Hearty but light meals: 3 vegetarian recipes from the chef

Hearty but light meals: 3 vegetarian recipes from the chef

These options are great for summer diets.

brand-chef of the fast food delivery service PizzaSushiWok

“In summer, more than half of Russians go on vacation or live outside the city. In nature, by the way, because of the influx of oxygen, the receptors are activated, so food always tastes better. So why not set the table on a dacha veranda or in a gazebo? I will share recipes for vegetarian dishes that are especially pleasant to eat outdoors.

What we will tell you about

Shchi with mushrooms and fresh cabbage

The traditional Russian soup – shchi – is very light but hearty. There are many variants of preparation: with beef, and with chicken, but I propose to cook with mushrooms – a great option for everyone who does not use animal products. The dish turns out especially flavorful if you use forest mushrooms. In July-August they can already be collected independently, but for now – mushrooms can be an alternative.

Ingredients:

• white cabbage – 300 g;
• mushrooms (champignons) – 300 g;
• potatoes – 300 g;
• carrots – 1 pc;
• onion – 1 pc;
• vegetable oil – 2 tbsp;
• salt, ground black pepper – to taste.

Preparation:

1. Prepare the necessary ingredients. Since we take fresh cabbage, not sauerkraut, there should be some product that gives sourness. This can be Antonov apples, sorrel or salted mushrooms.
2. Wash carrots, peel and grate on a medium grater.
3. Peel the onion and chop it finely with a knife.
4. Clean white cabbage from the top dry leaves, wash and finely chop with a knife.
5. Wash the potatoes, peel and cut into small cubes or straws. Rinse the cut vegetable again to remove the starch. Thanks to this, the broth will turn out transparent.
6. Mushrooms can be used in any way: mushrooms or forest mushrooms, fresh, pickled, salted. Salted mushrooms washed and thrown on a colander to drain excess water from them. Cut large mushrooms into small cubes. If you use fresh mushrooms, fry them with carrots and onions (step 8).
7. In a pot of boiling lightly salted water send the cooked potatoes and white cabbage. Boil the vegetables for about 15 minutes.
8. In the meantime, you need to make a vegetable roast. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan. Place the cooked carrots and onions and fry until the carrots are soft and the onions are transparent. If you use fresh mushrooms, at this stage you should fry them as well.
9. Send the vegetable roast to the pot with the vegetables. Add salted mushrooms to the soup. Salt to taste. If the mushrooms for cooking the soup were used pickled or salted, then salt should be added quite a bit. Keep the soup on the fire for about seven more minutes.
10. Turn off the fire and let the soup stay under the lid for about 10 minutes, then serve. Pour the soup into plates, add finely chopped fresh herbs.
11. Serve the soup with sour cream and crusty bread.

Vegetable stew

Very simple, but at the same time very useful dish (not for nothing experts say that vegetables should be in every meal). If you have a vegetable garden, then for this position I advise you to use any that you gather. The more diverse they will be, the more colorful the stew will turn out. If you buy products – also take this into account. It is better to take different peppers and tomatoes: red, orange, yellow.

Ingredients (for four servings):

• zucchini – 2 pcs;
• eggplants – 2 pcs;
• bell pepper – 3 pcs.;
• onions – 2 pieces;
• tomatoes – 3 pcs;
• garlic – 4 cloves;
• tomato paste – 2 tablespoons;
• olive oil – 6 tbsp. l.;
• ground red paprika – 1 tsp;
• salt, sugar, ground black pepper – to taste.

Preparation:

1. Dice the washed and dried zucchini. If it is clean, with a tender skin, you can not peel it.
2. Do the same with eggplant and peppers. The dish will turn out bright if you take multicolored peppers.
3. Dice the tomatoes.
4. Chop the onion and finely chop the garlic.
5. Heat olive oil in a skillet. Sauté the onion and garlic for seven minutes.
6. Add the peppers, saute for another seven minutes, then add the zucchini and eggplant.
7. Roast all the ingredients together for 15 minutes. You can cover the pan with a lid to retain more juice. If you like a drier stew, you won’t need the lid.
8. Add the tomatoes, salt, pepper, paprika, sugar, and optional tomato paste. Stew everything together for 15 minutes. Adjust the time depending on how soft you like the vegetables.
9. Vegetable stew can be served as a side dish or as a cold appetizer.

Potato rolls with mushrooms

A very nutritious and tasty dish – potato rolls with mushrooms – will perfectly complement vegetable stew. Although there is no meat in them, they are very nourishing. By the way, according to a study, mashed potatoes have the same effect on the body as carbohydrate gel. Athletes take it to maintain blood glucose and improve performance. I propose to make mashed potatoes too, but not standard. We will make potato dough from it, and then – rolls.

Ingredients:

• potatoes – 200 g;
• mushrooms – 150 g;
• boiling water – 100 ml;
• onion – 1 pc;
• flour – 150 g;
• vegetable oil – 30 g;
• tomato paste – 1 tbsp;
• salt, sugar, Provanna herbs – 1 tsp. each;
• herbs – for serving.

Preparation:

1. Finely chop mushrooms and onions. Fry in oil until mushrooms evaporate moisture and onions become transparent. Add salt and spices to taste.
2. Peel potatoes, cut into pieces and send to boil for 25 minutes – until ready. Then drain the water and knead it to a mashed state.
3. For the filling, mix tomato paste, salt, sugar and provan herbs. Pour boiling water and stir.
4. Prepare the potato dough: add vegetable oil and flour to the warm mashed potatoes and mix thoroughly. The dough should not fall apart.
5. A little oil the cling film and lay the potato dough on it in the form of a rectangle. Put a layer of mushrooms and onions on top.
6. Roll up the roll – the cling film will help with this. Then cut it into washers and spread them vertically on a greased mold. Cover the rolls with the tomato filling.
7. Bake for 25 minutes in an oven heated to 180 degrees Celsius.
8. Before serving, sprinkle the dish with fresh herbs (if available – straight from the bed) and serve.

Try to cook these hearty (even without meat and fish!) dishes. It is especially pleasant to use products grown on your own: now many people will have such an opportunity.