Loved this pithy and informative article by Mark Bittman! The interactive feature provides 12 fool-proof and wholesome recipes that I can’t wait to make on a busy weeknight. Enjoy!
lv, molly
Tag Archives: vegetarian recipes
favorite recipes of 2011.
How was your new years? We rang it in with a delicious dinner at Dinette, filled with little toasts with delectable toppings (frittata and truffle oil! Christian had prosciutto) and a vegetarian main course that surpassed any I’ve had in years. Potato and parsnip latkes atop french lentils with caramelized onions. Simple and wholesome but insanely and surprisingly delicious.
Image via Matt Bites
The small dining room is decorated with tea trays, and it’s the most charming restaurant; I smiled the whole time. A very romantic new years eve, which was a nice change from my past new years eves, which consisted of going to see an Austrian DJ at a venue that’s too hip for me, eating a veggie dog in the pouring rain, and accidentally going to a bar filled with toasted middle aged women.
Quite a nice change. And I wore sequins! See how dapper we were?
And now for some recipes…
I paged through this past year’s posts in search of my favorite recipes from the past year. The recipes that I’ll continue to make this year– the things that stood out, that other people continue to ask for– and here they are! The top 15 of 2011 (I couldn’t limit it to just 10!).
What were your favorite things to make this past year?
lv, molly
In no particular order… the top 15. :)
1. Vegetarian Spaghetti and Meatballs
2. Oven Omelet with Fresh Herbs
3. Tofu Piccata with Roasted Cauliflower
4. Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Grapes & Walnuts
5. Nutmeg & Cinnamon Spiced Oatmeal Pancakes
6. Pumpkin Olive Oil Bread
7. Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour
8. State Fair Blackberry Pie
9. Poor Man’s Pasta
10. Spinach & Cheese Strata
11. Black Bean & Sweet Potato Tacos with Cilantro Slaw
12. Dill Butter
13. Moroccan Stuffed Tomatoes
14. Cheddar Dill Scones
15. Black Pepper Tofu
happy weekend!
I used to see Liv Tyler around the West Village, and I always assumed we’d be friends. Occasionally, I am presumptuous. Photobooth-style pictures are my favorite, and she looks like a fun lady.
I almost wrote, “Doesn’t she look like a hoot?” and I realized that’s something an 80-year-old might say. See the post about becoming a British Tory… I fear that was prophetic.
Hope you have a wonderful weekend! I’m going out dancing tonight in celebration of a friend’s 30th bday. We all need a little more dancing in our lives.
Here are a few fall favorites you may enjoy… lv, molly
This plaid skirt. It’d be so cute to wear to Thanksgiving dinner.
Ginger scones. I want to make these right now. And I probably would if it weren’t for the fact that I’ve eaten pie everyday for the past 3 days.
Chipmunks stuffing their faces. Why oh why am I posting this? Oh, right, I have no shame.
The New York Times’ Vegetarian Thanksgiving recipe collection. Everything looks amazing, and I want it all.
Saveur’s collection of vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes. I wish there were a few more protein-rich options, but I’m pretty psyched about the recipe for onion quiche.
Thigh-high socks. Yep, I went there, and somehow they work. I’m as surprised as you are.
Martha Stewart on “The Colbert Report.” I love everything about this video.
chana masala- yum!
Chana masala is one of my favorite comfort foods, and I’m so excited to have tweaked a recipe to the point where it’s reached perfection.
Make it on the first day that feels like fall, and you’ll barely miss summer. lv, molly
Chana Masala
Adapted liberally from Orangette
Serves 4-6 (with leftovers! yes!)
Good-quality olive oil
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp cumin seeds
½ tsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp garam masala
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp kosher salt, or to taste
2 Tbs cilantro leaves, roughly torn, plus more for garnish
A pinch of cayenne, or to taste (I like mine spicy, so I add more)
2 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
6-8 Tbs plain whole-milk yogurt or 4-6 Tbs cream (I prefer cream… some prefer yogurt. Whatever you fancy, readers)
Optional: a few lemon wedges. If you’re vegan and are omitting the dairy, be sure to serve with lemon.
Film the bottom of a large saucepan—preferably not nonstick—with olive oil, and place the pan over medium heat. Add the onion, and cook, stirring frequently, until it is deeply caramelized and even charred in some spots. Be patient. The more color, the more full-flavored the final dish will be. This can take 20 minutes or so.
Reduce the heat to low. Add the garlic, stirring, and add a bit more oil if the pan seems dry. Add the cumin seeds, coriander, ginger, garam masala, and fry, stirring constantly, until fragrant and toasty, about 30 seconds. Add ¼ cup water, and stir to scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Cook until the water has evaporated away completely. Pour in the juice from can of tomatoes, followed by the tomatoes themselves. Add the salt.
Raise the heat to medium, and bring the pot to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, add the cilantro and cayenne, and simmer the sauce gently, stirring occasionally, until it reduces a bit and begins to thicken. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. Add the chickpeas, stirring well, and cook over low heat for about five minutes. Add 2 Tbs water, and cook for another five minutes. Add another 2 Tbs water, and cook until the water is absorbed, a few minutes more.
This process of adding and cooking off water helps to concentrate the sauce’s flavor and makes the chickpeas more tender and toothsome. Taste, and adjust the seasoning as necessary. I kept mine cooking for close to an hour because my guests preferred drinking wine to eating dinner, so I added a few Tbs of water every 20 minutes or so to keep the chana masala from getting too dry.
Stir in the yogurt or cream, if you like, and garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice, preferably brown because it’s healthier + tastes better, I think.
Note: the best way to clean cilantro (or any other fresh herbs) is to soak it in a bowl of cold water. All of the dirt and sand will fall to the bottom, and voila! Clean herbs!
And for the vegans… This is what your chana masala will look like– a beautiful bright red.
a favorite cookbook + recipe.
World-renowned chef Madhur Jaffrey’s World of East: Vegetarian Cooking (1981) is one of my all-time favorite cookbooks, and I’ve only recently discovered its magic. In my (could stand to be more) humble opinion, Indian food has some of the best vegetarian cuisine the world over.
Given to me by my mom several years ago, this cookbook sat on my bookshelf unused until last year when I got bored cooking Jamie Oliver’s not-so-easily-adapted-to-vegetarianism recipes. I foolishly thought that a vegetarian cookbook published before I was born would somehow lack the nutrition and creativity of a newer cookbook… But that was silly; this cookbook is a treasure.
The book contains more than 400 recipes from Bali, India, Japan, China, and the Middle East, with sections charmingly entitled things like “Little Salads, Appetizers, Snacks & Drinks” to “Condiments, Dips, Chutneys, and Relishes.”
One of my favorite recipes comes from the “Beans and Dried Peas” chapter. I’ve posted my slightly adapted version below. While it’s not the prettiest of dishes, it’s incredibly delicious and healthy, especially when paired with rice to get all of the amino acids. It’s currently cooking in my kitchen– the scent of garam masala is irresistible! lv, molly
P.S. Jaffrey is not only a chef and food-writer, but she’s an actress and has starred in Shakespeare festivals in Berlin– hard not to love this lady.
Red Beans Cooked with Garlic + Ginger
Serves 4 to 6
1 cup small red azuki beans (or red lentils– see note)
2 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 quarter-sized slices of fresh ginger
1 whole dried hot pepper
1 Tbl. lime or lemon juice
3/4 to 1 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. garam masala
1/3 heavy cream or less (optional)
3 Tbl. ghee or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp. finely minced garlic
1/2 tsp. finely minced fresh ginger
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper or tandoori masala
*Note: if you use red lentils, this dish cooks much more quickly. Use 2 1/2 cups of water rather than 5, and boil the garlic and ginger with the lentils. With red lentils, this dish takes 40 minutes. Azuki beans have a more complex flavor and are worth a try, but when in a pinch, go for the red lentils to halve the cooking time.
Put the beans and 5 cups of water in a heavy 2 1/2 quart pot, and bring to a boil. Turn heat to low, and simmer for 2 minutes.
Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for 1 hour. Add the whole garlic cloves, slices of ginger, and whole red pepper. Bring to a boil. Cover so the lid is slightly ajar, lower heat, and simmer gently for 1 hour.
Mash the garlic cloves against the sides of the pot. Remove and discard the ginger slices and the whole red pepper.
Take 2 cups of the beans and liquid, and blend in a food processor or blender until smooth. Pour this paste back into the pot with the beans. Make sure the cream is at room temperature before you add it; otherwise it will curdle. Add the lime juice, salt, garam masala, and cream.
Stir and taste. Leave the beans uncovered over a low flame. Heat the ghee in a small skillet over medium heat. When hot, add the minced garlic and ginger. Allow to brown slightly. Add the cayenne, stir once, and pour the ghee-spice mixture over the beans. Cover immediately, and turn the heat off.
Serve with brown rice or other whole grains and a side of steamed or sauteed vegetables.
Photo via here.
eat your vegetables.
After all the holiday indulgences I mentioned before (namely alcohol & chocolate santas), my body is telling me that I should follow FDA guidelines and consume 5 servings of vegetables a day, curb the whiskey drinking, & give my leftover chocolate to people who don’t mind elastic waistbands.
Whether you like it or not, today’s post is intended to help us collectively detox by making dishes in which vegetables are the main stars. [And that's not the royal "us;" I'm going out on limb and assuming that you didn't spend your holidays nibbling on brussel sprouts.]
I’m going to make it easy on us because these dishes are good. Cook these (better yet, have someone make them for you), and I’m confident that the post-holiday grossness will dissipate. Happy getting-back-into-the-swing-of-things-post-holidays. xo, m
PS- Who am I kidding? Baked goods recipes will return. Give me a week of detoxing before I head back into the kitchen armed with sugar & a spatula.
Chopped Miso Salad
Serves 3-4 as a main course, 5-8 as a side salad
Recipe adapted from 101 Cookbooks
1 1/2 cups shallots, skinned and thinly sliced
splash of extra-virgin olive oil
pinch of salt
2 tablespoons miso
1/2 teaspoon powdered mustard (or a bit of whatever mustard you have around)
2 tablespoons brown sugar (or honey or agave)
1/4 cup (brown) rice vinegar
1/3 cup mild flavored extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon pure toasted sesame oil (optional)
1/2 of a medium-large cabbage
1 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/2 medium red onion, sliced
3/4 cup chives, minced
8 ounces extra-firm tofu, pressed, room temperature
Stir together the shallots, splash of olive oil and big pinch of salt In a large skillet over medium heat. Stir every few minutes; you want the shallots to slowly brown over about 15 minutes. Let them get dark, dark brown (but not burned). If needed, turn down the heat. Remove them from the skillet and onto a paper towel to cool in a single layer.
Make the dressing by whisking the miso, mustard, and brown sugar together. Now whisk in the rice vinegar and keep whisking until it’s smooth. Gradually whisk in the olive oil, and then the sesame oil. Two pinches of fine grain salt. Taste and make any adjustments if needed.
Cut the cabbage into two quarters, and cut out the core. Using a knife shred each quarter into whisper thin slices. The key here is bite-sized and thin. If any pieces look like they might be awkwardly long, cut those in half.
Gently toss the cabbage, shallots, almonds, red onion, chives and tofu in a large mixing/salad bowl. Add a generous drizzle of the miso dressing and toss again – until the dressing is evenly distributed. Add more a bit at a time if needed, until the salad is dressed to your liking.
Garlicky Greens
Serves 2-3 as a side
Adapted from 101 Cookbooks
1 large bunch of kale, chard
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
fine grain sea salt
5 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, optional
crushed red pepper flakes
Note: to make this dish vegan, sub. pine nuts for parmesan
To de-stem each leaf of chard/kale, grab the main stalk in one hand, and strip the leaf from the stem all the way up with the other. I then tear the big leaves into bite-sized pieces, but you can use a knife for this task if you prefer. Wash the greens in a big bowl (or sink) full of clean water, rinsing and swishing to rinse away any stubborn grit and dirt. Drain, rinse again, and set aside.
Hold off cooking the greens until just before eating. Then, in a large skillet heat the olive oil. Add a couple big pinches of salt and the greens. Stir continuously until their color gets bright green, and they just barely start to collapse – two, three, maybe four minutes, depending on how hot your pan is and how much structure your greens have. Then, just thirty seconds before you anticipate pulling the skillet off of the heat, stir in the garlic. Saute a bit, remove the pan from the heat, stir in the Parmesan, and add a big pinch of crushed red pepper flakes. Taste, add a bit of salt if needed, and serve immediately if not sooner.
Soba Noodles in Broth with Spinach & Shiitakes
Serves 4 generously
From The New York Times
1 ounce kombu seaweed
4 dried shiitake mushrooms
3/4 pound dried soba noodles
12 ounces spinach, stemmed and washed thoroughly, or 1 6-ounce bag baby spinach, rinsed
2 green onions, chopped
1 tablespoon sake
2 tablespoons mirin
2 to 4 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce (to taste)
For added protein, add extra firm tofu, chopped
Place the kombu and shiitakes in a large bowl, and cover with 4 1/2 cups hot water. Soak for 30 minutes. Place a strainer over a bowl and drain. Squeeze the mushrooms over the strainer, then rinse. Remove the mushroom stems and discard. Slice the caps thinly.
Meanwhile, cook the soba noodles. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Fill a bowl with ice water. When the water comes to a boil, add the soba. As the water comes back to a boil, add 1/2 cup of cold water to prevent it from boiling over. Allow to come back to a boil again, and add another 1/2 cup of cold water. Check for doneness, and if necessary bring back to a boil one more time and add another 1/2 cup of cold water. The soba should be tender all the way through but al dente — slightly firm to the bite. Transfer immediately to the ice water, and allow to cool for a few minutes, then drain.
Bring the water back to a boil, salt generously and add the spinach. Blanch for one minute, and transfer to a bowl of ice water. Drain, squeeze out excess liquid, and cut the squeezed bundle of spinach into four pieces.
Divide the noodles, spinach, mushrooms and green onions among four large soup bowls. In a saucepan, combine the soaking water from the kombu and mushrooms, the sake, mirin and soy sauce. Bring to a simmer. Taste and adjust seasonings. Pour over the ingredients in the soup bowls, and serve at once.
