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The Easiest (10 Minute) Strawberry & Chickpea Caprese

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If there is one dish that embodies summer, it definitely is caprese. The Italian vibes, the freshness, the lightness of summer, and all the goodness. All of that not only is summer but can also be found in caprese. Not to mention how delicious it is! Still, as good as the classic one is, once in a while it is fun to switch things up and take them next level. Just as we are doing here.

Caprese actually is one of my favorite, if not my favorite dishes ever. When in Italy I have it at least once a day, in whichever form. Undoubtedly, the combo of tomatoes and burrata or mozzarella is unbeatable. I thought so at least before having tried this. And let me tell you, strawberry and mozzarella does not quite beat tomatoes an mozzarella but it definitely is at least as delicious!! 

Where does Caprese come from?

Maybe you have already noticed; the colours in Caprese, green (from the basil), white (from the mozzarella) and red (from the tomatoes), are identical with the ones in the Italian flag. A coincidence? I don’t know but I don’t think so. The dish also has its name from an Italian island, Capri. There the dish was first served and still is a must serve. If you are a Caprese lover, Capri definitely should be on your food bucket list! 

What’s special about this? 

As mentioned above, this is not your average Caprese. We‘re still keeping the colors, but we‘re changing up the flavors. Instead of tomatoes we are using strawberries and we also are adding some herbed chickpeas to it. You may wonder whether a fruit would taste good in a savory dish, and really, it does (tomato btw is a fruit to, so it‘s not too big of a change). Tomatoes are a bit sweet, and so are strawberries. They definitely do have a quite different flavor, yet the sweetness works in great harmony with the tanginess of the mozzarella.

Plus, the chickpeas are not typical. To all Italian out there, please don’t judge before you try! They add some extra texture and flavor and keep you full for longer due to their fibre. And mozzarella and chickpeas taste really delicious when combined. 

Mozzarella, Burrata, Mozzarella di Bufola? 

Before we are jumping to the health part of the dish, we need to clarify which kind of Mozzarella works best here. What even is the difference? 

So Mozzarella is the regular one. Depending on where you live and from where you buy the mozzarella, it can be harder of softer, yet it already has the typical mozzarella flavor. This one works great for anything that is being baked, like pizza or pasta gratins. Mozzarella di Buffola, is already way softer and higher quality mozzarella. It has a milder flavor and is way creamier than the regular one. Thus, it also is more expensive. This is the one you usually are served in Italy. 

And then there is burrata. I need to warn you though, once you try burrata, you‘ll habe a hard time returning to mozzarella di Buffola or even regular mozzarella. Burrata kind of is the queen of all mozzarella, and well deserved. It comes from Puglia, in the south of italy, and is made from a day old mozzarella and cream. And the result. Oh my goodness. Unreal. Such a creamy and tangy center, you cannot get enough of it. It just is unreal. Burrata usually is served with either caprese or on top of pasta for example.

So which one works best for this dish? 

I would say mozzarella di bufola. Burrata would taste amazing but since it is so creamy, the salad would turn into a (delicious) mess.

What about the chickpeas?

It wouldn’t do the mozzarella justice if we chose an A-level mozzarella but then some regular canned chickpeas – would it? So the chickpeas also have to be next level. Just like the ones from NENI. They actually are simply PERFECT for this dish. Why? They are precooked and prepackaged, so you can just grab them in your supermarket and make this dish even quicker. And they are ore spiced with ultra tasty Mediterranean spices and herbs. These herbs work perfectly together with the mozzarella and strawberries. These spiced chickpeas make this dish 10x more delicious and even healthier, because you get so many nutrients from them. If you somehow have access to getting those chickpeas, you definitely should! 

Is this dish healthy?

We can definitely say so. As a base we have the strawberries, which are loaded with vitamins and fibre and nutrients. (Btw, did you know, you could eat the green part of the strawberries? It still blows my mind). Then we have got the chickpeas, which also are an amazing source of protein and fibre. So they‘ll keep you full and happy and help your digestion. And then, not to forget about the mozzarella; it is rather high in fat, that needs to be said, but also in protein. The olive oil accounts for some unsaturated, healthy fats and the basil for some extra nutrients. All in all, pretty healthy! 

How to make this dish? 

This is beyond easy. Really. All we need to do is wash and slice the strawberries, chop the mozzarella and toss with the chickpeas, basil, oil and vinegar. Yup, that’s all. Then we only need to pack it for our picnic 🙂

Meal prep friendly?

Definitely! Otherwise it would not be a great picnic dish would it? You can store it in the fridge – even for a day if you want. This actually intensifies the flavors because the juices of the strawberries will run out and combine with the mozzarella.

This definitely is one of the easiest and most delicious meals you could make. It is amazing for those hot summer days when you just want a quick lunch, but also for warm and sunny picnics in the park! I hope you‘ll really enjoy this and have an amazing time picnicing! 

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The Easiest 10 Minute Strawberry and Chickpea Caprese

Easy to make, super quick, super refreshing and super delicious! Really, this is next level and not your average caprese (much better!). The strawberries and an amazing sweet-summery twist to it and all in all it is super delicious! A must make!

Course Appetizer, picnic, Salad
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten

What you will need

  • 1 package NENI Kichererbsen Salat mit frischen Kräutern
  • 250 g strawberries
  • 1 Package mozzarella cheese (around 120-150g)
  • 1 tbsp basil
  • 1 handful greens (such as baby spinach)
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

How to

  1. Wash the strawberries and cut them into bite-sized pieces. Add them to a bowl along with the chickpeas, the mozzarella, the olive oil and the finely chopped basil. Give it a good mix, then divide onto bowls.

  2. Drizzle some balsamic vinegar and serve with fresh basil! Enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière 

The Easiest 15 minute Saucy Avocado Pasta

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Pasta itself is a dream. Avocado itself is a dream. Well, can you now imagine what the combination of pasta and avocado tastes like? Like the best dream. Not only does it taste amazing, no, it also is incredibly easy to make (as easy as tomato sauce), super healthy and soso simple. Really, there is no excuse left not to make this!

What’s special about this dish?

It is everything else than traditional (sorry to all my Italian fellows, if this may hurt you). Avocado does not really grow in Italy and defintely is not eaten with pasta. Usually you’d eat it with bread, in bowls, with nachos or just as is. And I mean, all of those are some sort of carbohydrates – so is pasta! Why not eating avocado with pasta then? So besides it being very non-traditional, it also comes together really really quickly.

Plus, it is very versatile. If you want it springy, go ahead and add some herbs or dill, if you want it vegan, substitute the parmesan cheese for nutritional yeast and the greek yoghurt for a plant based yoghurt. If you wanted it a bit more meaty, you could also fry some bacon in a pan and toss it into the sauce, so you have a kinda cabonara-style avocado pasta. Or you could also fry some prawns or chicken and add that on top. It really is up to you and your preferences how you make this and that makes it really special and great!

Is this even healthy?

Yep, yep! Avocados are superfoods, this needs to be said. They are loaded with healthy (omega-3) fats, which are great for your brain and your heart. Then they also contain more potassium than e.g. bananas, great for your cells and heart, they contain a bunch of fibre, so your digestion works perfectly and they contain numerous different vitamins and minerals to keep you feeling fit and healthy.

Then we also have some greek yoghurt, which is loaded with protein and calcium, parmesan cheese, which is loaded with deliciousness, fresh herbs (always a nutrient bomb) and the pasta. Pasta, unlike many claims, can actually be very beneficial for you. The carbs give you lots of energy to do all the things you love. Plus, if you go for whole-grain pasta, you get another dose of fibre and minerals. And, obviously, pasta is very good for your soul 🙂

How to make this?

When I say this is easy, I mean this is EASY. You start by boiling the pasta (according to package instructions). Then we either use a blender or a fork to continue. When doing it with a fork, it will be less creamy, more like a pesto-guac consistency. When blending it’ll be saucy. So we grate the parmesan, and either add it to a bowl or a blender with chopped up herbs, greek yoghurt, grated garlic and mashed avo. And then we either mash or blend it until creamy.

Before the pasta is done, we’ll reserve some pasta water, then drain it and mix it with the avocado sauce and the pasta water. That already is it! Really easy right? Now you can add any toppings you like, if you want to, like tomatoes, prawns, chicken, chickpeas, or just more cheese (always a good choice)!

This dish really is perfect for summer, or warm spring days, for easy lunches or quick dinners. I would even say it´s justifiable as a brunch dish (bc it’s basically like avocado toast just with pasta, right?). Regardless or when you’ll enjoy it, I hope you will enjoy it! Have a great time cooking!

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The Easiest 15 Minute Saucy Avocado Pasta

Easy, delicious, healthy. Just on another level. The combination of pasta and creamy avocado sauce is just like a bite into heaven, plus it is so incredibly easy to make! A must try!

Course Main Course
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 4 servings

What you will need

  • 500 g pasta (spaghetti work best)
  • 1,5-2 avocados (depending on how big they are)
  • 100 g greek yoghurt
  • 100 g parmesan cheese
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp chopped herbs (a mixture of dill, basil and parsley works best)
  • sea salt
  • mozarella, prawns, chicken or anything else to serve with

How to

  1. Bring a pot with salted water to a boil. Cook the pasta according to package instructions. 2 minutes before they're done, you can reserve 1 cup of the pasta water. Drain them.

  2. If you have a blender, peel the avocado and the garlic, grate the parmesan and add everything to a blender and mix until creamy.

  3. If you do not have a blender, mash the avocado, grate the parmesan and garlic and mix and mash everything in a bowl until as creamy as possible. You may need some (plant based) milk).

  4. When the pasta is done, mix it with the sauce and a bit of the pasta water to start with (you can add more later on if you feel like it needs to become a bit creamier).

  5. Divide onto bowls and serve with whatever you love! Enjoy!

Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

The Ultimate Pesto & Hummus Picnic Sandwich w/ Grilled Halloumi

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Sandwiches ALWAYS are a win. There is no way you could go wrong with some good bread, a delicious spread and cheese in-between, right? Good to agree on that! And this sandwich – let me just tell you – is next level. It is not you average lunch sandwich, it is not your average grilled cheese, it is not your average hummus bread. It is next level, everything else than average.

You have some delicious, fluffy bread, creamy, tangy hummus, salty and indulgent pesto, fresh greens and tomatoes, salty and ultra-delicious grilled halloumi and rich avocado. NO way you do not like this. And you know what’s the best part about this? It is so easy to make. literally easier than scrambled eggs on toast.

What’s special about this dish?

By now you probably know that this is not your average sandwich. Here we have a combination that you do not get anywhere else. Hummus from the orient, pesto from Italy, Halloumi from Cyprus and delicious, perfect bread from Austria. And although all ingredients come from so many different places, they work in such perfect harmony together. They do all have a slight mediterranean touch, which makes the combination taste amazing.

And, this recipe is part of the NENI x UPC picnic series. Meaning, this recipe tastes best with the NENI hummus and is perfect to be taken on a picnic. Obviously, you could also eat it at home, for lunch, breakfast, dinner or brunch or any other time of the day you like.

Is this sandwich healthy?

I would definitely say it’s very nutritious. So let’s start at the very bottom layer; the bread. The bread is loaded with carbs and fibre and will not only keep your soul healthy but it’ll also keep you full of energy and full for a while. Next we have the hummus. It is full of fibre and protein and also healthy fats. Next up the pesto. Well, first of all it is loaded with a whole bunch of deliciousness. The salty- and tangyness are just a real dream. Yet, it also is beneficial nutrient-wise. The nuts and oil account for a decent amount of healthy fats and togetehr with the parmesan cheese for a healthy amount of protein too.

What do we have left now? The veggies – tomatoes and green – to provide you all the minerals, vitamins & fibre in order for you to stay full and happy and the halloumi. The halloumi is a source of protein but more than that a source of deliciousness. Lastly, avocados are a great way to get in some more healthy omega-3 fats. All in all, it definitely is nutritious!

How to make this dish?

As already mentioned – it’s as easy as scrambling eggs. All you need to do it slice up the halloumi and add it to a hot pan to fry for 2-3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Then we only spread the bread with hummus & pesto, add the sliced tomatoes and a few greens, the grilled halloumi, some sliced avo and the second hummused (can hummused please be a word – like buttered just with hummus?) bread on top. Voilà!

Picnic friendly

If just left like that it may very well result in a mess when eating it. So we can take some steps to prevent this from happening. This best works if we cut up some parchment paper (like 4-5cm thick) and wrap it tightly around the sandwich. To fix this, we can wrap a string around it and make a knot. This way it is tightly packed together and does not fall apart when eating.

All in all it needs to be said, that this is an incredibly delicious and easy to make dish and a real MUST for every picnic! Everyone who has tried it so far LOVES it – so I am convinced you’ll do the same 🙂 I really hope this helps you enjoy the weather a bit more and to make use of all those sunny days!

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The Ultimate Pesto & Hummus Picnic Sandwich w/ Grilled Halloumi

Definitely not your average sandwich – much much better than that. The creamy hummus just pairs perfectly with the tangy pesto, the crispy bread and the salty halloumi. All in all – a dream

Course brunch, lunch, picnic
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 5 Minuten
Total Time 10 Minuten
Servings 4 sandwiches

What you will need

  • 8 slices bread
  • 8 tbsp hummus
  • 4 tbsp pesto
  • 250 g halloumi cheese
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 4 handful greens
  • 1 avocado

How to

  1. slice up the halloumi lengthwise and add it to a cold pan. Heat up and fry on each side for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Slice up tomatoes and avocado.

  2. In the meantime spread the slices of bread with the hummus. Top with the greens, the tomatoes, then the halloumi, the pesto, the avocado, some sea salt and another slice of bread with hummus on the inside. Enjoy!

Have fun cooking,
Love,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

Quick & Easy Stuffed Curry Hummus Pita with Beluga Lentil Salad

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Imagine sitting in the green grass on a sunny day, in the shade of a cherry tree and enjoying a soft and warm pita bread stuffed with creamy and tangy, Indian inspired curry hummus, together with a refreshing lentil-veggie-and feta salad and topped off with some smooth avocado and a sprinkle of sea salt. Definitely sounds like something I would love to try.

I am not sure what exactly it is, but there is something about picnicking that just hits different. For some reason, picnic season always is the best season, still it can get a little bit boring if you always make the same dishes every time. Obviously, we can easily avoid that!! Therefore with this (super tasty) dish, we are introducing a picnic recipe series, so you’ll always have something delicious to make for your next picnic brunch!! And really, this is good. The fact that my dad (who is very skeptical when it comes to vegan food and things like hummus and lentils) finished half of it before I left for a picnic.

What is special about this dish?

Kind of everything. Usually, you would dip Pita into Hummus or another dip, or you would fill if with something like falafel or chicken. Well, here we are doing neither. We actually are more or less, combining two dishes. Pita + hummus and beluga lentil salad. It may sound a lot at first, but trust me, the combo is amazung. Plus, it really is super duper easy to make and comes together in 20 minutes. And it is super meal prep friendly, easy and not messy to eat, which makes it perfect for a picnic.

Plus, it features two of the most delicious products from NENI am Tisch. NENI makes (incredibly tasty) oriental inspired food, has many, many, amazing restaurants and their own products. We are using their beluga lentils and their curry hummus here, to make this recipe even easier and quicker. You can find all their products at SPAR, Edeka, Globus & Tegut.

Is this dish healthy?

Yes, yes, yes. I mean, look at it! It already is so beautifully colourful – how can something this colourful not be healthy? Let’s break it down a little bit. As for the lentil salad, we have several different components. The lentils themselves first, they are very high in fibre and a great source of plant based protein. Plus, they come with many other nutrients. Then, also in the lentil salad we have got several different. veggies. First up the sweet potatoes. Sweet Potatoes are a nutrient bomb basically, loaded not only with deliciousness but also with carbohydrates, fibre and lots and lots of vitamins.

Then we have a mix of several different veggies. Here it really is up to you what you want to use! I love some cucumber, tomatoes, spring onions and avocado. You could also add in some asparagus or corn or whatever you like. Depending on which veggies you choose, the vitamins and minerals will vary a little, but you will definitely get a bunch of them! Then we also have some avo (obv) for some healthy fats and a sprinkle of feta (which is optional and really good) for some salty goodness and a bit more protein and fats. Not to forget about the pita, which gives us all the energy we need through its carbohydrates. If you want to go a bit healthier with that, you could swap it out for a wholegrain pita.

How to make this dish?

We need to start by preparing the sweet potatoes because they take the longest. To do so, we chop them into about 1cm sized cubes, toss them with some salt, pepper, paprika and oil and then bake them at 200°C for about 20 minutes. In the meantime we can just go ahead and prepare the lentil salad. For this we just chop up the veggies and toss it with the NENI lentils, then we only slice up some feta and avocado.

When the sweet potatoes are done, we can also toss them with the lentils and then we can start stuffing the pitas. To do so, we first spread some curry hummus onto the insides of the pita. Then we fill them up with the beluga lentil salad and top them with avo and feta. And that already is it!

The perfect picnic dish!

This really is IDEAL for picnic. You don’t make a mess while eating it because you can just take bites from the pita. Plus, it is really easy to prepare and does not loose in taste even when it is not eaten right away but stored in the fridge for several hours. Moreover, if there is any lentil salad left, you can just store it in a separate container and take it with you too. And lastly, it already looks so beautifully summery, you’ll really, really want to take this onto a picnic!

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Quick & Easy Curry Hummus Stuffed Pita with Summery Beluga Lentil Salad

Easy to make, packed with flavor and soso delicious – just the ideal picnic food. A soft and warm pita filled with summery flavours of a fresh beluga lentil salad and a curry hummus. All in all – a dream

Course dinner, lunch, picnic
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 20 Minuten
Total Time 30 Minuten
Servings 2 servings

What you will need

  • 1 small sweet potato (about 400g)
  • 1/2 tsp paprika powder
  • 1 tbsp oil (flavor neutral)

For the lentil salad:

  • 1 package NENI "Orientalischer Beluga Linsen Salat" (or 200g cooked beluga lentils with lemon juice, olive oil & herbs)
  • 1/4 cucumber
  • a handful cherry tomatoes
  • 2 spring onions
  • 1/2 avocado
  • 3-4 radishes
  • a handful mixed greens
  • 100 g feta cheese

For the rest:

  • 5 tbsp NENI Curry Hummus
  • 1-2 pita

How to

  1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Peel the sweet potatoes and chop them into about 1cm sized cubes. Toss them with the oil, paprika powder, salt and pepper and lay onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Bake for 20 minutes until soft.

  2. In the meantime wash the cucumber, radishes and tomatoes. Half or quarter the tomatoes, chop the cucumber into bite.sized pieces and finely slice the radishes. Add them to a bowl along with the lentils, greens, the crumbled or chopped feta and the sliced avocado.

  3. 3 minutes before the sweet potatoes are done, you can add the pita into the oven so it gets re-heated. Then take everything out, toss the sweet potato with the lentil salad and cut the pita in half. Spread the curry hummus into the inside of the pita and then fill it with the lentil salad. Enjoy!

I hope you really enjoy making and eating this and have a beautiful picnic!

Love,
Katie