The Mediterranean Vegan

You can order croquetas at pretty much every bar in Spain, though they are usually made of ham and cheese or fish. A vegetable variety is rare, but the most common types include mushroom, spinach, and eggplant/aubergine. This recipe is for spinach croquetas, but you can replace the spinach with whichever vegetable you fancy! Note: this recipe requires around 2 1/2 hours of refrigeration. Makes 10 croquetas What you need: 2 tbsp olive oil 3 tbsp margarine (or 2 tbsp more olive oil) 4 tablespoons flour 1.5 tsp salt 1.5 cups soy milk 2 cups fresh spinach or other vegetable 1 cup water 1 cup breadcrumbs Spanish croquetas are made of béchamel sauce mixed with filling. So first you will need to make your béchamel. In a medium sized pan, add the olive oil and butter until hot. Add the flour and salt and mix until a smooth paste forms. Add the soy milk and whisk on medium heat until it thickens (around 15 minutes). Then add the spinach and cook for another 5-7 minutes. If using another vegeta...

Zeytinyagli Mantarli Kuskonmaz is a Turkish salad consisting of asparagus and mushrooms. In this recipe, I added some leftover wild rice that I had. This works as a hot dish or a cold summer salad. Enjoy! Serves 2-3 What you need: 3 tbsp olive oil 10-12 mushrooms, sliced 1 bundle of asparagus, chopped 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 3 tsp lemon zest or lemon juice 2 cups cooked rice (optional) In a large pan, heat the 3 tbsp olive oil on medium-high heat. Add the chopped mushrooms, asparagus, salt, pepper, and lemon zest and sauté for 10 minutes. If you are using rice, add the cooked rice and mix for another 3 minutes. Serve hot or cold.

Migas are a typical dish throughout all of Spain. Each region has a different way of making it. The region of Extremadura had the most veg-friendly version, so I decided to go with that. Instead of chorizo, which is a key ingredient to migas, I used mushrooms. The recipe is perfect if you have some stale bread laying around that you don't want to throw out. Serves 2 What you need: 1 baguette (preferably stale) 2 cups mushrooms, sliced (I recommend a darker mushroom) 3 cloves garlic (cut in half lengthwise, with skin left on) 1/2 red pepper, diced 1/2 green pepper, diced 6 tbsp olive oil 1.5 tsp salt pepper Break the baguette into a few pieces and place in a large bowl. Fill the bowl with water until it rises just above the bread and let sit. The water will soak into the bread within a few minutes. In a large skillet, sauté the peppers, garlic, mushrooms, and 1/2 tsp salt in 3 tbsp olive oil until lightly brown (around 15 minutes). Move the vegetables onto a plate. Strain the bread ...

Spanakorizo is a Greek rice dish made with onions, spinach, olive oil, and lemon juice. In this version I added garlic, mushrooms, and dill. Serves 3 What you need: 1 yellow onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, diced 8-10 white mushrooms, sliced 5 cups fresh spinach 1/2 tsp dill 1/3 cup olive oil 1 1/2 cup basmati rice 6 cups water 2 tbsp lemon juice salt pepper In a deep pan, sauté the onion and garlic in the olive oil until transparent (15-20 min). Add the mushrooms, spinach, and dill and sauté for another 7 minutes until the spinach is wilted. Add the rice along with the water. Stir occasionally on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until rice is cooked. Add the lemon juice, salt, and pepper and stir. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.