Celebrating an Easter without cruelty, as a sign of respect for all living beings, is very easy and within everyone’s reach. For this reason it is essential, as a first example, to give up the killing of lambs for Easter lunch.
To demonstrate this, we have decided to recommend an alternative menu for Easter lunch. For an Easter that is happy not only for you, but also for the animals.
APPETIZERS
Puff pastry baskets with hummus and cherry tomatoes
Ingredients
Procedure
First prepare the puff pastry baskets. Simply cut circles of the size needed to cover the outside of the previously well-greased aluminum baking cups. Prick the pastry and bake at 180° for about twenty minutes, until golden brown. Once baked, a little pressure will be enough to detach the pastry and obtain perfect baskets!
Prepare the hummus. It’s simpler than that: get yourself a blender (basket or immersion), and blend all the ingredients until you obtain a creamy and compact mixture, adjusting the flavour, acidity and spiciness to your taste. Pour the hummus into the puff pastry baskets, wetting it with a few drops of lemon and decorating with spices, cherry tomatoes and lemon. A round of raw extra virgin olive oil and it’s done.
Baked artichokes with breadcrumbs and lemon
Ingredients (for 4 people)
Procedure
The artichokes must be cleaned by removing the hardest leaves and divided in half, removing the internal beard. To prevent them from blackening, just keep them in lemon water for a few minutes.
In the meantime, prepare a simple but fragrant mixture with breadcrumbs, chopped garlic, parsley, lemon zest, salt and pepper. The artichokes are placed on a baking tray, seasoned with a drizzle of oil and covered with the aromatic mix.
In the oven at 180°, about 25-30 minutes are enough: they should be soft inside and slightly crunchy on the surface. Before serving, a few drops of raw lemon makes them even fresher.
Crostini with broad bean cream and mint
Ingredients
Procedure
The broad beans are boiled quickly, just long enough to soften them, then drained and left to cool. If they are large, it is best to remove the outer skin to obtain a smoother cream.
Blended with oil, fresh mint, a pinch of salt, pepper and a few drops of lemon, they become a bright green and very spring-like cream.
Spread on toast and finished with a drizzle of oil, it is one of those appetizers that always work: few ingredients, but centered.
FIRST
Raviolini with aromatic herbs
Ingredients
for 3 people (approximately 50 ravioli)
Procedure
Pour the flour into a well on a pastry board, pour the oil and turmeric in the centre, start mixing with a fork, adding a little boiling water at a time, then with your hands (being careful not to burn yourself). We continue to knead and add water until a homogeneous and smooth mixture is created. Once obtained, we work the dough for 10 minutes, then form a loaf, wrap it in transparent film and let it rest for at least 30 minutes.
Meanwhile, place the cashews, salt and nutritional yeast in a food processor. Blend first at reduced speed and then faster and faster, until everything is reduced to powder. Add the chopped tofu, basil, parsley and chives previously cut into pieces. Let’s blend again. If we notice that the mixture is too hard, add a spoonful of water. Pepper and add nutmeg to taste.
We take our dough again and begin to roll out the dough until it reaches a thickness of 2-3 mm. Divide it in half with an imaginary line and place small portions of filling taken with a teaspoon in the upper half, spaced at least an inch apart from each other.
Once the filling is complete, we fold the lower half of the pastry over the upper one. We pass a finger along all the edges and between the portions of dough, in order to remove any air bubbles. With a sharp knife we cut out our ravioli into a square shape, leaving an empty dough frame around the filling. We seal the edges well by pressing with our fingers.
Pour them into boiling salted water and as soon as they float to the surface they are ready. Drain them with a slotted spoon and place them directly in the pan in which we have heated the oil with the sage leaves for a few minutes over a low heat. Let’s sauté them gently over high heat.
Plate and add 1/2 teaspoon of poppy seeds for each portion.
Risotto with asparagus and lemon
Ingredients (for 3-4 people)
Procedure
The asparagus must be cleaned by separating the more delicate tips from the stems, which are cut into rounds.
Sauté the onion in a saucepan with a drizzle of oil, then add the rice and leave it to toast for a few minutes. At this point the asparagus stalks and the broth come into play, adding little by little, as per tradition.
The tips only come together halfway through cooking, so they remain intact. The finish is all about freshness: lemon zest and a drizzle of raw oil, stirring vigorously to obtain the right creaminess.
Baked pasta with lentil ragout
Ingredients
Procedure
The base is a classic sauté of onion, carrot and celery, finely chopped and left with a drizzle of oil until they become soft. Add the lentils and tomato puree to this, leaving it to cook calmly for about twenty minutes: it should become a thick and tasty ragù.
The pasta is drained al dente and mixed with the sauce, then transferred to a baking tray. A sprinkling of breadcrumbs and a drizzle of oil are enough to create that crust in the oven that makes the difference.
After about 20 minutes at 180°, it is ready: simple, substantial and without the need for “fake” alternatives.
SECOND
Borlotti meatballs and cashew cheese
Ingredients
for 4 meatballs
Procedure
chop the vegetables in the blender, then add the beans, a little salt, the coriander and reduce to a puree. Add breadcrumbs and knead until the dough becomes quite firm. Shape the meatballs with your hands, coat them in breadcrumbs and cook them in a pan with a little oil until they are golden on both sides. Being careful not to break them, place them on a plate and leave to cool and harden.
Ingredients for Cashew Cheese:
Procedure:
Leave the cashews to soak overnight, then rinse them and blend them with the garlic and a little salt. Also add your favorite herbs. Place in the refrigerator for a few hours. Spread on toast or use as you prefer. Enjoy your meal!
SIDE
Baked battered broccoli
Ingredients
Procedure
Wash the broccoli under running water, dividing all the florets and eliminating the stem (which we will use to prepare broths or soups). Dry it with a clean cloth and keep it aside. In a bowl pour the sifted flour, a pinch of garlic powder, a grind of pepper, a teaspoon of dried tomato pâté (which as I explained can be replaced with yeast flakes), salt to taste, the yeast and a spoonful of extra virgin olive oil.
Add the water little by little and mix with a whisk, the batter should remain slightly dense but fluid and should stick well to the broccoli. Cover a baking tray or the oven paper with baking paper, dip the florets in the batter, draining the excess and place them as they are prepared on the tray. Bake at 180° until the batter dries, cooks and lightly browns. Halfway through cooking you can also turn the broccoli florets by detaching them from the baking paper with the help of a smooth-bladed knife, otherwise if you have a fan oven with top and bottom cooking you can also leave them without turning them. Once cooked, serve them on a biodegradable cellulose serving plate with a sprinkling of lemon and ground gray salt. They are good hot, warm but also cold.
SWEET
Vegan pastiera
Ingredients
For 700 grams of soy ricotta:
For the shortcrust pastry:
For the filling:
Procedure
Prepare the ricotta: Pour the milk into a saucepan and bring to the boil. When the milk boils, pour in the vinegar and mix slowly with a whisk for about 30 seconds until all the milk has curdled. Turn off the heat and collect the curdled milk a little at a time, pour it into a fine-meshed sieve and rinse it under running water to remove the vinegar. Pour the curdled and rinsed milk into a colander covered with gauze. Place in the refrigerator and let drain for at least 24 hours. Finally add a little brown salt and the ricotta is ready. If you want to give the ricotta its characteristic shape, let the curdled milk drain for about 4 or 5 hours, then add the salt and press everything into a cheese mold and put it back in the refrigerator to lose more liquid for at least another 20 hours. With these quantities you obtain approximately 700 grams of soy ricotta.
Prepare the pastry: Pour all the ingredients into a bowl and mix first with a fork then with your fingers until you obtain a very soft and fragrant dough. Cover the dough with kitchen film and place in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour. Take 2/3 of the dough and roll them out on a well-floured surface; form a circle with which you will cover a cake pan with a diameter of 26 or 28 cm. Take 1/3 of the dough and form a long snake with which you will form the edges of the cake. Squeeze this little snake all around the base using wet fingers. Keep aside some shortcrust pastry to cover the top of the cake with the characteristic lozenges.
Prepare the filling: first pour the wheat, lemon zest, butter and milk into a saucepan. Turn on a low heat and bring to the boil. Cook until the milk is completely absorbed. Turn off the heat and let cool to room temperature.
In a bowl, pour the soy ricotta, sugar, starch, vanilla and orange blossom water. Mix well until you obtain a cream. Add the wheat cooked in the milk and the candied fruit. Mix gently with a spoon and then pour this cream into the cake tin, into the shortcrust pastry. Cover the top of the pastiera with small crossed strips of shortcrust pastry and cook in the oven at 170° for about an hour. Turn off the oven and leave the pastiera to cool in the oven with the door half open. Place the pastiera in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours before serving. Serve covered with a light layer of icing sugar.
Carrot and almond cake (without eggs or milk)
Ingredients
Procedure
The grated carrots mix with sugar and oil, creating a moist and fragrant base. This is combined with flour, chopped almonds, yeast and orange juice, which gives freshness and aroma.
The vegetable milk is only used to regulate the consistency: the dough must remain soft but not liquid.
Pour into the cake tin, cook at 180° for 35-40 minutes. Once cold, it is ready to serve as is or with a sprinkling of icing sugar. It’s the classic dessert that doesn’t need explanations: you just eat it.
