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

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

2 teaspoons garam masala

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

Additional melted butter or Olive oil

6 sheets filo dough, thawed

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Melt the butter in a medium pot. Add the potatoes, onion, garlic, garam masala, and turmeric.

Toss to coat the vegetables with the seasoning. Add 1/4 to 1/2 cup water and season with salt.

Cover and cook in the Sun Oven until the potatoes are soft and have absorbed most of the water, about 1 hour. Remove the pot from the Sun Oven and stir in the peas and the lemon juice. Adjust for salt and let cool.

Coat baking pan with cooking spray. Line the pan with one sheet of the filo dough, letting the excess hang over the sides. Brush with the melted butter or oil. Repeat with three more sheets of dough.

Spread the potato filling evenly in the pan. Cut the remaining two sheets of filo dough in half. Top the potato mixture with one of the halves and brush with butter or oil. Repeat with the remaining three sheets. Fold the excess dough over the four sheets.

Bake the pie in the Sun Oven until lightly browned, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Cool on a rack for 15 minutes before serving.

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

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, minced

1 bay leaf

2 cups red lentils, picked over and rinsed

8 cups water

salt and pepper to taste

1 teaspoon lemon zest

Juice of 1 lemon

1 cup crumbled feta cheese

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a large pot, combine the oil, onion, garlic, carrots, red pepper and rosemary.

Cover and cook in the Sun Oven until the vegetables begin to soften, about 20 minutes.

Add the bay leaf, lentils, and water. Stir, replace the lid, and continue cooking until the lentils are completely cooked, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Remove from Sun Oven. Discard bay leaf.

Stir in the lemon zest and juice.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and top with feta.

Makes 6 to 8 servings.

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

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1/2 cup buttermilk, at room temperature

Chopped chives

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Use two stackable pots or two that will fit side by side in the Sun Oven.

Put the rutabaga in one pot and and enough water to come about half way up without covering them. Do the same with the potatoes in the other pot.

Place both pots, covered, in the Sun Oven and cook until the vegetables are tender, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Drain the rutabaga, pressing gently to release any excess liquid. Drain the potatoes.

Return both the rutabaga and the potatoes to one of the pots. Add the butter and mash well.

Continue mashing, gradually adding the buttermilk, until smooth.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Transfer to a serving bowl and top with the chopped chives.

Makes 4 servings.

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

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a large soup pot or Dutch oven, heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over medium heat.

Add the onion and cook until slightly softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and red pepper.

Add the tomatoes with their juice and use a potato masher to break them up into pieces. Stir in the broth and rice.

Cover and transfer to the Sun Oven. Cook until the rice is very soft and the flavors have blended, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Remove pot from Sun Oven. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ladle into bowls and sprinkle basil on each serving.

Makes 6 servings.

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.

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

1/8 teaspoon ground pepper

3/4 cup sour cream, divided

1/4 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and cook until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sweet potatoes, pumpkin, broth, cinnamon, curry powder, and pepper. Season to taste with salt.

Cover and transfer to Sun Oven. Cook until the sweet potatoes are very tender, 45 minutes to 1 1/2 hours. Let cool slightly. Using an immersion blender, food processor, or stand blender puree the mixture until smooth, working in batches if necessary and adding additional hot broth as needed. Stir in 1/4 cup of the sour cream and adjust for salt.

Serve with a dollop of the remaining sour cream and a sprinkling of the parsley over each serving.

Makes 4 servings.

Adding kale towards the end of cooking boosts both the flavor and nutrients of this solar simmered stew.

Sun Oven Curried Lentil Stew

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 leek, white and pale green parts only, cleaned and chopped

4 cups water

1 pound butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded, and cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks

1 cup brown lentils, picked over, rinsed, and drained

1 tablespoon curry powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

salt and pepper to taste

2 cups coarsely chopped kale, lightly packed

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a large pot or Dutch oven, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and leek and saute, stirring often, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the water, squash, lentils, curry powder, and cumin.

Cover and transfer to Sun Oven

Cook until squash and lentils are soft. Stir in kale and continue cooking until tender, about 10 minutes longer. Season to taste with salt and pepper and serve.

Makes 6 servings.

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

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.

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

Salt and pepper to taste

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, torn into pieces if large

1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese

8 ounces (dry) whole wheat penne

additional olive oil for serving

Preparation

Set Sun Oven out to preheat.

In a large bowl, toss the zucchini, bell pepper, and onion with the olive oil. Spread the vegetables out in even layers in two 11-x-7-inch baking pans.

Cross stack the pans in the Sun Oven and cook until vegetables are tender, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Prepare the pasta according to the instructions on the package.

In a large bowl, toss the pasta with the vegetables, basil, and cheese. Divide onto plates and drizzle each serving with a little olive oil.

makes 2 to 4 servings