Vegan Recipes

Aubergine Linguine

Aubergines are also known as eggplants or brinjals, and originate from India. Linguine are long, narrow, flat pasta noodles used in Italian cooking. Prepare the marinated aubergines well in advance so that when you are ready to eat, all you have to do is cook the pasta.

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Basil and Tomato Pasta

Basil is one of the more common herbs used in Italian cuisine. It is rich in vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium, and phosphorus; and it is thought to have significant health effects, particularly for strong eyesight and healthy skin and hair, and in improving the health of the cardiovascular system.

Roasting the tomatoes gives a sweeter, smoother flavour to the sauce. Italian plum or flava tomatoes are ideal.

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Beetroot Cannolicchi

Beetroot is closely related to sugar beet and chard, and the ancient Romans were one of the first to cultivate and use them as food. Modern varieties are thought to have originated from Africa and Asia. Nutritionally, beetroot is rich in vitamin C, manganese, potassium, fibre, magnesium, iron, copper and phosphorus. Beetroot has been used extensively in the treatment of cancer, and it can help protect against heart disease.

Quick and simple, this colourful and warm salad works equally well as a tasty starter or as a main dish for a light lunch.

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Bruschetta

Bruschetta (note that 'ch' is pronounced as a 'K' in Italian) is the simplest of Italian appetisers or snacks to prepare. It is the "Queen of Snacks" as 'bruschetta' in Italian is female gender.

The most important part of this dish is the bread, which should be common Italian pagnotta bread (round loaf). Bread is very important in the Italian cuisine with many different formats that vary from region to region and also from town to town. The most diffuse is "common bread" made only from wheat flour, water and yeast. During the preparation olive oil is added and optional whole olives (without the seeds).

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Caponata

Caponata a typical dish from Sicily. Despite that many people think Italians just eat pizza, pasta and other heavy dishes, Italy has been a poor country historically and the easiest things to eat, thanks to the good weather, were always vegetables.

Caponata is based on aubergine, or egg plant, the real meat for veggie dishes. With this dish you will taste full Mediterranean cuisine and the added flavouring ingredients make it a perfect 1-dish meal with bread or plain rice, or as a side dish.

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Chestnut Cake

If you're a bit of a sweet tooth, one of the most difficult parts of a vegan diet can be finding cakes since almost all cake recipes require eggs, milk or other dairy products.

This recipe is for a cake in the popular Italian tradition when expensive ingredients couldn't often be used. It is a perfect cake for breakfast or as an original dessert after dinner.

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Penne Arrabiata

'Arrabiata' means angry in Italian and probably the name comes from the cooking style for this sauce. The sauce is cooked from a cold pan using cold oil, unlike most other pasta sauces which usually require the oil, onions and garlic to be hot before adding the other ingredients. In this case, an Italian with a hot temper dropped everything into a pan without thinking then started to cook!

Note that rigate is used as the penne pasta. Rigate pasta has a pitted surface that will better hold the sauce whereas penne lisce has a smooth surface.

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Pepperonata

Pepperoni in Italian are bell peppers or capsicums, not salami. A very nutrient dish that can be used in many different ways, this dish fits perfectly as one dish, a side dish or a sauce for rice or pasta. It is normally better the day after it has been cooked. It is low in calories as it only requires a little oil, and is beautiful with a glass of wine. It can be served hot or cold, but surely you must like onions.

Traditionally, Italian dishes made only with vegetables were common as meat has always been very expensive.

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Puttanesca Pasta

'Puttanesca' is a derivation of puttana, which in Italian means 'whore'. Some say that the dish was served in the brothels that abounded in Naples, and was a cheap and easy sauce to make and serve to customers, keeping them occupied while they waited their turn. Others say that the name refers to the hot, spicy, flavour and aroma.

Whatever its origins, this sauce is generally served with pasta such as penne, and is a spicy melange of tomatoes, capers, black olives, onions, anchovies (this version has no anchovies), oregano and garlic, cooked together in olive oil.

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Spaghetti Aglio e Olio

Here's the simplest of Italian recipes - spaghetti aglio, olio e ... peperoncino (garlic, oil and chilli).

Fresh and easy with a hot touch, it takes less than 10 minutes to prepare. This dish is really fast food.

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Spinach and Nut Pasta

Spinach originates from central and southwestern Asia, possibly Persia. It is a very good source of dietary fibre, protein, vitamins A, C and K, sodium, manganese and potassium, best retained by no or minimal cooking.

Use any pasta shapes you have for this recipe.

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Tomato Gnocchi

Gnocchi is a small dumpling most often made with potatoes, though it can also be made from flour, squash or polenta.

The spicy garlic-pepper sauce contrasts well with the mild flavouring of the gnocchi in this delectable dish. Top this north Italian favourite with a few fresh basil leaves and vegan Parmesan cheese, if available.

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Vegetable Penne

Penne is one of the most well-known Italian pastas and is a speciality of the Campania region in southern Italy, which includes the cities of Naples, Sorrento and Capri. Penne means 'pen' in Italian, and it gets its name from its tube-shape, with angled ends cut to resemble a pen point or quill. The tubes have ridges which allow them to hold more sauce.

The sweet cherry tomatoes in this recipe add colour and flavour, and are complemented by the black olives and mixed peppers.

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