Broccoli Pistachio Soup

This soup is AWESOME. It's so creamy and full flavored from salty pistachios and a drizzle of coconut milk at the end. It's a no fail recipe that tastes less than 30 minutes to make and have on the table.

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Full heads of broccoli and pistachios are slowly simmered together then blended into a creamy, lucious soup with a hint of coconut milk and garlic.

Broccoli Pistachio Soup
serves 3-4
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
2 heads broccoli, stems and florets roughly chopped
2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
salt, to taste
4 cups vegetable broth
1/2 cup pistachios, plus more for garnish
3 tbl coconut milk, for drizzling

Saute the broccoli plus stems and garlic in olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat until bright green and slightly tender, 7 minutes. Season with salt.
Add the broth and pistachios and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes.
Transfer to a blender and blend until completely smooth.
Taste and season for more salt if necessary.
Divide among bowls and garnish with a drizzle of coconut milk and some pistachios.

Roasted Tofu, Gala Apples & Roasted Reds in Mustard-Agave Gravy

One batch of sauce serves double duty in this dinner by first marinating the tofu and potatoes then quickly turning into a rich, thick gravy to pour on top.

Roasted tofu, crisp gala apples, red potatoes, sweet caramelized onions and broccolini in a sweet and tangy mustard and agave gravy.

Tofu, Gala Apples and Roasted Reds in Agave Mustard Gravy
 2 cups vegetable broth
1/4 cup light agave
2 tbl dijon mustard
1 tbl lemon juice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 lb extra firm tofu, drained and pressed for 30 minutes, cut into 9 squares
3 small red potatoes, each quartered
1 small sweet onion, large chunks
extra virgin olive oil
1 gala apple, cut into eighths
1 bunch broccolini, ends trimmed
2 tbl fresh chopped parsley
2 tbl earth balance vegan butter
3 tbl ap flour

Combine the broth, agave, mustard, lemon juice, pepper and salt in a large bowl. Add the tofu, potatoes and onion. Marinate for at least 1 hour up to 4.
Preheat the oven to 375. Drizzle the bottom of a large sheet pan with some olive oil. Lay the tofu, potatoes and onion in an even layer, reserving the marinade. Roast for 15 minutes.
Raise the heat to 425 and roast 15 minutes more, turning over the vegetables and tofu to evenly brown.
Add the apples and broccolini to the sheet pan and roast 15 minutes more until the potatoes are cooked through and the tofu has browned and crisped.
In a small pot, melt the butter. Add the flour and whisk into a smooth paste. Cook for two minutes. While whisking, stream in the marinade into a smooth sauce. Bring to a low simmer, whisking occasionally, until the gravy has thickened. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
Serve with roasted veggies and tofu.

Eggplant, Broccolini and Corn Pizza

Pizza was on my mind today, but not your standard pizza. I had just made tomato sauce the other night and wanted to make something different for the base of this. I thought corn would taste great and look awesome. I also love broccolini, or baby broccoli and wanted to incorporate that on my pizza. This meal has all the components of a great dinner, tons of fresh veggies, both raw and cooked.
I get fresh pizza dough from my favorite pizza place. You will find that most places will sell you dough and for a LOT cheaper than you would get in the store, and much more fresh!

Caramelized eggplant and onion, lightly blanched broccolini, garbanzos, fresh basil and raw corn top this pizza with a unique corn and thyme sauce on the bottom and drizzled on top.


Pizza
3 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1 small white onion, sliced thiny
1/2 eggplant, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds and then cut in half moons
1 tsp salt
1 tsp organic sugar
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tsp red pepper flakes, divided
1 small bunch broccolini, stalks trimmed
1/2c garbanzo beans, drained
4 fresh basil leaves, torn
1 small ball of pizza dough

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and remove dough from package, punch down into a small disc and let rest. Do thing every 10 minutes while preparing the rest of the meal, push down into a bigger and bigger circle until you get the size you need. Do this 3 times.
In a saute pan, heat 2 tbl oil on medium high heat and add onions. Saute until soft and translucent. Add eggplant, salt and sugar and begin to caramelize. 10 minutes. Add vinegar and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and cook until soft and completely caramelized. Reserve.
In a small pot of salted, boiling water, cook broccolini for 3 minutes then drain and shock in a bowl of cold ice water. Drain again and reserve.

Corn Pizza Sauce
2 tbl extra virgin olive oil
1/4c white onion, chopped roughly
3 garlic cloves, chopped roughly
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
3 yellow corn cobs, kernals removed
1 tbl turmeric
1/2c vegetable broth

In a small sauce pan, heat oil and saute onions and garlic. Add salt, thyme and 3 cobs of corn kernals. Saute 4 more minutes and add veg broth and turmeric. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
Transfer to a blender and blend until chunky. Divide in half. Strain one half so there are no chunks.

Assembly
Spread the chunky half of the corn mixture on the pizza dough. Top with broccolini, eggplant/onion mixture, garbanzo beans and 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes. Sprinkle with a pinch of salt. Drizzle edges of pizza dough with oil.
Bake for 20 minutes or until dough is browned on the bottom and cooked through. Drizzle with strained corn mixture, torn basil, and the remaining raw corn kernals.