Festive Feast, Recipes, Vegan, Vegetarian
Happy Festive Feasting
By Frances Beresford l With Love From Frances
HAPPY PASTA – HAPPY PEOPLE
Summer, sunshine, good vibes, friends and feasts – The festive season is upon us! To celebrate this time of the year, I’m sharing my top three pasta-loving recipes, where to get your hands on the freshest produce and the lowdown, on how to host the happiest stress free dinner party this season (for vegan and non-vegans alike!)
The recipes:
This December I’m all about keeping things simple, easy and letting the seasonal ingredients speak for themselves. The first is a saucy spinach and watermelon pasta, which is served cold, with crisp, juicy watermelon, heirloom tomatoes, fresh herbs and avocado. Next up it’s a warm Moroccan Aubergine Pasta, which brings in a bit of heat. This dish is possibly my favourite out of the 3 due to its complex flavour profile, easy prep and adaptable nature. You can make this recipe in bulk and add it to pretty much anything giving more life to your summery festive dishes. Last but not least there’s an earthy salted beetroot and mushroom pasta, it’s gorgeous, cost effective and best of all, dead easy. Plus it’s a great way to reduce food waste as you can use your beetroot leaves to freshen this dish up.
The freshest produce:
If you’re like me you will agree that there is nothing better than getting your hands on the freshest seasonal ingredients. That beautiful aroma, maybe even a little bit of dirt and bursting with flavour. When it comes to cooking such simple but delicious festive recipes, it’s really important to start with a great base, in this case our fruit and veggies to compliment the flavours of Happy Earth People’s pastas.
For my festive feast, I got everything from the Oranjezicht city farm and market and was able to feed 8 of us for only R380.00, which is a great value for organically certified, nonconventional and freshly harvested produce. The massive bonus is that it’s packaging/ plastic free. WINNING!!!!
The lunch lowdown:
Before I post any recipe, I love them friend approved first. Having a lunch party is one of my favourite ways to do this. At my latest feast there couldn’t have been a better combination of friends to “proof”, the recipe for my festive feasting edition. At our table of 8 we had 5 omnivores (2 of which are very athletic meat lovers), 1 vegan (she said this meant vaguely vegan), 1 conscious carnivore and 1 gluten free vegan. The combination of flavour profiles, textures and temperatures for the 3 dishes kept our meal interesting and because we used Happy Earth People Pasta, the meal was super satisfying and packed with protein. THIS IS WHY I LOVE HAPPY EARTH PEOPLE. Their products take on flavours beautifully and pack a protein punch making them an amazing start to any meal, they also prevent meal prep stress!
How I reduce stress and make every festive feast relaxed and fun:
- I get my guests involved in plating to garnishing the dishes, you might end up with a little more rustic feel to the dishes, but its takes pressure off me and gets everyone more involved and excited about lunch.
- I keep the garnishes simple and functional, for example, by adding avocado to the Moroccan pasta it brings in a pop of fresh green colour and also cools down the dishes spice bite and in the watermelon salad you can add fresh mint and basil, these herbs are both found in the dish and add so much extra zing to the dish.
- If I have vegetarians, vegans or confusing flexitarians over, I always think about making my sides and salads as the main part to the meal (the base) and the meat or meat alternatives as the sides. This way you don’t have to make a special meal for one of your guests and it will make prepping easier.
I hope you enjoy these recipes as much as we did and these top tips too 🙂
Spinach and Watermelon Pasta
Makes: Serves 2 – 4
Total time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Vegan – Gluten Free – Protein and Fiber Rich
*Serve cold
Ingredients:
For spinach sauce
- 1 x 250g Happy Earth People Chickpea Pasta
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
- 4 packed cups kale/baby spinach, blanched
- 400 ml / 1 ½ cups nut water
- One handful of fresh basil and/or mint, blanched
- 1 tsp coconut sugar/agave
- 1 small lemon, juice
- a large pinch sea salt & pepper
Serve with:
- ¼ large watermelon, chopped
- 250-400g heirloom cherry tomatoes, halved
- basil and mint leaves
- toasted nuts *optional
Method:
- Cook the chickpea pasta in lightly salted water for 6-8 minutes or until al dente. Meanwhile prepare the sauce.
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan and sauté the onions and garlic on medium heat until translucent.
- Lower the heat, add spinach and nut milk and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients, remove from the heat and use a jug or stick blender to make the sauce smooth. Add the cooked and drained pasta to the sauce and stir to combine.
- Taste to check that the flavours are balanced and add more salt, coconut sugar, lemon juice or herbs, if you feel it needs it.
- When the pasta is ready, drain the water in a sieve and transfer the pasta back to the saucepan along with a good drizzle of olive oil. Pour the spinach sauce over the cooked pasta and stir to combine.
- Combine the watermelon, tomatoes, herbs, avo and nuts. Dish the pasta, top with the watermelon mix and serve.
Moroccan Aubergine Pasta
Makes: Serves 2 – 4
Total time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: A little effort
Vegan – Gluten Free – Protein and Fiber Rich
*Serve hot
Ingredients:
- 1 x 250g Happy Earth People Chickpea Pasta
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onions, peeled
- 2 garlic cloves, peeled
- 1 large piece fresh ginger
- 1 red chilli, seeds removed and chopped
- 1 aubergine, chopped
- 150g patty pans or marrow, chopped
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground cumin
- ¼ tsp ground smoked paprika
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 x 14 oz / 400 g tin crushed tomatoes
- 1 ½ cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup/ a small handful of apricots, sliced
- 1 lemon, zest
- salt and pepper
Serve with:
- Avocado, diced
- Mint
- Pomegranate seeds (optional)
Method:
- Add oil to a large saucepan on medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, chilli and ginger and let sauté for about 6 minute.
- Add the aubergine, marrows, spices and tomato paste and fry for 5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add the crushed tomatoes, vegetable stock and apricots and stir until it boils and then lower the heat. Put the lid on and allow to slowly simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally or until the aubergine is soft.
- While the stew cooks, cook the lentil pasta in lightly salted water for 6-8 minutes or until al dente, drain and toss in olive oil.
- To finish the sauce, stir in the lemon zest right, taste a season as required. Serve in bowls with the Happy Earth Chickpea pasta and top with diced avocado, mint and pomegranate seeds.
Salted Beetroot and Mushroom Pasta
Makes: Serves 2 – 4
Total time: 15 minutes
Difficulty: Easy
Plant based – Gluten Free – Protein and Fiber Rich
*Serve warm
Ingredients:
- 1 x 250g Happy Earth People Red Lentil Pasta
- 2 bunches of beetroots, cut into wedges
- 550g mushrooms
- Juice of ½ lemon
- Olive oil
- 100g goats cheese (chevin), crumbled
- 2 handfuls of fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
Method:
- Preheat the oven at 200C, toss the beetroot in olive oil and salt (don’t be shy), then roast for 40 minutes or until cooked.
- Once the beetroot is ready, remove from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Cook the lentil pasta in lightly salted water for 6-8 minutes or until al dente. While the pasta cooks, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan and sautéthe mushrooms until golden. Add lemon juice and cook for a further minute.
- Combine the beetroot, mushrooms and pasta in a large bowl. Add the parsley, chevin, olive oil and salt and toss lightly to combine.
- Serve in a large serving bowl, topped with chevin and parsley.
Happy holidays and happy feasting friends!
With love from,
Frances
About the author:
Frances is a professionally trained chef, recipe developer and blogger, who believes that life and food should be healthy as well as delicious. Her lifelong passion for sustainable alternative eating, took her to culinary school to hone her craft. She curates plant based recipes that are designed to be enjoyed by all and that are gluten-free; dairy-free and refined sugar-free.
Frances believes that living well begins with eating well! There are no set rules as everyone is different. So, it is a matter of becoming mindful and listening to your body which will allow you to incorporate her recipes and become the best you.
She also feels that keeping it simple means that fuelling and nourishing the body can be enjoyed by anyone – and hey, it is by no means boring or scary! Join Frances on a journey to discover how mouth-watering and rewarding a plant based lifestyle can be. Even conscious carnivores will be surprised by how easy and tasty the recipes are – let alone how great they will make you feel.
You can follow her on Instagram and check out her Website to find more deliciously conscious recipes like these!