Vellutata viola - Purple Veloute

January means winter. No colours around, few vegetables at the farmers market, short days.
However, with a bit of creativity, we can make up seasonal recipes able to enlighten our long evenings.
I love all the cabbages, I love their crunchiness and variety of colours, from the cavolo nero to the red cabbage through all shades of greens and white.

Here I combine a red cabbage with potatoes and red onions. I trim, peel and roughly chop my vegetable - no need to be precise as I make a veloute at the end - and I cook it for half an hour.

Seasonal, no waste and a great joy for your eyes. The colour is amazing! No photoshop.

Vellutata Viola - Purple Veloute

half of a medium red cabbage (350 g), trimmed and roughly shredded

2 medium red onions, peeled and quartered

2 small potatoes, peeled and quartered

500 ml vegetable stock

sea salt

black pepper

yogurt (optional)

Serves 4

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

1. In a pan, place the vegetable and cover with stock.

2. Bring it to the boil and leave to simmer for 30 minutes.

3. Blend it in a blender and season with black pepper and salt, if needed.

1. Serve at once, with a spoon of yogurt, if you wish.

Zucchine ripiene - Stuffed Courgettes

T

Stuffed vegetables are so popular in the Italian cuisine that each region, each town and village, and each family seems to have its unique version. Each variation is delicious, especially in summer and autumn, when courgettes, aubergines and peppers are ripe and sweet. 

Panzanella tiepida - Tepid Tomato and Bread Salad

Panzanella is a summer salad from Tuscany, made with stale bread mixed with plenty of raw tomatoes, red onions, peppers and cucumber, basil, and dressed with oil and vinegar.

Pasticcio di verdure e lenticchie

I am not a vegetarian but I eat less meat than I used to. I do not feel like having beef any longer. I find it heavy to digest. I'd rather eat chicken or fish, once a week. Sometime lamb, preferably stewed. That's it. Eggs, cheese and pulses are always welcome on my table. I definitely feel better, for myself and for our planet,  and I am not the only one. 

My clients in my cooking courses keep on asking me for new vegetarian recipes to refresh their repertoire. Pulses are the most wanted.

Here is my last creation.

Torta lenticchie e cioccolato - Lentil and Chocolate Cake

Lentils are my favourite pulse. No need to soak, versatile, light to digest, nutritious, with a nutty taste. Here I discover that they well combine with chocolate, becoming a fancy ingredient for desserts.

Riso integrale e lenticchie - Brown Rice and Lentils

Rice and lentils combine very well together and even better when you use the brown rice.

Riso con spinaci e ceci - Spinach and Chickpea Rice

I am an early person and I enjoy breakfasts. No brunches but light lunches in my life. 

Here I prepare a spinach and chickpea rice with fried eggs. So simple and so good.