The Mediterranean Vegan

A common street food in Turkey, this chickpea pilaf is incredibly easy to make and only has three main ingredients! Serves 4 What you need: 2 tbsp margarine 1 onion, diced 2 cups long-grain rice 4.5 cups vegetable broth, hot 2.5 cups cooked chickpeas (garbanzo beans) 1.5 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper In a large pan on high heat, melt the 2 tbsp margarine. Add the diced onion and sauté for five minutes. Add the uncooked rice and stir for a little over a minute so that it is well coated with margarine. Pour the vegetable broth into the pan along with the salt and pepper and reduce to medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes. Add the cooked chickpeas to the rice and cook for another 5 minutes or until all of the broth has been absorbed by the rice. You may need to raise the heat at the end if there is still liquid left in the rice. Serve immediately.

Sataras is made in different ways throughout Eastern Europe. This is the Croatian variety of the dish. It can be served with rice, bread, or potatoes. Serves 3-4 What you need: 1 large onion, diced 4 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp sugar 4 bell peppers (red and green), diced 5 medium tomatoes, diced 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 1 tsp parsley In a large pan on medium-high heat, sauté the onion in the olive oil for 3 minutes. Add the sugar and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the diced bell peppers, stirring occasionally for 1o minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, salt, pepper, and parsley and sauté for another 12-15 minutes or until all of the juice from the vegetables has evaporated. Serve immediately.

This vegan casserole dish comes from the island of Mallorca, Spain. It is served in almost every restaurant, so if you are ever in the area you have a vegan staple available to you. The recipe calls for a lot of frying, so get make sure you have a lot of oil available before you begin to chop. Serves 4-6 What you need: 1 large eggplant(aubergine), sliced 1/2 inch thick widthwise 1 green bell pepper, chopped into 2-4 large chunks 1 red bell pepper, chopped into 2-4 large chunks 2 medium size potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick widthwise 1 medium size zucchini, sliced 1/2 inch thick lengthwise and then halved 1.5 cup tomato sauce (you can try this simple tomato sauce ) 1 tsp salt 1 tsp parsley 5 cups olive oil for frying Preheat the oven to 180 C (350 F). Fill a large pan with the five cups of olive oil and bring to high heat on a stove. Chop and slice all of your vegetables before frying. To decrease bitterness of the eggplant, salt lightly after slicing and strain in a colander for 30 minu

This bread is eaten in Slovenia and is served primarily during holiday festivities and celebrations. My friend Rok passed the idea of making this along to me, and it turned out great! I decided to make it here in the States while visiting because the walnuts are cheaper. ;) Serves 6 slices What you need: 2 tbsp yeast (or two 1/4 oz packages) 1.5 cups soy milk (at room temperature) egg replacer equal to 4 eggs (I used ener-g) 3.5 cups flour 7 tbsp margarine 5 tbsp soy cream cheese 1.5 cups sugar 2.5 cups ground walnuts Preheat the oven to 350 F (175 C). In a large bowl, mix together the yeast and the soy milk and let sit for 5 minutes. Mix in the egg replacer and the flour and knead with your hands for a few minutes. Form the dough into a ball and let sit for 30 minutes until it doubles in size. Meanwhile, make the filling for the bread. Cream together the margarine, cream cheese, and sugar. Add the ground walnuts and mix well. When the bread has risen, flour a surface and roll out the

Orecchiette alla Cima de Rapa is an Italian dish known for its acquired taste. It is made with the bitter vegetable broccoli rapini and sautéed with ear-shaped pasta and garlic. I made this with my friend Sarah Seals tonight while vacationing in the states. Serves 3-4 What you need: 1 bundle of broccoli rapini 4 cloves garlic, minced 6 tbsp olive oil 16 oz/450 grams orecchiette pasta 1-2 tsp red pepper flakes 2 tsp salt 1 tsp pepper 2 tbsp olive oil In this recipe you will steam, boil, and sauté... so be prepared. Other than the pain of using several pots and pans, this recipe is extremely simple. Cut the steams and florets of the broccoli rapini and discard the stalks. Steam the rapini until soft and bright green in a pot (around 10 minutes). Boil the pasta for 10-15 minutes or until it has reached al dente. In a large pan, sauté the minced garlic and red pepper in the 6 tbsp olive oil until the garlic is golden. Add the steamed rapini and sauté for another 3 minutes. Then add the coo