10 Original Recipes for Vegetarians and Lent Observants
1. Hummus
An oriental dish that is great for sandwiches. It is made from chickpeas, which are sold in most large stores. Hummus is a nutritious dish that helps normalize cholesterol levels in the blood and helps the nervous system function. Hummus also lowers blood sugar levels and is rich in protein.
Ingredients
- 300 g dry chickpeas;
- 30–100 g sesame seeds;
- 3 cloves of garlic;
- 4-7 tablespoons lemon juice;
- 3 tablespoons olive oil;
- salt.
Preparation
It is better to cook chickpeas in advance. Rinse them well and soak for 10-15 hours. Whether to peel the chickpeas or not is up to you. Without the husk, you get a more tender and uniform composition, and with the husk - an interesting texture. Cook the chickpeas for 2 hours without salt and spices. You can check the readiness of the chickpeas by crushing the pea between your fingers. Set the chickpea broth aside, you will need it later.
Lightly fry the sesame until golden brown and grind in a coffee grinder. Mix the sesame with garlic and olive oil and grind in a blender until smooth. Add the chickpeas and 300 ml of broth, continuing to grind. Add lemon juice and salt to taste to the finished dish.
2. Pancakes
Pancakes — it is not always milk, kefir and eggs. They can be eaten during Lent if cooked correctly.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups flour;
- 2 glasses of water;
- 50 ml vegetable oil;
- 1 tablespoon sugar;
- ½ teaspoon of soda;
- 1 teaspoon vinegar or citric acid;
- salt - to taste.
Preparation
Dissolve sugar and citric acid in water. Add flour in small portions, stirring constantly until there are no lumps left.
Add soda and butter, let stand for at least 10 minutes. The dough is ready. If you want sweeter pancakes, you can add more sugar. You can also add some cocoa powder and get chocolate pancakes. Bake the pancakes on medium heat until done.
3. Pumpkin cream soup
If you want something original that can be prepared in just half an hour, pumpkin cream soup with celery is an excellent solution.
Ingredients
- 1 bunch of celery;
- 400 g pumpkin;
- 1 onion;
- spices - to taste;
- croutons - for serving.
Preparation
Cut the vegetables and put them on the fire. Bring to a boil and cook for about 10 minutes. Drain some of the broth so that the vegetables are slightly covered with water. You can leave about a cup of broth in case the soup turns out too thick.
Remove the pan from the heat and use a blender to blend the vegetables until smooth and creamy. If the soup is too runny, add a little flour, but no more than a tablespoon. Add spices. You can add a few spoons of sesame seeds to the finished soup. Garlic and paprika are also great, and if you want the soup to be more yellow, add curry.
Pumpkin soup goes best with croutons. Add them immediately before serving.
4. Guacamole
A bright green and very tasty dish that can be spread on a sandwich, served with pasta, used as a sauce or added to rolls instead of avocado.
Ingredients
- 2 avocados;
- 1 lime;
- 3 tablespoons olive oil;
- salt - to taste;
- spices - to taste.
Preparation
Remove the pulp from the avocado. The easiest way is to cut the fruit in half and scrape out the pulp with a spoon. Squeeze the lime for juice, add olive oil, salt and spices and mix everything in a blender.
Lime juice not only adds flavor, but also keeps the guacamole from darkening for longer. Finely chopped vegetables can be added to the finished guacamole. Tomatoes and carrots are excellent.
5. Chocolate cake
A cheap and simple recipe for a Lenten cake. The main advantage of this dessert is the minimum of dirty dishes.
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour;
- ½ cup cocoa powder;
- 1 cup sugar;
- 1 packet of vanillin;
- 1 packet of baking powder;
- ½ cup sunflower oil;
- 2 glasses of water.
Preparation
All ingredients can be mixed in a baking pan. Just be careful not to scratch it. Use a wooden or silicone spoon for this. Mix all dry ingredients, add sunflower oil and pour in water, stirring constantly.
Bake the cake in an oven preheated to 180 degrees for about 40 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cake. After you take it out of the oven, let the cake cool for 10-15 minutes.
6. Potato pancakes
A delicious recipe for potato pancakes without animal ingredients.
Ingredients
- 7-8 potato tubers;
- 2-3 tablespoons flour;
- spices - to taste
- ¼ teaspoon of soda.
Preparation
Peel the potatoes and grate them. To prevent the potato pancakes from falling apart, grate half of the tubers on a coarse grater and the other half on a fine grater. Mix all the ingredients and fry in vegetable oil in a well-heated frying pan for 10 minutes.
The dish will be more delicious if you add finely chopped sun-dried tomatoes and paprika to the potatoes.
7. Pea sauce
Pea sauce is similar to mayonnaise, only much tastier and without eggs.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon crushed dried peas;
- 6 tablespoons water;
- 150–220 g vegetable oil;
- 1 teaspoon sugar;
- 2 teaspoons mustard;
- 1 teaspoon salt;
- 1-2 tablespoons vinegar;
- spices - to taste.
Preparation
Mix water with peas and cook for 10-20 minutes. Beat the resulting mixture with a blender until smooth. Slowly pour vegetable oil into the peas. Beat everything again with a blender.
Add the remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly until the mixture resembles real mayonnaise. Depending on the amount of oil added, the fat content of the finished dish will vary.
8. Marshmallow
Marshmallow is a marshmallow, but more viscous and tender. Marshmallow is not sold everywhere, and it costs a lot, so it is better to make it yourself.
Ingredients
- 575 g sugar;
- 265 g water;
- 50 g powdered sugar;
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch;
- 1 g citric acid;
- 1 g of soda;
- 25 g agar-agar.
Preparation
You will need a saucepan with a thick bottom. Pour 175 g of sugar and citric acid into it and pour in 75 g of water. Bring to a boil and cook until a thread starts to stretch behind a spoon dipped in the mixture. On average, the process takes about 40 minutes. Add soda and stir until the bubbles from the reaction of soda and citric acid disappear.
Pour 100 g of warm water over the agar-agar and leave to swell. Add 400 g of sugar and 90 g of water to the slightly cooled syrup, cook until the sugar is completely dissolved. Beat the agar-agar in a container with high walls, gradually pouring in the hot syrup. It is better to have someone help with this, because you need to pour and beat at the same time. When the mixture turns white and increases in volume, pour it into a form lined with cling film to cool. You can add food coloring to the mixture.
Place the mold in the refrigerator for 6 hours. When the marshmallow hardens, remove it from the mold, sprinkle with a mixture of powdered sugar and starch and cut. Sprinkle the knife with the same mixture so that it sticks less.
9. Caramelized Onions
A simple side dish for those who are tired of the usual salads. Can be added to almost any cooked cereal and improve its taste.
Ingredients
- 4 onions;
- ¼ cup vegetable oil;
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar;
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar.
Preparation
Peel the onion and cut into rings. Pour oil into the frying pan and fry the onion for about 10-15 minutes. Add sugar and vinegar and fry for another 10 minutes.
You will get a tender and tasty onion with an unusual taste. It can even be frozen and added to ready-made porridge.
10. Couscous with vegetables
Finding couscous is not a problem. And the main advantage of couscous is that it does not need to be cooked.
Ingredients
- 250 g couscous;
- 250 ml hot water;
- 2 tablespoons olive oil;
- vegetables - to taste;
- salt - to taste;
- vegetable oil - for frying.
Preparation
Boil water. Add olive oil and salt to taste. Pour couscous into almost boiling water and leave for about 30 minutes. Or you can measure out a glass of water, boil it in a kettle and pour boiling water over couscous.
Fry the vegetables you like best. For example, onions, tomatoes and bell peppers. Add the finished couscous to the pan with the fried vegetables, stir and serve.
