Category Archives: veggies

Mojo Verde from “Tapas” by Ann and Larry Walker, 1998.

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That stuff is like crack cocaine of dips/sauces and my gang love it. I got my recipe from a Tapas cookbook by Ann and Larry Walker, now out of print, that I found in a used book rack several years ago. It has just a few ingredients–green bell peppers, garlic, sherry vinegar, olive oil and cilantro…Tina

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This bright green sauce probably came to mainland Spain from South or Central America via the Canary Islands, where we enjoyed it with virtually every meal. It is exciting to both the palate and the eye. Explore its uses with fish, meat, and cooked vegetables such as boiled potatoes, or as a lively dip for raw vegetables.

4 cloves garlic

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1 medium green bell pepper, stemmed and seeded

1/2 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons red wine or sherry vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

In a blender or food processor, whirl the garlic with the cilantro until it forms a paste, carefully pushing down the solids with a rubber spatula. Add the bell pepper, then the olive oil and vinegar, and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Let it rest for 30 minutes before serving. The sauce keeps for several hours, but turns a little gray if kept overnight.  Makes about 2 cups.

World’s Best Green Beans- The Roasted Vegetable cookbook

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2 pounds green beans

2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

coarse sea salt or kosher salt

1. preheat oven to 450-500 degrees

2. arrange the green beans in a single layer on a sheet pan or cookie sheet.  drizzle the oil over the beans and roll until well covered.

3.  roast about 15 min, until beans are well browned, shaking the pan occasionally  for even cooking.

4.  transfer the beans to a serving bowl and sprinkle with salt to taste.  serve immediately.

serves 4-6.

Curried Potatoes And Peas Samosas – Serves 2

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1/2 lbs Yukon gold potatoes — diced
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup donion — diced
1 tablespoon garlic — minced
2 tablespoon butter — unsalted
2 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 cup vegetable or chicken broth
1/2 cup peas — frozen but thawed
Juice of 1/2 lime
Salt to taste
1 pkg pie dough (purchased)15 oz

Preheat oven to 450F; line a baking sheet with parchment.

Cook potatoes in salted water in a large saute pan, covered, over medium heat until tender, 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain, set aside, and return pan to burner.

Saute the onion and garlic in butter over medium heat until onion begins to soften about 3 minutes. Stir in Curry powder and cook 30 seconds.

Deglaze with broth, then ad peas and reserved potatoes, bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, add lime juice, and season with salt; cool slightly.

To assemble, unroll pie dough rounds and cut each into quarters. Spoon 1/2 cup curry mixture in the center of 4 quarters; top each with remaining dough quarters. Seal samosas with fingers, crimp with a fork, and carefully transfer to prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden, 15 minutes.

Serve with chutney and salad.

Terry’s notes: I used 8 ounces of Simply Potatoes Hash Brown with onions the large cube. Cooked briefly and then I used 1/2 cup of the potato water in the curry mix. I used 1/2 regular McCormick Curry Powder and 1/2 Penzy’s Hot Curry powder. It sure was easy to put together and very good. Makes 4 or more which are smaller if you want them as hors d’oeuvres.

Serve with tomato chutney

Cabbage Soup

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1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced small
2 medium carrots, diced small
2 celery stalks, diced small
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 medium Yukon Gold potato, peeled and diced small
6 cups veggie broth
2 bay leaves
1/2 head (1 1/2 pounds) green cabbage, cored and thinly sliced
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 teaspoons white vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion, carrots, and celery; cook, stirring
occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Add leeks and garlic and cook, stirring, until leeks begin to
soften, 2 minutes. Add potato, broth, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Stir in cabbage and season generously with salt and pepper.

Return soup to a boil, then reduce to a rapid simmer. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in vinegar

Israeli Salad

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3 medium or 6 small Israeli cucumbers, chopped small
3 medium or 6 small Israeli cucumbers, chopped small
4 Roma tomatoes, chopped small
1 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 cup fresh mint leaves, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons vinegar, any type you like
1/4 c. feta cheese
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

 

Combine all ingredients together in a large bowl and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Thai Green Curry with Vegetables and Tofu

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2 cups coconut milk

1 tbsp oil 1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic minced

1-2 tablespoons green curry paste ( click for recipe I use canned) (note be careful this is HOT, I used 1 tbsp)

1/2 – 1 cup vegetable broth NOTE start with a half cup, add more if needed I used 1 c. and thought it was too soupy so had to thicken)

2 tablespoons lite soy sauce (or tamari)

1 package ounces extra-firm tofu, cubed and lightly pressed

2-4 cups swiss chard leaves, thinly sliced  instead of chard, use 2-4 cups of any green leafy vegetable  (I used spinach, didn’t have chard)

1 bunch asparagus, ends trimmed and stalks cut into 1-inch pieces

Juice of half a lime

1 teaspoon sugar, agave nectar, or sugar substitute

salt to taste ( I don’t think this is needed)

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro, to garnish

Heat a large, non-stick wok or pan and add oil and the onions. Cook until they begin to soften and then add the garlic and curry paste and cook for another minute.

Add coconut milk. Stir in the vegetable broth, soy sauce, and tofu. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Add the Swiss chard and asparagus and stir well. Cover and simmer, stirring often, until vegetables are tender but asparagus is still slightly crisp. Stir in the lime juice and sweetener and add salt to taste. Serve over rice, garnished with chopped cilantro.  Servings: 6  From http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/

NOTE: if this is too soupy you may thicken with a corn starch slurry.

Pea and Pesto Soup – Nigella Lawson

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3 cups water

3 cups frozen peas

2 scallions

1 teaspoon Maldon salt or kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon lime juice

4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) fresh pesto

The quickest way to proceed is to fill a kettle first and put it on to boil. When it’s boiled, measure the amount you need into a pan and put on the stove to come back to a boil.

Add the frozen peas, scallions, salt and lime juice and let everything bubble together for 7 minutes. Discard the scallions and blitz the peas and their liquid with the pesto in a blender. enough for 2 hearty bowls

Roasted Eggplant Caponata – Ina

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1 large eggplant (1 1/2 pounds)

Good olive oil

4 ounces jarred roasted red peppers, chopped

1/2 cup large green olives, pitted and chopped

1 cup chopped yellow onion

1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)

3 tablespoons minced parsley

2 tablespoons pine nuts, toasted

2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice

2 tablespoons drained capers

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon red wine vinegar

½-1 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Toasted pita triangles, for serving

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil.

Place the whole eggplant on the pan, prick with a fork in several places, and rub with olive oil. Roast for 45 to 50 minutes, until the eggplant is very soft when pierced with a knife. Set aside to cool. Halve the eggplant, peel, and discard the skin. Place the eggplant, peppers, and olives in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and pulse until coarsely chopped. Pour into a mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a medium saute pan. Add the onion and red pepper flakes and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes, until the onion is lightly browned. Add the garlic, cook for 1 minute, and add to the eggplant mixture. Add the parsley, pine nuts, lemon juice, capers, tomato paste, vinegar, salt, and pepper and mix. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for a few hours to allow the flavors to develop. Taste for seasonings and serve at room temperature with toasted pita triangles.

Tony Bourdain’s Mushroom Soup – Les Halles Cookbook

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2-4 tablespoons Butter

1 small Onion — thinly sliced

12 ounces Button mushrooms

4 cups veggie Stock

1 sprig Italian parsley — whole

Salt and Pepper

2 ounces Dry sherry — high quality

In a medium saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter over median heat and add the onion. Cook until the onion is soft and translucent,, then add the mushrooms and the remaining butter. Let the mixture sweat for about 8 minutes, taking care that the onion doesn’t take  on any brown color. Stir in the chicken stock and the parley and bring to a boil. Immediately reduce the heat and simmer for about an hour.

After an hour, remove the parsley and discard. let the soup cool for a few minutes, then transfer to the blender and carefully blend at high speed until smooth. Do I have to remind you to do this in stages, with the blender’s lid firmly held down, and with the weight of your body keeping the thing from flying off and allowing boiling hot mushroom puree to erupt all over your kitchen?

IMPROVISATION

To astound your guest with a Wild Mushroom Soup, simply replace some of those button mushrooms with a few dried cepes or morels which have been soaked until soft, drained, and squeezed. Not too many; the dried mushroom will have a much stronger taste, and you don’t want to overwhelm the soup. Pan sear, on high heat, a single small, pretty, fresh chanterelle or morel for each portion, and then slice into a cute fan and float on top in each bowl.

Recipe Notes

Try adding dried chanterelles and morels to the soup. Very simple but good enough to serve as a small first course at a dinner party.

Mushroom, Lentil, and Wild Rice Timbales

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These timbales also make a delicious appetizer spread on crackers.

1 large onion, finely chopped
2 large slices bread (may be gluten-free)
2 cups mushrooms, quartered (about 10 large)
1/2 cup silken tofu ( firm or extra-firm)
3 cloves garlic, quartered
1 tablespoon sherry
2 tablespoons water
1 cup lentils, cooked
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1/4 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon rubbed sage
3 tablespoons cornstarch, or arrowroot
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup wild rice, cooked
salt and freshly ground black pepper
sliced mushrooms for garnish (optional)

Make ahead: 1 cup cooked lentils (from about 1/2 cup dried) and 1 cup wild rice (about 1/2 cup before cooking)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray 6 ramekins with canola oil or cooking spray and have ready a large baking pan that will hold them (9×13-inch should work). Place one nice-looking mushroom slice in the bottom of each ramekin, if desired.

Saute the onion in a non-stick pan until it begins to brown. Set aside.

Place the bread in a food processor and pulse until it turns to crumbs. Add the mushrooms, tofu, garlic, sherry, and water and blend until fairly smooth. Add the lentils and process again until smooth. Add the tomato paste, herbs, cornstarch, and salt and process until well-blended. Add the onions to the processor and pulse to include them but do not over-process (you want them to retain some texture.)

Scrape the contents of the food processor into a bowl and add the cooked wild rice. Season with salt and black pepper to taste.

Divide the mixture among the oiled ramekins and smooth the tops with a spoon. Set the ramekins in the large baking dish and add hot water to the dish, taking care not to splash it into the ramekins.

Bake, uncovered, until tops are brown and crusty and middles seem moderately firm when pressed with a finger–about 45-50 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes. Run a thin knife around the edges and invert the ramekins onto serving plates. Serve with your favorite mushroom gravy (or see mine below).

Note: If you plan to serve these later, keep the timbales in the ramekins, covered, and reheat in their water bath for about 10 minutes. Or (it’s heresy to say this, but) microwave each one for about a minute before serving.  http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/