vegan

Romesco Sauce

If you’ve never tried Romesco sauce, you haven’t lived yet.  This smoky-garlicky-peppery sauce can be put on basically everything: toast, chicken, roasted potatoes, sandwiches, pizza and pasta!

This Romesco Pasta Salad is our family favorite but you can put this sauce on practically everything! And to all my vegan friends out there…YES, my Romesco Sauce is divinely vegan!

A couple of notes:

  • Jar roasted peppers works as good as oven roasted peppers for this Romesco Sauce recipe. Also skipping the roasted tomatoes the “traditional recipe” calls for.
  • Don’t skip the vinegar! It tempers the raw garlic pungency.
  • Spanish Pimentón (dulce/sweet and picante/hot) it’s a must. You can find it anywhere this days (HomeGoods, Whole Foods, Vons, Amazon.) It adds extra smoky flavor and heat.
  • I used any type of roasted almonds or a mix of different ones. My favorite is Blue Diamond Smokehouse – no sponsor! It just adds more smokey flavor to the Romesco Sauce.

Please let me know how your Romesco Sauce turns out in the comments! I can’t wait to hear what you serve it on.

Romesco Sauce

Versatile and full of flavor, this Romesco Sauce can be put on practically everything from toast to scramble eggs!
Print Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes

Ingredients
  

  • 1 jar roasted red peppers, drained
  • 1 cup raw or roasted almonds I used salted but unsalted will work too. Just adjust the salt to taste when finishing it!
  • 2 cloves Medium-to-large cloves garlic, peeled
  • 1 tbsp Red vinegar or apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp Spanish smoked paprika aka Pimenton dulce
  • 1 tsp Spanish hot smoked paprika aka Pimenton picante
  • 1/2 tsp salt, or more to taste
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions
 

  • In a blender or food processor, combine everything but the olive oil. Blend, starting on low and increasing the speed as it starts to blend.
  • Taste, and adjust salt if needed. Serve or store in a jar in the refrigerator for 7 to 10 days.
Keyword sauce

Let’s pretend it’s fall. Coconut Mango Curry Butternut Squash Soup!

Coconut Mango Green Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Right now, I’m sipping hot coffee, and it’s like 90F outside. I have a tank top on and I’m about to bring the fan out of its very short retirement in the garage.

This Coconut Mango Green Curry Butternut Squash Soup (try saying that in one breath) is good all year long. However, squashes are in season and I bought a Costco size tray of precut organic butternut squash (I do not enjoy peeling and cutting those monsters.)

It doesn’t look like fall weather is upon us anytime soon. So let’s just pretend it’s fall in Southern California and make some soup!

100% good for you ingredients. Coconut oil, butternut squash, mango, and coconut milk. The mango brings even more the sweetness of the butternut squash and adds texture to the soup. I added Sriracha to my serving to save the kids from the heat, but a teaspoon or two can be added to the recipe. I also added some of the last green leaves of thai basil from my almost dead herb garden. [sigh]

Coconut Mango Green Curry Butternut Squash Soup Coconut Mango Green Curry Butternut Squash Soup Coconut Mango Green Curry Butternut Squash Soup Coconut Mango Green Curry Butternut Squash Soup

Coconut Mango Curry Butternut Squash Soup!

Dominique
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Cuisine American Thai

Ingredients
  

  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small yellow onion diced
  • 1½ tablespoons Thai green curry paste
  • 2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
  • 1 2 lb. tray of precut butternut squash got it @ Costco OR 4 cups butternut squash, peeled, seeded, and cut into cubes
  • 2 cups of mango chunks fresh or frozen
  • 1 15-ounce can whole coconut milk (can be sub. for light)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon Sriracha optional
  • 3 or 4 Thai basil leaves optional

Instructions
 

  • Start by reserving the frozen mango (if using frozen) and letting it thaw while you work on the soup.
  • Heat the oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add in the garlic and onion, and saute about 3 minutes.
  • Add in the raw butternut squash cubes, pour in the broth, and add the curry paste plus salt stirring to combine. Cook for 3 more minutes, stirring often. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cover. Cook for 20 minutes, or until butternut squash is tender. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes.
  • Add the mango to the soup. Use a handheld mixer to blend the soup directly in the pot or pour the soup into a blender in batches and blend until smooth. Pour the blended soup back into the soup pot over medium heat.
  • Before serving, remove from heat and mix in the coconut milk slowly. Mix well. Pour into bowls and top with some Sriracha sauce.

Notes

The coconut milk is added last, after the soup has been blended. That way you can control the thickness of the soup.

 

Baba Ganoush

Baba Ganoush 5 ingredients dealiciouscooking.com

I first remember tasting Baba Ganoush when I was about 7-years-old. Our neighbors in Brazil had Syrian roots and they were pretty much responsible for my first taste of Middle Eastern food. Birthday parties in their home were, in one word, scrumptious. Best of both countries. Baba Ganoush, Hummus, mini Kibbees, Dolmas, Brigadeiros (Brazilian chocolate fudge bites), and coxinhas (Brazilian chicken fried dumpling.)

I don’t think I tasted Baba Ganoush again until I moved to the States.  Every time I eat Baba Ganoush I go back to my neighbors Claudia and Andreia’s birthday parties and Sunday suppers. I see their dad, Senhor Luis, in the kitchen mixing some Za’tar and proclaiming I would never taste anything like it.

I wish I could share this Baba Ganoush with Senhor Luis and tell him “thank you” for the delicious memories.

THE DEAL: I used 4 small eggplants (2 Casper and 2 Szechwan) from our garden for this recipe. It was the perfect amount and use for our fresh picked eggplants.

Fresh Eggplants from Garden dealiciouscooking.com

Roast the eggplant and garlic with the skin on. I dressed the eggplant slices with Trader Joe’s Pacific Smoked Salt and black pepper for extra flavor.

Roasted Eggplants for Baba Ganoush

Add all the ingredients to the food processor. Since the eggplants were so tender I didn’t remove the skin. I used pure Tahini sauce and I needed to add a little water to the final mixture to thin it out a bit.

Baba Ganoush dealiciouscooking.com

 

Baba Ganoush

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients
  

  • 4 small Chinese eggplants or 1 medium regular eggplant
  • 4-6 garlic cloves peel on
  • 3-4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice according to taste
  • ¼ cup tahini sauce
  • ½ teaspoon salt plus extra depending on size of eggplants
  • 2 tablespoons of olive oil plus some extra for drizzling
  • Pinch of paprika for garnishing

Instructions
 

  • Preheat the oven to 400°F. Slice eggplants in small pieces. In a bowl, toss eggplant slices with salt and 1 tbsp of olive oil. Place it on a baking sheet along with the unpeeled garlic. Roast until tender, 30-40 minutes. Remove the eggplant and garlic from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing the garlic peel.
  • Place the eggplant, garlic, tahini and lemon juice in a food processor and process until fairly smooth. Add the olive oil and salt and process it briefly. Scrape the mixture into a bowl, taste and add more lemon juice or salt to taste.
  • With the back of a spoon, make a swirl in the top of the baba ganoush, drizzle olive oil in the swirl grooves, and sprinkle with paprika.