EASTER BUNNY (VEGGIE BURRITO) | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | EASTER MENU

WIKI NOTE:  The word burrito means "little donkey" in Spanish. The name burrito as applied to the dish possibly derives from the appearance of bedrolls that donkeys carried.

The difference between a Burrito and a Taco is basically the shape. So a Burrito is a wheat flour tortilla wrapped or folded into a cylindrical shape to completely enclose the filling in contrast to a Taco, which is generally formed by simply folding a tortilla in half around a filling, leaving the semicircular perimeter open.

EASTER BUNNY (VEGGIE BURRITO)  

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe
8 soft flour tortillas
REFRIED BEANS FILLING (approx. 4 units)
2 cups of drained red beans (approx. 400g)
1 cup of Oaxaca grated cheese, to taste /*vegan grated cheese
NOTE: If you don´t find Mexican cheese, you can use any kind of grated cheese.
1/4 red onion, to taste

3 tablespoons of vegetable oil

A pinch of salt

Chili chipotle sauce (optional)
NOTE:  The tortillas have to be soft because it will be easy to blend them and make the rabbit hear.

LET´S COOK! 

1. Chop the onion to cook the refried beans. Heat a saucepan with vegetable oil. Fry the chopped onion until transparent. Add the beans and a pinch of salt.

2. Smash everything with a masher/fork until it is pureed.

3. Put vegetable oil in a hot pan, and fry the bean puree for about 5 minutes until it gets thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4. Put the filling of the refried beans in the middle of the tortilla leaving without filling the top of the tortilla. Put a layer of refried beans and another layer of grated cheese for the filling. Add chipotle chili sauce, to taste.

NOTE: Mix the refried beans with grated cheese to make a spreadable paste for the filling.

5. Fold the tortilla into a cylindrical shape to completely enclose the filling. Cut in the middle the top of the tortilla. Cut the top of the burrito without filling it in half to make rabbit ears.

6. Fold the rabbit ears or keep them, to kids' taste.

7. Brown the burritos in a hot saucepan without vegetable oil.

8. Remove from the saucepan. Decorate them.

• LET'S MAKE THE EASTER RABBIT!

1. Rabbit face: black olives (eyes), tomate cherry (nose), and grated carrot (whiskers and hair).

2. Serve the burrito with salad:: flowers (carrot) and grass (rocket salad).

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• EASTER MENU

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• MARCH MENU

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FISH PÂTÉ | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED: HUMMUS | DECEMBER MENU

WIKI NOTE: Preservation of marine products is of great importance to the coastal poor. Preserved fish products ensure adequate protein during low fishing periods. Subsistence fishers use their abundant catch of small fish to make fermented fish paste and smoked fish with the assistance of family members.

FISH PÂTÉ 

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe replace fish pâté for hummus
1 slice of hake (whiting family)
1 slice of salmon
4 crab sticks
3 eggs
10 tablespoons of tomato sauce, either store-bought or homemade.
200ml double cream 
Grated nutmeg, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

LET´S COOK!
1. Preheat the oven to 180 º C. Grease a baking pan with olive oil.
2. Place the slice of salmon hake fish and bay leaves in a saucepan, and cover with salted water.
3. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Simmer over low heat for 5- 10 minutes, until the fish is cooked.
4. Drain in a colander. Place it on a plate. Remove skin and any bones. Allow the fish pieces to cool.
5. Put the eggs, crab sticks, fish pieces, tomato sauce, and double cream on the base of the blender. Mix everything with the blender, until obtain the desired texture (pâté) Season with ground black pepper, grated nutmeg, and salt, to taste.
6. Pour the mix into the baking pan. Place the baking pan in the oven baking tray. Fill the oven baking tray with water.
7. Bake it for around 1 hour. Check it until browned.
NOTE: Open the oven and prick the fish pâté in the middle with a needle knit. You can check it many times until the needle knit is clean. It means that the pâté is well done.
8. Remove the baking pan. Let cool the fish pâté for a while.
9. Cover the bowl with cling film and put it in the fridge for a while. The fish pâté has to be cold to serve. It is yummy, yummy with tomato salad.
NOTE: You can also spread the fish pâté on toasts.

• LET'S MAKE THE RUDOLPH RED-NOSED REINDEER FACE!

Rudolph the red-nosed reindeer face: fish pâté (face), cherry tomato (nose), lettuce leaves cut into julienne (hair and horn) teaspoon of mayonnaise, and raisins (eyes).

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• DECEMBER MENU

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LENTIL BURGER | VEGAN RECIPE | NOVEMBER MENU

WIKI NOTE: The lentil (Lens culinaris or Lens esculenta) is an edible legume. It is a bushy annual plant known for its lens-shaped seeds. It is about 40 cm (16 in) tall, and the seeds grow in pods, usually with two seeds in each. Lentil colors range from yellow to red-orange to green, brown, and black. Lentils also vary in size and are sold in many forms, with or without the skins, whole or split.

Lentils have been part of the human diet since aceramic (before pottery) Neolithic times, being one of the first crops domesticated in the Near East. Archeological evidence shows they were eaten 9,500 to 13,000 years ago.

LENTIL BURGER 

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe
150g cooked green lentils
NOTE: A can of green lentils in water (265g drained weight) works well.
2 whole eggs
Half chopped aubergine
Half chopped red onion
1 grated carrot
A couple of garlic cloves
Extra virgin olive oil or olive oil, to taste
Bread crumbs
Wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
Ground cumin, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
Sesame seeds (optional)
Cheese slices /*vegan cheese slices (optional)

LET´S COOK!
1. Put the dried lentils into a pot and add 3-4 cups of water. Boil it vigorously at high heat for 10 minutes, then turn it down to minimum heat and boil it for another 20 minutes. Drain the lentils and let them cool.
NOTE: You can soak the lentils soaked for about 12 hours in cold water. It will be faster to boil them later.
2. Once they are cooled, put them on the base of the blender, and add a handful of bread crumbs.
3. Mix everything with the blender, until obtain the desired texture (creamy). Put the mix into a big bowl.
4. Wash the vegetables well. Chop the red onion, aubergine, and garlic.
5. Put into a frying pan on a medium heat, add a little bit of olive oil. Saute the onion and garlic until transparent.
6. Add the aubergine. Stir for several minutes with the rest of the ingredients.
7. Add the ingredients to the big bowl. Mix it with a wooden spoon.
8. Grate the carrot. Beat an egg and add it into the bowl. Add salt / black pepper / ground cumin, to taste. Mix everything well. Add bread crumbs as necessary until the mix is not sticky.
9. Divide the mix into small balls. Flatten each ball to get a burger shape.
10. Beat an egg in a bowl. Put the flour on a plate. Put the breadcrumbs on a different plate. First, batter the burger into the flour. Second, dip it into the beaten egg. Third, batter it into the breadcrumbs with sesame seeds. It is a triple action.
NOTE: If you make lots of burgers, you can freeze them. It is always a good moment for homemade lentil burgers.
11. Heat the olive oil in a small saucepan. Fry the burgers, one by one, until golden brown on each side. Remove them from the pan and drain with kitchen towels.
12. Serve the burgers on burger buns with lettuce leaves, sliced tomato, sliced cheese, ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise. The best way to eat a burger is with chips.
NOTE: HOMEMADE MAYONNAISE / +VEGAN RECIPE: EGG-FREE MAYONNAISE

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• NOVEMBER MENU

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TROPICAL PIZZA: DOUGH & TOPPING | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | OCTOBER MENU

WIKI NOTE:  The ancient Greeks covered their bread with oils, herbs, and cheese. Modern pizza evolved from similar flatbread dishes in Naples, Italy in the 18th or early 19th century. The term "pizza" first appeared "in a Latin text from the southern Italian town of Gaeta in 997 AD, which states that a tenant of certain property is to give the bishop of Gaeta duodecim pizze ("twelve pizzas") every Christmas Day, and another twelve every Easter Sunday".

*National Pizza Month is an observance that occurs in October every year in the United States and some areas of Canada. This observance began in October 1984 and was created by Gerry Durnell, the publisher of Pizza Today magazine.

TROPICAL PIZZA

YOU WILL NEED:

• DOUGH *vegan

500g wheat flour (plain or all-purpose)
50g olive oil
250ml beer
1 tablespoon of salt
NOTE: Pizza dough can be either homemade or store-bought.

• TOPPING *vegan recipe

3 slices of fresh pineapple or 3 sliced pineapple in light syrup (small can - 227g)
2 tablespoons of tomato sauce (Passata)
200g of sliced cheese /*vegan cheese
200g of sliced ​​cooked ham /*vegan ham
Several generous handfuls of grated cheese (Mozzarella) /*vegan grated cheese
Dried oregano, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste

LET´S COOK! 

• DOUGH 

1. Mix wheat flour and salt together in a large bowl. Mix olive oil and beer in a jar.
2. Gradually add the liquid mixture into the large bowl, mixing well to form a soft dough.
3. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead for about five minutes, until smooth and elastic.
4. Transfer to a clean bowl, cover with a damp tea towel, and leave to rest for about 2 hours, it is not going to rise a lot but it will be easy to roll.

5. Divide the dough into 2 balls. Roll one out onto a lightly floured work surface until it has the diameter of a medium pizza size.
6. Cover the tart baking pan with baking paper and put the pizza base. Preheat the oven to its highest temperature.

• TOPPING

7. Spread a little tomato sauce over the pizza base and top with sliced ​​cooked ham, sliced cheese, and slices of fresh pineapple. Top it with the grated cheese.
8. Add salt and black pepper, to taste.
9. Bake the pizza in the oven until the base is crisp and golden-brown around the edges and any cheese on the topping has melted. Sprinkle dried oregano when the pizza is almost done. 

10. Remove the pizza. Let cool it for a while.
11. Cut the pizza into triangle pieces and serve it warm.

• IT´S PIZZA TIME!

How to make a clock:  pineapple cubes (numbers) and red pepper (hour hands).

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• OCTOBER MENU

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SAUSAGE SPAGHETTI | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | SEPTEMBER MENU

WIKI NOTE: Originally spaghetti was notably long, but shorter lengths gained in popularity during the latter half of the 20th century and now spaghetti is most commonly available in 25–30 cm (10–12 in) lengths. Pasta in the West may have first been worked into long, thin forms in Sicily around the 12th century.

SAUSAGE SPAGHETTI 

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe

2 handful of dried spaghetti /*vegan spaghetti
A package sausages (Frankfurt) / *vegan sausages
A generous splash of tomato sauce (about 100ml), either store-bought or homemade.
Lots of grated cheese (Parmesan) /*vegan cheese
A handful of fresh basil leaves (torn into small pieces), to taste
Dried oregano, to taste (optional)
Ground black pepper, to taste
Salt, to taste
A generous splash of extra virgin olive oil or olive oil (about 50ml), to taste
Water, to boil

LET´S COOK!
1. Chop the sausages into 4 or 5 thick slices each. Stick carefully 4 or 5 dried spaghetti through each piece of sausage.
2. Cook the spaghetti with the stuck sausages in plenty of boiling salted water (for the time stated on the packet). Drain and divide between warmed plates.
3. Add a good ladleful of the tomato sauce over the spaghetti. Scatter a little parmesan, and a handful of small pieces of basil leaves, finishing with a twist of black pepper and dried oregano.

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• SEPTEMBER MENU

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STUFFED STEAK | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | AUGUST MENU

WIKI NOTE: It is not known when stuffings were first used. The earliest documentary evidence is the Roman cookbook, Apicius "De Re Coquinaria", which contains recipes for stuffed chicken, hare, pig, and dormouse. Most of the stuffings described consist of vegetables, herbs and spices, nuts, and spelt (an old cereal), and frequently contain chopped liver, brains, and other organ meat.

STUFFED MEAT 

YOU WILL NEED: *vegan recipe
Big flank (bavette) steak / *Seitan Steak
Salt, to taste
Chopped cloves of garlic, to taste
Chopped a bunch of parsley, to taste

• FILLING

2 eggs
Several sliced ​​cooked ham to cover the roly-poly
Several sliced ​​cheese to cover the roly-poly
Several sliced smoked bacon to cover the roly-poly
2 or 3 sausages (Frankfurt)
Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste

• *VEGAN FILLING

Several sliced ​​tofu fried steaks

Several sliced ​​vegan cheese to cover the roly-poly

Several sliced crispy vegan smoked Mushroom to cover the roly-poly
Several sliced vegan ham rolls (soy protein) to cover the roly-poly 

2 or 3 veggie sausages

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

NOTE: There are a million fillings for the meat roly-poly in Spain because almost every house has its own recipe.

• SAUCE

Chopped onion, to taste
Chopped cloves of garlic, to taste
Chopped red and green pepper, to taste
Chopped carrots, to taste
A generous splash (about 50ml) of extra virgin olive oil or olive oil, to taste
Rosemary, to taste Salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
NOTE: There are a million fillings for the meat roly-poly in Spain because almost every house has its own recipe.

LET´S COOK!

1. Lay the steak on a chopping board. Use a rolling pin to bash the steak out flat. The steak has to be a good flat rectangle shape. Season the steak with chopped cloves of garlic, chopped parsley, and salt, to taste.

2. Whisk the eggs and make 2 thin plain omelets.

3. Make a layer with thin plain omelets on the rectangle steak. Next place a layer with cooked ham and another layer of cheese slices. Do the same with the bacon layer.

NOTE: Heat a small saucepan. Fry the sliced smoked bacon until a bit crunchy.

4. Chop the sausages into slices and distribute them well around the surface shape.

5. Tightly roll up the steak, tucking in the ends of the steak to keep as much filling in as possible.

6. First, tie the ends with a knot of sewing thread (special for cooking). Then, tie the meat roly-poly like a net around it.

NOTE: Put the meat roly-poly on a tray. Place it in the fridge for a long to firm up slightly (optional).

7. Preheat a griddle pan on high heat with a generous splash (about 50ml) of extra virgin olive oil. Sear the meat roly-poly on the outside for 3-4 minutes on each side until golden.

8. Preheat a pot big enough to fit the meat roly-poly on low heat with a generous splash (about 50ml) of extra virgin olive oil. Add the chopped vegetables and sauté for a few minutes.

9. Put the meat roly-poly inside the pot. Add a glass of water and a bunch of chopped rosemary. Then cover the pot and cook it on low heat for around 45 minutes. The meat roly-poly is done when the meat is tender.

10. Remove the pot. Cut the meat roly-poly into thin slices.

11. Pour the cooked veggies and the liquid on the base of the blender. Mix it with the blender, until obtain the desired texture (sauce). Add the black pepper and salt, to taste.

NOTE: The slices of meat roly-poly are a good fill for a sandwich.

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• AUGUST MENU

 

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FRIED RICE | ALTERNATIVE VEGAN RECIPE INCLUDED | JULY MENU

WIKI NOTE: Fried rice is a popular street food in Asia. In some Asian countries, there are some small restaurants, street vendors and travelling hawkers that specialise in serving fried rice.
As a homemade dish, fried rice is typically made with leftover ingredients (including vegetables and/or meat) from other dishes, leading to countless variations, being an economic hodgepodge like it is done with fried noodles or pyttipanna.

FRIED RICE 

YOU WILL NEED:*vegan recipe
400g long grain rice (Basmati)
3 eggs /*fried tofu, slices
150g peeled prawns (medium size) /*bean sprouts
150g turkey ham /*sweet corn
2 carrots
2 tablespoons of peas
Half onion
Soya oil or vegetable oil
Salt, to taste
NOTE: The recipe is for a big bowl of fried rice.

LET´S COOK!
1. Boil a pot of salted water. Add the rice. Return the water to the boil. Stir it well. Lower the heat and cook according to the instructions. Drain in a colander and stand for 5 minutes. Pour into a big bowl.
2. Beat the eggs in a bowl. Add to a small hot pan with a splash of soya oil, wait a bit until it becomes firm and flip onto a plate. Put the other side of the omelette in the pan and wait a bit until it becomes firm. Turn again if it is necessary. Cut the plain omelette into cubes. Add into the big bowl with the rice.
3. Wash the vegetables well. Peel carrots and cut into small cubes. Chop the onion into small cubes. Cut the turkey ham into small cubes.
4. Heat the soya oil in a wok. Saute the onion, until transparent. Add the peas, chopped carrots, chopped onion, chopped turkey ham and prawns. Stir for several minutes, until well-fried.
5. Add the rice and the pieces of omelette. Raise the heat. Mix everything with a wooden spoon. Add salt, to taste.
6. Remove the wok from heat. Let it cool for a while.
7. Serve in small bowls with chopsticks. Add soy sauce / sweet and sour sauce, to taste.

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• JULY MENU

  

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