Three Vegan Suitable Lunch Ideas for You

Super simple and easy vegan lunch ideas for you. I do believe you will love it. So, let's get started

Oranges and Tapenade Toast:

•1 shallot
•3 blood oranges
•1 ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
•½ tsp red wine vinegar
•extra virgin olive oil
•salt and pepper
•1 ½ pounds fat asparagus (25 –30 spears)
•4 slices country style bread
•Tapenade (olives, garlic, olive oil whizzed together)

Method:

1.Peel and chop the shallot finely and macerate for 30 minutes in the juice of ½ orange and the balsamic and red wine vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil to taste to make a vinaigrette and season with salt and pepper. Peel just the zest from one of the oranges, chop it very fine and add it to the vinaigrette.

2.Cut away all the rind and pith from all the oranges and slice them crosswise into thin rounds.

3.Snap off the tough bottom ends of the asparagus spears. Peel the spears and parboil them in salted water for about 1 minute, until they are just tender. Spread them out to drain thoroughly and cool to room temperature. Brush with olive oil, salt lightly and grill for about 6 minutes over medium heat, turning often to brown evenly. Toast bread at the same time.

4.When toasted, cut the bread slices into thirds and spread with tapenade. Arrange asparagus on a platter with the orange slices on top. Drizzle vinaigrette over and garnish with the tapenade toast.

Moroccan Chickpeas:

•2 cups dried chickpeas
•1 small carrot
•1 yellow onion
•1 small bunch cilantro
•2-inch knob of fresh ginger
•1-inch piece of cinnamon stick
•1 pinch ground saffron
•1 tsp ground turmeric
•½ tsp cayenne
•2 ripe tomatoes
•salt

Method

1.Soak chickpeas overnight in cold water. Peel the carrot and onion and chop roughly. Drain the chickpeas and cover with fresh water. Bring to a boil, skim off the foam and turn down to a simmer. Add the carrot and onion. Cut off the stems of the cilantro and reserve the leaves to garnish the finished dish.

2.Tie the stems in a bundle and add to the chickpeas along with the ginger, peeled, and the cinnamon, saffron, turmeric an cayenne. Keep the chickpeas submerged in water as they cook, but do not add more water than necessary, so as not to dilute the flavorful broth.

3.Peel, seed an coarse chop tomatoes. After 30 to 45 minutes, when the chickpeas are about three quarters cooked add the tomatoes and salt to taste. Continue to simmer until the chickpeas are very soft and the broth has thickened slightly about 1 hour.

4.Remove and discard the cinnamon, ginger, and cilantro stems. Taste for seasoning, garnish with the reserved cilantro leaves and serve over cooked couscous. Serve with a dollop of harissa paste.

Eggplant, Tomato and Onion Gratin

Ingredients:

•3 large sweet white onions
•3 cloves garlic
•olive oil
•2 or 3 sprigs thyme
•1 bay leaf
•salt and pepper
•3 medium Japanese eggplants
•3 ripe tomatoes

Method:

1.Peel and chop the onions and garlic very fine. Stew them over a medium flame for about 5 minutes until soft in a couple of tbsp olive oil, with the leaves of the thyme, the bay leaf and salt and pepper.

2.Slice the eggplant into ¼ inch rounds. Slice the tomatoes slightly thicker.

3.Preheat oven to 400F. Oil a shallow gratin dish.

4.Remove the bay leaf from the onions and spread them over the bottom of the dish. Cover with overlapping rows of alternate tomato and eggplant slices. Each slice should cover two-thirds of the preceding one. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with some more olive oil, cover and cook in the oven until the eggplant is soft enough to be cut with a spoon, about 45 minutes.

5.Uncover for the last 15 minutes or earlier if the tomatoes are giving up too much liquid. Brush or spoon the juices over the top occasionally to prevent the top layer from drying out. This gratin should be moist but not watery.

Let us know in the Comment what do you think about the recipe.