Fair Weather Vegan

Recipes: Green Beans, Jam Tart

These were part of a lovely lunch served by a friend in her sunny backyard, complete with wandering cat and amazing company. I'm fairly sure the meal was parve, but I didn't even think about it until afterward.  It's always a good sign when it doesn't feel like anything is 'missing' just because there's no dairy.   

This lightly spiced green bean recipe is Mizrachi (via Middle Eastern Jews), and comes from here. 

6 garlic cloves, chopped (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 pounds sting beans, ends trimmed
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
1/2 teaspoon white pepper (optional)
One 6-ounce can tomato paste

1. In a medium saucepan, sauté the garlic in the vegetable oil over medium heat for 2 minutes, or until soft. Add the string beans, allspice, salt, 2 cups water, and, if desired, cinnamon and white pepper. Dollop the tomato paste by the heaping tablespoon over the surface of the cooking liquid. Do not stir. By letting the tomato paste remain undistributed, its thick consistency allows for maximum adherence to the string beans as the cooking liquid reduces.

2. Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Note: some people braise the beans in a 350 degree F oven for 2 hours after simmering so that the beans are exquisitely tender.

Yield: 10 servings

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The pastry 'coins' on top of the jam tart looked so beautiful that it was intimidating, but my friend swore it was in fact easy as...tart.   She used peach jam, which was perfect, but I'm sure it will work with any other fruit.  The source is here.  If cornmeal strikes you as being too heavy for pastry dough, be assured it does not taste at all like it has cornmeal in it. 

1 1/2 cups (210 grams) all-purpose flour
1/2 cup (70 grams) stone-ground cornmeal or polenta
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
9 tablespoons (4 1/2 ounces or 130 grams) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1/2 cup (100 grams) granulated sugar
1 large egg, whole
1 large egg, separated
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/3 to 1 3/4 cups (450 grams) jam (see Note above; I used the smaller amount) or marmalade
2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse-crystal or granulated sugar

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment or in a food processor, mix the butter and 1/2 cup (100 grams) sugar together until smooth. Add the egg, egg yolk (keep the egg white from the second egg on hand for later) and almond extract and beat until combined. Gradually add the flour mixture and mix until the dough just comes together.

Transfer about one-third of the dough to a lightly floured counter and shape it into a log about 2 inches (5 cm) in diameter. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate it until needed. (As always, I was in a rush and put this in the freezer.)

Transfer the remaining dough to a buttered 9-inch (23-cm) tart pan with a removable bottom of a 9-inch (23-cm) springform pan. Using your hands, press the dough evenly into the bottom. If using a tart pan, press the dough up the sides to the rim of the pan and set the tart pan on a baking sheet. If using a springform pan, press the dough about 3/4-inch (2-cm) up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate the dough-lined pan until firm, at least one hour. (Again, I used the freezer and it was firm in 30 minutes. I am impatient.)

Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Spread the jam or marmalade evenly over the dough in the pan. Cut the chilled dough into very thin discs with a sharp paring knife. Arrange them slightly overlapped in concentric circles over the jam to form a top crust. Whisk the remaining egg white with a teaspoon of water until frothy; brush evenly over the tart lid and then sprinkle with 2 tablespoons (30 grams) coarse sugar. Bake until the top crust is golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let cool completely.

Recipe: A Curry-Type Situation

A friend of mine served this at a recent lunch, accompanied by a homemade cucumber-rice situation, and it was absolutely delicious.  The rice didn't finish cooking at the same time but it turned out to be unnecessary as the chick peas provided a good starchy texture. Most of the Indian-inspired foods I eat tend to have paneer in them, so it's nice to have a fully vegan main dish on occasion.  My friend, like me, is an estimation cook, so fiddle around with these measurements as you see fit.  I was grateful for the raita, which means it's going to be too hot for certain people reading this, but spice amounts are to taste. 

• garbanzo beans - maybe 20 oz?
• carrots - a cup?
• a can of diced tomatoes
• one small butternut squash (cut in about 1 inch pieces)
• green beans - 1/2 cup?
• fresh ginger - peeled and sliced
• one potato
• 1.5 cups coconut milk
• cinnamon, curry powder, cumin, tiny bit of cayenne [where kick came from -FL], garlic, tiny bit of vegetarian 'chicken' broth powder

sautee 1/2 red onion and some carrots in olive oil, with cinnamon, curry powder, cumin then gradually add everything else

Simple as can be! 

Recipe: Mushroom Galette

This is galette in the sense of tart, not sweet Belgian dessert pastry, in case you were wondering what the hell I was thinking.  It comes from the Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone book and made a delicious and extremely filling lunch on a cold day in San Francisco.  My friend Max, who made it, calls it "a pain in the butt recipe for special occasions" and it no doubt tastes best with all the labor put in, but looking at the recipe I can see a few shortcuts that you might use to save time, including (gasp) not home-making the dough or using veggie stock instead.  However it was incredibly good as is, so you might not want to mess with success.  Max writes "[i]ts only redeeming virtue is that all the elements, including the dough, can be made in advance and hang out in the fridge for a couple of days just fine until you're ready for them. I added some tofu to mine so that it would have a little protein, even though it didn't call for it.  It would be even better with a baked or sauteed tempeh instead of the tofu-- tempeh is nice & earthy with mushrooms.  I also garnished with some fresh parsley to give it a little fresher taste." In this case, editorial comments are his. 

dough:
2 c all-purpose or ww pastry flour (I generally just use white all-purpose)
1/2 t salt
1 T sugar
12 T cold unsalted butter (or Earth Balance if you're going parve)
1/3- 1/2 c ice water as needed

Mix flour, salt, sugar in bowl.  Cut in butter (by hand or with mixer), leaving pea-sized chunks. Sprinkle ice water over by tablespoon & toss w/ flour until dough comes together in a ball.  Press into disk & refrigerate for 15 mins.

When you're ready to make the galette, roll out on lightly floured surface into 14 inch circle approx 1/4 inch thick & transfer to cookie sheet (it will be larger than the pan.)  Add filling leaving a border, and fold the dough over the fruit, overlapping the edges.  You can brush the top of the galette with melted butter or an egg beaten with milk.

2 cups quick mushroom stock:

1/2 c or more dried porcini
4 t olive oil
2 onion, coarse chop
2 carrot, chopped
2 cloves garlic, sliced
4 mushrooms sliced
4 t tomato paste
2 T fresh marjoram or 2 t dried
1 c dry white or red wine
2 T flour
salt & fresh pepper
2 t red wine vinegar

1. Cover dried mushrooms with 3 c hot water.
2. Heat oil in saucepan over high heat & add onion, carrot, garlic, fresh mushrooms. Saute until browned, approx 10 mins. Reduce heat to med, add tomato paste, marjoram, & wine, and sprinkle in flour. Cover & cook until wine reduced to a syrupy glaze, approx 3 mins. Add porcini & soaking water, 1/2 t salt, a little pepper, & vinegar.  Simmer for 20 mins.
3. Strain, remove dried mushrooms and add to stew.

Filling ingredients:
2-3 t dijon mustard
aged red wine or sherry vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2 in dice
2 t minced rosemary or 1 t dried
salt & fresh black pepper
2 pinches red pepper flakes
1/2 lb portabello or shitake
1 lb large white mushrooms
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 T tomato paste
1 T butter (or Earth Balance)
2 T chopped parsley
2 T melted butter or beaten egg for the glaze (as mentioned in dough recipe)

To make the galette:
1. Make the dough
2. Season the stock with a few t. mustard & just enough vinegar to sharpen the flavors & set aside.
3. Heat 1 T oil in large skillet, add onion & rosemary & cook over med. heat until lightly browned, approx 12 mins. Season with 1/2 t salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes.  Put in a big bowl.
4. Heat 1/2 remaining oil in same skillet over high heat, add 1/2 mushrooms & sautee until browned, season with salt & pepper, add to the bowl w/ the onions, & repeat with remaining mushrooms.
4. Return everything to the pan, add garlic & tomato paste diluted with a few spoonfuls of stock, and a t of the vinegar.
5. Add remaining stock, bring to a boil, stir in butter & parsley, cook for 5 mins.
6. Drain, reserving juices for later.
7. Preheat oven to 400. Roll out dough (either one lg or 6 ind. galettes)  Fill with mushrooms, and assemble, brushing the melted butter or egg. Bake for 25 mins or until crust is browned.  Heat reserved juices as gravy.

 

Recipe: Veggie Non-Dairy Cornbread Stuffing

People still make turkeys (cornish game hens, etc) for Christmas, so stuffing is useful.  Unless you're making ham.  Then I can't help you.  Torie brought this to our annual Thanksgiving feast, which is a meat meal so dairy is out in the side dishes.  She de-cowed this recipe and it turned out to be really tasty and interesting, especially to someone like me who is used to conventional bread stuffing. A nice combination of sweet and tangy. I have included the cornbread-from-scratch recipe as well although that's just kind of crazy if you're in a time crunch.  She used Trader Joe's cornbread mix and it worked well.  I generally use Jiffy mix when I'm making plain cornbread but it's so low-key it doesn't seem robust enough for stuffing.  Somehow, I suspect this recipe may be endorsed for people with extremely busy home lives....

Cornbread Cranberry Stuffing (Serves 10-12)

Cornbread (recipe below)
4 Tbsp Earth Balance
1 Small Onion, diced (about 1 cup)
4 Celery Stalks, diced (about 1 cup)
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Fresh Thyme
1 Cup Vegetable Broth
2 Eggs, whisked
1/2 Cup Dried Cranberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 F.
2. Break apart cornbread into chunks and place onto a baking sheet. Toast in the oven for 10 minutes until dried out.
3. In a sauté pan heat the Earth Balance and then sauté the onions, celery, salt and thyme for 8 minutes until tender.
4. Whisk the vegetable broth and egg in a bowl until combined.
5. Place the toasted cornbread pieces, the onion celery mixture and egg mixture in a large bowl with the cranberries and toss to combine.
6. Place stuffing in a greased 7 x 11 baking dish and bake for 45 minutes.
7. Cool & serve.

Cornbread

1 Cup Corn Meal
1 Cup Flour
2 Tbsp Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1 Tsp Salt
1 Cup Non-dairy milk
1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
1 Large Egg, whisked

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a bowl.
3. Whisk the milk, oil, and egg in another bowl.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir until blended.
5. Pour batter into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish and bake for 20-25 minutes.
6. Cool.

Recipe: Vegan Mac and Cheese

I used to make a version of this type of casserole using tofu and nutritional yeast, but my friend Sarah found a recipe with cashews, which usually make the best cheese alternatives by far.  She reports that her non-vegan husband and brother liked it better than the dairy mac she served at the same meal.  Apparently it also freezes and re-heats extremely well.  This has some vegetables incorporated, and Sarah thinks in the future she might add even more, such as diced tomatoes and zucchini. I used to put whole peas in my version and that was a tasty addition. 

Here is the recipe, with my notes in brackets

Via.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 medium potato, peeled and chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
• 1/2 large carrot, peeled and chopped (about 1/2 cup)
• 1/2 small onion, peeled and chopped (about 1/4-1/3 cup)
• 1.5 cups raw cashews
• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk [has a strong flavor and you might want to use soymilk instead depending on your proclivities]
• 4 garlic cloves [this seems excessive to me]
• 6 tbsp fresh lemon juice [also seems like a lot]
• 3 tsp kosher salt [y'all know I never add salt to dishes either]
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 tsp mustard
• ~300-340 grams dry/uncooked Macaroni or other pasta [Original recipe recommends whole wheat pasta, which is the spawn of Satan and to be avoided]
• 1 slice bread [to make your own breadcrumbs if you're that type of person]
• 1 tbsp Earth Balance or butter
• Fresh or dried parsley, to garnish (optional)
• Paprika, to garnish

 Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Grab a small casserole dish and set aside. In a medium sized pot, add the chopped potatoes, carrots, and onion and fill with water until just covered. Bring to a boil and then reduce to low-medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes until tender.

Meanwhile, process 1 slice of bread until crumbs form in a food processor. Add in 1 tbsp of Earth Balance (or butter) and process until incorporated. Place in a small bowl and set aside. [Really?  Well, at least it's only one slice of bread]

Now assemble your cheese sauce ingredients (cashews, almond milk, garlic, lemon, salt, yeast, pepper, mustard) and add just the cashews to food processor. Process until a fine crumb forms similar to corn meal. Now add in the rest of the cheese sauce ingredients and process until smooth. [Oh, the garlic and lemon juice were for the cheese sauce?  Now I definitely think they're too much.  Add to taste]

Once the veggies are cooked, drain and add to cheese sauce mixture in food processor. Process until smooth.

Add your pasta to a medium sized pot and fill with water until the pasta is covered by about 1 inch or so. Bring to a boil and reduce to low, cooking for about 7 more minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

In a large bowl, mix together your cheese sauce and drained + rinsed pasta. Scoop into your casserole dish and sprinkle with the breadcrumb mixture. Now garnish with paprika and bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 350F. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before serving. Sprinkle with chopped fresh parsley or dried parsley if you’d like.

Serves approx 4-6.

Note: This is a heavy and drier mac ‘n cheese. If you want it less dry, you might want to add some Earth Balance/butter or additional milk.

Non-Dairy Spinach Souffle

This creamy dish served by a friend (pseudonym suggestions?) at a recent shindig made a great accompaniment to brisket, but will also be a hit at vegetarian meals.  Note that although it doesn't contain dairy it is *not* vegan.  This served 12-ish people, so I think the recipe could safely be halved. 

2 10 oz packages of frozen spinach
2-3 tablespoons onion soup mix
3 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
3 tablespoon pareve margarine (or butter if you're doing dairy, though I think you'd use less -FL)
Salt and pepper to taste

Saute onion and mushrooms in margarine to a good sweat, not browned. Set aside. Boil spinach. Drain and let cool 15 min. In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well. Pour into a greased pyrex or aluminum, bake uncovered at 350 for 35 min.

Non-Dairy Chocolate Pudding

Beth at Fake Plastic Fish has posted a recipe that looks pretty tasty.  It can be made vegan by swapping out the honey a sweetener such as maple syrup. 

Homemade Paneer Palak

I finally made it!  That said, I was underwhelmed by the particular recipe I used, which I found far too acidic and texturally a bit unsatisfying.  Below are some changes I would make if I were to cook with it again, primarily increasing the spinach to tomato ratio. As usual, the directions are a combination of the original's and mine.  If anyone has a better recipe please let me know. 

• 1 16 oz package of chopped frozen spinach or 4 cups of fresh finely chopped spinach
• Paneer or cubed tofu to taste (I used about 3/4 of a block of iffy store-bought paneer; I suggest a higher-quality version such Cowgirl Creamery's, or making your own which I hear is very good)
• 1 medium tomato
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon coriander powder
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
• 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon oil
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed (I used cumin powder, and probably too much; don't do this)
• 2 tablespoons of  flour
• 1/3 cup heavy cream or 1 cup half and half or 1.5 cups milk

1. If using frozen spinach thaw and blend to the desired texture.  I prefer mine on the creamy side, while others like a more robust texture and blend less. 
2. Blend the tomato and garam masala to make puree.
3. Mix coriander, turmeric, and red chili with tomato puree and set aside.
4. Mix  flour with chosen milk product and set aside.
5. Cube the paneer or tofu in about half inch pieces and deep fry them on medium high heat just for few minutes so paneer become very light gold in color, take paneer/tofu out on paper towel so extra oil can be absorbed.  Warning: the paneer I used got tough from sitting out through the rest of the recipe but softened again in the cooking process.  I'm not sure how quality or freshness would affect this.
6. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Test the heat by adding one cumin seed.  If it cracks right away the pan is ready. 
   
7. Add  cumin seed. After cumin seeds crack, add the tomato puree mixture, and let it cook for a few minutes.
8. Add the spinach, and let it cook on low medium heat for about 10 minutes covered.
9. Add heavy cream/milk mixture and let this cook another four to five minutes.
10. Add paneer and fold it gently with spinach and let it simmer for a 2-3 minutes. Pot should remain covered until the cooking is finished, otherwise the spinach will splatter.
11. Transfer the spinach to a serving dish.

Serve with rice and naan.  One upside is this recipe makes a lot of food, plus with homemade paneer you never have to play 'find the cheese and then save it for last because of scarcity.'  I'd still like to find a version that tastes more like what I get in restaurants, but this will do in a pinch. 

Vegetarian Biscochitos

In the past few weeks I have had the good fortune to eat several meals at the home of my friends Pain Perdu and The Rocket Scientist.  They are wonderful cooks and they also select great cheeses, even if they can't always remember which cheeses they are.  TRS is a New Mexico native, and one of the meals was a special New Mexican Shabbat lunch, which included her adapted recipe for kosher or vegan biscochitos, or little biscuit-shaped cookies.  What follows is the recipe with her comments. 

Kosher Biscochitos
Adapted from allrecipes.com Biscochitos 1

6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
2 cups shortening (use veggie shortening, or even butter, or half and half)
1 1/2 cups white sugar
4 teaspoons anise seed (original recipe had 2)
2 eggs
1/4 cup brandy (can use slivovitz!)
1/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
    1.    Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C)
    2.    Sift flour with baking powder and salt. Cream shortening with sugar and anise seeds until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Mix in flour and brandy until well blended.
    3.    Turn dough out on a floured board and pat or roll to 1/4 or 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into shapes (the fleur-de-lys is traditional). Dust with a mixture of 1/4 cup sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon.
    4.    Bake for 10 to 12 minutes in the preheated oven, or until golden brown.

Notes:
I cut to ~3/8 or 1/2 inch thick, and cook time was ~23 min with vegetable shortening.
Dough did not hold together that well -- I had to roll it out in chunks, wetting my hands to get it to a rollable consistency. Another version of this recipe on allrecipes uses 1/2 cup wine, so that might work better.

Glazed Holiday Bundt Cake

This was my family's go-to holiday cake even before we found the foolproof recipe.  It comes, of all places, from a Hershey's cookbook and makes a moist, flavorful base for a deep chocolate glaze.  If you want to be true to the authentic Mama Louie spirit, carry a carton of whipping cream and a mixer to wherever you take the cake, so that fresh whipped cream may be served.  

Cake

• 2 cups sugar
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup cocoa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk or sour milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup hot coffee

1. Pre-heat oven to 350
2. Grease and flour bundt pan
3. Stir together dry ingredients in large bowl
4. Add wet ingredients
5. Beat on medium speed for about two minutes (makes a very thin batter)
6. Pour into bundt pan
7. Bake 30-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. 
8. Cool 10 minutes, then move to rack.
9. Cool completely.  Pour glaze (recipe follows) over top.

Glaze

• In small saucepan bring 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup water to a rolling boil.  Stir until sugar is dissolved, then remove from heat.  Immediately add 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips.  Whisk until chips are melted and mixture is smooth.  Cool until slightly thickened.  Makes about 2/3 cup glaze.