To inspire healthy eating during periods of quarantine, I have prepared a few examples of nutritious recipes that you can make with ingredients likely to be available.
Contents
Anyone of these savory comfort recipes is sure to satisfy your cravings.
Chickpea and mushroom patties
| serves 8 portions
Ingredients
- 80 g fresh or canned mushrooms, sliced or coarsely chopped
- 80 g onion, coarsely chopped
- 20 g garlic, chopped
- Oil, preferably rapeseed, olive or sunflower
- 250 g canned chickpeas
- 10 g fresh parsley or 3 g dried
- 10 g mustard
- 40 g ground flaxseeds, 60 g of whole grain flour, or 2 whole eggs
- Pepper
- 30 g breadcrumbs
Method
- In a frying pan, sauté the mushrooms, onion and garlic in a small amount of oil. Season with a small amount of salt and heat or cook until the mushrooms are tender and lose water.
- In a food processor or blender, blend the chickpeas into a paste.
- Add the prepared mushrooms, parsley, mustard and blend again.
- A little at a time, add the flaxseeds, flour or eggs, and blend again, adding until the ingredients bind together well and can be easily shaped.
- Add pepper to taste.
- Shape the mixture into balls, coat them in breadcrumbs and flatten them to form patties.
- Preheat the oven to 200 ºC and place the patties in a tray lined with parchment paper.
- Bake until lightly browned on the outside.
- If you prefer or do not have access to an oven, you can cook them in a non-stick frying pan with a little oil.
- You may assemble the patties in a burger with whole grain bread, lettuce and tomato, or accompany them with wholegrain rice or baked potatoes and salad or vegetables.
Green pea stew
| serves 4 portions
Ingredients
- 2 ripe tomatoes or 250 g canned tomatoes
- 1 garlic clove
- 1 carrot
- Oil, preferably rapeseed, olive or sunflower
- 2 small bunches of coriander (chopped) or 5 g dried coriander leaves
- 200 g canned green peas
- 400 g canned black beans (or other beans)
- Sweet paprika and dried basil
- 4 eggs (optional)
Method
- Skin and chop the tomato, crush the garlic and cut the carrot into thin slices.
- Add a drizzle of oil in a saucepan and sauté the tomatoes and garlic; add 1 bunch of chopped coriander and the carrot and cook until soft.
- Add the peas and black beans to the saucepan, along with 1 cup of water and season with paprika and dried basil. Cover with a lid and cook for 8 minutes.
- Add the eggs, if you choose to use them, then cook for about 10–15 minutes more.
- Add the remaining chopped coriander, if you are using it. You may serve this with rice and sala
Sauteed pasta with vegetables and canned tuna
Ingredients
- 400 g whole grain pasta
- 50 ml oil, preferably rapeseed, olive or sunflower
- 200 g broccoli, fresh or frozen
- 150 g onion, thinly sliced
- 30 g chopped garlic
- 80 g celery, thinly sliced (optional)
- 10 g dried thyme (optional)
- 200 g carrots, grated or cut in thin slices
- 150 g diced fresh tomatoes or 100 g canned tomatoes
- 300 g canned tuna
- Spices and pepper
- Soy sauce, preferably low sodium (optional)
- 30 g fresh basil or 5 g dried (optional)
Method
- In a pot with plenty of water, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the package. Try to avoid overcooking, to keep the nutritional properties and texture of the pasta. Cool the pasta under running water, drizzle with some oil and set aside.
- Cook the broccoli in boiling water for 8 minutes (or 10 minutes for frozen broccoli), drain and set aside.
- Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic and celery with a drizzle of oil for 5–8 minutes over medium heat. Add the dried thyme and carrot and cook for another 5 minutes over medium heat. Then add the tomato and tuna. Stir the sauce and let it cook for another 10 minutes, tasting and refining the flavours with herbs and spices if needed.
- Add the pasta and broccoli to the sauce and stir until hot. Flavour with a small amount of low-sodium soy sauce if desired and serve with finely chopped basil
