Omnivores, what are your favorite vegan dishes?

[andiesenji]

My favorite vegan dish is the very substantial Indonesian  Gado Gado with peanut sauce.  

There are numerous variations - It contains both raw and cooked vegetables and a peanut sauce that can vary from very mild to very spicy, depending on how you like it.  I like not too spicy. 

I used to go to an Indonesian restaurant with friends who were vegan and this was always their basic dish with a few other side dishes.

The restaurant had some additions, fried tofu or tempeh, some "rice sticks" that were like croutons. 

The nice thing about this, when cooking for guests, is that just about everything can be prepped a day ahead so all you have to do is either steam or stir-fry the things that need cooking, toss with the raw stuff and serve the peanut sauce, which you have made a day or so before, on the side.

 

It is almost a meal in itself and indeed I have often had it alone, as a meal.

[Darienne]

52 minutes ago, andiesenji said:

My favorite vegan dish is the very substantial Indonesian  Gado Gado with peanut sauce.  

 

You have posted a dish which features an almond sauce and yet you make it with a peanut sauce.  I've never actually made a peanut sauce.  Would you please post your favorite?  Thanks, andiesenji.

[andiesenji]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

You have posted a dish which features an almond sauce and yet you make it with a peanut sauce.  I've never actually made a peanut sauce.  Would you please post your favorite?  Thanks, andiesenji.

Sorry.  I have been using the Moosewood peanut sauce for decades it is a bit more complicated than some. I omit the tamarind and I use very little brown sugar I add it to taste after the rest is cooked.   And I use Mae Ploy sweet chile sauce instead of the peppers, which is also sweet so there is less need for the brown sugar. 

For vegans, the Mae Ploy sauce is a wonderful addition to many foods.  My vegan friends fry or barbecue extra firm tofu and use the Mae Ploy as a dipping sauce. They dress bean and rice dishes with it.  Like me, they buy it from Asian grocers in the large "industrial" size.

I highly recommend it.  I even have one friend who puts it on ice cream, which sounds weird but I have tried it and it's not bad at all.

 

You might want to Google Gado Gado Peanut sauce before you decide on a particular recipe.

 

 

 

I meant this as more of a suggestion of where to start.  There are numerous Gado Gado recipes and various peanut sauces for it on the 'net.

[ProfessionalHobbit]

Here's one standby:

 

 

Insalata cruda e cotta ("salad of raw and cooked vegetables")

 

This one has raw Little Gem lettuce, raw diced tomatoes, diced boiled new potatoes, roasted onion, steamed green beans; capers; pickled cherry peppers; marinated artichoke hearts; and olives. Dressing consists of a 1:3 ratio of vinegar to oil, seasoned with salt, and black pepper.

 

B and I usually have this once every couple of weeks, typically during the summer months. The vegetables will vary depending on what looks good at the market.

[Barrytm]

While many have suggested Indian foods, which can be vegan, my favorite, and many of your guests won't  recognize it as vegan, is butternut squash, acorn squash, and sweet potatoes -  chopped into 3/4 inch cubes, tossed with salt, pepper, and rosemary, balsamic vinegar, olive oil  then roasted.  I  sometimes give the squashes a head start, because the sweet potatoes cook a little quicker. 

[ProfessionalHobbit]

Another standby is

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

green beans braised in tomato sauce. This version has onion and yellow bell pepper in the mix and is from one of Marcella Hazan's cookbooks. My version usually has green beans, garlic, tomatoes, olive oil, salt and pepper. Same difference - the idea is to prepare the tomato sauce first, then add the green beans. Braise the beans in the tomatoes for about an hour, after which it's done.

 

We also tend to have this in the summer when both green beans and tomatoes are abundant in Bay Area farmers' markets.

[Darienne]

I'd like to restart this thread.  Our daughter has become a vegan and has also started visiting us regularly for the first time in decades.  And so I am now trying to find vegan casserole type dishes...not soups or salads...those we already have covered well enough...not brilliantly, but satisfactorily...but it's mains I am in search of.  Preferably something I can make ahead of time at my leisure and freeze in portions.  These days  I simply can't guarantee being able to cook to serve the food the first time around and so what I make must be able to be done and stored before it is served.

Thanks to @Dante for  his posts.  I'm about to make a dish found in one of the vegan cooking websites he posted, Bad Manners.

[blue_dolphin]

You might check with your library to see if they have Joe Yonan's book, Cool Beans. The chapter on Casseroles, Pasta, Rice and Hearty Main Courses has some options that might work well for your needs. Others could be adapted by making and freezing parts of the dish and then combining with say, freshly cooked pasta or polenta.

There's a ratatouille cassoulet, a root vegetable, white bean and mushroom cassoulet, a lentil-mushroom farmer's pie, enfrijoladas with sweet potatoes and caramelized onions. The three sisters mini tamal pies are baked in ramekins with a layer of masa on the bottom and top and could probably be adapted to a larger dish. 

[Smithy]

You may consider this too much like a salad, and I don't think it would freeze well, but a favorite of mine that can easily become vegan is

Green Bean Salad with Almonds and Feta, from Cookie and Kate (it's excellent, even without the feta). I cook that one a lot.

 

More recently, I've discovered and fallen in love with Ali Slagle's Baked Rice with White Beans, Leeks and Lemon. It can be frozen. It makes a lot. It's very flexible and forgiving. I wrote about my first time baking it here. My version wasn't vegan, because I used chicken broth and included Parmesan cheese, but they could be left out. In the writeup, she notes ways you can add even more vegetables, nuts, whatever. I think it fits quite a few of your requirements.

[heidih]

@DarienneBefore you spin yourself into frustration, I'd consider if possible,a conversation with her asking what kinds of vegan meals she enjoys. Vegans come in different flavors. Some just eliminate the meat/dairy and some trend more green natural, and lighter. @liamsaunt posted this simple lovely dish which would be super with a lightly dressed salad. Simple but enticing.  https://forums.egullet.org/topic/164739-dinner-2023/?do=findComment&comment=2406428  Have fun with the new experience

 

[Darienne]

1 hour ago, heidih said:

@DarienneBefore you spin yourself into frustration, I'd consider if possible,a conversation with her asking what kinds of vegan meals she enjoys. Vegans come in different flavors. Some just eliminate the meat/dairy and some trend more green natural, and lighter. @liamsaunt posted this simple lovely dish which would be super with a lightly dressed salad. Simple but enticing.  https://forums.egullet.org/topic/164739-dinner-2023/?do=findComment&comment=2406428  Have fun with the new experience

 

Sorry, @heidih, the conversation thing is theoretically a good idea...but not with our daughter.  She's an extreme vegan and will eat what I make that is vegan, but it's not what she normally eats which has nutritional yeast and seaweed and flax seed  and aquafaba and other things which we don't even consider eating. And a long lecture to accompany each ingredient on the healthiness of how she eats.  Sorry.  I love her dearly but...

 

So I'm just looking for vegan casseroles which she will accept and I can freeze.

 

(As for the recipe posted...sorry, Ed hates Brussels Sprouts.)

[Alex]

Here's a vegan shakshuka recipe from Tahini and Turmeric. The authors say it freezes well. I double all of the spices, and sometimes add more garlic. I take the skins off the chickpeas, but that's just me. You can use precooked polenta or make some from scratch and just plop some on top -- or use it as a base, which is what we do, if we feel like it. Feel free to put some goats cheese on top for you and/or Ed, if you like.

 

 

vegan shakshuka.pdf

[Darienne]

52 minutes ago, Alex said:

Here's a vegan shakshuka recipe from Tahini and Turmeric. The authors say it freezes well. I double all of the spices, and sometimes add more garlic. I take the skins off the chickpeas, but that's just me. You can use precooked polenta or make some from scratch and just plop some on top -- or use it as a base, which is what we do, if we feel like it. Feel free to put some goats cheese on top for you and/or Ed, if you like.

 

 

vegan shakshuka.pdf 244.73 kB · 1 download

I've never made polenta.  In fact, I've never tasted polenta.  I think it's way past time I did.  I'll get some next week, either premade or make it from scratch, and try it out.  Thanks, @Alex.

[heidih]

What a PITA. Based on your comments I'd say you have some good ideas above and I would not go out of

way to source secial herbs, spices, ingredients. Keep it simple, save your sanity

[Duvel]

Are you able to get vegan milk substitutes ? If so, think bechamel and subsequently think lasagna. With garlic/spinach/ricotta, with mushrooms & bechamel, with cooked down courgettes, garlic and tomato. Endless varieties, all easily freezable and lets be gonest: who doesn’t like pasta ?

[Darienne]

48 minutes ago, Duvel said:

Are you able to get vegan milk substitutes ? If so, think bechamel and subsequently think lasagna. With garlic/spinach/ricotta, with mushrooms & bechamel, with cooked down courgettes, garlic and tomato. Endless varieties, all easily freezable and lets be gonest: who doesn’t like pasta ?

Good one.  Yes we have vegan milk substitutes.  In fact, Ed drinks a combination of cashew milk and real milk.  And I've done stuff with vegan milk.  But no ricotta.  I'll find a vegan lasagna.  Thanks for the idea.  Carolyn talks about vegan cheeses...we've never tried them.  I had enough troubles trying to find a decent gluten free bread when I was following a naturalist's orders.  (Before I finally decided that I was neither gluten nor dairy intolerant after two years off both.)  I can't imagine what non-dairy cheese could taste like.   

[blue_dolphin]

1 hour ago, Darienne said:

I've never made polenta.  In fact, I've never tasted polenta.  I think it's way past time I did.  I'll get some next week, either premade or make it from scratch, and try it out.  Thanks, @Alex.

 

The shelf-stable pre-made logs of polenta would be perfect for that shakshuka and to see what you think of it.  I can't remember if you have an Instant Pot or similar, but it's dead easy to make polenta in. No need to stir or clean a messy pan as you can just place the bowl you plan to serve from onto the Instant Pot rack with water below. 

[Senior Sea Kayaker]

You can also purchase instant polenta (Vita Sana labelled) and readily available. Ready in 5 minutes. Aurora (available in Ontario) also makes an instant polenta. Easy to use and indistinguishable from made from cornmeal. I'd avoid the 'logs'.

 

 

[Alex]

2 hours ago, Darienne said:

I've never made polenta.  In fact, I've never tasted polenta.  I think it's way past time I did.  I'll get some next week, either premade or make it from scratch, and try it out.  Thanks, @Alex.

 

You're welcome. I agree with SSK. I much prefer scratch or instant, although the tube can do in a pinch, especially if you brown the rounds in some olive oil. 

[Darienne]

2 hours ago, blue_dolphin said:

 

The shelf-stable pre-made logs of polenta would be perfect for that shakshuka and to see what you think of it.  I can't remember if you have an Instant Pot or similar, but it's dead easy to make polenta in. No need to stir or clean a messy pan as you can just place the bowl you plan to serve from onto the Instant Pot rack with water below. 

No instant pot.  I can't even use my air fryer at this point.  I think I am past my person sell by date.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

3 hours ago, Darienne said:

 I'll find a vegan lasagna.

Probably requiring a trip to  the store, but stupid easy but delicious vegan lasagna =  jarred artichoke puree/bruschetta + vegan cream sauce layered with oven-ready/no boil lasagna, more plain cream sauce on top + crumbs if you want. 

Edited November 17, 2023 by Margaret Pilgrim (log)

[Margaret Pilgrim]

Additional polenta idea:    Make polenta per package instructions.    Pour into loafpan and let cool.   When cold, cut into 1/2" slices, fry on both sides.   Shingle in a baking pan, drizzle with (jarred) marinara sauce, then additional drizzle with vegan white sauce.    Bake until bubbly and edges browning.

[Darienne]

Hard to believe what I have just gone through to find some polenta.  Neither of the two largest bulk food stores carries Polenta in any format.  Of the main grocery stores in Peterborough only FreshCo carries any form of Polenta and they carry only the preformed tube variety.  So that's where it's at for this city apparently.  

 

Ed will buy me some Polenta at FreshCo today.  

[Alex]

If you should ever make the long-cooking variety, I use the improvised double-boiler method. (You could use a dedicated one, of course.) I have a couple of mixing bowls, one vintage Pyrex and one stainless steel, that fit snugly in a suitable pot and are able to use one of our pot lids. I usually use 3/4 cup dried cornmeal, 3 cups of filtered water, and two or three large pinches of salt. Put some water in the pot and the salt in the bowl. Bring the pot to a simmer and the 3 cups of water to a boil or near-boil in a vessel of your choosing (I use an electric kettle). Pour the boiling water into the bowl, give it a stir, then gradually whisk or stir in the cornmeal. Cover and cook for 45-60 minutes, giving it a stir a few times in the first 15-20 minutes. (Fine-ground polenta might be ready after a half hour.) For non-vegan eaters, stir in some unsalted butter and grated Parm-Reg.

[Katie Meadow]

I'm far from a vegan, but my husband's family includes a lot of vegetarians, so veg entrees for holiday meals is nothing new to me. When it comes to vegan dishes I prefer the ones that were never conceived with meat, dairy or eggs to begin with. I  just can't get my head around subbing cashews for cheese or tofu for anything. Various bean soups and stews are often easily put together without compromising  flavor by using vegetable stock and/or a tomato base. Add roasted artichokes or cauliflower to marinara sauce with pasta; non vegans can always have grated hard cheese on the side. Hummus and babaganouj for apps are terrific when made from scratch, and can be complimented by a variety of veggies for dipping or breads and crackers for spreading.  

 

This thanksgiving one of my sisters-in-law is bringing something she is calling vegan butternut squash lasagne, despite the fact that no guests will be vegan as far as I know. I'm having a hard time looking forward to that one, but I will save my judgment for next Friday. She's not a great cook to begin with, so that won't help.