feel food club

Vegetarian

Vegan Kale Ceasar Salad

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Summer is (luckily) getting closer and closer, which means so do salads for summer bodies. But please, it shouldn’t be about the way you look but the way you feel! For me plantbased or veggie heavy dishes always make me feel the best, give me tons of vitamins, a lot of energy, make my sleep be that best it could possibly be and just shine grin the inside and out. 

But I know for a lot of people when they read „salad“ they either think of rabbit food (as my brother likes to say :)) or some green leaves underneath a ton of dressing. So today, we are doing none of those. Neither super boring and leaving us hungry, nor drenched in a fat heavy dressing. No. We a re doing a super delicious vegan and healthy version of the super popular ceasar salad. Still a little cheesy, with self dried tomatoes (best thing ever!) and crispy pan fried rosemary chickpeas. Sounds like a pretty solid dish to me and it definitely is! 

Why Kale?

That’s super simple: to switch things up. As good as Romain lettuce is sometimes, it is good to change things every now and then. And kale is a true superfood. Super high in fiber, minerals, vitamins, iron, antioxidants, and all of that other healthy stuff. And no, it’s not the raw one that is hard to chew but we are steaming it so it is softer, easier to digest and tastier. I know that there are a lot of people that absolutely can’t stand kale at all, no matter in which form, then I would recommend using spinach or lambs lettuce as this would work best for this. Also a mix with arugula would be great!

What else?

That’s a good question. Where to start? The oven roasted tomatoes, the incredible dressing, the crispy chickpeas or the croutons? 
One after the other. So what else is super typical for ceasar salad are the croutons. No normal croutons here but whole wheat garlic ones. You heard me right. A little healthier but so good! Pan fried with fresh garlic and a little olive oil, it’s the best add in (to any salad actually).

Homemade dried tomatoes

Next up; oven roasted tomatoes. If you have never made this before, you sure missed out on something and spent way too much money on store bought ones before. It is essentially 3 steps: cut the tomatoes, place them in the oven, take them out. Oh, yeah and eat them of course! That’s how easy it is. You just leave them in the oven for an hour and go take a bath in the meantime. After an hour they are going to be somewhat I like to call semi-dried. They are dried, but still a little juice and not tough like leather. 

Best crispy chickpeas

Next up, the crispy chickpeas. That’s THE way to do crispy chickpeas. So good you drain them from the can and rinse them. After tap them dry (this is important bc otherwise they are not gonna be crispy) with a kitchen paper. In a pan we add olive oil, garlic and rosemary and let them fry for 2 minutes to infuse the water. Rosemary and garlic out, chickpeas in and crisp them up for 5-10 minutes with some smoked paprika powder and sea salt. If you like the fried garlic and rosemary, go ahead and add them to your salad, otherwise don’t. 
You can make those chickpeas ahead of time and just keep in a jar to snack on every now and then. A life changer.

The dressing:

And lastly to top it all off, the star of the show: the vegan Caesar dressing. Yep. Vegan. No cheese and no sardines. No mayo. Good and good. Instead of Parmesan cheese (not that Parmesan wouldn’t be good, it’s delicious, but sometimes it’s better not to have too much cheese) we are using nutritional yeast (German: Hefeflocken)! You can get those in your local health store (Reformhaus) or in some organic shops. It is made out of yeast, high in protein and really resembles the taste of cheese. The base of the dressing are cashews. Ideally we soak them a few hours or the night before so they get softer and easier to blend. They will ensure everything to get really creamy and add a really nice flavor. We also have some Dijon mustard and capers in it, to replace the sardines, a little vinegar and that’s it. It actually is not super difficult but tastes amazing! 

So now, it’s just left to be mixed up! Nothing more nothing less! The steamed kale, the oven dried tomatoes, the croutons, and the dressing. Toss it all and enjoy! 

Note:

If you want to meal prep this, make sure to leave the chickpeas aside to keep the crunch. You can already toss the salad in the dressing because when using kale, it doesn’t really matter, since the kale then absorbs the flavor and gets softer! 

Happy cooking!
Katie // Une Petite Cuisiniere

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Vegan Ceasar Salad with Crispy Chickpeas

A vegan twist on the classic and it is so good! Super delicious dressing, best ever chickpeas, oven roasted tomatoes and homemade croutons.

Course Appetizer, bowl, brunch, dinner, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Prep Time 10 Minuten
Cook Time 1 Stunde
Soaking Time: 2 Stunden
Total Time 3 Stunden 10 Minuten
Servings 2 servings
Calories 411 kcal

What you will need

For the salad:

  • 4 handful kale off the stem
  • 15 cherry tomatoes
  • 1 slice bread
  • 4 cloves garlic
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 120 g chickpeas

For the dressing:

  • 25 g cashews
  • 2 tsp dijon mustard
  • 2 tsp capers
  • 1/2 lemon, juiced
  • 2 tbsp plant milk
  • 2 tbsp water
  • 1 tbsp nutritional yeast

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Soak the cashews for about 2 hours to overnight in water. 

    Preheat the oven to 100*C. Slice the tomatoes in half and lay them on a baking tray lines with parchment paper. Bake them in the oven for an hour.

  2. In the meantime bring a pot with water to a boil. Take a sieve and place the kale leaves, that have been removed from the stem in there. Let them steam for 2-3 minutes. After remove them and drain under cold water. This will ensure the color to stay and the kale to cool down quicker.

  3. Take the bread and cut it into 1 cm cubes. Press out or grate 2 garlic cloves and combine them with the olive oil. Toss the bread cubes in the oil mixture and then fry them in a pan for about 2 minutes until crispy. 

  4. Take the chickpeas out of the can. Drain and rinse them to get rid of the liquid around them because this would make you go gasy. Tap them dry with some kitchen paper. In a pan heat up the olive oil. Once hot add the garlic and rosemary and fry for about 2 minutes, then take them out. After, you throw the chickpeas along with the sea salt and smoked paprika in and let them fry on medium high for about 5-10 minutes until super crispy.

  5. Drain the cashews from the water. Add them to a food processor and add the nutritional yeast, Dijon mustard, capers, salt, pepper, water and plant milk. Blend until smooth. If too thick, add some more water, if too thin, some more cashews! 

  6. Place the kale in a bowl and mix with the dressing. Separate it into bowl. Take the tomatoes out of the oven and add them into the bowls with the croutons. Top with the chickpeas and if you like it, the fried garlic.

    Serve and enjoy!


Savory French Toast

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If you have been following me on the blog for a while, you will have probably noticed that I am more on the savory breakfast side. Not that Avo toast and poached egg could ever become boring, but sometimes it is nice to switch things up, or to try out something different whenever you have a little time. This savory French toast is the perfect example for that.

Yes, savory French toast. No that’s not the one that is covered in a liter of maple syrup and a ton of sugar but that one that is covered with cheese and sprinkled with chives and topped with a poached egg. So. Much. Better. Honk breakfast sandwich but with a twist, which takes it next level.

When to have?

I would not have this everyday, because therefore it is a little rich but you can have it every now and then after a sleepin or as a hangover cure. Or make it for brunch when you have friends over or even as a breakfast for dinner because that is a decent option! It does not take long to make, as almost all of my recipes because who likes to wait a n hour when your tummy is growling? No one, right. 

What’s it made of?

Very few ingredients. First up; bread. Here I like to use dark or whole grain bread because it has a more intense flavor then white bread I believe, and it is a little healthier, which can never hurt! Next; eggs. Ken for the dipping batter and one poached one on top, which will be super yolk porn with that runny inside. Other than that we need some milk of your choice, grated Parmesan cheese, sea salt, herbs and black pepper for the batter.

As for the toppings, it is really up to you. I can’t leave out on Avocado of course (what’s a break my without?), and poached egg. Some more cheese and some super flavorful sautéed cherry tomatoes for that color touch and more flavor. I finished of with a sprinkle of chives. If you wanna do bacon, do bacon, if you are all the way down for hummus, you can top it with that! Really it is up to you. With such a delicious base you can’t really fail with the toppings! 

This recipe will make you look like a perfect chef at the next dinner party because it is so good. And super simple and versatile.

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Savory French Toast

Brunch, Hangover cure or breakfast for dinner. This is the pefect dish. Crispy and soaked bread with tangy cheese, runny yolk and creamy avocado = perfection.

Course Breakfast, brunch, Main Course
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 2 serving
Calories 407 kcal

What you will need

  • 2 slices bread (whole grain is best)
  • 3 eggs
  • 100 ml milk of choice
  • a pinch of salt
  • some pepper
  • 1 tsp italian herbs
  • 30 g parmesan cheese grated
  • 1 tbsp oil
  • 2 tbsp vinegar
  • a handful cherry tomatoes
  • 1/2 avocado

How to

That is how it works:

  1. In a bowl crack one egg. Add the milk, salt, pepper and herbs and mix everxthing. Add in about a third of the cheese and dip the bread into it.

  2. Bring a pot with water to a boil and heat up the oil in a pan. Once the water boils add in the vinegar. Take a cooking spoon and make a swirl in the water. crack the two eggs into two seperate bowls. Reduce the heat until the water only simmers anymore. Take one and carefully and slowly let it slide into the water until it has set a little, then take the next one.

  3. Meanwhile place the bread slices into the oil and sprinkle with half of the remaining cheese. fry for about 2 miuntes on each side on high heat.

  4. In a seperate pan quickly stir fry the tomatoes until soft, if you decide to use some. Cut the avocado into slices.

  5. Take the bread out of the pan and place it onto plates. top with teh avocado and tomatoes. Take the eggs out of the water after 3-4 minutes and lay them on a paper towel to let the excess water drip of. Add on top and finish with a sprinkle of chives and the remaining cheese.

    Serve & enjoy!

Oven Baked Lemon Honey Feta

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Crispy and creamy cheese, lemony twist, honey tomatoes and tangy capers. Maybe with some baguette to dip everything up? Sounds pretty good – at least to me! 20 minutes, perfect for anyone, vegetarian, and pretty healthy too! This makes a perfect light lunch or a decent and quick weeknight dinner.  

I am a huge fan of feta cheese. I think it is a great addition to so many things such as pasta, eggs, on top of salads or bowl, or whatever. It just adds the finishing touch and takes everything next level. Especially in summer it is such an amazing food because it is a little fresh so it adds a summer twist to every dish. 

What is it like?

In summer when my uncle goes to Greece every year he always brings me a giant block of feta and it is like a dream. Then we´ll have Greek salads pretty much every day. They are just so simple in summer and take literally 10 minutes to make. This dish is pretty similar. Think Greek salad but baked. And without cucumber. It has very similar ingredients, tomatoes, feta, olives, herbs, olive oil. It is just a little different as it does not contain cucumbers (because baked cucumbers? I don’t know) and some lemon zest, which is like the best thing ever here. Plus some honey ad breadcrumbs to make it crispy and tangy. 

When you bake it and soak up the remaining sauce after with a baguette it just tastes sooo good! It is fresh, sweet, just super good. But my fvorite part of this dish is that the feta is turned into a creamy cheese but with a crispy crumble top and you just put a piece of it on some bread and have that creaminess and sweetness and crispyness all together in your mouth. 

But how do you actually make it?

Really easy – you take the feta cheese and place it in a baking dish. Throw some cherry tomatoes, olives and capers in and some grated lemon zest. You sprinkle some breadcrumbs on top and drizzle honey, olive oil and lemon juice. Place in the oven for 10 minutes and voila – there you go, done! This is how simple it is. That is so great! That simple but so flavorful! Honestly so good. 

When and for who?

This dish also is great for people with intolerances because you can use gluten free breadcrumbs if you can´t have gluten and feta cheese is not made out of cow´s milk but out of sheep’s milk, which means even people with intolerances can enjoy that. I would not recommend it for meal prep because then you loose the creaminess and crisp but I do not believe that this is necessary because it only takes 15 minutes!

I hope that you will make and enjoy this dish whenever you want! It is as good in winter as it is in summer so it really is up to you when you make it!

Happy cooking!

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Oven Baked Lemon Honey Feta

15 minute, tangy, sweet and fresh baked feta with a crispy crust and sweet tomatoes. Ideal dish for a light lunch or a quick dinner.

Course dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine greek, Italian
Prep Time 5 Minuten
Cook Time 10 Minuten
Total Time 15 Minuten
Servings 2 servings
Calories 325 kcal

What you will need

That is what you will need:

  • 1 block Feta Cheese (150g)
  • 1 handful cherry tomatoes
  • 1 tbsp olives
  • 1 tbsp capers
  • zest of half lemon
  • juice of half lemon
  • 1-2 tbsp breadcrumbs
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • some thyme
  • some rosemary
  • some sea salt
  • some baguette and salad to serve with

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Preheat the oven to 240C or Grill.

  2. Place the feta on a baking tray or into a baking dish. Add the cherry tomatoes, capers and olives. Sprinkle the breadcrumbs, lemon zest and some sea salt on top.

  3. Drizzle to olive oil, honey and lemon juice and place the herbs on top.

  4. Put in the oven and bake for 10 minutes.

  5. Serve with some fresh beguette and some salad.

    Enjoy!

Creamy Lentil Dhal

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This is honestly one of the best things I‘ve ever made. I really really enjoy that on chilly winter days when you want a hot bowl of something but also on warmer days because it also tastes great when it is enjoyed cold and it actually enhances the flavor when kept in the fridge overnight or for several days. This makes it super meal prep friendly. You can just store it and take it to work, school, or Uni whenever you need it. It is like that with every curry or heavily spiced dish, it only gains flavor when left for a day or a few.


So what is dhal?
Dhal is an Indian term that refers to split pulses, such as beans, peas and lentils. These legumes, how you call them in English, are staple foods in Indian cuisine. But dhak is also used to name several dishes, mostly soups. Traditionally there are tomatoes and onions as well as several other spices added. In Asia it usually is eaten with some flatbread or rice. 

Is it good for me?
I love curries. So much. But sometimes you just feel like having something heartier with more substance. Like this lentil dhal. Lentils are packed with protein and fiber but also lots of other vitamins. Plus there’s a good amount of spices in here which makes everything super flavorful. The veggies and potatoes add some more taste and the toppings take it next level. 


What is in this recipe?
So, I am not a traditional Indian, surprise, surprise, so I took a traditional dhal and added a few things.The star of the dish are red lentils. If you really do not like those, I would recommend using split peas. Besides that we have some onion, garlic, ginger, graham masala, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, paprika powder, bell pepper, carrot as a base. We sautée everything and then add vegetable stock. We add in some potatoes that are peeled and cut. I do not think that it is very traditional to add potatoes but I believe that they add an incredible comforting feeling to it and make everything more filling. Plus they add some nice texture. You could also opt for sweet potatoes instead if you prefer but yellow potatoes work a bit better. 

Next come the lentils. I do not pre soak mine or pre cook them because red lentils cook pretty fast. So we add them in after a while and let everything simmer. Once the lentils are soft, in goes some coconut milk. The coconut milk is essential. I would use full fat one since we have a lot of broth and with low fat ones, you won´t be able to achieve that creaminess. While everything simmers for a little, the flavors of the spices will get deeper into the curry and the lentils become a little bit mushy, which tastes so great. 

So that basically is the dhal, but what would it be without toppings? Let´s be honest, toppings take everything next level. We are cutting up a lime, of which we will squeeze the juice on the dhal after serving, garnish the dish with a little (plant based) yoghurt or more coconut milk, some fresh cilantro, sliced up spring onions and if wanted (but really good) some cashews or peanuts for extra crunch and extra tastiness. 

I would recommend to serve it over some rice or with naan bread. With either one you can soak up the liquid and it tastes super delicious!

Is it family friendly?

Yes! It definitely is! Not only that it is very versatile, as you can add in some ground chicken when stir frying the veggies or some grilled prawns on top, when including some animal products but it also it can be made more or less spicy, depending on who eats it. Moreover, it can be kept in the fridge for several days, so every member of the family can take it to school or work. 

I hope that you will enjoy making and eating this dish, and that you will love it as much as I do! It is such a great dish to enjoy all throughout the year, is super healthy and packed with tons of flavors!

Enjoy, 

Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière

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Creamy Lentil Dhal

A super flavorful and warming dinner, that is super easy to make and incredibly delicious and healthy!

Course bowl, dinner, lunch, Main Course
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 Minuten
Cook Time 30 Minuten
Total Time 45 Minuten
Servings 4 servings
Calories 434 kcal

What you will need

Thats what you will need:

For the base:

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 yellow onion
  • 4 cm ginger
  • 2 garlic cloves
  • 1 tbsp graham massala
  • 2 tsp curry powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp paprika powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 red bell pepper
  • 1 carrot

The rest:

  • 500 g potatoes
  • 200 g lentils
  • 500 ml vegetable broth
  • 200 ml coconut milk

For servings:

  • some rice
  • some cilantro
  • cut up spring onions
  • yoghurt (plant based)
  • some nuts

How to

That is how it works:

  1. Finely dice uo the onion, garlic and ginger. In a pan heat up the oil. Once hot add the cut up veggies in. Sautee them for 2 minutes and then add the spices and sautee for another 2 minutes.

  2. Peel the carrot. Finely dine it and the bell pepper aswell. Add them to the pot and sautee for 2 minutes. Add the vegetable broth.

  3. Peel the potatoes and cout them into about 2 cm chunks. Once the broth boild, add the potatoes in and let everything cook for 10 minutes. Then add in the lentils and let everything boil for another 10 minutes.

  4. Next pour in the coconut milk and let everything simmer for another 5 minutes.

  5. Once ready, put it into bowls. Garnish with some yoghurt, cilantro, spring onions and cilantro.

  6. Serve and enjoy!