Italian workshop

This Tuesday (20.03.2018), the second workshop with our favorite Chef Nikoleta Koleva took place. We were very excited to welcome more than 20 guests who gained new culinary knowledge and cooked together at the bar in ZELEN in Serdika Center.

What did we prepare?

 

An unconventional PESTO
Ingredients: 20 g shelled hemp seeds
1 tbsp lemon juice
15 g nutritional yeast
½ tsp spirulina
1 clove garlic
1 cup fresh basil
¼ cup olive oil
Pinch of salt and pepper

Preparation method:
Blend the garlic, hemp seeds, spirulina, nutritional yeast, and olive oil well. Add the remaining ingredients and blend again. You can add more salt if desired, or more olive oil to make it thinner. Add the ready pesto to bruschettas (as we did) or as a sauce to your favorite pasta.
 

Vegan version of Ferrero Rocher chocolates

Ingredients for the core:
200 g fresh dates (pitted and pre-soaked)
200 g hazelnuts
50 g cocoa butter
20 g raw cocoa powder
½ tsp vanilla
Pinch of salt

Ingredients for coating:
2 tbsp coconut nectar
150 g cocoa butter, melted in a double boiler
80 g cocoa powder
Pinch of salt

Preparation method:
Before you start, set aside 25 hazelnuts, one of which you will later place in each chocolate. Grind the remaining nuts finely in a food processor and set them aside. In the processor, blend the dates until they form a thick paste and add the remaining ingredients and 1/3 of the ground hazelnuts to them. Form small balls from the mixture, placing one whole hazelnut in each. Let them firm up in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. In the meantime, make the chocolate glaze in a bowl, mixing all the coating ingredients until homogeneous. Using a fork, dip the chocolates in the chocolate, then roll them in the remaining 2/3 of the ground hazelnuts. They will need to dry slightly at room temperature and are ready for consumption.

Well, these were the Italian vegan suggestions! We at ZELEN admit that we enjoyed the eating part the most, as Chef Nikoleta and all the guests had filled the food with much love and smiles, which made both the chocolates and the bruschettas exceptionally delicious!