One-Pot Meal on 🍽️ Recipes & ⚗️ Analysis by Diego

Lentil Soup with Aubergine and Tomato

Sun, 11 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Lentil Soup with Aubergine and Tomato

A rustic, complete lentil soup, 100% plant-based and made in one pot: a soffritto of onion, carrot and celery, grated aubergine that melts into the base, a double hit of tomato (paste and passata) and lentils cooked gently. Blending a small part at the end lets you decide how creamy to make it, while still leaving lentils and vegetables to chew on. It is a dish to make unhurried and then let rest: the longer it waits, the more the flavours come together. It goes well with a rustic focaccina or a vegetable schiacciata.

Mexican Black Bean, Corn and Paprika Soup

Fri, 09 Oct 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Mexican Black Bean, Corn and Paprika Soup

Black bean and corn soup is a classic Mexican soup, which calls for pre-cooking the black beans and a few ingredients that are hard to find outside Central America. This is a simplified version, 100% plant-based, made in a single pot, with only the recipe's core ingredients. The chilli is listed as optional, meaning you add more or less to taste, or leave it out. Leaving it out does change the final result noticeably: you get a more delicate soup, in which the creamy notes of the beans and the sweetness of the corn come through more. The avocado is added sliced or diced, raw, straight onto the plate: it brings creaminess without altering the flavour. In this Mediterranean version the avocado, too, can be left out. What I do recommend is eating the soup with a rustic focaccina or the multicolour cloud focaccine or, for an extra flavour boost, with a vegetable schiacciata.

Cold Mediterranean couscous

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Cold Mediterranean couscous

Set the amount of ingredients you want to use with one of the two options below:

you can pick the number of servings with x1, x2, x3 and so on. Servings are indicative, adjust them to your preference.
you can set the amount of Medium couscous you want to use. For example, if you want to use 340 grams, type 340 in the box below.

Quantity

Medium couscous (min g, max g): g

1. Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Medium couscous	320 g
Tuna in extra-virgin olive oil (good quality)	320 g
Cherry tomatoes	300 g
Medium cucumber	200 g (1 cucumber)
Taggiasca olives	80 g
Capers in salt (rinsed)	2 tbsp
Fresh spring onions	30 g (2 spring onions)
Fresh basil	to taste
Fresh oregano (or dried)	4 g
Lemon (juice; zest optional)	40 ml (1 lemon)
Extra-virgin olive oil (for dressing)	40 g
Extra-virgin olive oil (for couscous and finishing)	to taste
Water (or light vegetable stock)	380 ml
Salt, black pepper	to taste

2. Method

Bring 380 ml water to the boil with a pinch of salt. Pour it over the 320 g couscous with a drizzle of oil, stir briefly, cover with a plate or lid and let it rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork and let it cool completely.
Cut the 300 g cherry tomatoes into quarters, dice the 200 g cucumber into small cubes and slice the 30 g spring onions into thin rounds. Place everything in a large bowl.
Rinse the 2 tbsp capers under running water to remove excess salt. Drain the 320 g tuna, reserving a little of its oil. Pit the 80 g Taggiasca olives if necessary.
In a large bowl, combine the cold couscous with the vegetables, the tuna broken into large chunks, olives and capers. Dress with 40 g extra-virgin olive oil, the juice of the lemon (40 ml), the oregano (4 g), salt and freshly ground black pepper. Toss gently.
Cover the bowl with a plate or lid and let it rest in the refrigerator for 20-30 minutes. This step allows the flavours to meld together.
Serve garnished with fresh basil leaves torn by hand and a drizzle of oil. Keeps in the fridge, covered, until the next day; adjust oil and lemon before serving.

3. Storage

Room temperature: consume within 2 hours of preparation due to the presence of tuna; beyond this time, bacterial growth becomes a real risk, especially in summer.
Refrigerator: keeps covered for up to 24 hours; the flavours meld further and the dish actually improves after a few hours of rest. Adjust oil and lemon before serving.
Freezer: not recommended. The couscous turns gummy upon thawing and the raw vegetables (cherry tomatoes, cucumber, spring onion) lose all crunch, releasing water and becoming soggy.

🌾 Want to explore couscous flavour bases further? Read the full guide.

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Couscous with Grilled Vegetables

Set the amount of ingredients you want to use with one of the two options below:

you can pick the number of servings with x1, x2, x3 and so on. Servings are indicative, adjust them to your preference.
you can set the amount of Medium couscous you want to use. For example, if you want to use 340 grams, type 340 in the box below.

Quantity

Medium couscous (min g, max g): g

1. Ingredients

Ingredient	Quantity
Medium couscous	320 g
Medium courgettes	400 g (½ courgette)
Large aubergine	400 g (¼ aubergine)
Peppers (red and yellow)	400 g (½ pepper)
Large Tropea red onion	152 g (about ¼ onion)
Cooked chickpeas	248 g
Sun-dried tomatoes in oil	2 pieces
Pine nuts	30 g
Fresh mint	to taste
Basil	to taste
Lemon (juice and zest)	40 ml (¼ lemon)
Garlic	16 g (1 small clove)
Extra-virgin olive oil (for dressing)	4 g
Extra-virgin olive oil (for grilling and finishing)	to taste
Vegetable broth	360 ml
Salt, pepper	to taste
Smoked paprika	4 g

2. Method

Cut the 400 g courgettes and the 400 g aubergine into 5 mm slices, the 400 g peppers into quarters and the 152 g red onion into thick rings. Brush with a little oil and a pinch of salt. Grill on a hot griddle pan for 3-4 minutes per side until golden.
Once cool enough to handle, cut all grilled vegetables into 2-3 cm pieces and transfer to a large bowl.
Bring 360 ml vegetable broth to the boil. Place 320 g couscous in a bowl with a drizzle of oil and a pinch of salt. Pour over the boiling broth, cover with a plate or lid and leave to rest for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.
In a small bowl, whisk 4 g olive oil, 40 ml lemon juice with the grated zest, 16 g garlic finely grated, 4 g smoked paprika, salt and pepper.
In a dry frying pan, toast 30 g pine nuts over medium heat for about 2 minutes, stirring often. Set aside.
In the bowl with the vegetables, add the fluffed couscous, 248 g chickpeas, 2 pieces sun-dried tomatoes sliced into thin strips and the lemon dressing. Toss gently. Add mint and basil torn by hand.
Divide among plates, top with the toasted pine nuts and a drizzle of olive oil.

3. Storage

Let cool completely before refrigerating.
Room temperature: keeps for 3-4 hours in a closed container. Beyond that, the grilled vegetables release liquid, the dish loses freshness and bacterial growth risk increases.
Refrigerator: up to 2 days in an airtight container. Before serving, bring back to room temperature and adjust with a drizzle of oil and a few drops of lemon.
Freezer: not recommended. Grilled vegetables lose their texture when thawed; the couscous becomes rubbery.

🌾 Want to explore couscous flavour bases further? Read the full guide.

Legume, Grain and Vegetable Soup

Sat, 25 Jul 2026 00:00:00 +0000

Legume, Grain and Vegetable Soup

1. Composition and Proportions
2. Ingredients
3. Method
4. Storage
5. Steps and Ingredients: Essential vs. Optional
6. Seasonal Variations and Substitutions
7. Technical Notes and Tips

Set the amount of ingredients you want to use with one of the two options below:

you can pick the number of servings with x1, x2, x3 and so on. Servings are indicative, adjust them to your preference.
you can set the amount of Green lentils, dried you want to use. For example, if you want to use 340 grams, type 340 in the box below.

Quantity

Green lentils, dried (min g, max g): g

1. Composition and Proportions

In Italy there are countless variations of rustic soup, linked to regional traditions, seasonal ingredient availability and personal taste. For this guide we will use the following reference proportions: