4 Healthy Vegetarian Foods To Make With Your Food Processor
If you just got a food processor and are looking for some vegetarian meals to make, then this list will help get you started. There are some quick and easy nut butters and sauces, along with a delicious Indian style lentil soup. All of them are completely vegetarian and are easy to make in your electric food processor.
Sun Dried Tomato Hummus
Hummus is a protein packed dip that is made with a healthy fat (olive oil). You can make this one even more interesting by adding sun-dried tomatoes. Get a can of chickpeas, a lemon, a container of tahani, olive oil, as well as some garlic, cumin, and a jar of sun dried tomatoes. Tahani is a paste made from toasted, ground up sesame seeds. It has a consistency similar to almond butter. You can find it in any grocery store that stocks Greek or Middle Eastern foods.
Drain the chickpeas and place them in the food processor and add a clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, a half teaspoon of cumin, the juice of one lemon, and a quarter cup of tahani, along side two or three sun dried tomatoes. Process the mixture until it is to the desired thickness. You can thin it out with water if it gets too thick.
Pesto
Making fresh pesto at home is easy with your new food processor. You will need olive oil, a bunch of fresh basil(about two cups worth), some pine nuts, and a chunk of pecorino cheese. Place the basil, a quarter cup of pine nuts, and two thirds of a cup of olive oil in the processor and process until smooth. Some people blend the cheese into the sauce in the processor, while others prefer a more rustic style that allows for the cheese to be folded in at the table.
Walnut Butter
A great alternative to peanut butter is walnut butter. Walnuts are rich in omega fatty acids and have a myriad of health benefits.
Spread a cup of walnuts out on a cookie sheet and place it in your oven for ten minutes at 350 degrees. You are looking to toast the walnuts, not burn them or dry them out. Remove them from the oven and let them cool down, then place them into the food processor and process until they reach the desired texture (smooth or chunky).
Red Lentil Soup With Indian Spices
This one's a complete meal and is fantastic if you love Indian food. In the bottom of a large stockpot, sauté 1 diced onion and a clove of garlic in some olive oil. Add a teaspoon of tomato paste, a teaspoon of cumin, a teaspoon of garam masala*, and a half teaspoon of ginger. Before the mixture dries up, add a container of vegetable stock and a cup of red lentils, a diced stalk of celery and a diced carrot. Cook until the vegetables are tender and the lentils are cooked through. If the pot is running dry before the lentils and veggies are cooked, add more vegetable stock, not water. The water will dilute the flavor of the soup.
When everything is finished cooking, let it cool down a bit and then transfer it to your food processor. At this point add a quarter cup of room temperature coconut milk and process the soup until it is smooth. Serve in a bowl and garnish with lemon juice.
* Garam masala is an Indian spice mixture. It contains cinnamon, clove, black pepper, cumin, nutmeg, mace and other ingredients. You can find it in any Indian grocer, or you can purchase it online.
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