Category: Recipes

Recipes, Salty

7 Vegetables Soup

TheVeganWhisper

Probably my favorite winter soup so far, inspired by the French homey “Soupe aux 7 legumes” that we used to have as kids when it got cold.

This is a very easy recipe, ready in 30-35 min. All you need is a cutting board, a good knife, a big pot, a peeler, and hand-mixer.

Enjoy with toasted bread and vegan spread.

Ingredients 🛒 (for 3 servings as main meal)

  • 1 medium/small onion 
  • 2-3 small cloves garlic (your choice!)
  • 2 carrots 
  • 1/2 a courgette if in the West, 1 whole if in the Middle East
  • 1 potato 
  • 2 salad tomatoes 
  • 2 trimmed leeks 
  • 1/2 or 1 celery stick (optional, depending on your usual preference) 
  • 1 vg stock cube
  • 2 heaped Tbsps. vg butter/margarine, or vegetable oil of your choice
  • Salt & Pepper to taste
  • *VG cream (250ml) of your choice – I used Oatly’s Creamy Oat (£1.25), I would also recommend their Creamy Oat “Fraiche” (£1.85). 

*If you cannot find any vg single cream, you can make your own using cashews, or use Oat milk, readjust quantity to taste. 

👩🏽‍🍳Preparation👩🏽‍🍳:

  1. Peel and wash carrots, courgette, potato, tomatoes, and trimmed leeks. 
  2. Cut them in round slices, and set aside, separating the leek pieces from the rest. 
  3. Peel and cut garlic into thin slices, set aside with the leeks. 
  4. Peel and cut your onion in thin half moons. 

Cooking instructions: 

  1. Add your butter/oil to a pot on medium to high heat and let it melt
  2. Add onions and mix well, adding a pinch of salt
  3. Keep stirring on high heat for 2-3 min., then add leeks + garlic
  4. Make sure the veg in the pot are fully coated in oil/melted butter and let fry until softer, stirring frequently
  5. Add the rest of the veg, crumbled veg stock cube, another pinch of salt and pepper, and mix well 
  6. Add boiling water until all ingredients are well covered
  7. Bring to a boil, then cover and let simmer on low heat for 20 min.
  8. Make sure veggies are soft, and blend with a hand-mixer, slowly adding the cream.
  9. Salt & pepper to taste, option to add thyme.

Serving 🍴

Serve hot, as a side or as a main, with oat crackers, toast, or sourdough with a vegan spread.

I really hope you have fun preparing this one. Please do not hesitate to DM me on IG or email me if you have any questions of trouble in the process !!

On a Side Note, Recipes

Hummus

TheVeganWhisper

I long hesitated to make this one. The thing with Hummus is that in my experience, quantities and ratios vary according to the kind and size of available chickpeas the tahini brand- So just work with what you have, and trust your gut.

Did you know that some people add ‘Laban’ (similar to yoghurt) to smoothen Hummus? So make sure you always check it’s vegan when eating out.

Unlike most of my recipes, you will need a blender to make smooth Hummus like in the picture – However, in preparing this recipe, I didn’t use one, just to see how it would turn out without a blender: it tastes heavenly, but expect lots of crumbles.

So do try this and trust your gut too; if it looks like it could use more or less of something, go for it!

Ingredients: 🛒(around 2 servings)

  • 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained
  • 2 tbsps of the water from the chickpeas’ can
  • 1/2 cup tahini
  • 5 to 6 tbsps of lemon juice (75ml to 90ml)
  • 1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder – depends on your taste!
  • Salt to taste

👩🏽‍🍳Preparation👩🏽‍🍳:

  1. If you have a blender, just add all ingredients and blend!
  2. If you don’t, start by mashing the chickpeas really well with a potato masher – adding their water can help
  3. Add can water if you haven’t already, tahini and lemon juice, mix well
  4. Add garlic powder and salt last
  5. Taste it; if it’s too acidic, add some tahini 1/2 tbsp at a time, if it’s not acidic enough, add lemon juice 1/4 tbsp at a time, add salt to taste

Serving 🍴

Drizzle with some olive oil – option to add pomegranate seeds, parsley, walnuts or mint on top!

I really hope you have fun preparing this one. Please do not hesitate to DM me on IG or email me if you have any questions of trouble in the process !!

On a Side Note, Recipes

Lebanese Green Beans in Tomato Sauce

TheVeganWhisper

Definitely one of my favorite items in a Lebanese Mezza, meet my green beans in tomato sauce.

It is traditionally Vegan, although meat is sometimes added.

This is a very easy recipe, but these flat beans are very hard to find in the UK. If you find Middle Eastern shops, you should be able to find this kind of flat bean – and it makes all the difference.

This is to be enjoyed with Lebanese flat bread, and tastes awesome served cold or warm!

Ingredients: 🛒 (for 2 servings as main meal)

  • 3 cloves garlic
  • 1 big onion
  • 4 cups of flat beans, chopped, from frozen
  • 1 cup of water
  • 1 cube veggie broth
  • 1 cup of tomato passata or tomato sauce of your choice
  • 1/4 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/4 tsp sweet pepper
  • Salt to taste
  • 1 tbsp olive oil

👩🏽‍🍳Preparation👩🏽‍🍳:

  1. Take out the beans from the freezer
  2. Grate or chop garlic into small pieces, and chop onion into half moons, or minced – it’s up to you!
  3. Add olive oil with garlic and onion to a pot, turn to medium heat, then lower to simmer
  4. Keep stirring every minute or so, and a 4-5 minutes later, add sweet pepper and cinnamon, mix
  5. Once onion is soft, boil 1cup of water in the microwave or boiler, add melted vegetable stock cube and boiled water to the pot. Stir until homogenous.
  6. Once vegetable stock melts completely, add tomato sauce, stir well
  7. Finally, add defrosted beans, cover and keep on low heat to simmer
  8. Once beans are soft, add salt to taste.

Serving 🍴

Serve hot or cold, as a side or as a main, with or without pita bread!

I really hope you have fun preparing this one. Please do not hesitate to DM me on IG or email me if you have any questions of trouble in the process !!

On a Side Note, Recipes

Fattoush

TheVeganWhisper

Don’t get mad… you won’t get any quantities for Fattoush, only ingredients!

While it can be quite frustrating for non-nationals to figure out the right ratios, this is exactly what you need to do with fattoush.

It is supposed to be a spontaneous garden salad – and when I mean garden, I mean a medley of greens you’d find on Lebanese soil !!

You’ll find here are the main ingredients we use; romaine lettuce is the main base. Some people add boiled potato pieces as well.

Make sure your toast your flat bread; you could alternatively fry it.

Ingredients: 🛒

  • Romaine lettuce (base + mix of following greens)
  • Arugula
  • Purslane
  • Mint leaves
  • Cucumber
  • Tomato
  • Green onion
  • Radish slices
  • Toasted/Fried flat bread slices
  • Fresh thyme leaves (optional)
  • Green bell pepper (optional)
  • Boiled potato pieces (optional)
  • Pomegranate seeds (optional)

For the dressing:

  • Lemon juice
  • Olive oil
  • Salt
  • Sumac
  • Sweet pepper
  • Pomegranate molasses

👩🏽‍🍳Preparation👩🏽‍🍳: Mix it all together !

Dressing 🍴

For 1.5 to 2 tbsps of Lemon juice, add:

  • 1 tbsp pomegranate molasses
  • 3 tbsps olive oil
  • 1 tsp sumac
  • A pinch of sweet pepper
  • Salt to taste (around 1/2 tsp)

I really hope you have fun preparing this one. Please do not hesitate to DM me on IG or email me if you have any questions of trouble in the process !!

On a Side Note, Recipes

‘كبة بطاطا’ – Lebanese Potato Kebbe

TheVeganWhisper

An incredibly popular dish during the lent season in Lebanon, I crave this side dish all year long.

To be honest, any main ingredient you can mash with a combination of onion, mint, walnuts/bulgur, and olive oil, would taste absolutely Lebanese.

Potato Kebbe, or ‘Kebbit Batata’, is traditionally prepared in a big food processor. Since I like to make my recipes student/small apartment/low budget friendly, here is a way to make it without one – All you need are your hands, and a good fork.

Since I’ve also realized that good Bulgur is really hard to find abroad, this one’s gluten free, based on ground Walnuts. If you can’t find any, just crush them with your hands, with a cup, a mug… get creative!

Ingredients: (1 Mezza serving)🛒

  • 1 big potato (pic. for reference)
  • 4 tbsps ground walnuts (for gluten free option) OR soaked (for a long time)and drained Bulgur (especially if you don’t own a food processor)
  • 2 tbsps chopped green onion
  • 3 tbsps olive oil
  • 1/4 tsp dried mint powder (+more to taste if needed)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (+more to taste if needed)
  • A pinch of each: 7 spices, cumin, chili optional (+more to taste if needed)

👩🏽‍🍳Preparation👩🏽‍🍳:

(Gluten Free)

** If you own a blender, go for the traditional form of this dish; just blend everything together (boiled not raw potato), add spices/salt to taste.

  1. Boil/Microwave the peeled potato, and mash it well in a bowl with a fork
  2. In the same bowl, add ground walnut, mix using the same fork while mashing
  3. Add 2 tbsps of olive oil
  4. Do the same for the green onion pieces
  5. Add spices and salt, mix and mash
  6. Add the rest of the olive oil, mix and mash
  7. Add any remaining spices to taste

Serving 🍴

Arrange your Kebbe in an oval plate with a spoon to smoothen the surface. Top it with fresh mint leaves, raw white onion, chili flakes, olive oil, or walnuts!

Tip: If you have traditional lebanese flat bread, cut a small piece, fill it with the kebbe, top it with a mint leave, a drizzle of olive oil and a slice of raw onion! Thank me later…

I really hope you have fun preparing this one. Please do not hesitate to DM me on IG or email me if you have any questions of trouble in the process !!