category: Savory, Oriental, Vegetarian, Vegan, Lunch, Dinner Ingredients:

400g carrots chopped

350g Hokkaido pumpkin chopped

1 cup lentils (I used Mung Dal, rinse before use)

1 cup plain tomato sauce

1 fresh tomato chopped

4 dried tomatoes minced . . . . . Note: the original recipe used canned, diced tomatoes only, I wanted to have the dried tomato aroma.

4 garlic cloves minced

1 medium onion chopped

2 cups vegetable broth

Spices (1 tsp. cumin, 1 tsp. turmeric, 2 tbsp. coriander, 1/2 tsp. paprika, 1/4 tsp. cinnamon

3 tbsp. olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion and garlic until soft, about 5 minutes then add the spices and continue to sauté about 4 minutes. Be careful that they don’t burn and stir from time to time.

Add the carrots, pumpkin and diced.

Note: I made a slight mistake compared to the original recipe and didn’t cut the carrots and pumpkin small enough so they were not entirely soft after 10 minutes. However, not a problem as we know how to improvise!!! I simply added a bit of the veggie broth right then, let it sit on medium for 7 minutes and then continued with the recipe as I know that it would have to cook with the lentils together anyways. So 10-17 minutes depending on the size of your carrots and pumpkin for this step.

Add the (rest of) the vegetable broth, diced tomato, tomato sauce and lentils and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender.

You can eat the soup as is with the chunks of carrots, pumpkin, lentils and tomatoes or you can blend it for a creamy soup.

Add the (rest of) the vegetable broth, diced tomato, tomato sauce and lentils and stir to combine. Simmer on low heat for 30 minutes, or until lentils are tender.