Tomato Artichoke Soup

I was working from home one day and wanted a fast, healthy lunch. This is what I came up with.

Ingredients:

olive oil

½ vegetable stock cube

1 tin tomatoes

½ tin artichoke hearts (bottoms would probably do well too)

1 cup rice milk

pine nuts

pumpkin seed oil

Instructions:

1. Heat the oil and add the stock cube, breaking it up.

2. Add the tomatoes and artichokes (I used about half the tin and saved the other half for pizza, but feel free to use more or less). Cook for 5-10 min.

3. Add the milk and blend with a hand mixer.

4. Warm a few more minutes, then serve topped with pine nuts and a drizzle of pumpkin seed oil.

Vegan Red Pesto

Ingredients:

½ bunch basil (about1/3 cup)

2-3 garlic cloves

50 ml olive oil

2 roasted red peppers (jarred is fine)

6-8 sun-dried tomatoes (ideally in oil)

40 g pine nuts

35 g nutritional yeast

black pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Wash the basil. Peel the garlic.

2. Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Vegan Green Pesto

The nutritional yeast replaces the cheese here and helps make a delicious pesto. Spread it on tofu, eat it as a dip, or, of course, have it on pasta.

 

We freeze it in ice-cube trays and then take out one or two cubes when we need it.

 

Ingredients:

1 bunch basil (about ¾ cup)

3-4 garlic cloves

100 ml olive oil

40 g pine nuts

35 g nutritional yeast

1 tbsp lemon juice

black pepper to taste

 

Instructions:

1. Wash the basil. Peel the garlic.

2. Blend all the ingredients together until smooth.

Pine Nut Bread

I like to make this in little rolls. It’s great with butter or sunflower spread.

Ingredients:

5 cups strong white bread flour (about 500 g)

2 tsp yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp honey

4 tbsp sunflower oil

1 cup warm water (about 225 ml)

about 50-100 g pine nuts, to taste

Instructions:

1. Mix all the dry ingredients together, then add in the honey, oil, and water. Mix with a bread hook in a stand mixer or else knead on a floured surface. We mixed it in the mixer and then M kneaded it too.

2. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour.

3. Knead again. Separate into equally sized rolls. You can also make one large loaf.

4. Place 5-6 pine nuts in the centre of each roll. Fold the rolls over and place another 5-6 pine nuts in the centre. Then fold over again and decorate the tops with a few pine nuts. (In other words, you’ll end up with layers of pine nuts in the dough.)

5. Leave to rise another 20-30 minutes.

6. Bake for about 15 minutes at 200 C.

Gluten-Free Ricotta and Lemon Gnocchi

I wanted to make my ricotta gnocchi recipe gluten-free and add a bit more to it by using lemon, fresh mint, and pine nuts.

Ingredients:
250 g ricotta
2 eggs
1½ cups grated cheddar, plus extra to sprinkle on top
1 cup gluten-free flour
1 lemon
water for boiling
butter for frying
herbs (I use parsley and mint)
pine nuts

Instructions:
1. Mix the ricotta, eggs, cheddar, and flour into a smooth dough.
2. Grate the lemon peel into the dough and add the juice from half the lemon.
3. Boil the water. Make little lumps out of the dough and drop them into the water. They are ready when they’ve floated to the top.
4. Fry the gnocchi in the butter and herbs. Add the pine nuts towards the end.
4. Serve with a little extra cheddar on top.

Courgette, Mint, and Feta Pasta

With all the courgettes that summer brings (that’s zucchini for you Americans!), it’s worthwhile coming up with a variety of recipes to use them in. I like the way the vegetables tastes against the sharpness of feta cheese and the sweet hint of mint. This can be served warm or cold.

Ingredients:
1 courgette
olive oil
pasta
water
2 tbsp fresh mint
pine nuts
75 g feta cheese

Instructions:
1. Wash and slice the courgette. Brown it in olive oil.
2. Boil the pasta in the water.
3. Add the mint and the pine nuts to the courgette.
4. Drain the pasta and mix the courgette with it.
5. Crumble the feta cheese on top and serve.

Lentils and Pine Nuts

We bought a big container of puy lentils, so I’ve been trying to come up with different things to do with them. They are my favourite sort of lentil and I love how they retain a bit of crunch even after you’ve cooked them for awhile, so they don’t become a shapeless mush. This recipe can be served as a salad or a side dish. As a salad, you could place the lentils over rocket/rucola leaves or another type of green or lettuce.

Ingredients:
1 cup puy lentils
water
75 g pine nuts
mint or parsley
yogurt
olive oil
lemon juice

Instructions:
1. Wash the lentils and boil them in the water for about 20 minutes, stirring now and then.
2. Add the pine nuts, herbs, yogurt, olive oil, and lemon juice to taste.
3. Serve warm or chilled.

Tomato Tart

This is a very easy and tasty tart. I made it twice in one weekend! The flavours all work together very well.

Ingredients:
1 portion pastry (see previous recipes)
3 onions
oil
1 tbsp sugar
1 portion olive tapenade (see previous recipe)
400 g cherry tomatoes
black pepper
sea salt
olive oil
70 g pine nuts

Instructions:
1. Place the pastry in a casserole dish.
2. Dice the onions and fry in oil. Add sugar and caramelise.
3. Blind-bake the pastry for 5 minutes at 180 C.
4. Spread a layer of olive tapenade on the pastry. Top with the onions.
5. Wash and halve the tomatoes. Place on top of the onions.
6. Sprinkle with black pepper, salt, and olive oil.
7. Bake at 200 C for 15 minutes.
8. Sprinkle the pine nuts on top. Bake for another 5-8 minutes.

Kale with Pine Nuts

You see a lot of kale at Christmastime in grocery stores, and I try to use ingredients that are seasonal. I wanted to lightly stir-fry kale, toast some pine nuts with it, and add a tablespoon or two of yogurt. The strong flavour of the dark, cabbage-like kale together with the pine nuts smells and tastes like winter. The dish looks like a pine tree and is hearty and warming.

I served this as a side dish with mezzaluna pasta stuffed with pumpkin and pine nuts. That was store-bought, because I simply don’t have the time to make fresh pasta. But maybe one day...

Ingredients:
150 g kale
oil
1 tsp sugar or honey
pinch sea salt
50 g pine nuts
Greek yogurt, if desired

Instructions:
1. Lightly stir-fry the kale in the oil. After a minute or two, add the sugar or honey and the sea salt. Continue to stir-fry while stirring for another few minutes.
2. Add the pine nuts and a touch more oil if needed. Toast until golden brown.
3. Serve with a dollop of yogurt, if desired.

Broccoli and Spinach with Raisins and Pine Nuts

As much as one might like to live off dessert, you do need actual food as well. So a few hours after the bread and butter pudding snack, I thought we should have a light dinner. I had all those raisins left, so I wanted to do something with them, and when I’d been at the grocery store, I’d been tempted by tender-stem broccoli, which you don’t see all that often. M and I both love spinach, so I’d gotten a package of fresh baby leaves too. Thus a recipe for slightly sweet greens began to take shape, inspired by a dish I saw in a magazine of spinach and pine nuts.

I don’t think M was totally convinced by this dish, but I liked the balance of flavours, the sweetness of the raisins with the veggies, all topped with piney tones. Maybe it’s worth pointing out that the recipe includes several flatulence-inducing ingredients, so you might want to be careful about who you serve it to and when, but then again, you can vary it with other ingredients if you prefer (or if necessary!). The recipe can be easily doubled to serve as a side dish for more people or as a larger meal. I just made a small amount, as we weren’t particularly hungry.

Ingredients:
.25 cup raisins (or half a handful)
1 onion
2 garlic cloves
olive oil
200 g spinach
6-8 tender-stem broccoli
30 g pine nuts
freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Boil some water and soak the raisins in it for 5-10 minutes, until they get plump.
2. Finely chop the onion and garlic.
3. Fry the onion and garlic in a pan in olive oil.
4. Wilt the spinach by putting it in a Teflon or similar pot, with the lid on, over medium heat. Do not add any water. It takes just a few minutes, so keep an eye on it.
5. Chop the broccoli.
6. Add the spinach and the broccoli to the pan with the onion and garlic.
7. After a few minutes, add the drained raisins and the pine nuts. Stir and cook for another 5-10 minutes.
8. Season with pepper and serve.