Vegetarian Recipes and Meals

[dockhl]

in other news...someone's asked me to make something vegetarian, substantial, and Mexican for Thanksgiving. I was going to do an enchilada version of the black bean/squash/goat cheese concept used above (because i still have all of the ingredients including frozen cooked squash). but thought i'd ask here: does anyone have any great vegetarian enchilada ideas?

Mark

Try this ! Really yummy and easy............

Mashed Potato and Roasted Vegetable Enchiladas

Prep Time: approx. 40 Minutes.

Cook Time: approx. 1 Hour 10 Minutes.

Ready in: approx. 1 Hour 50 Minutes.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1/3 head broccoli, cut into florets

2-1/2 ounces whole button mushrooms

1 small zucchini, chopped

2/3 cup chopped carrots

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

1 cup water

1/3 cup milk

1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon butter

1/3 (7.6 ounce) package

instant mashed potato flakes

1/3 (12 ounce) package corn tortillas

1 cup enchilada sauce

2-1/2 ounces shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions

1 Preheat oven to 425 degrees F

2 In a large mixing bowl, combine broccoli, mushrooms,

zucchini, and carrots. Drizzle the vegetables with olive oil,

and season with salt and pepper. Spread vegetables in a

single layer in a shallow baking dish. Roast vegetables in

the preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes; stir halfway

through their cooking time. When finished cooking, remove from

the oven, and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F

3 Bring water, milk, and butter to a boil in a large pot.

Remove the pot from heat, and mix in the mashed potato

flakes. Let stand two minutes, then stir the mashed potatoes

with a fork until they are smooth. Stir in roasted vegetables.

4 In a dry, nonstick skillet over medium heat, quickly

heat each tortilla on both sides to make pliable. Dip the

tortillas in enchilada sauce. Put a large spoonful

(approximately 1/4 to 1/3 cup) of potato-veggie mixture into the

center of each tortilla. Top mixture with about 1 to 2

tablespoons cheese, and roll tortillas. Place seam-side down in a

9x13 inch baking dish. Pour extra sauce over top, and

sprinkle with remaining cheese.

5 Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately

20 to 30 minutes, or until the enchiladas are heated through.

[tejon]

Somehow a lot of Americans have got it into their head that by skipping meat they are skipping flavor.  That is just not the case.

←

Well said. I think part of this fallacy comes from the standard American dinner template: meat, starch, and vegetable. When you take the meat away, many people are unsure what to do instead. Of course, there is no need to do a tri-part plate of any kind, especially when there's a world of roasted vegetables, of hand filled ravioli, of slow cooked lentils, of delicious foods that also happen to not contain meat. I find that often it's easiest to look to other cultures to find inspiration for a meal that emphasizes produce, but as your example shows, even the most basic American standards are just as delicious meat-free when prepared with care.

[mizducky]

While we're on the subtheme of Mexican vegetarian dishes ... Last night I had one of the best danged veggie burritos I've ever tasted. I didn't make it, I bought it at a cafe, but I took notes for my future cooking reference. They used some very tasty thick-sliced sauted mushrooms as part of the filling, along with the usual beans/rice/guacamole and a sprinkling of chopped onions. The mushrooms really kicked the thing up to a whole 'nother level. (Oh yeah, and they didn't waste any burrito-space on chopped lettuce, either.) I bet some sauted mushrooms would also be nice as one part of an enchilada filling ...

[eje]

[...]

The chayote was quickly seared with chilies and onions, covered and steamed in its own juices for a few minutes, and then uncovered and cooked until al dente. I topped with cilantro, feta cheese, and a squeeze of lime. Cooked this way, chayote has a nice texture and comports well with a wide variety of flavors.

←

I really like Chayote, I make a similar recipe with a touch of tomato puree that is just outstanding.

Though, the other members of my community garden prefer it cooked with a tomato-meat sauce.

[RachelAnn]

the dill-looking greens of fennel bulbs are great added to sauteed spinach or added to salad. i think people too often throw that part away, it has a really nice flavor

[markemorse]

Hey guys, thanks for the enchilada suggestions.

mrbigjas: i have a similar experience almost every time i use winter squash in Mexican cooking, it seems like it's going to be completely uninteresting or even wrong, and once it hangs out with black beans or chipotle or cilantro (or a sheep/goat cheese) for awhile it's a different story.

dockhl: looks good! will give it a try at some point, but i think for this dinner will go a little more obviously mexican since that was the request (and it's a rarity here). not like anyone would know broccoli wasn't traditionally mexican... (actually there was a pre-Hispanic vegetable in mexico called huauzontle that was broccoli-like and mashed into fritters with queso to bind....)

eje: chayote is a great idea, it never occurs to me b/c they're not in my face all the time. diana kennedy also has a recipe for stuffed chayotes that would probably work nicely as enchilada components: chayote, zucchini, mushrooms, pepitas, ancho, cumin, garlic, and queso fresco. Probably with a green sauce.

OK, looks like black beans n winter squash is it. Maybe I'll even get to take pictures since the camera is back in the house.....

mark

Edited November 22, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[Chufi]

--ravioli with ricotta, lemon zest, and white truffle in butter with parmigiano-reggiano.

←

mark, where in Amsterdam did you get the truffle, and was it good?

I made ribollita yesterday, Tuscan bean & kale soup. gave me a chance to do something else with the Dutch winterstaple, kale!

This was a vegetarian recipe, and then I went and sauteed the vegetablebase in lard but I'm sure it would have been equally delicious had I just stuck to the olive oil!

picture here in the Tuscany thread

[Milagai]

Thank you to all for the fennel vs anise clarifications.

I must admit that the seeds depicted in various links

looked so similar to each other......

I must figure out how to conduct a side by side taste

test and see how they differ.

Has anyone done that and can they enlighten?

Thanks again

Milagai

[mrbigjas]

Somehow a lot of Americans have got it into their head that by skipping meat they are skipping flavor.  That is just not the case.

←

Well said. I think part of this fallacy comes from the standard American dinner template: meat, starch, and vegetable.

oh come on, let's not blame america for this.

i mean, in just the countries i've visited the last few years, england, france and spain all have traditionally relied heavily on the meat-starch-veg trio. italy does too, although it's spread out over three courses and served on different plates. and generally if anything gets eliminated or becomes a second thought in the meal prep, it's the vegetable, not the meat.

that's restaurant cooking anyway. home cooking is different in all those places from all the cookbooks and articles i've read, just like it is here in the USA.

anyway, sorry to derail things more. back to the food soon when i have time to write things up a little more.

[Chufi]

Somehow a lot of Americans have got it into their head that by skipping meat they are skipping flavor.  That is just not the case.

←

Well said. I think part of this fallacy comes from the standard American dinner template: meat, starch, and vegetable.

oh come on, let's not blame america for this.

i mean, in just the countries i've visited the last few years, england, france and spain all have traditionally relied heavily on the meat-starch-veg trio.

←

And the Netherlands too. I feel that even vegetarians stick to the trio, at least supermarkets seem to want them to do so, by selling vegetarian stuff that looks like meat and can easily stand in for the meat-part of the trio. You know, vegetable burgers, vegetarian meatballs, etc.

[mrbigjas]

well, i mean, i'm overstating it a little here--after all there are only a few things in the world to eat: proteins, starches, vegetables. i don't know what else there is--fats, i guess, but most cultures don't have a fat course in their usual meal. well, even that, there are several peoples living up near the north pole who do, but they're the exception rather than the rule.

but my point is that the US isn't any lamer than most of the european countries whence most of the population immigrated, when it comes to having meals without a meat-based source of protein, at least when it comes to restaurant food.

but enough--we dance!

as i mentioned over on the tuscan cooking thread, last night i made bruschetta con cavolo nero, and if there's a dish that ends up being more the sum of its parts than that one, i have yet to see it. i mean, you boil up some kale in salted water, and then make a garlic toast and put the kale on top of it, and wet it all down with some of the cooking water. how on earth does that end up being so profoundly satisfying? i ask you.

[tejon]

I was thinking more of the plate divided into 3 parts - one third (or more) for the meat, one part for the starch, one part for the vegetable. It's hard to even imagine a dinner plate without that meat portion for many people, whereas it's easier to think of another protein in a stir fry or stew, for instance.

[eje]

[...]

eje: chayote is a great idea, it never occurs to me b/c they're not in my face all the time. diana kennedy also has a recipe for stuffed chayotes that would probably work nicely as enchilada components: chayote, zucchini, mushrooms, pepitas, ancho, cumin, garlic, and queso fresco.  Probably with a green sauce.

OK, looks like black beans n winter squash is it. Maybe I'll even get to take pictures since the camera is back in the house.....

mark

←

I'm pretty sure the procedure I use was also originally a Diana Kennedy. Can't remember which book off the top of my head.

I have to admit I'm a bit more fond of those unusual squash relatives, than the more common Zucchini. Both Chayote and Hairy Melon hold up a lot better to stewing than the more common summer squash.

Of course, you do have to tell your guests that they are eating, "Hairy Melon", which can provoke interesting responses.

Has anyone cooked ridged gourd? They are available at the farmers' market now, and I'm curious about preparation. From some googleing and searching on eGullet, I see they are used in Indian cuisine. I can't quite tell if their flavor is bitter (they are usually next to the bitter melon).

[markemorse]

--ravioli with ricotta, lemon zest, and white truffle in butter with parmigiano-reggiano.

←

mark, where in Amsterdam did you get the truffle, and was it good?

Sorry, I meant to PM you this based on our earlier trufflehunting conversation...

And I must simultaneously reveal that these were purchased ravioli, from Italian import store Pasta Panini (Rozengracht 82)...they have a freezer downstairs in the back with 6-10 fresh ravioli varieties. The truffle ones have a light blue ribbon tying it shut (there's not always a sign for them)...this is my 3rd time buying them, they remind me very much of winter in Italy. I think they're very nice, a good honest truffle taste/scent.

mem

Edited November 22, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[Milagai]

I was thinking more of the plate divided into 3 parts - one third (or more) for the meat, one part for the starch, one part for the vegetable. It's hard to even imagine a dinner plate without that meat portion for many people, whereas it's easier to think of another protein in a stir fry or stew, for instance.

←

That division of food plate is very compatible with being

a vegetarian: e.g. in an Indian vegetarian thaali:

lower 1/3rd - rice / roti (=starch)

upper 2/3 - more or less evenly divided between

vegetables

and

proten (=dals etc.)

with space for yogurt (more protein),

relishes, etc.

That is, as a vegetarian you don't have to alter the

composition of the food plate, only the contents......

Milagai

[Carrot Top]

Some of the nicest meals I've had recently based solely on vegetables have been Ethiopian.

Injera topped with different things - potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, and other blends cooked with traditional Ethiopian spices - mounded onto the warmed injera in little treasure piles with yet more injera torn and used to gather up between the fingers, bundles to pop into the mouth.

Satisfying in all ways, including the method used of eating with one's fingers.

My children and their friends seem to love it too. It has the fun of pizza and the thrill of intense spicy savory flavors.

[PamelaF]

(actually, vegequariums--they eat fish and seafood )

Curlz, I love that term! I guess that's what I was for quite a few years.

Now, I describe my son as a "sushi-tarian".

[markemorse]

Some of the nicest meals I've had recently based solely on vegetables have been Ethiopian.

Injera topped with different things - potatoes, cauliflower, green beans, and other blends cooked with traditional Ethiopian spices - mounded onto the warmed injera in little treasure piles with yet more injera torn and used to gather up between the fingers, bundles to pop into the mouth.

Satisfying in all ways, including the method used of eating with one's fingers.

My children and their friends seem to love it too. It has the fun of pizza and the thrill of intense spicy savory flavors.

←

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.

Edited November 23, 2006 by markemorse (log)

[Carrot Top]

Maybe the sourcing of teff is an issue. And good recipes.

←

Teff is difficult to source. I have an Ethiopian friend who developed her own injera recipe without teff, still using sourdough techniques. *I* can not taste but a very slight difference in injera made as she makes it without the teff, from the versions I've tasted in Ethiopian restaurants that one assumes will be using teff, but of course my palate is not trained to years of the taste of teff, so how would I know?

She is not satisfied, ever, completely, with the injera without teff. Sometimes her brother will send her some teff from home, but not ever enough to last long enough.

Which spices she uses *exactly* she refuses to ever tell anyone - claiming that families each have their own spice blends that must remain a closely guarded secret in the family. I have no problem with this, as it adds a sense of magic to the thing.

There are only two cookbooks widely available in the States where one can find Ethiopian recipes, both available on Amazon. I find this one to be the best and the most complete. It is definitely not a "coffeetable" sort of cookbook, though. Lots of recipes but no gorgeosity.

The recipes work, though, so I guess the gorgeosity lands on the table and in the mouth.

[BarbaraY]

We're not vegetarians but sometimes I get meat overload and want something else that fills one as well.

Last evening I made a tofu and Bok Choy stir-fry and a sautee of yellow summer squash with red peppers and green onions. Of course we had steamed Jasmine rice with it.

[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!

[zeffer81]

I've recently purchased a boat load of Indian spices. There are so many delicious vegetarian dishes in Indian cuisine that I figured it would be an easy way to expand my culinary options. However, I find myself at a standstill. What are some simple and delectable vegetarian dishes that I could try at home with no previous experience cooking Indian food? Thanks in advance for all your help!

[MargyB]

One of my favorite quick vegetarian Indian recipes is Saag Paneer....basically spinach with cheese. I saute a chopped onion until soft in some ghee and then add garam masala, chopped garlic, pureed ginger and fennel seeds. The fennel seeds aren't in the original recipe I had, but I love them! I then add about 1/2 cup of buttermilk and 1/2 cup of 1/2 & 1/2. Add a package of thawed and drained chopped spinach, cover and simmer for about 15 minutes. At the end I add some really good whole milk yogurt from the local Indian grocery (maybe 3/4 cup) and about a cup of cubed paneer.

It's very quick and easy.....if you like a bit of heat, then add some finely chopped red chile pepper to taste when you add in the garlic.

This obviously won't work for vegans, but you could probably substitute silken tofu for the yogurt, soy milk for the buttermilk and cubed extra firm tofu for the paneer. And no ghee of course.

margy