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favourite recipes - vegetarian content
federica
Seeker of the clear blue sky...Its better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak out and remove all doubt Moderator
As promised - or threatened - I've opened a couple of threads (this one, Vegetarian ,and another for recipes containing Meat) so that we can all come in and share culinary delights! The recipes can be of any favourite dishes - just stick 'em where they should go. And don't talk - Eat!! Enjoy, folks -!!;)
Insalata di Peperoni - Bell pepper salad;
You remember I advised you to have a heat diffuser in your kitchen? well, read on....
3 - 4 Bell peppers - multi-coloured.
1 large juicy clove of garlic
sprinkle of chilli flakes
Olive oil (the best possible)
salt to taste.
Place your heat diffuser on a gas ring, and let it get hot over a medium flame.
This allows you to roast two peppers at a time, and not have to stand over them watching and turning them all the time.
Put the peppers on the diffuser, and roast the skin until it's really black, blistered and charred all over. No, not just coloured - REALLY black. The pepper will start going soft and you'll think you've overdone it. It's ok, it's supposed to look like that.
Place the charred mess.... sorry, grilled pepper, in a bowl. Cover. Do the remaining peppers in the same way, and put them all into the same bowl. Cover, leave to cool.
When cold, the skin will just peel off really easily, but be careful to reserve and keep all the juices.
Remove the stems, cores and seeds. Slice the peppers thinly lengthways, and place into a shallow dish, with any of the reserved juices.
using a vegetable mandolin, slice the garlic just as thin as you can, and add to the peppers. Sprinkle with the dried flaked chilli, again according to taste, season with salt and glug generously with Olive Oil.
This salad is excellent just on its own, or with a good Brie or Cheddar cheese, crusty bread and a cold glass of white wine. Enjoy.
Insalata di Peperoni - Bell pepper salad;
You remember I advised you to have a heat diffuser in your kitchen? well, read on....
3 - 4 Bell peppers - multi-coloured.
1 large juicy clove of garlic
sprinkle of chilli flakes
Olive oil (the best possible)
salt to taste.
Place your heat diffuser on a gas ring, and let it get hot over a medium flame.
This allows you to roast two peppers at a time, and not have to stand over them watching and turning them all the time.
Put the peppers on the diffuser, and roast the skin until it's really black, blistered and charred all over. No, not just coloured - REALLY black. The pepper will start going soft and you'll think you've overdone it. It's ok, it's supposed to look like that.
Place the charred mess.... sorry, grilled pepper, in a bowl. Cover. Do the remaining peppers in the same way, and put them all into the same bowl. Cover, leave to cool.
When cold, the skin will just peel off really easily, but be careful to reserve and keep all the juices.
Remove the stems, cores and seeds. Slice the peppers thinly lengthways, and place into a shallow dish, with any of the reserved juices.
using a vegetable mandolin, slice the garlic just as thin as you can, and add to the peppers. Sprinkle with the dried flaked chilli, again according to taste, season with salt and glug generously with Olive Oil.
This salad is excellent just on its own, or with a good Brie or Cheddar cheese, crusty bread and a cold glass of white wine. Enjoy.
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Serves 4. (Most of my recipes usually do.)
1 can chickpeas, drained - not rinsed!
1 clove of good, fat white, pearly, deliciously blood-cleansing, purifying anti-social garlic.
2 fresh, hot red chillies, finely sliced, seeds included (oh, don't be such a wuss!) or three good generous pinches of dried chilli flakes
1 - 2 rounded Tsps. cumin seeds, dry-roasted in a skillet until they start to brown and release their wonderful aroma....
Juice of 1 lemon
1 - 2 TBSPS Tahini, or three TBSPS of sesame seeds, treated as cumin seeds above, then ground down to a powder. (Add a drop of sesame oil to make a runny paste, if you use this method.)
Generous glugs of finest first-pressing Virgin Olive Oil.
Large Mortar & Pestle.
(available from all good asian and cookery shops, and essential to any serious cook's kitchen! Don't mess about with those stupid, time-saving electrical gadgets! Get back "in touch" with your food! Feel it! Watch it develop under your fingers and before your eyes! It's so satisfying! You don't have to extract the food with scrapers, and leave half of it behind on the blades, and do all that washing up! eat it straight from the Mortar! Yum!! And if it was good enough for Grandma, it's good enough for me!)
First, deal with the cumin and sesame seeds. Roast. Put sesame aside for a moment.
Crush cumin seeds in mortar.
Add garlic cloves, and a Tsp. of salt. this "grips" the garlic and makes crushing much easier.
Add chick peas. Crush. This is so satisfying - you can make them as creamy or leave them as coarse as you like....
Add tahini or crushed/ground sesame seeds.
Add chillies. Do this to taste.... It deserves a cheeky piquancy, but should not blow your head off and leave a nasty mess where your mouth should be...
Add lemon juice. Be more gentle now, otherwise you'll splash everywhere, and make a mess, and you'll only have to clear it up....
Finally, add enough Olive oil to make the mixture absolutely wonderfully scoopable with either toasted pitta breads, or just toast, or if you want to be a real pig, just your fingers. Season to taste. only do this at the very end, to (a) allow all the other flavours to blend and permeate the chick peas, and ( b ) leave it for a minute or two between tastings, to let the salt dissolve and flavour the food.
Salting is not a super-instant seasoning.
It's a mineral.
It takes a short while to do its' work, so don't risk over-salting, OK?!?
Eat straight form the mortar. Take it out to the table with a flourish, or devour it infront of a late-nite movie, with your girl/boy friend/partner/spouse or if desperate, your mother. If really desperate, your landlord.
2-3 tbls butter
2-3 tbls tamari
Nutritional yeast flakes for sprinkling
Heat the oven to 375. Slice the tofu into this slices.
Melt the butter and add the tamari, mix together.
Place the tofu pieces on a baking sheet and brush with the tamari and butter mixture. Sprinkle with the yeast flakes and bake for 20 minutes, or until the tofu is crispy.
I serve this with a side of cous cous and veggies.
2-3 carrots sliced
1 small rutabaga, roughly chopped
1-2 tbls tamari
1/2 cup water
9 ounces firm tofu
Toasted sesame seeds to garnish
Heat the oven to 400 degrees. Heat the oil in a pan and saute the carrots and the rutabaga for 5 minutes. Add the water and tamari and simmer until the vegetables are tender.
Transfer the veggies to a food processor, add the tofu and blend until smooth. Spoon the mixture into a small loaf pan and bake for about 30 minutes, until firm. Leave to cool, then garnish with sesame seeds before serving.
I serve this with a side of cous cous or quinoa.
4 tbls butter, melted
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
1/4 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 large apples, cut into chunks
Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the squash in half and remove the seeds and stringy bits.
Mix the melted butter with the bread crumbs, spices and apples and spoon this mixture into the squash halves. Place the squash in a roasting pan and cover with foil., bake for about an hour, or until the squash is soft. Remove the foil and bake for another 10 minutes to brown the tops.
This is one of my daughter's favorite side dishes.
(You might as well realise now that a lot of my recipes will have a strong Italian or Asian Indian influence.... I'm half Italian, and my family has always loved making and eating authentic Indian food.....)
2 - 3 tbsps good Olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped.
1-2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped.
2 good-sized corgettes 'chunked'
3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 green, 1 yellow) cut into bite-sized bits
1 good shiny aubergine, sliced
2 - 3 medium potatoes, diced in 1" cubes
1 tin of plum tomatoes or
5 fresh ripe plum tomatoes, also 'chunked'
stock powder
1tbsp tomatoe purée (only if using fresh tomatoes.)
First, slice the aubergine, salt the slices both sides, and place in a colander in the sink, to drain for about an hour.
Then, heat the oil in a heavy-based pan, and on a medium heat, fry the onions until softened.
Add the potato cubes and frazzle for a while until they begin to cook and crisp up a bit on the outside. keep stirring, or they'll stick. unless your pan's non stick.... but keep 'em moving anyway, to prevent burning....
after a while, add the courgettes. salt well to draw the water out.
Stir;
add the sliced peppers (de-seeded) and stir it all up again.... keep it moving so all the flavours meld beautifully.
Finally, add either the tinned tomatoes, roughly chopped, or the fresh tomatoes and tomato purée.
Add the chopped garlic.
Salt again, to draw more fluid out of the vegetables. Sprinkle a bit of stock powder over, stir well, turn the heat down, (place onto a heat diffuser if you have one) and keep cooking for around an hour to really reduce the fluid and make a gorgeous vegetable stew.
NOW:
Dry the slices of aubergine off, brush lightly with oil, and dry-fry in a non-stick frying pan (or borrow the hear diffuser from under the vegetable stew for a minute, and use that.....!)
When they're really well roasted and starting to colour very well, put aside, and finish the remaining aubergine slices.
When all done, add to the vegetable stew.
serve with chicken cutlets, or a huge lump of gooey french brie....
My mouth is watering.... that's a good sign! It's come out well again!
This one's pretty easy actually, but delish!
6 medium potatoes 3 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
3 tbsp vegetable oil finely chopped fresh dill
11 oz mushrooms or parsley
1 tbsp unsalted butter
3 tbsp sour cream
1 tbsp mayonnaise (homemade if possible)
Peel, rinse and dry potatoes, then cut into 1/4 inch slices. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet, add the potatoes and cook over moderately low heat for 5-7 minutes on each side, or until half-cooked.
Preheat oven to 375.
Wash and dry mushrooms thoroughly. Separate mushroom stems and caps and slice stems thinly.
Butter the bottom and sides of a 3 quart casserole. Spread half the potato slices on the bottom and cover with the mushroom caps, scattering the sliced stems between the caps. Place the remaining potatoes in an even layer over the mushrooms. Mix the sour cream with the mayonnaise and spread over the potatoes. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 30 minutes.
Sprinkle with the chopped dill or parsley and serve.
A nice old Russian touch for your holiday meal!
Palzang
More to the point..A recipe that is not only simple but "Traditionally" Tibetan?
From a wonderful little book called, "The Lhasa Moon Tibetan Cookbook" by Tsering Wangmo & zara Houshmand, 'Snow Lion' Publications: ISBN: 1-55939-104-9
"DESI is an auspicious ceremonial dish, traditionally eaten at wddings and on the first day of the New Year.....The Droma root auspicious in itself is gathered in the wild in Tibet, and even there may be hard to come by.....You can omit it entirely, but substituting a small sweet potato gives a very similar flavour.
Use the best basmati rice you can buy for this dish.
Serve DESI individually in small bowls, piled high to signify prosperity, abundance and wealth."
DESI
2 Cups of basmati rice
1/4 cup of butter
1 handful of dried droma or 1 small sweet potato
1/4 cup of yellow raisins
1/4 cup of sugar
Wash the rice until the water runs virtually clear. place in a pot with 4 cups of water. bring to the boil, stir once, turn the heat down low, and cover. let it cook until the water is absorbed (about 20 minutes.)
meanwhile, soak the raisins in cold water for 10 minutes. In another pot, boil the droma or sweet potato without peeling it, till just cooked. it should not be soft or mushy.
remove from the water, and cut into small pieces, half-inch cubes....
When the rice is cooked, add the butter. Stir to fluff up the rice, and mix in the butter. add the raisins and the sugar. finally, add the Droma/Sweet potato and toss lightly to mix in.
There are other desserts, but they come with complicated illustrations on how to form the dough into symbolic shapes.... I also have the recipe for making Tsampa (roast barley flour) which is the staple and nutritious ingredient known and loved by all Tibetans...plus traditional Tibetan tea, using Ghee and ordinary goat's milk.... as dri* milk is somewhat hard to come by in the West - !
(* The 'dri' is the female Yak.... milk from a yak would be nothing short of a miracle!)
I'll give the recipe a try and also see if I can hunt up the book!
Scrounge up $3.49 (US)
A trip to the local grocery store.
Pay for said item.
Bring home in a hurry.
After you have done the following, I find opening the bag and letting it breath for a bit (while you turn on the TV or get a Pepsi or Mountain Dew) before shoving both hands in and pigging out - is the best way to enjoy this treat!
-bf
You'll find instructions on how to boil water in 'Chapter 17 - Handy Tips for Advanced Cooks'....:thumbsup:
But I personally like the idea.
If you want to make a good big batch, use a 500g pack of pearl barley. Divide it into two and make in two separate batches. Get the best quality barley you can. If this means buying organic from a health food shop, it's money not wasted!
The following will take you a good hour to do, so give yourself the time.
Soak 250g of pearl barley in a bowl of water, overnight. Cover it by about an inch, to an inch-and-a-half of cold water.
In the morning, drain well, and pour onto a clean teacloth. Spread the barley well, and roll the teacloth up to form a firm sausage, to remove the excess water from the swollen barley. They will have become much softer, and opaque.
After five minutes, unroll the cloth, and put the barley into a bowl. Cover with the same cloth.
take a heavy skillet (preferably cast iron, or non-stick.) Heat thoroughly on a med. to high heat.
take a handful of barley, and put it in the pan.
Now:
You need to keep stirring. I use a pair of cooking chopsticks, but a wooden spoon or wooden fork will do. At first the grains will start sticking together, but gradually, they'll let go of each other. They will also go translucent, as they begin to cook....
keep stirring and turning, until they take on a nice nutty brown colour, and sound like gravel in the pan. This will take about ten minutes or so, so you see what I mean about 'giving yourself the time' - !!
Do all the barley in batches. This will take about forty minutes in all....
Spread the barley out onto a dry clean teacloth to cool more quickly.
When all the barley is done, you need to grind the grains to a flour. I use a coffee grinder and do it in batches.... I would suggest a food processor, but keep an eye on an even consistency....
Reserve a good two to three heaped tablespoons of whole roasted grains, for adding to soups and stews. Because they are already cooked, they can be added in at the end of cooking, and will only need around 5 minutes to soak in the food as they go soft and yummy.....
Store both the flour and the grains (separately!) in jars or airtight containers.
Rice and Fresh Tomatoes
I use good Brown Rice from the Health food Store, there are many varieties.
and cook according to directions.
When the rice is cooked add fresh chopped tomatoes and fresh basil if you like
Swirl in some good olive oil or sometimes I use all american butter!
Salt and Pepper to taste.
Simple and good for you.
The Desi was quite a hit at the potluck!!
easy to make and tasty!!!
1 1/2 - 2 cups asiago cheese
Ragu Sun-dried Tomato Sauce
Garlic salt
preheat oven to 350
Cut squash in half lengthwise and seed. Place in cake pan with just enough water to cover bottom. Cook 30-40 min. until tender. Scrape all inside out.(Will look like spagetti noodles.) Place back in pan and liberally sprinkle with garlic salt. Add ragu and shredded asiago and stir well. Place back in oven for about 20 more minutes until cheese starts to melt. Take out of oven and sprinkle more asiago on top.Do Not Stir in this time. Pop back in oven and broil til' Cheese on top begins to brown. EAT UP! Yummy! :thumbsup:
Take it out...let it cool...cut in half...scoop out seeds...scrape out 'spagetti'.
It's absolutely delicious the way it is. You don't need butter, cheese or anything else.
Yes, discovered by accident!
We tried growing spuds last year. out of thirty-six plants we got three kilos of potatoes, and colorado beetle!
We're moving back to the UK later this year, where I will be far more spoilt for choice in my grocery selection - can't wait - !!
I don't go in for fox-hunting though... as Oscar Wilde put it,
'The Unspeakable in pursuit of the Uneatable'.
I agree with the gist, mind you....!
SPAGHETTI SQUASH PIE
1 med. spaghetti squash
2 unbaked 9 inch pie crust or shells
1 1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 c. butter, melted
4 eggs yolks, beaten
1 c. milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt
Whipped cream (optional)
Cook squash in large pot with 2 inches salted water 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp tender turn after 10 minutes to cook evenly. Drain and set aside to cool. Using a fork, remove seeds and discard. Continue using fork, remove spaghetti like strands from inside squash. Place half of squash strands in each pastry shell. Spread evenly over bottom. Combine remaining ingredients except whipped cream. Mix well. Pour half of milk mixture over strands in each pastry shell. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes or until filling is set. Serve warm or cool. Top with whipped cream if desired. Makes 2 pies.
May be used in place of coconut in pie or cake. Fun vegetable
Three Main Steps:
1. Making the base
2. Making the curry
3. Finish it off
Base
To begin making Laksa, some basic ingredients are need, these are:
-Vegetable Oil
-Onion, slicked (Red and/or Yellow)
-Garlic, crushed
-Chili Powder
-Chilis, sliced (red or green)
-Curry powder
You can add other ingredients such as :
-Coriander
-Cumin
-Mushrooms, sliced
-Shallot, 2 or 3
Begin heating the vegetable oil in a wok. Throw in the onion slices and the garlic and stirl well. After stirring, add the chili powder, the curry powder, the chilis and the other ingredients you like and stir again.
Curry
Ingredients for curry:
-Loads of curry powder
-Chili powder
-Half a liter of coconut juice
-Cumin
-Coriander
-Other spices you like (You can use brocolli or cauliflower if you like)
Meanwhile put up a pan or bowl, whichever you like to cook in, and put about a liter to 2 liters of water in it. Cook well and add the cumin, coriander, and the other spices you like.
Throw all of this into the wok, together with the base. Cook well. Add the loads of curry powder and the chili powder to it and stir well. Then add the coconut juice.
Finishing
You need to have noodles. Most people cook the noodles in other water but this is just a waste of water and the flavour of the noodles. So add the noodle directly into the wok (save another pan or bowl). Let the noodels get eatable. You'd like to add some small or large pieces of tofu. If you don't like them, skip them, it's all up to you!
You can add other ingredients as well.
You can all call me Eric. What can I call you?
I have looked for it, but I keep forgetting to buy it when I have the money.
One box cous cous.
One cup red lentils (masoor dal)
One package onion soup
Add the soup mix and Boil the lentils until they're almost mushy. While boiling the lentils, prepare the cous cous according to the box instructions. Then when both are ready, mix in enough cous cous into the onion/lentils mixture to make a nice thick mixture. Then, and this is optional, add about a half teaspoon of black salt (this is found in Indian markets). Next is the secret to the patties holding together and it adds protein. Add appx. 2 tablespoons of wheat gluten.
Throw these in the oven at 350F and bake for as long as it takes to really firm up the texture and get a good crisp coat on the outside. I also like to flip mine once.
You could break these up and put them in a curry, serve them over rice with some of your favorite sauce, or eat them as a sandwich.
Mmmmmmmmmmm.......
Angela
One bag of 15 bean soup mix (any flavor is fine) discard the seasoning pack. Wash and sort beans according to package directions.
Using a 5 or 6 quart pot ,soak the beans overnight in water (fill pot about 3/4 full of water).
The next morning add 1/2 cup of rice, 1/2 of cup split peas, 1 cup of olive oil and 1 cup of soy or Tamari sauce to the beans & water. You can more or less soy or Tamari according to taste.
Simmer on low all day.Make sure to keep the heat low as the peas will stick to the bottom.
Soup will thicken as it cooks.
Enjoy!
Now for the real Laksa! (Xray's secret recipe)
1 packet of 2min noodles
2 tblspns of fish sauce
3 chicken stock cubes
I tablespoon sugar
2-3 tblspns lemon/lime juice
2 teaspoons of orange powder stuff-name escapes me (ill tell you soon-turmeric!)
1 sachet of noodle flavour (from the noodles packet)
vegetables and chicken or prawns qty 6-8 per person
2 tablespoons of red curry paste or Massaman curry paste
750ml water
large handfull of bean shoots/chinese vegetables in a can etc.
chopped vegetables 400grams/whatever
1 can (400ml) coconut milk
method
boil water with curry paste and all other flavourings in saucepan
sometimes I mash the prawn heads with my mortar and pestle and add that sludge to the mix-do what you want
add vegatables, cook till vegies just lightly cooked
add noodles cook till soft
add coconut milk till consistency is milky and yellowy in colour
top with fried onions and paprika powder and make prawn crackers if you wish for an additional
ENJOY!
cheers!
"No, don't stop the carnivore!"
If only the victorians hadn't have invented pigs I'd be so much more intelligent.
we need more stories on tap dancing badgers... by god no.. Man looses car keys? what u playign at BBC!?!
A healthier diet, makes you more awake, yes.. but its more to do with ppl who eat everything.. ppl who only eat junk.. (gelatine isn't for vege's..) and the like.
I went to the chippy.. and behold.. the 2 obese children who hover over the precent.. buying chips and poor excuses for meat. They spend all day hanging around the precent buying sweets and take out..
Obesity and over weight issues stem from more than lack of vegetables and fruit
i can look down at that IQ report with my oh so amazing.. 126.. lol .. *makes speedy escape*
although meat is one of the main things in ur diet you can do without.. it really depends what else you eat...
oh and vegetarians more likely to be women.. yes.. but having a sister and mother who are veges.. has taught me one thing..
for them its not for health benefit.. they are actually scared of meat.. and my mom hates animals.. they just seem to be attached to the label vegetarian..
I agree entirely, Celebrin.
As a bunch of aspiring Buddhists, what we are taught to practise is mindful awareness. One of the most obviuous and safest places to practise 'off the cushion' is around what we eat. It goes far beyond choices like meat-eating, vegetariansim or a vegan approach. I have met plenty of unmindful vegans!
Some recent research appears to suggest (I haven't got a link but you may have heard of it) that our present crisis of obesity is the result of dietary changes two generations ago! The resultant effects on RNA may explain why we are just now experiencing the results. If this is the case, we need to understand diet and its effects on the whole metabolic and genetic structure, as well as the psychological and spiritual.
We used to say "a moment on the lips, a lifetime on the hips" but, perhaps, it would be truer to say "a snackfood may be fun but our grandkids'll die young".
To my mind, what makes a difference to my life in thinking about karma is how every one of my actions carries consequences far beyond my own satisfaction or the temporary alleviation of some need or want. Small rituals help me to remember this when I am buying, preparing or eating food. I have even, occasionally, used some of the 'graces' that I have learned over the years.
Palzang
i believe there will be another 'see-saw' moment.. when obesity becomes much less common