Meatless Archives - Taste With The Eyes

Egg Drop Soup with Spinach, Tofu & Chili Crisp

🥚 🍲 Egg Drop Soup 🍲 🥚
with
Spinach, Tofu, and Chili Crisp

Egg Drop Soup is one of those wonderfully simple dishes that proves a handful of everyday ingredients can become something truly satisfying. Soft wisps of egg are suspended in a fragrant broth seasoned with fresh ginger and white pepper, while firm cubes of tofu and fresh spinach transform it into a light meal rather than just a starter. It comes together in about 15 minutes, making it an excellent choice for lunch, a cozy dinner, or whenever you’re craving something warm and nourishing.

Offer chili crisp on the side so everyone can season their own bowl to taste. A drizzle of the aromatic chili oil and a few crispy bits add color, texture, and a pleasant kick without overwhelming the delicate broth. It’s an easy way to personalize each serving while letting the delicate flavors of the broth, tofu, spinach, and ginger shine.

Egg Drop Soup Recipe

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Capellini al Pomodoro

🌿🍅 Capellini al Pomodoro 🍅🌿

Do we really need another pasta with tomato recipe? The answer is yes. Yes, we do.

Especially when it is peak tomato season.

There is no better time to enjoy tomatoes than right now, when they are at their sweetest, juiciest, and most flavorful. A simple bowl of Capellini al Pomodoro celebrates the beauty of fresh tomatoes with just a few ingredients—allowing the tomato itself to take center stage.

For this version, I use Campari tomatoes, which are ideal for this recipe. These petite tomatoes are known for their naturally sweet flavor, low acidity, and juicy texture. They are larger than cherry tomatoes but smaller than traditional slicing tomatoes, with a perfect balance of sweetness and tang. When gently cooked with garlic and olive oil, they soften into a silky, fresh tomato sauce while still maintaining some of their beautiful summer tomato character.

Sometimes the simplest pasta dishes are the ones we return to again and again. Fresh tomatoes, fragrant basil, good olive oil, a little butter, and a shower of Parmigiano-Reggiano are all you need for a bowl of pasta that tastes like summer.

Capellini al Pomodoro Recipe

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Spaghetti, Burrata, Arugula-Basil Pesto for Spring

Spaghetti, Burrata, Arugula-Basil Pesto
With Edible Flowers for Spring
🌿 🌸 🌿

Spring naturally calls for lighter, greener cooking—dishes that feel effortless yet still deliver plenty of flavor. This spaghetti with arugula-basil pesto fits squarely into that space. It’s bright from the herbs, gently peppery from the arugula, and softened with a touch of mint that gives the whole dish a fresh, garden-like quality. The addition of burrata at the end makes the dish feel a little more special, its delicate shell giving way to a soft, creamy center that melts into the pasta.

One of the small techniques that makes this dish stand out is the use of hot pasta water in the pesto. Instead of a dense, oily sauce, a splash of that starchy water loosens everything into a silky style coating that clings beautifully to the spaghetti. It’s not cream-based, but it has that same smooth, cohesive texture.

Once plated, the pasta becomes a canvas. A scatter of basil leaves, a pinch of red chile flakes, and a soft, milky burrata on top bring contrast in both flavor and texture. And for a final seasonal touch, edible flowers add a pop of color that makes the dish feel like it belongs at the center of a spring table—simple, vibrant, and just a little bit celebratory.

Spaghetti, Burrata, Arugula-Basil Pesto for Spring

Springtime Spaghetti Recipe

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Matzah and Haroset

Matzah and Haroset
🫓 🫓 🫓 🍎 🍎 🍎

Each year at Passover, we journey in our hearts from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy. Through foods steeped in meaning, we are compelled to experience that journey, just as our ancestors did over 3,000 years ago. Among the symbolic foods on our table are matzah and haroset.

This year, we served special handmade shmura matzos baked in Israel, certified to the highest kosher standards. (Thank you, Rich!) Shmura matzah—“watched” matzah—is carefully supervised from wheat harvest to baking to ensure it stays completely unleavened, making it the most authentic choice for Passover.

It is known as “the bread of affliction that our ancestors ate in the land of Egypt,” reminding us of a life shaped by hardship—plain, quickly made, and born of necessity. Yet that same flatbread takes on new meaning at the moment of liberation. As we prepared to leave Egypt, there was no time for dough to rise. What we baked in haste became the bread we carried into freedom, marking the urgency and immediacy of our departure. These two meanings—affliction and haste—are intertwined. Matzah is both the bread of our suffering and the bread of our redemption.

Matzah and Haroset

Haroset, another essential food on our Seder table, is a sweet, spiced fruit and nut mixture that carries its own story. Its coarse texture and reddish-brown color evoke the bricks and mortar we labored over as slaves, shaping and stacking them to build Pharaoh’s cities. Its sweetness reflects the joy we felt the moment Pharaoh finally freed us from slavery, following God’s sending of the tenth plague.

Here, I’m sharing my sister-in-law’s recipe, a cherished family favorite that brings both delicious flavor and tradition to the table. (Thank you, Kristy!)

Haroset Recipe
🍎 🍋 🍷 🍯

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Gochujang Jjigae – A Spicy Vegan Stew

Gochujang Jjigae - A Spicy Vegan Stew

Gochujang Jjigae – A Spicy Vegan Stew
🍲 🌶️ 🥬 🥔 🍲
With Collards, Potatoes, and Tofu

Gochujang jjigae is a classic Korean stew, brimming with bold fermented flavors, tender vegetables, and usually some type of protein—meat, seafood, or tofu.

Traditionally, Korean stews rely on leafy greens like napa cabbage, radish greens, or spinach, but in this version, I’ve added collard greens. They aren’t commonly found in Korean cooking, yet their sturdy leaves and mild brassica flavor make them surprisingly compatible with the rich, spicy broth.

Collards soften beautifully during simmering while contributing a subtle sweetness that balances the depth of the gochujang and doenjang. They also hold their shape well, giving each spoonful a satisfying bite. Beyond flavor, collard greens are packed with vitamins K, A, and C, along with fiber, calcium, and antioxidants, making this stew not only comforting but nourishing as well.

Tender potatoes add body to the stew, while tofu soaks up the spicy, savory broth, creating a hearty, well-rounded dish. Finished with a drizzle of toasted sesame oil, a sprinkling of scallions, and a few grinds of black pepper, this gochujang jjigae is a vibrant, warming bowl that’s perfect served alongside steamed white rice. It’s a simple, vegan-friendly way to experience bold Korean flavors with an unexpected leafy green twist.

Vegan Gochujang Jjigae Recipe

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🥚 🍲 Egg Drop Soup 🍲 🥚 with Spinach, Tofu, and Chili Crisp