Taking a break from eggs, cheeses, fish and meat can be a great idea in the summer: so here are the 10 best summer vegan recipes to try and enjoy.
Adding some vegan dishes to your daily diet to take a break from eggs, cheeses, fish and meat is a healthy habit, especially in summer. However, there are not always recipes that are easy, quick to prepare and feasible with common ingredients. Don't worry, though: here is a list of 10 vegan recipes that can become home dishes: first, second, sauces and desserts to make up a balanced and above all tasty menu.
10 Easy Vegan Recipes
Fusilli with cream of peppers and capers.
They are a perfect first for the summer. It can be eaten hot or as cold pasta (if you prepare it in advance, keep it in the fridge). If you like it juicier, you can add some tomato pulp along with the peppers.
Ingredients for 4 people
Pasta (fusilli) 360 g
Red peppers 800 g
2 cloves garlic
Desalted capers 2 tbsp
Basil as required
Black olives as required
Extra virgin olive oil as required
Salt as needed
Preparation Pasta with pepper cream
Prepare the peppers: preheat the oven to 200 ° C and, once hot, place the peppers on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and cook for about 30-40 minutes. Turn the peppers from time to time and, if necessary, continue cooking for a few minutes. Remove them from the oven and immediately place them in a plastic bag: this step makes them peel easily. After 15 minutes, remove the peppers from the bag, remove the skin and the stalk, and then remove the internal filaments and seeds.
Blend them until you get a homogeneous cream. In a non-stick pan, heat a few tablespoons of oil with the crushed garlic in a shirt, add the sliced olives and the finely chopped desalted capers; cook for a minute.
Add the pepper cream and cook for 3-4 minutes, season with salt, remove the garlic and turn off the heat. Cook the pasta, drain it and season it with the pepper cream, adding some fresh basil broken with your hands.
For a richer sauce, add 50 ml of fresh cream to the pepper cream.
2. Zucchini spaghetti.
Vegetable spaghetti is a must in healthy cooking. In shape they recall spaghetti but the similarities with pasta end here since this dish is more like a salad. To cut the courgettes into thin strips you can use a vegetable sharpener or a spiralizer , the kitchen tool that is used to obtain long and thin noodles from courgettes and carrots. Zucchini noodles can be seasoned raw and eaten cold or sautéed for a few moments in a pan together with a tomato and basil sauce. To make them more full-bodied, try adding a little breadcrumbs (recipe available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtF76-5IvaA&t=6s).
3. Gazpacho
It is a famous cold soup of Spanish origin, perfect for the hottest days. It can be eaten as an appetizer or as a first course, but no one will complain if you serve it as a reinforced aperitif. The basic gazpacho recipe includes peppers, tomatoes, garlic, oil, cucumbers, onions, vinegar and, in the Andalusian version, bread. Prepare it in a food processor or blender, taste to the season with salt and pepper and let it cool in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.
Ingredients for 4 people
Ripe tomatoes 1 kg
Green peppers 80 g
Cucumbers 250 g
Onions 100 g
1 clove garlic
Extra virgin olive oil as required
Vinegar 100 ml
Stale bread 60 g
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Water as required
Gazpacho preparation
Break up the bread and soak it in plenty of water. Remove the skin and seeds from the tomatoes, keeping the pulp aside; peel the onion; peel the cucumber; wash the pepper, cut it in half and remove the seeds. Cut the vegetables into cubes and set aside 3 tablespoons which will be used to serve the gazpacho. Cut the garlic into two parts and remove the internal germ. Put the vegetables and garlic in a large bowl, add the squeezed bread, salt and pepper and mix. Let the vegetables marinate for 10 minutes.
Transfer the vegetables to a food processor. Add the vinegar and blend for a few seconds: the soup must have the consistency of a cream. Serve in a deep dish and garnish with the remaining chopped vegetables. Complete with freshly ground pepper and a drizzle of oil.
4. Whimsical salad
A vegetable-based dish enriched with a sauce that is prepared just like mayonnaise, but which is obviously vegan because it is made with soy milk. This slightly heavier type of salad can be an excellent side dish or a light second course. Try it with other types of vegetables as well.
Ingredients for 4 people
Seed oil 250 g
Soy milk without sugar 150 g
Celeriac ½
Red peppers ½
Carrots 2
Salted capers 2 tbsp
Lemon (juice) 1 tbsp
Apple cider vinegar 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder as required
Preparation Vegan whimsical salad
Prepare the vegan mayonnaise: pour the oil, soy milk, lemon juice, salt and a pinch of turmeric into a tall container and whisk the ingredients with an immersion blender until you get a firm mayonnaise, it takes a few moments. .
Desalt the capers under running water. Meanwhile, peel the carrots and celeriac and remove the seeds from the pepper. Cut the vegetables into julienne strips and place them in a large bowl, finally season them with the vinegar and salt.
Add the mayonnaise and capers. Mix the mayonnaise with the vegetables and place the salad in the refrigerator for at least 2 hours before serving.
5. Vegan omelette
The omelette without eggs is a very useful jolly when you feel like an omelette but you want to cut the use of eggs, or if there is someone at the table who just can't eat them. What is the secret? Use chickpea flour! In this version, we have added onion and asparagus, but you can also prepare it only with salt and pepper or season it with other types of vegetables (zucchini, courgette flowers, cherry tomatoes, etc.). cook over low heat, preferably with a lid.
Ingredients for 4 people
Chickpea flour 150 g
Water 230 g
Spring onions 4
Asparagus 12
Extra virgin olive oil as required
Salt as needed
Pepper as needed
Preparation of Vegan Omelette
Wash the asparagus and cut the woody end.
Cook them for 7/8 minutes in boiling water, drain and cut into rounds, keeping the tips aside.
Meanwhile, peel the spring onions, slice them and brown them over low heat for a few minutes until soft. Add the asparagus into slices.
Put the chickpea flour in a bowl and start pouring the water slowly, stirring constantly with a whisk so as not to form lumps.
Season with salt and pepper and pour the batter into the pan, cover with a lid to cook evenly.
Before completely firming, arrange the asparagus tips in a radial pattern. With a spatula, remove the omelette from the pan, place it on a flat plate and with a quick movement turn the omelette upside down on the plate. Slide it back into the pan to finish cooking.
Serve the omelette piping hot.
7. Bean burger
Legume burgers and meatballs are a really clever way to replace red meat: legumes are tasty, they can be mashed, blended and seasoned, and they provide iron and vitamin B. Red lentil burgers can be eaten on the plate or inside a sandwich. Dress them with a soy yogurt sauce or vegan mayonnaise to make them less dry (recipe available on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9nwLOxuAM4).
7. Vegan mayonnaise
Vegan mayonnaise is super simple, good and completely egg-free. It can be used in salads, veg burgers or sandwiches. To prepare it, you need seed oil, unsweetened soy milk, salt, pepper, lemon juice and mustard (or vinegar). Give it a try and you will find that in 2 minutes you can bring homemade mayonnaise to the table.
Ingredients for 4 people
Soy milk 60 ml
Seed oil 100 g
Extra virgin olive oil 10 g
Lemon (juice) 1 tbsp
Salt as needed
Mustard 2 tsp
Preparation Vegan Mayonnaise
Combine the soy milk, lemon, mustard and salt in a bowl with high sides.
With an immersion blender, begin to blend and in the meantime pour the seed oil slowly.
Blend until the mayonnaise is fluffy and creamy.
Keep it in the fridge for up to 3 days.
8. Vegan wrap
This veg wrap has three great advantages: it does not contain lard but extra virgin olive oil, and it is prepared in less than 30 minutes and cooked in a pan. If you are craving a quick wrap (piadina), then, it is the perfect recipe. These wraps can be stored in the freezer still raw and already spread, separated with a sheet of parchment paper. Just heat them in a pan for a few moments and they will be ready.
Ingredients for 3 people
Flour type 00 200 g
Cream of tartar 1 tsp
Bicarbonate of soda ½ tsp
Salt as needed
Extra virgin olive oil 30 ml
Warm water 125 ml
Preparation of vegan wrap
Put the flour in a bowl, sift the baking powder and baking soda. Add the salt, oil and warm water. Mix and give a first mix in the bowl.
Transfer the dough to a pastry board and knead it with your hands for about a dozen minutes. Form a sphere and place it in a bowl. Cover with cling film and let it rest for thirty minutes, then remove the cling film.
Pour the dough on the pastry board and divide it into three parts. Work each piece with your hands.
Form spheres by passing them through the circular hollow that forms between the thumb and forefinger if they join to form a circle. Swirl them in the palm of your hand.
Roll out each ball on a pastry board with a rolling pin, trying to give it a circular shape.
Put a non-stick pan on the flame and let it heat up. Lift the piada with both hands and place it in the hot pan. Cook for one minute on each side. Remove from the heat and serve.
9. Coconut and cocoa protein bar
An energy snack as a post-gym or post-run snack is a great idea, but packaged bars don't always contain healthy or completely veg ingredients. This cocoa and coconut protein bar is very delicious and is ready in 20 minutes: prepare a lot because they can be kept wrapped in paper, out of the fridge, for up to two weeks!
Ingredients for 4 people
Pumpkin seeds 25 g
Rapè coconut 60 g
Hemp seeds 25 g
Hemp flour 25 g
Pitted dates 10 g
Cocoa powder 15 g
Vanillin 8 g
Water as required
Preparation Vegan protein bar
Place the seeds in the mixer and add the coconut and hemp flour. Run the mixer at high speed until everything is reduced to powder and set aside.
Blend the dates and add cocoa and vanillin, chop to create a homogeneous mixture. Add the wet component to the dry mixture and mix. If it is too thick, dissolve with a few tablespoons of hot water or coconut butter if necessary. You have to get a rather sticky mixture that is easily compacted.
Roll out a sheet of baking paper and work the mixture until you get a rectangle about 2 cm thick. Cover with another sheet of baking paper and pass the rolling pin to spread the mixture evenly. Refrigerate for about two hours. After the necessary time, cut the bars into rectangles and keep them in cling film until ready for use.
10. Vegan dark chocolate ice cream
Water, sugar, dark chocolate and cocoa: 4 ingredients for a spoon ice cream that you will never be able to do without. As you can see, there is no trace of milk, so it is also perfect for the intolerant. This vegan chocolate ice cream recipe does not involve the use of an ice cream maker.
Ingredients for 8 people
650 ml Water
300 g Dark chocolate
80 g Bitter cocoa15 g Corn starch
230 g Brown sugar
50 ml Coffee
1 small glass of Rum
1 pinch Salt
Preparation Vegan chocolate ice cream
1. In a fairly large pot pour the powders, then the cocoa, sugar, salt and cornstarch and mix well with a whisk. Then add a small part of water and begin to mix until it forms a fairly thick cream. At this point, pour all the remaining water and continue to whisk but without too much care, the lumps will have dissolved by now.
Bring to medium heat and when it reaches the boiling point, calculate 30 seconds, then turn off, add the coarsely chopped chocolate and stir until it melts and immerse the pot in the sink full of cold water. It will be our "home blast chiller" and the mixture will cool much faster.
When the mixture is warm, add the coffee and rum, which will lower the freezing point of the mass.
2. Now pour this mixture into a baking dish (the pyrex one will be fine) and place it in the freezer for at least 6 hours.
After this time you will notice that the ice cream has compacted and therefore it will be time to take it out of the mold (I cut it into pieces so that this operation will be easier and faster) and blend it in a mixer or with the help of an immersion blender. . We will almost have to mount it.
Once this last procedure has also been made, it will be enough to place it in the freezer again (in a plumcake mold perhaps so the ice cream will acquire a tall and narrow shape, more convenient for forming the spheres) to compact it completely for about 2 hours. Before serving, wait a few minutes. It will be water based but its creamy will win you over.