This isn’t the most visually pleasing dish even with the decorative sprig of rosemary, but the taste will more than compensate for the plain looks. Heikki took his half to work on the next day, and says it was very good re-heated as well. Cooking this took me about 25 minutes from start to finish, including the cooking time for lentils.

The Ingredients (serves 2):

• 5 dl whole wheat fusilli
• 300 g eggplant (1 medium)
• 1 and 1/2 dl green lentils (plus 1 bay leaf for cooking)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1 tablespoon fresh rosemary leaves
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 dl fresh lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons capers
• salt and pepper to taste
• nutritional yeast for sprinkling (optional)

The first thing I did was to rinse the lentils. Then I placed them in a small sauce pan with plenty of cooking water and a bay leaf, and let them simmer until soft but still firm.

Now, I cut the eggplant in small cubes, and heated a non-stick frying pan with about half a tablespoon of the olive oil. Eggplant will absorb any amount of olive oil, so there’s no point adding too much. Then I started frying the eggplant, on medium-high heat, stirring every now and then to ensure even browning.

I chopped the rosemary, squeezed the lemon juice, and grated the garlic, and mixed all these together. Then I cooked a large pot of water for the pasta, and added it in the pot when the lentils had cooked for about 10 minutes so that they’d be ready at about the same time.

When the lentils were done (which only took 15 minutes to my surprise), I rinsed them, removed the bay leaf, and added them to the frying pan with about two thirds of the lemon-garlic-rosemary mix. I added some salt at this point as well, and continued frying for about 3 minutes, stirring all the time. Finally, I added the capers, and removed the pan from heat.

When the pasta was cooked, I drained it, and combined it in the cooking pot with the rest of the lemon, garlic, and rosemary, and half a tablespoon of olive oil. After I plated the dish I sprinkled it with some nutritional yeast, and ground a healthy amount of black pepper over my portion.

This pasta shape has many names, but I like to call it risoni, just because there’s a connection to the word rice there. This makes enough for two moderate portions or one big portion and some leftovers. The dish has a serious lack of veggies, but I did munch a few carrots to balance that up!

The Pasta:

• 1 and 1/2 dl risoni (orzo) pasta
• juice of 1 lime (about 1/4 dl)
• 1 huge garlic clove (or 3 normal), pressed
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• salt and black pepper to taste

I cooked the risoni in plenty of water for 8 minutes, then drained it, and tossed with the other ingredients in the cooking pot. While the pasta was cooking, I prepared the tofu.

The Tofu:

• 200 g firm tofu
• 1 onion, cubed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• 1/2 to 1 teaspoon liquid smoke
• 1/2 teaspoon agave syrup or sugar

I cut the tofu in tiny cubes without pressing it first, and heated the oil in a frying pan. I first fried the onion for a few minutes, until it started to get a little brown, and then added the tofu to the pan. I kept on frying it until most sides of the cubes had browned. Then I mixed the soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, liquid smoke, and agave syrup together, and poured this mixture to the pan. I kept on frying until the liquid had evaporated, and then I was ready to plate the lunch.

Also needed:

• chopped basil leaves to garnish

I first ladled some of the risoni on my plate, then a pile of tofu over the pasta, and then sprinkled with chopped fresh basil leaves. Yum!

We used a pointed ramiro pepper for the salad, since Heikki happened to find a good deal on them in the grocery. They are sweeter than regular bell peppers, and slice beautifully, making them perfect for use in salads.

Salad:

• 2 dl dry risoni (orzo) pasta
• 4 dl cooked chick peas
• 1 medium head of iceberg lettuce, chopped
• 1 red ramiro pepper, thinly sliced
• bunch of spring onions, thinly sliced
• a little olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice for the risoni
• 1-2 cloves garlic

Dressing:

• 1/2 to 3/4 dl olive oil
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 teaspoons muscovado sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon dried sage
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• freshly ground black pepper

FIrst, I cooked the risoni according to the instructions on the package, only to find it to be a little too crunchy still, and ended up cooking it double as long as the time indicated in the package. When it was finally done, I rinsed it in cold water, added a tablespoon of olive oil, a splash of lemon juice, and two pressed garlic cloves, and refrigerated the risoni for about 15 minutes, while we proceeded with the rest of the salad.

We prepped the veggies and mixed the dressing, and then I tossed half of the dressing with the iceberg lettuce in the salad bowl, and the other half with the chick peas in a smaller bowl. Then I poured the risoni in the salad bowl, tossed to mix with the lettuce, added the chick peas, and sprinkled with the peppers and the spring onions.

This recipe makes a lot of salad, but Heikki and I finished it by bedtime – we just couldn’t stop ourselves.

Cooked risoni – looks like rice to me!

Here’s what I whisked in the blender for the dressing:

• ½ dl olive oil (or more)

• 3/4 dl toasted cashew nuts

• 1,5 dl fresh, rinsed arugula

• 1 tablespoon dried basil (fresh would have been better, but we had none of that at home)

• some salt

• pinch of sugar

• 3 cloves garlic

• freshly ground black pepper

A milder flavor is achieved by adding more cashews, which we prefer when pesto is used as a spread. Water can be added for a lighter, more fluid texture.

After blending the pesto looked like this:

Ingredients for the salad:

• 250 g (uncooked) whole wheat fusilli

• one medium stalk broccoli

• 1/3 of a small onion, finely cubed (more, if the onions are mild)

• 1 dl piri piri stuffed olives, or any olives

• 1 can chick peas

• 1 can black beans

I started cooking by steaming the broccoli. I divided it in small florets, and then steamed them, checking every two minutes, so that they wouldn’t cook too much. I think they eventually got steamed for 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, the pasta water was boiling, and I could cook the pasta according to the instructions in the package. After cooking, I rinsed the fusilli in cold water for a few minutes, to cool them down for the salad. Then I cubed the onion, and sliced the olives in three round pieces each. The beans had to be rinsed thoroughly to get rid of the brine.

Now I just poured everything in a big bowl, spooned the pesto on top, and mixed the salad thoroughly. After tasting, I added about a teaspoon of lime juice, a little olive oil, and some freshly ground black pepper.

Now we had a big bowl of pasta salad for the weekend, and it just got better and more spicy in the fridge. Usually I add fresh veggies in my pasta salads, but cubed vegetables do not taste the same after a night in the fridge. It is easy to add some cubed cucumber, bell pepper, or tomatoes on the plate next day before eating.