Only Recipes, by Alessandra Zecchini ©

This vegan bacon recipe can be life-changing for those former bacon lovers and for new vegans. This is the best recipe so far, considering also that it looks like the real thing in quite a spooky way (with those white stripes and all), and requires just a few easy to find ingredients. The first 'secret' ingredient (and this is my first very own input) is sun-dried (or semi dried) tomatoes, which I soaked in a little hot water for 5 minutes. Then I added a tsp of smoked paprika, 1 tbsp of Japanese soy sauce, 2 tbsp of extra virgin olive oil, half tsp of salt and a little aquafaba (water from a can of chickpeas). I blended everything into a paste (using the nutribullet). The resulting paste should have the consistency of a spread, so add more aquafaba if it is too thick. Don't make it runny. Now for the second main ingredient (and here I got the idea from my friend Lucia who has a vegan bacon recipe  here) : rice paper. I found this to be such a cool idea, plus it ...

This is one of those creations that happened while using up leftover puff pastry and a bit of peperonata I had in the pot. The resulting dish was so pretty and delicious that I decided to share it: Capsicum pastry rolls You must use some cooked capsicums (bell peppers) for this recipes, and I had some  peperonata  ready: Peperonata 2 yellow capsicums 2 red capsicums 1 green capsicum 1 garlic clove half carrot 1 small celery stalk 2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus more to drizzle at the end) A little water salt to taste (if the capers are not too salty) chopped Italian parsley and fresh basil leaves, plus a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil to finish Wash and cut the capsicums into thin strips. Peel the garlic and cut into two. Wash and chop the carrot and celery into small pieces. Heat the olive oil in a pan and sauté the vegetables, then add the a little water and salt. Cover and simmer on the lowest setting for 45 minutes to...

Now that I have a nutribullet I am trying all sort of experiments, and this is my first nut milk. I used toasted hazelnut, but I guess that if you are into raw food you can use raw hazelnuts. I like toasted hazelnuts though, and a rinsed mine with water to remove as much as i could of the brown skin. Then I added a bit of water, about twice the amount of the nuts. A quick blend and here is the result! I passed the milk through a sieve, it tasted great but a bit grainy, so I passed it again using a fine cotton cloth (a clean handkerchief would work). The ring from the nutribullet jag is ideal to keep the cotton in place while the milk is filtering though! I got one glass, but where is the photo? Ops, Arantxa drunk it all at once! Max and I just had a taste. The hazelnut taste was great! Plus there was quite a bit of hazelnut paste left over.  Instant Vegan Nutella Place the hazelnut paste in a bowl or jug with a few block of dark ch...

Wash and cut two small bunches of silver beet, (or a big bunch) then steam the stalks for 10 minutes and the leaves for 5 minutes. Measure the spices: 1/2 tsp ground cumin 1/2 tsp ground coriander 1 tsp turmeric 1/3 tsp ground chili Peel and roughly chop two shallots. In a heavy pot heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil (or ghee) then add  the shallots. Stir and add the spices. Stir to coat the shallots. Add the silver beet and a little water, plus a pinch of salt, cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Add a handful of chopped coriander and blend with an immersion blender. In the meantime pan fry one block of paneer, cubed, with two tbsp of vegetable oil, a pinch of salt, coriander seeds and cumin seeds. Add the hot paneer to the silver beet curry.  Stir and keep warm while cooking the rice. Use the same pot where you fried the paneer: keep the leftover cumin and coriander seeds, add a few c...

I love quince jelly, lovely project for rainy days! Wash and quarter some quinces, removing the pips, then boil the lot with lemon juice and a little water until the fruit is soft and mushy.  Put the pulp inside a jelly bag, cheaper if you just use a clean pillowcase (I have one which I use just for jellies) and hung it over a bowl (using a broom and two chairs) for a day and night. This way the juice will drop into the bowl. As a rule if you like a clear jelly do not squeeze the bag! But I confess that I gave it a little squeeze… I wanted to get more out of it! Measure the juice and add the same amount of sugar, then boil again. I had lots, so I put half in a container to set, and added  Fresh As  Raspberry powder to the other half for a quick raspberry jelly. Delicious! Photos and Recipes by Alessandra Zecchini  ©

Would you like t make a tiramisù style dessert without coffee? Are you a fan of lemons and limoncello? I had a jar of lemon curd to finish, so I made up this lemon version, and it worked wonders: in fact it tastes so good that no one will be believe that it is so easy to make! Of course I used NZ best limoncello,  Limoncello Sovrano .  Ingredients: 3 tbsp of lemon curd 300 ml cream 1 small glass of  Limoncello Sovrano  thinned with a little water 12 savoiardi biscuits Edible Flowers to decorate Smooth the lemon curd with 3 tbsp of cream, then whip the rest of the cream and fold with the lemon curd mixture. Place the Limoncello in a deep plate and add a little water to thin it down (or use just limoncello - I prefer to thin it down so that my kids can also eat this). Quickly soak the savoiardi biscuits in the limoncello, one side only, then place them in a serving bowl, soaked side up.  Add some cream and lemon curd mixture and ...

To make gnocchi you need big floury potatoes, like agria, wash them and boil them with the skin. Do not peel first! Peel the potatoes only after they have been boiled, then press with a potato ricer. This is very important, if you you a blender or food processer you will not get the right texture. I added a bit of cooked pumpkin too (not necessary, but I had it!). Then salt, pepper and ground nutmeg. And then a bit of flour, enough to get a workable dough. There is no exact dosage really, it all depends on how floury are your potatoes, and adding pumpkin does require a bit more flour too. Take a piece of potato dough and roll it into long strips, then cut off the gnocchi. Shape the gnocchi with the help of a fork to make some incisions on the top. The gnocchi is ready! Cook in salted boiling water and as they rise to the surface remove with a slotted spoon and place in the pot with the sauce of your choice (or just melted butter with sage!). Ph...