I Love You More Than Food

Category: vegetarian

Recipes in the Vegetarian category are either already vegetarian or can be made so very easily.

Mixed Spring Vegetable Ragu on Polenta

It’s been hard to write lately, to give you something tasty to look at. I’ve been counting calories, learning to run, humbly saying no to my favorite morning pastries and the breakfast burritos I’ve become so fond of.

So tonight, I’ll try to sate you. I delighted in some zucchini from my farm shipment, fava beans from farmer’s market, celery that needed to be used (leftover from last week’s stock making), leftover san marzano tomatos and more.

1 cup polenta, cooked (3 cups water & 1tsp salt boiled, add the polenta and stir well for 10 minutes, add 1T butter & lots of grated parm at the very end)

1 lb fava beans (weight in pods; prep them by blanching in salted water, putting in cold water, removing skins)
1/2 large zucchini, sliced
1/2 large carrot or equivilent, medium dice
1/2 large yellow onion, large dice
2-3 stalks celery, diced
8-10 black olives (for shame, mine were from a can–thanks Mom!), rough chop
3-4 san marzano tomatoes or 1 cup marinara sauce
1 sprig fresh rosemary, minced
1 tsp chili flakes
olive oil
salt & pepper

For the sauce, start in a non-stick pan by heating 1 T olive oil. Add the celery, carrot, and onion, cooking at medium/medium low heat until carrots are bright, celery is more dull and onions are almost translucent. Add the minced rosemary, salt, and pepper. Cook 1 minute. Add the olives and zucchini, cook until zucchini have some color at medium/medium high heat. When zucchini still firm, but colored, add marinara sauce/tomatoes, fava beans, and chili flakes if desired and turn to medium low to simmer and combine.

Serve on top of the delicious polenta, or mixed with rigatoni. Serves 3-4.

Wine: A dry, hearty red like Chinati would be great with this. You could also go Sicilian with some Nero d’Avola

May 3, 2009
3 Impressive Crostinis: Carrot-Kaboucha, Beet Green & Red Onion, Artichoke & Bacon

Carrot-Kaboucha Crostini
4 large, fresh spring carrots
1/2 kaboucha squash (1-1.5lb), roasted with olive oil at 350 until soft
sesame seeds (or toasted sesame & salt mixture)
2 T butter
salt & pepper
macadamia oil
water

You will need a food processor. Cut roughly your carrots and sautee with salt & pepper in 1T butter until soft and bright. Place into food processor. Add 1/2 C water and then 1/4 C water at a time as needed, and puree. Add 1-3 T macadamia oil to taste. Add 1 T sesame seed to taste. Blend and puree. Add liquid as needed keeping it as minimal as possible while achieving the smoothness. When smooth, add the kaboucha squash, and puree, adding water as needed. Adjust seasoning, add 1 T butter and puree, and you’re done.

Beet Greens & Red Onion Crostini
Optional: Add sheeps milk in a shaved slice on top, over the warm mixture.
Greens and Stems from 2-3 fresh red beets, cleaned and seperated
1 T butter
1 large red onion
2 T fresh parsley, minced
salt & pepper

In a non stick pan, sautee finely chopped beet stems until softened. Add thinly chopped red onion and sautee until soft. Add medium to fine chopped beet greens and cook until wilted and bright. Take off heat and add parsley. Serve with sheetps milk cheese (like pecorino) on top if you like.

Artichoke & Bacon Crostini
4 small to medium artichokes
1/4-1/3 lb thick cut bacon (thick is important in this one)
1/3 C sour cream
3 T grated Parmesan or other grating cheese

I used previously grilled artichokes for this, but you can use fresh ones. If you are using fresh ones, clean & trim the artichokes, and steam/simmer until tender. Remove the hearts and chop coursely but smaller than bite size.

My artichokes were not fully cooked (hence why they survived the aftermath of the grill–I didn’t blanch them long enough before), so I removed the hearts, chopped them, and added them to a sautee pan with some water and steamed them for a bit.

Add your artichokes to a pan and turn the heat to medium high. Add a touch of water and let it evaporate after a while. Add pepper. When water is evaporated, add bacon (cut it into small strips first). The thickness of the bacon is important in order to contrast with the artichoke size. Fry the artichokes with the bacon until all is colored and bacon is crispy. Remove with tons and place on paper towels and allow to drain a bit.

Finely grate the cheese and mix it with the sour cream. Slowly incorporate the artichokes and bacon (after draining). It should be thoroughly coated without an excess of sour cream.

March 18, 2009
Sweet Pea Greens

March 14, 2009
Urad dal – a Quick Indian Snack

A good friend of mine and his wife celebrated his anniversary recently, and welcomed a houseful of friends with this wonderful appetizer. He has an interesting history and a lot of experience with Indian food, being that he had years of involvement at a restaurant in a small town in India.

Here’s the secret recipe:

Urad dal (a white lentil available at Indian Groceries and not really anywhere else)
Chat Masala spice mixture
Vegetable oil for frying
red onion
lemon & lime
salt
cilantro
raw cashews

Soak the dal in water for 30 min-1 hour. Drain well. Heat oil to high and pan fry the dal, taking care to stir frequently so they don’t stick (use a nonstick if possible, or a wok). Once golden and oily, put into a bowl. In the bowl, add a tablespoon of masala seasoning at a time to 1C or more of the lentils. Juice the lemon/lime into it, keep extra handy for adjusting the flavor. Mince or finely dice 1/2 or 1 whole red onion. Mince the cilantro. Mix everything together with a few cashews, adding salt and additional ingredients as needed for taste to bring the whole thing together.

Wine: a dry rose or a champagne without too much acid.

January 28, 2009
Roasted Green Romanesco with a Cajun Kick

1 large head green romanesco (sub cauliflower, but not as beautiful)
cajun seasoning blend (or make your own with herbs + chili powder etc)
1/2 C – 1 C water
olive oil
salt & pepper

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Slice romanesco thoughtfully, making some slices thinner and none too thick to be unevenly cooked, also trying to keep them together as much as possible. Place them on a parchment lined jelly roll sheet (lipped) or other baking container with sides and a lot of surface area. Toss in olive oil, salt, pepper, and seasoning generously. Distribute for maximum surface area, and add the water. Roast for 35-45 minutes, until browned on tops and carmelized on bottoms.

January 27, 2009
Spicy Sesame Seared Baby Bok Choy

1 lb baby bok choy, sliced in half & washed
2 T sesame seeds
1 tsp sesame oil
1 T olive oil
2-3 tsp chili flakes

Heat a large nonstick skillet to medium high heat. Combine the oils and heat through. Add the bok choy. When green part is wilted but firm white part is still crunchy, add the chili flakes. When the white part starts to near translucency, add the sesame seeds and cook for 1-2 minutes. Be sure to move them around a bit as they cook to prevent the greens from wilting.

You could also chop the greens off, chiffonade them, and slice the stalks of the bok choy, cooking them first and adding the greens at the end.

January 4, 2009
Spicy Cashew Broccoli

1 head/crown broccoli, cut into even chunks
2 tsp chili flakes
2-4 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp sesame seeds
1/3 C raw cashews or cashew peices
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
1-2 T olive oil

Heat the oil in a large sautee pan to medium heat. Add the garlic and allow to soften. Add salt & pepper. Add broccoli & the chili flakes, allow to cook to a brighter green but not fully cook, tossing regularly. Add the bell pepper once broccoli has brightened. When the bell pepper is soft and the broccoli is at its brightest color but still retains some small amount of firmness, add the sesame seeds and cook at medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the cashews and serve.

January 3, 2009
Ravioli Zucca (Butternut squash ravioli) & Garlic-Pepper Dino Kale

This is a typical dish from the north west of Italy, usually prepared with pumpkin but any winter squash will work well. I like to use butternut squash. It is typically fried after boiling, served in a brown-butter sage sauce. I call it typical and not traditional because it only came about around the 1800’s or so (well, same with Italian pasta in general), and there is argument between the French and Italians as to who came up with this dish. Some accredit inter-country marriages to the leaders of regions in Italy or vice versa to its spread, and admittedly some of the technique involved is typically French. I’m gonna vote Italian, though.

I used some of the butternut squash I had received in my bi-weekly Farm Fresh to You shipment as well as the dino kale that came this week from the Capay Valley. And in the name of honesty, I made this with my neighbor Marta a few days ago, had leftover filling, and made it again last night. She prepared some delicious roasted brussel sprouts for our meal.

For the Pasta:

1 small butternut squash, halved & seeded
1 portion fresh italian egg pasta (my recipe is here)
1/2 tsp ground sage, and/or several leaves fresh sage
amaretti cookies (a light, almond cookie that is about bite sized or as large as a golf ball, also from the north)
1/4 C walnuts
1/2 stick butter
olive oil
salt & pepper

Roast the squash with olive oil, salt, & pepper face down at 350 or 375 until tender and bright orange. Seperate the flesh from the skin and add to a food processor along with several amaretti (4, 5?), the ground sage if you’re choosing that option, salt, pepper, and walnuts. Reserve some amaretti. Puree until mostly smooth or no large chunks remain. You’ll be using this in small amounts to fill your ravioli, so it’s important it’s smooth and won’t tear the dough.

Roll out your dough after it has rested sufficiently. I would recommend an alteration to the recipe to include 1/2 size 00 semolina flour and 1/2 size 00 farina/white wheat flour. This will make the dough more elastic and forgiving and better suited to a stuffed pasta.

Making the dumplings: use your own method or ravioli tools, or follow the technique I used in these goat-cheese beet raviolis to make a different stuffed pasta shape (minimal dough waste in my opinion), or cut squares or circles to attach together. If you’re attaching two sheets of pasta together, I recommend using a touch of egg on your finger or at least a bit of water to help it adhere. Make sure to roll out only what you need as you can use it, or it will go dry and create problems when shaping the dumplings.

Toss your finished raviolis into boiling, salted water. Remove them with slotted spoon or gnocci paddle, and put them directly in a large sautee pan with your melted, medium high heat butter. It should sizzle.

Let the ravioli/tortelloni fry until bubbled and golden or browned at least on one side. Toss occasionally. If you choose to use fresh sage, you’ll want to fry the dry, cleaned sage in the butter before adding the ravioli. Serve and top with crushed amaretti.

For the Kale:

1 bunch dino kale (soft, bubbly dark green variety), washed, cores removed
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 red pepper, diced
olive oil

In a large sautee pan, cook the garlic & pepper at medium heat in olive oil until softened. Add the kale and continue to cook until bright green and more tender to your liking.

December 12, 2008
Fresh Cranberry Relish

Good on a variety of meats and dishes, this relish gave purpose to the fresh cranberries I received in my produce shipment. This recipe requires a food processor.

2-3 C fresh washed cranberries
1 large orange with good skin
1/4 C candied ginger
Sugar to taste

Wash and chop the orange into small segments as if to garnish a drink. Remove any obvious pith (white membrane) without separating the fruit from the peel. Combine in a food processor and chop until reached the consistency of relish.

Sliver or mince the ginger and mix it in. Add sugar to taste.

Can be preserved for some time in a sterilized container in the refrigerator.

November 30, 2008
Capay Leek & Potato Soup (& a lesson on leek etiquette)

[donotprint]

I drove my Capay Farm Leeks back up the coast to Mendocino for Thanksgiving and found myself cleaning & chopping them to make a leek & potato soup to feed all of us cooks before the main event–kind of like the “family meal” in a restaurant.

On cleaning leeks & picking leeks: A good leak is not slimy, is firm, and has healthy, firm looking leaves. They will have minimal wear and tear at the tips of the greens but will not be cut excessively short already.

Leeks are particularly sandy because of the way in which they grow. The best way to clean them is to cut the tattered or overly wilted greens off the top, slice them in half lengthwise so all the layers are accessible, and put them in a large bowl of water. Go through the outer layers with particular care and use your fingers to brush away or agitate any dirt/sand. Give them a good wiggle in the water and be sure to change the water frequently especially if your bowl is smaller.[/donotprint]

Leek & Potato Soup Recipe

3-4 medium leeks or equivalent
1 small yellow onion or half a large one
1 stick butter
1 qt chicken or vegetable stock (organic box of it or your own)
1 qt 2% or 1% milk
2 russet or red skin potatoes
salt & pepper

In a large sautee pan or cast iron skillet add half the butter at medium high heat.

Chop your leeks in half circles as thin as is reasonable to be consistent. Use the firmer part of the greens as well if in good condition. Add to the warmed butter once it has stopped bubbling. Add salt & pepper. After a few minutes, reduce heat to medium or medium low. Stir occasionally the whole time to prevent too much coloring or carmelization in one place.

While the leeks are cooking, peel your potatoes and chop them into cubes; perhaps a bit smaller than a lego. Dice the onion finely.

To a large soup pot, add the other stick of butter.Â Add the onion to the butter at medium heat. Once mostly translucent, add the potatoes. Let the potatoes gain some color with minimal sticking to the bottom of the pan and without smashing them into mashed potatoes. Add more butter if necessary to accomplish this. Reduce to medium low heat once colored a bit, let cook mostly through. Add the leeks to the soup pan, and add half the milk or enough to cover the leeks & potatoes.

Bring to a simmer and let soften some more. Add most of the stock, reserving some in order to adjust the consistency. Add most of the rest of the milk, also reserving some. Check the salt & pepper, adjust and check and adjust consistency. Once ready, serve or turn off heat and reheat later–do not leave simmering or you’ll have mashed potatoes with leeks.

November 30, 2008