Asparagus and Ham Roll-ups with Mornay Sauce

 Asparagus and Ham Roll Ups with Mornay Sauce

Vegan, Dairy Free and Egg Free options included!

Asparagus and Ham Roll Ups with Mornay Sauce
https://youtu.be/PpIKPG958ZY

There’s nothing better than fresh Ontario asparagus! This is asparagus season and I love to include it in as many recipes as I can. 

I would normally wrap the asparagus and ham in homemade crepes but I recently tried wrapping them up in flour tortillas and they’re just as good. They save a lot of time too.

You will need, for 2 people: (2 roll ups per person)

12 asparagus stalks - cooked ( 3 per roll up )- see how to cook asparagus below

4 flour tortillas- you can also use corn tortillas if you prefer

4 slices of cooked ham - ( one slice per roll up). For vegan options, replace ham with fried mushrooms- delicious😋

One and a half cups of Mornay sauce - this is basically a Bechamel sauce with grated cheddar cheese added. Recipe on how to make your own below, dairy free option, vegan, included below.

Directions:

Begin by cooking your asparagus. Simply put then in a shallow pan with some water and a drizzle of olive oil, lightly salt them and let them cook until fork tender. Follow link below for YouTube tutorial.

How to Cook Asparagus

https://youtu.be/Y7_7jtvaNh0

Lay 3 asparagus stalks onto each tortilla. Top with cooked ham.

Spoon Mornay sauce over the asparagus, about 3 tbsps for each. Roll the tortilla up and place into a baking dish seam side down. Spoon more Mornay sauce over the tortilla. Then sprinkle with grated cheddar cheese. I used sharp cheddar but you can use whatever you like.

Place baking dish into a 375 to 400 oven and bake for about 20 minutes until cheese all melted and bubbly and tortilla is heated through and through. All the ingredients are cooked so they don’t need much time in the oven. You may also want to broil for a couple of minutes to get the top all bubbly. Keep an eye on it though! Don’t know about you but every time I broil, I end up burning it😔

Mornay Sauce: This sauce goes well with other vegetables as well, such as cauliflower and broccoli.

2 tbsps butter ( or vegan margarine)

2 tbsps flour

1/4 tsp salt

Pepper to taste

1/2 tsp dry mustard ( leave it out if you don’t have it)

1 1/4 cups of milk, I use 2% (or almond or soy milk)

1 handful of grated cheddar cheese, I use sharp cheddar ( or any vegan cheese that you like)- (be careful, vegan cheese tends to be saltier than regular cheese- so I would put a little less) Also, vegan cheese may need a flavour boost, so consider adding a bit of garlic powder

More grated cheddar, or vegan cheese, to sprinkle on top.

In a small pot over medium heat, melt your butter. Using a wooden spoon, stir in your flour. Add your salt, pepper and dry mustard and stir. Let cook for a few minutes. Stir in the milk and then add the grated cheese. Continue to stir over medium heat. The cheese will all melt and it will begin to thicken. Continually stir or it will stick to the bottom of the pot. Once thickened, remove from heat. This should only take a few minutes. It will coat your wooden spoon when thickened. It’s ready to go!

Pasta Alla Norma

 Pasta Alla Norma- A surprisingly quick and easy recipe using eggplant. It’s also dairy and egg free, vegan.

Pasta Alla Norma, Dairy and Egg Free, Vegan
https://youtu.be/hDyK40Ydz4c

You will need: ( for 4 people)

1 medium sized eggplant- peeled and cubed. It will shrink to almost nothing when cooked so you can put more if you like.

Extra virgin olive oil- you will need several tbsps to fry the eggplant. Eggplant tends to absorb a lot of oil while cooking so you want to use a good olive oil

Half a medium onion, chopped

2 medium garlic cloves, minced

1 jar Passata, or can of Italian plum tomatoes 

3/4 of a Tsp each of dried basil and oregano, or to taste

3/4 tsp salt, or to taste 

pepper, to taste

Vegan mozzarella cheese to sprinkle on top, if desired. If you don’t have a dairy allergy, top with grated Parmesan or Romano cheese.

Pasta- (400 grams)I used penne rigate but you can use rigatoni or any broad or large pasta shape.

In a large frying pan, drizzle 3 to 4 Tbsps of some good olive oil.

Saute, over medium to medium high heat the eggplant until almost fully cooked through. Should only take a few minutes. Add a little more olive oil as needed.

Remove eggplant from frying pan. It will be returned to the pan to finish cooking once the sauce is cooked.

In the same pan, drizzle a couple of tbsps of olive oil and fry the onion and garlic over medium heat for a minute or so.

Add your jar of Passata or can of plum tomatoes. Stir and add your basil, oregano salt and pepper. Let simmer for about half an hour until reduced and thickened.

Boil the pasta.

Return the eggplant to the sauce and simmer for about 5 more minutes until eggplant is cooked through and through. I like to see the chunks of eggplant in my sauce. If you prefer, you can cook the eggplant in the sauce a lot longer so it disintegrates. Easily becomes invisible if the children might be hesitant about eating eggplant 😁

Taste for seasoning.

Boil your pasta and add to the eggplant sauce! Top with any cheese of your choice. 

Few ingredients, but delicious 😋 

Vegan Banana Muffins

 Vegan Banana Muffins

This will be the easiest and quickest banana muffin recipe you will find. Just stir all the ingredients in a bowl with a fork! They are so tasty and moist without eggs or dairy.

Vegan Banana Muffins
https://youtu.be/whChm6coYss

You will need:

5 very ripe bananas - I usually freeze my overripe bananas and pull them out for this recipe. Freeze them whole with the peel on.

Remove them from freezer about one hour prior to use. Once thawed, peel and put into a large bowl. Using a fork, mash the bananas.

Then stir in: ( stir after each ingredient)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 egg replacer ( 1 tsp egg replacer plus 2 tbsps water)

You can also add 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce or 1tbsp chia seeds with 3 tbsps water to replace the 1 egg.  If using chia seeds, let sit with water for 5 minutes.

1/3 cup melted vegan margarine- I melt it in the microwave then let sit until cooled

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups unbleached flour - stir in half at a time until very well incorporated 

1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, if desired. You can also add dates or raisins, or chocolate chips.......or nothing at all.

Line your muffin tray with muffin or cupcake liners. Fill each with 2 tbsps of batter.

Bake in a preheated 375 F oven for 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in muffin tray.

Makes 12 muffins.