Few experiences are as gratifying as sitting at the table after a long day to sink your teeth into an exquisite recipe, fill your stomach and regain strength. If, furthermore, we have already entered fully into autumn and the sunny and hot days are beginning to give way to rainier ones with lower temperatures, a good spoon dish at midday will warm us up while we enjoy the traditional flavors of lifetime.
Spoon dishes are the main protagonists of autumn and winter. Simple to prepare and very nutritious and comforting, they are a shot of energy and one of the best ways to increase our intake of legumes and vegetables without leaving aside proteins.
If you are vegetarian or vegan you are in luck, they are also an ideal option to combine with cereals and vegetable proteins.
We tell you five very healthy and delicious recipes: we are going to cook some lentils, some chickpeas with spinach and cod, a gypsy pot, a pea stew and a tofu and vegetable soup. All recipes are for four people.
Lentils for all tastes
Lentils are one of those dishes that have as many defenders as detractors. Either you love them or you don’t want to see them even in painting. Of the legume family, they are the ones that can most easily get you out of a bind, as they require much less soaking than the others. Two or three hours are more than enough.
In addition, they are very versatile and are just as delicious with chorizo and ham as they are in their vegetable version, the famous widow lentils. They are very tasty combined with a little rice or quinoa, and with that mix we will get a very complete protein by mixing legumes and cereal.
To cook the lentils, we will sauté them with one onion and four cloves of garlic. Chopped onion and whole garlic, cut in half. For this lentil recipe we will use 300 grams of pumpkin cut into cubes that we will add to the sauce once the onion is well browned, and we will also add a couple of artichokes cut into quarters.
After a few minutes, we will also add a couple of very ripe grated tomatoes and leave it on low heat until they cook. Now it’s time to season with sweet paprika, add the lentils (about 400 grams), and cover with cold water. We will leave them cooking until they are tender. If we use a quick cooker, we must follow the instructions for this type of legume.
Chickpeas with spinach and cod
This dish based on legumes and fish is also very complete and nutritious, as well as very economical if we use cod crumbs. If you like boiled eggs – one of the most complete proteins as it contains all nine essential amino acids – it would also look great in the recipe.
We are going to use one onion, two cloves of garlic, 300 grams of cod crumbs, 400 grams of chickpeas of your choice, 800 grams of spinach, and paprika. Remember to soak the chickpeas the night before, for at least twelve hours. If you have forgotten, we can make a quick version with canned chickpeas and although the flavor will not be exactly the same, you will get the same nutritional benefits.
The first thing we are going to do is sauté the onion and garlic, and once browned we will add the cod crumbs and cover with a liter and a half of water. With the hot water, we add the chickpeas that will have to be cooked until they are tender. We will keep an eye on them so they don’t stay dry. Once they are ready, we add the spinach and, if we want, the cooked eggs.
To be a gitana
Gypsy pot is a very autumnal dish of Murcian origin, since one of its star ingredients is pumpkin. Originally from the Region of Murcia, it also shares some similar version with other neighboring areas such as Alicante or Almería. We tell you how to do it step by step. The basic ingredients are beans, chickpeas, green beans, pumpkin and in many homes, pears. It is a vegetable dish, suitable for vegans and very satisfying. You can complement it with potatoes, if you wish.
We are going to use one large onion and two pear tomatoes, 200 grams of previously soaked chickpeas and beans, the same amount of green beans, two carrots, 150 grams of pumpkin, four small pears (optional), a slice of loaf bread and a handful of almonds. We will need a pinch of paprika and a few strands of saffron, as well as 15 ml of vinegar and a little mint (optional).
We are going to cook each legume separately. We chop all the vegetables into small pieces and add everything to the pot along with the legumes. Meanwhile we will prepare the snack, which is optional. We are going to fry the bread with the almonds, absorb the excess oil with kitchen paper and pass it through a mortar.
In a frying pan we are going to sauté the onion, garlic, tomato and spices, and we will add the minced meat if we have made it. Now is the time to mix the sofrito with the rest of the stew and the pears; as well as mint and vinegar. All that’s left is for the flavors to mix well and let it rest a little before serving.
Pea stew
Another vegan and very healthy option is this pea stew. We are going to need half a kilo of this legume, an onion, a carrot, two potatoes and a turnip. The first thing we are going to do is cook the peas in water and with a little salt. When they have cooked we are going to crush them, but we will reserve a few. Now, we are going to fry the onion together with the potato, carrot and turnip cut into cubes for about five minutes or until they have browned a little.
We are going to put the pea puree in a saucepan, to which we will add the already poached vegetables and cook for another quarter of an hour or so. After that time we can also add the peas that we had reserved. And ready to eat.
Tofu and vegetable soup
This soup is very quick to prepare and a very complete and healthy option for lunch or dinner. We are going to give you an express option that you can even prepare in the microwave. We need a liter of vegetable broth that we can buy already prepared or have a homemade one that we have previously cooked, 100 grams of peas that we can also have frozen, 300 grams of tofu cut into cubes, 100 grams of carrot, a quarter of red pepper, a spring onion and a handful of wheat semolina, which we can also find gluten-free.
We are going to finely chop all the vegetables and place them with a little salt and oil in a microwave-safe container. In a couple of minutes – a little more depending on the quantity – they will be ready. Meanwhile, we are going to brown the tofu cubes a little in a frying pan. We add the vegetables, tofu and peas to the broth along with the semolina. Cover and cook in the microwave for five minutes. If you like miso paste, it is spectacular.
Source: www.eldiario.es
