Rotolo isn’t widely known outside Italy, but its flavors are quite recognizable. “Rotolo” translates to “scroll”, “roll”, or “coil”, and it is traditionally made with a fresh pasta sheet that is spread with a spinach and ricotta filling and rolled up to create a roulade. It is then wrapped in a tea towel, poached, sliced, and served with a sauce. Yeah, my thoughts exactly: too much work! But don’t fret, there’s a way around the hassle.

The trick is to get creative and cut corners, but only in the ways that don’t stint on taste and quality. The following rotolo recipe simplifies the process and then goes a few steps further by turning vegan and including unique, festive ingredients that challenge the palate and satisfy the gut all in one go.

What You’ll Need

Usually, a rotolo recipe calls for a ricotta cheese base for the stuffing. In this recipe, we sub in chestnuts for the cheese. Chestnuts are most popularly available in their shells, so you’ll have to crack each one open prior to weighing and using them in the recipe. Chestnuts will blend into a cheese (with the help of water) a lot like cashews take on a creamy consistency when blended.

For the lasagna sheets, simply purchase the largest size you can find. The larger the sheets, the more rotolo you’ll likely get out of them.

Chestnut Rotolo Recipe

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 250 grams chestnuts
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 6 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large red onion, diced
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/8 teaspoon white pepper
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 1 cup water
• 8 large dried lasagna sheets
• 1/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 2 fresh sage leaves, finely chopped

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a food processor, add the shelled chestnuts and pulse until crumbly. Add in 1/4 cup of water and blend until smooth like a cream. Set aside.

In a skillet over medium-high heat, add two tablespoons of olive oil, shallots, and salt. Stir while frying for about two to three minutes. Add in two tablespoons of oil, minced garlic, rosemary, nutmeg, white pepper, and chestnut purée. Continue to cook while occasionally stirring. After two minutes, stir in the soy sauce and cook for another two minutes. Stir in the wine and one cup of water. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for five to ten minutes, then set it aside.

Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and prepare a bowl of ice water. Boil the lasagna sheets for two minutes and transfer each immediately to the bowl of ice water after removing from boiling water. This step stops the cooking process and makes the lasagna sheets easier to handle.

Lay the lasagna sheets out on a clean surface. On the bottom one-third of each sheet, spoon in about one to two tablespoons of the chestnut sauce. Roll up, around, and up to the top of the lasagna sheet. Cut the lasagna sheet in halves of thirds and place the rolls, pasta cut-side up, in a pie dish. Repeat with the remaining seven sheets. Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the rolls.

In a small bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, sage leaves, and two tablespoons of olive oil until they form a crumbly paste. Distribute it evenly across the top of pasta-filled pie dish.

Bake for 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven and let sit at room temperature for 10 to 15 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
Luscious Amalfi Coast Pasta Recipe with Lemon Sauce
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The post Vegan Chestnut Rotolo Recipe: A Seasonal (and Simpler) Take on an Italian Classic appeared first on EcoSalon.

If you eat with your eyes first, feast on this: hot pink beet pesto.

Traditional pesto is infused with basil, making it green and aromatic. The following pesto recipe, however, nixes the basil and replaces it with beets, resulting in a sauce that brings a deep, earthy, and rounded flavor as well as a vibrant color to all of your pasta dishes.

Beet works very well as a base to this pesto sauce, mainly because the root vegetable is dense. When cooked, beet becomes tender but remains firm. It then blends beautifully into a creamy sauce that can be flavored as you wish.

Often, I’ll blend cooked beet with fresh ginger and coconut milk for a makeshift detoxifying soup. Recently, however, I’ve been making the following beet pesto recipe to pair with my favorite pastas (gluten-free varieties). I blend the cooked beet with other common pesto ingredients, including pistachios and parmesan cheese, and voilà! Dinner is served.

If you are still craving pesto’s iconic basil flavor, you can add a small handful of the herb to the mix before blending. However, I find that this beet pesto recipe works better when the beet’s natural sweetness and unique flavor shines through. Basil may dominate the flavor profile.

Beet Pesto Recipe

Serves four to six

• 3 large beets
• 3 garlic cloves
• ½ cup shelled pistachios
• ¼ cup lemon juice
• ¼ cup olive oil
• 1 cup finely-grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• 1 pound uncooked spaghetti

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Wrap the beets in aluminum foil and place them into the oven. Let the beets cook for approximately 45 minutes to one hour. Set them aside to cool. Once cool, skin the beets and rinse them clean under warm water.

Transfer the beets to a food processor or blender. Add in the garlic, pistachios, lemon juice, olive oil, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper. Blend until smooth. Adjust the seasonings according to your taste preferences.

Cook the spaghetti according to package instructions. Drain and rinse the spaghetti and return it to the pot in which it cooked. Fold in the beet pesto until it evenly coats the spaghetti.

Serve and enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
Baked Rosemary Beet Chip with Vegan Mayonnaise
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The post Beet Pesto Recipe for Hot Pink Pasta appeared first on EcoSalon.

Pasta gets a springtime makeover.

Warmer weather means lighter meals. Eating outside. Taking more time enjoying each bite. And while we often think of pasta as a heavy, wintery dish, we can enjoy noodles in the warmer seasons, too, but without the heaviness. This is one of my favorite pasta recipes, not just because it’s so simple and delicious, but because it means spring and summer are finally here.

I use brown rice noodles (Tinkyada’s are so delicious) instead of wheat noodles. We eat wheat in my house, but the rice noodles are a nice way to get a whole grain and they taste better than regular noodles. But feel free to use your favorite pasta.

Vegan pasta is fairly easy to make, and the creamy, cheesy flavor of nutritional yeast gives this dish an excellent taste and texture.

serves 4-6

Ingredients

1 package brown rice linquini
2 small zucchini, medium dice
1 large carrot, julienne slice
1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes (in oil), thinly sliced
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/4 cup kalamata olives, pitted
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
1/2 teaspoon crushed red chiles
salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Bring a large pot of water to boil, big enough to cook pasta. Follow directions on package as cooking times may vary. Drain and set aside once done.

While pasta cooks, prepare your vegetables. In a large sauce pan, heat one tablespoon of the olive oil over medium flame. Saute the carrots and zucchini until tender. Be careful not to overcook.  Remove from heat. In a large bowl, mix together the noodles, tomatoes, olives, remaining olive oil and seasonings. Add in the cooked veggies and mix well. Add more olive oil if needed. Top with fresh parsley.

*A note about garlic. I know I’m in the minority and that most people can’t imagine pasta without garlic. I will spare you my sob story about why I hate the stuff (I am not a vampire, I assure you). So, if you feel inclined, go on and add a clove or two if you must. Enjoy…outside!

Keep in touch with Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

Image: slettvet

The post Vegan Gluten-Free Spring Pasta Recipe with Kalamata Olives and Sun-Dried Tomatoes appeared first on EcoSalon.

This pepper isn’t spicy but it sure brings unique flavors to your palette.

Stuffed peppers are no stranger in traditional cooking, but it usually assumes the role as the filling. Using pasta in a pepper is harder to come by, but it’s a fantastic way to deconstruct flavors and keep serving sizes equal. Rounded with an international touch, this dish just might be my new favorite dinner. Using a whole-wheat pasta, mushrooms, onions, and cherry tomatoes, I put together a hearty vegan stuffed pepper with some Asian inspiration.

Yellow bell peppers carry some serious street credibility. They are a great source of carotenoids, vitamin C, and vitamin E and contain more than twice the amount of vitamin C that is found in the same serving size of orange. The sweet pepper also has anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory benefits, protects vision, wards off arthritis, reduces cardiovascular disease, colon cancer and lung cancer, and is used in traditional Chinese medicine as a natural treatment for blood circulation, indigestion, loss of appetite, swelling, frostbite, nausea, vomiting, phlegm and toxicities.

There’s no need for cheese or meat in this dish, because the flavors are bold and the satisfaction level is high. By cooking the peppers before stuffing, there is more continuity in texture, making for an overall warm and comforting meal. Enjoy!

Stuffed Peppers

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 4 large bell peppers
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large white onion
• 2 cups chopped Crimini mushrooms
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 tablespoon nama shoyu (soy sauce)
• 2 cups cooked pasta
• 1 cup halved cherry tomatoes
• 1 cup spinach leaves
• 1 tablespoon capers

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare 2 cups of cooked pasta according to package instructions. All pasta types work well!

Slice off the lid of the peppers, making sure to keep the stem intact. Remove the flesh and seeds. Place them in a baking dish. If the peppers won’t stand up on their own, trim the bottoms so they are flat, without making a hole. Place the caps slightly off center so the insides cook as well. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes or until the peppers have softened and the edges have browned.

While the peppers are cooking, prepare the stuffing. In a large saucepan, cook the mushrooms and chopped Crimini mushrooms in 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Season with pepper. After a few minutes, add the soy sauce and mix.

When the mushrooms have browned and the onions are translucent, add the halved cherry tomatoes, capers and spinach.

Fold the mushroom mixture into the cooked pasta, which has been drained and rinsed.

Remove the peppers from the oven and stuff each one with an even amount of pasta.

Serve with the cap for presentation’s sake. There’s no proper way to eat it – pick it up and chomp or use a fork and knife. Regardless, with each bite try to get a piece of that pepper!

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Photo Credit: Aylin Erman

The post Recipe: Stuffed Peppers (Rice Need Not Apply) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Taking an odd ingredient and finding even more unusual uses for it.

It’s not so much that the following uses are particularly unusual, but rather that nutritional yeast itself is an odd ingredient. It’s gaining popularity among foodies for its cheesy taste and nutritional benefits, but it still has a way to go in terms of becoming the pantry staple it’s meant to be. Nutritional yeast (nooch) is one of the only non-animal sources of vitamin B-12. It only takes 1/2-1 tbsp of nutritional yeast to get the daily requirement for B-12. Nutritional yeast is also an excellent source of iron, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, chromium, selenium, and other minerals as well as 18 amino acids, protein, folic acid, biotin, and other vitamins.

And don’t worry about the yeast fermenting in your gut. It’s deactivated, so it will not give you the bloat. This is what distinguishes it from Brewer’s Yeast, which has not been deactivated.

Pop Corn

As if popcorn couldn’t get any more addicting, nooch had to get involved. Sprinkle the powder along with a drizzle olive oil and a dash of sea salt onto popcorn just popped for a cheesy touch. Add other spices, such as garlic powder, dried thyme or dried rosemary for an even more gourmet experience.

Pizza

Skip cheese and sprinkle a light layer of nutritional yeast onto pizza just after it leaves the oven. Cheese is hard to digest, especially when cooked, but that doesn’t mean you have to cede the taste completely. If you top a pizza with diverse textures and flavors, such as a robust marinara sauce, roasted vegetables and nutritional yeast, the cheese component is unnecessary.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

The food blog world is bursting with vegan “cheese” recipes – some simple, some elaborate – with nutritional yeast as the key ingredient. Check out Angela’s Low-Fat Vegan Cheeze Sauce on her blog Oh She Glows for a 5-ingredient approach. Head over to Epicurian Vegan for a heartier vegan cheese sauce that gets some extra bulk from cashews.

Bread Crumbs

Replace bread crumbs with nutritional yeast in any mixture requiring holding power. This cuts down on the carbs and adds an extra bite. Try using nutritional yeast to hold together veggie burgers or any other patty that would normally require bread crumbs.

Kale Chips

There’s nothing wrong with the standard kale chip recipe. But, nutritional yeast takes kale chips to a whole new level – a level that merits obsession and daily consumption. Try your hand at the Spicy & Cheesy Kale Chips presented by the blog Eating Bird Food.

Macaroni & Cheese

We’ve already given macaroni and cheese a serious makeover, and nutritional yeast was an crucial player in this feat. Not only is this recipe vegan, but thanks to nooch, it offers cheesy comfort to a creamy, sweet potato base.

Pasta

Skip the grated parmesan and sprinkle nutritional yeast atop warm pasta along with some garlic powder and a drizzle of olive oil. The combination of flavors makes for a dish that doesn’t miss a thing.

Mashed Potatoes

Stir nooch into mashed potatoes, not only saving calories by nixing cheese but also cutting down on the sodium. Indeed, mashed potatoes can be healthy.

Bean Dip

Emily Malone of the blog Daily Garnish makes a fabulous bean dip using nutritional yeast. If serving this at a party, no one would even be able to tell its vegan.

Roasted Vegetables

One of my favorite go-to meals is roasted vegetables topped with shredded cheese. On days I’d like to skip the cheese and opt for a healthier alternative, I stir nutritional yeast into the finished vegetables instead. When warmed by the vegetables, the yeast smoothens out and creates a creamy sauce with help from the vegetable juices and oils.

Roasted Nuts

Roast nuts that have been tossed in some nutritional yeast. The roasted flavor will be augmented and the nuts will have a slightly cheesy coating on the skin.

Onion Rings

Nutritional yeast has been showing up in onion ring recipes, and for good reason. It helps to increase the nutritional benefit of onion ring batter and adds an edge to each bite. Make the baked fat-free onion rings featured on vegan blog My Whole Deal.

Sauce Thickener

Much like flour and butter are used to thicken a sauce, nutritional yeast can replace the flour to do the same thing.

Gravy

Keeping your health on track during the holidays is all about cutting corners in small ways. Nutritional yeast can redefine gravy. Bring this simple recipe to the table and the cheer will only heighten.

Salad Dressing

Sneak in your B12 quota is by adding a tablespoon of nutritional yeast to a homemade salad dressing like the Hollyhock Salad Dressing, which you can find on A Passionate Plate blog.

French Fries

Want some added nutrition, crisp, and kick to a homemade version of baked French fries? Drizzle olive oil over cut root vegetables and then toss them in a few tablespoons of nutritional yeast. The flavor is out of this world.

Creamy Cooked Greens

Cooked spinach pairs well with cream and cheese, but you can replace those heavier add-ins with a tablespoon or two of nutritional yeast and then watch as the bare spinach suddenly becomes decadently creamy and bold in flavor.

Vegan Quiche

Experiment with this No-Soy Vegan Quiche recipe from blog Triumph Wellness. It’s the perfect example of where just a little bit of nooch makes a big difference.

Dog Food

Dogs need their vitamin B12 too, especially if your dog is on a plant-based diet. Mix some nutritional yeast in your furry friend’s nibbles and he or she will benefit in a major way.

Baby Formula

If a baby is using formula in place of breast feeding, it is recommended to add nutritional yeast to the infant formula.  Nutritional yeast provides B12, iron and folic acid, which are essential to growth.

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

Photo Credit: Artizone, Acquired Life

The post 20 Unusual Ways to Use Nutritional Yeast appeared first on EcoSalon.

Learning to love avocados, one Alfredo recipe at a time.

Avocados often get a bad rap, but for the wrong reason – for being fat. It’s about time we all got over this myth. We need healthy fats in our diet for a properly functioning brain and nervous system, a strong heart, glowing skin and, dare I say it, a fit and thin physique. Sure, nix the saturated fats fraught in animal meat, dairy and eggs when looking to slim down or reach a greater sense of well-being, but avocados are plant-based and thus on an entirely different playing field.

Half an avocado has 15 grams of  heart-healthy unsaturated fat and only 2 grams of saturated fat. This is fat your body not only can recognize but also likes. Avocados are packed with fiber, potassium, vitamins C, K, and B6 and folate. They aid in digestion and help in the absorption of lycopene and beta-carotene.

Aside from its nutritional benefits, avocados are versatile in the kitchen. Their creaminess serves as the perfect base for made-vegan desserts, sauces and smoothies. A few slices of avocado can also substitute the mayonnaise in a sandwich or the yogurt, cream cheese or sour cream component in a dip. The possibilities are truly endless.

One of my favorite ways to take advantage of avocados’ smooth ways, is to use them as the foundation for an Alfredo sauce. The garlic, lemon and basil cut the avocado taste and leave behind a fragrant and rich sauce that is as satisfying and comforting as its dairy, butter and egg-laden counterpart, which, by the way, will not be missed.

Vegan Alfredo

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• 1 avocado
• Handful of basil
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• Juice of 1/2 a lemon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2 servings of cooked pasta
• Garnish of lemon zest and black olives

Directions:

In a food processor, blend the avocado, basil, garlic, lemon juice and salt and pepper until smooth.

Mix the Alfredo into two servings of spaghetti cooked according to package instructions. Garnish with lemon zest, freshly ground black pepper and olives.

The freshly cooked pasta warms up the Alfredo sauce on contact, so don’t worry about this dish being cold.

Bon Appetit!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Recipe: Vegan Avocado Alfredo Sauce appeared first on EcoSalon.