Pasta with Chickpeas, Tomatoes, and Herbs

Ingredients

Chickpeas 200 g

Tomatoes 2

Pasta 200 g

Garlic 3 cloves

Olive oil

Rosemary 1 sprig

Sage 1 sprig

Bay leaf 2

Salt

Pepper

Soak the dried chickpeas in cold water for 24 hours. Before cooking, drain the water, rinse the chickpeas, place them in a saucepan, cover with water, and cook for 3 hours over medium heat, undisturbed, until tender. Add salt to the water 5 minutes before cooking and stir. Set aside.

Plain boiling water over the tomatoes, peel them, and chop them into small cubes.

Pour 2 tablespoons of olive oil into another saucepan, add the crushed garlic cloves, and brown for a couple of minutes. Next, add the tomatoes and herbs and cook for another 2 minutes.

Now it's time for the chickpeas. Set aside one ladle of chickpeas and add the rest to the tomatoes (if canned, add the liquid; if boiled, add about 1.5 cups of the cooking water).

Add the pasta to the pan and cook until tender (the time indicated on the package, usually 10 minutes).

When the pasta is done, remove and discard the garlic and bay leaf. Puree the reserved chickpeas in a blender and return to the pan.

Adjust for salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Stir, turn off the heat, and let the pasta cook, covered, for a couple of minutes.

Enjoy!

Vitamin Stew

Ingredients

1 onion

3 bell peppers

1 zucchini

3 tbsp vegetable oil

5 tomatoes

500 g cabbage

Salt

Pepper

Cut the onion into strips. Remove the seeds from the bell pepper and cut it into strips. Slice the zucchini. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the onion. Add the bell pepper, stir, and fry for 5 minutes, then remove to a serving dish. Add the zucchini, lightly fry, and remove from the pan.

Place the tomatoes in boiling water, peel, and chop the flesh. Shred the cabbage, cover with boiling water, and cook for 2 minutes, then drain in a colander. Combine the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, add a little water, and simmer for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Fried Rice with Pineapple

Ingredients

1 cup rice

200 g pineapple

0.5 g bell pepper

0.5 g onion

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp ginger

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp green onions

Chili sauce

Rinse the rice several times. Boil until tender, then let cool. Dice the red bell pepper and fresh pineapple.

Heat the vegetable oil in a deep frying pan. Add the finely chopped onion and garlic, and grated ginger. Fry for 2 minutes, stirring frequently.

Add the pepper and pineapple to the pan and continue cooking for another 3-5 minutes. Then add the cooked rice and soy sauce. Season with hot sauce or chili pepper to taste. Stir.

 Simmer on the stove for 3-4 minutes. Sprinkle the cooked pineapple rice with green onions and serve immediately.

Enjoy!

Eggplant Rolls with Risotto

Ingredients

1 eggplant

Olive oil

Marinara sauce

1 clove garlic

1 tbsp tomato paste

1 cup rice

4 cups vegetable broth

1/3 cup Parmesan cheese

In a frying pan with olive oil, fry the finely chopped garlic for about 1 minute, then add the tomato paste. After 1 minute, add the rice and gradually add the warm broth, stirring constantly. Once the liquid has been absorbed, add another 1-2 ladles. Cook, stirring, for 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the cheese. Transfer to a bowl and let cool before using.

Slice the eggplant into thin strips, sprinkle with salt, and let sit in a colander immersed in water for about an hour. Drain and pat dry the eggplant strips with paper towels. Drizzle with olive oil and grill.

Spread a little marinara sauce on the bottom of a baking dish. Roll the eggplant strips, stuff them with rice, and place them in the dish. Top with more marinara sauce. Bake at 350°F (175°C) for about 20 minutes, covered. Remove the lid and bake for another 10 minutes. Serve with grated cheese.

Enjoy!

Cherry Dumplings

Ingredients

Flour 2 cups

Egg 1

Water 1/2 cup

Sweet cherries 2 cups

Sugar 1/2 cup

Salt 1/2 tsp

Wash the cherries thoroughly. Remove the pits. Sprinkle with sugar and set aside. Knead the flour, egg, water, and salt into a soft, elastic dough. Cover with a clean cloth and let rest for 30 minutes.

Drain the cherry juice into a separate bowl and bring to a boil. Sprinkle the cherries with flour (2 tablespoons) and stir.

Dust a work surface with flour, turn out the dough, and roll it out into a thin layer. Use a glass to cut out circles. Place a few cherries on each circle of dough. Pinch the edges to form a dumpling.

 Cook the vareniki in boiling salted water for 4-5 minutes, or until they float to the surface. Remove the cooked vareniki to a serving dish with a slotted spoon and drizzle with cherry juice. Serve hot.

Enjoy!

Zucchini Casserole

Ingredients

Zucchini 1000 g

Onions 2

Eggs 6

Low-fat yogurt 250 g

Cheese 100 g

Vegetable oil 2 tbsp

Ground black pepper

Salt

Wash the zucchini and cut into small cubes. Young zucchini with thin skin can be left on, but older zucchini should be peeled. Place a colander over a bowl, add the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, stir, and let sit for about 10 minutes.

Heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped onion until translucent. Beat the eggs and sour cream in a bowl with a mixer. Add the finely grated cheese to the sour cream and egg mixture and mix well.

 Squeeze the zucchini thoroughly with your hands and transfer to a bowl. Add the fried onions, sour cream and cheese mixture, and season with salt and ground black pepper to taste. Stir. Grease a baking dish with the remaining vegetable oil, pour the mixture into it, and smooth it out.

Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for about 30-35 minutes (depending on your oven) until golden brown.

Enjoy!

Dushbara

Ingredients

for the dough:

3 cups flour

250 ml water

1 egg

Salt to taste

For the filling:

300 g minced meat

200 g onion

Ground black pepper to taste

6 tbsp water

Salt to taste

Dushbara are Azerbaijani dumplings, half the size of regular dumplings. They are cooked in a variety of broths, including meat and chicken.

Chop the onion very finely and mix with the minced meat. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add water and stir. Sift the flour. Lightly beat the egg with a whisk. Make a well in the center of the flour. Add the egg and salted water. Knead the dough. Wrap in plastic wrap and let rest for 30-40 minutes.

Divide the dough into 4 pieces. Roll each portion of dough into a circle, the thickness of a pelmeni dumpling. Cut each circle into 1 cm wide strips. Dust each strip with flour. Stack three on top of each other and cut into 1 cm x 1 cm squares.

Place the filling in each square and bring the two corners together to form a triangle. After the edge, pinch and join the two ends of the dough together to create a small but very beautiful dushbara dumpling. :)

Do the same with the remaining dough. This will make 300 pelmeni. Place the pelmeni on a floured board and refrigerate. Transfer the frozen pelmeni from the board to a freezer bag and store in the freezer. Use in soups as needed.

Enjoy!