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Solar Samosa Pie
The savory vegetarian filling in this pie can be served on its own as a side dish. Just add the peas about five minutes before taking the pot out of the Sun Oven. Traditional pie crust can also be used in place of the filo dough.
Sun Oven Samosa Pie
Ingredients
2 tablespoons butter
2 russet potatoes (about 1-pound), peeled and diced
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Solar Red Lentil Soup
Red lentils cook quickly, don’t need to be presoaked, and are delicious. What’s not to like about that?
Sun Oven Red Lentil Soup with Feta
Ingredients
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, finely chopped
Solar Rutabaga and Potato Mash
The rutabaga and buttermilk give these mashed potatoes great flavor and texture.
Sun Oven Potato and Rutabaga Mash
Ingredients
1 large rutabaga (about 1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
Creamy Tomato Soup Minus the Cream
Serve this soup with a grilled cheese sandwich for the ultimate feel good lunch or light dinner.
Sun Oven Tomato Soup
Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil, divided
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 (28-ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 cup arborio rice
2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
Solar Braised Greens
There’s no excuse for not eating your veggies if you have a Sun Oven. Most vegetables come out great with just a little oil and sunshine.
Sun Oven Braised Baby Bok Choy
Ingredients
4 baby bok choy, quartered lengthwise
1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
salt
Preparation
In a dark, lightweight pot, toss the bok choy with the oil. Season with salt. Cover and cook in the SunOven until soft, 30 to 4o minutes.
Sweet Potato and Pumpkin Purée
This lovely purée goes well with roasts but could also be served with a salad for a light, vegetarian lunch.
Sunny Sun Oven Sweet Potato Purée
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
2 medium sweet potatoes (about 1 pound total) peeled and chopped
1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin
1 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon curry powder
Vegetarian Solar Stew with Kale
Solar Roasted Squash Soup
Butternut squash and sage go together splendidly, and this simple, satisfying soup is perfect for this time of year. The squash can be roasted early in the day when sunshine is abundant while the rest can be done stovetop later in the day after sunset.
Sun Oven Butternut Squash Soup with Sage
Ingredients
1 (2 1/2 to 3 pound) butternut squash, peeled, seeded and sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 leek (white and pale green parts only), sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 fresh sage leaves or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried
3 cups broth, chicken or vegetable
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (optional)
salt and pepper to taste
Preparation
Set Sun Oven out to preheat.
Coat two baking pans with cooking spray.
Arrange the squash in single layers in the pans and coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle kosher salt over squash. Cross stack the pans in the Sun Oven and cook until the squash is just soft, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove from Sun Oven and cut into chunks.
While the squash is cooking heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and leak and cook, strirring often, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and sage and continue cooking for another minute. Add the roasted squash to the pot with the broth. Return the pot to the Sun Oven and cook until the squash is very soft, about 1 hour.
Remove the sage leaves (if using fresh) and discard. Using an immersion blender puree the soup until smooth. Stir in the cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Makes 4 servings
Sun Oven Tuscan Soup
This classic Italian soup is served in almost every home and restaurant in Tuscany. Traditional Tuscan bread is called “pane sciocco” and is made without salt. I’ve never found real, salt-free, Tuscan bread outside of Tuscany. Not even in other regions of Italy. A crusty sourdough is a good substitute for this Sun Oven version.
Ribollita
Ingredients
1/2 pound dried cannellini beans, previously cooked, cooking liquid reserved
2 tablespoons olive oil, plus additional for serving
2 onions, chopped (about 2 cups)
3 carrots, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
3 stalks celery, coarsely chopped (about 1 cup)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 can (28 ounce) Italian plum tomatoes in puree, chopped
4 cups shredded savoy cabbage
4 cups coarsely chopped kale
1 bay leaf
1 sprig rosemary
Vegetable broth
Good quality crusty bread, (preferably 1 day old), sliced
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese, for serving
Preparation
Set Sun Oven out to preheat. Remove leveling tray and place a rack or trivet on the floor of the cooking chamber.
In a large stockpot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until beginning to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the carrots, celery, garlic, pepper, and red pepper flakes. Add the cabbage, kale, bay leaf, rosemary, and 1 cup broth. Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven. Cook until the vegetables are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Remove the pot from the Sun Oven. Leave the Sun Oven out. Discard the bay leaf and rosemary sprig. Put about 1/3 of the cooked vegetables into the bowl of a food processor and puree until smooth. Return the puree to the stockpot.
Drain the beans, reserving their cooking liquid. Put half of the beans in a food processor with a little of their liquid and puree until smooth. Add enough vegetable broth to the bean’s cooking liquid to measure 7 cups. Add the whole and pureed beans along with the vegetable broth mixture to the stockpot and stir to combine. Put the stockpot back in the Sun Oven and continue cooking until heated through, about 45 minutes. Season to taste with additional salt and pepper.
Ladle a little soup into each serving bowl. Line each bowl with the sliced bread. Cover with more soup. Sprinkle each serving with Parmesan cheese and drizzle with olive oil.
Makes 8 servings.
Penne with Solar Roasted Veggies
The winter months are challenging for solar cooks in more ways than one. Even on sunny days the window of opportunity is smaller and if you don’t get your food in early you might miss it. A hot dinner straight from the Sun Oven to the table is pretty much impossible. Still, with a little planning, at least part of your evening meal can be cooked in the sun then completed, or warmed up, at dinnertime. Roasting a batch of vegetables early in the day will give you a head start on dinner.
Sun Oven Pasta with Roasted Vegetables
Ingredients
2 zucchini, halved and cut lengthwise into 1/2-inch slices
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into strips
1 red onion, thinly sliced
1 tablespoon olive oil
