Author: lara

Polenta with Tex-Mex Chili

Another recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian book.

I can’t find a link to this recipe online, but it’s basically just a vegetarian chili with kidney beans (I used borlotti, which are more pinto-ish, because I already had some soaked and cooked,) served over polenta which has a bit of butter and parmesan cheese added to it.  Very yummy dish, but I do feel a little embarassed, as a Texan, to call this “Tex-Mex Chili.”  I mean, really…there were no Fritos or onions or grated orange cheese over the top of it.  And, HELLO???  There was NO MEAT!  And there were LENTILS in it!!!  It was good, but this really should be called polenta topped with bean stew or something.  I will make this again (with the polenta subbing for the Fritos, it’s kind of an upscale Frito pie,) but will probably adapt my own vegetarian chili recipe to use more Tex-Mex spices and maybe add some textured vegetable protein, to at least make you FEEL like there could be meat in it.  I like the combo of polenta and chili, though.  Creamy and soft, mixed with warm and spicy.

Anatolian Red Lentil Stew

This recipe is, again, from Madhur Jaffrey’s wonderful World Vegetarian book.

The recipe can be found, more or less, here, but you really should just buy the book to get the more comprehensible version.

This was really tasty.  We only had a tiny bit left over for Girl’s lunch the next door.  If dried mint is really hard to find (as it was for me,) feel free to use fresh spearmint (not peppermint,) but chop it finely and use less than the recipe calls for (maybe half?)  I buy my dried mint (which can also be used in this salad) from Penzey’s.

Bean Curd (tofu) vegeburgers

Another recipe from Madhur Jaffrey’s World Vegetarian book (I’ve pretty much cooked exclusively from this book this week.)

I can’t find a link to this recipe online anywhere, but you basically crumble a block of tofu, then finely chop some carrot, scallion, shiitake mushrooms, celery, and a bit of hot green chiles (which we left out.)  Saute the veggies in a little oil, then combine them with the crumbled tofu, a little soy sauce, some bread crumbs, salt, pepper, chopped cilantro and an egg.  Form this mixture into patties (they’ll be fragile,) then dredge them in a little more breadcrumbs and pan-fry them.  Cook for 3 – 4 minutes per side, turning them VERY carefully, or they will TOTALLY self-destruct.

Girl LOVED these and said that any other veggie burger (we’ve used a lot of the frozen pre-made ones in the past) pales by comparison.  I doubt she’ll ever go back to eating those after having these.  I hope that these will freeze well, so that she can occasionally pack one of these in her lunch.

If there is such a thing as gluten-free breadcrumbs (I bet there is) and you use wheat-free soy sauce, these would be gluten free.

Nigerian Kidney Bean Stew with Peanut Sauce and cornbread

from Madhur Jaffrey’s fantastic book, World Vegetarian

Recipe here, but if you have any interest in vegetarian cooking at all, you should just go ahead and buy this book.  It’s outstanding.

I topped the stew with a little bit of chopped peanuts, since I had some on hand, leftover from our last spring roll night.  The cornbread is a basic Southern cornbread recipe, but with some grated carrot added in and sesame seeds sprinkled over the top before baking.  Tasty.

Rava Dosas with Potato Chickpea Masala

Recipe here.*

Yum, yum, yummity yum yum yum.

This is the first thing that I’ve made in a while (other than spring rolls) that the whole family has agreed upon.  Usually, I’ll make a vegetarian dish that Boy won’t enjoy because it isn’t satisfying enough for him, or I’ll make a meat dish and two hearty side dishes, hoping that Girl can make a meal out of just the sides, and then she won’t feel like she’s really eaten a “meal,” but rather just snacked on sides.

This is spicy and warm and filling enough to be satisfying for all but the most stalwart carnivores and is definitely healthy and wholesome enough to satisfy any vegetarian.  This definitely “feels” like a main course.

I, of course, made a few VERY slight modifications to the original recipe:

I used russet potatoes because I couldn’t find organic Yukon Golds and didn’t want to use “pesticide” potatoes, but I discovered that russets take a bit more time and liquid to cook than gold potatoes, so be aware of that if you decide to change up your potatoes, too.

I added another cup of chickpeas that I had leftover, just to bulk up the protein quotient for Vegetarian Girl.

I added just a bit of garam masala when I added the curry-ginger-garlic mixture, just to add a bit more flavor and some brightness (a few of the epicurious reviewers mentioned that the masala was a little bland.)

I also sauteed the onions in the pan BEFORE adding the curry-ginger-garlic mixture because I am personally not wild about onions that are not thoroughly cooked.  The only raw onions that I can tolerate are red onions or green ones; white or yellow ones must be thoroughly cooked and softened for me.

I also added a bit more water to the dosa batter, because several epicurious reviewers had mentioned that the batter, as specified, was a bit too thick.  I agree and think the extra water is crucial.  Getting the hang of making the dosas is a little bit tricky (I had to throw the first one away,) but keep experimenting (make another batch of batter, if you need to,) and you’ll get it.  I think if I hadn’t needed to throw the first one away, and if I hadn’t added extra water, then the batter probably would have made four dosas, but I ended up with 5 (made 6 and threw one away.

* This recipe is originally from November 2009 Gourmet magazine.  There is a new issue out called Gourmet Quick Kitchen that has recently reprinted it.

Ginger Creme Brulee

Recipe here.

YUM!  I made this as part of a Tropical-themed dinner to be served while viewing the PBS broadcast of “South Pacific,” which I DVR’d a couple of weeks ago.

I made “Younger Than Spring (time) Rolls”  and this tropical dessert.  I love having a “theme” when planning a menu.  It’s corny, but it’s just so fun!

I’ve attempted a ginger creme brulee before, but like the flavor of the recipe better, and it was easier to prepare.  The sliced mango on top was a delicious touch, and I highly recommend not omitting it, if you can get your hands on a perfectly ripe one.

More Spring Rolls, with some new dipping sauces

Spring Rolls are becoming one of our all-time favorite meals lately.  They’re very vegetarian-friendly (although it’s easy to add meat, for any carnivores that would like it,) there’s not much “cooking” involved (although there is lots of chopping!) and they’re light and healthy.

I made a “fancy” version last night, with a few extra ingredients and dipping sauces.

The ingredients that I used (in large tray) are:

rice noodles, sauteed sliced mushrooms, shredded romaine lettuce, thinly sliced red onion, sliced avocado, mung bean sprouts (that I grew myself!,) julienned red bell pepper, cucumber and carrot, grilled Teriyaki chicken, shrimp, baby corn and chopped water chestnuts.

I also had some fresh chopped chives and peanuts and cilantro and mint leaves to add as garnish inside the rolls.

The new dipping sauces that I tried were Hoisin dipping sauce and a peanut dipping sauce.  The third one is the spicy/sweet sauce that we’ve used before.  The spicy-sweet sauce is still Hubby’s favorite, but the kids and I LOVED the peanut sauce, so I will definitely be making that one again in the future.  Deee-lish.

For quantity/planning purposes, in case you decide to make this, I used two boneless, skinless chicken breasts (marinated in Teriyaki sauce, then grilled and sliced) and about a cup of thawed, frozen, pre-cooked shrimp.  I made a half-batch of the peanut sauce (single batches of the other two.)  I used one can each of the water chestnuts and baby corn, one avocado, about a cup of sprouts, about 1/4 of a red onion, about 1/4 lb of mushrooms (sliced and sauteed in butter/olive oil until softened and golden) and one romaine lettuce heart.  I used half of an 8 ounce package of rice sticks/rice vermicelli noodles and less than one package of spring roll wrappers.

I was serving 6 people, one of whom is a vegetarian and two others of whom do not eat shrimp, but everyone at their fill and there were enough ingredients leftover to make 6 more vegetarian spring rolls (the meat was all gone) the next day.  I also served some steamed, in-the-shell edamame along with this.  If you’re serving REALLY hungry people, you might not have many/any leftovers.

Chicken Cutlets with Chickpea and Pesto Salad

Recipe here.

The Chickpea-Pesto Salad came together in two seconds flat and was a nice entree for Vegetarian Girl.  We adapted the chicken a bit for the carnivores in the crowd…I cut two boneless, skinless chicken breasts into three pieces each and then dredged them in flour, then beaten egg, then in a mixture of half plain bread, half panko, spiced up with a touch of dried parsley, dried thyme and just a touch of paprika and garlic powder.  I fried them in half butter/half olive oil.

This was quite yummy and SUPER easy.  I made half of the chicken to serve with the red lentil-kohlrabi-couscous salad from last night and the other half for tonight.  Two chicken breasts to serve two meals to three people?  Awesome!  I cut them up like this, before breading and frying.

I used the “gluten-free” tag for the chickpea salad.  The chicken cutlets are not gluten-free, unless you use some sort of gluten-free breadcrumbs (in which case, you’re home free!)

Curried Red Lentil, Kohlrabi, and Couscous Salad

Recipe here.

This was quite yummy (the dressing, in particular, is delicious,) but the recipe makes WAY too much.  We will be eating this for days.  Lots of commenters have said the same thing on epicurious, but I didn’t (thumping forehead) actually read them before executing this recipe.  So, unless you’re having a huge party or are attending a vegetarian potluck, you should make half the batch.

Other commenters also mentioned that the red lentils took less time to cook than the recipe said and that is definitely true.  In fact, I really think a lentil with more bite would be better in this recipe.  Plain brown ones would be great.  I think French green ones (my usual favorite) would be too peppery and strong and would overpower the kohlrabi.

The final product of this recipe is very dependent upon the quality of your curry powder.  If you can’t remember when you bought your jar, throw it out.  And then buy some of this.  Or this, if you like it spicier.

Also?  Kohlrabi is weird.  Tasty.  But weird.  My kohlrabi didn’t have the leaves, so I just omitted that step from the recipe.

Smoky Black Bean Quesadillas

Recipe, from Deborah Madison’s fabulous Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone book, here.

These were VERY messy, but quite delicious.  I think 1/3 cup of the bean mixture is a bit much for one quesadilla, as it does run out quite a bit as you cook them.  I would recommend either using wheat tortillas, because they’re a little larger, or using less of the bean dip, if you’re sticking with the corn tortillas.

Also, I used the juice of 3 limes (the recipes states 2 or 3,) but the dip was pretty tangy, so I’ll use 2 next time.  It could also benefit from a tiny bit more cumin and maybe just a tiny bit of oregano.

With those slight modifications, we will definitely be making this quick and easy dip again.  It would be great inside a veggie wrap, too.