102 replies to this topic

[Gifted Gourmet]

I will post my daughter's photos of her vegan Thanksgiving meal ...

photos from the cooking and feasting: pumpkin-veggie-bean stew, cranberry-citrus sauce, and Bonny Doon apple-pear brandy for dessert: 

pumpkin-veggie-bean stew

cranberry citrus sauce

The completed meal ...

[Pontormo]

Since the weather has been so balmy lately, I've been putting off a meal I had been meaning to prepare for quite a while. However, parsnips do not last forever, so last night I had:

Black lentils with braised root vegetables and red wine sauce
Rutabaga-celariac-potato mash
Green salad tossed with slivers of clementine

The entire dinner was based on an eye-catching photograph in Deborah Madison's Local Flavors which I've always found much more interesting to read for information and inspiration than for the recipes. This meal evokes the elaborate steps of preparation that go into dishes in Greens as opposed to the quick, pared-down recipes one finds in most of her recent books. It was actually quite fun to assemble everything.

The best part of the dish is the wine sauce, made by sautéeing diced vegetables in stages, ending with mushrooms and herbs, then mixing them with a little tomato paste and flour before pouring in red wine and a quart of water along with the dried porcini that had been soaking in it during the entire process. After a long simmer, vegetables are strained and liquid is reduced until thick. Then a little mushroom soy sauce and butter.

For the braised root vegetables: whole shallots are sautéed with lengths of carrot in butter and olive oil. (This could easily be a vegan meal, though the butter contributed much.) Then, parsnips and mushrooms are thrown in with herbs. Finally, the sauce is added with water. (Why not let half reduce in the braise?)

The remainder of the sauce is added to tiny Beluga lentils. Along with the fluffy mash, all is plated together, then sprinkled with a gremolata of sorts: garlic minced with parsley. This last touch really brightens ( I am starting to get sick of that word) the dish. Nigella Lawson offers a riff on the recipe in Feast, where she adds pancetta and lots of other bits of vegetables to the lentils. As pretty as Beluga lentils are, they're a bit too tiny for the masses of other components in the meal. I would use Le Puy instead next time and reserve the Belugas for speckling soup.

It surprised me how the absence of meat made everything seem much lighter than it ought to have been.

[Chufi]

Made some pretty fantastic beetroot ravioli tonight.
On Monday, I had cooked down some onions.. not quite the EG onion confit, just a huge pile of onions cooked in a bit of olive oil for hours until soft, then browned, with some rosemary, sage, garlic & thyme added. Had that as a pasta sauce on Monday which was pretty good..
Today I diced up some cooked beetroot really really small, mixed together equal amounts of beetroot and the onion-stuff, added some ricotta and parmesan, and used this to stuff ravioli. Served with a chive/lemon butter.

good!

[Pontormo]

Given the lively discussion on Meat and Morality in a different forum, I am reviving a cooking topic which never caught on the same way that Regrettable Meals did as an alternative to the Dinner thread.

Here, recent posts on dishes from Campania (Naples, etc.) might inspire others wishing to prepare more vegetarian meals. Cf. my own post on pasta stuffed with eggplant, basil and bechamel, then Foodman's gorgeous Ziti alla Sorrentina.

Others?

[ludja]

Here's a nice dinner that we had about a week ago:

chickpea and parsley soup

red peppers stuffed with quinoa, walnuts and provolone (recipe here

vanilla pudding



This is the first time I used quinoa. We really liked it and I will definately be makinh this particular dish again. I made the soup w/chicken stock but it would also work well with veg stock.

[hathor]

My cat gets so depressed when we have vegetarian meals. Bless his little carnivore heart.

[plk]

I'm going to heartily second that...there's a superb Eritrean restaurant across the street from one of my workplaces (Abyssinia, Jan Pieter Heijestraat 190hs), and every time I eat there I'm just amazed that there's a cuisine that's so interesting and yet i'm still so unfamiliar with the mechanics of cooking it. I would really suggest an eGullet cookoff of an injera-based dish, but it's one of those kitchens that seems to resist popular adoption. Maybe the sourcing of teff is an issue. And good recipes. Still, maybe I'll give it a go this winter...I have some Dutch friends who spend a lot of time in Ethiopia/Eritrea and this cuisine is what they cook most of the time, they've gotten amazingly good at it.

Sorry for quoting a really old post, but ... I agree! Some of the best vegan food I've ever made is Ethiopian. We even made the injera. I went to a local Ethiopian restaurant and asked if I could buy teff flour from them, and not only did they agree, but they hustled my husband and I back to the kitchen so that we could see how they made it and practice making it ourselves. It was great! We never got as good at it as they are, and just bought the injera from them the next time, but it sure is amazing food. Of course, it's all made infinitely easier if you can also get berbere spice locally rather than make it yourself. I did that once, but now I just buy it. And if you use it on home fries ... mmm.

[Mallet]

I already posted this in the Canadian Thanksgiving thread, but we decided to have a vegeterian dinner this year and it was great!

Gougères (French Laundry)


Sweet Dumpling Squash Soup (Charlie Trotter's Vegetable)


Tomato Sorbet with tomato salad, basil oil and garlic tuile (French Laundry)


Vegetable Tourte with chive-cream sauce


Wild rice, brussel sprout, and caramelized onion soup (Charlie Trotter's Vegetable)


Ontario cheeses


Poached apple, apple ice cream, warm cream of wheat (French Laundry)


In retrospect, maybe the quantities of dairy involved stretch the definition of vegeterian a little

Edited by Mallet, 31 January 2008 - 10:32 PM.

[Ce'nedra]

I've been eating ALOT of vegetarian lately (for the past few weeks) because according to some Asian/Buddhist (I'm not really a Buddhist but I follow -sort of -anyway) tradition, you're supposed to for 49 days or something like that when someone in the family passed away (my grandma). My mum, aunts and uncle have been strictly following this whole vego thing (no garlic and something else included -strange) and so I just eat whatever is placed in front of me really.
That explains why I haven't really been posting much! I haven't done any cooking recently!
But I shall post some vego meals I've had these days soon enough (when I get home later!).

Edit: or maybe even later -I've been really slack recently...

Re-edit: I LOVE LOVE Asian vegetarian food -alot of gluten and tofu -it's really lovely. I didn't expect to enjoy it so much because I'm generally an full-fledged carnivore. I may reconsider my eating habits...cutting down in the meat intake (not entirely of course!). Seems like a healthier lifestyle (to balance between vego and meat that is).

Edited by Ce'nedra, 31 January 2008 - 11:37 PM.

[Pat W]

Mallet, that is an amazing dinner. How many cooks did it take to pull this off?

Re: The Vegetable Tourte with chive-cream sauce. It looks spectacular, but here is a really dumb question... What exactly is a tourte?


pat w.

[Chufi]

I´m hoping to resurrect this thread. While I cook a lot of vegetarian dinners, they tend to be of the "it´s just the 2 of us I´ll just make some pasta with loads of vegetables" kind.

I have a big dinner party coming up that has to be all vegetarian, and while I´m actually looking forward to this challenge, I could use some ideas for showstopping vegetarian dishes.
Who has made something awesome without meat or fish lately?

And ofcourse, while we´re at it, please post your everyday type vegetarian dishes, too.

[CaliPoutine]

I´m hoping to resurrect this thread. While I cook a lot of vegetarian dinners, they tend to be of the "it´s just the 2 of us I´ll just make some pasta with loads of vegetables" kind.

I have a big dinner party coming up that has to be all vegetarian, and while I´m actually looking forward to this challenge, I could use some ideas for showstopping vegetarian dishes.
Who has made something awesome without meat or fish lately?

And ofcourse, while we´re at it, please post your everyday type vegetarian dishes, too.

I've madethisswiss chard and goat cheese tart numerous times. I love the oatmeal/whole wheat tart dough. There is anchovy past in the filling, but I'm sure you could omit it.

ps: I love the recipes from The Green's Cookbook( restaurant in San Francisco)

Edited by CaliPoutine, 03 January 2009 - 12:16 PM.

[lperry]

I have made this Butternut Squash and Hazelnut Lasagne several times and it is both beautiful and delicious. Thanks for reminding me - I need to make it again soon!

[Chris Amirault]

Deborah Madison makes a butternut squash gratin that's first sauteed and then roasted with cheese and herbs atop onions. It's a pain in the butt to do the sauteeing (and you need to use 2-3 times more oil than she suggests), but it's excellent, a very savory approach to a usually sweet squash. If you can get away with it, it's great with a bit of anchovy with the onions.

ET correct a few errors and add the comment about anchovies. CA

Edited by chrisamirault, 06 January 2009 - 03:16 PM.

[Chufi]

the dinner is a week from Saturday - and because I'll be very busy the next weeks, I already have every course planned. I must say that I had more fun thinking about and planning this meal than I had for a long while, planning dinners with meat!

I won't post the dishes now because there's a good chance that one of the guests will be reading this thread and I don't want to spoil it for him but if it all works out I'll post afterwards.

Meanwhile, I've been cooking some great everyday vegetarian dishes: a saute of brussel sprouts with oystermushrooms and cashewnuts (ok we had this with some chicken but as I was eating it I felt it would have been great just on its own, maybe with some pasta or lentils); and a pumpkin barley soup. Pics here and here on my Dutch blog.

[markemorse]

I won't post the dishes now because there's a good chance that one of the guests will be reading this thread and I don't want to spoil it for him   

Call me predictable...I was just about to warn you not to say anything else...

[isomer]

Great thread.

I've been on a "comfort foods of the world" kick for a while now. One of my favourite meals is Indian lentils (sabat moong, or whole moong beans) and aromatic rice (patiala pullao):

For the rice, you can try this recipe by Julie Sahni. It's my favourite.

For the moong beans, simmer about a cup of beans in 4 cups of water with 1 tsp turmeric and some salt. It takes about 45 minutes for them to become soft, and for some of them to break down and make a bit of a sauce.

When the beans are ready, make a tadka, or aromatic oil mixture and pour it on the moong beans to season them.

Heat some oil, then put in 1 tsp cumin seads. when they turn dark (10 seconds or so), put in a thinly sliced onion and brown it. Then a garlic clove and some ginger, followed a minute later by some ground corriander seeds. Pour the whole mixture onto the moong beans, along with 2 tsp garam masala and some fresh chopped cilantro leaves, and let it sit for a few minutes before stiring it together.

Serve the beans with the rice, and some indian pickle on the side (I like lemon pickle or mango pickle).

A truly delicious vegetarian meal.

[SobaAddict70]

I´m hoping to resurrect this thread. While I cook a lot of vegetarian dinners, they tend to be of the "it´s just the 2 of us I´ll just make some pasta with loads of vegetables" kind.

I have a big dinner party coming up that has to be all vegetarian, and while I´m actually looking forward to this challenge, I could use some ideas for showstopping vegetarian dishes.
Who has made something awesome without meat or fish lately?

And ofcourse, while we´re at it, please post your everyday type vegetarian dishes, too.

Here here...


Roasted winter root vegetables (assorted fingerlings, brussel sprouts, red carrots, white carrots, purple carrots) with ginger-scallion viniagrette


Mujadara -- lentils and rice cooked with spices and topped with fried onions. This is actually a pic I took some time ago. Last night's version used toor dal, the version in the pic had masoor dal.

[merstar]

I´m hoping to resurrect this thread. While I cook a lot of vegetarian dinners, they tend to be of the "it´s just the 2 of us I´ll just make some pasta with loads of vegetables" kind.

I have a big dinner party coming up that has to be all vegetarian, and while I´m actually looking forward to this challenge, I could use some ideas for showstopping vegetarian dishes.
Who has made something awesome without meat or fish lately?

And ofcourse, while we´re at it, please post your everyday type vegetarian dishes, too.

I eat mostly vegetarian, so I have lots of recipes. Here are several everyday dishes - many of them would be good for a dinner party also. Will PM any of these if you're interested:

Vegetable Couscous Paella
Curried Couscous Salad with Dried Cranberries
Pasta with Roasted Vegetables and Garlic Broth
Black Bean Patties with Cilantro and Lime
Vegetable Chili
Faux Fried Eggplant
Roasted Tomatoes with Garlic and Gorgonzola

SOUP:
Vegetarian Tortilla Soup
Yellow Pepper Soup
Curried Cauliflower Soup with Coriander Chutney
Carrot Soup With Spinach Chiffonade

Edited by merstar, 22 January 2009 - 06:09 PM.

[fodgycakes]

I'm quite interested in this thread as well. Two of my roommates are vegetarian (actually one is pescetarian) and we cook dinner communally so I'm always looking for more ideas.

My roommates have a subscription to the Vegetarian Times which gives some good ideas. You can browse recipes online at the web site: http://www.vegetariantimes.com

I'm the dinner planner/chore assigner for the household so I happen to have a list of all our meals on my computer so here is a list of dinners we've had. Occasionally I'll cook a meat and non-meat version. Forgive any repeats, I went through quickly to remove them but may have missed some. If anyone is interested in any recipes just let me know.

sloppy joes, sweet potato fries
calzones
gazpacho, quesadillas
orzo with feta, tomato, olives
egg salad sandwiches, watermelon
stir-fried green beans with black bean sauce
Jamaican tempeh patties, collard greens, blackberries
Eggplant, tomato, tofu stirfry
Polenta, chicken/veg patties, brussels sprouts
Pasta with roasted squash, tomato sauce
Pad si iew with tofu
Falafel in pita
Pad Thai
Chicken/tofu, baked potato
Vegetable pan bagnat
Cabbage slaw, stuffed peppers
Pasta with marinara sauce, tofu, salad
Mexican pizza
Artichoke casserole
Ethiopian lentil stew with injera
Fried rice with tofu, broccoli
Taco salad
Vietnamese style curry, bread
Pasta with alfredo, peas, salad
Orange chipotle tofu, rice salad
Chipotle pesto pasta
Tofu, broccoli, green bean stir-fry
Pasta with roasted red peppers, chickpeas, artichokes
Asparagus, capers, and tofu with rice
Spaghetti and meatballs/fauxballs
Curry with cauliflowers, chickpeas
Bean and rice burritos
Eggplant and tomato casserole
Lasagna
Pasta salad
Bun thit/dau hu nuong - Vietnamese grilled meat/tofu over rice noodle salad
Roasted beet salad, avocado cheese and tomato sandwiches
Tofu-carrot cacciatore
General tso's tofu
Grilled cheese, tomato soup
Quiche, salad
Italian-style spaghetti squash
Mac and cheese, salad
tofu/seitan/faux chicken pot Pie, green beans
Pumpkin pancakes, hash browns, eggs
Mummy hot dogs, roasted red pepper "blood" soup
Kitty litter casserole
(this was a series of halloween dinners haha)
Spicy tempeh "bulgolgi", spinach
Veggie cottage pie
Mac and cheese pancakes, hash browns, fried eggs
Sesame tofu, broccoli
Ethiopian lentil stew, injera
Vegetable soup, garlic crostini
Pasta with tomato sauce, salad, garlic bread
Eggplant, tofu, tomato stir-fry
Beans and rice, spinach, corn salad
Carbonara, spinach & kale
Polenta pie, green beans
Beans and rice, corn salad
Huevos rancheros, cabbage slaw
Dried bean curd, mushroom, bok choy soup
Tortilla soup
Lemongrass tofu with rice, stir-fried baby bok choy
Canh chua - sour fish soup
Ca kho, bok choy - caramelized fish
Salt and pepper squid/shrimp, bok choy.
(a series of dinner during which the vegetarian was out of town)
Banh canh - Vietnamese tapioca noodle soup
Onion confit and stilton quiche, roasted pear salad
Tofurky, potatoes, salad
Provencal style edamame
Chili, cornbread
Onion confit pizza
BLT, roasted red pepper tomato soup
Eggplant and hummus wraps
Burgers, fries
Brazilian stew
Curry, rice
Mexican lasagna
Caramelized pork belly/tofu, pickled bean sprouts
Pasta with pesto and potatoes
Dolmas, salad
Kalbi/tofu, rice, green beans, soy bean sprouts
Bibimbap
Kielbasa, spaetzle, swiss chard
Palak paneer
Salad, bread, cheese, fruit, wine
Peanut sesame noodles
Pasta primavera
Tofu tomato soup

[C. sapidus]

Butternut squash with curry leaves, adapted from My Bombay Kitchen. Sliced squash tossed with olive oil, garlic, fresh and dried chiles, and salt. Strewn with curry leaves and baked in a hot oven. The savory flavors contrasted nicely with the sweet squash, and the browned bits were especially delightful.

This was not our whole meal, but for me, it could have been.

[Katie Meadow]

What do you do when you have nothing but zucchini, 3 potatoes and an onion in the house? Make Deb Madison's Zucchini and Herb Fritters. Okay, yes I had basil (one out of the three herbs suggested), eggs and bread crumbs, which was all it took. They are excellent--better than they have a right to be. (They cook more like pancakes, with very little oil in the pan.) My husband wanted sour cream on his, but I liked them plain. Fresh salsa would be very good. Serve with pan-fried potatoes with caramelized onion.

Bruce, that butternut squash with curry leaves looks perfect. Is that all there is to it, as you describe? Can you get me the recipe?

[C. sapidus]

Bruce, that butternut squash with curry leaves looks perfect. Is that all there is to it, as you describe? Can you get me the recipe?

Thank you, Katie. Yup, the recipe is pretty simple. My Bombay Kitchen is well worth getting, but in the meantime here is a link to the recipe: pumpkin roasted with curry leaves (clickety). I hope you enjoy it.

[Pat W]

My Bombay Kitchen is well worth getting, but in the meantime here is a link to the recipe: pumpkin roasted with curry leaves (clickety). I hope you enjoy it.

Thanks very much for that link. Your photo looks scrumptious!

[SobaAddict70]

Been on a semi-vegetarian kick lately.

Some meals in the past month:


Angel hair, asparagus and spinach soup

* French omelette, spinach and radish greens sauteed in butter, roasted radishes with marjoram and mint

* Sheep's milk ricotta gnocchi with chanterelles, zucchini and nasturtium flowers

* Roasted asparagus, Parmesan cheese and slow-cooked egg

* Sweet polenta, mascarpone cheese and strawberry confiture

* Asparagus risotto with ramps "pesto"


Spring minestrone

* Fromage blanc omelette with green garlic, pan-fried potatoes

* Broccoli rabe and beans with sourdough-garlic croutons and cheese

Corn should be making its appearance in the next few weeks. I'm looking forward to it.

[heidih]

With the recent press about Meatless Mondays I was curious about meat free meals we are doing. In a recent Washington Post article here it is noted that even Mario Batali is offering several meatless meals on Mondays in his restaurants. I am a vegetable lover but I always seem to slip in a tiny bit of meat "for flavor" so I am up for ideas and eager to think outside my usual box.

[Chris Hennes]

Tomorrow night I'm making enchiladas from Rick Bayless's Fiesta at Rick's: it's a traditional Mexican enchilada Suiza, but instead of a meat filling you use roasted vegetables. If you make the sauce with a vegetable stock (which I am doing), the recipe is completely vegetarian.

[heidih]

What interests me the most is composing a vegetarian meal that incorporates depths and varieties of flavor with various textures, feels integrated, and leaves the diners on that teeter-totter between satisfied and excited. I realize that many cultures have rich histories of vegetarian cooking. Just wondering what eGulleters are up to.

[cathyeats]

I love your description, Heidi!

A vegetarian meal I make often is a curried quinoa with cauliflower. Quite easy and simple, yet full of complex flavors. Here is the recipe and accompanying photo (not the most stellar photo, but you get the idea.) Let me know if anyone makes this - I'm curious to hear if you like it as much as I do.

Curried Quinoa with Cauliflower

2 T. oil (canola, high-oleic safflower, or olive oil)
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 carrot, cut into 1/2 inch half-moons
1 small head cauliflower, broken into small florets
1/4 tsp. salt, or more to taste
5 t. curry powder
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 cup water
1 cup frozen peas

1 cup quinoa (recommend Ancient Harvest’s no-rinse variety)

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic and carrot, and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes. Add the cauliflower, spices and salt, and cook for another minute. Add 1 cup water, then cover and simmer for 12-15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Add the peas during the last minute of cooking.

Meanwhile, cook quinoa according to the package directions. Mix the curried vegetables into the quinoa and serve. Top with nonfat yogurt, soy yogurt or raita, and toasted slivered almonds.

Attached Images

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[Darienne]

The timing of this post could not have been better. I am SO impressed by your quinoa salad that I was set to find a recipe to use quinoa as a base...as in rice, or couscous, etc.

This will be for lunch (our dinner) tomorrow. And I'll report back.

Cathy, you are a treasure!

I too love what Heidi says. Having been a vegetarian for years (now a Lessmeatarian [Mark Bittman]), I was so sick of being fed meals, when out at a social affair, on board business, etc, that were so nothing. 'They' ate Filet Mignon...while I was given a pathetic salad or at best, Fettuccine Alfredo. I would eat Fettuccine Alfredo again at gunpoint only.

So right about other cultures having wonderful vegetarian dishes, ones which celebrate the ingredients!

One book I cook from often is: Habeeb Salloum. Classic Vegetarian Cooking from the MIddle East and North Africa. Of course there is no quinoa in this book and so to find a non-grain substitute for rice, couscous, Bulgar, etc...all of which I LOVE , all of which are grains...is terrific!